1122 The Nine-Petal Yang Lotus
"I underestimated you," the Yang-Sovereign said to the Prime Shadow. "I thought I had you fooled this entire time. How did you manage to discover the trail that led you to sending your Grandmaster to investigate. Entertain this question of mine, and I shall give you the answers you seek."
The Prime Shadow considered the question for a moment, then shifted his gaze towards Azurae. Azurae froze up as she felt the Prime Shadow's murderous gaze, as it felt as though she would die from his gaze alone.
"When Azurae killed Furi, she left one witness behind," the Prime Shadow answered truthfully. "That witness identified her, which led us on a trail to find proof to confront her and the ones behind her."
"I see," the Yang-Sovereign said, his gaze turning cold and murderous as he glanced at Azurae, her face marble white from the shock and fright she felt.
"Yang-Sovereign, he's lying," Azurae hastily exclaimed. "There was no one left to identify me. The only one not accounted for was a Dao Transformation boy, but there's no way someone so weak could have survived that explo-"
Her voice cut off as she realized she made a grave error, her face going more pale. Not only had she just confirmed that she had assassinated Furi, but also that the Yang-Sovereign was the one who had commanded it.
"A Dao Transformation boy, huh?" the Yang-Sovereign said, his gaze shifting down towards John in the arena, instantly filling in the blanks of what had happened. John was the only one associated with the Prime Shadow who could have survived such an explosion in the Dao Transformation Realm.
"Azurae!" the Sword-Saint suddenly roared, his voice filled with questioning rage. "You were a spy for the Yang-Sovereign this entire time?"
"I..." Azurae opened her mouth to speak, but no words formed. She was too stunned by everything that had happened, the entire plan unraveling because of her carelessness. She knew that even if the Yang-Sovereign carried out her plans, there was no salvation for her any longer.
Her reaction made the Sword-Saint's expression turn to one of furious rage. "I found you as a child. I raised you almost as my own. I nurtured you to become what you are today, and now I found out that not only have you been a spy for the Yang-Sovereign, but you are complicit in a plan to destroy us all?"
"I..." Azurae continued to mumble, stumbling backwards in shock and fear. Watching from below, a look of surprise appeared on John's face. He had thought Azurae was working for the Sword- Saint, and that the Sword-Saint was the one behind the undiscovered plot. Based on the Sword-Saint's reaction, it was clear he was as surprised as everyone else to hear the truth.
"Perish!" the Sword-Saint roared, his sword slashing towards Azurae with a sharpness beyond description.
Che!
Before she could react, the sword-image cleaved directly through her from head to feet, her expression of horror and disbelief parting in two as her two halves fell to the ground, the once prideful Half- Step Holy Manifestation powerhouse felled in a single stroke, her legacy forever tarnished.
Ten million gasps echoed within the arena, their souls feeling as though they were about to be snuffed out from the pure horror and shock they felt. The Yang-Sovereign glanced at the now-dead Azurae, then shifted his gaze to the Sword-Saint, who was hovering in the air a short distance away, sword pointed directly at the Yang- Sovereign.
"Your plan has been discovered, and you are surrounded," the Sword-Saint growled, his position in this matter made clear to all. The proof that had just been given, as well as the reaction of the Yang-Sovereign, was all the proof he needed to make a decision on the matter. "Surrender yourself, or don't blame us for destroying you, your sect, and everything you hold dear. You may be powerful, but you have no chance of victory in this battle."
The Yang-Sovereign stared at the Sword-Saint with a cold, piercing gaze for a moment.
"You are correct, Sword-Saint. My plan has been discovered, and I do not deny it," the Yang-Sovereign said as he looked about the stadium, taking in the looks of shock and horror from the Yang-Dao Sect members who had no idea of this plan, and looks of hatred and disbelief from everyone else, his gaze returning to the Sword-Saint, then the Prime Shadow. Then he smiled.
It was the smile not of a cornered man, but one still completely in control. It was a smile that sent shivers down the spine of all who saw it.
"But the discovery of my plan only changes the timeframe in which it is enacted. I'm afraid that for you, and everyone else here, the plan has already been set in motion," the Yang-Sovereign said, his words causing gasps of shock and looks of horror to appear on most faces. Before anyone could react, a soft rumbling appeared, shaking the entire Yang-Sphere. That rumbling quickly intensified until it felt as though an earthquake was going to rip it apart.
"In fact, the moment you all set foot in my Yang-Sphere, you were already trapped," the Yang-Sovereign said as the arena below suddenly shook violently, a visible seam ripping down the middle of the arena, then through the stadium itself.
"Watch out," Lilian called to John as the two, as well as Ji'Han, sped to the side, avoiding the chasm that had appeared and was widening by the second. The ten million spectators braced themselves as well as the entire world seemed to be parting, soon revealing a massive chasm several miles wide that had split the entire Yang-Dao Sphere into two halves.
Then, like the sun rising in the morning over distant mountains, a glow began to emerge from the depths of the chasm. The glow quickly intensified to a point that it was nearly blinding, while a merciless heat escaped from the depths as well.
Hovering in the sky a short distance away from the edge, John couldn't help but look over the edge, his eyes growing wide as he saw an ocean of magma far below, glowing with an orange brilliance, with a singular object resting on the surface of the magma.
An object surrounded by visible formations, one that seemed to be pushed to their limits, straining from the power of the thing they contained. A beautiful, mesmerizing object, several dozen yards wide, glowing with the power of a sun.
Feeling as though his soul was about to be ignited just by looking at it, John drew a deep breath as he instantly realized what the object was.
"The Nine-Petal Yang Lotus!"
