190: A perfect deduction, a glimmer of hope

The concept of time was completely distorted at this moment, stretched infinitely.

The passing of every breath felt like two invisible, world-destroying millstones, one above and one below, clamping down on Shen Yuanmo's Divine Soul, grinding it ruthlessly and madly.

Excruciating pain!

That tearing sensation, originating from the Divine Soul's Origin, had surpassed any torture the physical body could endure, transforming into billions of burning hot poison needles, violently piercing every inch of his consciousness.

This was the wail of a Divine Soul pushed to its limit, on the verge of collapse!

The color had long since drained from his face, leaving him as pale as ten-thousand-year-old Profound Ice, devoid of any sign of life.

The cold sweat sliding down his temples didn't even have time to evaporate, dripping down his bloodless cheeks onto the blue tiles of the pavilion beneath his feet, spreading into small dark water stains.

If this continued, half an Incense Stick of time.

He wouldn't even last half an Incense Stick!

His Divine Soul would be completely drained and shattered!

At that point, the great formation would lose control, the Nine Heavens Astral Wind and Heaven Burning Purple Flame would pour down, and the entire Azure Prefecture City, along with the tens of thousands of Shen Family Bloodline members behind him, would have all traces of their existence wiped out in this world-ending catastrophe!

Doomed eternally!

"I must find that single path to survival!"

Shen Yuanmo's thoughts moved like lightning. In his Sea of Consciousness, which was on the verge of collapse, a spark of unyielding will burned even more fiercely!

[Perfect Deduction]! Activated to the extreme!

His Sea of Consciousness Universe, that boundless starry sea, completely boiled over at this moment!

Countless stellar trajectories representing possibilities furiously intertwined, collided, and evolved at unimaginable speeds!

Scene after scene of bloody futures flashed before his eyes.

He forcibly withdrew the formation, donned his Battle Armor, soared into the sky, and fought Song Xuanyi to the death.

The result was that under the endless firepower of the fifth-tier tower ship, his spiritual power was completely exhausted, and both he and his Battle Armor were melted into a puddle of molten iron by the Heaven Burning Purple Flame.

Ignoring everything, he forcibly extracted the Origin of the Spiritual Vein, attempting to condense a second [five elements annihilation divine spear].

The result was that before the divine spear could even fully form, the great formation collapsed prematurely due to energy imbalance. He was instantly swallowed by the backlash and the two world-destroying torrents, leaving no corpse behind.

He chose to defend to the death, placing all hope on the Spiritual Vein reserves... The result was that the Spiritual Vein was "boiled alive," the great formation was broken, and Azure Prefecture City turned into a sea of glazed fire... Every path was a dead end!

Future after future, all were darkness and despair!

It was as if his current situation offered no chance of survival!

"No!"

"I cannot die!"

In the deepest part of Shen Yuanmo's consciousness, which was about to be drowned by the excruciating pain, a cold bolt of lightning suddenly exploded, piercing the cosmos!

"If I die, what will become of the Family!"

"In this situation, I can only... seek life in death!"

A crazy idea overwhelmed the pain of his tearing Divine Soul and completely seized his mind!

His gaze pierced through the layers of the Purple Flame and Astral Wind, firmly fixing on the eastern horizon!

There, a Late Nascent Soul Stage figure was controlling a Flame Giant, frantically hacking at the great formation's light barrier.

Song Qingyun!

A daring plan suddenly took shape amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood produced by billions of deductions!

Sell a flaw!

A fatal flaw—one convincing enough to make that old dog believe it was real and urge his companion to rush in at all costs!

Then, right here inside Azure Prefecture City, within this great formation, he would completely bury this last Late Nascent Soul Stage member of the Song Family!

As long as Song Qingyun was killed, the battle formation giant composed of thirty Golden Cores would collapse without attack.

At that time, with the pressure drastically reduced, he would have a chance to truly face Song Xuanyi and his [heaven burning tower ship]!

This was the only glimmering sliver of hope found in the endless dark future, thanks to [Perfect Deduction]!

"I'll bet on it!"

Shen Yuanmo's eyes turned fierce, his will sharp as a blade, instantly severing all hesitation and retreat!

His Divine Thought, at this moment, transformed into billions of invisible threads, silently probing into the core hub of the great formation amidst the storm capable of tearing apart Nascent Souls.

He began adjusting the flow of energy.

This was an extremely perilous maneuver!

Under the insane pressure from the Nine Heavens Astral Wind and the Heaven Burning Purple Flame, the entire great formation was like a lute string stretched to its limit; any imbalance in energy could cause it to snap instantly!

But he executed it flawlessly!

Traces of energy that should have flowed to the southern city light barrier were extremely subtly and slowly diverted by him to the two main battlefields—east and west—to reinforce the defenses against Song Qingyun and Song Xuanyi.

Above the southern city, a minuscule, imperceptible stagnation appeared in the energy supply of the already relatively weak five-colored light barrier.

This trace of stagnation was infinitely magnified under the crushing counter-pressure of the Heaven Burning Purple Flame and the Nine Heavens Astral Wind above!

Zzz... Zzzt... A grating, unnatural sound emanated as the southern city light barrier began to flicker violently, its light unstable, looking as if it might extinguish completely at any moment!

This was still not enough!

To make the act look more authentic, a flash of ruthless determination crossed the depths of Shen Yuanmo's eyes.

He violently bit his tongue, forcibly reversing a thread of spiritual power, and fiercely scoured his internal organs!

"Pfft!"

A sweetness rose in his throat, and a mouthful of hot, rebellious blood mixed with fragments of internal organs sprayed out uncontrollably, staining the blue robe on his chest red!

At the same time, he deliberately loosened a thread of restraint on his Divine Soul, allowing the aura of weakness and chaos, which was on the verge of collapse, to leak out.

"Hm?!"

High in the sky, at the bow of the [heaven burning tower ship].

Song Xuanyi, who had been firmly locking onto Shen Yuanmo with his Divine Sense, instantly erupted in boundless ecstasy the moment he captured that trace of aura on his twisted old face!

"Hahahaha! Little Beast! Your Divine Soul... has finally given out?!"

He had waited for this moment for far too long!

In his eyes, Shen Yuanmo was at the end of his tether, his strength utterly depleted!

The power of an ant eventually reaches its limit!

His Divine Sense swept over the great formation below once more, and when he saw the precarious light barrier above the southern city, which looked ready to shatter at a touch, the ecstasy in his heart completely morphed into utterly savage killing intent!

A chance!

An excellent opportunity to decide the outcome in one fell swoop!

A trap?

Song Xuanyi didn't even consider that possibility.

For a golden core ant to hold out until now under the dual suppression of his Half-step Soul Transformation might and a fifth-tier war Magic Treasure was, in itself, an insult to him, an Old Ancestor!

How could he possibly have the residual strength to set a trap!

This was the absolute arrogance rooted in the depths of the Soul of a superior being who had lived for fifteen hundred years!

"Qingyun!!"

Song Xuanyi could no longer restrain himself and let out a twisted, excited roar toward the eastern horizon!

"It's now!"

"That Little Beast is exhausted! The South Gate formation is about to collapse!"

"I command you, break the formation through the South Gate and enter!!"

"Cut off his head!"

"Use his Divine Soul to mourn the spirit of Tieshan in heaven!!"

"Yes! Old Ancestor!"

On the eastern horizon, upon hearing this roar, Song Qingyun's eyes, which were already burning red with frustration and hatred, instantly exploded with bloodthirsty ferocity!

He, too, had waited for this moment for far too long!

He glanced at the light barrier below, which looked ready to crumble at a touch, and then at the pale, constantly spitting blood, and aura-disrupted figure in the blue robe atop the pavilion. The last trace of doubt in his heart completely vanished!

"Little Beast! Prepare to die!!"

Song Qingyun let out an extremely venomous roar!