Liu Yuan hovered beside the massive head of the Dynamax Mega Rayquaza, looking down coldly at Ye Xishui, who lay buried beneath the ruins.
He raised his right hand, thin strands of emerald-green lightning dancing at his fingertips.
"Ye Xishui, your tricks with souls are meaningless before absolute power."
His voice pierced through the surging energy currents, clearly reaching the shattered ground below.
Then he clenched his hand.
High in the sky, the colossal dragon let out a low roar. Dark red lightning gathered around its enormous claws, locking firmly onto Ye Xishui's aura.
"I'll send you on your way."
Just as the killing blow was about to fall, a grief-stricken dragon roar echoed from the distance.
"Xishui!"
Long Xiaoyao's eyes turned bloodshot. Locked in combat with Snow Empress, he instantly fell into madness upon seeing Ye Xishui on the brink of death.
The Dark Holy Dragon Martial Soul behind him burned its origin spirit power. The massive black dragon spread its wings, attempting to forcibly tear through the frozen Domain and rush toward Liu Yuan.
An ice-blue barrier rose before him.
Snow Empress stood calmly within the Void Realm, her emperor sword angled downward. Endless ice crystals bloomed in the air around her, weaving into a massive frozen web that suppressed Long Xiaoyao's dark aura within a hundred-meter radius.
"Your opponent is me," she said coldly.
"Get out of my way!" Long Xiaoyao roared, punching forward. Two pillars of pitch-black dragon energy slammed violently into the ice barrier.
"If anything happens to her, even if I destroy my divine soul, I'll drag all of you down with me!"
Snow Empress remained unmoved. With a light sweep of her sword, a transparent Ultimate Ice Sword Qi tore through the sky, splitting the two pillars of black energy apart.
The freezing force surged backward along the severed energy paths, instantly coating Long Xiaoyao's arms in thick frost.
"You cannot save her," Snow Empress said flatly. "And you will not leave this place."
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Zhongli Wu was also locked in a desperate struggle.
He swung the Death God Bone Staff frantically, countless vengeful spirits screaming as they surged forth, searching for an opening in Kong Deming's defense.
"Kong Deming!" Zhongli Wu roared as he raised a massive bone shield. "Are you really going to watch the Holy Spirit Cult be wiped out? Without us, how will the Sun Moon Empire stand against Shrek?!"
Kong Deming's expression remained calm. Hundreds of tiny silver spatial spheres floated before him, continuously rearranging and evolving.
"There's no need for such deceit," he replied indifferently, folding space with a casual gesture. "You assassinated the Emperor and colluded with rebels. Today, that debt is repaid. Under my spatial lock, you cannot escape."
Zhongli Wu attempted to teleport, but every spatial rift he opened detonated in advance under Kong Deming's control. Violent spatial turbulence forced him back each time, trapping him in place.
Watching Ye Xishui gravely injured while he himself was completely suppressed, Zhongli Wu's face darkened to the extreme.
At that moment, the ruins stirred.
Ye Xishui crawled out from beneath the shattered white bone tower.
Half her body was soaked in blood. Her former arrogance was gone, replaced by twisted madness.
She stared at Liu Yuan in the sky, sensing the terrifying power gathering above—power capable of obliterating her very soul.
"Want to kill me?" she shrieked. "You're not worthy!"
She spread her arms wide. The soul core at her chest erupted with blinding blood-red light.
"If you want my life, then I'll drag you—and this entire Evil Demon Forest—down to hell with me!"
Her body withered rapidly. Her Level 99 spirit power collapsed inward in an instant, condensing into an extremely unstable dark red sphere.
The ultimate self-detonation of a Limit Douluo.
Once unleashed, everything within a hundred-mile radius would be reduced to absolute death.
"Liu Yuan—die with me!"
Grinning hideously, Ye Xishui transformed into a streak of bloody light and shot straight toward the core of the Dynamax Mega Rayquaza.
Liu Yuan's eyes turned cold as he prepared to mobilize Primal Kyogre's divine power to suppress her.
But at that critical instant—
Within the God Realm, Tang San's expression became solemn.
Standing in the God King Hall, he gazed down upon the Lower Realm through his divine sense, witnessing Liu Yuan's overwhelming Dynamax power and Ye Xishui's impending self-destruction.
"This is the perfect moment," Tang San murmured, calculation flashing in his eyes. "Liu Yuan has exceeded control. If he disappears here—or is drawn into my trial—everything can return to its original course."
He raised his right hand. The Sea God Trident appeared in his grasp.
Instead of descending with a clone, Tang San invoked his God King authority, forcibly activating the rule formation he had placed upon the Douluo Continent.
The Qiankun Love Probing Valley.
"Since you all enjoy fighting so much," Tang San said softly, "then settle it within my trial grounds."
Golden divine power erupted.
A beam of light pierced through the barrier of the God Realm, descending directly upon the Evil Demon Forest.
In the next instant, everyone locked in battle—Ye Xishui on the verge of self-destruction, Liu Yuan poised to strike, Long Xiaoyao and Snow Empress mid-confrontation, and Kong Deming—felt space freeze completely.
An absolute, irresistible will descended.
A tremendous suction force surged from the Void Realm.
High above the forest, a massive golden rift tore open, releasing ethereal mist and overwhelming divine pressure.
"What… what is this?!" Kong Deming exclaimed in shock as he realized all his spatial Laws had been completely nullified.
Ye Xishui's collapsing spirit power was forcibly suppressed back into her body by the golden radiance. Her face twisted in terror as she found herself unable to move.
Liu Yuan frowned deeply, sensing the unmistakable malice behind the power.
"Tang San…"
Before he could react further, golden light engulfed all the core figures on the battlefield. Within the blinding radiance, their forms blurred and vanished.
The world shifted.
When Liu Yuan opened his eyes again, the ruins and flames of the Evil Demon Forest were gone.
They stood within a colossal valley suspended above the clouds. Beneath their feet lay a vast circular altar, surrounded by bottomless abysses. Giant, multicolored bubbles drifted through the air, and a bizarre atmosphere of so-called "love" and "judgment" permeated everything.
Qiankun Love Probing Valley.
One by one, Long Xiaoyao, Ye Xishui, Zhongli Wu, Kong Deming, Jing Hongchen, and Snow Empress appeared, scattered across different corners of the altar, each wearing expressions of shock and vigilance.
"Where… is this place?" Zhongli Wu cried out in panic, sensing his evil power being heavily suppressed.
Tang San's majestic, illusory voice echoed from all directions, carrying unquestionable authority.
"Welcome to the Qiankun Love Probing Valley. Since the karma of the mortal world cannot be resolved, let love and courage decide your fate here."
Liu Yuan stood at the center of the altar, his gaze icy as he looked into the Void.
He knew this was no trial.
It was Tang San's attempt to seize control of the chessboard once more.