The silver light flickered, making Mei Gongzi’s long dress appear even more ethereal and otherworldly.
The expanding silver was a series of overlapping space gates, each one crystal clear. Even though space energy was being consumed by the Phoenix True Fire, causing these space gates to continuously disintegrate, they did their job before they disappeared. Even as they burned, they absorbed large amounts of Phoenix True Fire, drawing it into some unknown space, where it vanished without a trace.
As a result, the overwhelming Phoenix True Fire seemed to have found a release valve; it poured continuously into the space gates around Mei Gongzi, gradually diminishing.
Holding the Celestial Plume, Mei Gongzi danced gracefully among the space gates. Wherever the Celestial Plume passed, it traced the outlines of more space gates, which expanded outward. She was not using a spatial domain, relying instead on these space gates to continuously absorb and eliminate the Phoenix True Fire that assaulted her.
At the same time, she herself seemed to merge with space, becoming like a black hole that devoured the intense heat.
Seeing this, the White Tiger Demon Emperor couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, and his tense expression relaxed considerably.
Cao Yuwei naturally sensed this as well. With his immense cultivation, this level of energy expenditure was negligible to him. But at the same time, even though Mei Gongzi was also expending energy as she traced those space gates, it appeared that her consumption was far less than his own!
Her control over space was so precise, almost like using a small force to move a great weight. Although his Phoenix True Fire Domain was powerful, she consistently managed to teleport the strongest flames away, allowing only the weaker flames to actually touch the space gates.
Is this another application of Star Shift?
Of course, this still didn’t change his opinion. In his eyes, all of this was futile, merely prolonging the inevitable conclusion of the battle by a minute or two.
Cao Yuwei stepped forward, treading on Phoenix True Fire, which didn’t shy away from being absorbed by Mei Gongzi; instead, it grew even stronger. This forced Mei Gongzi to wave the Celestial Plume in her hand faster, drawing more space gates to neutralize the flames.
Cao Yuwei’s eyes emitted a deep blue glow, and as he slightly opened his mouth, a beam of blue fire shot straight toward Mei Gongzi.
A strange scene unfolded. The Phoenix flames within the Phoenix True Fire Domain quickly converged into the blue fire, making it grow even brighter. The blue beam left a sense of nothingness in its wake.
The Void Flame, also known as the Annihilation Flame, was a signature ability of the Immortal Flame Phoenixes, a powerful ability that could only be awakened at the tenth order. It could obliterate all energy, and wherever it struck, it created a void where no energy could enter. Naturally, whatever was within this space and lost its energy would then be consumed by the fiercely burning Phoenix True Fire.
Combined with the Phoenix True Fire Domain, it was nearly unstoppable—an absolutely formidable power.
Faced with the Void Flame, Mei Gongzi’s expression grew more serious. She could clearly sense the immense threat it posed. If this fire touched her, all of her bloodline power would be annihilated in an instant, leaving her powerless for a short time. And that short time would be just enough for her to be turned to ashes by the sea of Phoenix True Fire.
The blue flame finally reached her, and as it touched the space gates, they were instantly annihilated in a ripple of distorted light. The Void Flame burned even more fiercely, suddenly lunging toward Mei Gongzi.
But just then, Cao Yuwei was startled to see that the young girl was curling her lips into a slight smile, directed at him.
Given the sheer suppression caused by the difference in cultivation, she shouldn’t be able to break free from his domain. He was extremely powerful among mid-level Great Demon King, and with the innate abilities of the Immortal Flame Phoenix lineage, he could even contend with a peak Great Demon King.
With the overwhelming power of his domain, combined with the annihilating force of the Void Flame, how could she still be smiling?
In the next moment, she saw Mei Gongzi raise her left hand and snap her fingers lightly. Instantly, a cluster of seven-colored flames ignited at her fingertip, and a tiny spark of the rainbow fire shot out, landing directly on the Void Flame.
This question arose in his mind, and in the minds of all the Emperors present.
"Little Mei, can you guess which clan your Great Demon King-level opponent will be from?"
"How should I know? There aren’t many first-tier bloodlines, but there are still quite a few. Former Emperors, current Emperors, their clans all have first-tier bloodlines."
"I bet I can guess, do you believe me?"
"Why do you think you can guess?"
"Because I can see into the hearts of demons! Think about it, isn't the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor's primary goal to make sure you don't pass? So, based on that, the opponent he chooses for you must be one that can counter your attributes. Just based on this, we can rule out many clans, like the Golden Mammoth clan. They're not good with speed, only raw power, so they couldn’t do much about you. The Behemoths are incredibly strong, but they aren't adept at dealing with your unpredictable abilities."
"That makes sense. So what kind of opponent would he choose for me?"
"The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor's goal might not just be to prevent you from passing your evaluation; he might even aim to threaten your life. So, we must accurately judge who your opponent will be. If you find yourself in mortal danger, I'll sense it immediately and help you right away, so there's no need to worry, but I’d rather not get to that."
"If I have you, I’m not afraid."
"You shouldn’t be afraid. But I won’t be there with you from the get-go, and the best-case scenario is for me to stay away until your third trial. By then, no matter how unwilling he is, he can't stop you from succeeding. With that in mind, we need to carefully identify your opponent early on so that you can defeat them smoothly."
"Then tell me, which clan will it be?"
"It should be one of the phoenix clans. Their bloodline naturally suppresses your Peacock Transformation. Moreover, the phoenix race and the Peacock Demon clan are mortal enemies; they certainly wouldn't show you any mercy. So, the phoenix race is the most likely choice. Among the phoenix race, the Immortal Flame Phoenix clan is the strongest. Therefore, I believe the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor will likely choose an Immortal Flame Phoenix Great Demon King as your opponent."
"Why not a Crystal Phoenix? The Crystal Phoenix clan is even more of an enemy to us."
"It won't be the Crystal Phoenix clan. Trust me."
"I have a very good reason to believe that, and you will find out later as well. Now isn't the time to tell you. Anyway, if your opponent is from the Immortal Flame Phoenix Clan, we can at least be certain that your life won't be in danger."
"Didn't you just say that the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor might want to kill me? The entire phoenix race is also our enemy, so why wouldn't my life be in danger? Do you really have that much confidence in me?"