"We two outsiders shouldn't have gotten involved in this world, should we?" Mu Qingqing sneered, her lips curving upward.
Xuan Qingming's expression darkened further at her words. He had schemed for a full sixty thousand years.
On the verge of becoming the master of the new world, how could he tolerate failure at this final step?
The Eternal Ink Spear emanated immense power. Xuan Qingming frantically poured his true essence into it, intending to use the spear to forcefully break through Mu Qingqing's Mindscape.
But how could Mu Qingqing allow him to succeed? The Xi Hua divine artifact also shone brightly, suppressing Xuan Qingming's Eternal Ink Spear.
As both sides exerted extremely powerful true essence, the Mindscape began to devour their life force at an accelerated rate.
In the blink of an eye, both Mu Qingqing and Xuan Qingming grew old, their vitality rapidly draining away.
Their hair turned white and withered. Mu Qingqing, who had been beautiful just moments before, now appeared aged and haggard.
Xuan Qingming's condition was no different.
Mu Qingqing knew there was only one way to completely resolve the matter of Xuan Qingming.
Although it would cost her own life, there was no other choice.
"Mu Qingqing, stop it! Do you hear me, stop!"
The ancient and frail Xuan Qingming refused to accept such an end, shouting hysterically at Mu Qingqing.
Mu Qingqing's gaze was resolute, with no intention of stopping. She continued to let the Mindscape absorb their life essence.
"Xuan Qingming, it's time for all this to end..."
Meanwhile, outside the Mindscape.
Although Mu Qingqing had opened her Mindscape and taken Xuan Qingming inside, the billions of Nether God race members above the Myriad Nations Alliance lost Xuan Qingming's control and became savage and bloodthirsty.
The four Holy Lords, leading the remaining cultivators of the Myriad Nations Alliance, engaged in fierce combat with these Nether God demons.
Wan Guimang, having just defeated an Emperor-level Nether God, glanced back at the Mindscape created by Mu Qingqing. Noticing that the small world was gradually shrinking, he couldn't help but worry, "Could something have happened inside?!"
As he spoke, another Emperor-level Nether God with eight pairs of black wings attacked him.
Fortunately, Ji Juekong unleashed a sword strike, akin to a white rainbow piercing the sun, cleaving the Emperor-level Nether God in two.
"Wan Guimang, what are you spacing out for? Let's deal with these Nether Gods first."
"Mu Qingqing and Xuan Qingming have both stepped into the Eternal Realm. Their battle is not something we can participate in. All we can do is protect the remaining humans of the Myriad Nations Alliance."
Ji Juekong relayed this telepathically to Wan Guimang while teleporting through the air and slaying Nether Gods.
Wan Guimang, casually dispatching over a hundred Nether God-level and above Nether Gods, frowned and replied, "Easier said than done, Ji Juekong. The sheer number of these Nether Gods is overwhelming. A third of the Myriad Nations Alliance cultivators were already annihilated by Xuan Qingming."
"Now, the human race's combat strength is far inferior to these Nether God demons. Even we won't be able to hold on for much longer."
"Whether we can hold on or not, we must. Be prepared to perish here," Ji Juekong stated grimly.
"Bah, bah, bah! What kind of way is that to talk? I, Wan Guimang, will not fall to mere Nether God demons."
With that, the four Holy Lords, along with other cultivators of the Myriad Nations Alliance, launched a fierce assault amidst the Nether God ranks.
However, the sheer numbers of these Nether God demons were too great. Apart from the four Holy Lords, the true essence of the other cultivators was nearly depleted.
Judging by the situation, they would likely be wiped out by the Nether Gods long before they could defeat all of them.
"Damn it, is fate against our human race?"
Just as everyone was filled with anxiety, mighty roars suddenly echoed from the distant sky and forests.
Upon closer listening, they sounded like the roars of beasts.
Everyone focused their gaze and indeed saw beasts.
And the number of these beasts was immense, at least a hundred million.
"What is going on?!"
"How could such a large-scale beast tide appear near the Myriad Nations Alliance?!"
"Look, there are Immortal Golden Dragons and Undying Phoenixes within the beast tide."
"Could it be... these beasts are coming from the direction of Beast God Valley?!"
...
Witnessing the fierce beast tide approaching, everyone immediately panicked.
Not only that, but even the faces of the four Holy Lords turned grim and somber.
They could sense the aura of the Dragon and Phoenix Twin Emperors.
Could it be that Beast God Valley was seizing this opportunity to join forces with the Nether God race and annihilate the human race entirely?
But in the next second, the four Holy Lords saw several massive Immortal Golden Dragons flying over, completely ignoring them.
They charged directly into the horde of Nether God demons, brandishing their dragon claws and tearing apart a large number of them.
Following suit, countless other beasts, including Undying Phoenixes, Crimson Armored Bears, Earth Spirit Tigers, Gale Eagles, and Earth Demon Spiders, joined the fray, engaging the Nether God demons.
This turn of events left the people of the Myriad Nations Alliance utterly bewildered.
Were these beasts here to help the humans?
At this moment, the Dragon and Phoenix Twin Emperors emerged from the beast swarm. Their extremely powerful auras shook the surroundings. They transformed into human form and approached the four Holy Lords.
Upon seeing the Dragon and Phoenix Twin Emperors, Wan Guimang and Ji Juekong were momentarily stunned, asking in surprise, "Your Excellencies Dragon and Phoenix Twin Emperors, are you here to help the human race?"
"Help the human race? A joke! What does the life and death of your human race have to do with our beast race?" the Dragon and Phoenix Twin Emperors scoffed.
Wan Guimang and Ji Juekong were now puzzled and asked, "Then what are you doing here?"
"Beast God Valley has investigated and confirmed that the perpetrator of the massacre of the Immortal Golden Dragons years ago was your human, Xuan Qingming."
"However, Xuan Qingming has already joined the Nether God race. Therefore, on the orders of our Dragon Ancestor, Beast God Valley has come to seek revenge against the Nether God race."
"As for your human race, get out of the way and don't interfere with Beast God Valley's business!" the Dragon and Phoenix Twin Emperors said haughtily, casting a cold glance at Ji Juekong and Wan Guimang.
"Very well, we thank you for your assistance."
"Hmph!"
The Dragon and Phoenix Twin Emperors showed great disdain for the four Holy Lords. With a cold snort, they reverted to their beast forms and rejoined the battle against the Nether God demons.
Wan Guimang and Ji Juekong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Regardless of Beast God Valley's motives, the arrival of the Dragon and Phoenix Twin Emperors had indeed alleviated their pressure.
This time, the human race owed a great debt to Beast God Valley.
With the addition of these beasts from Beast God Valley, the morale of the Myriad Nations Alliance cultivators surged.
The Nether God demons were quickly pushed back.
Under the combined might of the human race and the beast race, the Nether God demons were annihilated without a trace.
But at this very moment, Mu Qingqing's Mindscape suddenly vanished.
The attention of the four Holy Lords and the Dragon and Phoenix Twin Emperors was drawn to this sudden change.
Wan Guimang and Ji Juekong hurried over to investigate the situation.
They were concerned for Mu Qingqing's safety and also feared that the demon Xuan Qingming had not yet been dealt with.
Upon arriving at the location where the Mindscape had disappeared, both Wan Guimang and Ji Juekong were astonished.
In their sight, neither Mu Qingqing nor Xuan Qingming were dead.
However, their physical conditions were extremely dire. Both had become incredibly aged, their life force exceedingly weak, like two skeletal remains on the verge of returning to dust.