After concentrating enough, Lan Meiyun released it at an impressive speed. Xuan Sha raised his head to see the frozen ball of ice charging towards them. He freed his right hand to release a turbine-like wave of resentment energy to counter the attack.
Lan Meiyun watched as the resentment energy broke her ball of ice into particles that fell and drowned in the draining river below.
Quickly, both of her hands formed the three-six-six-six symbol as she placed it on her chest to manipulate the next primordial element.
Air.
Taking off a few meters high above the ground and moving her hands over each other, her powers surged enough to make her spin on a spot like the blades of a chopper. This generated enough wind, making the currents of the phenomenon above restless as she created multiple flying wind slashes towards the demons with her unearthly spin. Each wind slash is charged with blue-like electric currents.
The demons beside Xuan Sha swung into action and repelled every charged wind slash with the swift movements of their hands and powerful kicks.
One of them, placing his right hand behind his left, conjured up a fast moving trail of resentment energy that repelled every charged wind slashes on its way to strike Lan Meiyun down. She suffered a terrible fall with blood pouring down her mouth and nose.
''Don't worry Master, we will take her down completely before you are done.''
Xuan Sha nodded at his minions as the two demons ran swiftly backwards on the ice walls towards where Lan Meiyun lay injured and fighting to pull herself up. The unexpected hit of resentment energy wasn't something she prepared to defend herself against as she attacked them.
The two demons running backwards from the surrounding ice walls jumped high away from it with one manifesting an insidiously shaped bow and arrow with resentment energy as he flew in the air and above the draining pool, targeting an arrow directly at her injured form. The other with a swinging resentment slingshot behind.
They both fired down at her at the same time. Lan Meiyun was lucky to avoid the hits due to her flexible movements and pulling herself up before she got killed.
Xuan Sha stared down as Hell's Fire Lens was closing in on reading through all the tribulations prepared for the black dragon by the formless dimension.
Lan Meiyun then quickly manifested her twin blades and launched herself to put those demons back in their place.
The demons flawlessly countered her every desperate move. Though the demons acknowledged that she was strong, they would always be stronger because they are fully rooted and grounded in resentment energy.
Lan Meiyun slashed through every ball and fire of resentment energy being thrown at her by the demons. She fought against the two at a time and showcased how flexible, good and fast she was at Kung Fu.
She groaned when she was being thrown back and against one of the primordial ice statues. The force of impact caused a major crack in the face of the ice god she was being thrown against. Lan Meiyun spat out enough blood to show that she was reaching her limits and her internal injuries were worsening and she could get killed if she didn't run for it.
She cried out when one of the demons slashed her arm badly with resentment energy and she lost her footing on the ice statue and began to free fall straight into the pool of tribulation. But before she got sucked into the draining pool, she cast enough of her magic to propel her up only to be caught in the web of one of the demons who mercilessly dragged her injured self along the terrible cold walls and pillars of the Halls of Regrets.
By the time he was done with her, he discarded her unconscious form at the feet of their master who was done with reading through all the tribulations with the help of the Hell's Fire Lens.
The demons landed beside her unconscious form and dropped on their knees before Xuan Sha.
The demon then let go of his hood to reveal the sharp, jagged edges of his dark red hair. He moved towards the girl and ordered the two demons to bring her back to her feet which they did.
A cruel smile highlighted his handsome face as a wicked idea was revealed in his twisted mind.
His King would be so proud of them.
One wave of resentment energy over the girl's beaten face and bruised mouth was enough to force her eyes open while she remained unconscious. He then closed in on her form as his demons held her still. His smile grew as he opened his mouth to let out his dark, cursed tongue.
And from the center of the tongue a small eye appendage surfaced and it was more than enough to reveal her true self to her dead mind.
Moments later, Lan Meiyun's eyes began to spin red as the temptation of the eye on the cursed tongue took over her senses completely and she was slowly being demonized.
He pulled his long tongue back in his mouth and said words. Words that would serve as her new purpose after waking up to her new calling.
''Kill the tribulation guardian and you will be free.''
The demons let go of her and carefully concealed her unconscious form in the River Of Tribulation before flying away from the Halls of Regret.
☆☆☆☆
She remembered now.
One or two things about her past life she was willing to let go in order to be the strongest blue dragon.
The immortal realm is likely the same as the mortal realm. But just that she couldn't walk on clouds and get thousands to admire her for being the strongest immortal blue dragon.
It had always been about being strong.
Only the strong can survive.
Only the strong get the good things of life.
Only the strong get away with sins.
Maybe that's why she detested the weak so much in this new life. Could it be because it sometimes reminded her of who she used to be before her ascension?
Weak, terminally ill and dying.
A young girl who served the strong with all her might so she could provide for her crippled best friend and take care of themselves no matter what.
But at times she cried when it all became too overwhelming. She attempted to kill the one who succeeded in murdering her best friend—-the strongest man in the village she served—he murdered her brutally out of rage because he couldn't take advantage of her. She attempted killing him and that was when she realized the strong can't even be taken by death so easily.
So, what's the point of being weak and helpless?
A slave and puppet to the strong if at the end the longevity of your life and relevance in the society are not only appraised by how you look, what you wear or the amount of golden coins you have.
But by your strength.
You are judged.
Concealed in an air bubble and floating very close to the surface of the river of tribulations, Lan Meiyun opened her eyes as she remembered everything. It brought a sad streak of tears down her face as she felt different. She could no longer feel her dragon bead core—there was something else keeping her alive.
The dragon bead inner core was gone.
She was no longer a dragon but something else and it was making her so resentful.
''Kill the tribulation guardian and you will be free.''
Only that word and her regained memories made sense to her.
It was silly how she turned on the very thing she once was and embraced the thing that oppressed her and her best friend. Her best friend was so ruined that her soul couldn't make it to the immortal realm for a second chance at life.
If she had a little bit of strength in her, maybe things would have turned out differently and they might have had a chance to continue their friendship.
Maybe the reason the rich hate the poor so much was because it reminded them of who they used to be before they found strength and disliked that kind of life.
With every form of little resentment she was reborn with, she sacrificed it all to build a weapon.
It was three feet long with a sharp red colored tip.
A weapon fashioned to set her free.
To truly live, one has to be strong. And in a world that favors strength, the weak have no place.