C1334 The Dragon Slaying Stage Was Upgraded
The snow bear had been grievously wounded by Gu Xingkui's Sword of Gaia, all because of those Ice Shards, leaving it in a pitiful state. Yu Yuan was collecting the Ice Shards for a reason... for him.
With a soft sigh, Yu Yuan paused the Dragon Slaying Stage midair and gently descended. He stood by the snow bear's midsection, where the most severe sword scar gaped open, a cavernous wound exposing the creature's vital organs.
His first thought was how to aid the snow bear's recovery. At the very least, he needed to awaken its soul and restore its self-awareness. Only then could Yu Yuan determine the best way to heal its wounds and uncover the secrets lurking at the depths of Wintermaw.
Dragon Slaying Stage? He glanced up at the elongated, luminescent stone and, with a thought, drew forth a stream of cold energy intimately linked to the frost wyrm's dragon's breath. This current, a refined concentration of ice energy, was imbued with the psionic power of the Ice Shards.
Yet, this cascade of energy, brimming with Arctic Breath, poured down like a shimmering waterfall onto the snow bear's gaping wound, achieving no healing effect.
"No," Yu Yuan muttered, furrowing his brow. He pondered the possibility of transporting the snow bear directly into the Dragon Slaying Stage.
With the idea taking hold, tendrils of his remnant soul spread out around the snow bear and the Dragon Slaying Stage, attempting to forge a connection as mystical as the one he had established when he guided the Frost Queen there. He endeavored to draw the snow bear in as well.
Regrettably, the snow bear, adrift on the icy sea's surface, remained immobile.
It still wasn't working...
Yu Yuan grew anxious, suspecting that the snow bear's massive size or the absence of his presence in the alien beast's soul might be why the Dragon Slaying Stage refused to accept it. He then shifted his thoughts to alternative methods.
The task at hand was to heal the wounded flesh and spirit of the alien beast...
Blood and soul!
With that thought, his eyes blazed with sudden inspiration. Without a moment's delay, he summoned the Baneblade from within his acupoint.
Clutching this notorious weapon, infamous throughout the land, Yu Yuan let out a light snort. His Lunar Spirit shot forth, penetrating the intricate web of bloodlines within the little world.
Among the numerous entwined bloodlines, seven were particularly massive and conspicuous.
"As the wielder of the Baneblade, I command you to distill the essence of blood and soul, channel it into the wound of the snow bear, and nurture its injured spirit," he declared.
Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit, amidst the terrifying, blood-red domain of interlacing bloodlines, broadcast his will.
Meanwhile, he covertly practiced the Wraithbinding. In this eerie, blood-soaked realm, his Lunar Spirit underwent constant transformations. At times, it resembled a fearsome Demon God; at others, a swirling vortex of blood, eager to consume all living souls, and occasionally it appeared as thousands of scarlet sword lights.
In the ethereal expanse of Brugeth, his Wraithbinding had advanced further, capable of spawning infinite variations. These myriad changes proved extraordinarily effective against the oddities that thrived on blood and souls in this place.
He waited with patience...
Before long, the seven most substantial Bloodwraiths—essences refined by the Baneblade's seven former masters—yielded to his coercion and enticement.
Streams of blood-hued rivulets began to emanate from the seven Bloodwraiths, flowing outward. As they streamed, they siphoned minute forces from the myriad blood-colored glimmers and infused them into the rivulets, carrying them forth.
Clearly, Yu Yuan's intimidation had taken effect.
With a mere thought, his Lunar Spirit withdrew from the Baneblade Bloodhell. Squinting, he could indeed see seven slender threads of blood emerging from the Baneblade, coursing first toward the snow bear's waist, toward the gaping wound that resembled a vast chasm.
Observing the seven delicate streaks of crimson, his mind abruptly turned to the fiend Qiyan.
At the edge of the Glimmerdrift Nebula, he and the snow bear had soared towards the River of Swords. Meanwhile, Qiao Yuling and her disciple had clearly ventured into Brugeth. The fiend Qiyan had also stealthily departed.
It was time for it to seek its haven in the Glimmerdrift Nebula, to freely expand its power.
When Qiyan departed, Yu Yuan witnessed the entire event but chose not to intervene. Now, observing the seven streams of bloody light, imbued with blood and Soul Power, infusing into the snow bear's most grievous wound, Qiyan's image unbidden flashed through his mind. However, in a mere instant, Yu Yuan refocused his attention on the ruptured organs of the snow bear.
"It's working!"
He watched intently as the seven slender beams of blood light, emanating from the Baneblade Bloodhell, worked like sutures, meticulously closing the tears in the snow bear's organs. Simultaneously, a faint wisp of soul light made its way toward the snow bear's brain, stirring a surge of excitement within him.
"Rest assured, you have only sacrificed a bit of your blood and soul power temporarily. Once this ordeal is over, once the snow bear has healed, and once my Solar Spirit is forged, I will wield my Solar Spirit to lead you. In the fiercest battles across the extraterrestrial Star River, I will ensure you feast on blood and soul to replenish yourselves."
He sent a comforting thought back to the seven massive Bloodwraiths within the Crimson Realm of the Baneblade. He understood that these Bloodwraiths, formed from the backlash suffered by the Baneblade's seven former masters, possessed a rudimentary sentience and could comprehend his spoken thoughts. Otherwise, they wouldn't have shown such docility following his initial awakening. Nor would they have reluctantly cooperated after he made his stance clear and issued his threats.
The power released by the Baneblade silently repaired the snow bear's visceral damage. Its spirit, too, was gradually fortified. Yu Yuan watched in silence, aware that although the initial healing was slow and time-consuming, once the snow bear awoke and could harness its own strength, the recovery process would accelerate.
"Great trials often precede great blessings. Worry not, for I, Yu Yuan, will forever hold in my heart the deeds you've done for me."
With a relieved exhale, he pondered deeply. How had the snow bear stumbled upon the Wintermaw after sinking to the ocean's depths, and what had alerted Gu Xingkui? Could it be that Xingkui had left a remnant soul at the other end of the Wintermaw? It seemed highly likely. If the existence of the seven Wintermaws was crucial in maintaining the balance of the Everlands, an essential force within its vastness, then surely the five supreme beings would guard them vigilantly.
Even the Skyreach Consortium and Boulderdawn keep a watchful eye on the Wintermaw, ensuring that no mishaps occur. After all, should any accidents arise, the entire Everlands would be at stake. Who would dare to be reckless?
"The Wintermaw, one end located in the Shura's Glimmerdrift Nebula and the other in the Frozen Hellscape. Is Gu Xingkui's remnant soul guarding it against the Shura?" Yu Yuan pondered thoughtfully.
He surmised that even Alonso, the tenth-level Shura warrior, or the Blood King himself would gain no advantage trying to pass through the Wintermaw if detected by Gu Xingkui. Alerting Gu Xingkui could provoke a confrontation with several primordial spirits and Dark Deities of the Everlands.
It suddenly made sense to Yu Yuan why the Shura experts, despite knowing about the Wintermaw and its access to the inner Everlands, refrained from acting rashly. Someone had been vigilantly guarding it for millennia, ever watchful for an invasion by the Shura.
But why not destroy it? Was it because of the Ice Shards? Could it be that these Ice Shards, once found by the snow bear and transformed into the Frost Well, would enhance the Shura's combat abilities, allowing Sabonis to travel to any location in the void through the Frost Well? Was it for the empowerment of their own kind?
Or was it known that even if the Wintermaw were destroyed, the Everlands would simply open another?
In this unnamed Frozen World, Yu Yuan found it surprisingly easier to have moments of clarity when pondering perplexing issues. Perhaps it was the presence of the Wintermaw itself that sparked his insight.
Observing the snow bear's wounds slowly healing after being coerced into bleeding by the Baneblade's Bloodhell, Yu Yuan felt somewhat reassured. He then released his Lunar Spirit to roam this desolate world. Amidst numerous snow-capped mountains and expansive ice fields, there was an eerie absence of life. No ruins, no remnants of battle, no flora or fauna – just an empty expanse, save for the relentless influx of ice energy from beyond.
This was a world either undeveloped or deliberately neglected and forgotten.
His Lunar Spirit roamed without finding anything of note, except for the mysterious deep sea where Wintermaw lay—a place he dared not explore.
Upon reconnecting with his real body, his Lunar Spirit experienced an odd sensation.
It was as though he had gained an extra set of eyes that could see further and more clearly.
Dragon Slaying Stage!
Both his Lunar Spirit and real body were jolted by this revelation, and to their amazement, they discovered that whatever the Dragon Slaying Stage reflected could also be perceived in their minds and souls.
This unique Dragon Slaying Stage, after several enhancements, had finally revealed its new magic.
Much like Liu Ying's Fallen Star Eyes, this Dragon Slaying Stage, situated in the Frozen World, was now illuminating the external cosmos.
The residual power of the Chronowyrm, combined with the frost wyrm's ice energy, had created this wondrous sight.
"It has ascended!"
A smile spread across Yu Yuan's face as he realized that the power harvested from the totem-poles in Brugeth, the Ice Shard, the violet gold dragon eggshell, and other oddities had all contributed to the metamorphosis of the Dragon Slaying Stage.
"Wow, it's this Frozen World, with its swirling cold fog, that's actually moving!"
In that moment, Yu Yuan, through his meticulous sensing via the Dragon Slaying Stage, immediately discerned that the star hiding the secret of Wintermaw was in constant motion.
He now understood why even the snow bear had to undergo such arduous searches to find it.
With numerous similar Domain stars in the Glimmerdrift Nebula and this particular one being mobile, it was akin to the ever-shifting Starway.
Hence, the snow bear had to painstakingly search each nearby area.
"Eh!"
In the Frozen World, Yu Yuan unexpectedly exclaimed.
Looking through the Dragon Slaying Stage above, he saw a familiar figure materialize in the vast starry sky.
It was Ciara, the Shura warrior with a ninth-level bloodline, clutching a Frost Well.
Her face etched with panic, Ciara was trapped in the Frost Well, much like the Frost Queen before her, frantically searching for something.
Tiny Ice Shards adorned her forehead, neck, and cheeks, emanating a chilling sword's will. These crystals would sporadically glint, casting a pure, star-like radiance. As soon as the light emerged, Yu Yuan's expression took on a fascinated gleam.
