The Heavenly Stems God-Sealing Formation was finally complete.
Now came the most crucial step: luring the Demon Emperor out and drawing her into the formation. Zhu Ziyang already had a plan in mind, though it was daring and dangerous. Still—nothing ventured, nothing gained. He revealed his idea to Zhang Lexuan and the five light-born warriors.
"No! Absolutely not—it's far too dangerous!" Zhang Lexuan objected without hesitation the moment she heard it. "I don't agree!"
"Lexuan-jie, I wasn't asking for your approval," Ziyang replied calmly, as if expecting her reaction. "This is the only plan with a real chance of drawing the Demon Emperor out. Whether you agree or not, I'm going to do it."
"Then why even bother telling me?" she asked bitterly, forcing a smile.
"Because I don't want to deceive you. Sooner or later, you'd find out. Better you hear it now and be prepared, than discover it afterward and live in fear," Ziyang said gently. Stepping forward, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Lexuan-jie. I never do things I'm not confident in."
Her eyes reddened, but she didn't resist his closeness. "Then promise me you'll protect yourself. If something happens to you, I'll follow you without hesitation."
"Haha! With those words, I have even more reason to live," Ziyang laughed. Then he turned to the five warriors and began giving orders.
Komako, Rogier, and Olivier were dispatched to guard the west, south, and north, preventing interference from the other Beast Kings of the Four Heavens Peaks. Zhang Weiwei and Bemons remained by his side as his final line of defense. As for Zhang Lexuan, she insisted on staying with him no matter what—and he yielded to her determination.
Once everything was ready, Ziyang stepped into the formation. Because it had not yet been activated, the ten towering pillars appeared plain and lifeless.
At the center of the array, he closed his eyes. The Bianhua Mark on his forehead flared, releasing a strange aura—majestic, divine, and absolute. The aura spread slowly outward, blanketing the valley.
The plan was simple: the Demon Emperor was said to be highly sensitive to divine power. Ziyang would use himself as bait, drawing her out by releasing the aura of Death through the Bianhua Mark.
The results were immediate. The moment he let out even the faintest trace of divine energy, the black fog above the Demon Emperor's Valley churned violently. An overwhelming pressure surged across heaven and earth. Ziyang felt as if a mountain had descended onto his shoulders, and he was forced to muster all his strength just to resist.
The mist parted. A figure emerged, and as it appeared, the towering Four Heavens Peaks seemed to bow before it. With graceful steps, slow yet somehow transcending space, the figure stood before Zhu Ziyang in the blink of an eye.
Ziyang became the first living being to ever stand so close to the Demon Emperor.
Her appearance shocked him. Cold and proud, noble and peerless, regal yet breathtakingly beautiful—no words in his mind could truly capture her magnificence.
The Yellow Springs Witch—like the Ice Empress, a heaven-born spirit of the world itself, yet shaped in perfect human form.
"You… you are not of the Martial Soul Continent," she said. Her voice was soft, sweet, almost childlike—so at odds with her appearance that Ziyang felt another jolt of shock. Her eyes, black as the endless night, studied him with a mixture of indifference, curiosity, and puzzlement.
Her words jolted him back to his senses. And with no hesitation, he activated the Heavenly Stems God-Sealing Formation.
The instant the array flared to life, the Demon Emperor sensed danger. Yet pride born of countless years of invincibility kept her from reacting. In her eyes, the human youth before her was laughably weak—even carrying divine aura, he was but an ant. A single finger could crush him.
Her only concern was his divine aura. How did a mortal possess it? She longed to know—for she had grown weary of endless tribulations. She yearned for the next step.
But fate had its own designs. Her arrogance blinded her, and in that fatal moment, the formation locked into place.
The world shifted. Her strength—gone. Her power, once vast enough to blanket continents—vanished in an instant. She staggered, suddenly fragile, weaker than she had even been at birth.
"What… I…?" Panic flickered in her eyes. She turned to Ziyang, realizing too late that the youth was the cause. Instinctively, she reached out to seize him—
But now their roles had reversed. Before, she was the unreachable sovereign. Now, powerless within the sealing formation, she was nothing more than a frail girl before a Soul Douluo.
"Don't struggle," Ziyang said with a faint smile, effortlessly catching her hand. A small twist of strength, and he subdued her completely. "This Heavenly Stems God-Sealing Formation can restrain gods themselves. Trapping you… was inevitable."
He bound her wrists and ankles to ensure she could not leave the array, however slim the chance. Truthfully, even he hadn't expected to capture her so quickly, so easily.
"You…" Her beautiful face twisted with despair, then resignation. The mighty Demon Emperor—reduced to this pitiful state. Rage and sorrow warred in her heart until, with a cold humph, she closed her eyes, as if awaiting execution.
Ziyang, watching her, did not act immediately. Instead, he spoke: "Demon Emperor, I only want one answer. Is the Scythe of the Dead in your possession?"
She remained silent, refusing to respond.
"Heh." Ziyang chuckled softly. "You needn't answer—I can already guess. It must be within your palace, the one built over the scythe. After all, as the Witch of the Yellow Springs, even you are unworthy of wielding the Death God's weapon. So you built a palace to seal away its aura."
"You…" Her eyes flew open, filled with shock and fear.
"As I thought." Ziyang smiled. "I won't hide the truth—I am the Death God's inheritor. I've come to reclaim what is mine. As for you… a spirit born from the scythe's aura itself… you were unexpected. But perhaps I'll give you a chance. Become my spirit ring, and I'll take you with me to the God Realm."
"You speak nonsense." The Demon Emperor finally laughed, bitter and scornful. "Become your ring? Aid you in ascension? How ridiculous. If you want my spirit ring and bones, kill me outright—spare me your mockery."
"You misunderstand me." Ziyang smiled faintly.
With a thought, the Snow Empress appeared at his side.
At once, the Demon Emperor's gaze sharpened. She recognized the truth immediately—this white-clad girl was, like her, a heaven-born spirit. Yet her current state confused her deeply: half-body, half-soul, a form she had never seen.
"She is the Snow Empress, the Ice Snow Maiden—and my spirit soul," Ziyang explained.
"Spirit soul? What is that?" the Demon Emperor asked, genuine wonder breaking through her cold façade.
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