C1260
"A wonderful feeling."
Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit reveled in enjoyment, his eyes narrowed as he embraced the cosmos, seemingly possessing the entire world.
Within the Dragon Slaying Stage, two peculiar little worlds had become his jurisdiction, his "Divine Domain," ready to be manipulated at will by his Lunar Spirit.
This moment of enlightenment was something he had never experienced before.
He suddenly grasped the significance of the awakening of his first life before departing the Dark Star Domain.
The Dragon Slaying Stage, initially a World-Sundering Stone, had been meticulously refined and forged by his former self.
It became a Divine Artifact unique to Boulderdawn!
This single Dragon Slaying Stage entombed the flourishing fate of the entire Naga race, ensuring that for tens of thousands of years, the dragons of the Everlands could never rise again.
Had it not been for the need to suppress the Nagas, he would not have perished upon his return to the Everlands.
It was simply because his trusty weapon was not at hand.
Now, tens of thousands of years later, the Dragon Slaying Stage he had crafted in his first life finally recognized him, accepting his new identity.
His heart stirred once more.
Time stood still in this little world as space rippled with waves.
In another dimension, glaciers formed in an instant, and he whimsically shaped violent thunderous vortices.
Streams of deadly toxins and dragon's breath wove together in the air, suspended in a wondrous dance.
All the remnants of the giant dragons slain here—their Dragon Souls, Dragon Blood, and dragon's breath—were at his disposal.
The foundational powers left behind by his first self in creating the Dragon Slaying Stage could now be summoned and transformed at will.
With a whoosh, Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit flitted through the crafted spaces, ice mountains, thunderstorms, toxic rivers, and rivers of molten flame, pausing occasionally.
His smile grew more radiant, and with it, a powerful self-assurance blossomed within him.
He was confident that even Divine Level cultivators, particularly those new to the Unbound realm, if inadvertently drawn into the internal world of the Dragon Slaying Stage, would be overwhelmed and annihilated by its immense power!
Moreover, the two little worlds within the Dragon Slaying Stage were nearly impenetrable!
After all, unlike other ephemeral realms, the Dragon Slaying Stage was a cocoon shed by the Voidweaver, inherently capable of evolving into a tangible universe.
"The turmoil deep within the Brugeth is about to unfold. I'm actually getting excited about it."
Yu Yuan smiled broadly with delight.
...
"How odd."
Yu Yiyi came to an abrupt halt. The beautifully patterned armor instantly reverted to the Crucible of Evil.
She positioned herself at the rim of the cauldron and descended to its base.
Gazing at Chebus, Armor Crusher, and Grimlantern, her eyebrows knit together in concern, "Have you discovered anything?"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One by one, the Bane emerged from the cauldron's walls and knelt humbly before her.
These Bane, not yet endowed with sufficient spiritual wisdom or the ability to recall their past, released soul waves that only she, as the cauldron spirit, could perceive.
Yu Yiyi discerned their essence and nodded slightly, a look of pleasant surprise crossing her face.
She leaped upward, reemerging from the cauldron, and addressed Yan Qiling, who looked utterly baffled. "My master must have taken notice of us. The Bane that had previously resided within the master's acupoints caught the scent of the Shadow Moon Essence and felt as though it was being glanced at from a great distance."
"You're absolutely correct. Our master is on this extraterritorial battlefield and is indeed drawing closer to us!" Yu Yiyi exclaimed with enthusiasm.
Yan Qiling was inwardly astonished. "Did he detect your presence first?"
Yu Yiyi confirmed with a nod.
"Has he really become that formidable? You, as the cauldron spirit, oversee the cauldron that's on the verge of becoming a Divine Artifact, and you can wield the power of all the formidable Bane, yet you didn't detect him first. This suggests that he is actually quite distant from us," Yan Qiling mused.
Shaking his head, he added, "All in all, it doesn't seem to make much sense."
Yu Yiyi offered a reassuring smile. "For our master, what seems unreasonable can often be made reasonable."
Yan Qiling paused, reflecting on her enigmatic statement. After a moment, he too smiled and nodded in agreement, "Well then, there's no need to rush to the site of the newly-formed Origin Gate. Let's wait patiently for him to find us on his own."
"That's for the best."
Yu Yiyi immediately concurred, then hesitated before adding, "Although I haven't sensed my master, I'm aware that many powerful souls are converging on the location you mentioned. Mr. Yan, you really should take a moment to slow down. Let's wait until the Skyreach Consortium and Boulderdawn send their formidable representatives."
Yan Qiling chuckled nonchalantly, "No worries. Unless we come across someone of the same level who has mastered the essence of space magic, I can easily whisk you away even if we run into more than three Unbound Stage cultivators."
"I'd rather not invite complications before we meet my master," Yu Yiyi stated.
"I'll take your advice."
...
The landscape was littered with eerie meteorites, dry trees, and skeletal remains.
A Ghoul, recently fashioned by a seventh-level Shadowkin, was commanded to descend.
*Crack!*
Suddenly, dried branches shot out, impaling the Ghoul created by the Shadowkin, pinning it midair.
Before long, the Ghoul's flesh vanished, leaving only a skeleton.
Shortly thereafter, the skeleton clattered to the ground, shattering into pieces.
The Ghoul King, his eyes fierce, murmured from atop a rare stone reminiscent of the Embers Sea, "There's something to this."
Lin Zhuyun, without touching the ground, flew from the rare stone and instantly emerged into the outside world.
Once she left, the rare stone behind her, no more conspicuous than a common brick, belied the vastness hidden within.
It was only after the power of the Abyssal Leviathan infused the rare stone that it revealed its profound mystery.
"Why have you come out?"
The Ghoul King's voice, tinged with dissatisfaction, emanated from the stone.
Lin Zhuyun, without a word, fixed her icy gaze on the massive meteorite. After observing it for a while, she began to descend in an odd manner.
The Ghoul King, taken aback, quickly maneuvered the rare stone to the spot she had passed, enclosing her once again.
Back inside, Lin Zhuyun seemed to snap back to reality. Her crystalline form emitted a flurry of unknown psionic powers, which the unique energies of this world absorbed.
"That meteorite is quite peculiar."
Recalling her recent experience, Lin Zhuyun reflected, "Looking at those withered trees and bones, I felt as if I were gazing upon a verdant, dense forest, where lavishly dressed Otherkin, led by the Shadowkin, were engaged in a vast and magnificent gathering."
She wore a dreamlike expression. "It's as if I'm one of the invitees. I'm ready to leap down and join in."
The Ghoul King was taken aback. "I never imagined that a mere meteorite could cloud your spiritual wisdom and cause you to see illusions. Don't stray from the domain our master has refined. Let's watch a bit longer. I'm confident someone will come along to clear up our confusion and help us find answers."
Lin Zhuyun gave a slight nod, careful not to overstep her bounds again.
"Yu Yuan."
Yuan Lianyao whispered the name to herself repeatedly, the name that haunted her dreams.
Leaning against the Red Demon Bell, she listened to Faang Yao and the other Solar Spirits who had come with him question Chu Yao about the peculiar meteorite encounter. She seemed utterly disinterested.
Her thoughts were preoccupied with the nature of Yu Yuan's connection to the Shura girl.
She pondered whether Elena, the Otherkin, had recognized her identity and had therefore stopped her people from pursuing her further.
"Paths that differ cannot be reconciled."
Faang Yao approached and crouched beside her, gazing into the distance. "Mr. Hong was a benefactor to both my master and me three hundred years ago. Yet now, he's part of Boulderdawn, while our Ruby Hand has aligned with the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep."
Yuan Lianyao maintained her silence.
"Promise me, if we truly encounter him, you won't do anything. Just stay silent as you are now, and I'll handle everything afterward," Faang Yao implored earnestly.
"I don't know what I'll do," Yuan Lianyao murmured softly.
"It's such bad luck. I should never have brought you to this extraterritorial battlefield!" Faang Yao lamented.
