C1046 The Soulsever Slash!
The Star-Spawned Terror excelled at transformation and was adept in the arcane arts of Spirit Magic. It typically targeted the soul when confronting an enemy.
Gull, devoid of a corporeal body, was in an ideal position to maximize the Sky Fiend's advantage with his pure spirited body.
He was convinced that if he could just approach Yu Yuan and enter the Mindscape within Yu Yuan's mind, his mastery of various Spirit Magic techniques would allow him to effortlessly obliterate Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit, heaven soul, and dominant soul.
He had been so sure of himself until Yue Fei's alarmed cry made him waver.
Yu Yuan flashed a grin.
His smile sent a shiver through Gull's soul, and he instinctively felt a sense of foreboding.
Cling!
Yu Yuan's Seven Star Aegis materialized in an instant. The light blades Gull had launched with his moon energy Soul Power were completely blocked by the Aegis's circular barrier, leaving Yu Yuan unscathed.
Simultaneously, he covertly executed the Wraithbinding technique against Gull's soul form.
The Lunar Spirit within the Mindscape transformed abruptly, becoming a terrifying vortex capable of engulfing all ghostly beings, exerting a strangely demonic pull.
The exquisite Spirit Magic of Boulderdawn was specifically designed to counter the Star-Spawned Terror!
The Domain Channel to the Hellmouth was frequently opened, allowing the Sky Fiend to enter and providing Boulderdawn disciples the opportunity to hone their Mind Magic against the fiend's soul.
The wonders of Wraithbinding had been repeatedly proven by Yu Yuan in various encounters outside the walls of Afnetalos.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Gull, in his spirited body, suddenly felt the world spin around him. An irresistible magnetic force emanated from the Mindscape he had been so eager to penetrate.
Confusion clouded Gull's mind, and he found himself involuntarily drawn towards Yu Yuan.
"Gull!"
In the midst of chaos, Yue Fei cried out again, her voice piercing his soul like a siren's call.
Jolted as if struck by a sword, Gull snapped to his senses, only to realize that his spirit form was on the verge of entering the heart of the Seven Star Aegis.
In that moment, Gull was profoundly affected and came to truly believe Yue Fei's earlier warning.
He immediately decided to withdraw.
Yu Yuan, gripping the sword sheath, nonchalantly unleashed a scarlet sword light.
"Spiritrend!"
As the sword light took shape, a sword's will capable of annihilating souls seemed to penetrate deep into Gull's own, reviving the terror he once felt under Nie Qingtian's control.
Gull recognized "Spiritrend" and was aware of how many of his Moonfiend kin had perished under this formidable sword spell.
Thus, he hastily retreated in a frenzy.
The relentless scarlet sword light pursued him, with glimpses of Shadow Moon Essence within its mystical glow.
The presence of Shadow Moon Essence significantly enhanced the lethality of Yu Yuan's Spiritrend, exerting an extraordinary suppression on all spirited forms.
Swoosh!
The sword light continued its relentless pursuit, cleaving Gull's specter into two.
In this brief encounter, Gull, an ancient Moonfiend powerhouse, was grievously wounded.
His bisected specter rushed back to Bertha, unable to purge the Shadow Moon Essence that continued to ravage his soul.
Under the influence of the Shadow Moon Essence, his consciousness grew dim and disordered.
He faintly sensed that the specks of Shadow Moon Essence were like acid dissolving his soul, rapidly eroding it until soon, nothing would remain.
"Bertha, help me, help me cleanse these silver specks!"
The desperate Gull, his specter trembling, displayed the gleaming Shadow Moon Essence and pleaded with Bertha to swiftly aid in dissolving it.
Bertha, though she dared not strike a fatal blow against Yu Yuan in her capacity as a priestess of the Moonlit Wanderers, did not hesitate to come to his aid.
Beneath her, the Moon Altars and Moon Lakes shifted towards Gull.
Gull caught on quickly. His specter contracted and plunged into two separate Moon Lakes, as if taking a purifying bath, fully submerged in their waters.
The waters of the Moon Lake, suffused with a sacred and pristine force, surged into his specter, challenging the Shadow Moon Essence.
Before long, the two Moon Lakes containing his specter began to roil!
The Shadow Moon Essence bubbled, instantly bringing the liquid in Moon Lake to a boil. As the moon energy surged, the pond's level rapidly dropped, dissolving the Essence in the process.
Gull's specter shuddered with fear.
What on earth was this thing?
His heart cried out in terror, wailing in despair. Not even Nie Qingtian's Spiritrend, which had once cleaved souls with its sword light, had been as horrifying as this!
The specter, a mere spirited body, seemed to dissolve upon mere contact with the substance!
Gull, lurking within Moon Lake, no longer dared to act recklessly or reveal himself to continue his assault on Yu Yuan.
He was genuinely frightened.
"Shadow Moon Essence, Spiritrend!"
Yu Yuan, having landed a successful blow, held his sword sheath and allowed a slight smile to grace his lips.
During his time in the Land of Terror, he had discovered the Shadow Moon Essence hidden deep within the acupoints of his chest. Combined with Spiritrend, it unleashed a formidable power that even he found astonishing.
This strike was effective against the ghosts of the Land of Terror and, astonishingly, against the pure spirited form of the Sky Fiend as well!
The miraculous Shadow Moon Essence, originating from the Root of the Lunar Meridian deep beneath the earth, was a source of wonder. The Essence, refined from the Lunar Meridian, the final resting place for countless souls in the Everlands, held an incredible power to subdue spirits that was beyond his wildest imagination.
Gull, a Demon God of the Moonfiend Clan, lacked a corporeal body and thus could not be considered a complete Demon God.
Yet, even his Spiritrend could not have inflicted such a dire fate upon Gull if not for the Shadow Moon Essence.
With this realization, Yu Yuan's remnant soul naturally delved deeper into the acupoints opened by the Root of the Lunar Meridian and the Shadow Moon Essence. Inside, he found a substantial reserve of the Essence still present.
"What a precious treasure. I must use it wisely in the future. Against bodiless Sky Fiends and souls, combined with Spiritrend, it is indeed a weapon of doom!"
He reflected with a mix of awe and exhilaration.
Simultaneously, Pattinson of the Shadowkin, previously concealed underground, made his reappearance.
Elsewhere, in front of the square stone building, the expression of the eighth-level Shura warrior shifted subtly as he urgently warned, "Elena, stay back!"
He had been vigilantly protecting Elena all along.
At that moment, he sensed that Elena's eighth-level bloodline had successfully evolved, granting her the ability to join the battle.
Yet, the situation in Ashen Hollow was perilous, with the presence of two ancient Moonfiends that seldom appeared and other oddities like Bertha and the Silvermoon Queen. He didn't want Elena to risk her safety.
Particularly since Calves, also a King of Bandits, approached with a menacing air, only to be possessed by Yue Fei before he could react, transforming from male to female.
He feared that disaster might befall the hot-tempered Elena.
"What's happened? How could this have occurred so quickly?"
Elena stumbled out of the stone building, looking around in confusion, unaware of the events that had transpired. Only when she saw Yu Yuan unharmed and composed did she breathe a sigh of relief.
"This is what happened..."
The Shura warrior, loyal to his father, quickly began to explain, worried she might be out of the loop.
"The man I fancy is truly formidable!"
Elena's eyes sparkled with admiration. Upon hearing how Yu Yuan's sword had cleaved Gull into two specters, causing him severe damage, she pumped her fist in excitement and cheered with pride.
"Your Majesty, what about you?"
After Yu Yuan's sword strike, he appeared even more relaxed, smiling and squinting at Lee Yupan. "Are you going to stand aside, or do you wish to fight side by side with Yue Fei?"
"I've heard you once saved Lee Yuchan in the Land of Terror?" The Silvermoon Queen paused, then added, "And you've assisted Lee Yu?"
Yu Yuan simply smiled, offering no response.
The Silvermoon Queen fell silent for a moment, then continued, "You are much stronger than I anticipated. You've truly surprised me, and I'm not confident that I could defeat you. Moreover, my breakthrough in the Everlands was possible thanks to Yan Qiling's assistance in the Moonfall Sanctuary."
She glanced at Yue Fei amidst the Rainbow Ocean and said, "Yue Fei has her own duties and mission, but I am not her."
Her words implied that she and Yue Fei were not one entity; otherwise, Yue Fei would not have needed to possess Calves and use his body to fight.
In the Moonlit Domain, she stood fearless before Calves, the ninth-level King of Bandits, thanks to Yue Fei's presence within her.
Yue Fei had assured her that with the inherent superiority of her race and the Moonlit Wanderers being merely a third-level race, Yue Fei could easily take possession of Calves.
Yue Fei refrained from acting before Rosny and Fernand's arrival, cautious not to draw unwanted attention.
Once Rosny and Fernand, a ninth-level Shadowkin and a platinum Shura respectively, made their appearance, they were not subject to the constraints of her Moonfiend's abilities, prompting her to hold back once more.
Her patience had worn thin primarily because Rosny and Fernand were absent, and also because Bertha, along with Gull who had possessed her, were aware of the unfolding events and would assist in concealing them.
Yue Fei regarded Bertha and Gull as part of her inner circle.
"Your Majesty, it would be best for all if you refrain from intervening," Yu Yuan said, bowing slightly in thanks. He then summoned the Frost Queen, another otherworldly being, with a mere thought.
The Frost Queen, resembling an Ice Goddess, had a crystalline body that gleamed like an energy crystal.
Emanating from her were the chilling aura of the Dark Realm and the terrifying ice energy of the Frozen Hellscape. Already on par with a late-stage Solar Spirit, her combat prowess was amplified by two unique ice energies and her refined demonform, making her a truly formidable force.
"I'm aware of Your Majesty's might and the plethora of strategies at your disposal," Yu Yuan said, gesturing towards the Frost Queen. "If Your Majesty could remain uninvolved, she too would remain as immovable as a mountain."
Lee Yupan's expression shifted subtly.
Yu Yuan had summoned the Frost Queen as a clear deterrent, to ensure that she would truly remain a spectator.
"I understand," she replied.
