The self-destruction of Xuan Nü's "shell" was not an outpouring of energy, but an ultimate, targeted Annihilation Nirvana! All its power, all traces of its existence, transformed at that instant into the purest Annihilation Dao fire. Rather than spreading outward, it seemed alive as it coiled back around the dark-red chains connecting it to the Primordial Stone Coffin, as well as the crack that had just opened in the coffin lid!
Sizzle—!!!
It was like a red-hot branding iron plunging into ice water! The Annihilation Dao fire clashed violently with the deathly aura emanating from the stone coffin, producing an ear-piercing sound of obliteration! The dark-red chains painstakingly refined by the Cult of Rebirth rapidly dimmed and crumbled beneath the burning Annihilation Dao fire! The terrifying will seeping from the crack in the coffin lid was also struck hard by this sudden Power of Annihilation—of the same origin, yet filled with resolute defiance—and stalled!
"No!!!" Blood Red Great Priest let out a heart-rending roar. He had never imagined that the "shell," the most crucial "key" and "fuse," would be destroyed by Xuan Nü's true body in such a decisive manner! It threw all his plans into disarray!
At the core of the self-destruction, a faint yet incomparably pure spark of spiritual light drifted beneath the cover of the Annihilation Dao fire. Like a guttering candle in the wind, it stubbornly floated toward the phantom of Xuan Nü's true body within Li Wuyang's sea of consciousness. It was the final trace of the shell's soul essence, forcibly preserved by Xuan Nü's true body at the very last moment.
The phantom of Xuan Nü's true body became even more transparent, clearly showing that this act had cost her dearly. She accepted that spark of true spirit and merged it into her phantom.