C1383
Yu Yuan shook his head, a clear refusal.
Confronted with the expectant gazes of Du Yuan, Mo Baichuan, Yue Mu, and others, including Jun Chen and Zhou You, all powerful figures from different factions within the Everlands, Yu Yuan remained resolute in his decision.
He refused because the snow bear, despite being wounded by the Shura, had not lost its sanity.
Its eyes swirled with intense murderous intent and ferocity, yet its spiritual wisdom remained intact.
It was fully aware, conscious of its actions.
This was its choice!
For years, it had safeguarded the Shura, aiding their kings in their ascension and silently watching over the Glimmerdrift Nebula.
It was the same creature that retrieved Ice Shards from the depths of the Wintermaw, providing them to Sabonis to craft the Frost Well. Bound by an ancient pact with the Shura, it had always honored its commitments.
It had fulfilled its role to the fullest!
It was Sabonis, Alonso, and the entire Shura who had first breached the contract!
And they had the audacity to confine it within an Earth-Tethered Cage!
Given these circumstances, why should it concern itself with the fate of the Shura?
Whether the Everlands could draw ice energy from the Glimmerdrift Nebula through the Wintermaw was of no consequence to it.
Its gaze was fierce and resolute, its stance unmistakably clear.
Yu Yuan could deeply sense its rage born from betrayal, leading to this violent choice.
All Yu Yuan could do was honor its decision.
With a roar, the Dire Bear suddenly beat its chest and bellowed, a definitive signal, an unequivocal response.
Far away, Alonso hovered in the high skies above the stars, his face etched with sorrow. Clutching a crystal ball, he let out a deep sigh.
He could see that within the Shura Kingdom, warriors of noble lineage gazed up at him with fervor.
Many had even knelt, bowing in reverence, repeatedly prostrating themselves before him.
They believed he was the great commander of the Shura, the tenth-level Golden Shura, come to rescue them.
They thought Sabonis had answered their prayers by sending him to mend the shattered wall, to ensure the Empire's integrity, and to allow its inhabitants to survive.
Alas...
Filled with remorse and sorrow, Alonso sighed once more before casting the crystal ball away.
A cascade of golden light fell from the heavens, ensnaring Ciara and her fellow Platinum Shura. Those Shura who had attained the eighth level of their lineage were drawn into the crystal sphere.
"I'm sorry..."
With that, Alonso and the crystal sphere departed.
The star, intimately linked with the entire Glimmerdrift Nebula, was slowly encroached upon by the Abyssal Leviathan.
"He, he has forsaken us!"
"He's Alonso, our tribe's supreme leader. He's a tenth-level Golden Shura!"
"Why has he forsaken us?"
Desperate cries of despair echoed from the Shura Kingdom. The feeble Shura clanspeople had lost all hope, the air they breathed now tainted with an energy that could shatter their hearts.
Then, a vast black mass filled their sight, dominating the starry expanse above them.
A primal roar thundered across the cosmos, and a myriad of blood mists burst forth.
...
The ferocity and cruelty within the Dire Bear subsided, its demeanor turning indifferent as it withdrew its gaze.
It regarded Mo Baichuan and the others, who stood vigil over the deep sea, with a calmness that belied its nature.
A mocking, almost human sneer flickered in its eyes, seemingly scorning Mo Baichuan, Du Yuan, Yue Mu, and their companions.
With the Glimmerdrift Nebula on the brink of annihilation, what purpose did guarding the "Wintermaw" serve?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ji Ningshuang felt a sudden tremor beneath the snowy mountain where she sat. The cosmic order, deeply intertwined with the Glimmerdrift Nebula and the star ravaged by the rampaging Abyssal Leviathan, was fracturing.
The thick cold fog ceased its flow, rendering the "Wintermaw's" magic ineffectual.
This peculiar star, once akin to a cold stone embedded with a magic circle, had eternally drawn in the chilling mists from the frigid Star River.
Now, with the core laws in disarray, its unique trait had vanished.
Zhou You's face was etched with distress. "How could this happen?"
"It's Alonso's own doing; he's to blame," Tian Zang snorted disdainfully. "Such arrogance! The fall of the Glimmerdrift Nebula is on him and Sabonis. We could have joined forces to contain the Abyssal Leviathan, but he had to go and thrust his spear!"
Tian Zang, an extraterrestrial Star-Spawned Terror, was not a native being of the Everlands, thus the significance of Wintermaw held no sway over him.
He approached the situation with a cool head, pinpointing the crux of the issue: while Yu Yuan exerted his full strength to operate the Heaven-Opening Sword Array, constraining the Abyssal Leviathan, Alonso seized the moment to thrust his spear.
Alonso's decision to stab Yu Yuan at that juncture was both inappropriate and illogical.
Yet, he had done so under Sabonis's instruction.
In the midst of the Dire Bear's furious intervention, Alonso dared to deploy the Earth-Tethered Cage, designed for slaying giant dragons, trapping the Dire Bear and wounding its bloodline...
The Shura must pay a blood price for this deed!
"But what now? The Abyssal Leviathan might recover most of its injuries through that pivotal star!"
The bloodline of the white crane quivered, sensing the immense terror radiating from the cosmic giant beast, as if constantly withstanding the onslaught of vital energy.
The greater the archdemon, the more discomfort alien beasts felt when facing the frenzied Abyssal Leviathan.
"He hasn't even awakened; what's there to fear?" Yu Yuan, furrowing his brow, glanced at the white crane. "Moreover, upon awakening, I will be his first target."
The Death Crane was visibly irked.
Previously, he might have lashed out at Yu Yuan right then and there to teach him a lesson.
But now, he kept his displeasure in check.
After all, through the dramatic events in the Glimmerdrift Nebula, Yu Yuan had demonstrated an extraordinary display of strange power and energy.
Yu Yuan, who could wield the Titanblade to deliver that decisive strike, command the Dragon Slaying Stage, and ensure the Dire Bear's compliance, had risen above him.
Such a Yu Yuan, within the ranks of Boulderdawn and the Divine Soul Sect, held a status nearly on par with Jun Chen.
The white crane was no fool; recognizing that Yu Yuan now exceeded him in both personal combat prowess and influence after ascending to Solar Spirit, he dared not provoke him.
"Let's leave the Abyssal Leviathan be. Keep an eye on Alonso. This man is willing to sacrifice the Glimmerdrift Nebula for the Dragon Slaying Stage under my command. So be it; we'll grant his wish."
Yu Yuan's face was impassive, his heart remarkably cold and unyielding, unaffected by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Shura.
Any flicker of remorse he felt for Elena vanished the moment he shook his head.
Xi Quan was dead, Ji Ningshuang had been gravely wounded by Alonso, and he himself had narrowly escaped Ciara's painful strike. Even the Dire Bear, which had guarded the Shura for countless years, was injured by the Earth-Tethered Cage. Why shouldn't the Shura pay a price?
"The future will concern itself with selecting a new location for Wintermaw. For now, my focus is on taking down Alonso!" Yu Yuan declared with wild confidence.
Yet, no one saw anything amiss with his proclamation.
Alonso himself had sustained serious injuries. The Earth-Tethered Cage was destroyed, the tip of his silver lance had shattered, and his crystal ball was damaged. In such a state, Alonso was far from his full combat strength.
With everyone present, including the Dire Bear and Yu Yuan's hidden aces, they genuinely stood a chance at defeating Alonso!
Crack!
The snowy peak beneath Ji Ningshuang shattered suddenly, like an ice pop under the blow of a hammer.
It wasn't just the snowy peak that crumbled; the Frost Star concealed within Wintermaw, the wall, and even the ground itself split apart amidst the tremors.
Mo Baichuan and the others watched with furrowed brows as the deep sea was bombarded with falling glaciers and snowy peaks.
Rip!
A multitude of intersecting spatial light blades appeared beneath the star's crust, and it seemed as though some strange power was seeping from the depths of the "Wintermaw" in the ocean.
All eyes were instinctively drawn to the phenomenon.
Jun Chen, White Crane, and the others watched with grave concern.
The Wintermaw was crucial to the Everlands' stability.
They were all natives of the Everlands and never wanted to witness any harm befall their homeland.
"It seems we can no longer count on the Glimmerdrift Nebula," Du Yuan said, his voice heavy with fatigue as he stood on a thick slab of ice. "I'm heading to the seabed to see if I can preserve the Wintermaw, perhaps even relocate it!"
With those words, he was the first to plunge into the depths of the sea.
