Translator: AnubisTL
"Fiend qi? This level of fiend qi..."
Jieming stroked his chin, deep in thought.
It seems...
I've found a way to break the stalemate!
But before that, he needed to confirm a few things...
"Senior Sister," Jieming said after a moment of contemplation, suddenly asking Viola a question that had always puzzled him: "Why did the lava giant and snow monster kings so readily agree to cooperate with the wizards the moment they invaded?"
To Jieming, this seemed highly peculiar.
After all, the wizards were notorious for their uncompromising stance toward outsiders, refusing to accept "cooperation" from other races.
Even if the two monster kings had surrendered immediately, their ultimate fate would have been to exist as servant races to the wizards.
While the wizards didn't mistreat their servant races in terms of living conditions—ensuring basic necessities and maintaining decent standards of living—these servant races were still expected to serve as cannon fodder, fighting to the death whenever the wizards demanded it.
By any measure, this arrangement seemed excessively humiliating and disadvantageous for the two major monster factions.
Viola was slightly taken aback by Jieming's sudden question.
However, considering she was merely waiting for the magic potion's effects to wear off, she decided to chat with him.
"Oh? You're asking about that?" Viola chuckled softly and slowly explained to Jieming, "The two monster kings made such a decisive choice because even serving as cannon fodder for the wizards was preferable to continuing as 'toys' of the living plane."
"After all, this plane has never been... 'educated.'"
Viola's words instantly made Jieming understand her meaning.
A living plane, by its very nature, is the embodiment of rules, coexisting with the plane itself.
Naturally, no one would teach it morality, as it possesses innate rationality and intelligence.
It can learn and judge independently, but its moral compass remains blank.
For this reason, the living plane lacks the moral values cherished by human society and has no concept of good or evil.
It acts solely on its most primal "preferences"—much like a preschool child before formal schooling.
They could spend an entire day watching a single ant out of curiosity, or on a whim, crush it—or two, or every ant that crossed their path!
As a living plane, the "ants" it observed were naturally the countless sentient beings it had birthed within itself.
Viola continued explaining to Jieming that intelligence gathered from the two monster kings revealed the Flamefrost Plane's ability to autonomously create intelligent races.
However, it didn't create these races for development or civilization, but purely for its own amusement!
This was why the lava giants and snow monsters were forced to wage massive tribal wars at regular intervals.
Territorial disputes were merely superficial reasons; the true purpose was to provide entertainment for the Flamefrost Plane!
The so-called "victors" expanding their living space was simply a rule arbitrarily established by this living plane on a whim.
Yet, like a capricious child, when amused, it might quietly watch two ants battle, even occasionally granting them small favors.
But when it grew bored, it would casually crush both sides, initiating a "reset"!
In reality, the wizards, after studying the samples brought back by Master Alvin, discovered that the souls of the two monster kings were "manufactured" using the souls of the intelligent races previously annihilated by the Flamefrost Plane as raw materials.
They weren't truly independent entities, merely the "toys" of this living plane when it grew bored.
While the living plane's craftsmanship was impressive, successfully creating new souls capable of carrying consciousness, it couldn't be expected to perform finer adjustments to these souls.
As a result, fragments of memories from the annihilated beings often lingered, seeping into the new souls.
This was precisely why the two leaders of the monster hordes lived under constant, overwhelming terror!
The fragmented memories within their souls revealed that this living plane had repeated its species-annihilating act out of sheer boredom hundreds of times!
They weren't the first victims, nor would they be the last.
Though Lava Giant King Karamos and Snow Monster King Agron exhausted every means to fight and perform, all to please this "Overlord" and delay their races' impending doom, they knew in their hearts that it wouldn't be long before the living plane grew "bored" once more.
When that day came, it would mark the final annihilation of both races!
Of course, given the living plane's perception of time, this "short while" could stretch into an eternity.
Regardless, both races teetered perpetually on the brink of destruction.
It was precisely for the sake of their races' survival that the two monster kings had eagerly forged a pact with the wizards the moment they invaded this world.
They sought only the wizards' protection, even if it meant becoming servants, to truly escape their fate of being mere playthings!
"Why are you asking about this?" Viola glanced at Jieming, her eyes filled with suspicion.
Jieming shook his head, his gaze distant. "Just... curious..."
As he spoke, Jieming subtly activated magic seals, following the faint resonance of the curse he had sensed earlier.
Jieming's task was simple: reverse the fiend suppression curse technique he had previously cast upon the Sea of Yin Qi.
He would transform it into a Fiend Suppression Curse!
Of course, given the immense distance and the interference from external energies, successfully manipulating and guiding the Sea of Yin Qi seemed nearly impossible.
But the Fiend Suppression Curse could achieve something else—it could completely activate the fiend qi deep within the core of the Flamefrost Plane!
"It seems my hypothesis was correct..." Jieming murmured, stroking his chin, his eyes gleaming with contemplation. "The fiend qi originates primarily from the races annihilated by the living plane. This means the Sea of Yin Qi contains the resentment of countless beings who were manipulated, destroyed, and forcibly decomposed into remnant souls!"
Having confirmed that the fiend qi stemmed primarily from the countless victims created by the living plane, Jieming knew that once he activated it, the rest would take care of itself.
The resentment and despair that had accumulated for tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of years, would become the ultimate weapon, turning against its master.
With Jieming's practiced and concealed magic seals, the seemingly insignificant black "Sea of Yin Qi" in the core region of the Flamefrost Plane—a region often overlooked by wizards—suddenly erupted into violent activity!
This pitch-black force, like a roaring abyss, abruptly transformed from its previously calm state into a seething, churning maelstrom.
Instead of spreading outward, it surged inward with laser-like precision, as if drawn home. Ignoring the core's outer energy shields and hardened crust, it plunged deep into the Flamefrost Plane's core, as if it were a phantom.
"Hmm?!"
Viola, who had been focused on applying the "pain" rule, suddenly widened her silver-gray eyes.
She could clearly sense the Flamefrost Plane suddenly experiencing excruciating pain!
According to the feedback from the rule, this pain was spreading through the living plane like wildfire, igniting every corner of its being.
It was purer, more intense, and more uncontrollable than any rule she could have imposed!
And it wasn't just pain!
Augustine, who had been commanding the ship plane in battle, was horrified to discover that the Flamefrost Plane's immense power was rapidly waning.
The despair and hatred of countless beings cruelly annihilated now coalesced into the sharpest blade, tearing apart the Flamefrost Plane's soul from within!
This was the long-awaited, decisive moment the wizards had been preparing for!
"Now!"
In the distance, Augustine, having swiftly regained his composure, roared through their spiritual connection, instantly transmitting his command to the souls of all wizards.
The ship plane's colossal main cannon, spanning tens of kilometers in diameter, completed its extreme charging sequence in mere seconds.
All other offensive systems abruptly ceased firing.
The entire plane's energy converged into a single, devastating point.
"Fire!"
A destructive beam capable of piercing the cosmos tore through space, instantly striking the Flamefrost Plane's core, exposed after being critically weakened by the fiend qi.
BOOOOOM!!!
Its magma maw instantly withered, and its red-blue eyes, formed from swirling qi, rapidly dimmed and faded, soon dissolving into wisps of vapor.
The entire living plane had been brought to the brink of death by this single strike.
Its life force flickered like a candle in the wind, threatening to extinguish at any moment.
Then, from the ship plane, countless pre-prepared, colossal magical formations drifted forth.
These formations, composed of radiant energy beams, spread like countless fishing nets imbued with immense binding power. Under Wizard Augustine's precise control, they swiftly latched onto the Flamefrost Plane's massive, dying core.
Complex rune chains extended from the formations, burrowing deep into the living plane's energy core as if possessed of their own sentience.
With a blinding flash, overwhelming sealing energy surged from all directions, rapidly and completely imprisoning the core.
In an instant, the once-mighty living plane—which had ravaged countless lives—had its resistance utterly crushed and was sealed away in the depths.
The war had ended with a speed that defied all expectations.
(End of the Chapter)
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