The War 4

Jiang Yun no longer paid attention to anything else. He accelerated the transformation of all beings into blood ants, completely disregarding the desperate pleas and struggles of the various races. The Universal Dao itself was in a state of despair, having poured all its remaining strength into Xue Houyi, hoping she could kill Jiang Yun and save the Universal Dao. But that hope was now utterly shattered.

Within the mind of the Universal Dao, it had secretly made a pact with Xue Houyi, intending to absorb her and the blood ants' power once she killed Jiang Yun. But the plan had failed, and the blood ants continued to multiply endlessly. The cries of the various races as they were being transformed into blood ants echoed without cease.

Feng Yang, now looking at his daughter, knew she was the only thing he wanted to protect at all costs. Desperate, he attempted to activate a formation to escape the Tianyuan Universe with Feng Yi. But suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Feng Yang coughed up blood as he looked down to see an ice blade piercing through his body, his internal organs beginning to freeze from the cold.

"You're the one who betrayed me, Lin Jia!" Feng Yi screamed in fury and shock.

She immediately rushed to attack Lin Jia, the second-ranked Heavenly General, without hesitation. But before she could act, Lin Qingyi, Lin Jia's niece, struck Feng Yi with an ice sword, freezing her in place.

The soldiers of the Heavenly Phoenix Flame Dynasty, seeing the betrayal, lunged at Lin Jia and Lin Qingyi. However, before they could get close, 100 blood ant kings blocked their way, causing them to spit blood. Then, the blood that had just been coughed up was drawn back into their bodies, transforming into thorns that pierced through them, killing them instantly.

Amidst the chaos, Mo Jun, the Lord of the Blood Peak, and Ming Hai, the Lord of the Water Peak, appeared from the void, standing among the blood ant kings, sneering with satisfaction. Ling Meng, watching from nearby, realized his fate was sealed.

Before him stood Yi Hong, along with Wang He and Wang Bai, staring at him with cold, merciless eyes. Ling Meng knew there was no escaping his fate. He stopped resisting, allowing the three of them to approach without any struggle. This was the destiny he had accepted...

"I'm so tired..." Ling Meng whispered softly to himself.

The sounds of pain and despair continued to echo throughout the universe, mingling with the curses aimed at Jiang Yun. The races that were being transformed into blood ants could not escape their fate. The chaos around them made everyone feel the crushing weight of hopelessness.

In the midst of the turmoil, the voice of the system rang out in Jiang Yun's mind.

[You truly live up to being my host! But when did you plan all of this? I didn't notice a thing!]

Jiang Yun smiled slightly before responding with a mocking tone.

"Did you forget that you sold me some sort of ancient queen ant in the black market?"

The system was silent for a moment before hesitantly replying.

[Oh, now I remember. But it wasn't supposed to work like this…]

It fell quiet again as if contemplating something, then spoke with uncertainty.

[Wait… is it when you sent Mo Jun to do something, and you created a special dimension that blocked my surveillance? By the time I realized what was happening, you had already sent the Samsara clones to carry something outside the world, hadn't you?]

Jiang Yun grinned slightly before calmly replying, "You're quite clever, aren't you?"

The system responded, [Cleverness is my middle name. But why did you act so worried when you first encountered the blood ants, or when you rushed to save Ling Meng?]

Jiang Yun chuckled softly, answering nonchalantly, "I erased my own memory, along with the memories of all my Samsara clones, after releasing the blood ants beyond the world."

The system listened intently and asked curiously, [Why erase your own memory?]

Jiang Yun's voice turned cold. "To increase the chances of success and ensure the plan's subtlety. Before you can deceive others, you must first deceive yourself."

The system continued, [And how did you recover your memories?]

Jiang Yun smiled slightly, his voice still cold, "I placed a formation inside Xue Houyi. When I severed her connection to the Tianyuan Universal Dao, she regained all the memories, including the plans I had set in motion beforehand. And…"

The system, after a brief pause, interjected, [I remember now—it was when Xue Houyi attacked you with something, wasn't it? But still… why do all this?]

Jiang Yun gazed around calmly with a chilling smile, but before he could respond, all of his Samsara clones turned toward him simultaneously. They began forming a barrier to seal off his power. Suddenly, more of his clones emerged from the void, constructing multiple layers of energy barriers to completely trap Jiang Yun.

The system's voice broke the silence. [Is this part of your plan too? What's the real plan, tell me?]

Jiang Yun's cold smile widened as he replied softly, "Ah, yes, I almost forgot another reason why I erased my memories of the blood ants… it was because of you… system… no, actually..."

The system went silent for a while, as if contemplating something. The atmosphere grew heavy with an eerie tension until finally, the system spoke in a toneless voice.

[I thought we'd be together for a little longer than this... Jiang Yun.]