C1269 Touch!
The black and white chess pieces soared into the sky amidst the clashing of Great Demons and alien beasts, each piece emanating a mysterious glow of light.
Suddenly, the pieces whirled into the air, converging to form an enigmatic secret door that pulsed with a distinct spatial tremor.
Whoosh!
It seemed as though a mirror had been yanked into the quivering secret door.
Within the mirror, two figures stood in a dimly lit realm, closely observing their surroundings.
"Void Mirror!"
Yu Yuan recognized the artifact in an instant, his gaze turning icy.
The Nine Stars Sage, Beru, had warned him that Pei Yuling, despite any disguise and his control over the Dragon Slash Platform, would never harbor friendly intentions towards him and would undoubtedly scheme against him.
Yu Yuan had come to sense this truth himself.
Unexpectedly, in the renowned Outer Battlefield, Mr. Pei, known for his tranquil demeanor and disinterest in conflict, was secretly surveilling him, and Yan Qiling had caught him in the act.
"So it is you!"
Upon hearing "Void Mirror," Yan Qiling, who had previously interacted with Yu Yuan, instantly recognized his identity.
"Why so sneaky? If you wish to confront us, then come forth!"
Yan Qiling chuckled, interlacing her fingers as strands of radiant white light, refined and sharp, shot towards the unstable secret door like threads spun by a spider.
"You're the ones interfering with our plans!"
A chilling, low voice echoed from the secret door, the figure that wasn't Pei Yuling boiling with anger as he bellowed, "Soul Bind!"
The bright white light from Yan Qiling's palms hadn't even neared the secret door when it abruptly vanished.
The master of the secret arts suddenly felt a stabbing pain at his brow, his consciousness clouding over.
An eerie soul power burst forth from the depths of the secret door, swiftly enveloping the vicinity.
Yu Yuan felt a jolt in his heart.
To his astonishment, in his Consciousness Little World, a wild array of bizarre thorns, shrubs, weeds, and trees sprang to life, voraciously sapping the strength from his soul.
"Ghosting Arts!"
In the small world of his consciousness, the Yin God stood firm, concentrating his thoughts to conjure the countless Optimus Swords he had envisioned time and again.
The "Optimus Sword," refined from his soul power, was unleashed with a staggering sword spell.
Scarlet sword light flooded his consciousness.
All the weeds and trees nourished by his soul power were obliterated.
Yu Yuan instantly snapped back to reality, breaking out in a cold sweat.
He then noticed that the Evil Cauldron had transformed into exquisite armor, now donned by Yu Yiyi. The cauldron soul appeared tense, clearly marshaling its power to confront the anomaly within the soul.
Looking closer, he saw a proliferation of thorns and bushes in Yu Yiyi's mind.
Yu Yiyi was frantically trying to manage the unusual disturbances within her mind.
Every living being with a soul, from the Eighth Level demons to the frenzied alien beasts, was affected by the insidious thoughts. Thorns, weeds, and shrubs were sprouting rapidly within their souls, fueled by their Demonic Souls.
The beast horde's slaughter came to a halt.
The black oil oozing from the black bull ceased to burn.
The colorful Demonic Fish, wounded and screaming, writhed in agony within the scorched oil, struggling against the bizarre flora invading its Demonic Soul.
"No, don't listen to him..."
Pei Yuling's cry of alarm echoed from the enigmatic secret door.
He was desperately trying to prevent the spellcaster from heeding Yan Qiling's taunts, pleading, "Don't lose your mind—the Secular Bird is still among us!"
The mention of the "Secular Bird" seemed to wield a mystical force, abruptly calming the creatures on the other side.
The fighting demons and alien beasts, along with Yan Qiling and Yu Yiyi, watched as the wildly growing weeds and shrubs in their minds withered away almost instantly.
"Secular Bird..."
A deep, raspy voice from the Void Mirror conveyed a mix of astonishment and confusion.
The silhouette within the Void Mirror, previously swelling as if to traverse the void, now hesitated, weighing the risks, reluctant to take any further drastic action.
"I am a devotee of the Origin Realm God. We do not cross paths—please do not disrupt our endeavors!"
The Dark Elfkind left this message before the secret door.
And with that, the Void Mirror vanished from sight, just as Yan Qiling had opened the secret door.
Dozens of black and white chess pieces snapped, cracking apart.
Yan Qiling's face was a mask of icy composure, his lips parted but bleeding not a drop.
He gazed at the secret door, feeling the sting of his wounds. Abruptly, he clutched a black chess piece and pressed it into the door.
The chess piece vanished instantly.
...
Surrounded by eerie meteorites, in the dimly lit underground space, Pei Yuling held the Void Mirror aloft, grappling with a Dark Elfkind elder who was attempting to breach the artifact.
A black chess piece suddenly shot out from the Void Mirror.
"My name is Yan Qiling. I hail from the vast Divine Soul Sect, and I serve Taishi."
The chess piece burst into a dark glow, leaving behind text that declared his identity.
The threat was unmistakable.
"Divine Soul Sect, Taishi..."
Pei Yuling released his grip, watching the text fade until it completely vanished. He recited the message in both the human and Dark Elfkind tongues, his eyes reflecting a hint of desolation.
His mood was somber.
He was acutely aware of the Divine Soul Sect's dread, unlike the long-slumbering Dark Elfkind elder. He understood the profound depths of the re-emerging sect's power.
The Divine Soul Sect, once so formidable that it kept the five major sects from raising their heads, was not to be trifled with.
"Why bother? You've been awakened by me, yet there's so much you don't understand. Why the recklessness?"
He looked at the Dark Elfkind elder, whose hair intertwined with the roots of a massive ancient tree, and offered a wry smile. "I mentioned the Secular Bird, and you ceased your spellcasting, avoiding further turmoil. Yet, why did you feel compelled to discipline that Yan Qiling from the Divine Soul Sect?"
"I hold no particular memories of the Divine Soul Sect," the elder stated gravely.
Pei Yuling's brow furrowed. "In this day and age, the Divine Soul Sect is mightier than the Secular Bird. You've missed out on so much; you're unaware of the new era that the Divine Soul Sect has ushered in. Alas, drawing the attention of the Divine Soul Sect and being marked by them is hardly auspicious."
"How splendid can it be? I only acknowledge the five supreme sects of the Vast Expanse as the pinnacle of power," the elder retorted dismissively.
Pei Yuling shook his head. "It appears I need to enlighten you on the current state of affairs in our Vast Expanse."
"It was an elder from Dark Elfkind causing the mischief. He could have had the opportunity to become a Tenth Level bloodline powerhouse."
Yan Qiling retrieved the black and white chess pieces, his lips and neck showing cracks.
Not being made of flesh and blood, no blood flowed from his wounds. "Unless something unforeseen occurs, he, like Pei Yuling, has fallen under the spell of the enigmatic Origin Realm God."
Yan Qiling then informed Yu Yuan of a peculiar Origin Realm Gate located deep within the Deep Starfield.
"I'm aware."
Yu Yuan nodded, choosing not to mention the anomalies he had detected using the Dragon Slash Platform.
"That individual's influence seems to have vanished," Yu Yiyi remarked, puzzled.
The frenzied carnage among the mighty demons and alien beasts had ceased following the upheaval.
The elder from Dark Elfkind, who had unleashed the Ghosting Arts, had invoked the name of the Origin Realm God to the Secular Bird, expressing a wish for peace despite his retreat. Yet, the influence of his bloodline's secret arts appeared to still corrupt the empress's control over the beasts' malevolent intentions.
The Eighth Level demons and alien beasts stood still in the void, clearly still in a daze, processing the recent events.
However, Ninth Level Jin Lih, along with the black bull and the vibrant Demonic Fish, had successfully purged the empress's malevolent influence thanks to the elder's interference, their gazes now clear.
"Jin Lih! You must report to the Demon Palace at once!"
The Demonic Fish cried out.
