The Loyal Subject Devoured by Obsession

Black runes surged from Di Tian's palm, not in single lines, but in a whole expanse.

The moment Gu Yuena turned around, the runes had already wrapped around her wrist.

The runes disappeared into her meridians the moment they touched her skin, spreading upwards along her arm at a speed that seemed too fast for energy.

"Di Tian--?!"

For the first time, shock appeared in Gu Yuena's voice.

She recognized the runes; they were the Dragon Clan's memory seals, an ancient technique used in the era of the Dragon God to protect his people from spiritual corruption.

It does not harm the recipient; it only "cleans up the lesions."

Di Tian believed that her hesitation was the root of the problem.

Fu Wen conjured countless fine black chains, as thin as hair, which tightened simultaneously from her wrists, ankles, and neck.

Her Soul Power instinctively resisted, and silver light exploded from her body, rattling the chains.

However, her power was sealed too tightly, and it was impossible to break free in a short time. The chains did not break, but they tightened again after being broken by an inch, each tightening being denser and deeper than the last.

"My Lord." Di Tian's voice came from behind her.

Gu Yuena turned around abruptly.

Di Tian stood three steps away, his right hand held out in front of him, fingers loosely clenched, palm facing down.

The ends of those black chains were connected to the threads between his five fingers, as if they grew directly from his blood vessels.

His golden eyes remained calm, but beneath that calm lay something that had been suppressed for too long and was finally breaking free at this moment.

"Your subordinate has followed you for tens of thousands of years."

He said, his voice not loud, but louder than the clanging of chains and the roar of rising spring water, "From the day the Dragon God fell, my life has been yours."

"If you wish to recreate the Dragon God, I will pave the way for you; if you wish to infiltrate the human world, I will guard the Star Dou Great Forest for you; you have shown compassion for that human boy, and I have seen it and will wait for you."

The chains tightened inch by inch.

Gu Yuena's Soul Power was being suppressed more and more severely, and the silver light flickered uncertainly between the gaps in the chains, like a white bird caught in a net.

"Your subordinate has been waiting, waiting for you to come to your senses, waiting for you to remember who you are—not Gu Yue, not a student of Shrek, not one of these humans."

Di Tian's five fingers suddenly tightened.

"You are the Silver Dragon King, the sovereign of Soul Beast, and the last deity to fall under the sword of humankind."

The black chains swelled several times in that instant.

Countless fine, hair-like rune chains pierced through Gu Yuena's acupoints simultaneously, not through her body, but into her consciousness.

In that instant, her Sea of Spirit was invaded by countless black tentacles. Those tentacles did not harm her essence, but precisely, coldly, peeled away her outermost memories layer by layer.

The image of Xie Xie fighting her for the last piece of braised pork in the dormitory for the first time was ripped from her mind.

The image of Xu Xiaoyan dozing off on her shoulder after training was taken away from her mind.

She saw Tang Wulin's pure and innocent smile.

She saw Yun Jingheng...

Her hands clenched tightly.

A silver light exploded from her body; it wasn't Soul Power, but instinct.

That was the indomitable will deep within the Silver Dragon King Bloodline, which even Di Tian's sealing technique could not suppress in an instant.

Her right hand broke free from the gap in the chains, her five fingers forming a claw, the tips of which emitted a dazzling silver light. She swung her claw back at Di Tian's face.

Di Tian did not dodge.

The silver light struck his left shoulder squarely, shattering his scales and tearing flesh apart.

But his body didn't move an inch, his right hand still firmly controlled the chain, and he didn't even frown.

"You see," he said, a flicker of emotion finally appearing in his voice, not of pain, but of sorrow.

"You could easily tear through one of my defenses in an instant; you have that power. You've always had that power."

"But you have never used it in front of humans."

He took a step forward.

The wound on his left shoulder was still bleeding, and the dragon blood dripped onto the ground of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, each drop burning tiny scorch marks on the Immortal Herb and spiritual plants.

"You're afraid of scaring them."

His voice finally lost its composure when he uttered those words.

The serene outer shell that had remained intact for tens of thousands of years now showed its first crack.

"I am not afraid."

He suddenly exerted his strength.

The black chains tightened Gu Yuena's entire body, pulling her backward—not towards Di Tian, but towards a black vortex that appeared out of nowhere behind her.

Countless fine runes surged around the edge of the vortex, each rune resembling a mouth, silently chanting some ancient dragon language that had long been lost.

"Di Tian--!" Tang Wulin's voice finally broke the silence.

His Blue Silver Grass burst forth from the ground, and dozens of blue-gold vines shot towards Di Tian's back, the green -Golden Soul Ring on the vines shining brightly.

At the same time, he charged forward, the dragon scales on his right arm instantly covering his shoulder, and the Golden Dragon King Bloodline was forced out with power far exceeding its usual strength by his anger.

Then he was frozen in place.

The black domain that spreads from Di Tian's feet is forbidden to anyone who steps into it.

The gravity within the domain was distorted to the level of Limit Douluo exerting full pressure, and the air solidified as if it were filled with lead.

Before Tang Wulin's feet even touched the ground, he was pulled down by that force, his knees slamming into the ground, with pebbles embedded in his kneecaps.

Then Xie Xie.

Then there's Yuanen Yehui.

Then there's Xu Xiaoyan.

Ye Xinglan is not there.

Ye Xinglan made her move before Di Tian's domain was fully deployed.

It wasn't that she was faster than Tang Wulin, but rather that she had already begun gathering her strength the moment Di Tian started speaking.

She was the most adept at accurately assessing the battle situation among the seven, and she knew that when Di Tian said those words, his attention would momentarily drift away from the battle itself.

This was exactly what she had been waiting for.

The moment the Stargod Sword was drawn, the star patterns on the blade lit up in layers, each one brighter than the last, from the hilt to the tip.

Her figure vanished from the spot the moment she drew her sword, and reappeared beside Di Tian in the next instant.

She attacked from the flank, her sword aimed directly at the five knuckles of Di Tian's right hand, which she deemed the weakest point of control.

Her judgment was correct.

She's fast enough too.

But she was facing Di Tian.

Di Tian did not turn his head.

With a backhand flick of his left hand, he simply released his power. The Beast God, with eight hundred thousand years of cultivation, casually slapped the air, compressing it into a visible white shockwave that slammed directly into Ye Xinglan's Stargod Sword.

The sword let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain. It did not break, but a deep, bone-revealing wound instantly split open in the tiger's mouth where Ye Xinglan was gripping the sword, and blood dripped down the hilt.

She was thrown forward by the shockwave, her back slamming against the rock wall. She groaned, but managed to stay upright by using her sword to support herself.

Her right hand was trembling.

The muscles in the tiger's mouth were shaken so badly that they temporarily lost control.

Then she felt it.

A slight coolness touched my neck.

It felt like the warmth of moonlight on my skin.

Her hands were still trembling, but she subconsciously touched her neck with her left hand; there was nothing there.

She didn't have time to think about it.

Di Tian's domain had already spread over, and the black gravity, like an invisible giant hand, pressed her back to the ground, just like everyone else.

But her hands stopped trembling.

It wasn't because her injury had healed.

It was the slight coolness that reminded her of someone.

Someone who would definitely come at a time like this.

She didn't know when he would come, or how he would arrive.

But the temperature of the Moonlight doesn't lie; it's the Yin Force, his very essence.

"He's watching."

She thought.

Then she gripped the sword hilt with her left hand and crossed it with her right.

She is waiting.

Di Tian did not notice Ye Xinglan's actions.

His entire attention was focused on Gu Yuena.

Countless fine rune threads emerged from the black vortex, peeling away Gu Yuena's memories layer by layer.

A look of pain appeared on her face, not physical pain, but a deeper pain, the pain of having a part of herself torn away alive.

"If you can't do it, I'll do it for you."

Di Tian finally spoke, his voice no longer restrained, the emotions that had been suppressed for so long gushing out like magma from a crack, "You can't forget them—I'll help you."

His hand pressed against Gu Yuena's brow.

With her five fingers spread out, each fingertip held a ball of extremely dark runic light, the core of the sealing technique. Once this palm strike landed, everything about Gu Yuena related to "Gu Yue" would be completely stripped away.

She will revert to being the pure, ruthless Silver Dragon King who lives only for Soul Beast.

"Tens of thousands of years of waiting cannot be ruined by a kindness that should not exist."

He pressed it.

Tang Wulin's roar was suppressed in his throat, and only he could hear it.

Xie Xie bit his teeth until they bled, and his Light Dragon Dagger cracked inch by inch between his fingers, the cracks creeping along the dagger to the hilt, but under the immense pressure, he couldn't even move his fingers.

Yuanen Yehui's lips were pressed into a thin line, her fists were clenched so tightly that her nails pierced her palms, and blood seeped from between her fingers.

Xu Xiaoyan's tears blurred every flash of light from the Star Staff. She couldn't lift the Star Staff in the God-level Domain even with all her strength, and could only add a simple amplification.

Ye Xinglan suddenly spoke.

Her voice wasn't loud; under the pressure of gravity, each word seemed to be squeezed out with the last breath of air from her lungs.

But she spoke so calmly, so calmly, that she didn't seem like someone whose hand was bleeding and whose body was pinned to a rock wall, unable to move.

"He's here."

No one realized what she was saying.

But Di Tian paused for a moment as he pressed his hand against Gu Yuena's brow.

It wasn't because he understood Ye Xinglan's words, but because his golden eyes caught a glimpse of light.

It does not come from the spring of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, nor from any Immortal Herb.

The light was silvery-white and very faint, so faint it seemed like an illusion.

It shone on Ye Xinglan's neck.

Di Tian's pupils suddenly contracted.

He recognized what it was.

Moonlight.

Lunar Yin.

Yun Jingheng!!!

He changed the trajectory of his palm.

He abandoned his attempt to press on Gu Yuena's brow and instead reached out and grabbed at Ye Xinglan.

It must be extinguished before that mark is fully activated.

But it was too late.

A silver beam of light descended from the sky, enveloping Ye Xinglan precisely.

The moment the beam of light hit the ground, Di Tian's black claw shadow collided with it, shattering into pieces like waves crashing against rocks.

The dissipated energy ripples spread outwards, but bypassed the area covered by the pillar of light, unable to penetrate it even slightly.

Within the pillar of light, a figure was taking shape.

It is a soul.

His entire body was enveloped in Moonlight, his outline was distinct, and his robes fluttered silently in the flow of moonlight.

Ye Xinglan looked up at him, her lips moved, but she didn't speak.

Blood was still flowing from the web of her hand, and her knees were still trembling, but her head was held high and steady.

What she was waiting for had arrived.

Yun Jingheng's soul opened its eyes within the pillar of light.

He didn't look down at her.

The instant he descended across space from afar, he could see clearly through the Moonlight Mark the location of everyone here, the flow of every energy, everyone who needed protection, and everyone who needed to be repelled.

Then he made his move.

One palm strike.

The moment he landed, the palm strike was already delivered.

The palms bore the unique silvery-white patterns of Moonlight, each pattern leaving a trail of light several feet long in mid-air, like countless extremely fine shooting stars streaking across the night sky.

Di Tian turned to block, and the black dragon scales covering his right arm instantly stacked dozens of layers of defense, but by the time Yun Jingheng landed, his palm was already at Di Tian's chest.

It's not a direct confrontation.

It was in the instant Di Tian turned around that they found the weakest point in his defense: the wound on his left shoulder.

Beneath the dragon scales torn apart by Gu Yuena's claw, flesh and blood without scales were revealed.

Yun Jingheng's palm strike was pressed in from this spot.

Boom--!

For the first time, Di Tian's figure shifted.

Pushed backward by an irreversible force, his feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the rock wall behind him.

As he retreated, he released his control over the black chains. He had to channel all his strength back into his body to counter the power contained within that palm strike—a power he was extremely familiar with, yet which shouldn't be present here.

The Yin Force.

The moment Di Tian steadied himself, he raised his head.

Within the silver pillar of light, a Moon Positive rose above Ye Xinglan's head.

No, it's not the moon—it's the Martial Soul Avatar!

Yun Jingheng's Martial Soul was fully unleashed at this moment.

The sun in the sky was covered by a layer of silvery-white light, and the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well Valley instantly plunged from daylight into moonlight.

The Full Moon hangs high in the sky, its light pouring down like mercury, each ray carrying an ancient, cool chill.

The black chains binding Gu Yuena began to crumble inch by inch under the moonlight.

The runes on the chains dissolved automatically upon contact with the moonlight. The Yin Force and the dragon's sealing technique clashed on some ancient level of rules, and the moonlight prevailed.

Gu Yuena knelt on one knee, supporting herself with one hand on the ground.

Her breathing was rapid and erratic, and the silver light between her brows flickered, as if something within her was fiercely vying for control.

The fragments of memory that had been stripped away had not completely disappeared; those broken images surged through her mind.

Xu Xiaoyan's tears, Ye Xinglan's sword, Xie Xie's triumphant smile as he snatched the last piece of braised pork, the color in Tang Wulin's eyes when he asked her that question, Yuanen Yehui's silent companionship, Yun Jingheng's smug raised eyebrow.

She gritted her teeth and clutched the fragments frame by frame.

She won't let anyone help her forget.

Di Tian emerged from the shattered rock wall.

The wound on his left shoulder was still bleeding, and the palm print on his chest had left a silvery-white mark on the dragon scales.

He looked at Yun Jingheng, his golden eyes surging with an unbelievable chill.

How did you get here?

"You should thank me," Yun Jingheng, landing on the ground and brushing off non-existent dust from his robes.

"I didn't come here in my physical body, otherwise, that palm strike that had been gathering Divine Power for so long would have caused you to retreat more than just a few steps."

Di Tian fell silent.

He looked at the Full Moon in the sky that blocked out the sun, then at Yun Jingheng's soul body, which was completely enveloped in Moonlight, and finally at the black rune fragments on the ground that were automatically dissipating.

He reassessed the situation in a very short time.

Di Tian slowly withdrew his aura and glanced at Gu Yuena.

She had already stood up and wasn't looking at him.

"My Lord," he said.

Gu Yuena did not answer.

She raised her head and looked at Yun Jingheng.

Her pupils reflected the light of the Full Moon and the figure of Yun Jingheng.

Her expression was complex, a mixture of gratitude, anger, relief, and resentment, all interwoven in a color that only she could decipher.

"You shouldn't have come," she said.

Yun Jingheng looked at her.

His soul swayed slightly for a moment in the moonlight.

No one noticed, but he knew it himself.

The Seventh Trial is tearing at his body from the Sea God Island, thousands of miles away. The pain is transmitted through the connection of their souls, and it intensifies every second.

He doesn't have much time left.

"I know."

He said, "But I had to come."

"To stop you from killing Wulin, to stop the conflict between humans and Soul Beast from escalating."

Yun Jingheng looked at Di Tian with a complicated expression, "To stop... a loyal minister consumed by obsession."