C140 Bones to Flesh!
After the Yin Acolyte and his white-robed counterpart merged, they divulged a wealth of information to Yu Yuan. However, Yu Yuan's assumptions were incorrect. The black and white soul spirits were not the vanished cultivators of the fourth upper sect as he had thought. They were merely the artifact souls of the Soul Splitting Staff wielded by Yan Lu!
The artifact soul of the Soul Splitting Staff was once a formidable soul spirit, integrated into the staff by a powerful cultivator capable of separating souls. It wielded a suppressive force over Lunar Spirits, Solar Spirits, and even the mighty Unbound cultivators. The true owner of the Soul Splitting Staff was a cultivator from the fourth upper sect.
Upon his demise, the artifact soul, no longer restrained by its master, broke free from the staff and wreaked havoc in this constrained realm. Yu Yuan's sword spirit harbored no animosity towards the Yin Acolyte because the Soul Splitting Staff was intrinsic to this place.
Once the artifact soul was lost, the Soul Splitting Staff, now under Yan Lu's control, could no longer progress. The amalgamation of the black and white artifact souls informed Yu Yuan of the numerous Star-Spawned Terrors in this forbidden area, akin to the bronze monument and other alien soul entities.
The Star-Spawned Terror linked to the bronze monument ranked merely sixth in terms of power within this domain. Ahead of this terror, five more formidable evil spirits lurked, their immense power bound by even greater restrictions, rendering them unseen and unable to break free—for now.
Should the Star-Spawned Terror escape its pit, it could potentially seek out the other five, aiding them in awakening from their endless slumber. If all five were to awaken and cast off the constraints of this world, Aetherius might well descend into prolonged chaos. Even the might of the Land of Quiescence and Euwrea would struggle against these five entities.
Therefore, to prevent any unforeseen disasters, it is imperative to eliminate the Star-Spawned Terror associated with the bronze monument without delay.
Yu Yuan, guided by the sword spirit, made his way to the base of the bronze monument he had deliberately avoided before.
Qin Yun, Lee Yuchan, and an elder from the Midnightshields, along with many other trial-takers, followed with bated breath and in silence.
Throughout the journey, Qin Yun repeatedly warned Yu Yuan and Lee Yuchan of the horrors of the Star-Spawned Terror, explaining that it was unlike anything of the Human Race's Lunar Spirit or Solar Spirit, urging everyone to proceed with caution.
As they progressed, each person either utilized Psicrystals or soulstones to cultivate and build up their strength.
The sole survivor of the Lin family, Yu Yuan's betrothed, pieced together an astounding truth from the conversations around her.
Whether it was the Empire's Bloody Female Butcher, Lee Yuchan, or the current sect master of the Midnightshields, Qin Yun, both were surprisingly obedient to Yu Yuan.
The fiancé she had resented for so many years, once discarded by his family, now shone brightly in the Moonfall Sanctuary, casting a shadow on the luminance of Lee Yu, Yan Lu, Su Yan, and the other rising stars of the Empire.
Yu Yuan's increasing extraordinariness only served to highlight the absurdity of her and the Lin family's situation.
Slowly, a profound sense of inferiority welled up within her. She began to consciously avoid any interaction with Yu Yuan, and couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze when he spoke.
Others took note of her behavior, and for reasons unknown, many felt it was to be expected.
This was particularly true for the likes of Lee Yuchan and Qin Yun from the Midnightshields.
For cultivators at their level, having attained the status of Lunar Spirit, they were the backbone of a nation, and the Lin family, once behind Lin Zhuyun, barely registered in their consideration.
To them, the Lin family, as well as the Winter's Bite sect behind Lin Zhuyun, hardly commanded any respect.
From their lofty perspective, Lin Zhuyun, who had led her family into the forbidden area only to misjudge the situation, resulting in their demise, was certainly no match for Yu Yuan!
Yu Yuan's presence in the Moonfall Sanctuary, despite being in the Soul Awakening Realm, was clearly not a matter of mere luck.
With a whoosh, a long silver robe swept through the tumultuous spiritual energy from afar, approaching amidst the backdrop of lightning, thunder, and the wails of countless alien souls and evil spirits.
Everyone heading in that direction had their expressions drastically change. They witnessed, deep within the thick clouds, a cascade of lightning suppressing something. Almost immediately, clusters of alien souls and goasts surged madly toward it. The eerie chanting echoed like the cries of devils from the depths of hell.
The figure in the silver-white robe seemed desperate to escape, charging straight for Yu Yuan. The green glow of the strongest Moonfiend's soul within the robe emitted an air of extreme misery, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.
"It's you!" Lee Yuchan, who had ascended to the Lunar Spirit Realm, recognized the familiar aura in an instant. She knew the one inside the robe was Feng Xin, the one who had driven her to this place—the strongest Moonfiend.
"Moonfiend?" Qin Yun merely raised an eyebrow. At the pinnacle of the Lunar Spirit Realm and armed with four Dawn Arrows, she found it would be trivial to eliminate the strongest Moonfiend, now reduced to a mere soul without a physical body. "Yu Yuan, is she the one you mentioned? The one seized by the alien soul of the bronze monument?"
Yan Lu, Zhan Tianxiang, and the others gazed upon the soul that had previously sent shivers down their spines. Their emotions were a tangle of awe and trepidation. The strongest Moonfiend, when housed within Feng Xin, had once gone on a murderous rampage, instilling a breath-stealing pressure in many.
In a moment, the once-feared strongest Moonfiend had become a mere trinket for the alien soul of the bronze monument. Now, the Moonfiend, having suffered repeated heavy blows, appeared to have fled from the bronze monument's clutches.
"It's her," Yu Yuan confirmed.
"She can't escape," Qin Yun said coolly, her gaze fixed on the distinguished and scholarly Yu Yuan. A Dawn Arrow was already summoned, aimed directly at the silver-white robe. "She stands no chance of escaping from the clutches of the Sky Fiend within the bronze monument."
Yu Yuan had a sudden realization. "Were you released by him?"
Within the silver-white robe, the formidable Moonfiend's soul flickered, transmitting a message solely to Yu Yuan, "Yes, the Star-Spawned Terror inside the bronze monument sensed your presence and set me free."
"Why?" Yu Yuan narrowed his eyes, curious about the motives behind the release.
"To kill you."
The formidable Moonfiend conveyed its final remnant soul.
A mournful and desolate aura emanated from the silver-white robe drifting before me.
Suddenly, segments of bone soared from the nearby earth and miraculously assembled into a skeleton within the robe.
The skeleton was pieced together from gray, white, and green-brown bones, clearly from various creatures.
In the next instant, the makeshift skeleton began to sprout black and brown flesh and sinews resembling those of a Fellbeast.
Another consciousness forcefully wiped away the Moonfiend's thoughts and spiritual wisdom, taking its place.
Moonfiends, as part of the Star-Spawned Terror race, abide by a brutal rule in the starry realms beyond the Everlands: the strong seize and consume the souls of the weak.
The once-feared Moonfiend that pursued Yu Yuan and his companions was swiftly reduced to mere sustenance for another entity.
Its soul vanished, supplanted by a new consciousness that clothed its reanimated bones in the silver-white robe, descending to the ground in human form.
