She bit through the tip of her tongue, about to spray out an ice barrier, but Fucang had already exhaled in one breath, blowing the black fog and white sand scattered to the ground. However, in an instant they reconvened in one place again, hovering and rotating eerily, gradually condensing into the image of a divine maiden.

Unlike those crude divine officials outside, this divine statue was exactly the same as a true deity—eyebrows like jade feathers, appearance enchanting, with a long apricot-yellow silk ribbon tied around her slender, graceful neck.

It seemed this was Liusang’s appearance.

Xuan Yi’s brows furrowed tightly. What kind of ghostly corpse was this?! Not only could it move, it could also speak, and it was sculpting her as if she were a divine statue condensed from sand grains. That bastard Shao Yi couldn’t be deceiving her, could he?

Upon seeing the sand grains condense into Liusang’s appearance, the emperor stopped paying attention to them. His long sleeves swept again, and the sand grain Liusang once more transformed into white sand and black fog that dispersed. He stood up, the agate phoenix dangling from his braid striking against the bright pearls inlaid on his clothing, producing a crisp sound. He slowly paced through the flame tree and phoenix tree forest, then leisurely chanted: “The phoenix cries out, upon that high ridge. The phoenix tree grows, facing the morning sun.”

Fucang stared at him for a long while, then said in a low voice: “His corpse is entangled with obsession and fused with turbid energy. He should have no divine consciousness, only remnants of some memories.”

Now the black fog and turbid energy of this entire Sea of Regret were entangled together with Shao Yi’s massive obsession to survive. That was why those demons who had consumed fragments and transformed into demon race could possess such ferociously powerful healing abilities, and why those bones piled in the Sea of Regret would turn into monsters.

Earlier, he had waited at the Sea of Regret for a long time. Given Shao Yi’s thorough arrangements, he deduced that he would probably use some method to dispatch the battle generals guarding the formation before making his move on the Sea of Regret. When Zichou Dajun’s demonic fog swept in, he knew this was most likely his doing.

If those great lords who had consumed fragments ultimately were swallowed one by one by obsession and lost their divine consciousness, the consequences would definitely be extremely serious. Previously, Shao Yi could still communicate with and control the obsession, but once this control completely disappeared, those great lords who had lost their divine consciousness would probably begin causing havoc on a large scale.

As long as this corpse entangled with obsession existed, no matter how many demon race were killed, it would only treat the symptoms without addressing the root cause.

Fucang pulled Xuan Yi’s arm and dragged her to a corner under a sand grain flame tree and phoenix tree, saying: “Stay here. Don’t move.”

Knowing that she would certainly not be obedient, he darkened his face and added: “Move once and I’ll lock you inside Chun Jun for a hundred years.”

He always used various fierce methods to threaten her! Xuan Yi kept a straight face, crossed her arms, and stood there like a sand grain divine statue. This appearance instead brought some traces of amusement to his eyes, dispersing a thread of gloom.

Fucang raised his hand to straighten that golden circlet of hers that was always going askew. His fingertip slid down along the gentle arc of her cheek, his palm pressing against it briefly as he said in a low voice: “Be obedient.”

The emperor in the forest had already sat back down under the tree, once again playing the fragmentary little tune. Why didn’t he continue attacking? Fucang, with a trace of probing intent, had the slender golden dragon once again dart onto the emperor’s shoulder and cut off that braid entwined with golden thread. The agate phoenix fell beneath the tree.

The little tune broke off. The emperor’s gaze fell on Fucang. After staring for a moment with concentration, his brows furrowed even tighter: “Changyu? Doesn’t look like this.”

Black fog and white sand covering heaven and earth swept forth, countless times more fierce than before. Fucang erected a barrier. Before those sand grains and black fog could transform into divine statues, he blew them away in one breath. Suddenly, a black light flashed before his eyes. With a thunderous “clang,” the barrier was actually shattered by a pitch-black feather blade. The flames of destruction that should originally have been wrapped around the blade body had now become swirling black fog—he absolutely must not be wounded by such thick turbid energy.

The golden dragon transformed into countless tidal waters spreading out, grinding the feather blade to powder. The emperor leapt up, suspended in midair to avoid the sword energy transformed into tide, then raised his hand in a summoning gesture. The long blade reappeared in his palm. He stared at Fucang for a long time, his gaze gloomy. Suddenly he waved his hand. The ground began to crack inch by inch. Black fog like tongues of fire steamed up from the fissures. His figure flashed and collided together with the golden tide.

Xuan Yi only felt the ground shaking violently. Clusters of thick black fog roared upward like giant dragons. The magnificent great hall behind her, the courtyard of flame trees and phoenix trees with gold and green interwoven before her—like a torn painting, they gradually transformed into pale raging sand. This Qiongsang City condensed from sand grains was collapsing and disintegrating, with sand grains rolling down like waterfalls.

The emperor in midair was fighting fiercely with the sword energy transformed into tide. The Qingyang Clan was originally agile and elusive. The emperor’s dark black figure was even more like swift light and lightning, moving back and forth through the gaps in the tide. Black fog like prairie fire wrapped layer after layer around the tide, then was washed completely clean by golden light again and again.

She needed to think of a way to make him stop.

Xuan Yi flicked her fingertip, and several ice walls silently descended beside the emperor, tightening layer by layer. The emperor made a sideways movement but suddenly collided with an ice wall. His elusive figure was forced to stop for an instant. Sword energy transformed into tide surged forth from all directions, shattering the ice walls and also devouring that dark black figure within.

Success? Xuan Yi stepped forward rapidly, but suddenly saw a mass of pitch-black phoenix forcefully break through the golden tide. It circled urgently several times in the black fog-filled sky, then after landing transformed into human form. With slightly stumbling steps, it retreated two paces, one hand covering its ribs where turbid energy gushed from between the fingers. Having been struck by Huaxu Clan sword energy, the wound only healed after a moment.

…It didn’t seem as strong as imagined. Indeed, it was because the divine soul was absent.

Xuan Yi was just preparing to freeze this corpse and torture it thoroughly when she suddenly felt a blue light mixed with wind sound slam hard into the ground several inches from her feet, splashing up countless white sand grains—it was actually Chun Jun’s scabbard. Not far away, Fucang glared at her with icy cold eyes. She could only retreat two steps and continue crossing her arms to impersonate a sand grain divine statue.

The tide condensed into an enormous golden dragon. Golden light flashed as the giant mouth bit down on the emperor, pushing him dozens of zhang across the sand ground. Then it soared into the air, the dragon’s mouth released, and the body rapidly coiled, wrapping the emperor within, about to crush him immediately.

In this split second, two pairs of pitch-black Wings of Dijiang suddenly drilled out from the sand ground. The four wings strangely folded and tightly embraced the golden dragon. The Fangfeng Clan’s enormous head suddenly extended from behind the wings, opening its mouth to take a bite at Fucang.

He hastily dodged, but suddenly felt fierce malevolent wind behind him. He immediately recited an incantation to erect a barrier. Another thunderous sound rang out as something shattered the barrier. His heart secretly alarmed, he beckoned with his hand. The scabbard fell into his palm. He blocked behind him as a great force fiercely struck the scabbard. He borrowed the force to slide forward several steps, then suddenly turned around. Upon seeing the scene before his eyes clearly, he couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

Those bones of powerful demon race and monster race that had been hidden in the Sea of Regret’s darkness and had been wantonly thrown in by the Heavenly Emperor and Baize Dijun were now chaotically stuck together in various bizarre forms—a rough count showed no fewer than several dozen.

…So the terrifying thing was not this Qingyang Emperor’s corpse that had lost its divine soul and only retained obsession. What was terrifying was that he could control these earth-shattering monsters inside.

The golden dragon that had been binding the emperor swiftly darted back, transforming into enormous waves to block the crazed attacks of that group of monsters and the Fangfeng Clan. The emperor fell on the sand ground. This time his wounds healed extremely quickly. He had just stood up when he suddenly felt dense white snow falling like torrential rain. He seemed to be reminded of some memory and turned his head, his gaze flickering as he stared at Xuan Yi not far away.

“Liusang?” The emperor called to her in bewilderment.

Still able to move—proof that she hadn’t been able to completely freeze him. Xuan Yi surged with divine power. The blizzard howled violently. For the first time, she discovered she could summon such fierce wind and snow. The emperor was almost instantly frozen completely solid, with only his lips opened in astonishment, still calling her: “Liusang?”

Xuan Yi said coldly: “I am not Liusang. She has long since perished.”

She flicked her fingertip, and an enormous ice dragon wrapped around the emperor again, grinding his bones back and forth.

Faster! Quickly finish off this corpse! Fucang was being pursued by that group of monsters. These earth-shattering monsters were difficult even for emperors to defeat, let alone him. If the Fangfeng Clan roared just once, even if he didn’t perish, he would be gravely injured.

Xuan Yi’s brows furrowed tightly. Suddenly another ice dragon whistled forth, transforming into countless cold lights, repeatedly piercing through this difficult-to-eliminate corpse.

She didn’t know why, but she felt it becoming more and more strenuous, as if her divine power was being consumed extremely quickly. She raised her hand to recall Zhuyin’s Darkness. This summoning had no response whatsoever. Only then did she realize in shock that the Zhuyin’s Darkness she had just released had been rapidly enveloped by turbid energy, with more than half already transformed into the same black fog as the Sea of Regret.