289: The Final Assault on the Demon Realm (Part Two)

"He wants to use the Demon soldiers and the barrier to wear us down and complete the calculations on the Star Orbit Instrument."

Shang Wan Ning's expression tightened. "We cannot let him succeed. Sister Meng, breaking the barrier is up to you. I will go and meet that old turtle."

"Very well. Beware of his heterochromatic eyes and the corruption." Meng Jiang gave a word of caution, her figure already transforming into a streak of cyan sword light, piercing directly toward the crumbling barrier node.

Shang Wan Ning nodded. Her black phoenix robe snapped in the wind, and with a single step, her figure vanished from where she stood.

When she reappeared, she had shockingly pierced through layers of chaotic spatial barriers, descending directly upon the 'Stargazing Platform' at the core of the Floating Island.

"Zhu Yan."

Shang Wan Ning's voice carried a majestic divine might, sounding like the laws of heaven. Her early Tier 8 divine power erupted completely, instantly scattering the profound star power permeating the Stargazing Platform.

Zhu Yan turned around slowly. Facing the Underworld Empress who had suddenly descended, his face, shrouded in the shadow of his hood, remained terrifyingly calm.

Only that pair of heterochromatic eyes, one reflecting candlelight and the other reflecting stars, swirled with a sinister light that seemed to see through everything.

"Underworld Empress."

Zhu Yan's voice was coarse and raspy. "Early Tier 8? Faster than I anticipated."

He raised a withered hand, light flickering at his fingertips. He pointed toward a glowing dot on the Star Orbit Instrument that was blinking, as if trying to break free from its restraints.

"Unfortunately, you are still one step too late."

Shang Wan Ning's heart skipped a beat as she followed the direction Zhu Yan was pointing. The star orbit represented by that glowing dot pointed to the sealed coordinates of the Netherworld.

"You have a fragment of the xuan pin gate?" Shang Wan Ning's eyes widened.

"Heh heh~"

Zhu Yan let out a raspy laugh, filled with the coldness of a thousand-year plan about to succeed. "I have plotted for a thousand years, waiting for this very moment when you would pour out your entire nest, leaving the core of the Underworld empty."

"Did you think my target was this Floating Island? Or to fight you head-on?"

"You are wrong."

"My target has always been the origin of the Underworld."

Before he finished speaking, the candlelight on Zhu Yan's finger exploded suddenly. His entire figure, along with the Star Orbit Instrument, instantly transformed into countless tiny specks of starlight, rushing violently toward the Netherworld.

He had actually abandoned his base, the Floating Island, using a secret technique to turn himself into an energy form and charge straight for the core of the Netherworld.

"Stop him!"

Shang Wan Ning shouted sharply, her divine power manifesting into a massive palm that covered the sky, grabbing toward the starlight.

However, the starlight seemed illusory; the giant palm passed right through it, only stirring up a mass of air.

Most of the starlight had already vanished into the spatial ripples, leaving behind only the last shred of Zhu Yan's consciousness:

"Shang Wan Ning, Meng Jiang. Enjoy the 'Feast of Corruption' I have prepared for you. Once I obtain the origin of the Underworld and reshape the xuan pin gate, this world will ultimately return to chaos."

"Hahaha..."

Meanwhile, the Floating Island, having lost the support of Zhu Yan's power, shattered completely with a loud "crash" under Sister Meng's heaven-shaking sword strike.

The planar corruption that had permeated the surroundings of the Floating Island lost its restraint and swept wildly in all directions.

Wherever it passed, the space was eroded, creating black holes.

The true "Feast of Corruption" had begun.

Niu Mengmeng watched the surging tide of corruption, her small face tense, holding her giant fork horizontally in front of her.

"Tsk, that old turtle ran fast! Leaving this mess behind." She took a deep breath, and her loud voice boomed once again.

"First Legion, Second Legion, form ranks!"

Chen Yu saw the surging tide, then glanced at the pack of dogs beside her, who were eager to try, and scratched her head. "Sister Meng, do you think Big Dog and the others can digest this stuff?"

Niu Mengmeng: "They can digest it, as long as they don't mind being poisoned to death."

Big Dog: "..."

[As expected, there is nothing more poisonous than a woman's heart!]

Netherworld, Ghost Gate Pass.

A tall figure leaned against a stone pillar at the pass. She wore a sharply tailored woman's suit, and the tips of her scarlet high heels tapped the ground rhythmically.

Olexia pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, her red lips curving into a playful arc.

"This road is closed, little Zhu Zhu." Her voice was lazy, the trailing end drawn out like arsenic mixed with honey.

Zhu Yan's heterochromatic eyes beneath his hood constricted violently, his raspy voice revealing shock for the first time.

"Olexia, you aren't dead?"

"Tsk."

Olexia stood up straight, her high heels making a crisp "click" sound.

"If an old antique like you is still breathing, why should I return my soul to the earth?"

A wisp of pink mist coiled around her fingertips, but her eyes were sharp as knives. "It's you—why aren't you staying in your Demon turtle shell instead of coming here to tear down my front door? Did you ask the landlord for permission?"

"Get out of the way."

Zhu Yan had no time for nonsense. He raised a withered claw, and dark golden energy transformed into a dragon claw, striking toward Olexia. At the same time, his figure blurred, intending to bypass her and force his way through the Ghost Gate Pass.

"Ha, do you think This Old Lady is just a decoration?" Olexia sneered.

The hem of her suit moved without wind, and the pink mist instantly surged, condensing into a giant palm that met the dark golden dragon claw.

"Bang!!!"

As the two streams of divine power collided, the space exploded visibly to the naked eye.

The eighteen Ghost Kings guarding the Ghost Gate Pass didn't even manage a groan before the Soul Fire in their eye sockets instantly extinguished.

They fell down unconscious one after another, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

The modern buildings constructed around the Ghost Gate Pass collapsed in a large area with a "crash," filling the air with dust.

"My house! I just finished paying the down payment!" The heartbroken wail of some civil servant ghost courier could be heard faintly.

Zhu Yan was forced back half a step by the impact, his hood lifting slightly to reveal half of his withered, gloomy face.

He stared at Olexia in shock and suspicion, sneering, "Peak Tier 7? Recovering by relying on the decadent sounds of those ants... truly fallen."

"Fallen?"

Olexia shook her numb wrist, the tip of her high heel crushing a piece of flying debris.

"Still better than an old schemer like you hiding in a sewer playing with mud. This Old Lady is living a wonderful life." With that, her figure transformed into a streak of pink lightning and surged forward to attack.

The pink mist turned into a thorny long whip, wrapped in heart-bewitching charm, and lashed out at Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan's heterochromatic eyes flashed, and the corrupt energy condensed into a shield to block. With his other hand, he flicked his fingers repeatedly, shooting several dark golden blade beams that tore through space toward Olexia's vital points.

"Ding ding~ Dang dang~"

The pink whip and the blade beams collided, bursting with blinding sparks.

Olexia's movement technique was eerie and bewitching. She wove through the gaps between the blade beams, her suit being torn in several places, revealing the fair skin beneath.

Although there was a major difference in rank, her combat instincts as a former Tier 1 deity and the bizarre nature of the Authority of Desire allowed her to barely hold on.

Hundreds of moves passed in an instant; the Goddess of Desire's breathing became increasingly rapid, and the pink mist around her gradually faded.

Zhu Yan seized the moment Olexia's stance became unstable and thrust directly toward her heart: "Die!"

She quickly turned to the side, avoiding a vital hit to the heart, but her left shoulder was still grazed by the claw wind.

With a "rip," the sleeve of her suit was completely destroyed, revealing three bloodstains on her snow-white skin that were deep enough to reach the bone.