The visage of Mandis began to shift, transforming from that of a young girl, like a tender blossom slowly unfurling, destined to gradually fade once it reached its peak of breathtaking beauty, surrendered to the passage of time...
All eyes turned to her, gazing upon Mandis in her moment of ultimate splendor. Her locks, cascading down to her feet like a silken waterfall, framed a face of exquisite, perfect beauty that shimmered with an intoxicating glow, acting as a powerful lodestone, drawing every soul captive. Her figure, sculpted as if by the sharpest chisel, seemed painstakingly wrought by Heaven itself, utterly flawless...
Be it the men from the Tian Gong Clan, or those from the Soul Race, Dark Demon Race, Ancient Demon Race, or Devourer Race—all of them had eyes alight with fierce admiration.
Many of them had survived only for a few millennia, and the vast majority had never encountered Mandis. Even those fortunate enough to have seen her before had only known the girlish features of her youth.
They knew nothing of the true appearance of the former Number One Beauty of the Star River, nor had anyone ever described it to them. Today, they finally witnessed it with their own eyes, as if a goddess, the most perfect vision from their deepest dreams, had stepped physically out of that dream—a sight so stunning, so utterly breathtaking!
They held their breath, and some already felt a pang of sorrow, unable to bear the thought of watching Mandis’s prime vanish.
“Alas…”
You Yu sighed low, filled with melancholy. Only he knew that tens of thousands of years ago, he had harbored a deep infatuation for Mandis, once pursuing her relentlessly, treating her as an unattainable pinnacle goal in his life.
No matter how beautiful a flower, if time cannot be arrested, it must eventually wither.
Gradually, the luster of Mandis’s radiant skin began to subtly change; the glow faded, and her waterfall of long hair slowly became streaked with grey, transitioning toward a snow-white hue...
Everyone understood that Mandis’s Divine Power was dispersing, thereby nullifying the miracle of her Time Mystery.
As all gazes converged upon Mandis, Tam suddenly recoiled, his expression one of profound shock. His mouth fell wide open as he stared, aghast, toward the dead volcano crater.
He clearly sensed that, at this very moment, the teleportation array connecting the Heart of the Dead Volcano to his Divine Body was vibrating with an uncanny instability!
That array seemed to have suddenly repaired itself, establishing a connection with some unknown realm!
Tam was filled with utter horror and despair. He had no idea what was transpiring. A massive, unsettling fear bloomed deep within his heart. His wide-open mouth let out ragged gasps, and though he desperately wanted to warn someone, he found he could not utter a sound.
A figure, equally alluring and graceful, emerged from the dead volcano with an unnerving strangeness...
Clad in a flowing, pale lavender gown, its hem spreading out like a blooming flower atop a throne of amethyst, she stood upon the massive crystal seat with a haughty smile gracing her beautiful face. She suddenly sighed softly, addressing Mandis: “Silly girl. Did you truly believe that by annihilating yourself here, they would spare your race?”
At these words, every single person present jolted, as if only now realizing that another person had appeared beside Mandis.
Even You Yu, Beverly, and Rupert’s expressions subtly shifted, watching the woman with a sense of profound, inexplicable unease. That feeling... was akin to the instinctive reverence a lower-grade being feels toward one of a higher order!
The three of them were unfamiliar with the newcomer.
“Who are you?” Beverly suddenly sneered.
As the cold laugh echoed, Beverly abruptly turned her head in surprise towards the horrified Egger, frowning: “You know her?”
Egger, having traveled to the Barren Territory, naturally understood precisely who this woman enthroned upon amethyst was. Egger drew a deep breath, then suddenly roared, “What is your intention?!”
“You? It’s you!”
Mandis shuddered violently, staring blankly at the suddenly manifested Zi Yao, completely taken aback.
She had met Zi Yao in the Barren Territory, and they had met once more after fleeing the Spatial Turbulence Domain toward the Void Sea. Mandis knew Zi Yao was the Primal Being known as ‘Hui,’ but she had not known that this ‘Hui’ had been refined by Zi Yao. Seeing her again unexpectedly in the Void Sea left her momentarily flustered.
“Cease the dissipation of your Divine Power.”
Zi Yao calmly extended a hand, pointing remotely at Mandis. A conspicuous purple beam shot forth from the tip of her crystalline finger, the light transparent as stained glass, imbued with a mystical energy originating from the very source of the cosmos.
That energy bypassed the constraints of space and time, sinking into Mandis’s body. The aging process that had begun instantly halted; her eyes flashed brightly, and even the dispersing Divine Power, as if by divine miracle, transformed into surging waves and streams, gathering anew from the surrounding void.
It was collecting inside her body!
She quickly reverted to her most radiant and beautiful state, but because the Divine Power could not be completely recalled, she could not revert to the form of a young girl, nor could she lock time down entirely once more.
“Why? Why are you helping me?” Feeling the transformation within her Divine Body, Mandis’s stunning face was etched with utter confusion. “Shouldn’t you be our enemy? Back in the Spatial Turbulence Domain, you wanted the Mystery Talisman Tower, and I was helping Shi Yan... Why, truly?”
This sudden turn of events left everyone on this side stunned. The Tian Gong Clan members were dumbfounded, and the clansmen of the Soul Race, Dark Demon Race, and Ancient Demon Race were equally at a loss.
Only Egger understood the situation clearly. Only he knew that the Zi Yao before them now was the true Zi Yao—a supreme powerhouse who had assimilated the Primal Being itself!
“She, she is the Primal Being that Yuan Zu spoke of!” Egger finally shouted, simultaneously dispelling Mandis’s confusion. “She is allied with Shi Yan!”
You Yu, Rupert, and Beverly’s expressions drastically changed; they immediately realized the situation was unfavorable, knowing that their plan to force Mandis to her death without bloodshed might not proceed as intended.
“You, you are with Shi Yan?” Mandis looked coldly at Zi Yao.
Zi Yao smiled sweetly, blooming like a cluster of brilliant fresh flowers, seeming to instantly brighten the dark sky. “You little one, stop asking so many questions. Just know that the Phantom Race is safe. Rest assured, since Shi Yan sent me, I will naturally ensure your safety.”
As her words fell, she suddenly looked up at the sky, where a point of emerald light manifested in the void!
That cyan point expanded abruptly, transforming in the blink of an eye into a vast expanse shrouded in dense, swirling energy currents! Her twelve Celestial Snakes, her true forms, roared forth from within, blocking off this entire stretch of the void completely!
A terrifying, boundless pressure spread outward, injecting fear into the eyes of Egger, You Yu, and the others.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”
The twelve Celestial Snakes separated, each one resembling a continuous, undulating mountain range, their heads held high. Suddenly, they spat forth blinding, multi-hued radiance, each beam coalescing into a gigantic dragon shape as it hurtled toward the warships of the four races.
Sounds of terrifying explosions, impacts of colliding energies, and dazzling flashes of light burst forth simultaneously!
The unique warships of the four races, each tens of thousands of meters long, appeared incredibly fragile under the assault of the seven-colored divine light, like paper cooked into pulp!
Warships that had not managed to activate their shields exploded instantly, their wreckage tumbling and crashing in all directions.
Amidst the smoke and explosions, chunks of flesh and blood from numerous warriors rained down, and colossal Soul Altars materialized faintly in the air.
Zi Yao had appeared, spoken only a few sentences, and then immediately launched a violent assault, directly attacking the forces of their races in plain sight of supreme warriors like You Yu, Egger, Rupert, and Beverly!
Four of the Celestial Snakes, twisting their immense bodies, focused on You Yu, Egger, Rupert, and Beverly respectively. Mysterious serpentine markings on their bodies transformed into ornate halos, containing the ultimate wonders of the cosmos, as they surged toward the four leaders.
In that moment, the space crackled with lightning, and the void seemed on the verge of being swallowed by Zi Yao’s twelve massive serpentine forms. The peak powerhouses of the four great races, along with countless powerful clansmen, were being completely overwhelmed by her alone!
After separating from Shi Yan, Zi Yao had somehow become terrifyingly strong! Strong enough to face ten thousand foes single-handedly, holding her ground even against the might of the four leaders!
Mandis and the members of the Tian Gong Clan watched, stunned, their hearts pounding with terror under the sheer force of Zi Yao’s invincible aura.
“Come forth now,” Zi Yao murmured softly, her expression composed and elegantly detached.
The mouth of the main Celestial Snake suddenly opened, and from the dark, profound abyss of its maw emerged countless dense figures. Leading them was Hao Lie, the most renowned Artifact Refiner Master of the Tian Gong Clan, the faith and pride of all its people!
“Ancestor!”
“Grand Patriarch!”
“Master!”
Upon seeing Hao Lie appear, the Tian Gong clansmen cried out, like children who had been bullied suddenly seeing an adult arrive; many were even brought to tears.
“We await the Master’s command.” Surprisingly, as soon as Hao Lie manifested, he immediately adopted a posture of single-knee kneeling in the void, respectfully seeking instruction from Zi Yao.
“We await the Master’s command.” With him were Jia Ni, Tian Xie, and the patriarchs of many former Divine Race families.
“Slay them,” Zi Yao extended a finger toward the warriors of the four races, giving the order with a smile.
“As you command!”
Hao Lie, Jia Ni, Tian Xie, and the others charged down like a startling stream of light toward the warriors of the four races without the slightest hesitation.
This turn of events filled Mandis with both shock and joy. Just when she believed certain death was upon her and had voluntarily given up, the situation had flipped entirely. Zi Yao, appearing through an unimaginable feat, had completely reversed her fate, granting her a rebirth that felt as unreal as being trapped in a dream.
“Tam! You idiot, come join the fight!” Hao Lie suddenly bellowed.
All the previously timid members of the Tian Gong Clan, hearing his command, shrieked and charged skyward, fearlessly engaging the warriors of the four races.
“Did you truly think that merely you could completely reverse the situation? Did you believe I would stand idly by?” Yuan Zu’s voice suddenly echoed from deep within the Ancient Demon Race ranks. “It seems you’ve found quite a few recovered Primal Blood Crystals recently, regaining some strength, but I alone am enough to contend with you. I have emerged; who among you can now stop You Yu, Rupert, Egger, and Beverly?”
Zi Yao smiled faintly and cast a meaningful glance toward the dead volcano crater. “Yuan Zu has shown himself. Are the rest of you still hiding?”
“Senior Yuan Zu, what do you think of me? Can I hold back You Yu and the others?” A hearty laugh from Han Tian suddenly resonated from the dead volcano crater, and then he, along with Judy, the Dragon Lizard Ancestor, and the experts of the Profound Heaven Race, began to manifest one by one.
“Senior Yuan Zu, what about me? Do you think I can counter Rupert?” Shi Luo’s cold voice, laced with teasing mockery, also arrived at the opportune moment. He stepped out from the dead volcano crater as well, accompanied by Dracula Guy and many clansmen from the Bone Race.
The Heart of the Dead Volcano seemed to have opened a spatial gate, transporting a host of world-shaking experts who had been scattered across various locations, all converging here.
Listening to the voices of Han Tian and Shi Luo, Yuan Zu, who had just emerged from the ranks of the Ancient Demon Race, found his expression utterly grim. He realized that the meticulously planned scheme he had orchestrated had encountered a massive oversight.
The situation was now on the verge of spiraling completely out of control!
...RQ