"You think I'm really afraid of you?!
If you won't show respect, then I'll drag you down with me!"
The divine beast egg completely snapped. Its voice cracked with fury and desperation as it howled and thrashed, struggling to lash out.
But Song Wanníng only smiled, slow and quiet. "Yes, killing a divine beast would bring Heaven's wrath upon me. But… what if you're no longer a divine beast?"
"You—"
The egg froze, speechless.
This woman was insane. Completely insane.
"Fine! I'll take you with me!"
Driven by desperation, the egg lunged at her, intending to explode in one final act of defiance.
But before it could reach her, Song Wanníng casually lifted her hand. A soft flick of her fingers, and the weakened egg was dragged helplessly back into her grasp.
Dark energy poured from her fingertips, seeping through the cracks in the shell. Following the method etched into her sea of consciousness, she murmured the incantation under her breath and began feeding her blood into the egg.
Wherever her blood reached, it forced out the egg's original divine beast essence. Those expelled threads of blood carried a black shimmer—pure power, sacred and untouchable.
"Aaaah—"
The egg screamed in agony. A deep, soul-ripping pain tore through its entire being. It shook violently in her palm, shell rattling as it tried to resist.
"You vile woman! Let go of me!
I'll kill you! I'll—" Its curses gave way to pitiful shrieks. Its strength drained rapidly, the fight going out of it one tortured second at a time.
It could feel its bloodline being ripped away, stripped from its very soul.
There was no saving itself now.
It was over. Completely over.
The pain was unbearable. It didn't just burn, it burrowed into its spirit, like something was tearing its existence apart at the most fundamental level.
"Please… just kill me quickly. I'm begging you!"
This was its last, pathetic plea.
If it had to die, it wanted a clean death. Not this—this endless torture.
It couldn't take it anymore.
"AAAAH—"
Its howls rang out again and again.
Song Wanníng remained calm. Her expression was serene, but her eyes burned with a feverish gleam.
Let it scream.
The more it howled, the more excited she felt.
She forced herself to stay focused. Suppressed the strange delight bubbling inside.
Bit by bit, she replaced every drop of its bloodline. The divine beast's expelled blood condensed into a pulsing red orb and sank into the depths of her dantian.
It fused with her body, becoming part of her. But she didn't stop there. Again and again, she repeated the process, not leaving the egg a single thread of vitality to recover with.
The egg's cries gradually faded, weakening into silence.
Finally, Song Wanníng tossed it to the ground like a piece of trash.
It hit the dirt with a dull thud.
Broken. Lifeless. Never to hatch.
The divine blood had been fully extracted. The Shenyou Mystic Fire—the egg's only awakened talent—had taken root within her core. Now it belonged to her, bound to her dantian, never to be separated.
Everything had gone perfectly.
It was just a pity the egg had only awakened one innate ability so far…
Now that the bloodline resided in her, it was hers to wield—but it would not evolve or awaken further.
Still, she was more than satisfied.
She glanced down at the once-arrogant egg.
It no longer held even a flicker of life.
It had died slowly, painfully.
And she didn't regret it one bit.
Song Wanníng smiled faintly. With a flick of her fingers, she picked it up again and casually tossed it into the corner of her storage ring.
She still had some use for it later.
With that matter settled, she finally turned her attention to the mist behind her.
She pivoted, then bent forward in a respectful salute.
"Many thanks, Senior, for your assistance."
A soft, silvery laugh rang out from the mist—light and teasing, like a young girl giggling behind her sleeve.
Then the fog parted.
Without hesitation, Song Wanníng stepped forward into the opening. If this mysterious figure had meant her harm, she would've been dead already. That much was obvious.
Which meant there was nothing to fear.
In fact… she was a little excited.
The mist cleared as she walked a narrow path, eventually leading to the peak of a towering mountain surrounded by clouds.
At the summit stood a shadowy figure, indistinct yet commanding.
Across from that figure, more than thirty armored cultivators stood in a tight formation. Their presence was imposing. Their eyes locked on their foe with solemn determination.
Two forces, facing each other in silence.
The entire world seemed to hold its breath.
Song Wanníng halted. Her heart pounded.
This scene… this had to be…
The ancient war of the Primordial Era?
Her mind reeled.
That war had shattered the Nine Heavens Mystic Realm, downgrading it to a lower-tier Lesser World. Since then, not even immortals had been seen, let alone gods or demons.
After countless follow-up wars, the realm had weakened even further. It could now barely support Divine Transformation cultivators.
Heaven itself had been torn apart, weakened bit by bit.
Surely the Heavenly Dao must have loathed the one who started it all—the Demon God.
Just then, the figure on the summit turned.
A face came into view.
To her surprise, it wasn't terrifying at all.
It was… cute.
A little playful, even. The kind of face that made people instinctively want to pat it, not flee from it.
"So this was the terrifying Demon God? The one the heavenly gods had to unite to suppress?"
She winked at Song Wanníng with exaggerated mischief.
"Watch closely, little one. Let Big Sis show you how fireworks are done."
The moment she finished speaking, her expression shifted. A surge of demonic energy burst from her body and rocketed into the sky. The space around them trembled violently. The world itself seemed to shake.
With a lazy flick of her wrist, the Demon God shot into the heavens.
The sky split open.
A violent storm of spatial rifts exploded outward from her position, expanding in all directions.
"You wretched demon, even now you refuse to repent? Then prepare to die!"
The heavenly gods responded with full force.
Blinding techniques filled the sky, each one more dazzling than the last. Song Wanníng could barely keep up—her current cultivation allowed her to glimpse only hazy impressions.
But even through the chaos, she began to hear it.
The cries.
She lowered her gaze.
Below her, the mortal realm unfolded like a cracked painting. Mountains collapsed. Oceans surged and broke. The sky itself seemed to weep.
And then came the screams.
Endless, echoing wails of despair.
It was as if the entire world was mourning its own death.
Song Wanníng's pupils trembled. Her heart felt like it had been struck by lightning.
So this was hell on earth…
Above, the battle raged.
Even surrounded and outnumbered, the Demon God fought with terrifying ease.
One of the gods shouted, voice full of grief and fury. "Demon! Look at what you've done! Because of you, this world is drowning in blood!"
But before he could finish, the Demon God laughed.
"You want to blame me? If you hadn't coveted my divine source, would any of this have happened? Spouting self-righteous nonsense when all you care about is power. Don't expect me to play along with your hypocritical games."
The clash exploded anew.
One of the gods was caught off guard. In the next instant, his body burst apart like a firework—brilliant and horrifying.
The dark sky lit up for a brief moment before falling into silence again.
Song Wanníng could hardly breathe.
So this… was what she meant by fireworks?
A small, obscure kind of firework, to be sure.
But oh, how dazzling.
Her lips pressed together, eyes gleaming strangely.
She wanted to light some fireworks too.
Boom—
Another god exploded.
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
One after another, divine cultivators burst like celestial fireworks across the sky.
It was as if the world itself had chosen to celebrate its destruction.
And in that searing brilliance, something else awakened.
A new ambition, rising from within Song Wanníng's heart.
Lit by the blood of gods.