C1132
"As expected of Grec."
Tan Junshan murmured, as silver-white phantoms emerged from his brow and slipped into the cold crescent moons nestled in his chest.
Each phantom that Tan Junshan released into the blood mist and Blood Moon underwent a transformation. Some became the eternal cold moon, others took the form of the Everlands, or the first Lunarphite, and some even morphed into the ancient Moonfiend capable of refining the Moon Soul. There was even a phantom that assumed the vague shape of the Abyssal Leviathan, poised to swallow the moon whole.
His eyes sparkled with endless frosty lights, weaving together into a mysterious pattern.
Rip! Rip!
The dark red blood mist within the crescent moons appeared to be purified by a divine force, driven out by the power he had mastered, and slowly reformed into tiny sparks and crystals of blood.
At that moment, Tan Junshan glanced at Yu Yuan and instructed, "You possess the skill to refine the vital energy Grec left behind. It's yours to claim."
Yu Yuan, still reeling from Winona's predicament, looked surprised at the suggestion.
Chen Qinghuang whispered, "Do as he says."
"Alright."
Without further hesitation, Yu Yuan used his soul and vitality to steer the altar, now a swirling vortex of blood, towards Tan Junshan.
Tan Junshan, in turn, called forth the crescent moons, guiding them to converge with Yu Yuan's approach.
Yu Yiyi, cradling the Shadowfox within the dark cauldron, suddenly propelled it skyward. She unleashed a host of Banes from within, directing them towards the massive violet gold egg.
Something extraordinary was happening inside the egg, sensed by both Yu Yuan and her.
Yet, any living creature that ventured too close to the Titan Spinosaurus' dragon egg risked attack, especially near the peculiar heart containing Grec's lifeblood.
She was eager to test whether a soul-like Bane could be effective.
The low-level Banes served as her scouts; their destruction would not cause her much distress.
Crack! Crack!
Tan Junshan forcefully extracted blood crystals and glimmers from the crescent moons, which were promptly devoured by Yu Yuan's Altar of Rebirth.
The delight in Yu Yuan's eyes intensified. "Mr. Tan, is it possible for you to extract the vital energy from the other three?"
"I can't," Tan Junshan replied with a furrowed brow and a wry smile.
Whoosh!
Yue Fei, dressed in an ancient court gown, extracted the Moonfiend's spirited body just before her eyes could change color, abandoning the body she had possessed.
Once Yue Fei's devil soul departed, the soulless body reverted to Calves, the King of Bandits.
Calves' eyes, almost imperceptibly, transformed into two glowing red orbs.
"The vital energy is but a trace, remnants of Grec's soul," Chen Qinghuang said with a cold detachment. "Now that you've left, even if Grec's remaining power continues to erode, it won't be able to exert much force."
While speaking, she soared into the air, positioning herself above Calves.
Waves brimming with the intent of death engulfed Calves, seemingly awakening the latent death aura within his corpse, joining forces to dissolve Grec's vital energy.
Silently, black, tainted blood seeped from Calves' every orifice, quickly congealing into chunks.
Chen Qinghuang frowned and dismissively waved her sleeve.
The dense death force carried the blackened blood chunks toward the blood-colored vortex in Yu Yuan's chest like tiny black pebbles.
Upon entering the whirlpool, the pebbles burst apart.
The blood crystals transformed into beneficial nutrients for the Altar of Rebirth, inscribing numerous arcane messages.
"What a loss," Yue Fei muttered, her soul form reaching out to grasp Calves' body.
A stream of pure moon energy, laden with fragments of Moonshield, burst forth from Calves' body, enveloped by her devil soul, and plunged directly into Lee Yupan's brow.
In an instant.
Yue Fei, adept and experienced, once again took possession of Lee Yupan, bringing with her a surge of pure moon energy to combat the Grec vital energy within Lee Yupan's body.
As an ancient Moonfiend, and like Grec, a member of the Star-Spawned Terror, she was well-versed in the mystique of the Blood Fiend.
Upon her entry into Lee Yupan's body, their souls resonated and responded to each other almost instantaneously.
She temporarily stepped into Lee Yupan's role, drawing power from Lee Yupan's elixir field and the little world of vitality. Using the blood magic of the Moonlit Wanderers and the divine powers of the Moonfiend, she launched an assault on Grec's will.
Thump!
A vigorous heartbeat echoed once again.
The Bane, unleashed by Yu Yiyi and directed toward the violet-gold egg, was jolted into a cloud of gray smoke. Even Calves' corpse was caught in the blast and shattered.
Calves' bones, disregarded, scattered across a section of the Lunarphite's waist.
The ape's hair, resembling massive serpentine pythons, began to consume Calves' remains, slowly taking on the essence of a living creature.
Chen Qinghuang watched the eerie scene unfold with a stoic expression and remarked, "Neither soul nor living creature can easily approach the Titan Spinosaurus's dragon egg. There's another battle underway. The legacy of Grec, his resurrection ceremony, has been coveted by a predecessor."
At her words, Yu Yuan and Tan Junshan shuddered slightly.
Another predecessor?
Had someone already entered before them to thwart Grec's revival?
Who could it be?
A flurry of questions surfaced in Yu Yuan's mind. The thrill of refining Grec's vital energy at the Altar of Rebirth had faded, replaced by apprehension about the shocking events that might unfold next.
"Should I address you as Ann Jieshan or Cao Yi? It should be Cao Yi, right?"
Chen Qinghuang's gaze fixed on the cracked violet-gold egg, her voice growing more solemn, "Ann Ziqing of the Blood Fiend was nearly slain by you before she set foot in the Annihilation Nebula. You've got quite the nerve, daring to venture into Zagreus and locate the Blood Fiend's sacred ground."
"Oh, did you uncover some secret from Ann Jieshan's memories?"
The death aura emanating from the Songbird Queen shifted as she spoke. A perilous intent, bent on annihilating all life, began to climb, intensifying rapidly.
"Cao Yi?!"
Yu Yuan was taken aback, momentarily setting aside the Altar of Rebirth. He dispatched his Lunar Spirit into the skyward Crucible of Evil. Alongside the cauldron spirit, Yu Yiyi, he scrutinized the fractured eggshell from above the violet-gold egg, eager to glimpse what lay within.
Within the violet gold egg, divine light shimmered, and a majestic surge of vital energy ebbed and flowed like the tide.
He had sensed something taking shape earlier, but never could he have imagined that a prodigy from Ebon Star was concealed within.
Ann Jieshan, having slain Ann Wen, was suppressed in Moonfall Sanctuary. After his own release, he reclaimed his place in Colddeath, assuming the identity of the sect's ancestral founder. He even assisted Ann Wen in refining the sect's spells, earning Cao Yi recognition from all quarters.
Had he not been unmasked in Moonfall Sanctuary, this remarkable individual from Ebon Star might have covertly usurped Ann Wen, derailing her journey on the Path to Godhood. As the new leader of Colddeath, he could have stirred up turmoil across the Land of Quiescence, dealing with the unsavory tasks Ebon Star preferred to avoid.
"Is it truly him?" Tan Junshan inquired, his voice heavy with concern.
Chen Qinghuang nodded affirmatively, "Without a doubt. Ann Jieshan and the inaugural Pope of Colddeath were brothers, which is why Ann Jieshan was privy to the sect's blood magic, originating from the Blood Fiend of the extraterrestrial realms. Many ages ago, a Chief Elder of the Blood Fiend possessed an ancestor of the Ann family, infiltrating the Everlands with sinister intentions."
"That ancestor of the Ann family, much like Cao Yi, was both ruthless and cunning. Far from being a victim, he assimilated the Chief Elder of the Blood Fiend, mastering numerous arcane blood refinement techniques and thus founding Colddeath. It seems Ann Jieshan discovered this place's secrets through the Chief Elder of the Blood Fiend."
"Alas, all that advantage has now fallen into Cao Yi's hands."
