"Overestimating yourself!" The Yin–Yang Demon Empress spat out the words with disdain, as if Shadow's attack was nothing worth noticing.
He simply waved his hand, and a surge of powerful energy shot from his palm, attacking Shadow with lightning speed. In an instant, his hand collided with Shadow’s massive claw, unleashing a deafening boom.
Shadow’s body was now as large as a small mountain. Even though the Yin–Yang Demon Empress’s attack was fierce, it didn’t do much damage to him. The blow struck his enormous claw, erupting in a shower of sparks.
Shadow was knocked back dozens of steps before he could steady himself, while the Yin–Yang Demon Empress was sent flying tens of meters by the force of the recoil. To be able to push back a body as massive as Shadow’s showed just how terrifying that strike was.
That blow only made Shadow even more ferocious. He threw back his giant head and let out a sky-shaking roar, his form flickering as he unleashed Lion’s Roar. Instantly, countless energy storms erupted through the surrounding space, the deafening sound making everyone nearby feel miserable.
Shadow’s attack was aimed straight at the Yin–Yang Demon Empress, who bore the brunt of the force. In Shadow’s mind, this strike should at least heavily injure her—but what happened next caught him completely off guard.
Under the force of that attack, the Yin–Yang Demon Empress suddenly split into dozens of bodies, each one looking completely real. As each illusionary body was shattered, only two remained intact—and in a flash, they fused back together.
"Not bad—you managed to destroy eleven of my illusionary clones. In the Immortal Realm, that makes you someone with a bit of reputation. You’re worth fighting." The Yin–Yang Demon Empress said coldly.
Shadow stared, dumbfounded, at the unscathed Yin–Yang Demon Empress standing before him. This guy was just too bizarre—maybe only Big Brother could actually kill him.
He had to buy as much time as possible—even if he couldn’t win, he had to hold out until Big Brother recovered. Heavenfire was off the table now; this guy could absorb its energy directly. He just didn’t know if Coldflame could be absorbed too.
That was what Shadow was thinking. Meanwhile, the Yin–Yang Demon Empress was brimming with fighting spirit; she had fused perfectly with her current body, and her combat power was now at least twice as strong as before.
"Old freak, take this!" Shadow roared, then spat out a wave of Coldflame from his giant maw. Everywhere it touched, space was instantly frozen—the extreme cold he’d absorbed in the Frozen Wastes now erupted to its fullest.
In just moments, the temperature around them dropped to a terrifying degree. Nolan Nangong was shivering uncontrollably—mostly because he was already seriously injured. Jade Qin was still unconscious, and both Yvonne Xuan and Serena Frost looked uncomfortable.
Serena Frost cultivated ice-attribute arts, but even her techniques were a tier below the Coldflame Shadow unleashed. Back in the Netherworld, even King Victor Zhao and the Beast King had struggled to endure it—and they were both half-god experts. Now, with their defenses weakened by injuries, resisting this cold was nearly impossible.
Just as Shadow expected, the Yin–Yang Demon Empress couldn’t absorb the Coldflame’s energy. Her whole body was instantly frozen into an ice statue. Seeing this, Shadow grinned—even if he couldn’t kill her, trapping her for a while was good enough.
He immediately shifted into human form, walked up to Nolan Nangong, and said, "Get them out of here, quick. My Mystic Ice can only hold her for so long—once she breaks out, no one will be able to escape."
The Yin–Yang Demon Empress hadn’t expected this lion to wield both fire and ice attacks. She could absorb Heavenfire because her possessed body was fire-attribute and had high flame control, but the ice element was her nemesis. For the moment, she was completely trapped.
From inside the ice, the Yin–Yang Demon Empress roared in fury. She was the commander of the Demonic Realm, the symbol of its greatest power—now she was trapped by a mere lion, right in front of her top generals. Her pride was utterly shattered.
Suddenly, flames erupted all over her body, melting the ice as quickly as Evan Chu had done in the Frozen Wastes. The ice shell began to dissolve at an alarming rate; in just a few breaths, a small section had already melted away.
"Break my ice shell? You’re dreaming!" Shadow snapped, flashing forward to block the Yin–Yang Demon Empress. He transformed back into Bloodshadow Berserker Lion form—much smaller this time, but the Coldflame he spat was just as fierce as before.
Soon, another thick layer of Mystic Ice formed around the Yin–Yang Demon Empress, infuriating her even more. Still, she kept using her flames to melt the ice covering her body.
Nolan Nangong tried to take Jade Qin away, but was blocked by Demonic Realm experts. Shadow’s sudden appearance had briefly paused the battle, but once the Yin–Yang Demon Empress was trapped, fighting broke out again.
One of them even rushed up to the Mystic Ice encasing the Yin–Yang Demon Empress, unleashing a powerful martial technique to try and break her free. Shadow wasn’t about to let that happen and immediately engaged the Demon Emperor in battle.
This Demon Emperor was half-god realm, but compared to Shadow, he was still a bit weaker—especially against Shadow’s monstrous defense, which terrified him. His martial techniques barely scratched Shadow, while Shadow’s attacks made him cough up blood.
The space around the Yin–Yang Demon Empress kept expanding. Suddenly, she let out a furious roar and summoned a pitch-black longsword. She unleashed a martial technique so powerful that the whole space trembled—the massive sword-qi shattered the Mystic Ice, leaving countless cracks.
One more strike and she’d be free; the Yin–Yang Demon Empress was thrilled. "Little lion, once I get out, I’ll make you wish you were dead!" she threatened.
"Old monster, let’s see if you can actually get out!" Shadow retorted. He knew Mystic Ice wouldn’t hold her forever, but he refused to admit defeat.
Bang! Another deafening explosion rocked the battlefield. The Mystic Ice trapping the Yin–Yang Demon Empress shattered, sending shards flying everywhere at meteoric speed, like hidden weapons.
Yvonne Xuan and Serena Frost kept deflecting the flying shards with their swords, the battlefield echoing with clashing steel. The first thing the Yin–Yang Demon Empress did after breaking free was slash her sword at Shadow.
Shadow knew how strong her attacks were and didn’t dare take them head-on—he dodged as fast as he could, but was still struck by a ray of sword-qi. It blasted a huge bloody hole in his body, and a powerful corrosive force spread through the wound, making him grit his teeth in pain.
"How does it feel, little lion? I promised to make you wish you were dead, and I always keep my word!" The Yin–Yang Demon Empress laughed, glancing at the Demon Emperor who had helped her.
Just then, a golden flash streaked through the air, striking at the Yin–Yang Demon Empress with unimaginable speed. She couldn’t dodge in time and was sent flying dozens of meters before she could steady herself…