C143 It Was a Show of Respect!!

"Crack!"

A thick bolt of lightning, interwoven with innumerable glyphs, plummeted from the churning clouds above.

The heavens appeared as if torn asunder by the fierce lightning!

The terrifying bolt rendered the Stormcrowned Emperor, who stood beside the pit, utterly silent.

Clad in a silver robe, the Stormcrowned Emperor's green eyes brimmed with boundless malice and ferocity. The broken bones within his battered body emitted a series of sharp crackles.

A dark radiance emanated from the flesh and blood of the Stormcrowned Emperor beneath his robe.

The robe, once crafted by the Moonfiend Clan, seemed as if stained with ink, transforming rapidly into an unusually loose black garment.

Every moon-related pattern on the robe was obscured by the ink, with the Moonfiend Clan’s arcane circles and lunar glyphs directly tampered with.

The surge of rage and hatred emanating from the Stormcrowned Emperor was likewise masked.

The thick bolt of lightning, initially aimed at the Stormcrowned Emperor, changed course as his presence faded, streaking directly toward the pit before him.

As the lightning traversed the pit, the myriad patterns and glyphs etched into its walls shone brilliantly for an instant.

The complex array of strange glyphs and magic circles that had confined the Indigo Wraith were suddenly activated.

"Chi!"

The lightning struck the bronze monument.

Thousands of swirling alien souls and goasts, at the point of impact, were amalgamated by the Indigo Wraith into the enigmatic inscriptions.

In an instant, the goasts and alien souls vanished like smoke, and the ancient inscriptions grew fainter.

"Go!"

The demonic voice of the Indigo Wraith, infused with a mysterious cadence, commanded the gathered soul spirits to hurl themselves like moths to a flame against the ancient glyphs on the rock wall.

Countless alien souls and goasts dissipated into wisps of smoke.

The glyphs and patterns on the walls of the pit, just moments ago ablaze with light, abruptly dimmed.

No further bolts of lightning coalesced in the clouds to strike down.

The venerable bronze monument, inscribed with innumerable tablets, sank slightly in the center of the pit.

"Hantian, do you find this amusing?"

The demonic voice of the Indigo Wraith echoed from the bronze monument.

A vague yet menacing visage emerged, composed of numerous fragmented inscriptions.

The Stormcrowned Emperor, in a fit of rage and resentment, forcefully triggered the forbidden magic, causing a lightning bolt to strike down.

In that critical moment, the Stormcrowned Emperor summoned his boundless mystical powers to cloak all traces of malevolence.

With its primary target gone, the lightning had no choice but to seek another, and it naturally selected the Indigo Wraith, who had not provoked the magic, as its next victim.

"Just looking for a bit of entertainment to pass the time," the Stormcrowned Emperor said with a grin, revealing a set of teeth as he casually sat down by the edge of the pit, peering down at the bronze monument with a gaze of green curiosity. "Indigo Wraith, even among the Sky Fiends beyond the Everlands, you stand out as an ancient and notable entity."

He reassembled his skeletal form, now standing nearly two meters tall.

Yet, in comparison to the bronze monument hovering in the pit, he still seemed as insignificant as a gnat.

His presence by the pit was comically absurd.

Nevertheless, Indigo Wraith found no humor in his taunts.

"Like you, an ancient being among the Star-Spawned Terrors, bound by this forbidden area for eons—does it chafe?" the Stormcrowned Emperor mocked. "Perhaps you're unaware that those extraterrestrial Sky Fiends regard you as a mere jester, a cautionary tale within their ranks."

On the Aetherius Continent, he had evolved his heaven soul into a Solar Spirit, which had broken through the Everlands' wall and soared into the extraterrestrial realms.

While others may be ignorant of the Star-Spawned Terrors' enigmas, he, who had refined and purified his Solar Spirit in the icy depths of the Star River, was intimately familiar with their wonders.

After his flesh was destroyed and his Solar Spirit extinguished by the Sword Sect's archenemies, his Lunar Spirit fled to the forbidden area, seeking Indigo Wraith.

He was well-versed in Indigo Wraith's origins, trials, and the arcane nature of the Sky Fiend.

"Which of our kin from the outer realms can claim to have stirred such a pursuit by numerous cultivators in the Everlands?" Indigo Wraith, unprovoked by the mockery and speaking from within the bronze monument, declared with pride, "Hantian, don't think you can unsettle me with their words! The Sky Fiend who dared to venture deep into the Everlands, causing the three continents to tremble with fear, and who remains undefeated to this day, is truly one of a kind!"

"I am certainly the pride of the Star-Spawned Terrors! They should take pride in me!"

"The only reason you haven't been destroyed is that you still serve a purpose," the Stormcrowned Emperor said with a wild laugh. "For instance, keeping you around until a human expert like myself is gravely injured but not dead, so I can use you to bolster my soul and reforge my Solar Spirit!"

Realizing he couldn't sway the Indigo Wraith's mindset with talk of the Sky Fiends, he swiftly shifted the conversation.

Indigo Wraith was correct. Beyond the Everlands, in the vastness of space, the so-called Sky Fiends saw Indigo Wraith as both a martyr and a source of pride.

For millennia, human cultivators at the level of Solar Spirit, Freedom, and Primordial Spirit have ventured across the stars to refine the Sky Fiends for their cultivation, solidifying and enhancing their realms and merging with artifacts.

Only a handful of Star-Spawned Terrors dared to delve into the Everlands.

Among those who ventured into the Everlands, causing havoc and prompting a joint manhunt by the three continents, Indigo Wraith was the sole survivor.

Other invading Sky Fiends, some even more powerful and ancient than Indigo Wraith, ended up thoroughly dead.

Thus, in the eyes of the Sky Fiends, Indigo Wraith was not a disgrace but remains a hero to this day.

"The fourth upper sect that once dominated this realm has been in ruins for countless years, and its successor has perished as well, likely along with the Divine Sword," Indigo Wraith declared fearlessly. "You see, without a guardian, the seals of this world have begun to weaken. Now, even outcasts like you and me can openly converse and sit in dialogue."

"Who says there are no guardians?" the Stormcrowned Emperor chuckled. "Are you not aware that a new guardian has already emerged?"

"You mean the young one who has only gained the sword spirit's approval?" Indigo Wraith joined in with a mocking laugh from within the bronze monument. "Hantian, oh Hantian, you surely don't believe that someone as insignificant as an ant can truly hold sway over this world, like you and me, do you?"

"He alone might not be enough, but what if he has my support?" the Stormcrowned Emperor asked, smiling.

Indigo Wraith fell silent within the monument.

Before long, Yu Yuan casually approached the Stormcrowned Emperor's side.

He mimicked the Stormcrowned Emperor, leaning out to peer into the pit where the bronze monument floated and slowly rotated. He couldn't help but express his wonder, "This pit is so vast, and the bronze monument is as grand as a palace. Truly spectacular."

"Boy, where do you find the courage to approach me like this?"

The Stormcrowned Emperor's emerald eyes bore into him. "Do you realize that with a mere push, you'd tumble into this pit? Once you're in the domain of the Indigo Wraith, no matter how in tune you are with this world, the Indigo Wraith will obliterate you. You're merely at the Soul Awakening stage. Do you fancy yourself a Solar Spirit or an Unbound cultivator?"

"Why don't you push me then?" Yu Yuan asked, a smile playing on his lips.

The Stormcrowned Emperor shook his head, his neck cracking ominously as if several bones had snapped. "I can't quite figure you out. But, since you've earned the sword spirit's approval, there must be something extraordinary about you. If you've come here, you must have a strategy. With that in mind, I'll honor you by going first. Just stand back and watch."

With those words, he suddenly lunged forward, gracefully descending into the pit.

In an instant, the land trembled for miles around, and countless dazzling beams of light converged from every direction.

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