Yet when this scene fell into the Black Empress's eyes, her dark pupils suddenly contracted.
A bone-chilling killing intent surged skyward from her!
The human youth before her had only just awakened his Martial Soul, yet the nascent aura within him, so exalted in rank, actually made her feel a suffocating threat!
This sense of danger even surpassed that posed by every Blood God Legion commander throughout history, and by every human Limit Douluo she had ever fought!
This boy absolutely could not be allowed to live!
The Black Empress's apprehension instantly transformed into the most decisive killing intent.
With such potential, if he were allowed to grow, he would surely become a monstrous calamity for the Abyss Plane as it swept across the Douluo Continent!
In an instant, the deep black mist surrounding the Black Empress surged wildly and condensed!
A gigantic black claw, blotting out the sky and sun, took shape out of thin air. Carrying an aura of violence that could tear everything apart, it ignored the barriers of space and appeared above Luo Yang in an instant, striking down fiercely!
It was so fast it had reached its limit!
"Stop!"
Zhang Huanyun and Blood One turned pale with shock and frantically urged their Soul Power to stop her, but the Black Empress's fatal blow had come far too suddenly. In the end, they were a fraction too slow!
A curve formed at the corner of the Black Empress's exquisite lips.
She admitted that this human youth's Martial Soul was truly astonishing, with limitless potential.
But that was all.
So what if he had awakened a god-level Martial Soul? He was still a zero-ring Soul Scholar who hadn't even acquired his First Soul Ring!
Before her, a half-god Abyssal king, how was he any different from an ant? She could crush him with a lift of her hand!
The shadow cast by the black claw had completely engulfed Luo Yang and Blood Eight's body on the ground.
Destruction was only an instant away.
Yet Luo Yang's expression remained calm.
The dark red sword behind him trembled lightly, then moved on its own to protect its master, transforming into a streak of blood-red light that surged up to meet the attack.
But the instant it touched the giant claw—
"Crack."
The dark-blood sword held the claw back for less than half a second before it let out a mournful cry, its radiance dimming as it shrank back into Luo Yang's body. The pale bone armor covering his entire body shattered into pieces and vanished along with it.
After all, he was facing a strike from the Ninth Abyss Emperor, even if it was only a projection!
With nothing left to impede it, the giant claw's shadow swallowed Luo Yang's tiny figure completely, then crashed down!
"No—!"
Blood One's eyes nearly split with rage.
But the scene of flesh and blood flying everywhere that he had expected never appeared.
The Black Empress's cold smile abruptly froze.
Zhang Huanyun, Blood One, and everyone who had witnessed the scene stood dumbstruck.
Because, between the destructive giant claw and Luo Yang, another figure had appeared at some point.
A figure of emerald green, as ethereal as a dream.
She wore a simple, flowing emerald-green dress that perfectly outlined her voluptuous, graceful figure. Two exquisite leaf-shaped ornaments adorned her hair, whose ends were tinged with a faint green.
Most captivating of all were her eyes—the four-leaf-clover patterns in her emerald pupils slowly turned, as if they held the very source of life.
Only, her figure was exceptionally faint, almost transparent, as if a gust of wind could scatter her.
And the instant she appeared, the elemental forces of the entire Endless Mountain Range—or rather, of the entire Douluo Continent—seemed to answer her call!
Countless multicolored points of elemental light emerged from the void. Like streams flowing into the sea, they converged on her in a frenzy!
Facing the black giant claw capable of shattering mountains, she merely raised a slender jade finger and lightly tapped it.
"Pop..."
A soft sound, like a bubble bursting.
The menacing black giant claw shattered inch by inch, as if it were nothing more than an illusion pricked through.
This was... the aura of the Douluo Plane?!
The Black Empress's beautiful eyes narrowed sharply.
Zhang Huanyun, Blood One, and the others were even more dumbfounded.
The Black Empress stared at the emerald figure, her voice icy. "What is your relationship with the Douluo Plane?"
The emerald woman didn't answer directly. Instead, she smiled radiantly, her voice clear and melodious. "Go back. As long as I'm here today, you won't hurt anyone."
"How laughable!" The Black Empress sneered repeatedly. "With what strength you have left?"
She could sense it clearly. Though the emerald woman's aura was profound and mysterious, her energy level was at most equivalent to that of a human Limit Douluo. What's more, her condition was extremely unstable and she was incredibly weak.
If she were at her full strength, the Black Empress might have been wary of her. But now?
"Whether it's laughable or not, you can find out for yourself."
The emerald woman remained composed, the four-leaf-clover patterns in her green eyes shimmering.
At her will, the immense elemental power and plane source that had gathered from across the entire Douluo Continent began to tremble and resonate in an inscrutable rhythm!
This wasn't a mere accumulation of energy. It was the "power" of the entire plane, at her command!
Zhang Huanyun and the others felt their pupils quake as a horrifying thought surfaced uncontrollably in their minds.
Could this be... the power of a Plane Master?!
The Black Empress's expression turned utterly grave.
Mobilizing the power of an entire plane was beyond the ability of any Soul Master, even the strongest on the continent!
Unless...
"Are you the Plane Master of the Douluo Plane?!" The Black Empress's beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief.
The emerald woman smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying it.
But that reaction was undoubtedly an answer!
The Blood God Legion's powerhouses were deeply shaken.
Titled Douluo could all vaguely sense the existence of the plane's consciousness. But when this "ruler" truly appeared before them, the shock was still beyond words.
Luo Yang, however, wasn't surprised.
Ever since a moment ago, his consciousness had been clear, but the Plane Master had suddenly taken control of his body. Otherwise, wouldn't he have come here only to get himself killed?
"If I were at full strength," the emerald woman said to the Black Empress, her smile gentle yet her words domineering, "the first thing I'd do would be to completely erase your Abyss Plane for coveting my world."
Frost covered the Black Empress's exquisite cheeks.
She didn't doubt the truth of those words in the slightest.
The Abyss had long since discovered that the Douluo Plane actually had two "Plane Masters." The original one was being steadily worn down and gradually replaced by an "outsider."
If not for that, their Abyssal invasion wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
(Tang San: Didn't see that coming, did you? This is all thanks to my divine king-level wisdom—so I could put my parents in power.)
"But that's only an 'if,'" the Black Empress said coldly. "Right now, you're nothing but an arrow at the end of its flight."
"Is that so?" The plane light gathering at the emerald woman's fingertips grew ever more radiant. "Even with only this much power left, I can borrow the might of the entire Douluo Plane to destroy your projection with ease."
The Black Empress's gaze flickered.
When Abyssal creatures died, their energy returned to the Abyss, and the kings of its various layers could also be resurrected. But the "kings" who came back to life were often no longer their former selves. They might even be usurped by powerful members of their own clans.
"I believe you can do it," the Black Empress said, changing the subject. "But you can't fool me. You appeared only to protect this human youth."
She could see it clearly: the Plane Master valued the youth greatly. Otherwise, she would never have risked alerting the Abyssal Sage King by forcing herself to appear.
Before her words had faded, black mist surged in the Black Empress's hand, condensing into a sinister longbow.
She drew the bowstring taut, the arrowhead aimed directly at Luo Yang!
"Curse of the Black Emperor!" Zhang Huanyun cried out in alarm, clearly recognizing the terrifying innate skill of the Black Empress Clan.
The emerald woman furrowed her brows slightly and waved her hand, laying down layer upon layer of emerald light screens.
However, the black arrow seemed to have neither form nor substance. It passed straight through every defense, transformed into a streak of ghostly light, and instantly entered Luo Yang's body!
Luo Yang jolted all over and instinctively looked himself over, only to find that he was completely unharmed. He didn't even feel the slightest pain.
"???"
Luo Yang was baffled.
What was going on? It didn't hurt or sting—was she just trying to scare him?
But then, a chill beyond words began to grow deep in his soul, along with a murky feeling of having been marked.
This sensation unsettled him more than any physical injury could have.
I don't even have a Soul Ring yet. Why would a half-god powerhouse like you single me out?!
Luo Yang's face darkened.
Seeing that the arrow had hit, the Black Empress finally curved her lips into a meaningful smile.
She stopped fighting and issued an order to the Abyssal creatures.
"Retreat!"
Her projection vanished in an instant.
The Abyssal creatures pouring out like a tide quickly withdrew, retreating into the depths of the passage. But before leaving, the Black Empress Clan and the Demon Charms alike turned back to look deeply at Luo Yang.
Their gazes... greedy, yearning, burning, like lecherous old men who'd spotted a beautiful woman—utterly unable to tear themselves away!
Their stares made Luo Yang's skin crawl, as if he'd caught the attention of a whole fleet of fuel-guzzling trucks.
Don't look at me like that. I'm still just a kid!
"Don't be afraid." The emerald woman floated to Luo Yang's side and smiled gently. "The Black Empress's arrow was the innate curse of her clan. It might be a fatal threat to others, but for you... it may not be a bad thing."
A curse could be a good thing?
Luo Yang's mouth twitched.
The emerald woman said no more. She extended that slender finger, aimed it at Luo Yang from afar, and gave a light tap.
In an instant, the multicolored power of the plane's source that had gathered between heaven and earth seemed to find its destination. It turned into a torrent of the purest blessings and surged toward Luo Yang!
"Plane Blessing!!" Zhang Huanyun and the others cried out again, overcome with envy.
Luo Yang felt a warm, boundless power flow into every limb and bone. He couldn't help letting out a soft groan.
At the same time, a force of the laws of death and revival, from the same source as his Martial Soul yet even more profound and expansive, quietly spread out from him, sweeping across the remains of every Blood God Legion soldier on the battlefield in an instant.
Including Blood Eight.
Before everyone's shocked eyes,
The dreadful wound piercing Blood Eight's chest began to writhe, grow, and heal at a speed visible to the naked eye! The pallor drained from her face, replaced by healthy color.
Her long eyelashes trembled as she slowly opened her eyes.
The other soldiers who had fallen in battle also sat up one by one, dazed, as if waking from a long dream.
"This is the ultimate expression of your power—within the Undead Scourge Domain, life and death are yours to command," the emerald woman said gently. "But what you've seen just now is only an ability I briefly displayed by borrowing your body. How far you'll be able to take it in the future depends on you.
With that, she transformed into a streak of emerald light and vanished into Luo Yang's brow.
Blood Eight opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Luo Yang's young face, right before her.
Luo Yang?!
Wasn't I dead? How was I alive again?!
Though she found it hard to believe, the truth left her no choice.
In an instant, she stared blankly at Luo Yang's youthful face, her heart pounding.
At that moment, Luo Yang seemed unable to bear the boundless Plane Blessing. His vision went black, and he pitched forward.
Right into a generous embrace.
Blood Eight instinctively caught him and held him close.
The youth fell fast asleep in her arms, breathing evenly, as if he were merely tired.