C1574 The Determined Cultivator

Xuanli candidly shared his experiences within the Domain Channel and his personal sentiments.

Despite his complaints and sarcasm, he always held a deep trust for his former comrades-in-arms, never harboring any doubts.

Youyu listened intently, then furrowed his brow in thought. Abruptly, he requested, "Show me your Mindscape!"

"Oh."

With a slight nod, Xuanli released all self-imposed seals right before Youyu's eyes.

A soul vortex, no larger than a fingernail, emerged at his brow.

"Allow me to examine it closely."

Youyu's ashen finger touched Xuanli's forehead, delving into the tiny vortex and reaching into the depths of Xuanli's soul.

As the Everlands' inaugural ascendant to the God of Ghosts, Youyu was practically the spokesperson for the Root of the Lunar Meridian. Once Xuanli relinquished his defenses, Youyu could effortlessly uncover all of Xuanli's concealed secrets.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A myriad of pale lightning bolts shot from Youyu's finger, unfurling across Xuanli's Mindscape.

Xuanli's memories from two lifetimes, the Spirit Magic he had mastered, the magic arts and spells he had practiced, his calculations, his extraterrestrial adventures, and even his knowledge of the Colddeath—all lay bare before Youyu, nothing concealed.

Only with Youyu did he share such complete trust to allow this.

The process was brief.

Youyu withdrew his finger, his stoic face now etched with solemnity and puzzlement. "Odd, it's this part that's missing..."

Murmuring to himself, Youyu didn't wait for Xuanli to inquire further before asking, "What do you know about the Divine Throne, the primal energy of the Everlands, and the wonders of the Earthfire?"

Xuanli shook his head in bewilderment, "I'm completely in the dark."

"That makes sense."

Youyu inhaled deeply, gazing at his old friend with gravity. "A piece of your Dominant Soul is missing. The absent piece contains the answers to the questions I just posed. You, who have once ascended to the highest echelons and held a Divine Throne, retain the memories of that realm imprinted in your Dominant Soul—even through reincarnation."

"The moment you were awakened in the Star River, that segment of your memory was also revived."

"You once used your refined Divine Throne to precisely sense that entity. Moreover, I've shared with you the mysteries of that entity, yet now you claim to have no recollection of it."

Youyu spoke with a drawn-out certainty, "The memories etched into the small fragment of your soul that was stripped away by the unstable Origin Gate pertain exactly to this knowledge."

"Stripped away, not imprinted?" Xuanli's expression turned icy.

"Yes, stripped away, not imprinted," Youyu confirmed.

Xuanli fell silent. As a former leader of the Bloodbrawlers, he was well aware of the distinction between the two.

An imprint would simply mean that a portion of his dominant soul's memories had been duplicated.

For him, this would have no real impact or harm; his soul would remain whole, merely having its memories copied.

But stripping was entirely different.

If one were to consider the dominant soul as a magical tapestry...

Stripping would be akin to tearing away a small piece of that tapestry, signifying that his soul was now incomplete.

With an incomplete soul, how could he aspire to the supreme position?

"In the past, if you had lost a fragment of your soul, I might have been powerless to help. But now, I can mend it for you, allowing you to reclaim those lost memories."

Youyu's voice carried a note of pride as he slightly tilted his head upwards, as if gazing into the Land of Terror, "It will be somewhat troublesome, and it will require a significant amount of my strength. But don't worry, if I can't retrieve it from the Origin Gate, I assure you I'll mend the deficiency."

"I promise it won't interfere with your quest for the Divine Throne."

Youyu first allayed his concerns, then pondered with a furrowed brow.

From the accounts of Zu Ann, Han Miaoyuan, and Yu Yuan, he had come to understand the dread associated with the Origin Deity.

This being, originally from the Abyss, possessed an immensely powerful soul and was versed in space magic.

This being had stealthily extracted a portion of Xuanli's residual soul memories as he traversed the yet unstable Origin Gate.

Had Xuanli been guarded against him, lacking complete trust, he surely wouldn't have disclosed such a matter.

It was utterly inconceivable for him to permit unfettered access to his Mindscape.

Otherwise, no one would have discovered the secret concealed within Xuanli's residual soul, which pertained to the Divine Throne, primal energy, and the mysteries beneath the Earthfire.

"Is he delving into the depths of the Everlands, seeking the origins of the Divine Throne? Could the Origin Deity possibly desire...?"

Youyu was struck by the gravity of the situation.

Without hesitation, he tapped into the formidable power of the Land of Terror to establish a direct line to Tian Zang.

"Pass a message to Tianqi and the Gui Xu God-King. Youyu and Xuanli of the Bloodbrawlers request an audience with both God-Kings. Also, ensure that Yan Qiling, adept in space magic, is present at the Moonfall Sanctuary," he declared his intent.

Within the forbidden area, a majestic palace bustled with conversation as a group deliberated on the future contributions of Green Willow to Boulderdawn following his ascension. They pondered the deeper implications of Taishi's recent decisions.

Tian Zang, sensing the urgency, shuddered slightly and relayed Youyu's command without delay.

Tianqi, in the midst of a hearty meal, paused to glance at the shadow of Gui Xu within the stone column. With a nod, he responded affirmatively, "They are most welcome."

...

At another location, Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit materialized on Healing Island within the Sundering Isles. Xia Nan, Yin Xueqi, and a host of herbalists skilled in the art of medicine had convened.

His meticulously crafted plan was unfolding smoothly.

Observing the sect disciples, whose cultivation might be lacking but whose dedication to herbalism rivaled that of the obsessed, Yu Yuan saw a reflection of his past self.

The Darkpinion, with its verdant forests, was an ideal nursery for spiritual herbs.

The Shadowkin and Wen Lu were also contributing.

Yu Yuan was confident that with the expertise of these herbalists, the Darkpinion would soon be a tapestry of blooming flora.

Exotic plants and rare trees would flourish, and the harvested herbs and superior magic items would be transported to Ionodios or back to the Everlands, where herbalists would craft high-quality pills.

"Once everyone is prepared, we'll head to Celestial Isle and from there, journey to the Godsblight Marsh."

His Lunar Spirit surveyed Healing Island, where anticipation and anxiety mingled among the crowd. He began to orchestrate their next moves.

His Lunar Spirit hovered over Healing Island, gazing at the anxious and expectant people below as he made his arrangements. Suddenly, he sensed an anomaly emanating from the nearby Sunlit Isle...

"Just head straight there; I've taken care of everything. You won't face any issues, whether you're navigating through the Everlands or the extraterrestrial Star River," he assured them. With those words hastily imparted, his Lunar Spirit rose and swiftly made its way toward Sunlit Isle.

"Yu, Yu Yuan!" The cultivators on Sunlit Isle, upon witnessing the clear manifestation of his Lunar Spirit, showed a subtle shift in their demeanor.

"I'm looking for Mo Baichuan. I know he's here!" Yu Yuan called out.

A cultivator, in the middle period of his Solar Spirit development, nodded with a mix of emotions, let out a sigh, and motioned, "Follow me."

Once haughty and proud as members of the upper sect, the cultivators on the island now wore somber expressions. They averted their gazes when looking at Yu Yuan. With Lee Tianxin dead and their sect leader, Yuwen Hao, having recently perished in the extraterrestrial realm, they were painfully aware that the Sunlit Order's days of glory were dwindling.

Without a supreme cultivator to anchor them, the Sunlit Order, now demoted to a lower sect, dreaded the future that lay ahead. In the past, had Yuwen Hao and Lee Tianxin still been present, Yu Yuan's bold approach with just his Lunar Spirit would have been met with immediate hostility.

But times had changed...

The sect's influence had waned, and Yu Yuan was not only eligible to attend the council but had also been personally invited by Han Miaoyuan. The implications were clear.

Thus, the senior cultivators of the Sunlit Order could only watch as Yu Yuan was respectfully escorted by a venerable elder to a trembling mountain peak at the heart of the island.

At the mountain's base, Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit entered and caught sight of Mo Baichuan. He started to speak but found himself at a loss for words.

It hadn't been long since Mo Baichuan had departed from Skyreach Peak. Yet, in this brief span, Yu Yuan was taken aback by the sight of nine peculiar cavities within Mo Baichuan's body...

In Mo Baichuan's Mindscape, a very weak Heaven Soul had inexplicably appeared. Given his level of cultivation, his Heaven Soul should have long since transformed into a Solar Spirit. The reemergence of the Heaven Soul in his consciousness was a clear sign that his Solar Spirit had been shattered, and the contingency he had left behind had triggered the Heaven Soul's return.

Mo Baichuan, who was on the verge of reaching the peak of the Unbound realm, had suffered a rapid decline, falling two entire levels to become a Spirit Walk cultivator. For the Sunlit Order, the loss of his Solar Spirit and his reduction to a Spirit Walk cultivator was nothing short of a disaster.

"My Solar Spirit has been reduced to ashes at the edge of the Earthfire," Mo Baichuan stated, sitting upright. Despite the gravity of his situation, his face bore a calm expression that bordered on eerie.

"As long as you're alive, there's hope. I once assisted Xie Bin in reforging his Solar Spirit; surely, it should be even easier for you. Baibai, if you've already realized the futility and personally tested the limits, perhaps it's time to abandon that path," Yu Yuan suggested.

"No," Mo Baichuan replied, shaking his head without a trace of fear, his gaze resolute. "I've had an insight. The Solar Spirit I will forge anew shall be cast with Earthfire. My catastrophic failure was due to the fact that the materials for the Solar Spirit's creation were all derived from crystallized solar energy, which is starkly incompatible with Earthfire."

"You should really let it go," Yu Yuan said with a wry smile.

"Return home. My mind is made up, and no one can change it," Mo Baichuan dismissed him.

"Can I assist you in any way?" Yu Yuan inquired.

Mo Baichuan was about to decline, but he paused mid-sentence. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded and affirmed, "Yes, there is."

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