C1124 The Dark Deity Body!

A man and a woman emerged side by side in the Deathwing Lair, its surface as reflective as a mirror. The man, with long silver hair and a perpetually casual smile, was none other than Tan Junshan. The woman, whose beauty was striking, was Winona, an elder of the Moonlit Wanderers who had once encountered Yu Yuan.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" Tan Junshan's smile was radiant as he waved to Yu Yuan upon his arrival.

Winona offered a demure smile, nodding slightly to both Chen Qinghuang and Yu Yuan without uttering another word. Yu Yuan's expression stiffened momentarily.

He suddenly recalled that he hadn't seen Tan Junshan and Winona since he acquired the Baneblade, Bloodhell. They had been absent during the turmoil in Ionodios, likely having left long before.

But why were these two here in the Deathwing Lair?

Yu Yuan, with a furrowed brow, turned to the Songbird Queen, who had chosen not to don her imperial crown after Tan Junshan and Winona's appearance, and inquired, "What's going on?"

"They moved here from the Starway we left earlier," Chen Qinghuang explained calmly. "After refining this lair, I was able to temporarily transform it into a ferry at a specific moment. Tan Junshan and I go way back, and we've fought side by side before."

"Girl, shouldn't you be addressing me as Senior Tan?" Tan Junshan teased with a smirk. "When you first ascended to the Solar Spirit realm and ventured into the Extraterrestrial Star River, I rescued you from the clutches of the Sky Fiend. What, now that you've grown in power, you consider us equals?"

Chen Qinghuang maintained an aloof demeanor, choosing not to engage with his banter.

Yu Yuan, however, discerned that Tan Junshan and she shared an extraordinary bond. He remembered how, back in Afnetalos, Tan Junshan had intervened to subdue the archdemon Green Willow, enabling her to leverage the power of the Songbird City to contend with Zu Ann.

Clearly, she and Tan Junshan had maintained a covert connection, bound by an unspoken agreement.

Yu Yuan stroked his chin, observing the pair with a hint of amusement in his gaze, occasionally casting a glance at Winona of the Moonlit Wanderers.

"A Frostfiend," remarked Winona, the elder of the Moonlit Wanderers, her eyes narrowing into a smile. She glanced at the Frost Queen standing beside Yu Yiyi and inquired of Chen Qinghuang, "Is she a participant as well?"

"No, but she has been here previously," Chen Qinghuang replied.

"To this place?"

Yu Yuan's interest piqued, and as he spoke, his remnant soul permeated the ground like invisible water.

The dim world around them was marked by collapsed mountains and fractured canyons. It seemed there once were forests, but no lakes or signs of water sources remained.

Nor was there any wall present.

Psionic power saturated the environment, pervading every corner and infusing the deep earth with its strange energy.

Yu Yuan's remnant soul roamed beneath the surface, finding no anomalies, and the Altar of Rebirth within him detected no life force.

Yet, as his soul consciousness moved through the underground, it seemed to drain him significantly, leaving him feeling weakened shortly after.

"Is there anything peculiar here?"

Having come up empty-handed, Yu Yuan turned back to Chen Qinghuang and asked earnestly.

"In the Everlands, the Shadow's Keep is home to four Dark Deities: the Dark Phoenix, the Kylin, the Astral Tiger, and the Untamed," Tan Junshan declared, seemingly unconcerned that these four tenth-level Demon Gods might detect his presence or overhear him.

As a cultivator at the pinnacle of the Unbound realm, Tan Junshan spoke of the Dark Deities without a hint of reverence.

"Besides the Moonfang Tiger, another Dark Deity from the Shadow's Keep belongs to the same race as the Untamed."

Tan Junshan smiled as he turned his gaze to Yu Yuan.

"I'm aware. I've heard it was a tenth-level Lunarphite," Yu Yuan acknowledged with a nod.

In his past life as Hong Qi, the Lunarphite had been dead for many years, rumored to have been besieged by the Sky Fiend Clan in an extraterrestrial Star River and gradually worn down to death.

The event was so distant in time that he hadn't paid it much heed in his former life, leaving only a vague memory.

"Yes, it existed during the same era as the Golden Elephant God and was even more powerful," Tan Junshan mused, his eyes drifting to the Dark Nebula outside. "The Lunarphite was encircled and slain by the Sky Fiend Clan. Amidst the concerted efforts of three great Demon Gods, the tenth-level Lunarphite met its end in the starry expanse of the extraterrestrial realm."

Yu Yuan was momentarily taken aback before realization dawned on him, and he asked with surprise, "Could it be the Zagreus of today?"

"Exactly."

Winona, from the Moonlit Wanderers, gently nodded in confirmation.

"I'm privy to a few details myself."

The Frost Queen glanced between Yu Yuan, Tan Junshan, and the Songbird Queen, seemingly anticipating their response.

"It appears you once held some standing within the Frostfiend Clan," Winona observed, her eyebrows lifting slightly in a gesture that conveyed newfound respect for the Frost Queen.

She could discern that the Frost Queen's soul had undergone a profound transformation and bore a unique soul mark.

Clearly constrained by this mark, the Frost Queen was subjugated by the prized relic of the Terror Claws.

Winona had initially dismissed the Frost Queen, who had lost her liberty and once belonged to the Frostfiend Clan. However, upon discovering that the Frost Queen was privy to the secrets of this place, Winona's estimation of her rose considerably.

After a brief pause, the Frost Queen nodded gently. "The one you speak of was my ancestor. She was later slain by the Dark Phoenix from the Shadow's Keep, effectively trading her life for the Lunarphite's."

"I see," Winona responded.

"Go on, share what you know," Yu Yuan encouraged.

"The three Demon Gods who vanquished the Lunarphite included the current leader of the Star-Spawned Terror, the former chief of the Blood Fiend, and my ancestor," the Frost Queen revealed candidly, sharing her knowledge. "The Lunarphite's demon soul was consumed by the mightiest of the Star-Spawned Terror and my ancestor, empowering their own devil souls. The Blood Fiend's former patriarch received the Lunarphite's demon body."

"The demon souls and bodies were consumed by the three participating Demon Gods?" Yu Yuan asked, taken aback.

"Yes," confirmed the Frost Queen.

"You certainly are well-informed," Tan Junshan commented with a smile. "Have you been here before? What brought you?"

"My ancestor acquired an artifact from the Lunarphite. My sister and I felt its resonance as we passed through this area," the Frost Queen recalled, touching her forehead thoughtfully. "We explored this place but found nothing, and the artifact vanished without a trace."

"Haha," Tan Junshan clapped his hands and burst into laughter. "What a coincidence. Haha, the Lunarphite relic you're talking about, wouldn't happen to be a silver fork, would it?"

The Frost Queen's expression shifted subtly. "How did you come to know that?"

Tan Junshan chuckled once more.

"Come on, no more secrets."

Chen Qinghuang, showing a hint of impatience, gazed down at the land beneath her and slowly exited the nest. Hovering a few meters above the ground, she began, "The remains of the Lunarphite are likely still below us, sealed by Grec. A Dark Deity of the tenth level, any remnants of bone and blood would be invaluable rare treasures."

Looking up at Yu Yuan, she continued, "The Lunarphite's bones are imbued with a terrifyingly potent lunar essence. Tan Junshan and Winona could use it to craft their ideal Divine Weapons. Its blood could aid your heaven soul in refining the Altar of Rebirth, transforming it into a Solar Spirit Body."

"Besides, there are likely other wonders here that would suit you."

"This is, after all, the secret base of the Demon God Grec. As the current leader of the Blood Fiend, he surely left behind many treasures."

Chen Qinghuang spoke slowly, her voice carrying the weight of certainty.

Yu Yuan listened, his heart racing with the possibilities. A Dark Deity of Shadow's Keep lay beneath the earth, and Chen Qinghuang, Tan Junshan, and Winona were poised to seize this chance.

"How long have you been scheming?" he inquired, unable to contain his curiosity.

"We stumbled upon this secret a century ago," Tan Junshan revealed, "when Chenchen and I were at an ancient battlefield and came across this object." A silver fork materialized in his hand, as if by magic.

The fork, aglow with an infinite moonlight, was dazzling and pulsated with formidable demon energy.

The Frost Queen looked on at the familiar fork with a mix of excitement and resignation.

"The relic of the Lunarphite felt the presence of its demon body below and was drawn into it," Tan Junshan explained, casting a glance at the Frost Queen. "This evil weapon belonged to it. Since you couldn't refine it, you had no choice but to watch it go. Back then, Grec had not yet ascended to Demon God status, and the item was still bound below."

"After the former patriarch of the Blood Fiend passed away, Grec, who was born with the Altar of Rebirth, was brought here by the elder. That's when he uncovered this secret and found the silver fork. It was of no use to Grec, so he decided to sell it."

"The Halberd was once in the hands of a formidable member of the Moonlit Wanderers, but that warrior later fell in battle," Tan Junshan clarified.

"The one who came into possession of the Halberd was my father," Winona interjected. "He was slain by the Ebon Star, and the item was lost on the extraterritorial battlefield."

Tan Junshan continued, "I came into possession of the item. Hailing from the Moon Sect in the Everlands, I managed to refine it. Through it, I deduced this secret. However..."

He shook his head, a wry smile on his face, "Knowing this secret for a century, I've been powerless to act on it. Once Greco advanced to the tenth level and became the patriarch of the Blood Fiend, transforming into a true Demon God, anyone who dared to rip open the earth to uncover the secrets below would incur Greco's fury."

He paused before adding, "I certainly don't want to provoke him."

Chen Qinghuang chimed in, "Nor does he wish to divulge this secret to anyone else, lest the Shadow's Keep reclaim the Lunarphite's body."

With their explanations, Yu Yuan gained a clear understanding of the situation. He grasped why they had chosen this particular moment to seek out the Lunarphite's body.

At present, Greco was ensnared within Ionodios. Even if he wasn't vanquished there, his return was out of the question.

Now was their prime opportunity to break open the earth and delve into the secrets of the Lunarphite's body!

Should they let this chance slip by and Greco manage to break free, even in a weakened state, they would never again be able to extract anything from beneath the earth's surface.

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