Ding! Host Makes Phoenix Clan Fear, Reward 'Nirvana Fire' Origin!

That voice was Yang Chen's.

"Did you hear that?"

The thought was calm, indifferent, yet carried a hint of undisguised mockery, like a wisp of cold wind blowing from the deepest abyss, precisely piercing the core of the Phoenix Ancestor's and First Qilin's remnant souls.

Dead silence.

In the Sea of Karmic Force, the two grand wills that had once stirred the Primordial World were completely frozen at this moment.

They had, of course, heard.

Through the omnipresent Karma, every detail of the earth-shattering "Ancestor Acknowledgment" drama outside Kunlun Mountain was clearly imprinted in their perception.

They heard Ao Guang's soul-stirring, fervent roar, which gathered the Dragon Clan's billions of years of humiliation and hope.

They heard how thousands of elite dragons, in unison, vowed to grind their bones to dust and ensure they would never be reincarnated.

Even more so, they heard Yang Chen's casual remark, which absolved him of all responsibility, calling it a "little trouble."

"My 'filial sons and grandsons' are a bit too excited."

Yang Chen's thought echoed in the dark abyss, unhurried, like the whisper of death. Each word was like a heavy hammer, smashing down on the wills of the Phoenix Ancestor and First Qilin.

His tone carried no blame, but rather the indulgence and "helplessness" of an elder towards the unruly behavior of their juniors.

"They're coming to deal with you."

The Phoenix Ancestor's soul fire, blazing like a star, suddenly shrank.

At the edges of the flames, the Southern Bright Divine Fire, capable of incinerating all things, showed a dimness bordering on extinction for the first time.

Her proud will was, at this moment, completely submerged by a cold torrent called absurdity.

They were the creditors.

Beings who had come to settle accounts, upholding the most ancient and fundamental righteousness of Karma in the world.

But now, the biggest debtor had not only arbitrarily claimed a group of powerful "filial sons and grandsons" who hated them to the bone, but was now, in a tone of condescension, "mediating" this conflict.

In this world, could there be anything more twisted and shameless than this?

The First Qilin's will, heavy as a mountain range, trembled violently, emitting dull, suppressed roars, as if it might collapse at any moment from the extreme humiliation and rage.

Yang Chen's thought did not cease, and he continued unhurriedly.

"Of course, I'm not an unreasonable person."

This statement caused the wills of the Phoenix Ancestor and First Qilin to fluctuate almost imperceptibly.

Was there still a chance for a turnaround?

"I'll give you a choice."

Yang Chen's thought, at this moment, finally carried a trace of icy, blade-like substance.

"Either, you wait for my 'filial sons and grandsons' to use the entire Dragon Clan's fortune to set up the Myriad Dragons Paying Homage Array and grind your remnant souls into dust, leaving you no chance for Reincarnation."

"Or..."

Yang Chen's thought paused.

That brief pause brought a sense of pressure far heavier than all the words spoken before combined.

The playfulness intensified, transforming into naked, undisguised blackmail.

"You'd better be sensible and hand over the 'compensation' yourselves."

"Perhaps, I can ask them to go a little easier on you, seeing your sincere attitude."

"You choose."

These words, like two sharp knives dipped in potent poison, accurately pierced the vital points of the Phoenix Ancestor's and First Qilin's remnant souls.

This was no longer a threat.

It was the final verdict.

It was the crushing of their last remaining shred of dignity as Primordial Era overlords, grinding it underfoot and rubbing it in repeatedly!

What did "go a little easier" mean?

They understood the implication perfectly clearly.

No matter which option they chose, they could not escape the fate of being besieged by the Dragon Clan!

The only difference was whether they would gracefully and voluntarily hand over their most fundamental treasures, and then be "gently" killed by their former archenemies.

Or would they resist to the end, only to be blasted into oblivion by the Dragon Clan's grand array, leaving no trace of their True Spirit in existence!

For a moment, these two overlords, who had once looked down upon all beings and wielded the power of heaven and earth, fell completely into an abyss called despair.

Only now did they truly understand.

What they were facing was not a cultivator with whom they could negotiate or coerce.

But an unpredictable Great Demon King, holding the ultimate trump card of "mutual destruction," and ready to flip the entire Primordial World's poker table at any moment!

Now, this Demon King had even recruited the force that hated them the most in the Primordial World, and they were sharpening their blades, filled with murderous intent.

Internal strife.

External threats.

A Heavenly Net and Earthly Net.

This was a path to absolute death!

The Phoenix Ancestor's blazing soul fire flickered violently.

Within the flames, it reflected the supreme glory of the Primordial Era, when she commanded billions of birds, rivaled the sun and moon, and lived as long as heaven and earth.

Her pride had once made even Saints take notice.

Her Nirvana Fire was the ultimate mystery of all life in heaven and earth, the foundation upon which her Phoenix Clan suppressed an era.

But now, all of that had become a joke.

She knew very well that if she continued to resist, her fate would be a hundred times more miserable than that of her old rival, the Ancestral Dragon.

The Ancestral Dragon, at least, had only been stripped bare, his residual soul still intact.

But they, very likely, would be completely erased from existence in this world by the combined forces of Yang Chen and the Dragon Clan!

Dignity?

In the face of utter annihilation, it was worthless.

Finally.

The soul fire, which had burned for billions of years and never bowed to any being, dimmed completely.

A divine sense filled with endless unwillingness, humiliation, and venom struggled to transmit from the depths of the Phoenix Ancestor's residual soul.

"...I..."

Just one word seemed to exhaust all her remaining strength.

"...am willing... to offer the Phoenix Clan Origin..."

Her will trembled.

"...to quell... my fellow Daoist's... wrath..."

The corner of Yang Chen's mouth curved into a silent, victorious arc.

His intent, however, did not soften; instead, it became even more casual.

"Oh? Offer the Origin?"

"Sounds... not too bad."

He said slowly, like a merchant weighing the value of goods.

"However, my 'dutiful sons and grandsons' seem to have already prepared to set off."

"I am a person who values sentiment greatly and dislikes rejecting their filial piety."

These words, spoken lightly, were like the last straw that crushed the Primordial Divine Mountain, completely shattering the Phoenix Ancestor's residual soul's psychological defenses.

There was no longer any hesitation.

No more daring to harbor any illusions.

"Screee--!"

A phoenix cry, excruciatingly piercing yet silent, exploded throughout the Sea of Karmic Force!

It was not a sound, but the silent wail of a soul being forcibly torn apart!

A corner of the Phoenix Ancestor's dim soul fire violently burst open!

A fist-sized ball of Origin Fire, appearing to contain a nascent universe within and burning with multicolored divine flames, was forcefully, resolutely, stripped from her own residual soul!

As this Origin Fire detached, the Phoenix Ancestor's soul fire instantly withered, its light as faint as a candle in the wind.

The ball of multicolored flames pierced through the layers of the Sea of Karmic Force, ignoring spatial barriers, and appeared directly on the peak of Kunlun Mountain, before Yang Chen.

It floated quietly, yet the heat it emitted was enough to instantly vaporize the Dao body of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

This was the foundation of the Phoenix Clan.

It was their pride, the source of the law that allowed them to be reborn from fire, claiming immortality—the Origin of the Nirvana Fire!

The moment the Phoenix Clan's residual soul made its choice and offered its Origin.

In Yang Chen's mind, the cold System prompt arrived on schedule once more.

[Ding!]

[Host has successfully instilled extreme fear in the Phoenix Clan's residual soul with lightning-fast methods, causing it to voluntarily offer its Origin!]

[Reward has been automatically converted into its highest quality component: Origin of 'Nirvana Fire' x1!]

Yang Chen extended his hand, allowing the Nirvana Fire, capable of incinerating all things, to land gently in his palm.

He could clearly perceive the immense, boundless life force contained within, as well as the profoundly mystical laws of fire.

This thing would not only give him an extra life in the desperate situation of Death of Body and Dao.

It could even allow him to directly control a top-tier Primordial World flame divine ability comparable to the Southern Bright Divine Fire.

The gains were immense.

He contentedly put away the ball of flame, then cast a trace of "kindly" consciousness back into the depths of the Sea of Karmic Force, towards the dying remnant soul of the Phoenix Clan.

"Very good."

"You've made a wise choice."

His consciousness carried a magnanimous "approval."

"Don't worry, I'll tell my good grandsons to stop setting off firecrackers at your doorstep."

This casually spoken sentence was more vicious and more soul-crushing than any previous threat.

"Pfft—"

The remnant soul of the Phoenix Clan could no longer maintain its form. The faint soul fire trembled violently, almost causing it to spew a mouthful of origin soul blood on the spot. The entire remnant soul withered, on the verge of complete dissipation.