Cries of horror boomed out from the Netherfrost Beast clan as they watched their leader plunge into the fiery abyss below, disappearing from sight as he fell helplessly into the formations surrounding the Yang Lotus.
As if expecting the Netherfrost Beast's arrival, the formations enveloped him with ropes of light, then guided him towards the Yang Lotus. Cries of agony sounded from within the chasm for a short moment before falling silent as the Netherfrost Beast Leader plunged directly into the Yang Lotus.
A sizzling sound emanated from the chasm a moment later, like the sound of something being fried in pan. That sound faded a moment later as well, followed by a slight drop in the power and heat emanating from the Lotus.
"Noooooo! Patriarch!" the tearful cries of the Netherfrost Beast group, ranging from youths to other Elders, boomed over the stadium.
"Do not despair" the Yang-Sovereign said to them with a calm, comforting voice. "I will soon reunite you with your Patriarch!"
"You! You Devil!" some of the Netherfrost Beasts roared, cursing the Yang-Sovereign, their expression the epitome of rage and bloodlust.
Flash!
The platform they were standing on flashed with formation runes, then quickly moved towards the Yang-Sovereign, hovering above the chasm. Their expression went from rage to horror as they realized what was to come, and their screams of fear and agony rang out as the platform gave way, sending the hundreds of Netherfrost Beasts plunging into the abyss below.
The same sounds filled the stadium as the Netherfrost Beasts fell into the Yang Lotus, their bodies incinerated by the immense heat. At the same time, the potent Yin within their bodies acted like water on a fire, dousing its power, subduing its heat.
As the last Netherfrost Beast was consumed, the power of the Yang- Lotus dropped by a noticeable amount, although it was still akin to a miniature sun, one capable of destroying everything should the formations surrounding it fail.
"Hah," a powerful Half-Step Holy Manifestation cultivator, a sect leader from a tier two subsect, roared in amusement. "Even with the Netherfrost Beast blood, the Lotus is still too strong for you to absorb. You have failed."
"And the formations surrounding the Yang Lotus seem to be failing," the Prime Shadow added, feeling the powerful restriction formations diminishing in power. "I'm assuming you did not have enough spirit crystals to power both the restriction formations and the Yang-Sphere formation."
"You are correct, Prime Shadow" the Yang-Sovereign nodded.
"What then? We wait for the formations surrounding the Yang Lotus to fail, thus destroying us all?" the Sword-Saint sneered, his expression still brimming with murderous bloodlust.
"Not quite," the Yang-Sovereign smiled at him. "This is all according to plan. I was not naive enough to think the Netherfrost Beasts alone could subdue the Yang Lotus, but their Yin Qi did subdue it by a considerable margin, enough for the rest of the Yin energy to do its job in subduing it. But before then, I think it's time I reinforce the Lotus formations for now."
Snap!
The Yang-Sovereign snapped his fingers, activating another hidden formation built within the enormous Yang-Sphere, a once awe-inspiring construction now turned into a tomb. Everyone saw as more runic patterns emerged on the Yang-Sphere overhead, its power intensifying greatly. Then, they felt their Dantians, no longer in their control, start be drained of their power.
Like a whirlpool consuming everything that approached it, the formation restricting them began to tug on their Dantians, forcefully drawing the Qi from their bodies. Everyone began to panic, doing their best to resist the pull from the formation, but no one was able to stop it.
With horrified expressions, the ten million cultivators, the pinnacle powers of the Human Continent, watched as their Qi streamed through the air as if controlled by an invisible hand, then surged down into the abyss, infusing the weakening Yang Lotus formations.
Millions of cries of pain, of agony, of fear, of hopelessness sounded out as everyone desperately struggled to resist, but to no avail. One by one, the cultivators felt their Dantians become drained of Qi, their bodies growing weaker, their faces growing more and more pale.
Bang!
A cultivator, a Meridian Forging youth from a tier three subsect, collapsed to the ground, his Qi fully drained, leaving him an empty husk without power. Then, as if reacting to his drained state, an invisible power picked him up and dragged him into the air, directly above the chasm.
On the edge of unconsciousness, the boy struggled as much as he could to break free of the invisible restrictions, but was powerless to do anything. With one final cry of horror, he plunged into the depths below, disappearing within the Yang Lotus' fiery power.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
More and more cultivators, all on the weaker side, began to collapse, completely drained of their Qi. Then same as the boy, they were flung into the abyss towards the Yang-Lotus, like drops of rain hoping to extinguish a raging wildfire.
"Stop this madness at once!" the Sword-Saint roared, his voice brimming with desperation.
"Stop it?" the Yang-Sovereign scoffed. "It's only getting started. While far less potent than the Netherfrost Beasts, the blood of a typical human cultivator is naturally Yin-aligned, except for when one cultivates Yang, thus changing their blood to be Yang-aligned. To subdue the Yang Lotus, I need far more Yin energy than what the Netherfrost Beasts were able to provide."
"But that much Yin energy...you would need to kill millions!" the Mage-Sovereign roared with helpless anger.
"Yes, millions of the strongest human cultivators on the continent," the Yang-Sovereign agreed. "And the only place where I would be able to gather millions of the strongest Yin-blooded cultivators without any suspicion was this tournament. It's almost as if the creation of this tournament a hundred thousand years ago was done by divine intervention, done with the singular purpose of what is occurring today."
"You're actually insane," the Mage-Sovereign growled, looking on with helplessness as hundreds, then thousands of cultivators were sent over the edge, plunging towards the Yang Lotus below.
"Your hatred is expected," the Yang-Sovereign said, his words meant for her and everyone else. "The only thing I can do to console you all is to promise that your sacrifice will not be in vain. Once I absorb the Yang Lotus, I will use my newfound powers to dominate the Devils and the Beasts, and bring humanity into the forefront of this world. The sacrifices of today will lead to a prosperous future for the rest of humanity."
"Fuck that!"
"You're a murderous bastard!"
"Traitor!"
Thousands of insults boomed out from those still maintaining their consciousness. The Yang-Sovereign ignored their insults, instead waving his hand towards the Yang Lotus. The world began to tremble once more as the light emanating from the chasm began to grow brighter.
Then, in front of millions of stunned and awed faces, the Yang Lotus rose from the chasm, appearing for all to see. The formations enshrouding the Yang Lotus fought with furious intensity to keep its power and brightness in check, as otherwise everything, even the Yang-Sovereign would be destroyed.
The Yang Lotus continued to rise up into the air, eventually resting high in the sky dozens of miles above the stadium.
"Ahhhh! Cries of panic and pain rang out as those fully drained of their Qi were sucked up towards the Yang Lotus like dilt in a vacuum, disappearing within the apocalyptic flames of the lotus.
The Yang-Sovereign watched the process continue for some time, with thousands, then tens of thousands of cultivators sacrificed to the lotus, all while the Prime Shadow, the Sword-Saint, the Mage- Sovereign, and everyone else could only watch with hopelessness on their face, waiting for their inevitable turn.
"I'm sorry, young one," the Prime Shadow's defeated voice sounded out within John's mind, sent through direct sound transmission. "My friendship with the Yang-Sovereign blinded me. It seems I have lost my edge in my old age. I have failed you and everyone else. I hope you can forgive me."
John drew in a deep breath, the weight of the Prime Shadow's words crashing into him. If there was anyone who could save them it was him. But even the Prime Shadow had been ensnared in the Yang-Sovereign's trap, making him as powerless as the rest of them.
As more and more cultivators were sucked into the Yang Lotus, its power began to slowly but visibly diminish. The Yang-Sovereign watched the process happen, then against all expectations, turned and looked downwards towards John.
The two locked eyes, a furious bloodlust contained within John's gaze.
"I was going to extend an olive branch towards you in hopes that you would join me," the Yang-Sovereign said. "After all, your talent is truly unlike anything I've ever seen, and to waste it like this is almost unforgivable...but I can see from your expression that you would decline such an offer. Such a shame."
Then, without looking back, the Yang-Sovereign soared up into the sky, hovering a short distance from the Yang-Lotus.
"The Lotus has been tempered enough to begin the process," he said softly to himself, a smile of anticipation appearing on his face. Then, in front of everyone's shocked eyes, he moved forward through the restrictive formations, which opened a tunnel for him directly into the center of the lotus, then disappeared within the lotus itself.
His figure barely visible through the Yang flames of the lotus, everyone watched as the Yang-Sovereign sat down within the Lotus, the Lotus' power's slowly beginning to flow towards and into the Yang-Sovereign's body.
