Nu Ba had been staring at her thoughtfully, and suddenly said, “You’re burning your soul force.”

Like Yun Ya who sat motionless on the ground, Feng Miaojun’s life force and spiritual energy were nearly depleted. Where had she borrowed the strength to drive this dying body?

It could only be soul force.

She was paying the price of burning her soul force in exchange for the energy to move and cast techniques.

The power of the soul was not to be underestimated. In ancient times when immortals created mechanical puppets—machinery so heavy that several people couldn’t move them—after infusing them with human or demon souls (primordial spirits), they could move freely. Moreover, the higher the rank of the primordial spirit, the greater the puppet’s power.

Feng Miaojun’s body was already failing, but the soul force of the chaos demon leader was especially vigorous.

Nu Ba asked another question: “Why don’t you leave your body to act?” Chaos demons could leave their hosts at will—why drag along this ruined vessel?

“I fear that once I leave, I won’t be able to return,” Feng Miaojun’s voice was faint.

The time left for her and Yun Ya was limited. No matter how powerful the chaos demons were, they couldn’t inhabit a body whose vitality had decayed too far.

She picked up the bronze altar from the ground.

How much chaos in the human realm had originated from this object? Now, it had finally fallen into her hands.

In the chaos of the demons’ rampage, almost no one paid attention to her actions.

It was covered in fresh blood and filled with various demon cores. Feng Miaojun shook her head, carefully holding Yun Ya’s heart in her hand, then flipped over the cauldron, emptying everything inside all at once.

Just then, there was a disturbance in the air. The Yan King roared in fury, his eyes bloodshot as he lunged forward: “Put it down, I said put it down!”

Feng Miaojun tampering with the altar threatened his very life!

Before Feng Miaojun could act, Nu Ba, who stood at her side, stepped forward to intercept him, becoming entangled in combat.

Feng Miaojun turned back to Yun Ya’s side and returned his heart to him: “The heartbeat has stopped.”

His vital energy had already vanished.

According to her earlier plan, even putting his heart back might not have helped.

Yun Ya showed no fear; he even managed to smile: “What trick are you planning now?”

He had heard every word of her promise to the chaos demon’s obsession.

This girl was confident she would survive.

Feng Miaojun didn’t answer, but instead acted completely incongruous with the situation:

She took out a water pouch and washed the altar with clean water!

Not only were those who witnessed this scene stunned, but even Yun Ya raised his eyebrows, unsure of her intent.

The cauldron’s surface was very smooth, making it difficult for blood to adhere—one rinse and it fell away. The clear water flowed, quickly washing the altar clean.

Meanwhile, the Yan King was closing in.

His cultivation was originally higher than Nu Ba’s, and now he was using every technique he knew, finally pressing his opponent closer to this area.

Feng Miaojun frowned, and taking a moment, pointed at the Yan King: “All of you, come back, stop him.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the black shadows hovering in the air paused, then changed direction, diving straight down toward the Yan King!

The Yan King instinctively swung his sword to cut them down.

His divine sword could sever souls and injure spirits; in the blink of an eye, he had destroyed more than ten chaos demons.

In this critical moment, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and he suddenly came to his senses, shouting: “Stop, stop quickly!” But it was futile—the descending chaos demons were dense like a tornado erupting on flat ground. Despite deploying all his magical devices and protective talismans, he could only block a few attacks before the chaos demons seized their opportunity and entered through his ears and nose!

The scene was incredibly eerie, as the black storm condensed into a line and penetrated the Yan King’s seven orifices.

His gaze quickly became vacant, his movements slowed, and finally, he stood motionless, speechless, like a wooden statue.

Even if his mind was enlightened and his resolve firm, he couldn’t withstand so many chaos demons entering simultaneously. Moreover, he had already gone berserk, his will compromised. The chaos demons took advantage of the opening to swiftly seize control of this vessel.

His mind felt like it would explode, yet he could hear every word Feng Miaojun spoke with perfect clarity: “I promised to teach you immortality. This is the most direct method.”

The Yan King opened his mouth, struggling to squeeze out a few words: “No, I don’t want this!”

“Being devoured by chaos demons, becoming part of us—this way you’ll exist eternally,” Feng Miaojun’s smile appeared bone-chilling to him. “You see, a deal is a deal, and I keep my word.”

The Yan King couldn’t utter another word. Before his consciousness completely vanished, he suddenly remembered something Cao Budao had once told him:

Those who make deals with chaos and demons never meet a good end.

Seeing him suddenly stand motionless, Nu Ba breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back.

Restraining the berserk Yan King had not been easy; despite her bronze skin and iron bones, her body was covered in countless new wounds.

At this moment, the branch in Yun Ya’s arms lost the last trace of green in its leaves.

It had finally exhausted all its divine power.

Then, the branches and leaves turned to dust.

Not originally of this world, it was not meant to remain long.

Feng Miaojun didn’t spare the Yan King another glance. She raised her right wrist, letting her sleeve fall back to reveal a delicate, fair forearm, and—

And a bracelet worn on her wrist.

This chain was ordinary; though of good quality, it seemed unworthy of a sovereign of a nation.

Her status deserved better, more luxurious ornaments.

But it had accompanied Feng Miaojun for too many years, from her escape to the Forbidden Sea to her ascension as queen, she had worn it until now.

It was a gift from her foster mother, Madam Xu.

For many years, when they slept with their hair bound together, Yun Ya had also seen this bracelet. The round bead in the center had a strange pattern that resembled a tree, though it was quite abstract. Viewed in isolation, few people could recognize what it represented.

However, this pattern appeared somewhere else on the scene:

It was engraved on the body of the altar cauldron.

This altar was adorned with complex illustrations and symbols that if fully rubbed and examined, depicted the myriad creatures of the world—including flowers, birds, insects, fish, humans, and beasts—all bowing and worshipping toward the center.

At the center of veneration was that tree, though larger, more complete, with more lines and greater vividness.

Just now, this pattern had been stained red with Yun Ya’s blood, highlighting the tree’s outline with perfect clarity.

Feng Miaojun removed her bracelet, pulled off the round bead, and threw it into the altar!

This bead was strange; she had pondered it for many years without determining what material it was made of. Madam Xu had only said she bought it at a sale, finding it appealing to the eye, but knew nothing more specific.

As the Queen of New Xia, Feng Miaojun encountered countless rare treasures and strange materials. New Xia had gathered numerous skilled craftsmen, yet no one could tell her what this bead was.

After mastering the chaos demon secret techniques, she had once sent her divine sense into it, but all she saw was a expanse of green.

It contained abundant power, vast and gentle, but she couldn’t begin to analyze it.

The deeper her understanding of the Great Way became, the more she felt this object didn’t belong to the mortal world.

Until this moment today, the Yan King’s actions had given her inspiration.