C1291 The God's Gift

The sweetness of their recent embrace was still fresh, but the harsh reality couldn't be avoided. Yuan Lianyao's real body remained with the Ruby Hand, and although Yu Yuan longed to take her away, he couldn't simply abscond with her Solar Spirit.

Without her real body, the Solar Spirit was akin to a rootless weed, unlikely to reach higher realms. The path of cultivation would be fraught with obstacles, much like Yan Ziyang of the Wraithcult. Yu Yuan certainly didn't want Yuan Lianyao to share the same fate.

The Ruby Hand, protected by a supreme primordial spirit, was not to be trifled with. After careful thought, Yu Yuan realized that he and Yuan Lianyao would have to endure a period of separation.

He would wait for the day the Ruby Hand weakened or for when he became powerful enough to demand her release without concern. At the very least, he should reunite Yuan Lianyao's Solar Spirit with her real body and quietly free her from the sect's influence.

The current situation was far from ideal.

"Take Faang Yao's advice and head to the Starway overseen by the Ebon Star Sect immediately. Brugeth is too perilous right now, with threats like the Voidweaver, Origin Gate, Pei Yuling, the elders of the Shadowkin, and possibly even the Abyssal Leviathan on their way."

"Don't linger; leave as quickly as you can," Yu Yuan urged her gently.

Yuan Lianyao was filled with reluctance, still savoring the memory of their tender embrace and Yu Yuan's fearless devotion.

"As for the imperfections in your Solar Spirit Body..." Yu Yuan stroked his chin, deep in thought about how to help his striking mayor sister mend the delicate fissures in her neck.

Just then, the remnant soul of Yu Yiyi, the cauldron spirit, reached out to him.

"She's awake. You need to come back immediately."

Yu Yuan was startled.

The next instant, a warm sensation flared in the Golden Sanctum acupoint of his lower elixir field. His diligently cultivated Nine Glories Wheel activated on its own, and his soul felt a profound disturbance, signaling a significant anomaly.

He turned in astonishment to look behind him.

In the Brugeth, a dark red meteorite millions of miles away from him suddenly shattered into fragments!

Deep within the meteorite lay a dazzling red crystal, seemingly imprinted with the sun's inception and its absorption of the universe's fiery energy. Gradually, it grew into a crystalline core, eternally radiating light that bestowed illumination and the essence of life upon the entire Star River Domain.

It was unmistakably a solar nucleus!

In the Everlands, sunfire was already considered a heavenly rare treasure. But a solar nucleus... that was of Divine Level!

A Divine Level magic item signified that it could be used to craft and smelt into a Divine Artifact!

Whoosh!

Driven by some mysterious force, this solar nucleus burst forth and soared through the void.

Crack!

Another solar nucleus, previously sealed by a mystique, lay hidden among a myriad of shattered meteorites.

Suddenly, a mysterious power struck from the heavens, blasting apart all the meteorites and awakening the solar nucleus that had been meticulously sealed by the Silverscale Tribe.

Whoosh!

The second solar nucleus, too, screamed into the air, disappearing into the distance.

Yet another blood-red meteorite was being relentlessly penetrated by fiery beams. Xu Jingyao of the Sunlit Order, wielding the Flame Spear, tirelessly worked the stone.

Xu Jingyao's eyes blazed with fervor as he whispered, "Almost there! With such a massive solar nucleus, my Solar Spirit Body can be refined anew!"

Back in Kuvrepros, he had suffered grievous injuries, and after his Solar Spirit Body was shattered, Zhu Huan had reconstructed it using transcendent techniques.

The patched-together Solar Spirit Body had numerous issues, and he had been diligently repairing it.

In command of the Flame Spear, he had been scouring the extraterritorial battlefield, communicating with the artifact soul in search of items that could mend his Solar Spirit Body.

Fortune smiled upon him as he stumbled upon this place and detected the solar nucleus, his excitement knew no bounds!

Legend had it that in the shattered Brugeth, there once shone a sun even more resplendent than that of Kuvrepros, a sun of a higher echelon. Its immense size and the light it cast were visible to the mighty of both the Silverscale and Shura Tribes.

Alas, that magnificent sun had also perished in a devastating racial conflict.

And within that fierce sun lay the solar nucleus, the most treasured rare treasure of its kind.

It was akin to the Demon Heart of a Dark Deity!

Back in the Kuvrepros Astral Domain, Xu Jingyao had relied on the Flame Spear to plunge into the yellow sun, solely to gather sunfire for purifying and tempering his Solar Spirit Body.

The heart of a sun, its solar nucleus, was a treasure of Divine Level caliber, far beyond his easy grasp. He was merely a Solar Spirit, not at the Unbound level, and certainly not a primordial spirit.

A Divine Level solar nucleus could heal his wounds, rejuvenate his Solar Spirit, and even allow for additional refinement!

For those at the Unbound and Primordial Spirit levels, such solar nuclei were exceedingly rare, capable of being assimilated into their very essence.

With the aid of the Divine Artifact, Xu Jingyao had painstakingly located a place harboring a remnant solar nucleus, ready to harvest it.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The meteorite he had long struggled to breach burst apart under the sway of some mysterious force.

In an instant, a flame crystal resembling a diminutive sun scattered droplets of sunfire, hurtling into the vast emptiness millions of miles distant.

Stunned by the spectacle, Xu Jingyao stood motionless, struggling to comprehend what had just occurred.

"Who is it? Who dares to snatch prey from the jaws of a tiger!?" he roared softly, his remnant soul and the artifact soul of the Flame Spear swiftly intertwining.

He commanded the Flame Spear to exert its full might, to carry his Solar Spirit Body in hot pursuit of the massive solar nucleus that was escaping.

Yet, the Flame Spear did not respond with urgency.

"Why?!" Xu Jingyao's outburst subsided as his fierce expression gradually eased.

He understood the artifact soul of the Flame Spear well. If it was confident, it would have already given chase without awaiting his orders. Its stillness signified one thing—the artifact soul of the Flame Spear lacked confidence.

"It must be the Death Bird associated with Yu Yuan..."

The artifact soul's remnant soul conveyed a sense of being wronged and powerless.

"She has grown stronger. Despite the vast distance between us, her divine power can instantly affect us. My advice is to steer clear of her, regardless of her intentions, and to also avoid the location where the solar nucleus has flown." The artifact soul's advice was earnest.

Xu Jingyao paused, then said, "A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall. For now, let's just steer clear."

...

Yu Yuan and Yuan Lianyao stared in disbelief at the three Fire Crystals of varying sizes, radiating a destructive scarlet flame, that had appeared in this desolate space.

"Solar nuclei! And there are three of them!"

Faang Yao of the Ruby Hand hurried over from a distant location.

He rubbed his bald head, his face a picture of confusion and uncertainty, as he said, "Yu Yuan, why have three solar nuclei suddenly appeared? After the Brugeth Astral Domain shattered, the sun exploded, and the solar nuclei within should have been completely mined by now, after so many years."

"To think there are still three that slipped through the net and ended up here!"

"Do you realize that the solar nucleus is a Divine Level rare treasure? Even our Hellbreed can't get their hands on it! The cultivators of the Sunlit Order and our Ruby Hand who have reached the Unbound Realm have scoured the world for the solar nucleus, attempting to integrate it with their Divine Visages!"

"Three! Three solar nuclei! It's utterly unexpected!"

He rambled on incessantly.

For any member of the Ruby Hand, the solar nucleus was a coveted treasure, and naturally, he was no exception.

Yet, he was acutely aware that these three solar nuclei were not destined for him, nor were they within his reach.

"Cough, cough..."

Yu Yuan gave a few dry coughs, his face taking on an odd expression.

Yu Yiyi, who was spiritually connected to him from millions of miles away, had clearly conveyed the empress's directive for him not to dawdle and to quickly join them.

The three solar nuclei before him held a faint, barely perceptible aura of regeneration.

If it wasn't that person, then who?

"This is for you," said Yu Yuan with a smile.

"Ah!"

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