C1078
In a secluded corner of the Annihilation Nebula, there lay a starry sky, desolate and eerily cold. Towering gray withered trees, thousands of meters tall, stood like feathers magnified ten thousand times, swaying uncertainly.
These colossal withered trees, mountainous in size, radiated an aura of decay, antiquity, and chill. Their thick branches were home to a multitude of Warpbeasts and dire beasts—archdemons from the Everlands, dire beasts from the extraterrestrial Star River, and a greater number of mutated beings from various races.
Each of these towering gray withered trees was teeming with thousands of living Warpbeasts. Their flesh and blood emitted bizarre auras; some oozed pus, while others had rotting limbs that gave off a nauseating stench. Their eyes glowed green, as if in search of something. Yet, these Warpbeasts were unnaturally peaceful, not engaging in the usual slaughter and consumption, which lent an eerie stillness to the scene.
Dozens of such massive, peculiar gray withered trees existed here. Each one was crowded with Warpbeasts, all exuding an uncanny vibe. They appeared more organized than the disciplined ranks of the Otherkin's regular army, with a strict hierarchy and an air of discipline.
It seemed as though some unseen force was constraining them, making them forget their innate tendency towards chaotic madness.
Suddenly, a crescent-shaped beam of silver light pierced the desolate expanse—a beautifully crafted starship, shaped like a crescent moon, belonging to the Moonlit Wanderers.
The crescent-shaped Voidfarer housed nearly a hundred Moonlit Wanderers of relatively common bloodline levels, primarily sixth and seventh level, with only three eighth-level warriors leading them.
The Voidfarer of the Moonlit Wanderers was merely passing through the Annihilation Nebula on its way to a grand gathering rumored to be taking place in Ionodios.
As it entered the Annihilation Nebula, a young Moonlit Wanderer tasked with sentry duty caught sight of the startling tableau and froze in terror.
"My God, have all the formidable Warpbeasts of the Infinite Galaxy converged here?" he whispered in disbelief. Snapping to his senses, he urgently cried out, "Retreat! Retreat! The Annihilation Nebula is far from the tranquil realm we imagined!"
His scream jolted the other Moonlit Wanderers from their meditative state, prompting them to rise to their feet in alarm.
As they too caught sight of the towering, withered trees carrying hundreds of horrifying Warpbeasts adrift in the Silent Star, terror struck them to the core.
Suddenly, one of the dire beasts, its body a fiery red, perched atop the nearest gray withered tree, fixed its glowing red eyes upon them.
The massive tree, like an enormous fan, violently struck the Voidfarer they were aboard.
...
On the fringes of the Annihilation Nebula.
Lin Zhuyun, shrouded in a cold fog, drifted alone through a star that had been lifeless for a hundred thousand years.
This world, once extinguished by the descent of the secular bird, still boasted a grand city, its massive stone halls marked by the passage of time.
Among the dozen or so giant gray pillars lay the towering corpses of the Titan Otherkin, their flesh desiccated and exuding a potent aura of death. Lin Zhuyun frowned deeply as she approached the bodies, recognizing that the city at her feet once belonged to the ancient Titan race.
The secular bird, once besieged by numerous peak tenth-level experts, unleashed an uncontrollable burst of death force, resulting in the harrowing scene before her.
A Titan nation, a Titan world, had vanished in an instant.
She was tracing the threads of the past, searching for any clues that might be uncovered...
Abruptly, she looked up.
From the depths of the sky, where no wall existed, a Voidfarer of the Moonlit Wanderers plummeted uncontrollably.
The crescent-shaped Voidfarer was smeared with blood, bearing the signs of a brutal conflict, yet not a single Moonlit Wanderer was to be found.
Boom!
The warship crashed into the wilderness just outside the city. Lin Zhuyun hesitated briefly before transforming into a streak of icy light, speeding towards the crash site. Upon examining the wreckage closely, she confirmed the absence of any Moonlit Wanderers.
"The Annihilation Nebula prohibits private combat, yet this warship has been attacked," she pondered silently. Wisps of crystalline lightning emanated from her, meticulously scanning every inch of the wreckage in her unique way.
"Uh!"
A strand of the crystalline lightning made contact with a patch of dark green blood, and a surge of aggressive vitality infiltrated the lightning connected to her, attempting to invade her body.
After that incident, more of the ice and lightning she had released came into contact with vitality that seemed to harbor an independent consciousness. Lin Zhuyun's initial instinct was to reject and resist it, to push back with her own strength. However, as she was about to do so, she noticed that the sealed vitality within her little world showed signs of fracturing from the impact of those unknown forces.
She hesitated briefly before changing her mind. Unable to resolve her own issues, she would struggle to survive in the extraterrestrial Star River, facing imminent death either way. Deciding to take a chance, she considered guiding the mysterious external force into her body to see if it might offer a chance to reclaim a glimmer of life.
With this in mind, she no longer put up her defenses. Instead, she allowed the enigmatic vitality to seep into her being.
...
In a training room within Ionodios, Yu Yuan sat in meditation, his breaths deep and steady. Clasping two transparent soulstones, he drew upon the purest spiritual energy they contained. The spiritual energy of this realm was inconsistent and sparse, necessitating a constant replenishment for his Golden Sanctum's little world.
Apart from pills, high-purity soulstones were the optimal means of replenishment.
Hovering half a meter above his head, his Lunar Spirit shimmered. Within its spirited body, he refined the silver "Shadow Moon Essence," cleansing the Lunar Spirit of distractions and impurities.
Before him, an iridescent jar cradled the precious Shadow Moon Essence that Luo Yue had retrieved from the Land of Terror. This jar, a gift from the White Bone King in this life, contained the Shadow Moon Essence, a unique and potent substance capable of purifying the ethereal spirited body, much like the corporeal body requires bone and marrow cleansing.
Often, meditation and the expulsion of distracting thoughts serve as a means of purifying the soul. Yet, compared to the Shadow Moon Essence's ability to cleanse the soul, these methods fall drastically short in both efficiency and profoundness.
As Yu Yuan felt the Shadow Moon Essence merge into his Lunar Spirit, he became acutely aware of its increasing purity.
After devouring and refining the Star-Spawned Terror, as well as absorbing the overflowing Soul Power from the Altar of Rebirth, the tiny foreign particles lingering within the Lunar Spirit were gradually purged by the Shadow Moon Essence.
His Lunar Spirit grew increasingly lighter and more ethereal, and it seemed to have enhanced resistance to external forces.
"Let's give it another try."
With a single thought, his Lunar Spirit soared out of the training room and ascended rapidly.
Before long, it had pierced through the barrier of Ionodios and entered the polluted expanse of the extraterrestrial realm. He instantly sensed the infiltration of numerous malevolent souls.
In its soul form, the Lunar Spirit's thoughts became chaotic, its spiritual pathways clogged, and its remnant soul sluggish, resulting in intense pain...
A sudden onslaught of discomfort arose, yet it was clear that he could withstand it far better than during his time in the Ashen Hollow.
The Shadow Moon Essence truly had boundless benefits, with its effects on refining, strengthening, and enhancing the Lunar Spirit being remarkably evident!
He was inwardly exhilarated. As he prepared to return to his corporeal body, a towering soul with a green face and sharp fangs, clad in ancient armor, drifted towards him.
The towering soul and his Lunar Spirit faced each other.
"Yu Yuan!"
"Sky Fiend Indigo Wraith!"
