Of the two Blood River God-Slaying Arrays once forged, the one presided over by the Demon Emperor was indeed destroyed.But the one presided over by Di Tian was not.
It had only sustained some damage. With some patching and the replenishment of enough vengeful spirits, it could still be used.
With Yuanen Yehui now sustaining the Blood River God-Slaying Array using strength nearly equivalent to a god, the earth element beneath the surface was completely cleared away, creating an entirely new underground world.
In the dark subterranean realm, human figures flitted in one by one, standing silently—each one a dark soul master from the Holy Spirit Sect.
The high-tier dark soul masters with seven or more soul rings had been killed by the previous de facto Sect Master, the Ghost Emperor, and turned into fuel for the World-Destroying Skeleton Formation.
But the mid- and low-tier dark soul masters with fewer than seven rings remained. In this blood-soaked era of constant war, they had ironically become the fastest to recover their strength.
Many dark soul masters had evolved through slaughter, advancing to high-tier ranks.
There were no Limit Douluo among them, but there were still some dark soul masters at the nine-ringed Titled Douluo level.
One such elite now stepped forward toward Yuanen Yehui.
Just a few years ago, he had only six rings; now, his strength neared that of a Super Douluo—second only to Yuanen Yehui in talent.
He knelt on one knee, eyes gleaming with bloodlust, though his voice carried clear doubt.
"Sect Master, I fear the vengeful spirits we've collected may not be enough to activate the Blood River God-Slaying Array.Why not wait a few more years? We can gather enough of them for you, and then the array will be ready with no issues."
He had two motives for saying this.
First, the number of dark soul masters in the Holy Spirit Sect had not yet returned to its peak, and the collected vengeful spirits were clearly insufficient to activate the array.
Second, he himself hadn't reached Limit Douluo. Restarting the Blood River God-Slaying Array would only elevate Yuanen Yehui to godhood—he would gain nothing from it.
Upon hearing this, the enchanting figure of Yuanen Yehui on the altar didn't even glance at the kneeling nine-ringed dark soul master.
Her reply, too, ignored his question.
"Are all the members of the Sect and their collected vengeful spirits present?"
The kneeling nine-ringed soul master paused briefly, then answered,
"Yes, all are here. All sect members from the Sun-Moon Federation and the Heaven Dou Empire, as well as the Green Skull faction we absorbed from the Star Luo Empire, have followed the orders of you and the Grand Sect Master and brought all the vengeful spirits they collected."
By "Grand Sect Master," he was of course referring to the Demon Emperor.
Without the Demon Emperor—the only surviving high-level leader of the Holy Spirit Sect—Yuanen Yehui would never have been able to consolidate control over the entire sect.
At this point, Yuanen Yehui finally answered his initial concern about the insufficient number of vengeful spirits to activate the array.
A devilish smile—one that belonged to a fallen angel—graced her stunningly beautiful face.
"If all of you are here, and you've brought all your vengeful spirits...then how could there possibly not be enough?"
In that instant, the nine-ringed soul master's heart and soul were shaken.His small eyes widened like hot stones.
As he tried to rise, he realized he was pinned down by an overwhelming force he could not resist.
Under immense pressure, he struggled to look up—and saw a terrifyingly familiar scene from a few years ago:
Within the underground world formed by the Blood River God-Slaying Array, the sky-like ceiling resembled a dark curtain.
From it, countless fallen angels surged forth, mercilessly harvesting the lives of every dark soul master present.
Witnessing everything, the nine-ringed dark soul master's mind was rocked.
He never imagined that the Grand Sect Master, the Demon Emperor... the actual previous Sect Master, the Ghost Emperor... and the current Sect Master, Yuanen Yehui... were all the same type!
The Ghost Emperor had exterminated all the high-tier soul masters of the sect.The Demon Emperor then installed Yuanen Yehui.And now Yuanen Yehui was slaughtering the rest.
Each generation's Sect Master becomes a god—by massacring the entire sect.
For the first time, he began to doubt his choice to fall and join the Holy Spirit Sect.
The doctrine of the Holy Spirit Sect was supposed to be about offering death to the Evil God's divine realm.
Not... sacrificing the sect's own members to form that divine realm.
"Yuanen Yehui, you bi—"
Before he could finish the insult, a "pfft" echoed out.
The Dark Angel Sword pierced his chest, and its dark power shredded his heart.
A new Titled Douluo-level vengeful spirit was created on the spot—and immediately absorbed into the Blood River God-Slaying Array as fuel.
The vengeful spirits he had hoarded were also absorbed.
Without those hidden reserves, he could never have advanced from a six-ring Soul Emperor to a nine-ringed Titled Douluo in just a few years.
This sect-wide massacre was personally carried out by the current Sect Master Yuanen Yehui.
The slaughter was absolute and one-sided—and with the death of the final dark soul master, it ended.
At the same time, the Blood River God-Slaying Array had finally amassed enough vengeful spirits to activate.
"BOOM—"
The entire underground world trembled.
At the center of it all stood the enchanting figure on the altar.
Suddenly, several strange markings appeared on her snow-white skin, smooth as jade—
A black dragon coiled around her body!
It was a seal—a seal personally crafted by Di Tian, designed to block the perception of the Demon Plane.
Otherwise, the moment Yuanen Yehui had broken through to nine rings, the Demon Plane would have descended.
With the black dragon seal now broken and the Blood River God-Slaying Array fully activated, Yuanen Yehui ascended to godhood unimpeded.
Like a river flowing into the sea—natural, inevitable.
Her soul power transformed into divine power. That divine power flowed naturally into her divine core, purifying itself. Her soul core pulsed, and her once-gentle soul power surged like a mighty river.
Her spiritual power evolved from the peak of the Spirit Domain Realm to the Divine Source Realm, and her spiritual consciousness became divine consciousness.
Admittedly, even without the Blood River God-Slaying Array, with Di Tian's help, with her supreme divine weapon, and with the divine realm she was about to found, Yuanen Yehui could still have become a god.
But to act as the hook for reeling in the Demon Plane...To serve as the anchor keeping it from escaping...
Yuanen Yehui had to support the Blood River God-Slaying Array and use it as the medium to ascend—as a god presiding over the formation—so she could nail the Demon Plane firmly to the main Douluo plane.
This was the perfect solution.
Meanwhile, with Di Tian's seal lifted, her Fallen Angel martial soul seemed drawn by an invisible force—and under Yuanen Yehui's guidance, naturally possessed her body.
Her ninth soul ring's ability evolved into a divine skill, effortlessly activated.
"Gate of the Demon!"
"Darkness shall fall. Only through corruption... can there be freedom."
A low incantation spilled from her lips, followed by the appearance of purple demonic sigils.
A massive purple-black magic circle formed from thin air, radiating an eerie glow.
As she chanted, a huge purple-black portal gradually appeared...
(End of Chapter)