Behind Xu Zihuang, countless spacetime nodes transformed into specks of golden light that merged into the Annihilation Divine Spear, endowing the spear in his hand with mystical spacetime power. The Annihilation Divine Spear, which had originally been like a solid existence, became much more illusory, as if existing between illusion and reality.
The Demon Empress's body showed no visible wounds, but the annihilation power attached to the Annihilation Divine Spear had already spread throughout the Demon Empress's entire body along with the spacetime power.
The Demon Empress's enormous eyes clearly dimmed significantly. She stared in disbelief at Xu Zihuang, who stood towering above the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler's main body, before heavily crashing down toward the sea surface.
"Boom——"
The nearly eight-hundred-meter-long Deep Sea Demon Whale plunged into the seawater, instantly causing the sea surface to boil and raising waves over a hundred meters high.
Blood overflowed from her mouth, and the Demon Empress's blood dyed the sea surface a bloody red.
All the native inhabitants across the entire Star Sea Continent had seen this shocking scene in the northern sea region of the Star Sea Continent before those golden spacetime nodes, which resembled golden stars, shattered. The dark clouds and darkness over the continent dissipated, and the golden sun reappeared, scattering warm and gentle golden rays.
The suppressed and panicked emotions in the hearts of the Star Sea Continent's natives were instantly swept away, erupting into enthusiastic cheers of surviving a catastrophe. The cheers shook the heavens and earth.
Although they did not know that these golden spacetime nodes were the effect of Xu Zihuang's ninth soul skill, Spacetime Eternity, the various anomalies that had appeared earlier all indicated that this young man had protected the continent from the terrifying Demon Whale soul beast.
Ma Xiaotao, Feng Tianyao, and Jin Chenghong, who had witnessed everything up close, had dazed looks in their eyes. They had originally thought the battle between Xu Zihuang and the Demon Empress would be extremely intense and had even prepared to be affected by the shockwaves of the fight. They never expected that the Demon Empress would be unilaterally crushed by Xu Zihuang.
Especially Ma Xiaotao. Looking at Xu Zihuang's ancient-well-like calm and indifferent expression, her gaze became even more lost.
"It wasn't my imagination. He really has changed."
The Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler's main body transformed back into a strange silver earring, hanging beside Xu Zihuang's ear. The golden sun earring on his left ear and the silver moon earring on his right ear swayed gently, rippling with brilliant golden and silver halos under the sunlight.
Xu Zihuang swept the Annihilation Divine Spear in his hand and placed it behind his back.
The outcome had been decided.
Although the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler had become his soul spirit, by borrowing his soul power and spiritual power, its combat strength had not decreased but had instead become even stronger. After all, the quality of his soul power and the level of his spiritual power far surpassed those of the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler from back then.
That Destruction Light could be said to be the strongest strike the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler had cultivated in its hundreds of thousands of years of life. This Destruction Light, combined with Xu Zihuang's spacetime imprisonment, had directly severely injured the Demon Empress's spiritual origin.
However, the key factor that decided the outcome was still the spear strike Xu Zihuang delivered afterward.
The annihilation power was undoubtedly powerful, but to unleash its astonishing destructive force, it needed to touch the opponent's body. The spacetime power perfectly compensated for this flaw.
The combination of spacetime power and annihilation power left the Demon Empress, who had just endured the Dark Demon Evil Lightning attack, with no possibility of dodging.
From beginning to end, the rhythm of this battle had been firmly controlled by Xu Zihuang.
At this moment, another huge black shadow rose from the distant sea. Its broad back and the water column sprayed from its blowhole indicated that it was also a Demon Whale-type soul beast.
It was also a Deep Sea Demon Whale. However, its body length was less than a hundred meters, appearing rather petite compared to the Demon Empress's massive form. Moreover, its body surface did not have the Demon Empress's sinister and eerie black-purple demonic patterns; instead, it was entirely a deep blue color resembling sapphire.
The whale's head lifted, and upon seeing the Demon Empress's main body floating on the sea surface, an anxious and shrill cry suddenly resounded across the sky.
"Mom—"
This Deep Sea Demon Whale's streamlined, slender body swayed, and in an instant, it appeared beside the Demon Empress. Then it transformed into a blue-haired woman with flowing long hair.
The woman's appearance bore five or six points of resemblance to the Demon Empress in her human form. Her peerlessly beautiful face had no flaws, but her eyes were the same deep blue as her hair.
The newcomer was none other than Lan Fuzi, who had been chasing after the Demon Empress.
Lan Fuzi had followed with the intention of stopping her mother, but she had never expected her mother to be severely injured here, with her aura now extremely weak.
"Mom—, Mom—"
Lan Fuzi anxiously called out beside the Demon Empress once more, her eyes rimmed red as she examined her mother's condition. When she discovered that her mother's heart veins and even her entire body's meridians had been eroded by some unknown tyrannical power, her pretty face instantly turned deathly pale.
Lan Fuzi's delicate body trembled. She cried until her face was covered in tears, unable to stop the tears from overflowing from her eyes. Then she slowly rose into the air, spread her arms to protect the Demon Empress behind her, and loudly questioned Xu Zihuang:
"Why?! Didn't we agree back then under the witness of the Emperor Beast? I only asked you to help me stop my mother. Why did you do this?! Why did you lie to me?! Aaaah—"
The scene before her gradually overlapped with the scene Xu Zihuang had seen back then through the future vision ability of his Golden Pupil Martial Soul.
He had indeed lied to Lan Fuzi, because the Demon Empress was destined to die at his hands. However, his promise to Lan Fuzi was by no means empty words.
"I don't want to find excuses for what I have done, just as I will not conceal my greed for your mother's soul ring and soul bone." Xu Zihuang calmly met Lan Fuzi's gaze with an indifferent expression.
"But you need to know one thing. Just now, your mother slaughtered hundreds of thousands of native inhabitants of the Star Sea Continent. From a human perspective, your mother created so many killings and deserves death. If you still feel she is innocent, then you can come find me for revenge anytime."
Hearing Xu Zihuang's words, Lan Fuzi stood frozen as if struck by lightning.
With her mother's personality, she was absolutely capable of doing such a thing. Looking around at the miserable state of the northern region of the Star Sea Continent and the intense soul resentment lingering in the surroundings, she knew that what Xu Zihuang said was true.
Lan Fuzi raised her head again to look at Xu Zihuang, biting her red lips tightly. It was as if she had undergone some intense internal struggle; even her spread jade-like arms began to tremble.
From her own perspective, she naturally did not want her mother to perish here. But the fact that hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians on the Star Sea Continent had died at her mother's hands also weighed on her so heavily that she could barely breathe.
Seeing through Lan Fuzi's thoughts, Xu Zihuang calmly added:
"Also, she cannot be saved."
At the same time, he swung the Annihilation Divine Spear in his hand. The spear quietly vanished into thin air along with the swinging motion, and the annihilation power that had spread throughout the Demon Empress's body erupted completely under his guidance.
Lan Fuzi, sensing something, abruptly turned around, only to see her mother's main body also becoming illusory.
"Mom—"
Lan Fuzi screamed hoarsely, but unfortunately, it was all in vain. Deep black light, thread by thread, quietly swallowed the Demon Empress's massive body.
In the end, only a blood-red soul ring with eight strange golden patterns and a pitch-black left arm soul bone remained. A violent, powerful, and domineering aura was contained within them. The moment the Demon Empress's soul ring and soul bone appeared, the air seemed to solidify, becoming incredibly heavy.
A soul ring and soul bone produced by an eighty-thousand-year cultivation ferocious beast, their aura alone was probably enough to oppress ordinary Title Douluo, making it difficult for them to even take a step. This level of soul ring and soul bone was not something just anyone could absorb.
Only someone like Xu Zihuang, an anomaly, had any possibility of successfully absorbing them. Moreover, the Demon Empress's soul ring and soul bone were indeed very compatible with him in terms of attributes. The lightning attribute and power attribute possessed by the Deep Sea Demon Whale clan were both extremely suited to his martial soul.
The soul ring aside, because Xu Zihuang's second martial soul, the Purple Radiance Thunder Prison Dragon, was currently lacking its seventh soul ring. If he absorbed the Demon Empress's soul ring, the soul skill he would obtain would definitely be the Martial Soul True Body. As for the left arm soul bone dropped by the Demon Empress, judging from its aura, it was clearly a power-type soul bone.
It could be foreseen that once he finished absorbing the left arm soul bone of the Demon Empress, the strength of his left arm would reach an extremely terrifying level. It would be almost equivalent to the power of an entire Deep Sea Demon Whale contained within the soul bone. As for the soul skill attached to the soul bone, he was not sure yet.
In addition to the soul ring and soul bone, after the Demon Empress's death, a fist-sized purple-gold whale pearl was also left behind. Compared to the inner core of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, although this whale pearl lacked some spirituality, the energy contained within it was far greater. It could be said that more than half of the Demon Empress's cultivation had been integrated into this whale pearl.
Xu Zihuang used his soul power to guide the Demon Empress's whale pearl, causing it to float in front of Lan Fuzi.
A trace of light returned to Lan Fuzi's dazed and dispirited eyes. She turned to look at Xu Zihuang, only to see him solemnly say with an upright expression, without glancing sideways:
"My promise from back then remains valid. First, guard the sea region of this continent for ten thousand years as atonement for your mother's sins. Once you have repaid your mother's sins, I can consider resurrecting her. Even your father, who was killed by the Sea God ten thousand years ago, will have the opportunity to reunite with your mother and daughter. But the premise is that your family will forever guard the sea regions for my human race and protect the peace of a continent."
According to Xu Zihuang's plans, the Star Sea Continent and another continent would be incorporated into the Sun and Moon Empire's territory. At that time, Lan Fuzi's family would be able to play their corresponding role, guarding the peace of the sea regions of three continents, and human development would surely reach an unprecedented peak.
Lan Fuzi dazedly received the Demon Empress's whale pearl. The sorrowful emotions in her heart instantly dissipated considerably, and her beautiful eyes burst forth with intense hope.
Having just experienced despair, how could she let go of even a sliver of hope? However, Xu Zihuang was ultimately her nominal mother-killing enemy, so she naturally could not agree eagerly.
"You should know that I possess a divine imprint." Xu Zihuang stepped forward, piercing through space and passing by Lan Fuzi.
"I believe you also understand what that means. That realm is as difficult as ascending to the heavens for ordinary human soul masters and soul beasts, but for me, it is merely something within reach."
After saying this, Xu Zihuang no longer paid attention to Lan Fuzi. He sat cross-legged, suspended in the air the sea surface, and began absorbing the Demon Empress's soul ring and soul bone as if no one else was present. Moreover, he initiated the absorption of both the soul ring and soul bone simultaneously.
The blood-red soul power light of the Demon Empress's soul ring continuously flickered across Xu Zihuang's body, while the soul bone instantly drilled into his left arm, surrounded by black light. Under the impact of this violent aura, every inch of muscle in his left arm became active, and the increasingly explosive sense of power was mesmerizing.
Although the energy impact from the Demon Empress's soul ring and soul bone was intense, Xu Zihuang's body had already reached the god level. Everything was within an acceptable range and was being fused at an astonishing speed.
Gazing at Xu Zihuang's back, Lan Fuzi involuntarily tightened her grip on the whale pearl in her hand, her expression extremely complicated.
Then, as if she had made up her mind, she bit her silver teeth lightly and said:
"I will do as you say. I believe you will not go back on your word."
With those words, Lan Fuzi transformed back into her Deep Sea Demon Whale form and plunged into the seawater, temporarily leaving this heartbreaking place.
No matter what, she had to try. Moreover, being kind-hearted by nature, she already had the idea of atoning for her mother's sins.
Xu Zihuang acted as if he had not heard Lan Fuzi's soft murmur. His figure remained steady as he continued absorbing the Demon Empress's soul ring and soul bone.
However, from the perspective of Ma Xiaotao, Feng Tianyao, and Jin Chenghong, the conversation between Xu Zihuang and Lan Fuzi earlier had seemed somewhat strange.
Lan Fuzi had clearly been acting like a mother-killing enemy toward Xu Zihuang at first, but later, she somehow compromised.
Feng Tianyao and Jin Chenghong looked at Xu Zihuang, who was absorbing the Demon Empress's soul ring and soul bone, and both felt awe in their hearts. Xu Zihuang's strength had already far exceeded their understanding. Moments later, they turned to look at Ma Xiaotao beside them and asked:
"Miss Ma, what do you think we should do next?"
From the limited information they knew, Ma Xiaotao and Xu Zihuang's relationship should be rather special. It might even involve a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. Therefore, the two of them, each with their own thoughts, naturally chose to ask for Ma Xiaotao's opinion.
"Aren't you two the lords of this continent? Why are you asking me?" Ma Xiaotao glared at the two of them irritably. A pair of golden-red phoenix fire wings spread out from her back as she flew toward Xu Zihuang.
Feng Tianyao and Jin Chenghong looked at each other. Both could see the other's thoughts.
"Brother Jin, let's talk about future matters later," Feng Tianyao sighed softly, his gaze deep.
Jin Chenghong nodded slightly in understanding.
If they started fighting over territory now, it was hard to say whether it would change Xu Zihuang and Ma Xiaotao's attitude toward them. With Xu Zihuang and Ma Xiaotao present, even if they controlled the entire Star Sea Continent, that position would not be stable.
Of course, the greater possibility was that Xu Zihuang and Ma Xiaotao simply wouldn't bother with them at all. But they didn't dare to gamble.
In the face of absolute strength, even Title Douluo powerhouses like them had only one choice: to submit.
Feng Tianyao and Jin Chenghong no longer hurried back to their respective territories. They maintained some distance and waited quietly, prepared to stay until Xu Zihuang finished absorbing the Demon Empress's soul ring and soul bone.
As for the Demon Empress's soul ring and soul bone, they definitely did not dare to covet them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master the novel is already finished on Patreon."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon the novel is already finished on Patreon."
[email protected]/facficmax10--------(@→a)