"Damn it!"
Seeing Ye Ling begin to burn his life essence, the inner demon's expression turned extremely grim.
He was essentially Ye Ling's inner demon, one and the same!
Now that Ye Ling was burning his life essence, his own interests would be harmed!
Once Ye Ling's life essence was completely consumed, it would mean the end of his life as well.
The inner demon's ultimate goal was to possess the host body. Now that the host body was seeking its own demise, how could the inner demon stand by?
"You lunatic, stop this!"
The inner demon was anxious and lunged towards Ye Ling, his ferocious aura sweeping around, destroying all the surrounding walls!
"It's too late! You can't stop me!" Ye Ling coldly shouted, increasing the intensity of burning his life essence, and charged towards Ye You in the center of the altar!
The ritual was set to begin in ten minutes. Ye Ling wanted to settle his score with the inner demon within that time. Without burning his life essence, it would be impossible!
The inner demon could feel Ye Ling's life essence constantly shrinking, growing more anxious. His movements became hesitant, daring not to clash directly with Ye Ling.
He didn't want to die here!
Boom!
The inner demon's resolve faltered. He collided with Ye Ling and was sent flying, completely unable to impede Ye Ling's actions!
In reality, the inner demon could also burn his life essence to match Ye Ling's combat power. However, if he were to follow Ye Ling's example and burn his own life essence, the intensity of their battle would become completely uncontrollable.
It was likely that within ten minutes, both the inner demon and Ye Ling's life essences would be consumed, leading to their simultaneous demise!
"Damn it! This guy's gone mad!"
After being repelled by Ye Ling, the inner demon cursed under his breath, realizing he could no longer stop Ye Ling. He immediately retreated from the scene, ceasing his entanglement with Ye Ling.
If he continued to linger, Ye Ling's constant burning of his life essence would bring him no benefit.
Seeing the inner demon withdraw, a hint of a smile flickered in Ye Ling's eyes. He immediately stopped burning his life essence, landed on the altar, and rescued Xiao You.
He had been gambling with his life from the start, betting that the inner demon wouldn't want to fight him to the death here, nor would he dare to risk his life!
The inner demon's direct retreat, his refusal to continue the entanglement, proved his gamble was correct.
After all, the inner demon's objective was to possess the host body. Now that Ye Ling was about to burn the host body clean, it offered no advantage to the inner demon.
Thus, as long as the inner demon dared to block, Ye Ling would burn his life essence. Weighing the pros and cons, the inner demon naturally knew what to do.
However, even though Ye Ling had only burned his life essence for a short period before forcing the inner demon away, he himself had suffered extremely severe injuries and would not recover anytime soon.
But, as long as this action could save Ye You, it was all worth it for Ye Ling.
"Xiao You!"
Ye Ling embraced Ye You, trying to wake her up. However, Ye You seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber, her consciousness absent, like a living dead person.
No matter how Ye Ling called out, Ye You showed no reaction.
"Has Xiao You's consciousness been taken?"
Seeing Ye You's current state, Ye Ling suddenly recalled the cultivators of the Hong Chen Pavilion in the ancient ruins, his pupils slightly constricting.
If he were to take Ye You out of the altar now, he would likely only be able to take her body. Her consciousness would remain trapped within the altar, sacrificed along with it.
"No, I must find a way to retrieve Xiao You's consciousness from the altar!"
Ye Ling temporarily set Ye You's body aside and attempted to use his divine soul to infiltrate the altar, searching for Ye You's consciousness.
However, upon infiltrating the altar with his divine soul, Ye Ling discovered that it was filled with the soul consciousness of half the world's population!
The Yin souls that flew out of the Tong You Pool, after possessing people's bodies across the globe, had poured all those individuals' consciousnesses into this Tong Tian Tower altar.
With billions of consciousnesses stored here, it was boundless!
For Ye Ling to find Ye You's consciousness among billions within a few minutes was harder than reaching the heavens!
"Xiao You!!!"
With no other option, Ye Ling could only resort to the most rudimentary and brute-force method. While rapidly sifting through everyone's consciousness, he called out to Ye You within the altar, attempting to awaken her from the countless consciousnesses!
"Xiao You!!! If you can hear me, respond!"
With billions of consciousnesses gathered in the altar, Ye Ling's divine soul was under immense strain as he sifted through them.
Ye Ling's mind was now flooded with the thoughts, desires, and voices of billions of people.
Coupled with the fact that Ye Ling had just burned his life essence, he was already at his weakest. For him to sift through billions of souls to find Xiao You's consciousness was like searching for a needle in a haystack!
In the void, the inner demon watched Ye Ling's back on the altar, his expression calm.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but a flicker of complex emotion crossed the inner demon's eyes.
"Time has told you... this is the limit of what I can do," the inner demon murmured, lowering his gaze. "The rest is up to you, host."
As soon as he finished speaking, a colossal hand, comparable to a star, appeared behind the inner demon, seizing him and dragging him into the depths of the void.
Ye Ling was completely unaware of what was happening with the inner demon.
All his focus was now on sifting through Xiao You's consciousness. Even though the chances of success were incredibly slim, he refused to give up!
"Xiao You! If you can hear me, respond! Your brother will save you!" Ye Ling's voice echoed among the billions of consciousnesses, attempting to awaken Ye You's awareness.
But, Ye You still showed no reaction...
As the time ticked closer to the ten-minute mark, Ye Ling began to feel a sense of despair.
He had a premonition that once the ritual commenced, Ye You would be completely sacrificed, and he would lose her forever!
"What exactly do I need to do to awaken Xiao You?"
Ye Ling's heart raced with anxiety, his mind working furiously to think of any possible way to awaken Xiao You!
Suddenly...
The silver bracelet that Feng Ke had given him appeared in Ye Ling's mind.
"Even though that bracelet belongs to the Three Yuan Star Lord... at this point, it's a case of 'a dead horse treated as if it were alive'!"
Time did not allow Ye Ling to hesitate any longer. That bracelet was an important item that Ye You had brought out from the ancient ruins of the Tong Tian Tribe, and she had kept it meticulously. It must hold some special significance!
If he could send that bracelet into the altar now, perhaps it could awaken Ye You's dormant consciousness!
As long as Ye You showed even the slightest response, Ye Ling would be able to pinpoint her consciousness among the billions of souls and bring it out!
Ye Ling made up his mind and took out the silver bracelet, sending it into the altar.
Ye Ling injected his spiritual power into the bracelet, causing it to emit a dazzling light, its energy enveloping the consciousnesses of everyone in the altar!
"Xiao You! If you can hear me, respond immediately! Even just a slight movement!"
Ye Ling's voice echoed around the countless consciousnesses.
Under the bracelet's radiant glow, Ye You's consciousness slowly began to awaken.
Faintly, she heard Ye Ling's call, "Brother?"
Ye You's consciousness stirred.
At this very moment, Ye Ling captured the trace of Ye You's consciousness!
"Xiao You!"