Death and Decay.
That was name of the strange purple ring around the Hell Demon Dragon King, it was an extremely powerful technique she had developed through the years of mastering the darkness element.
It could even be said that her mastery of the darkness element was at the same level as Di Tian.
Death and Decay is a technique that concentrated the darkness element's corrosive effect to an unimaginable degree, forming a ring of pure decay that could erode physical matter, soul and spiritual powers.
Anything caught within its influence would wither and rot, even a Transcendent Douluo wouldn't be able to survive such an attack straight on without any impressive defensive capabilities.
Cai Mei'er was a pure combat-type soul master rank 95 Transcendent Douluo. As the Vice Dean of the Martial Soul Department, her combat prowess were among the best.
However, even she couldn't do anything against the Death and Decay at point-blank range.
'Shaozhe...' Feeling extreme danger and of inevitable death, Cai Mei'er saw her whole life flashed before her eyes.
She lived a wonderful and fulfilling life; having become a renowned genius of her generation, becoming a strong expert, and marrying one of the most sought after bachelors in her generation — Yan Shaozhe, married for more than a hundred years.
She should've been happy with how far she had come, with the achievements she had attained and the love she had found. Yet, as death loomed before her, a sense of regret welled up within her heart.
'Was Shaozhe ever happy with me?' That was the thought tht always plagued Cai Mei'er.
She was a cold and arrogant woman to everyone, even to Yan Shaozhe she acted aloof and distant, rarely showing her true feelings. Even after their marriage, she struggled to express her love openly. She had always been proud and reserved, unable to let go of her stern demeanor even with the man she loved.
And that didn't mean Yan Shaozhe had no fault as well. He wasn't overly expressive or romantic either. Despite his usual charismatic and flamboyant demeanor as the Bright Phoenix Douluo, when it came to his own wife, he became strangely reserved and cautious. It was as if he feared overstepping boundaries or pushing her away.
It was extremely vexing for her when he acts all chummy with others, especially towards other women like Xian Lin'er!
It always left Cai Mei'er wondering, was she a good wife? Was he not satisfied with her anymore?
After all, they've been together for around a hundred years and yet they haven't had children yet.
'Was our marriage....a sham? Shaozhe...' Tears rolled down her eyes as the purple ring of light was about to engulf her completely. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart more by her own thoughts than the impending death itself.
"Skreee!"
The sound of a Phoenix's cry was heard, bright Phoenix Light Flames brightened the sky.
A flash of yellow-red light appeared in between Cai Mei'er and the Hell Demon Dragon King at the speed of light, a flap of its wings pushed back the dragon lady.
It was a golden Phoenix with nine soul rings circling around it: 2 yellow, 2 purple, 4 black, and 1 red. Its sixth soul ring lit up — Radiant Piercing Tsunami Flames!
The majestic golden Phoenix spread its wings wide, releasing a huge blazing torrent of Radiant Phoenix Flames like towards the Hell Demon Dragon King.
"Tch. How troublesome!" The Hell Demon Dragon King opened her mouth, and large amounts of darkness and fire elements started building up to her throat, forming a terrifying sphere of dark flames that pulsed with corrosive energy. The air around it distorted and cracked, showing just how devastating the attack would be.
With a ferocious roar, the Hell Demon Dragon King unleashed her Hell Demon Flames directly at the Radiant Phoenix Flames.
BOOOOOOM!
The two opposing forces clashed mid-air, creating a violent shockwave.
The Hell Demon Dragon King was about to charged at the Bright Phoenix when powerful winds came at her from all sides.
"We'll be your opponents!" Xian Lin'er exclaimed, spear in hand, fierce winds surrounding her with nine soul rings under her feet, and her husband Qian Duoduo beside her.
"Y-You bastards!"
"Shaozhe!?" Cai Mei'er exclaimed in shock.
The Bright Phoenix shone and transformed into Yan Shaozhe. He turned to Cai Mei'er, and before she could react, he hugged her tightly.
"Eh? S-Shaozhe?!" Cai Mei'er blushed, her face completely beet red.
They weren't an overly affectionate couple, so she was easily flustered at her husband's affectionate embrace.
"Mei'er! I'm thankful.... I made it in time... I... I didn't lose you...!" Yan Shaozhe buried his face into her shoulder, his arms trembling as he held her tightly.
Cai Mei'er was completely stunned, unsure of how to react.
But something within her heart seemed to rekindle.
A soft smile formed on Cai Mei'er's lips, one that hadn't graced her face in a long time.
Slowly, she raised her arms and wrapped them around his back, pulling him closer. "You're such an idiot... Couldn't you have just swoop me away instead of getting in front of me to face that attack?"
"Sorry. I...I just didn't want to lose you..." He muttered, pressing his forehead against hers.
"Shaozhe..." Cai Mei'er started tearing up.
"Hey!"
Their moment was suddenly interrupted by a loud, exasperated voice.
"Hey! Lovebirds! Save the flirting for later!" Xian Lin'er shouted, spinning her spear with one hand while glaring at them. "We're still in the middle of a battlefield! You aren't teenagers anymore, not for a long time."
"By Sea God, don't you two feel ashamed?!Look! You guys were so lost in your own world, that the soul beasts are just awkwardly staring at you two." Xian Lin'er pointed out.
Both Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei'er blinked. They looked around to find soul beasts as well as some of their colleagues stop and stare at them.
One of the soul beasts, a large Devil Black Panther, raised their paw and said. "Ah, don't mind us. It just didn't feel right attacking you both like that, so..."
Another added, "We can just ignore you guys? It looks like you two have a lot to talk about."
"We'll be out of your way~"
"....." Cai Mei'er's face turned redder than a tomato, tears in her eyes as she palmed her face, feeling utterly humiliated.
"I-I want to die..." she muttered under her breath.
Yan Shaozhe, on the other hand, awkwardly cleared his throat, trying to salvage what little dignity he had left. "Ahem! Right. Let's just... pretend that didn't happen."
Xian Lin'er burst out laughing, her fifth soul ring shone and a powerful wind tornado enveloped; acting as both defense and offense against the Hell Demon Dragon King.
"Oh my god! Even the soul beasts feel bad for you two! This is priceless!"
Qian Duoduo had a huge grin on his face, inwardly wishing that he got that blueprint of a soul tool that captures of what he sees that turns into a portrait or something. "Shaozhe, Mei'er. You both go death with the Myriad Demon King, we got this dragon!"
Yan Shaozhe looked hesitant for a moment before eventually nodding. "Got it."
He and Cai Mei'er went towards where the Myriad Demon King was, surrounded by multiple hundred thousand year old plant-type soul beasts.
"...You two are underestimating me." The Hell Demon Dragon King muttered, looking pissed off. "Do you really think just you two could take me on?"
Xian Lin'er smirked. "Yeah, we'd win."
Qian Duoduo raised his head proudly and said, "With the power of love, nothing can stand in our way!"
Xian Lin'er turned red. "That is—! Ugh! You idiot! Shut up!"
Veins popped on the Hell Demon Dragon King's temples, her eyes glowing a deep-purple color while her lips twitched.
Watching these couples flirting so carelessly like this completely angered her, a single dragon who couldn't capture her crush's heart for thousands of years.
"You couples really piss me off!" the Hell Demon Dragon King snarled, her voice dripping with venomous irritation.
Pitch-black darkness enveloped her whole body like smoke, and a giant dragon head peeked out of the smoke. The dragon had amethyst-like colored scales; incredibly durable and beautiful. It was around 70 meters tall and radiated a terrifying aura of destruction.
The Hell Demon Dragon King had transformed into her true form, likely the one of her kind remaining in this world — Abyss Demon Dragon!
Xian Lin'er wryly smiled. "Cool trick. However you're not the only one who can transform!" Her seventh soul ring shone, so did Qian Duoduo's.
Xian Lin'er's seventh soul skill: True Martial Soul Avatar — Azure Flame Dragon True Body!
Qian Duoduo's seventh soul skill: True Martial Soul Avatar — Black Dragon Shield True Body!
A giant green dragon and a large square shield with a black dragon with red eyes appeared facing the Abyss Demon Dragon.
The giant green dragon raised its right claw and the spear that Xian Lin'er had wielded appeared, now larger and wreathed in dense wind blades. It then grabbed the Black Dragon Shield with its other claw.
The massive Azure Flame Dragon roared, turning the sky dark-blue as its spear gleamed with a fierce verdant light. The scales of the dragon shimmered like jade crystals, and its blazing green eyes locked onto the Abyss Demon Dragon.
"False dragons such as yourselves, dare to challenge me? Know your place!" The Hell Demon Dragon King bellowed, her voice shaking the very ground beneath them.
"You'll eat those words out of your mouth! You stupid dragon bitch!" The Azure Flame Dragon bellowed, thrusting her spear with deadly precision.
A battle between dragons! Such a legendary battle caused both the heaven and earth to tremble violently as the two mighty dragons clashed with earth-shattering force.
"A battle between dragons... Now that's a rare sight, even among soul beasts. Shame that two of them are false dragons."
Di Tian casually commented as he calmly observed the chaos that was happening around him.
"...Why are you doing this?" Elder Xuan snarked, looking battered and severely injured. A bright emerald glow enveloped his injuries and it gradually started to heal.
His eyes widened and he turned towards a beautiful woman with long green hair and a gentle demeanor; Bi Ji, the strongest healer of the Great Star Dou Forest.
Xuan Zi gritted his teeth. "Di Tian! Do you take us all for fools?!"
"I thought I was imagining things, but since I'm not dead and you aren't dealing with the others personally, then I'm certain now. You hold no killing intent towards us! Why? Why are you continuing this madness of toying with us?!"
Di Tian hummed and replied. "I wanted to show you something, all of you. I want you all to see and understand what your generation seemed to forget."
He furrowed his brows.
"How fearsome we soul beasts are."
He glanced towards a certain direction.
"And most importantly, you do not mess with me."
"That bastard..."
Huo Yuhao's lips twitched, watching a projection that Di Tian created that transmitted the entire situation at his location in the cave.
He gritted his teeth and took a step forward—
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes.
"Qiu'er. Move."
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AN: Hoho, flirting in the middle of a battle? Hah. I wished this was on the sea or something~
3/3 chapters of the week