C1325 You Were Abandoned
Yu Yuan pieced together the details of recent events thanks to the panicked clamoring of the fiend Qiyan. The Spirit World had begun to overflow with a mysterious psionic power originating from the Origin Realm. This power hastened the growth of the Blightwood and bolstered the combat prowess of the Voidweaver. As the Blightwood's razor-sharp branches pierced outward, the psionic power from the Origin Realm spread in tandem. Thankfully, the spread wasn't so rapid as to be unavoidable.
Chen Qinghuang felt the drastic shift in the Spirit World and found herself increasingly overpowered by the Voidweaver. Consequently, some fled on their own accord, while others were persuaded or pulled away by their peers. Qiyan was among those who fled.
His return to this desolate place was driven by fear of Wei Zhuo from the Thunder Sect and Qiao Yuling from Tempest's Edge, both of whom possessed the might to kill him with ease and bore him no good will. Fearing for his life, he had come back.
Others remained wary, possibly waiting on the fringes of the Astral Domain for a turn of fortune. Yu Yuan reflected on this and realized that these wanderers were gripped by fear. They feared the enigmatic Origin Deity, the Voidweaver, and the Blightwood. In the face of an unclear situation, they dared not venture forth, anxious they might be ensnared and meet a grim fate.
Indeed, those who had fled amidst the chaos, like Wei Zhuo and Xu Jingyao, had witnessed the Shadowkin chieftain, Brie, a being of the highest lineage, nearly perish in the Spirit World, his bloodline strength severely diminished. Given this, who would dare to enter lightly?
Only the likes of Ballo from the Starborn or the Blood King, figures of such formidable stature, might possess the confidence to delve in and explore. Yet, considering the secular bird that had awakened a hundred thousand years ago and subsequently met with defeat, even individuals of Ballo and Blood King's caliber would likely proceed with caution.
A lone individual would not risk entry; success could only be contemplated with a coalition of several tenth-level experts. However, the current state of affairs in the starry seas was exceedingly complex, and it was improbable that the supreme beings of the Otherkin could swiftly converge and heedlessly set forth to this location.
After questioning them further, Yu Yuan learned that Beru, Leo, and Denise had likely retreated to the Kuvrepros Astral Domain. Yan Qiling, Yan Ziyang, Moore, and their companions probably headed to the Silver Sands, a region under the control of the Silverscale Tribe, where a space tunnel leads to the Hellmouth.
Yu Yuan quickly grasped the situation. Chen Qinghuang, the greylag, and the three Wingkind elders, along with Brie and their group, had not encountered Qiyan, leaving them unaware of his whereabouts. Yu Yuan surmised that Chen Qinghuang, the Wingkind, and Brie had likely set their course for the Darkpinion Astral Domain.
Bordering the Brugeth Astral Domain were the Starborn's Kuvrepros, the Shura's Glimmerdrift Nebula, the Silverscale Tribe's Silver Sands, and then the Darkpinion. Yu Yuan had initially intended to escort Chen Qinghuang to Darkpinion himself.
"Wei Zhuo, that fellow from Tempest's Edge, along with the survivors from the Everlands, like the young member from Ebon Star, are probably all heading to the Silver Sands," Qiyan interjected quietly during Yu Yuan's contemplation.
"The Starway constructed by the Everlands, a movable celestial crossing, needs a new anchor point. This barren wasteland is no longer a viable location for the Starway, and it holds no significance now. Ballo had previously made an appearance in the Everlands, deterring others from venturing there."
"I've heard that the two ninth-level Shura warriors who were spotted in the Kuvrepros are now in the Glimmerdrift Nebula. They're in possession of a Frost Well that allows them to communicate with the Dark Realm at any moment, ready to welcome the Blood King's descent. Hence, it's unlikely that anyone would choose to travel to the Glimmerdrift Nebula at this time."
"As for the Darkpinion..." Qiyan's voice trailed off, his liquid form appearing to shudder at the thought.
"The malevolent Blightwood, Diggs, is likely to set its sights on the Darkpinion as its next conquest. Like Brugeth, Darkpinion is replete with forests and marshes, environments conducive to the growth and expansion of such a colossal tree."
This fiend, born from the Rainbow Ocean, seemed transformed by the cataclysmic events it had witnessed. Qiyan had shed his former pride and was now contemplating his next move with a cool head.
Having broken free from the confines of Zekrica and gained true freedom, he found himself in a world that had undergone profound changes—a world that was now alien and full of unknowns.
He had never heard of the "Origin Deity" before and was taken aback by its sheer terror.
For reasons unknown, formidable beings like Brie had their supreme bloodlines stripped away by the malevolent Blightwood, plummeting to the ninth level. Reborn as the secular bird and spreading destruction and death, they became inexplicably close to the enigmatic Yu Yuan.
The myriad of oddities had completely upended his understanding of the world, forcing him to reassess everything he thought he knew.
Yu Yuan listened intently, nodding slowly. After some time, he came to a decision and declared, "We'll head to the Silver Sands in the Silverscale Tribe's domain."
Qiyan implored, "Take me with you! And please, help me survive. I fear the Thunder Sect and Tempest's Edge."
"I'll do my best," Yu Yuan responded coolly.
He had chosen the Silver Sands because he was aware that Yan Qiling and Yu Yiyi had arrived there from the Hellmouth via the Domain Channel.
Similarly, as the Brugeth had descended into its current state, their exit would likely be through the Silver Sands.
Should the Boulderdawn and Skyreach Consortium's powerhouses receive a distress signal from Yan Qiling and come to investigate the Brugeth, they too would pass through the Silver Sands.
Moreover, he had learned that the Silverscale Tribe, like the Abyssal Winged Lizard, was a creation of the Abyssal Greater Basilisk.
His curiosity about the enigmatic Abyss grew; he wanted to determine whether the Abyss and the Origin Realm were one and the same and uncover the secrets they concealed.
Since the Abyssal Greater Basilisk was the sole giant beast capable of reaching into the Abyss, he sought clues from the intelligent life it had spawned.
"Just wait," Yu Yuan commanded.
"Wait for what?" came the anxious query.
"Wait for the real me."
Time passed indeterminately until Yu Yuan's real body, stepping onto the Dragon Slaying Stage, emerged from the other end of the Land of Nothingness. He had followed the connection to his Lunar Spirit and finally made his way.
"Do you know how to get to the Silver Sands?" both Yu Yuan's real body and Lunar Spirit inquired simultaneously.
The fiend Qiyan shook his head, "I'm lost. In this Land of Nothingness, there's nothing to guide me. I can't even discern up from down, left from right."
"Since that's the case, you can just stay here," the real body whispered.
Meanwhile, the Lunar Spirit vanished without a trace.
In this realm, the Lunar Spirit became one with the silent and desolate Star River, able to roam freely and unbound, its speed surpassing that of the real body by a thousandfold.
Perhaps it was the absence of psionic power, the shattered meteorites, the remnants of the starry sky, and the various malevolent souls that allowed the Lunar Spirit to move without impediment.
In other Astral Domains, releasing the Lunar Spirit might have resulted in minor injuries, but now it soared unscathed.
Even aboard the Crucible of Evil, traversing from one boundary to another within the Brugeth would normally take months.
Yet, in this frigid and desolate Land of Nothingness, the Lunar Spirit seemed to traverse the expanse in mere moments.
While Qiyan and the real body held their position, the Lunar Spirit continued its flight through the void of the Brugeth Star Domain, seeking the direction of the Silver Sands Star Domain to guide the main body and the fiend to its location.
Gradually, the Lunar Spirit returned to the border that adjoined the Kuvrepros.
From the Kuvrepros side, he could see the dazzling stars and luminous nebulae.
But a natural boundary seemed to exist between the psionic power of the Kuvrepros and the desolation where he was.
The dead silence did not encroach upon the Kuvrepros, nor did it infiltrate.
Likewise, the cosmic energy, the corrupting forces, the settled poisons, and the streams of light and wind from the Kuvrepros did not invade the space where his Lunar Spirit resided.
The Star River where he stood was as if it had become a true void—clearly present yet separated by a boundary from the Kuvrepros.
The two regions coexisted without interference, distinct and unmingling.
This revelation left him astounded and bewildered.
After a moment of hesitation, his Lunar Spirit resumed its flight, once again cutting through the silence with a piercing whistle.
The Lunar Spirit then appeared successively at the edge of the Glimmerdrift Nebula and in the Darkpinion, where Chen Qinghuang and others had ventured.
Just as with the Kuvrepros, there was no cosmic energy flowing from the Glimmerdrift Nebula or the Darkpinion Nebula into this void.
The desolate Brugeth Astral Domain seemed forsaken, unrecognized by any. Yu Yuan couldn't help but recall his visit to the Annihilation Nebula, where the empress had fallen in a siege a hundred thousand years prior. That Star River was devoid of life, with neither insect nor alien beast remaining.
Despite the silence that pervaded the Domain, faint traces of psionic power still lingered in the cosmos. Yet, these two realms were distinctly different. The Annihilation Nebula, along with other domains silenced by the death force of the secular bird, were simply domains devoid of life.
In the vastness of the Astral Domain, a myriad of energies coexisted, some stars still capable of a semblance of breath. This stood in stark contrast to the current state of Brugeth, a place without stars, land, detectable psionic power, light, or wind—this was the epitome of desolation in a realm.
Enlightened, Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit soared, seeking out the anomalies. Time lost meaning until he sensed the Silver Sands Galaxy Qiyan had spoken of. From a distance, the Star River, draped in a veil of silver, seemed to be slowly channeling diverse psionic powers into the lifeless void of Brugeth.
The psionic power from the Silver Sands, unlike that of Darkpinion or the Glimmerdrift Nebula, was seeping out, albeit sluggishly. Yu Yuan found it unsettling, yet it was undeniably happening. This revelation bolstered a theory in his heart.
He was convinced that the presence of the Abyssal Greater Basilisk in the Silver Sands Galaxy was the reason for its energy to gradually feed into the emptiness of Brugeth. Far from abandoning it, the Silver Sands Galaxy was beginning to embrace it.
Considering the slow rate at which energy from the Silver Sands Galaxy was seeping into Brugeth, it might take tens of thousands of years for the void to be replenished with psionic power. Even then, it would be incredibly diluted, and whether these strange powers could coalesce into a new Star River Domain remained uncertain.
"Silver Sands..." Yu Yuan murmured to himself, sending forth his thoughts through the mystical connection between his Lunar Spirit and his real body.
He was aware that his real body, in another realm of void, had already set out with Qiyan, the fiend, drawing closer to his current location. Yet, since his real body was of flesh and blood, it couldn't traverse millions of miles in an instant like the Lunar Spirit could. It would take a considerable amount of time for his true self to actually arrive.
In the meantime, his Lunar Spirit took the opportunity to curiously observe the Silver Sands Astral Domain from its periphery.
He was also curious whether any formidable beings were lying in wait for him at the edge of the Silver Sands.
"I wonder if the cauldron spirit and the Crucible of Evil are present in this Astral Domain."
As a pure spirited body, the Lunar Spirit fared relatively well in the Land of Nothingness. However, entering the Silver Sands in such a state would be far too perilous.
What if Wei Zhuo, the guardian of the Thunder Pool, was awaiting him at the border, ready to strike with thunderous lightning...
At the thought, he instinctively recoiled.
His real body and Qiyan, the fiend, maintained their distance from the Silver Sands, silently observing and waiting. Time seemed to stretch on indefinitely.
Then, out of nowhere, a grand and enigmatic palace emerged at the fringe of the Silver Sands, shining resplendently.
"Cao Jiaze!"
Yu Yuan's spirit was deeply stirred. With the assistance of the empress, he had once cautioned this rising star of the Ebon Star about the horrors of the Brugeth and the schemes of the Origin Deity. He had hoped that Cao Jiaze would make a sudden appearance and offer him aid during the tumultuous changes in the Spirit World.
But Cao Jiaze had not come, likely having sensed danger and withdrawn in time.
Why, then, was he appearing now?
