"Bang."
Phoenix Emperor casually tossed the unconscious Alice and her brother onto the ground.
She raised her head and stared at Jiangnan, who was standing not far away.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Faced with the Demigod aura, powerful enough to make any superhuman's legs go weak, Jiangnan didn't even flinch.
He held the Godslayer Spear in one hand, meeting the Phoenix Emperor's gaze without wavering.
This time, he didn't pull out those perfunctory sticky notes.
"You want to harm my people, is that true?"
Jiangnan was straightforward, without any beating around the bush or probing.
Upon hearing this, the Phoenix Emperor remained silent for a moment.
Only the roar of the Soul Furnace remained inside the underground cavern.
After a long silence, the Phoenix Emperor suddenly chuckled softly, its expression utterly indifferent.
"Since you already know, then I will answer you directly."
"That's right, I intend to take action against them."
"The men were kept and thrown into the factory as permanent employees, while the women were directly stuffed into the furnace as fuel."
"But so what?"
"To beings like you and me, they are nothing more than a group of short-lived mortals."
"Whether they die sooner or later, they're going to die anyway. It's better to use their lives to exchange for the eternal life of tens of thousands of townspeople in Soul Return Town."
"Sacrificing the small family for the greater good."
"Isn't their willingness to serve us also a form of selfless dedication?"
"Dedication?"
After listening, Jiangnan felt as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
Can forced dedication be called dedication?
"It's just an excuse someone makes to satisfy their own selfish desires."
"Hypocritical and sanctimonious."
"Boom!!!"
Upon hearing this, the Phoenix Emperor's expression froze.
A terrifying pressure suddenly descended!
In the corner, Qin Jiudao's legs went weak from being overwhelmed by the terrifying aura that combined the power of the Dragon God and the Phoenix Emperor.
Even if he had a thousand lives, he wouldn't dare to utter a single word when his two masters were arguing!
Meanwhile, Zhao Yan's eyes blazed with fury!
S-class Supernatural Ability: [Unyielding]!
Under this oppressive force, the [Unyielding] trait was passively triggered, allowing Zhao Yan to withstand this mental pressure!
He glanced at Jiangnan's retreating figure with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty, his heart filled with turmoil.
Why is Jiangnan so familiar with a powerful being like the Phoenix Emperor?
"That tone was like that of a long-lost friend who had a complete falling out..."
But Zhao Yan instantly snapped out of it; now was definitely not the time for gossip!
Shen Yingchun has already led her men to the Shen Residence; Shadow and the others are now in grave danger!
"I can't help if I stay here, I have to go save them!"
Zhao Yan gritted his teeth and, taking advantage of the Phoenix Emperor's attention being entirely on Jiangnan, silently fled to the ground.
Phoenix Emperor ignored Zhao Yan, who had fled.
She slowly lowered her head, her shoulders beginning to tremble slightly.
Immediately, a cold laugh escaped from deep within her throat.
"Hehe... hahaha..."
"Personal desires... a hypocrite?"
Phoenix Emperor raised its head, its phoenix eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
For thousands of years, those she threw into the furnace cursed her as a hypocrite before they died!
Call her a tyrant!
They called her a hypocrite!
There must be at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand!
But she never really cared, and never even felt any emotional reaction!
But only this time!
These were the only words that came out of his mouth!
It was like a sharp knife piercing her heart!
Anyone in the world has the right to point their finger at me and say those words! But you are the only one!!!
Phoenix Emperor screamed sharply, its aloof and cold image completely shattered.
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
"Dragon God... has no right to speak to me like that!"
"Do you know how I've survived these past thousand years?!"
Phoenix Emperor's eyes were red and swollen, her aggrieved expression heartbreaking.
"One year! Ten years! One hundred years! One thousand years!!!"
"I've been waiting for you!"
"I, the Emperor, have risen from a high and mighty position!"
"The Carefree Eldest Princess, revered by all, forced herself into becoming a monstrous old monster, neither human nor ghost!"
"To wait for you, I, the Emperor, braved the eternal infamy of being cursed by the world, and established the Soul Return Town on this Weird Island the sun never shines!"
"To protect these old subordinates for you, I, the Emperor, will not hesitate to lure and slaughter outsiders!"
"Even when energy was scarce, he personally threw those loyal townspeople into the furnace!"
Phoenix Emperor pointed at the blazing Soul Furnace, her voice hoarse with effort.
Phoenix Emperor's tears rolled down her cheeks as she pointed towards Jiangnan.
"I took all the sins upon myself, just to wait for you! But what was the result?"
"I've waited a thousand years, and all I've received is a kind word from you, not even a simple 'thank you for your hard work!'"
"On the contrary, it's you who criticize and despise us!"
"Dragon God... no, Jiangnan! What right do you have to accuse me?!"
All of this is for you!
"So that when you come back... you'll still have a home!!!"
Phoenix Emperor completely broke down, crying out in anguish, wanting to unleash all the grievances she had accumulated over the past thousand years.
However, a voice interrupted her mercilessly.
"Unnecessary."
In an instant.
The entire underground world was deathly silent.
Apart from the roar of the furnace, there was no other sound.
In the corner, Qin Jiudao, the Heavenblade Dragon King, trembled all over.
He's kicking himself now!
Why didn't he run away with Zhao Yan just now?!
"What... did you just say?"
Phoenix Emperor stared wide-eyed at Jiangnan with disbelief.
Didn't you hear me?
Jiangnan stared directly at her without backing down. "Then I'll repeat it exactly as it was."
"I don't need it!"
"I have never asked you to sacrifice a bunch of innocent and vulnerable people to create some so-called home for me!"
"Home has never been a place! And I've never asked you to wait for me for a thousand years!"
"Phoenix Emperor, you've gone mad! You've gone completely mad!"
"Although I don't know what our relationship was in this body's past life, or what vows we made together."
"But if you're just a love-struck person who's willing to drag everyone down with you because of your own obsession!"
"Then I'm very sorry..."
"We can never go down the same path."
Your self-indulgent love is too heavy and too distorted.
"I cannot accept it, nor do I need it."
At this point, Jiangnan looked at Phoenix Emperor's bloodless face and delivered the final, decisive blow.
"Also, to tell you the truth..."
"I have many women around me."
"Although they are not as strong as you, nor as deeply in love as you, but..."
"But each of them knows how to maintain proper boundaries!"
"Unlike you, who blindly goes to extremes and goes crazy!"
Upon hearing this, Jiangnan felt refreshed and invigorated!
He's just that kind of person—unrestrained and true to himself!
He's not some melancholic, sentimental romantic hero; are you trying to Moral Kidnapping him?
No way!
If you have something to say, say it to the other person directly and bluntly!
However, while Jiangnan was having a great time, the Heavenblade Dragon King in the corner was about to wet his pants!
"No... Brother! My ancestor! My dear Dragon God!!!"
Qin Jiudao let out a desperate roar in his heart.
"Could you please not be so explosive?!"
"Don't you know how terrifying Phoenix Emperor's possessiveness was in the past?!"
"You just unleashed your ultimate skill at point-blank range and even added a true damage critical hit!"
"I'm still here, though I'm about to die from the curse!"
"But I don't want to die from being caught in the crossfire of gossip!"
At this time, the Phoenix Emperor...
When I heard "[not needed]" and "[many women]".
Her face turned completely black, like the bottom of a pot.
One drop.
Two drops.
Fresh blood dripped from her palm onto the rock.
That was from the blood flowing from her hand, which she had drawn when she pricked it with her fingernails in extreme anger.
Phoenix Emperor lowered her head, her loose black hair obscuring her face.
But a violent aura, a hundred times more terrifying than before, is awakening within her body!
"Hehe... good... very good..."
Phoenix Emperor raised her head, and there were no more tears or grievances on her face.
All that's left is a morbid madness!
"Since conventional methods can't get what you want..."
"Since your heart is no longer with me..."
As she spoke, she silently put away the [Source] that she had prepared to give to Jiangnan, which belonged to the [Interrogator].
"Then I, the Emperor, will break your limbs! Cripple your Supernatural Ability! And lock you away in my Central Forest Garden forever!"
The Phoenix Emperor let out a shrill cry, its morbid love transforming into a destructive killing intent.
"I will torment you day and night! Forever!!!"
"Boom!"
Within the underground world, two materialized, ferocious energies collide!
The rocky ground began to crack inch by inch, and stalactites fell from above.
Standing in the corner Qin Jiudao, the Heavenblade Dragon King, felt his scalp tingle from the oppressive aura.
He looked at the murderous Phoenix Emperor, then at Jiangnan who had drawn the Godslayer Spear, and jumped up and down in a panic.
"We can't fight! My lords!"
"Can't we talk this out properly? Phoenix Emperor, he is..."
"Shut up!!!"
Get out of my way!!!
Jiangnan and Phoenix Emperor roared in unison!
Qin Jiudao was so shocked by the sound wave that he staggered back three steps, on the verge of tears.
"What kind of mess have they made?! Someone do something about these two crazy people!"
"They're all crazy and stubborn!"
But Qin Jiudao had lived for thousands of years, and his mind worked extremely fast.
The moment he saw the Phoenix Emperor's completely crazed eyes, he knew that this fight was going to be a fight to the death.
"No! Phoenix Emperor has completely lost her mind. What if Dragon God's subordinates really die in the Shen Residence?"
"Then these two are truly locked in a life-or-death struggle!"
Thinking of this, the Heavenblade Dragon King gritted his teeth, turned around, and rushed towards the Shen Residence on the ground.
He has to go and save the day; the worst-case scenario can't be allowed to happen!
With Qin Jiudao's departure, the underworld was left without any more idlers.
All that's left are those walking corpses, and...
Two star-crossed lovers who have completely broken off relations!
"Today, I, the Emperor, will show you the difference between you and me!"
Phoenix Emperor arrived without using Supernatural Ability; it simply tore through the sound barrier with its physical body!
"Bang!!!"
Fast! Too fast!
Jiangnan didn't even have time to assume a full defensive stance before he was struck in the chest!
He was sent flying backward, smashing through more than a dozen thick stone pillars in his path.
It smashed dozens of miners who were digging in the mine into a pile of minced meat, and finally slammed them into the rock wall!
But that's not all!
"Boom!"
Phoenix Emperor stretched out one hand, and the stone wall where Jiangnan was located instantly came to life, with hundreds and thousands of sharp and deadly spikes!
They frantically slaughtered Jiangnan, who was trapped in the deep pit!
Show no mercy!
They were clearly aiming to cripple his limbs!
However, the next moment!
"Boom!!!"
A dark red beam of light shot into the sky from the shattered stone wall, crushing all the earth spikes into powder!
Then, a figure emerged from the dust and smoke, stepping over the scattered pebbles.
"Tremble, you wailing beings."
Jiangnan was completely encased in a set of dark red armor.
The seventh level of the Dragon God Imperial Armor is now open!
If it weren't for the fact that there's no sunlight at this depth of 10,000 meters, he would have already opened the eighth level.
Even so, the seventh floor's defenses are terrifying.
However, the Phoenix Emperor's attack was simply too powerful.
Inside the armor, Jiangnan had two broken ribs, and blood flowed down his forehead and across his face.
Upon seeing the armor on Jiangnan's body, Phoenix Emperor's pupils suddenly contracted, and she laughed in extreme anger.
"Dragon God Imperial Armor?! Heh... So that's how you managed to stand after taking that blow!!"
Phoenix Emperor seemed to suddenly understand something, and its eyes turned venomous.
"It seems you two had this plan all along!"
"Am I the only fool?"
"I've waited here on this Weird Island for a thousand years, being toyed with like Clown!"
As it spoke, the Phoenix Emperor pounced again!
Jiangnan spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
He didn't have time to analyze who the "other person" the Phoenix Emperor was talking about was; he only knew one fact.
My current base stats are far inferior to those of this ancient monster that has lived for thousands of years!
That attack just now made him realize that if he didn't reveal his trump card right away, he would definitely be turned into a human stick by this crazy woman today!
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiangnan snapped his fingers!
"Moment..."
Just as the last four words were about to be uttered, and the laws of time were about to descend!
The Phoenix Emperor seemed to have sensed something.
But instead of dodging, she faced Jiangnan, her lips moving rapidly.
"With this ashes, I send you back to the abyss; Hellfire the heavens, all laws become emptiness!!!"
"... that is eternity!"
Their voices fell almost simultaneously!
"Buzz!"
In that instant, the world was stripped of its color, turning into a static gray-white!
Time has been paused.
Jiangnan, enduring the excruciating pain in his ribs, strode forward.
He didn't overestimate his abilities, but instead began to carefully stack buffs on the Godslayer Spear.
"Tick-tock."
Dragon Blood seeped from the Emperor's Armor, enveloping the dark, Godslayer Spear.
Immediately afterwards, Crimson Black Fire Lotus bloomed at the tip of the spear!
Word Spirit: Calamity Flame Time Ash!
"Let this be a candle, offered to you for the rest of your life, burning until it is completely consumed!"
Jiangnan did not choose to throw the spear because the opponent's body was too strange.
He gripped the gun barrel with both hands, used his waist to thrust it directly at the Phoenix Emperor!
This is the safest way!
The spear tip tore through the grayish-white air, less than half a meter from the Phoenix Emperor's chest!
However, in this still, gray world...
Jiangnan's pupils suddenly contracted!
A glaring mark appeared on the Phoenix Emperor's chest...
Pure white!
"What is this?!"
Jiangnan was greatly alarmed; he sensed a familiar feeling from that white hue.
Yet it possesses a higher level of the same origin aura than [Tribulation Flame]!
The next second!
"Laugh!"
That pure white flame completely ignored the time freeze and spread outwards from the Phoenix Emperor!
It's like a fire igniting a gray-white canvas, burning a huge hole in it!
The entire underground cavern instantly transformed back into vibrant colors!
Time was forcibly restored to its original flow!
At the same time, the white flames entangled the Godslayer Spear!
It was actually devouring the Crimson Black Tribulation Flame on the spear tip!
"Not good!"
Jiangnan felt a chill run down his spine, overwhelmed by a sense of crisis.
Fortunately, there was a layer of Dragon Blood separating the Godslayer Spear and the Tribulation Flame.
He acted decisively, forcefully stripping and shattering the outer garment of Tribulation Flame that was being consumed by white fire!
Using the recoil, Jiangnan was forced back dozens of steps, leaving only a bare Godslayer Spear in his hand.
Seeing Jiangnan's unusually frustrated expression, Phoenix Emperor laughed, a happy laugh, even with a morbid infatuation.
"What a time this emperor cherishes so much..."
Phoenix Emperor stuck out its tongue and licked the blood off its finger.
"Back in the day..."
"You were just as pathetic and adorable before you grew up and ascended to godhood."
"To be honest, Little Sparrow is absolutely right about something."
"I shouldn't have cared about that damned sense of self-restraint back then!"
"I should have forced myself on you back then, broken your arms and legs, and chained you to my Sleeping Palace!"
The moment the words left his mouth.
"Boom!"
Pure white [Divine Phoenix Karma Fire] swirled around the Phoenix Emperor, transforming into a suit of battle armor on her body!
And a long, narrow battle sword burning with raging white flames!
"Then today... I'll show you properly!"
What is Phoenix Emperor?
"What is the power of Sequence 06 [Divine Phoenix Karma Fire]!"
"What is... an elemental Demigod?!"
Swish!
Even as the Phoenix Emperor's voice still echoed, her true form appeared before Jiangnan!
The White Flame Warblade slashed down diagonally!
Jiangnan couldn't even keep up with the speed; his brain could process it, but his body couldn't react at all!
They can't even predict the future!
"Pfft!!!"
Blood flew everywhere!
The Dragon God Imperial Armor was practically made of paper in front of this White Flame Warblade!
From his left shoulder to his right abdomen, his armor and flesh were torn apart on the spot, leaving a deep, bone-revealing gash!
The gushing blood hadn't even hit the ground before it was instantly engulfed and Annihilation by the white flames on the blade!
"Well!"
Jiangnan grunted, knelt on one knee, and used the Godslayer Spear to support his body.
The excruciating pain in his chest felt like a thousand knives piercing his heart, but he gritted his teeth and held on tightly.
"No..."
"My speed is several levels below hers; if this continues, I'll be hacked to death!"
Without any hesitation, Jiangnan raised his finger, ready to snap it again to use [Momentary Eternity].
"Hmph, timeout?"
Phoenix Emperor snorted coldly, looking down at him with a mocking gaze.
"You think... I, the Emperor, can't do it?!"
Phoenix Emperor's red lips parted slightly, and a chill suddenly descended.
"The chill of the universe is so intense that it plunges to darkness upon contact, and all things in the world vanish into silence!!!"
"Sequence 015 [Cosmos Black Ice]!"
"Smack!"
Jiangnan snapped his fingers.
But to his horror, he discovered that while time around him had once again been pulled into a gray-white state, he himself was completely unable to move!
This isn't because the laws of time have failed, but because of his physical body, from head to toe!
Frozen by a layer of black ice that appeared out of nowhere!
"I said I would break all four of your limbs! Take you back and torture you mercilessly!!!"
Phoenix Emperor roared, gripping the White Flame Warblade with both hands, and slashed fiercely at Jiangnan's Half Moon!
Because if she cut any higher, she wouldn't be able to properly care for it once she brought it back.
However, looking at the blade that kept growing larger in his pupils, Jiangnan, frozen in black ice, did not show the slightest panic.
Jiangnan silently recited in his heart. "Holding the Blazing Sun in my hands, I'll shatter the Milky Way!"
Boom!!!
The eighth level of the Dragon God Imperial Armor is now open!!!
Because this underground world lacks the energy of sunlight, the Imperial Armor on the eighth level did not evolve into a dazzling appearance; it simply became more profound.
But!
Jiangnan had long been aware of this mechanism.
The Dragon God Imperial Armor unleashes an energy wave capable of shattering everything the moment it upgrades and leaps through levels!
This thing is commonly known as the invincibility frame rate in games!
It's perfect for disrupting control!
"Bang! Crash! Crash!!!"
Just half a second before the sword was about to strike Jiangnan's knee.
An energy spread out from Jiangnan as the center, and the Cosmos Black Ice was shattered into countless pieces by this upgraded energy!
"What?!"
The Phoenix Emperor was greatly alarmed.
Taking advantage of the moment the ice broke, Jiangnan narrowly rolled to the side, dodging the knife that severed his leg.
The combat boots left two streaks of sparks on the ground before coming to a steady stop...
At the foot of that enormous [Soul Furnace].
Phoenix Emperor missed its target with its sword, turned around, looked at Jiangnan standing beside the furnace, and couldn't help but let out a sneer.
"Give up the struggle."
Phoenix Emperor pointed its White Flame Warblade at Jiangnan, "I've See Through all your little tricks."
"You are no match for me now."
"Put down your weapons obediently and become my slave, and I might consider giving you a hand or a foot."
After listening, Jiangnan reached out and wiped the blood off his mask, then suddenly laughed.
They laughed unrestrainedly.
Phoenix Emperor frowned. "You're about to die, what are you laughing at?"
"You've lived for a thousand years, but your eyesight isn't very good."
Jiangnan pointed with his thumb at the enormous thing behind him.
"Why don't you open your eyes and take a look at where I am standing right now?"
Phoenix Emperor sneered, looking at him as if he were a fool.
"What? You think you can shatter this Soul Furnace?"
Stop dreaming.
"This is made of top-grade extraterrestrial meteorite iron. Even if I, the Emperor, were to take action, it would take me quite some time to destroy it."
"In that time, I would have already chopped your limbs into dozens of pieces!"
"Destroy?"
Jiangnan's smile widened. "Who said... I'm going to destroy it?"
"Not to destroy it?"
Phoenix Emperor was completely baffled.
Are we just going to stand there and wait to die without destroying the furnace?
However, when her gaze swept over Jiangnan's eighth-layer Dragon God Imperial Armor again...
A sudden sense of unease washed over me!
She remembered something!
The eighth layer of the Dragon God Imperial Armor's properties...
Yes...
Absorb energy!!!
"No! Stop right now!"
The Phoenix Emperor's eyes widened in horror, and it let out a piercing scream!
Too late!
Jiangnan clapped his hands behind his back and stuck them onto the outer shell of the Soul Furnace!
"Buzzing and booming!!!"
The Soul Furnace was originally in operation, containing [Source] energy!
It transformed into a pure white torrent, flowing through Jiangnan's hands and pouring into his Dragon God Imperial Armor!
"Stop!"
Phoenix Emperor went completely mad. She brandished her battle blade, unleashing more than a dozen white flame blades, each tens of meters long, towards Jiangnan!
But.
Just as those white flames were about to touch Jiangnan, they froze in mid-air!
There is an invisible barrier that blocks all attacks!
Phoenix Emperor stared in shock at everything before her.
"This... this is..."
At this moment, Jiangnan's black armor had undergone a complete transformation!
After absorbing the massive amount of pure energy from the Soul Furnace.
Unlike the golden dragon wings that evolved by absorbing sunlight!
Instead, a pure white light appeared, so bright it was impossible to look directly at it!
Behind Jiangnan, a white phantom, hundreds of meters tall, is slowly emerging!
This afterimage moved in perfect sync with Jiangnan's movements!
That colossal phantom, hundreds of meters tall, also stretched out its massive hand!
He grasped a phantom version of the [Godslayer Spear], several tens of meters long, in the void!
Jiangnan floated into the air, gripped the Godslayer Spear in one hand, and raised it high. The hundred-meter-tall phantom behind him made the same gesture.
A new eighth line has also been released!
"Your divine might is mighty, obey my decree!"
"The Dragon God has descended; Judgment has arrived!"
Jiangnan's voice boomed in the underground world.
Without any unnecessary frills, he simply gripped his spear and smashed it down towards the Phoenix Emperor's position!
"Break!"
Boom!!!!!
With this roar, the hundred-meter-long illusory Godslayer Spear collapsed onto Phoenix Emperor's body!
"Aaaaaah!"
Phoenix Emperor was struck by this overwhelming force!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The ground collapsed!
Rocks thousands of meters underground were easily penetrated!
The Phoenix Emperor was slammed into Abyss hundreds of meters underground by this shot!
Dust billowed everywhere, and the entire Soul Return Town groaned in agony under the weight of this attack!