C1216 An Old Acquaintance
Lee Xin of the Cloudwater Sect gazed at the wrecked warship across the expansive river, her stance one of readiness for a formidable adversary. She detected no unusual odors, yet the intensity of Cao Jiaze's reaction was telling. Knowing him as she did, she was certain that the seemingly inconspicuous Otherkin warship concealed a terror of great magnitude within.
With a tranquil mind, Lee Xin masterfully manipulated the river, blending remnant soul with spiritual energy.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
From the fractured earth below, remnant souls, spiritual energy, and vitality soared, bypassing her meticulously controlled river to probe the warship, eager to unveil its secrets.
What could possibly lie within?
Alas, their investigation stirred not a single ripple.
The cultivators, now standing, were Solar Spirits who had extended their senses, their faces etched with gravity. Their powers had severed connection the instant they touched the wrecked warship, which, to their perception, was akin to a Maw of Oblivion, swallowing everything whole.
The group remained on high alert, summoning their favored spiritual artifacts with utmost caution.
Rip! Rip!
The grand palace, conjured by Cao Jiaze, continued to shine with divine brilliance, bathing Lee Xin, the wrecked warship, and the rivers she had released in its ethereal glow.
The Mark of the Celestials, with its enchanting arcane circles and talismanic scripts, exuded a serene aura that calmed Lee Xin. Cao Jiaze, clad in a high-grade enchanted robe, materialized beside her, offering a reassuring smile, "All is well."
Lee Xin returned the smile, comforted.
She was aware that the future sect master of the Ebon Star Sect was generous and caring, always looking out for his followers and never one to let them be sacrificed needlessly. It was this very trait that garnered him the loyalty of many within the Ebon Star Sect and beyond.
On this occasion, it was Lee Xin who had volunteered to accompany him on an adventure through the Star River, rather than Xu Jingyao of the Sunlit Order.
Meanwhile, on the broken terrain, the Solar Spirit cultivators from various sects kept a vigilant eye on the warship while silently encircling Chu Yao, the Divine Healer. They were protective of one who showed promise of becoming a Divine Level herbalist, a valuable asset indeed.
They naturally wanted to prioritize Chu Yao's safety. When they returned to the Everlands in the future, and once Chu Yao succeeded Zhong Chichen to lead the Order of Healing, it would be convenient to request medicine from him.
Herbalists were indeed held in high esteem, and even the mighty sought their company.
"Would the friend inside care to come out for a conversation?"
Cao Jiaze flashed a radiant smile, first speaking in the language of the Star-Spawned Terror, then switching to that of the Starborn, and finally repeating his invitation in the unique tongues of the Shadowkin and the Shura.
He hesitated slightly when speaking the Shura language, betraying a hint of unfamiliarity.
In the dimly lit cabin, a faint glow flickered briefly before extinguishing.
The specks of light emitted spiritual energy and the scent of vitality, or they transformed into a wisp of smoke, releasing a faint trace of Soul Power.
Yu Yuan immediately recognized that the glow originated from the cracked earth above, where cultivators of the Solar Spirit Realm were conducting their surveillance.
Yet, as it seeped into the cabin, it was effortlessly obliterated by the eerie aura naturally emanating from Chen Qinghuang's body, leaving not a trace.
The slumbering Songbird Queen's brows remained still, her eyes sealed shut.
It appeared that the Solar Spirit Realm cultivators outside did not merit her attention, let alone her action.
Observing her continued slumber, Yu Yuan no longer hesitated and rose to approach the cabin door.
Someone had to confront the situation, and with Chen Qinghuang asleep, the responsibility fell to him.
Elena, fraught with tension, rose and quickly followed him, whispering, "She doesn't seem to bear much animosity towards the human cultivators of the Everlands. However, her hostility towards the Otherkin is quite apparent..."
Yu Yuan gave a slight nod but remained silent.
He was aware that the secular bird had been besieged and slain by the pinnacle forces of the Otherkin a hundred thousand years ago, while the humans of the Everlands had not yet reached their zenith.
They had not participated in that assault, so there was no longstanding grudge between the humans and the secular bird.
Perhaps that was the case. The dispersed essence of the human strong and the stirrings of the soul did not trigger the Songbird Queen's thirst for vengeance.
She continued to slumber deeply.
Clang!
The heavy door of the wrecked warship was slowly pushed open by Yu Yuan. He floated out gracefully, standing beneath the dark and icy expanse of the starry sky, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Wow! Quite a few familiar faces here!"
His gaze settled on Cao Jiaze for a moment, then he too broke into a wide grin, before turning his attention to Jiang Xingwen, Weixian, and Chu Yao, who stood on the fractured earth.
Upon laying eyes on Chu Yao, the smile on his face slowly faded.
His gaze remained locked on Chu Yao, his eyes filled with a mischievous glint.
After several years, seeing his former disciple again stirred complex emotions within him.
Things were different now.
Previously, his identity had been concealed. He knew who Chu Yao was, but Chu Yao was unaware of his true identity, oblivious to the fact that he was the reborn Hong Qi from three hundred years past.
After the events at the Moonfall Sanctuary, there was no longer anything to hide, and he openly acknowledged his identity.
Chu Yao, of course, had since unraveled all the secrets and realized the true identity of the man before him.
"Yu Yuan!"
"God of Medicine, Hong Qi!"
Different exclamations erupted from Cao Jiaze and the other cultivators below, their faces alight with a mix of emotions.
Cao Jiaze's form stumbled, and he involuntarily began to retreat.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three more grand and imposing palaces, bathed in radiant light, materialized behind Cao Jiaze and above his head.
These were the additional three Mark of the Celestials.
Together, the four Mark of the Celestials transformed into four awe-inspiring palaces, each hundreds of feet tall, standing firm in this corner of the cosmos.
The brilliant glow from the palaces briefly outshone the yellow sun, causing the surrounding stars to pale in comparison.
The fact that Cao Jiaze summoned the three additional Mark of the Celestials upon seeing Yu Yuan spoke volumes of the latter's formidable strength.
Yu Yuan's performance in the Moonfall Sanctuary had indeed earned him Cao Jiaze's respect before his departure from the Everlands.
Jiang Xingwen, whose temperament had drastically changed after the death of Dhoreus following their entanglement with Yu Yuan in the Land of Terror, suddenly looked stern and cold.
Her face openly displayed hatred. The movements of her spiritual energy and her weapon betrayed her fury.
In her heart, she blamed Yu Yuan and the Ghost King, Tian Zang, for the death of Dhoreus. His demeanor had deeply impressed her, leading her to believe that Dhoreus was the epitome of perfection.
Cao Jiaze, along with the three great upper sects, had long since tacitly endorsed Dhoreus's ascension to the God of Ghosts and his dominion over the Land of Terror.
The collaboration between Tian Zang and Yu Yuan cruelly destroyed Dhoreus's bright future, erasing him completely without a trace. This fueled her hatred for Yu Yuan.
Chu Yao's shoulders shook slightly as he silently bowed his head, too ashamed to meet Yu Yuan's gaze.
Since learning that Hong Qi's reincarnation had not failed, but rather, after a three-hundred-year delay, had manifested as the current Yu Yuan, Chu Yao felt as if a perpetual shadow loomed over his heart, never to clear again.
He had not anticipated that, upon his first venture into the extraterrestrial Star River after finally refining his Solar Spirit, he would encounter his former mentor.
He bowed his head out of guilt, unable to face the confrontation.
He could sense that Yu Yuan's gaze lingered on him.
Chu Yao was on pins and needles, wishing he could vanish into the earth and never resurface.
"Hmm, no Unbound Realm cultivator?" Yu Yuan's gaze eventually shifted, surveying the starry sky near the shattered ground before speaking in a light tone, "That's going to be... rather difficult to handle."
At his words, everyone tensed.
Their thoughts turned to the Dragon Slaying Stage, the Crucible of Evil, and the Songbird Queen who had vanished alongside Yu Yuan.
The Otherkin had publicized Yu Yuan and Chen Qinghuang's mysterious disappearance in the Dark Star, making it common knowledge.
The secular bird, as foretold, would be reborn through the Songbird Queen and reemerge, a fact the Otherkin emphasized heavily.
The experts from various sects who had emerged from the Everlands knew the significance of the secular bird. Thus, upon seeing Yu Yuan, they immediately associated him with the legendary creature.
"She..."
As Cao Jiaze began to speak, his expression turned grave, his watchful eyes fixed on the wrecked warship.
It was the Mark of the Celestials, which he had refined, that triggered such an intense reaction in him. And it was the fearsome power within the ruined palace that had disturbed the Mark of the Celestials.
What else could it be, if not the secular bird?
…
