Chapter 124: Su Yiyao, Luo Xue’s Foundation
“What is this…”
The Holy Master and the others finally turned their attention to Luo Xue, their expressions even more serious than before.
In their eyes, Su Yiyao being a descendant of an ancient divine beast was almost certain.
But… Luo Xue couldn’t be one too, could she?
The reason the forbidden area lords made such a deduction about Su Yiyao was because of her mysterious origins and the fact that she was the only one who had emerged from the depths of the Blood Sea.
If this desolate Blood Sea was formed from the remains of the divine beast Phoenix, the possibility of Su Yiyao being its descendant was very high.
But what about Luo Xue?
Her background was clear. She grew up in the Peerless Summit Sect and hadn’t shown any characteristics of a divine beast descendant.
The only special thing about her was the Calamity Poison Body, which had evolved into the Eternal Withering Body after entering the Blood Sea, but this had nothing to do with the divine beast Phoenix.
So how… did Luo Xue use the power of the Blood Sea?
The forbidden area lords’ deduction wasn’t wrong. Luo Xue indeed had no connection to the Blood Sea, her only link being the drop of True Phoenix blood essence within her body.
But she hadn’t even fully absorbed this True Phoenix blood essence, let alone use it to awaken the power of the Blood Sea.
The answer was simple.
“Xiao Yao is holding the sword with me.”
Luo Xue carried Su Yiyao on her back, her hand holding the sword steady.
The True Phoenix blood essence within her was unprecedentedly active, but this time, it didn’t make her feel heavy or exhausted, but instead protected her entire body.
Because this drop of True Phoenix blood essence came from Su Yiyao.
It was Su Yiyao’s blood essence.
After their final encounter in the previous life, Luo Xue had given Su Yiyao her True Phoenix blood essence and inheritance.
But what she didn’t know was that Su Yiyao… already possessed this inheritance.
Giving her these powers only awakened Su Yiyao’s bloodline inheritance, they weren’t truly consumed, so they remained within Luo Xue’s body.
And, driven by Su Yiyao’s strong desire, her inherited blood essence was transferred to Luo Xue, completing the exchange.
From then on, they each carried a part of each other within their lives.
It was this faint connection that made Su Yiyao firmly believe that her Ah Chou was still waiting for her somewhere in the world.
Even though it was a faint and ethereal hope, Su Yiyao still clung to it tightly.
Now, with each other’s lives, they controlled the power of the Blood Sea together.
The phoenix avatar controlled by Su Yiyao had collapsed from exhaustion, and now it was Luo Xue’s turn, wielding the sword intent of withering.
The comprehension of the Ascension Realm spread through Luo Xue’s consciousness, her senses heightened, as if she could touch the truth of the world, every second a great harvest.
She entered a rare state of enlightenment and, unknowingly, reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
A purplish-red tower formed above her sea of consciousness, her foundation condensed from the power of the True Phoenix.
Su Yiyao was Luo Xue’s foundation.
The Primordial Mother’s collapsing body reformed, and she looked at Luo Xue with lingering fear.
This sword strike reminded her of the terror of the Peerless Summit Sect’s ancient being, a terror she hadn’t felt in thousands of years, but the instinctual fear remained.
Even among peak Soul Transformation cultivators, there were differences in strength. The ancient being of the Peerless Summit Sect was the strongest among them.
If not for that ancient being’s stubbornness, wanting to break the cage’s restrictions with his sword intent, ascend to the heavens, face the tribulation lightning, and achieve immortality, ultimately leading to his demise…
Perhaps the Demon Abyss’s attacks on the Immortal Domain wouldn’t be so unrestrained now.
The Primordial Mother had been struck by that ancient being’s sword once and had to go into seclusion for a thousand years to recover.
Now, seeing such a powerful sword intent of the Peerless Summit Sect again, the Primordial Mother finally calmed down slightly.
Her monstrous body slowly shrunk, the blood and flesh tentacles retracting, shedding much of the decaying flesh.
The Primordial Mother returned to her form as a hunched old woman, standing beside the other forbidden area lords, her face pale, her expression grave.
This battle had taken a heavy toll on her. Even in her impatience, the Primordial Mother knew that continuing would lead to her death.
“At this point, everyone, are you still just watching?”
The Primordial Mother said slowly, her voice weak.
“If we don’t take them down now… when they return from the Blood Sea, how… can we possibly be their match?”
If these words came from anyone else, it would be laughable.
The four forbidden area lords were already terrifying existences at the peak of cultivation. Other cultivators, even with all their efforts, could only reach the early stage of Soul Transformation at most.
The difference between early and peak Soul Transformation… was more than a hundredfold.
But if it was Luo Xue and Su Yiyao who reached the early stage of Soul Transformation, the forbidden area lords couldn’t say they were certain of victory. There was even a possibility of defeat.
The current Luo Xue and Su Yiyao were only at the Core Formation and Foundation Establishment Realms, respectively.
But with such strength, they could already manipulate the power of the Blood Sea to this extent…
If they reached Soul Transformation… no, perhaps even at Nascent Soul, they could awaken the entire will of the Blood Sea, wielding the full power of this Ascension Realm expert’s remains.
Even if they couldn’t fully utilize the power of the Ascension Realm, it would be enough.
Below the Ascension Realm, even peak Soul Transformation cultivators wouldn’t be a match for the power of the Blood Sea.
In this caged world, where ascension was impossible, half an Ascension Realm power could be considered absolutely invincible.
The forbidden area lords knew the Primordial Mother was right, but they still hesitated, because of the Holy Master’s earlier theory.
If the ancient demon lands were the true world, and this was just a cage, then what would be the status of Su Yiyao, a descendant of the divine Phoenix, in the ancient demon lands?
Would there be an Ascension Realm expert backing her?
Or… even someone above Ascension?
All of this was possible.
Previously, the forbidden area lords had underestimated Su Yiyao and Luo Xue, the two possessors of the Gatekeeper Inheritance, because they thought they had only obtained the inheritance from the depths of the Blood Sea, and there wasn’t a Gatekeeper stronger than them.
This judgment was based on their tens of thousands of years of attempts.
To break the cage, the forbidden area lords and the ancient beings had tried everything, even pushing this world to the brink of destruction.
Having gone this far, and the hypothetical Ascension Realm Gatekeeper hadn’t appeared, they could only conclude that the Gatekeeper Inheritance hadn’t been truly inherited yet.
But in this situation… coupled with the Holy Master’s theory, they couldn’t help but be wary of this hypothetical Ascension Realm Gatekeeper.
Those who could reach the peak of Soul Transformation weren’t arrogant or conceited.
Even the Primordial Mother, driven to the brink of madness, had calmed down before her impending destruction.
However, compared to the other three forbidden area lords, the Primordial Mother had no way out.
The other three could continue searching for other ways to break the cage, but she only had this one opportunity before her.
In her current state, the Primordial Mother couldn’t care less who was backing Su Yiyao. If she didn’t escape this cage and ascend, her approaching deadline would take everything from her.
“Fine, since you’re all so cowardly, don’t blame this old woman for taking it all… At that time, I won’t show any mercy.”
A sinister glint flashed through the Primordial Mother’s eyes. She gripped her staff, and a dark, evil aura surged.
Countless disciples of the Primordial Mother Cult, somewhere far away, instantly lost consciousness, even those fighting against Immortal Domain disciples on the battlefield.
A giant teleportation formation appeared beneath the Primordial Mother’s feet, as if she had been prepared all along.
Countless Primordial Mother Cult disciples emerged from the formation, most below Core Formation.
Their eyes were lifeless, and a grotesque tentacle of flesh and blood grew from somewhere on their bodies.
They were all avatars of the Primordial Mother.
Similar to the Bone-Eroding Demonic Flame of the Temple of the Nether Spirit, before joining the Primordial Mother Cult, every disciple would consume a piece of the Primordial Mother’s flesh, merging with her.
This flesh would greatly enhance their cultivation speed and grant them a portion of the Primordial Mother’s power.
In times of crisis, they could sacrifice their lives to activate this power, exerting strength far beyond their own realm.
After reaching Core Formation, they could choose to remove the Primordial Mother’s flesh, but most would keep it until Nascent Soul, discarding it only when they needed to comprehend the laws.
After all, this was the flesh and blood of a Soul Transformation cultivator!
Primordial Mother Cult disciples used merging with flesh and blood as their cultivation method, and Soul Transformation level flesh and blood was an invaluable treasure to them.
But now, this flesh, which had aided their cultivation, was controlling their bodies and minds.
The Primordial Mother had always been prepared, including this teleportation formation, intending to summon these flesh puppets at a critical moment.
In her previous plan, these flesh puppets were meant to be sacrifices, absorbed by her.
But in this situation… instead of absorbing them as nourishment, it was better to let them consume Luo Xue’s power.
“Go, my children…” A cold, sinister smile appeared on the Primordial Mother’s wrinkled face. “Little girl… let this old woman see how many more times you can swing that sword.”
After all, the power of the Blood Sea wasn’t truly Luo Xue’s. She couldn’t control how much power each sword strike consumed.
Even if these mindless flesh puppets couldn’t withstand a single withering sword strike, there was strength in numbers. Almost all the low-level disciples of the Primordial Mother Cult had gathered here.
The Primordial Mother had descended into madness. She was willing to abandon her own forbidden area to merge Luo Xue or Su Yiyao into her flesh and blood, becoming the Gatekeeper’s successor.
Countless Primordial Mother Cult disciples, like walking corpses, emerged from the teleportation formation, transforming into puppets of twisted flesh and blood, instinctively using various techniques and abilities, surging towards Luo Xue.
Luo Xue silently swung her sword again and again, countless Primordial Mother Cult disciples falling, like lumps of rotting flesh, sinking into the Blood Sea.
…Or rather, they were already dead the moment the Primordial Mother awakened the flesh within them.
What Luo Xue was severing were the consciousnesses trapped within the twisted life, allowing them to be released and return to the cycle of reincarnation.
With every swing, Luo Xue’s comprehension of the sword intent of withering deepened, but correspondingly, the power she could control weakened.
One sword.
Two swords.
She had already swung her sword countless times.
Finally, as her strength was about to be depleted, Luo Xue’s final sword strike pierced through the flesh puppets and struck the Primordial Mother’s consciousness.
“What!”
The Primordial Mother was shocked and tried to dodge.
But it was too late. Once the sword intent of withering descended, nothing could stop it.
In an instant, the Primordial Mother felt half of her remaining lifespan being severed.
The fear of her approaching deadline loomed over her, the heavy aura of death almost suffocating her.
It was at this moment that the sword intent of withering truly solidified, completely comprehended by Luo Xue.
Comprehending a law-level sword intent at the early stage of Foundation Establishment…
Even within the Peerless Summit Sect, such a genius was rare, appearing only once every few thousand years!
Under normal circumstances, only Nascent Soul cultivators could comprehend law-level sword intent.
If a Core Formation sword cultivator comprehended such sword intent, they could claim to be invincible at their level, let alone a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“This…”
Sensing her current state, the Primordial Mother was both shocked and furious.
Her body was swelling uncontrollably, about to transform into the monstrous beast again.
This also meant that the Primordial Mother could no longer control her power and was about to descend into madness.
She hadn’t expected that after paying such a price… she would be so humiliated by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator…
“I’ve done everything I can, Xiao Yao. I’m sorry.”
Luo Xue leaned on her greatsword, looked up at the terrifying Primordial Mother beast, and sighed softly.
Su Yiyao hugged Luo Xue from behind and whispered,
“It’s okay… Ah Chou, A’Xue, we’re together, that’s enough.”
“You… are… all… mine…”
The Primordial Mother roared, the stench of decay filling the air.
The remaining Primordial Mother Cult disciples nearby, not yet slain by Luo Xue, were all absorbed as nourishment.
Her tentacles, blotting out the sky, extended towards the lone Luo Xue and Su Yiyao.
The expressions of the three forbidden area lords were uncertain, their gazes shifting between Luo Xue and the Primordial Mother.
They suddenly realized that the Primordial Mother seemed to be succeeding.
What should they do?
If the Primordial Mother succeeded and reached the Ascension Realm… she would be able to crush them all.
Moreover, in her final moments, the Primordial Mother had warned them.
She wouldn’t show any mercy…
The three of them wavered, but after a brief moment, they made their choices.
The Holy Master completely gave up, while the Ghost King and the Fallen Immortal attacked simultaneously, trying to capture Luo Xue and Su Yiyao before the Primordial Mother could.
“Sigh, Old Ancestor, even at the last moment, you still can’t control yourself…”
A faint sigh seemed to echo, and time froze. Two figures slowly appeared, standing beside Luo Xue and Su Yiyao.
Seeing one of the figures, the cold flames in the Ghost King’s eyes intensified.
“Xiao Yu…”
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