C1250 Borrowing Strength

In the howling winds of a cavern, the Frost Vein of an ice mountain glistened amidst a landscape of stark white bones, while a river flowed gently by.

Yan Ziyang, a surviving elder of the Wraithcult, was overcome with a mix of grief and fury as he shared with Yu Yuan a tale from the Everlands—a saga long forgotten. If a human cultivator's corporeal body remained intact, even if their Solar Spirit was destroyed in the Star River of the extraterrestrial, there was still a chance for reconstruction.

Xie Bin's Solar Spirit had shattered, but his lingering soul fused with the Glacial Storm Seal. With Yu Yuan's assistance, his soul was painstakingly extracted and gathered once more, then nurtured in the little world of the Mindscape. Before long, having amassed sufficient magic items, he forged a new Solar Spirit.

Now, Xie Bin had returned to the extraterritorial battlefield, his combat prowess and cultivation realm surpassing his former self. Upper sects like the Ebon Star Sect, Sunlit Order, and Sword Sect would reserve a shadow of their heaven soul and real body for those of exceptional talent, just as Xu Jingyao had done.

Even when Xu Jingyao's Solar Spirit Body perished in the Kuvrepros Astral Domain, the heaven soul shadow he left within could be kindled by the Sunlit Order's rare magic items, gradually gaining strength. Should his Solar Spirit be destroyed in the outside world, his real body in the Everlands would merely regress to the Spirit Walk state. Given time, Xu Jingyao could overcome his inner demons and obstacles, eventually refining a new Solar Spirit.

But if what was destroyed was not the Solar Spirit Body, but the real body itself... that would be a grave predicament.

Yan Ziyang, while battling in the extraterrestrial, was inadvertently ensnared in a forbidden area of the Otherkin. He struggled for far too long to escape. Upon his hard-won freedom, he discovered that the Wraithcult had been annihilated by the Sunlit Order from the Euwrea Continent due to internal strife within the Everlands. Both of his senior sect brothers had fallen in battle at the very gates of their sect.

Even his own real body, left at the Wraithcult, had perished in the fierce clash with the Sunlit Order. Now a solitary spirit, he learned of the sect-destroying calamity that had befallen the Everlands. Realizing he had no hope of ever reaching the Unbound Realm, he drifted to the Brugeth Star Domain and took refuge in this cave to live out his days.

He had nearly lost all sense of purpose in life.

Undermining the Sunlit Order's schemes and assassinating their cultivators had become one of the few pleasures he still found in the Brugeth Astral Domain.

The downfall of the Wraithcult bore a striking resemblance to that of the Terror Claws; both sects had met similar fates.

It was for this reason that, upon realizing Yu Yuan was practicing the Evil Body Refining technique and not a cultivator of the Sunlit Order, he felt a pang of empathy and refrained from striking him down.

As Yu Yuan listened to his tirade against the Sunlit Order, he surveyed the cavern.

His gaze lingered longest on the stream wreathed in cold fog.

"Before the Brugeth was destroyed, it was a Domain brimming with life. This meteorite I discovered once belonged to a world akin to the domain of Winter's Bite. When the Domain, threaded by a Frost Vein, shattered, the Frost Vein was torn into segments."

"Most of the Frost Veins were likely claimed by the Winter's Bite cultivators and others who practiced the Yin Frost Spells."

"I managed to secure only a small fragment to sustain this Solar Spirit Body and continue practicing the Wraithcult's mystique. Over the years, I've also slain a few unwelcome Winter's Bite guests. As soon as they arrived, they would cry out that I was a remnant of the Wraithcult and attack me first."

Yan Ziyang dipped his hand into the icy river water at his feet and wiped away the grime from his face, sneering, "Remnant? Before our Wraithcult was obliterated, we were a formidable sect. We heeded the call of the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep, venturing to the extraterrestrial battlefield to confront our foes. Now that my Wraithcult is no more, with only my Solar Spirit Body remaining, they dare to label me a remnant?"

He meticulously cleaned his face, revealing a strikingly handsome visage.

If this appearance mirrored that of his real body, then he must be a handsome man indeed.

"Oh, the last Sunlit Order member I killed also referred to you as a remnant of the Terror Claws," Yan Ziyang chuckled.

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed a dark red Bracelet of Holding at Yu Yuan's feet. "There are some items inside that might assist you. Our meeting here must be fate. I trust that after you leave, you'll keep my existence a secret and not speak of me to others."

Yu Yuan was mildly taken aback.

He had toyed with the tip of the Baneblade, Bloodhell, and the bracelet had shot out unexpectedly.

Grasping the bracelet, a thread of remnant soul slipped inside. Yu Yuan instantly noticed an array of fire-attribute soulstones, several magic items, and some pills, along with a handful of miscellaneous trinkets.

"I don't belong to the Sunlit Order, and the spells I practice have no use for these things," Yan Ziyang stated, sitting erect in the icy river. "The pills are beneficial for those with a corporeal body, but they're useless for a Solar Spirit Body like mine. Throughout the years, I've slain many human cultivators from the Sunlit Order and a few from Winter's Bite."

"I can make some use of Winter's Bite's items, but those from the Sunlit Order are of no assistance to me."

Perhaps it was because he hadn't conversed with anyone in a very long time, but Yan Ziyang was exceedingly patient, even tending towards being somewhat verbose as he continued to speak.

"The girl you're carrying is quite beautiful," he concluded, his voice laced with envy.

This comment confirmed to Yu Yuan that Yan Ziyang's knowledge about him was superficial.

Yan Ziyang was unaware of Chen Qinghuang's existence and seemed oblivious to Yu Yuan's past life as the God of Medicine.

This suggested that the last Sunlit Order cultivator he had killed must have been out of touch with the Everlands for an extended period. Maybe, like him, they had lingered too long in one place, causing their information to be outdated.

"How did you come to hear about Xu Jingyao?" Yu Yuan inquired, intrigued.

"I overheard other sect cultivators discussing him as they passed through," Yan Ziyang admitted, a touch of embarrassment in his voice. "If I were to encounter Xu Jingyao in this realm, I wouldn't launch an attack, as I'm likely no match for him. With a Divine Artifact in his possession and having just solidified his Solar Spirit, I wouldn't dare act rashly."

After a brief pause, he spoke frankly, "Here, I'm akin to a counterfeit Dao Integration Stage cultivator because I lack a real body. By merging my Solar Spirit with this meteorite, my combat strength is significantly enhanced within and near this meteorite."

"Once I encounter a true Unbound cultivator, I'll be outmatched. But against an ordinary Solar Spirit, my odds of victory are quite high."

"Xu Jingyao is certainly not an ordinary Solar Spirit."

He went on to elaborate.

"False Merges, false Unbounds..."

Yu Yuan's brow furrowed slightly as he withdrew the remnant soul from his Bracelet of Holding, musing for a moment before speaking. "Are you familiar with Boulderdawn?"

"Boulderdawn?" Yan Ziyang looked puzzled. "Aren't they the ones who explored the fringes of the Star River and haven't been seen for a long time?"

With that, Yu Yuan had a clear understanding. "Since you've merged with that meteorite, you should be able to wield its power and navigate the Brugeth, right?"

"Absolutely!" Yan Ziyang confirmed with a nod.

"Would you be interested in giving me a lift?" Yu Yuan offered a calm smile. "Rest assured, I won't have you labor in vain. With only your real body and Solar Spirit remaining, if you wish to advance your cultivation and make new progress, there's actually another method."

"What method?" Yan Ziyang exclaimed, surprised.

"Let go of all you currently possess and be reborn." The image of White Bone surfaced in Yu Yuan's mind. "A supreme God of Ghosts has emerged in the Land of Terror. Should you choose, I can persuade him to assist you. Using the Root of the Lunar Meridian, he can grant you another life."

"Can that really be done?" Yan Ziyang was skeptical.

"I'm confident it can." Yu Yuan affirmed with a nod, his gaze settling on the chilling stream. "Moreover, you may need to familiarize yourself with the new dynamics beyond our world. The Everlands, once dominated by the three great upper sects, Devil Palace, and Shadow's Keep, are no longer the sole powers."

"What? The Everlands have been overtaken by the Otherkin?" Yan Ziyang was startled.

"No, it's the Boulderdawn Sect that has made its return," Yu Yuan clarified.