Duality of Shadows

Chapter 569: Keeping Them Cornered
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"Such a wonderful gift, who would have thought on this insignificant mission I would find someone who absorbed her green scale essence, hahaha!"

Dem Zarn spoke excitedly as his whole body radiated pure Yang light. His demonic appearance was covered in white scales, completely transforming his previously malign aura into something opposite to his previous dark intent. It was strange to see and feel coming from him.

He felt the connection between bloodlines and was absolutely certain. He then looked at the whale and Ruri and spoke slowly, "My master always told me she would eventually try to use her scales. Those Feys lack the will to master their scales, they would never be accepted, so he simply waited. He’s always right. A human received one of them. Now, I will gift my master with her essence."

"Your master is the Yang Chaos Dragon? The one who was the partner of my bloodline’s owner?" Ruri spoke already knowing the obvious answer, feeling deep pain with this revelation.

"Indeed. That bitch betrayed the heroes and was captured and turned into fertilizer for future generations. Master always honored the Celestial Goddess and the heroes; he wanted to absorb all her essence, but the Goddess herself was merciful and chose to use it for a greater good. Now, you will be a gift to him."

He replied, and the whale snorted. The immortal Oni had already told him that several powerful beings had fought against the queen, but there were those who switched sides and joined her. The Chaos Dragon couple seemed to have split during that time, with the Yin Chaos Dragon refusing to serve the queen.

’Ruri, retreat and wait for an opportunity. We cannot win currently, we can only find a way to escape,’ the whale spoke softly in her mind. Ruri took a deep breath, her chest aching just imagining the pain the Yin Chaos Dragon felt. She clenched her fists and nodded, stepping back quickly.

"Oh? Want to die in a man-to-man fight? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of all your women," Dem Zarn spoke sarcastically after seeing the whale step forward.

The whale smiled disdainfully. "I don’t need to bind women to me to trust each other. I have only allies, not submissive slaves."

"Hahaha, humans are truly idiots. Allies? Everyone not under your control will stab you at the first sign of weakness; you think you’re above everything and will never falter? That illusion will cost you your life. There will always be a higher mountain, and everyone will just switch sides as the situation changes. I will show you the reality, as they beg for their lives and abandon you."

Dem Zarn spoke maliciously, his voice echoing like thunder. In the next moment, his eyes pulsed with a sinister glow and all the Qi in the sealed world froze. The scenery around them changed color, plunging into a white that engulfed the world. An overwhelming weight fell upon everyone present. Their bodies became heavy as a mountain.

The whale felt the ground under his feet cracking, an infinite pressure bearing down on his body. All of his Qi seemed completely frozen and refused to move. His allies behind him exhibited twisted expressions of pain, trembling as if they might kneel at any moment.

The demon laughed, relishing the expressions of fear and hopelessness. He had seen this countless times before. No matter what kind of life they led, everyone wanted to live. They were cultivators who could live for millennia, why would they die uselessly? Their instincts would beg them to flee or betray to survive. It would only take a few seconds...

One, two, three seconds... and then something unexpected happened. Instead of giving in to fear, everyone took a deep breath and coldly faced that distant demon, radiating an oppressive and invincible presence.

"You bastard are not even on the same level as my lord." Calirer’s voice rang out firmly, her eyes shining with infinite determination. "We worship and love him because he trusts us, and sees us as equals capable of aiding him. Stop spewing your crap. We will fight to the end and die by his side, but we will never hesitate."

The whale heard the demoness’s words and nodded slightly. In the past, when they were in the abyss, he hesitated even after his entire clan received a lot from him. Calirer had always lived being humiliated and knew well what it was like to be treated as inferior by everyone; that’s why she always sought survival and acted that way in the past. (Chapter 257)

That event marked her deeply, and recalling the past, she always felt immense shame. If she were in the whale’s place, she would have abandoned that ungrateful clan altogether. But he never cared, protected the entire clan, and always trusted that she would overcome her traumas.

That completely shaped her current resolve. The whale trusted her and never demanded anything, even when she betrayed him. Calirer understood that this was true kindness, and the path she should follow. She might not be the strongest, but she would be the most loyal. He became the guiding north star for her, and she would never let her insecurities act again.

Alm and Bruno knew perfectly well what she thought. In their minds, he was a legitimate deity. There was nothing romantic about it, but it was heavy to receive all that trust they had accidentally gained.

It wasn’t just her. In fact, everyone in the group somehow gave him all their faith and loyalty. But neither they nor the people in the group were sure they could correspond and go all the way. Everyone just did the best they could together and supported each other; the whale was the same, everyone knew he wasn’t perfect... and maybe that was exactly what made them trust him deeply.

Being trustworthy wasn’t about always being the strongest and coolest. It was just about placing oneself as equal and not trying to diminish others to hide their flaws. Alm and Bruno were always themselves, and despite sometimes showing their unparalleled divinity; their faults were still visible to all. Thus, allies were completely sure of what they could do to be the support that could sustain him.

"How ridiculous, they are puppets who were dominated in a very unique way." Dem Zarn, radiating Yang, spoke, hiding his surprise. "No matter, insects will always be insects. I will crush them and see how long their wills hold out."

Everyone just looked at him in ridicule. He was the perfect example of an idiot who couldn’t admit he was wrong. At the first opportunity he would put others down.

After a few seconds, Alm and Bruno, feeling that power, were sure. ’This is the Emperor’s Domain... the supreme technique of that Dragon.’

In the past, when they had just entered the sect of evil cultivators, they received the Technique of the Medium Emperor’s Domain. It was an incomplete version, but its description seemed grandiose. It said that the individual could dominate the Qi and the laws of the environment and suppress the weaker ones. At high levels, it promised to even affect enemies at the same level or higher than the user. (Chapter 82)

In the end, it seemed like just false advertising. The Qi cost was very high and the effects were only comparable to a killing intent. Alm and Bruno found the technique completely useless, until the day they discovered its combination with the inventory technique, the Devouring God Spatial. Something that later the Queen herself confirmed that the two techniques belonged to the two Chaos Dragons.

’Then this is the true potential of this complete technique,’ Alm and Bruno reflected, feeling that abnormal suppression. All their Qi seemed like blocks of ice in their meridians, moving it and using it would be painful.

’This Chaos Dragon Yang really must be someone difficult to handle. He wasn’t satisfied with naturally suppressing all the beasts; this technique clearly aims to suppress all bloodlines below him. Even those with a fragile will completely lose their sanity and autonomy. But even if the enemy resists, their internal power is influenced, to a greater or lesser extent. It’s a truly terrible technique.’

Alm and Bruno understood that the cost of that technique was enormous, even if they had the complete version, it still wouldn’t compensate in most cases. But Dem Zarn was using his Dragon bloodline that created it to use it, which minimized the cost for him. Surely he could sustain this almost indefinitely.

The whale smiled slightly, a gesture Dem Zarn didn’t expect. Confused, he felt something and turned his gaze to the skies. In an instant, the entire horizon was covered by a multicolored divine ring, shining with overwhelming intensity.

"Dao of Primal Supremacy!"

Corin’s voice resonated throughout the secret world, reverberating like celestial thunder. The heavens and the earth were immersed in a multicolored light, radiating power and majesty.

Dem Zarn swallowed hard, completely stunned. He felt the primordial presence emanating from Corin; the same presence he had felt before, only with the legendary Chaos Dragon who was his master. He knew well what that represented: a power beyond comprehension, a force that could bend reality itself.

Corin just snorted. In that moment, endless bloodline runes emanated from him, forming an array. The whale, Ruri, Runula, Thea—each received a portion of those runes, and all suppression in their bodies was erased.

Corin’s bloodline, elevated to primordial levels, was now on par with that Dragon’s. If it were the Dragon himself, this wouldn’t be possible, but Dem Zarn was merely a demon with a fraction of his bloodline, not the true one.

Unfortunately, Alm and Bruno didn’t want to further slow down their cultivation speed, so they didn’t include everyone from their group in the array. Now, this proved to be a mistake, as the others were still being suppressed.

The whale snorted, and waves of Qi reverberated from his body as his entire physical cultivation was pushed to its limit. Corin could only maintain his Dao for a maximum of five minutes, if he wasn’t attacked, of course.

"Come on, fool," the whale challenged dryly.

Dem Zarn stared coldly. "You pathetic human... I will figure out how you did that, everything will be mine."

The whale just chuckled dryly. Then, waving his hand, Vorion appeared in his palm. As the saber materialized, the multicolored light around the whale was devoured, and everything around the saber turned dark. Simultaneously, the tattoos on his fists lit up with a fierce glow.

That demon immediately felt a premonitory cold sweat. What the hell was this?

CRASH!

The earth beneath the whale split as he leaped towards Dem Zarn. Still in shock, he felt immense danger and turned, drawing his weapon swiftly.

CLANG!

Dem Zarn wielded a red spear, and the sound of metal clashing echoed across the battlefield. They faced off head-on, but in the same instant, the demon felt his existence draining away.

He tried to roar with all his might, but before he could react, a dry kick landed on his stomach.

CRACK! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of bones and scales breaking reverberated through the air, followed by several violent impacts against the ground that shook the entire area. The earth cracked open in deep fissures, and dust rose like a storm as Dem Zarn was flung away, his body bouncing on impact.

’Well done,’ the whale spoke mentally, tightening his grip on the saber.

’Thank you, sir,’ Vorion’s soul voice replied, animated.

Liumi benefited greatly from the Dao of the Immortal Armament God, but Vorion was also relatively intelligent and had developed significantly with it. Using the saber’s properties, after the clash with the enemy, he managed to easily penetrate the demon’s defenses.

The Yang power covering his body was a tempting target for the tattoos to absorb. His elemental defenses were nothing, and the whale directly siphoned Qi from his meridians. With the first touch of blades, the whale drained nearly a third of his Qi.

RUMBLE!

The earth exploded, and draconic power reverberated with Dem Zarn reappearing. His scales were severely cracked, but in an instant, everything regenerated. Besides extreme Yang capability, he possessed abnormal defense, and this bloodline granted him supreme regenerative power.

"Kill that bastard quickly!" Dem Zarn roared at the four women who watched everything in astonishment.

They jumped back in fear and drew their weapons. They looked at Kaiyka and saw she was clearly affected by the suppression. After confirming, all four roared at full force and charged towards Corin in the skies.

Ruri was exhausted after using her bloodline with her master. She simply took a deep breath, and the mystical mark of the bestial world on her forehead glowed.

BANG! BANG!

Thea fired twice, hitting two women and intercepting them. They exploded into a mist of blood like flies but reformed within seconds.

The other two roared and advanced, but Runula launched herself towards them. One demoness snarled and retaliated with a slashing blow, but suddenly the small girl roared and her body lit up.

ROAR!

A small wyvern emerged, causing space to warp. Runula assumed her true form. After absorbing so much demon bloodline, she had changed completely; half of her body was now covered in blue-black scales, giving her a unique appearance.

The demoness immediately recognized the demon bloodline and muttered in surprise. "Soul Eater?!"

"Manifestation of the Inner!" Roared Runula, and suddenly a mystical shadow of a wyvern radiating extreme demonic power materialized and surged forward.

The movement was too fast for the demoness to evade. She instinctively tried to block, but when the blow struck her, she realized too late that the shadow was not physical; it was a soul attack!

Unlike Calirer, Runula hadn’t studied spiritual cultivation, but she had been part of the Array for a long time and her soul had become abnormally powerful. Combined with the pure demon bloodline she received, this awakened new powers in her.

An overwhelming power engulfed the demoness, and her soul fractured instantly without any resistance. As her consciousness darkened...

Shooosh!

A wave of black flames engulfed her, consuming her body and turning her into nothing but ashes. Ruri watched from below, satisfied. Runula was already strong enough to defeat that cultivator alone in a surprise attack. But the price was too high; she couldn’t sustain this.

In the next moment, Runula and Ruri turned; the last human woman with golden hair was just meters away from Corin.

She drew a sword and shouted, "Die!"

"Disappear," Corin’s dry words echoed.

"Ah!" The human widened her eyes as her world turned upside down. A human trying to attack him? Corin merely smiled ironically.

Shooosh!

Black flames engulfed the human, turning her into ashes. Runula easily dispatched the second one.

Thea focused on the dark elf and the demon beast, while Runula dealt with the demoness. Corin didn’t need to fear the human. But... the first two were already almost recovered, and the others would return quickly too.

Runula couldn’t maintain her full power for much longer, and Thea couldn’t handle all four at once. They had protected Corin in the initial attack, but they were bound to fail soon.

Dem Zarn watched as the four were defeated within seconds and was shocked. How could they be so strong?

This only fueled his determination further. Their victory was just a matter of time. He snorted, imagining the secrets he could extract from them soon. He had gained something incredible, something that could make him the most valuable heroic disciple of the sect.

He focused on the whale; he didn’t know how he had done that before, but he understood that facing him head-on was not an option. He wasn’t foolish and decided to proceed with caution.

All his Yin power runes had been burned in the previous attack; without them, his manifestation was useless. He couldn’t face him head-on and couldn’t deactivate the Emperor’s Domain, or the women might die for real.

"Come, insect!" He roared, and a dagger appeared in his hands. In the next moment, a rune on the blade’s center lit up.

Alm and Bruno immediately sensed it; it was a runic seal! And that dagger was an immortal weapon of a level they didn’t know, above saint level.

Next, Dem Zarn hurled the dagger in the opposite direction of the whale. He watched suspiciously at this unexpected move. The dagger stuck into the ground. At the same time, the demon advanced towards him with his spear.

The whale snorted; they would have to figure out what that seal did. But they could do that later, calmly. ’Thank you for the gift,’ Alm and Bruno smiled mentally.

Dem Zarn was just meters from the whale; he made a stabbing motion, and his spear pierced the air.

The whale simply stepped forward, and Vorion moved. The demon smiled, and the same runic symbol from the dagger appeared and glowed in his palm. His spear flew from his hand advancing on its own. His gaze fixed on the whale, and then he froze... a villainous smile of fun appeared on the whale’s round face.

The whale’s lips parted. "Burn."

"GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A scream of agony and pain echoed from all sides, making the four newly reborn women turn towards the sound. Their faces turned pale and shocked. There, they saw Dem Zarn being engulfed by celestial blue flames.

His body melted like wax; he was experiencing an indescribable pain even for a demon. It lasted less than two seconds; the flames consumed even his soul, and his screams ceased.

It was at that moment that Kaiyka and everyone else felt the suppression’s shackles release them. Kaiyka tightened her katana and focused on trying to attack quickly.

Alm and Bruno took a step forward without looking back. Even though the celestial flames had killed him instantly, he would return. At least they had taken something valuable from him.

The whale appeared on the ground next to the dagger, still with the active runic seal. ’What will be the effect? Well, we’ll see later,’ they nodded, and the dagger went into the inventory.

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Two seconds passed, and they turned upwards, sighing heavily. They saw Dem Zarn reborn open his eyes. While it took the women about five seconds to be reborn, he returned to life in less than half that time.

A Yang light along with a wave of suppression enveloped them again. Kaiyka swallowed hard; she barely had time to circulate her Qi fully.

When he died and the domain was undone, Alm and Bruno went first to steal the dagger to avoid randomness. Then they would kill him again, and the idea was to release Kaiyka for a few seconds; but his rebirth was so quick that it was almost impossible to time that and she was able to kill the women for real.

Kaiyka could only attack once or twice more. The plan was for Runula and Thea to gather the women so Kaiyka could eliminate them with two blows — a difficult task even with five, with only two seconds was impossible.

Dem Zarn looked at the whale with a contorted face of humiliation. He had never felt so much pain in his life.

The whale snorted. How were they going to get out of this? All their ideas were being destroyed, keeping them cornered.

At that moment, something caught their attention in the array. At the top, where a black mass had been standing, calm and distant the whole time. Something changed, and all the Yin spread.

All the Yin of that sealed world, which had been compressed there, was released again. The Immortal Golem had said it would only last a day; the invasion happened before the time, and now the time was up.

Suddenly a female figure appeared as if she had returned straight from the world of the dead. ’Master, see how cool I look!’

Rehvka appeared at the top and spoke through the array. At the same time, the laws of the world resonated, and a new Divine Dao flourished in the world.

Dem Zarn and everyone turned upwards, feeling the disturbance in the celestial laws. They saw a woman of gentle and beautiful appearance, but whose presence exuded a clear and deep aura of death. Her voice resonated like underworld bells.

"This is my Dao, the Dao of the Dead Lady."

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