148: Chapter 148 Dual Sources Unite, Devouring God Appears in the World

In the heavens and earth, starlight cascaded like a waterfall.

Lin Yue stood in the Void Realm, his left hand radiant with starlight, his right hand roiling with dragon shadows. The two Origin forces slowly drew near and merged in his palms.

With each inch they drew closer, the pressure they emitted surged dramatically.

The star dragon nascent soul rose tall within his Dantian, its pupils erupting with unprecedented light—the left eye a revolving galaxy, the right eye soaring dragon shadows.

"This is... Origin Fusion?!"

The White Bone Demon Lord's expression changed drastically.

Though parasitized, his knowledge remained intact.

For a Nascent Soul Cultivator to cultivate one Origin to Major Achievement was already incredibly difficult. Those capable of fusing two different Origins—throughout the entire cultivation world, in a thousand years, there were no more than ten!

And each Fusion signified... a qualitative transformation!

"He must not be allowed to complete it!"

The White Bone Demon Lord's eyes blazed with madly flickering emerald flames as he abruptly raised his white bone scepter high.

The skull atop the scepter opened its massive maw, emitting a soundless shriek.

This time, the shriek had no sound, yet it directly assaulted the Divine Soul!

"Soul Devouring Shriek!"

On the city wall, Star Radiance's face turned deathly pale, her body swaying unsteadily.

Even Immortal Master Qingluan and other Nascent Soul Cultivators felt their Divine Souls stinging, their Seas of Consciousness churning.

This targeted a Cultivator's most vulnerable point!

"Divine Soul attack, be careful!"

Immortal Master Qingluan endured the intense pain in her Divine Soul, urgently warning.

But Lin Yue seemed not to hear.

His eyes were tightly shut, his entire mind immersed in the Fusion of the dual Origins.

The Star Origin was vast and pure, representing the order and eternity of the Universe.

The Dragon Soul Origin was domineering and masculine, representing the majesty and vitality of living beings.

The two were originally incompatible, but under the mediation of the star dragon nascent soul, they began to slowly intertwine and fuse.

The starlight in his left hand gradually took on a hint of pale gold—the permeation of Dragon Qi.

The dragon shadow in his right hand began to shimmer with starry specks—the imprint of the stars.

The Fusion process was extremely slow. With each fraction of progress, Lin Yue's face paled further, and blood began to seep from his seven orifices.

This was the backlash from forcibly fusing Origins!

If not for his solid Foundation and the World Tree of the cave world secretly sharing the pressure, he would have already exploded and died.

"Faster! A little faster!"

In his Sea of Consciousness, Haotian's voice carried a rare urgency:

"The White Bone Demon Lord's Divine Soul attack is just the prelude. His true killing move is that banner!"

Haotian pointed to a banner... a white bone banner flag that the White Bone Demon Lord had, at some unknown time, retrieved with his left hand.

The banner was only three feet long, its pole pieced together from sections of human bones, its flag a complete human skin inscribed with countless twisted runes in blood.

The moment the banner appeared, the wails of resentful souls across the entire battlefield intensified tenfold!

Even the remaining resentful souls within the twelve white bone altars began to struggle madly, trying to break free from the altars and rush toward that banner.

"White Bone Spirit Devouring Banner..."

In the underground chamber, Lin Cang, sensing the banner's aura through the earth veins, trembled as he spoke:

"One of the three great evil treasures of the Black Lotus Cult! It requires the skulls of nine hundred ninety-nine Nascent Soul Cultivators for the pole, the skins of nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine Golden Core Cultivators for the flag, and the resentful souls of a million living beings as ink, refined for ninety-nine years to complete!"

"Once this banner emerges, it can devour Divine Souls, swallow Nascent Souls. Below Soul Transformation... no one can withstand it!"

Lin Cang's words were transmitted to Lin Yue via a communication Jade Slip.

But Lin Yue still did not open his eyes.

The Fusion of the dual Origins in his palms had reached a critical juncture.

The edges of the starlight and dragon shadow had completely merged, forming a silver-gold halo. At the center of the halo, a grain-sized point of light was gestating.

Though small, that point of light emitted a heart-palpitating fluctuation.

As if... it contained a world within!

"Just one last step..."

Lin Yue bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of Essence Blood that merged into the halo. The point of light abruptly swelled to the size of a soybean!

And at that very moment—

The White Bone Demon Lord's White Bone Spirit Devouring Banner finally completed its sacrifice.

"A million souls, forge thy body..."

"White Bone Spirit Devourer—emerge!"

The banner fluttered loudly, the twisted runes on its surface writhing like living things, detaching from the flag and coalescing in the air into a... thousand-zhang-tall demon god phantom!

This demon god was completely different from the previous White Bone Demon God.

Its entire body was pitch black, with three heads and six arms. Each face had only one enormous eye, devoid of pupils, containing only swirling black vortices.

Each of its six arms held a weapon—blade, sword, spear, halberd, whip, hammer—their surfaces flowing with dark red bloody light.

The moment the demon god emerged, all sound in the heavens and earth vanished.

Even the wind, breathing, heartbeats... all disappeared.

Only one sound remained—

Wailing.

The wails of a million resentful souls emanated from within the demon god, flooding everything like a tide.

"Pfft—!"

On the city wall, Cultivators with slightly weaker cultivation spat blood in unison, their Divine Souls severely wounded.

Even Immortal Master Qingluan, Star Dust, and other Nascent Soul Cultivators turned pale, forced to circulate their Cultivation Techniques to resist the terrifying impact of the resentful souls.

"Hahahaha!"

The White Bone Demon Lord laughed maniacally:

"Lin Yue, to die under the White Bone Spirit Devouring Banner is a blessing you've cultivated for eight lifetimes!"

"Go—devour him!"

The thousand-zhang demon god's six arms swung simultaneously. The six bloody weapons tore through the Void Realm, smashing down toward Lin Yue's head!

Before the weapons arrived, the evil force that devoured Divine Souls had already locked onto Lin Yue, leaving him no escape!

At this critical moment—

Lin Yue finally opened his eyes.

Left eye galaxy, right eye dragon shadow.

And the soybean-sized point of light in his palm had already taken form.

It was a... dual-colored Golden Core!

No, not a Golden Core.

It was something of a higher level than a Golden Core—an Origin Pearl!

"Stars as the shell, dragon soul as the core..."

Lin Yue murmured softly, as if introducing a work of art:

"I name this move—"

"Star Dragon... World-Breaking Pearl."

He raised his hand, gently pushing the light pearl forward.

The moment the light pearl left his hand, time seemed to freeze.

Everyone's gaze was drawn to that light pearl.

Its flight speed was not fast, even slow.

But wherever it passed, space rippled like water. Where the ripples reached, all evil and foul aura completely dissolved.

The demon god's resentful soul wails ceased abruptly within the ripples.

The six bloody weapons, upon touching the ripples, shattered inch by inch.

The thousand-zhang demon god phantom, like ice and snow under sunlight, began to rapidly melt and dissipate.

"Impossible!!!"

The White Bone Demon Lord's eyes nearly burst:

"This is... the power of Law?! How can an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator possibly touch upon Law?!"

"Not Law."

Lin Yue shook his head:

"It's... Origin resonance."

He pointed to the light pearl:

"Both stars and dragon souls are among this world's most ancient Origins. When they perfectly fuse, they stir the resonance of heaven and earth, briefly simulating a trace of... the aura of the world's Origin."

"And the world's Origin restrains all external evil and foulness."

"No matter how powerfully refined your White Bone Spirit Devouring Banner is, it is ultimately an 'external' object."

As his words fell.

The light pearl finally flew to the demon god's chest.

A gentle touch.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no world-destroying impact.

Only... dissolution.

The thousand-zhang demon god phantom, starting from its chest, collapsed and dissipated like a sand sculpture.

The million resentful souls on the flag, under the starlight's illumination, gradually shed the pain from their faces, transforming into specks of fluorescent light that rose into the high sky.

They... were liberated.

"No—! My Spirit Devouring Banner!!!"

The White Bone Demon Lord let out a shrill scream.

The White Bone Spirit Devouring Banner was connected to his mind. With the demon god phantom destroyed, the banner itself was also severely damaged.

The human skin of the flag began to crack, the bone sections of the pole breaking inch by inch.

This evil treasure, refined for ninety-nine years, actually... began to disintegrate on its own!

"Pfft—!"

The White Bone Demon Lord violently spat three mouthfuls of blood, his aura instantly wilting, falling from Late Nascent Soul Stage to Mid Nascent Soul Stage, and still continuing to decline.

The backlash had arrived.

"Now is the time!"

A cold light flashed in Lin Yue's eyes.

Though executing the "Star Dragon World-Breaking Pearl" had nearly drained all his true essence, even the star dragon nascent soul had dimmed.

But the opportunity was fleeting.

"Lin Hu—assault team, attack!"

"Lin Yan—detonate the remaining two Star Burst Formations!"

"Immortal Master Qingluan—destroy all the altars!"

Three consecutive commands were instantly transmitted through the Formation.

"Kill—!"

On the city's outer flank, the three-hundred-strong Evil-Destroying Assault Team led by Lin Hu charged out like tigers from a cage, directly toward the most chaotic central army of the White Bone Demon Army.

These three hundred were all the War Department's most elite Cultivators, further trained in the cave world. Their sudden emergence was unstoppable.

Atop the Artifact Refining Hall, Lin Yan gritted his teeth and activated the Formation Plate.

East and west of the city, the earth swelled up once more.

Though not as powerful as the previous three simultaneous Formations, it was enough to deal with the currently chaotic White Bone Demon Army.

Boom—!

Two pillars of starlight shot into the sky, engulfing hundreds of Bone Birds and Black-robed Cultivators.

On the battlefield, Immortal Master Qingluan and the others, greatly invigorated, led the Seven Star Alliance elites in fiercely attacking the remaining eight altars.

Without the White Bone Demon Lord's control, the altars' defenses were greatly reduced.

In just a few dozen breaths, five more were destroyed.

Of the Twelve White Bone Soul Sacrificial Formations, nine had been broken!

The White Bone Demon God phantom high in the sky completely collapsed and dissipated.

"Retreat! Full army retreat!"

The White Bone Demon Lord was finally afraid.

Suppressing his injuries, he recalled the remaining Bone Birds and Cultivators, fleeing in panic toward the northeast.

He had come with five hundred Bone Birds, five hundred Black-robed Cultivators, and twelve altars.

Fleeing, he had less than a hundred Bone Birds, less than two hundred Black-robed Cultivators, and all altars destroyed.

The White Bone Spirit Devouring Banner was completely ruined.

This battle, the Black Lotus Cult suffered heavy losses!

"Trying to run?"

Lin Yue forced out a breath of true essence, about to give chase.

But after flying just a hundred zhang, he staggered, nearly falling from the sky.

"Sect Master Lin!"

Star Radiance arrived in time, supporting him:

"Your injuries are too severe; you cannot chase further."

Lin Yue looked toward the direction the White Bone Demon Lord had fled, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

But he also knew Star Radiance was right.

Executing the Star Dragon World-Breaking Pearl had nearly exhausted all his trump cards. Merely standing now was a struggle, let alone giving chase.

"However..."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes:

"We cannot let him escape so easily either."

He turned to look at Star Dust:

"Fellow Daoist Star Dust, can that 'Space-Breaking Talisman' still be used?"

"Yes, but it can only transmit up to a hundred li, and requires precise coordinates."

"That's enough."

Lin Yue took out a jade talisman from his chest—the very communication talisman agreed upon with the Star Miasma Dragon Lizard.

He infused a thread of true essence, activating the jade talisman.

"Senior Dragon Lizard..."

"As agreed, it's time for you to act."

The jade talisman glowed faintly, a message crossing the Void Realm toward the direction of Falling Star Valley.

A few breaths later.

In the northeastern sky, a dark silver light suddenly brightened.

That light streaked across the sky like a meteor, accurately smashing down in front of the fleeing White Bone Demon Army.

Boom—!

The earth trembled.

A dark silver giant lizard descended from the sky, blocking the path.

It was the Star Miasma Dragon Lizard!

Looking at the disheveled White Bone Demon Lord, a hint of mockery flashed in its dark silver vertical pupils:

"Human, we meet again."

The White Bone Demon Lord's face turned deathly pale:

"Star Miasma Dragon Lizard?! How could you..."

"One who accepts a commission must be loyal to the task."

The Dragon Lizard grinned, revealing sharp white teeth:

"You carry... an aura I deeply despise."

It opened its mouth, Star Miasma Dragon Flame gushing forth!

The White Bone Demon Lord hastily defended, but his injuries were too severe to withstand the Dragon Lizard at full strength.

In just three moves, he was scorched black by the dragon flame, screaming incessantly.

Finally, he had no choice but to execute a secret technique, burning his Essence Blood to transform into a bloody light and flee.

He didn't even care for his remaining subordinates.

The Dragon Lizard did not pursue.

It turned its head toward the Luoxia Sect direction, nodded at Lin Yue, then turned and disappeared into the night.

The agreement fulfilled, it would only act once.

But this once was enough to make the White Bone Demon Lord... remember for a lifetime... The battlefield gradually calmed.

The remaining Black Lotus Cult Cultivators scattered and fled, pursued, captured, or killed by the Seven Star Alliance and Luoxia Sect Cultivators.

All twelve altars were destroyed, the White Bone Demon God phantom dissipated, the White Bone Spirit Devouring Banner disintegrated.

This battle, the Luoxia Sect... achieved a great victory!

"We won..."

On the city wall, a Cultivator murmured.

Then, cheers erupted like a mountain torrent and tidal wave.

"We won!!!"

"The Sect Master is mighty! Long live the Luoxia Sect!"

The sound waves soared to the sky, resounding through the clouds.

Supported by Star Radiance, Lin Yue slowly landed.

Looking at the cheering crowd, at the scarred but still standing Sect, the corners of his mouth finally revealed a faint smile.

But the smile soon faded.

He looked up, gazing toward the direction the White Bone Demon Lord had fled, a profound meaning flashing in his eyes.

Though the White Bone Demon Lord was defeated, he was not dead.

And... "Haotian."

He called out in his Sea of Consciousness.

"Master."

"The escape technique the White Bone Demon Lord used at the end... was it the Spirit Devouring Clan's 'Blood Spirit Escape'?"

"Yes."

Haotian confirmed:

"Burning Essence Blood in exchange for tenfold speed, but damaging the Origin. It's one of the Spirit Devouring Clan's life-preserving secret techniques."

"As I thought..."

Lin Yue's eyes turned icy:

"He is not only parasitized, but the parasitism is extremely deep, to the point he can even execute the Spirit Devouring Clan's secret techniques."

"This battle, we won."

"But the true war..."

He looked toward the Burial Dragon Abyss direction:

"Has only just begun."

In the distance, the sunset was like blood.

Dyeing the entire battlefield a crimson red.

And deeper shadows were quietly spreading.