C1212 He Looked Again
Five Dead Silence Stars, nestled close together, appeared as colossal meteors within the somber cosmic river.
Yu Yuan narrowed his eyes for a meticulous inspection. It was then that he discerned the fragmented stones on the surface of the stars, which must have once formed buildings and palaces.
This suggested that eons ago, creatures had thrived on these stars.
Their demise came swiftly as the realm's barrier ruptured, erasing their existence and leaving the stars in their current desolate state.
"What is her purpose here?"
Emerging from the wreckage of a warship, Yu Yuan quietly engaged his Evil Body Refining Skill, siphoning the essence beneficial to his physique from the rampant, corrupt energies that pervaded the cosmos.
As his combat strength was gradually restored, he hovered in the void, his brow furrowed in contemplation.
He watched the Luan Bird Queen, ethereal as a sprite, alight upon a dark brown star with a feather-light grace.
Abruptly, the star ignited with the Destruction Fire.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
In silence, the remaining four Dead Silence Stars began to crumble under Chen Qinghuang's formidable power.
Within mere moments, the stars fragmented into innumerable stones, adrift in the eerie expanse of the starry river.
Beneath Chen Qinghuang's feet, a piercing whistling sound began to rise.
As the whistling pierced the air, Yu Yuan, though distant, felt his thoughts congeal. The spiritual energy and blood coursing through his veins seemed tainted by the alien power, creating a bizarre sensation of being beyond his soul's command.
Weakness overtook his limbs, and a profound fatigue welled up from within.
Unable to sustain the Evil Body Refining Skill, the malevolent energies that threatened his flesh began to permeate his bones and muscles.
His body, heavy as if weighed down by mountains, started to descend slowly.
Struggling to keep his eyes open, he clung to his core and consciousness. Biting his tongue sharply for a moment of clarity, he silently invoked the Ghosting Arts.
Then, he was assailed by the wails of demonic curses.
He also witnessed the Dead Silence Stars, now ablaze with the Destruction Fire, quaking intensely as Chen Qinghuang touched down.
Countless bizarre curses, invisible to the naked eye, were woven from souls and blood.
Like myriad tiny stars, they bobbed within the black flames of destruction, clashing with Chen Qinghuang's power, only to be crushed and burst intermittently.
A diminutive banshee with wild hair and a shrieking, peculiar wind zither played amidst the flames of destruction.
Her long hair trailed on the ground like an enormous carpet, blanketing much of the starry realm.
With a gaze filled with fear and despair, she watched the motionless Luan Bird Queen atop the Dead Silence Stars, slowly and desperately attempting to draw near.
As she did, the relentless flames of destruction seeped into her body, setting her alight.
The despair in her eyes deepened.
The myriad whispered curses were reduced to ashes by the Destruction Fire, her power draining away rapidly until she could no longer endure.
A few hundred meters from Chen Qinghuang, she was utterly consumed by the Destruction Fire.
Her body, soul, and the curious zither all gradually disintegrated into ash.
The secret curses and sorceries she had employed lost their effect, and the last unshattered star burst, turning into innumerable charred stones.
Chen Qinghuang rose and returned to the warship.
The Destruction Fire, like streams of flame, followed her, merging into her one by one.
As she brushed past Yu Yuan, she left behind a faint instruction, "Go back."
"Oh, right."
Yu Yuan, momentarily dazed, quickly came to his senses. Upon returning to the cabin, he discovered the empress had just gently closed her eyes, slipping into slumber once more.
The Yimo and Elena, along with the Celestial Star Beast, consciously distanced themselves from her.
Without a word, the Yimo and Elena refrained from asking any questions.
Equally perplexed, Yu Yuan remained uncertain about why the capricious empress had detected a concealed banshee and had resolved to eliminate her.
"Continue sailing."
Moments later, seeing that Chen Qinghuang had clearly fallen asleep again, Yu Yuan softly gave the command.
...
"Hao Seer is dead."
The ruler of the Illusion Starfield, having separated from the main force, produced a translucent, gleaming eyeball from his bosom, infused it with his bloodline, and peered into it intently.
The area once graced by the five Dead Silence Stars had become a river of meteors, with a charred skeleton crumbling into sand amidst the desolation.
"Hao Seer? The traitor from the Banshee Clan?"
Leo, whose birth had been blessed by the stars themselves, seemed hesitant to believe it. "Gheirat, is it truly Hao Seer? The renowned witch of the Banshee Clan?"
"You sheltered her?" Beru asked, clearly taken aback.
Gheirat took a moment before responding with a nod. "She had once shown me kindness. After her falling out with the clan and being pursued until she was gravely injured, she sought refuge in the Illusion Starfield. Indeed, I gave her sanctuary in a desolate location and made her vow to stay put."
He paused, then added, "She's been diligent in her solitude, quietly cultivating in that spot all these years."
Looking up at Beru, he inquired, "Great Sage, why was she slain by the Secular Bird?"
Leo gasped in surprise.
"Hao Seer's ancestor was involved in the hunt against the Secular Bird a hundred thousand years ago," Beru explained, well-versed in the history. "Her ancestor possessed a Tenth Level bloodline and used the Banshee Clan's curse techniques to slow the Secular Bird's bloodline and dull her soul consciousness, weakening her combat abilities."
"The Secular Bird must have detected the scent of her ancestor on Hao Seer."
After laying out the background, Beru pondered for a moment before questioning Gheirat further. "Before her severe injury, Hao Seer was at the Ninth Level and still had the ancestral relic. The relic was badly damaged after her injury, and its power greatly reduced. Her bloodline was said to have plummeted. After such a long recovery, to what extent has her power returned?"
"She might have regained strength up to the Ninth Level bloodline, at most," Gheirat replied cautiously.
Beru's brow furrowed in thought.
After a brief silence, he nodded and said, "It's difficult to assess the combat strength of the Secular Bird. However, if we trace a line from her first known location to where she was found..."
Beru gazed intently in one direction, his brow relaxing slightly as he formulated a guess.
"It's a stroke of luck amidst misfortune that she left the Illusion Starfield!"
...
Behind the crystal face, the demon-possessed Celestial Star Beast stretched its formidable body. Seven vibrant streams of deadly luminescence glowed within its translucent form. The demon's soul consciousness reached out, silently probing the surroundings.
After a considerable pause.
He turned, his eyes pleading, ablaze with a spectrum of flames, "There's a shattered realm, devoid of alien races, yet teeming with poisonous insects and alien beasts."
Yu Yuan, who was meditating with a Spirit Stone in hand, squinted thoughtfully.
The subdued Celestial Star Beast crouched down, adopting a docile posture, its head drooping, "I won't dare to offend you again. The potency of the Non-Phase Antidote Water you crafted has made a believer out of me. Moreover, you've mastered the intricate sword spell of the 'Optimus Nine Slashes,' capable of truly vanquishing me."
His demeanor conveyed sincere submission and acceptance of his fate.
Yu Yuan gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
The demon was ecstatic, carefully approaching the cabin. Pushing the door open, he transformed into a wisp of shadow and darted out.
"He won't try to flee, will he?" Elena expressed her concern.
This demon, a creation of the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea, naturally harmonized with various poisons due to its Devil Soul, resulting in its unique form capable of inhabiting any flesh-bound creature.
If set free, he would surely wreak havoc on the beings of the Illusion Starfield.
In Elena's heart, the sovereign of this Starfield was still her Uncle Gheirat, who had always looked after her in private. She dreaded the thought of trouble befalling the Illusion Starfield.
"I'll check on it."
Yu Yuan remained composed as he spoke and then swiftly took flight.
Left behind in the battered ship were Elena and the sleeping Chen Qinghuang. The Asura Clan maiden glanced at Chen Qinghuang, her eyes reflecting a mix of bitterness and apprehension.
For reasons unknown, as soon as Yu Yuan departed, her sense of security vanished completely.
The mere thought of the slumbering beauty, the Secular Bird that had obliterated Starfields a hundred thousand years ago, made her legs tremble, standing felt like an overwhelming effort.
Beneath the fractured ashen barrier lay a desolate landscape, a vista of parched riverbeds and sheer cliffs.
In a region far from the wall's breach, a swath of vegetation still thrived, though some insects and alien beasts, tainted by corrupt powers, had mutated but not perished.
Yu Yuan, having entered this diminutive realm through the rent in the barrier, sensed with his Yin God abilities the presence of insects and alien beasts being preyed upon by a demon inhabiting a Celestial Star Beast.
These creatures, devoid of reason and driven by instinct, fought savagely for survival, their blood turned toxic by corruption.
The demon craved that very toxicity.
The feeble insects and alien beasts, hardly worth a glance, were swiftly consumed, and the plant life, too, began to succumb to mutation and silence.
Before long, the demon within the Celestial Star Beast arrived, bobbing its head.
It looked up at the damaged warship hovering in the void, hesitated for a moment, and then abruptly suggested, "You should part ways with her."
Yu Yuan instantly understood the demon referred to Chen Qinghuang, even without a direct mention.
He gestured for the demon to go on.
"To the underground."
The demon pivoted and burrowed headfirst through the solid rock, quickly descending a hundred meters below the surface.
Yu Yuan effortlessly trailed behind, reaching the subterranean depths. Observing the demon's wariness, he spoke calmly, "Share your thoughts. If you wish to test my abilities again, I'm open to it."
"No, I dare not. I have no desire to try again."
The demon shook its head, pausing to gather its words before continuing, "The Demon Blade 'Blood Prison' you wield, along with the Dragon Slash Platform you've brought forth, are, in a sense, her exquisite feasts. The Dragon Slash Platform, in particular, contains the remains of Tenth Level Dragon Gods!"
"She is a Secular Bird, a Starry Behemoth. It's in the very nature and instinct of her kind to seek out and consume powerful beings."
"At any moment, she might use the Dragon Slash Platform, the Demon Blade, and the Blood Prison you command for her own awakening and metamorphosis!"
