Chapter 431: Chapter 432: You... Know Me?
In The Void.
The phoenix of the Spirit Beasts— Iris Ashford!
She is facing the most critical moment of her long life.
Breaking through to the Pseudo-God Realm!
In The Void, the phoenix divine fire of crimson-gold boiled and surged like tangible liquid.
Iris Ashford’s massive body hovered at the center of the vortex.
Her magnificent feathers fully spread, radiating an increasingly terrifying pressure.
She closed her eyes tightly, immersing all her mind within, launching wave after stronger wave of assault towards that highest realm!
Success or failure hinges on this!
If she succeeds, she will completely shed her mortal coil and condense a divine status.
Becoming a true Pseudo-God, supreme over all living beings.
This is a domain that creatures dream of but cannot reach in their lifetime!
However, just at this most critical, error-free moment...
A black stream of air carrying extreme erosion and corruption.
Unexpectedly and silently, it suddenly plunged into her vast torrent of divine power!
"Huh?!"
Iris’s phoenix eyes, like two miniature blazing suns, suddenly opened!
A trace of incredulous shock and anger flashed in her eyes!
Demon Qi!?
And it’s high quality, originating from the Demon God!
A strong sense of crisis instantly gripped her heart!
She immediately tried to divert part of her divine thought and divine power, trying to expel and purify the ominous intruder!
However, she was at the most intense stage of her breakthrough bottleneck.
Her entire power was like an arrow on the bow, unable to afford the slightest distraction or retreat!
If she forcibly interrupts or disperses her power, at best, the promotion will fail, causing horrible backlash and damage to her foundation; at worst...
She will be annihilated on the spot!
"Damn it!"
Iris cursed in her heart; the weighing of pros and cons lasted only a moment.
She ultimately made a difficult decision.
To ignore this wisp of demon qi for now, concentrate all her power, and break through the barrier in one go!
Once she succeeds in advancing to a Pseudo-God, eliminating this wisp of demon qi would be a piece of cake!
She forcibly suppressed her anxiety, closed her phoenix eyes again, and reinvested her entire mind into impacting the bottleneck.
She even increased the intensity of her impact on the barrier by another three points!
She wanted to race against time!
"Rumble——!"
The entire Void boiled completely due to her even more violent power, with a gigantic pillar of energy shooting into the sky!
The barrier of realms, under her frenzied assault, began to emit unbearable "cracking" sounds!
Success was just around the corner!
However, Iris underestimated the strangeness and horror of this wisp of demon qi!
It seemed to have its own will; once it entered Iris’s body, it didn’t immediately cause widespread destruction.
Instead, like the most cunning parasite, it quickly hid itself and began frantically replicating and proliferating at an unbelievable speed!
It greedily devoured Iris’s power as nourishment, converting it into purer demon qi!!
At first, Iris could barely suppress its influence.
But as the demon qi spread exponentially.
She fearfully discovered that her control over power began to show subtle signs of stagnation!
The energy torrent that originally moved as smoothly as an arm no longer operated so seamlessly and smoothly!
Especially at the critical moment of breaching the barrier, there was always a cold, interfering, and destructive force at work from the dark, making her twice the effort for half the result!
"Puff——!"
A critical impact was slightly off due to the interference of demon qi; the violent energy backlash shook Iris, churning her blood and sweetening her throat!
On her magnificent feathers, extremely tiny but genuinely existing dark black threads began to appear!
"How can it be... so fast?!"
Iris was shocked in her heart!
The erosion speed and strangeness of this demon qi far exceeded her understanding!
At this rate, she feared she would be completely assimilated by this power before she could break through the barrier!
She tried to mobilize her life’s Nirvana Divine Fire for purification.
But the demon qi was extremely cunning, and as soon as it sensed the approach of the divine fire.
It immediately merged into her power, leaving no trace.
She was caught in a dilemma!
A true dilemma!
Proceed, demon energy erosion intensifies, and risk of failure increases drastically!
Stop, failure to advance, under the backlash, the demon qi would take advantage and enter, which would have unimaginable consequences!
Iris found herself in the most perilous predicament since her birth!
Time slipped away second by second, and Iris’s situation became increasingly difficult.
The crimson-gold divine light she emitted was no longer pure.
It started to be interlaced with ominous dark red and filthy black!
The originally sacred and majestic phoenix pressure, too, began to be mixed with a heartbeat-triggering rage, coldness, and chaotic aura!
The frequency of her assaults on the barriers noticeably slowed down, and each strike seemed exceptionally difficult.
"No... I cannot give up!"
Iris’s will roared, as proud as she was, she would never allow herself to fail in such an aggrieved manner.
She began to burn her origin, trying to gain a temporary power burst in the most extreme way to forcibly break through!
"Nirvana!"
Boom——!!!
An even more terrifying crimson-gold divine fire erupted from inside her, completely engulfing her!
This strike, is her last-ditch effort!
However, just at this moment of full eruption, where defenses were at their lowest...
The demon qi that had been lurking for a long time seemed to have finally waited for the best time, bursting forth like a breached flood!
It no longer hid, transforming into countless pitch-black tentacles, madly surging towards Iris Ashford’s condensing pseudo-god divine status!
The demon qi erosion reached its peak!
The crimson-gold divine light around Iris was almost completely covered by the filthy dark red and pitch-black!
Her consciousness began to blur!
A hair’s breadth from life and death!
...
In the present world.
Isabelle floated in The Void, a trace of confusion on her stunning face.
Dragon Island was gone, and for a moment, she didn’t know where to go.
She began to wander aimlessly.
And an inexplicable intuition guided her, leading her to move southwards.
The path was a shocking sight.
Demon qi spread like a plague.
The once vibrant land turned into scorched earth; countless weak races wailed and perished under the rampage of demons.
The entire alternate space was gradually turning into Malorium.
Only the territory of the Human Race could barely hold up a relatively safe haven.
Although Iris would not target the Demon Clan below the Pseudo-God level, Zane Drake, relying on Elara Crimson’s exceptionally meticulous arrangements...
The entire Human Race could barely withstand the onslaught of the Demon Clan.
Gradually, the Angel Race, Ghost Race, and other races friendly with the Human Race also began to falter.
All the races started to migrate towards the territories of the Human Race.
And Zane Drake welcomed all, taking in everyone with the strength of the Human Race.
And Isabelle, heading south, eventually arrived there as well.
Her strong aura immediately caught Iris’s attention.
In the next moment, the space rippled slightly.
Iris appeared in front of Isabelle without any warning.
Seeing Isabelle, Iris was somewhat surprised.
"It’s you?"
Upon hearing this, Isabelle came to a sudden halt.
Her gaze fell on this person who exuded an unfathomable aura, even more terrifying than herself.
From her opponent, she also felt a sense of familiarity.
She had a strong premonition that they had met before.
Furthermore, the other party’s words just now also revealed this point.
"You... know me?"
...
...
