Battle Through the Heavens: Harmony of Flame and Shadow

This is a world being invaded, once filled with spirituality, but now nearly every corner of the world is covered in the eerie power of blood evil, polluted and corrupted.

Buzz...

In a corner of this world that is close to being completely tainted by demonic forces, on a solitary peak, the space ripples and slowly splits open, revealing a vortex from which two figures, a man, and a woman, emerge.

These two figures are naturally Jiang Yun and Ziyan, who have traversed the spatial passage to arrive at the White Dragon Plane.

After landing, they carefully avoided making any disturbances and quickly retracted their vital energy.

Ziyan extended his palm, gathering the energy from heaven and earth into a glowing orb. He sensed its power, furrowing his brows slightly, "The energy level of this plane is quite low, significantly lower than that of the Battle Qi Continent. The strength of any powerful beings that might arise here must be very limited!"

Jiang Yun also sensed the energy levels of this world. Indeed, the energy here was far lower compared to the Battle Qi Continent. It's known that dragons cannot be raised in shallow waters; the grander the world's stage, the stronger the beings it can nurture.

"The strongest being this plane has ever produced was only at the Supreme level. Against the invasion led by the Demon Emperor, there's simply no way they could resist!" Jiang Yun spoke up. Not every invaded lower plane was as fortunate as those where the Symbol Ancestor descended, sacrificing himself, and later the chosen one like Lin Dong appeared.

Most invaded lower planes suffered miserable fates, much like the White Dragon Plane.

In the vast universe, the Thousand Great Worlds are the center of everything, beneath which exist numerous lower planes with varying levels. At its peak, the Battle Qi Continent is undoubtedly one of the strongest lower planes.

The Tianxuan Continent, slightly weaker than the Battle Qi Continent, faced an invasion by the Other Demon Race before it could fully develop. Fortunately, the Symbol Ancestor appeared, accelerating Tianxuan's development by bringing a cultivation system.

Even so, although the Other Demon Race was eventually wiped out, it severely damaged the vitality of the Tianxuan Continent, necessitating a period of redevelopment.

"This place has been invaded by the Outer World Evil Clan for many years. The surrounding spiritual energy has started to turn into that eerie blood energy. Thankfully, it hasn't completely succeeded yet!" Ziyan clasped his palm, a trace of the blood energy struggling within his grasp. This was blood demon power, dissipating in the air.

To acquire the birth essence of a plane, Ziyan had done thorough homework, and now he was quite knowledgeable about this.

Perceiving the loathsome foreign energy, Ziyan slightly frowned, "I wonder if there's a Demon Emperor on this plane?"

He knew that the Dharmic sages of the Outer World Evil Clan were equivalent to the Heavenly Sovereigns of the Thousand Great Worlds. Though he had gleaned some insights into the mysteries of the Heavenly Sovereign, he was at the initial stage of understanding. Without Jiang Yun's intervention, relying solely on the Dragon Phoenix power, he could contend with the least powerful Heavenly Sovereign, but it would ultimately be troublesome.

Jiang Yun's eyes flashed, and he shook his head, "There shouldn't be one. The birth essence of a lower plane is only effective for strong individuals below a Heavenly Sovereign; the Demon Emperor likely wouldn't interfere."

Though he knew of this plane's situation, Jiang Yun couldn't reveal everything and needed Ziyan to explore it herself.

"Xiao Yun, let's first investigate this world to see if there are any surviving native beings," Ziyan suggested, her brows easing slightly as she looked at Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun readily agreed, and the two, concealing their energy, transformed into streaks of light and shot towards the distance. To avoid attention, they chose to fly low, keeping away from the layers of demonic energy in the sky.

Two streaks of light flitted through the sky, with Ziyan looking down at the desolate land, her brows furrowing more with each passing moment. Throughout their journey, there was no sound of birds or beasts, only deathly silence, making the world feel like a realm of the dead.

"The Outer World Evil Clan is even more brutal than the Soul Clan. Could it be that they've slaughtered all the beings of this lower plane?" Thinking of this, Ziyan's heart burned with an even stronger desire to annihilate the Blood Evil Clan.

They flew for a long time before detecting some unusual energy beneath a mountainside. A city faintly appeared on the distant land.

Within the city were numerous life forms, some exuding the same aura as this world. These should be the native inhabitants.

"There are people here!"

Ziyan's eyes lit up as he exchanged a look with Jiang Yun. The two moved like phantoms, appearing above the city, their energy concealed, blending into the void, making it impossible for anyone to detect their presence.

Standing above the city, they glanced downward to see a bustling scene within. Countless people were bustling about in a lively cityscape.

However, despite the bustling scene, Ziyan frowned deeply. From the lively atmosphere, she sensed something off-kilter.

The residents, though displaying the myriad expressions of life, all looked pale, their expressions strained and masked with a sense of numbness.

Though these people were alive, they appeared more like walking corpses.

Woo woo...

Suddenly, sharp wailing sounds erupted from the city. As the sharp cries echoed, the previously bustling city fell into chaos. Everyone frantically turned to flee towards their homes; the smiles vanished, replaced by utter terror.

"Jie jie jie"

A sharp laughter echoed, and Ziyan's face turned icy as she looked in the direction of the sound. From the depths of the city, numerous blood shadows shot out, laughing sharply as they swooped down on the city's residents like eagles.

These figures in blood robes had pale faces with two sharp fangs protruding from their mouths, glinting with cold light.

Swooping down, they grabbed the frantic people and pierced their necks with their sharp fangs. Within seconds, the people's bodies shriveled and struggled madly. After the blood was sucked dry, they were discarded like garbage.

At this moment, Ziyan understood the eerie aspect. The Outer World Evil Clan was rearing the beings here like livestock, slaughtering them whenever they pleased, enjoying the thrill of their desperate escape.

"Damn scoundrels!!!"

"Roar!!!"

An enraged dragon roar echoed, and countless tiny dragon shadows shot out from the sky, sweeping across the land, stirring up waves of blood mist wherever they passed.

"Ahhh..."

The massive city was enveloped by dazzling white light. Thousands of blood shadows exploded with wails, the blood mist filling the sky but quickly dissipating completely. The previously shrill city fell into abrupt silence.

Inside the city, the native residents who had resigned to their fate were dumbfounded, watching as the white light filled the sky, extinguishing many Blood Evil Clan members without harming them. This level of control demonstrated Ziyan's significant growth over the seven years.

The remaining people in the city were slow to recover. They never imagined that the demons, invincible in their eyes, would be slain so easily.

Rigidly turning their heads, they saw two figures descending from the sky, landing gently in the city center.

"Gods, the gods have come to save us…"

In deep despair, the people knelt down, trembling, as if clinging to the last straw.

Their faces were still etched with deep despair. The life of being reared like livestock robbed them of all dignity; they didn't even have the right to die.

The only purpose for their survival seemed to be providing a constant stream of fresh blood for the Blood Evil Clan.

Their descendants weren't exempt either, destined to be reared like livestock, a cycle repeating endlessly.

In such a numb world, they had long lost hope. They had resisted, but under the overwhelming power of the Blood Evil Clan, their resistance was but the struggle of ants.

They had despaired, howled, begged for mercy, until today's numbness.

But in this numb world, Ziyan and Jiang Yun appeared, incredibly powerful. In their hands, the once invincible Blood Evil Clan seemed utterly vulnerable.

At this moment, Jiang Yun and Ziyan appeared as the dawn of hope in their eyes, beings who could slay these powerful demons with ease—a feat only accomplished by the gods in legends.

Watching the countless beings kowtowing frantically, seemingly unaware of the pain from the blood streaming from their foreheads, the pain on their bodies was nothing compared to the anguish in their hearts.

Ziyan sighed softly, though coming to the White Dragon Plane with a purpose, seeing these living dead natives stirred his emotions. He somewhat understood why the Outer World Evil Clan was the common enemy of the Thousand Great Worlds.

With a wave of his hand, a gentle force swept through, lifting the frantically kowtowing people. He solemnly declared, "I will help you drive out the Outer World Evil Clan."

"Xiao Yun." Turning to Jiang Yun, Ziyan's eyes held a trace of inquiry.

Jiang Yun retracted his gaze from the sky, shaking his head slightly, his voice echoing in Ziyan's ear, "The essence of this plane is well hidden!"

Upon arriving in the White Dragon Plane, Jiang Yun had been using his soul power to explore and sense the unique fluctuations of the essence of the plane. But unfortunately, to avoid being tainted by demonic forces, the essence of this world was deeply hidden, and Jiang Yun had yet to find it despite his efforts.

Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Ziyan didn't rush. Years of being a Dragon Sovereign had instilled some patience, knowing that haste would not achieve the desired outcome. This was a marginal improvement.

For now, gathering information on the Blood Evil Clan was crucial. Although Jiang Yun had general information, specifics required further exploration.

Through the words of the city's inhabitants and Jiang Yun's known information, they quickly learned all about the Blood Evil Clan.

Though the Blood Evil Clan was not as powerful as the Thirty-Two Clans, within the clan resided a Blood Demon King at the quasi-Heavenly Sovereign level, aiming to break through to the Demon Emperor by acquiring the plane's essence.

Below the Blood Demon King were Blood Demon Princes and Blood Demon Generals, powerful beings at the Earth Sovereign level. The Blood Demon Princes had strength comparable to true Heavenly Sovereigns, having comprehended the realm of Heavenly Sovereigns.

Though the Blood Demon Princes were few, with only six of them, the Blood Demon Generals beneath were numerous.

From the narratives, they learned that the strongest being in this city was a Blood Demon General with upper Earth Sovereign strength, considered high-ranking among the Blood Evil Clan. But, the enraged Ziyan had swiftly taken him down.

Not far to the north, in another city, a Blood Demon Prince held sway, commanding several Blood Demon Generals. Beyond this, the inhabitants had no further information.

"A Blood Demon Prince of the Blood Evil Clan is stationed a thousand miles away in Tianyuan City. They probably haven't received news from this city yet. Ziyan, what do you think?" Jiang Yun looked towards Ziyan, stating their most important goal was still hers, offering support and covering the final outcomes.

Contemplating for a moment, Ziyan spoke earnestly, "The Blood Evil Clan is formidable. A frontal assault wouldn't allow me to eradicate them all. Moreover, according to what you've said, the essence of the plane never recognizes anyone unless in a desperate situation. If I exhaust myself exterminating the Blood Evil Clan yet fail to gain its recognition, wouldn't it be a wasted effort?"

"Therefore, to gain the essence's recognition, it needs to feel utter despair, thinking only I can save this plane. What do you think, Xiao Yun?"

After speaking, Ziyan's beautiful eyes looked at Jiang Yun, noticing his startled expression, a hint of pride flashing in his eyes. Everyone can grow, can't they? Isn't this already amazing?

"Very well, we'll go with your plan." Instantly, Jiang Yun recovered and nodded, his heart filled with emotions witnessing Ziyan's growth.

The Blood Demon King of the Blood Evil Clan had begun breaking through to the Demon Emperor. His emergence would inevitably summon the plane's essence. However, arriving a century earlier than Mu Chen, what state was the Blood Demon King in now?

After formulating a preliminary plan, the two shot off as streaks of light towards another city a thousand miles away.

Iron Blood City, once an ancient city of this world, had now become a demonic nest to imprison the natives. On a peak outside the city, the two figures appeared at the summit, gazing at the ancient city below.