"Kill him! Finos are you thinking about what you're saying? The Demon God and the entire Holy Hall have invested so much effort in this person, it's plain to see. Are you prepared to let all of the Holy Hall's efforts go to waste with your words?" Without needing Old Samikina to refute, another clan leader beside him immediately admonished.
"Do you think I want to do this? I can distinguish right from wrong when it comes down to it. Ever since the Demon God led our Demon Race to rise, in the past ten thousand years, shedding the Hell that he has absorbed now, only eighteen Divine Artifacts have been born. If we don't kill him now and let the collapsing Hell lose its source, then today we will lose one third of these artifacts, in exchange for his death and destruction. Does everyone think that's worth it? It's not too late to stop the losses now!"
As soon as this person spoke, there was immediate silence on the scene. Even Old Samikina, who had the closest relationship with Pei Yan, understood that the other party was correct. One of the reasons the Disaster Legion outside the city dared not launch a total attack on the Holy City was the fear of the might of these eighteen Divine Artifacts. Once pushed to the brink, the energy released by these artifacts would be enough to severely wound the blood fiends, creating an opportunity for other planes to attack them. But by then, the Demon Race would have lost their last trump card, becoming the biggest loser in this battle.
No one dared to speak at this moment; they could only collectively turn their gaze towards the Demon God, who had remained silent for a long time since the incident, waiting for his decision.
"Why panic! I'm not dead yet! You all continue to control the souls of the Divine Artifacts, don't let them enter Pei Yan's body too quickly! Leave the rest to me!"
The Demon God's calm voice reassured everyone present. Instantly, the other five people each displayed their Divine Powers, desperately pulling the souls of the Divine Artifacts from the strange vortex.
On the other side, the Demon God looked at Pei Yan, suspended mid-air and trapped in suffering, while releasing his power to assist him in consolidating his own soul, slowly channeling the soul of the Divine Artifacts into Pei Yan's continuously collapsing body.
He's gambling! Betting that Pei Yan can persevere and become stronger. The reason he's willing to gamble is because Candle Dragon's repeated intrusion into the Holy Hall had utterly angered him. As the saying goes, even a clay figure has some fire within; moreover, he's Satan, the Demon God, the Lord of the Hell Plane!
"Pei Yan, survive! Not for others, for yourself you need to survive, the more they want you dead, the more you need to live!"
The Demon God's voice echoed in Pei Yan's mind, constantly urging him on. Yet, his words were ineffective for the current Pei Yan, who was now facing the greatest crisis since his emergence.
Pei Yan naturally wants to survive; having fought hard to this point, how could he willingly accept death now? But he has completely lost the ability to control his own body, his spirit and soul shattered the moment Hell exploded, fragmented along with the disintegrated souls of the artifacts into countless pieces. Had it been an ordinary person, they would have been utterly destroyed in that instant. In this critical moment, however, the inherent energy within Pei Yanโclaiming to be the sourceโsaved his life, like the revolving Tai Chi, protecting the seedling of his soul body, allowing it a haven amidst the surging tide of soul waves and granting him a moment to breathe.
Now hidden within the source energy, Pei Yan could see hundreds or thousands of versions of himself through the Source Energy Protection Wall. Each version was a fragment of his soul split by the disintegrated soul of the artifact. These thousands of selves either perplexed, irritable, or urgently trying to merge with the self in the source barrier, with some hiding in corners sobbing, or desperately attempting to flee from their own body.
And among these soul fragments were a large number of fragmented souls of Hell's artifacts, and new Divine Artifact souls continuously absorbed into his body, forming a mishmash of forces intermingling within Pei Yan.
Pei Yan wanted to mobilize the source to gather the fragmented soul and rally, but given his current soul state, even self-protection was problematic. He could only watch helplessly as the situation continued to deteriorate beyond his control.
Just when Pei Yan was burning with anxiety, a turn of events occurred. First, the power infused into his body by the Demon God, under the pressure of being a Lord of the Plane, effectively suppressed the restless soul fragments. But relying solely on the Demon God's suppression was far from enough; ultimately, he still needed to integrate the soul body himself. At this moment, another key figure appeared, giving Pei Yan a ray of hope.
Suzi!
This super artificial intelligence, birthed from his power and named on a whim, had always been by Pei Yan's side since the day of her creation, becoming his greatest aid aside from Lin Junzhao. In this moment of crisis, she stood up and spoke: "Master, you need my strength!"
"Suzi? What can you do in this situation?" Pei Yan initially heard Suzi's voice, his worry outweighing his joy, having seen countless sci-fi films and novels, the stories of masters becoming weak and artificial intelligence exploiting the situation were too numerous, inevitably raising a sense of vigilance.
"Master, I can sacrifice my soul to you, enabling you to regain the ability to integrate soul fragments!"
"What? Your soul?" Pei Yan widened his eyes in astonishment hearing Suzi's words.
"Yes, from the day of my creation until now, over six years, during the time with you, I gradually evolved from a pure artificial intelligence into having my own soul body. But I did not dare to disclose this secret to you, knowing you always held a sense of caution towards me, and as an independent consciousness, I would not be accepted. Master, I was bewildered, not knowing if what I was doing was right or wrong, until today, realizing my experiences were all leading to this moment to sacrifice myself to save you."
"Suzi, you!" Listening to Suzi's confession, Pei Yan was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say while Suzi within him simply thought Pei Yan still hesitated, continuing to explain: "Master, do not worry, shortly I will erase my consciousness from my soul body, making it as pure as white paper, so when you absorb it there won't be any side effects."
"If I absorb your soul it's like killing you, isn't it? What will happen to you? Will you disappear?" Pei Yan looked at the girl materializing into a human form before himself, his voice slightly choked.
"Master, I have never lived, so issues of life and death don't apply; I won't disappear, I will still be the artificial intelligence in your mind, only without the soul body, I will no longer have self-consciousness. But please be relieved, my computational abilities won't diminish in the slightest! You will find using me quite the same as before." Suzi's voice was as sweet as always, stating this as if it were the most matter-of-fact thing.
