C1724 The Two Sides Were Fighting!
"Is that really Yu Yuan?"
Hu Po, the esteemed leader of the Artifact Sect, along with Yin Tiehua, freshly returned from the Ashlands, made a beeline for the Skyreach Consortium.
Standing within the Circle of Aetheric Bending, suspended in midair, he peered through a void prism, closely monitoring the tumultuous changes sweeping across Euwrea.
They had rushed over as soon as the Thunder Sect's lands quaked and their peaks and palaces began to crumble and sink.
Both Hu Po and Yin Tiehua were restless, desperate to speak with someone who could provide the answers that eluded them.
Their first thought was the Skyreach Consortium, nestled beside the Artifact Sect in the southern reaches of the Land of Quiescence, so they arrived posthaste.
At that moment, Shi Jing'er, with her calm and serene demeanor, manipulated the void prism to clearly reveal the upheaval at the Thunder Sect, the figure of Yu Yuan, and the dazzling expanse of the River of Swords.
"Him?"
A look of incredulous wonder shone in Shi Jing'er's eyes as she alternated her gaze between the prism and Jun Chen and Feng Zhong.
Yu Yuan, not yet at his peak, was exhibiting a level of power that defied her comprehension.
Before Yu Yuan, she had never encountered a cultivator at the Unbound Stage who could not only subdue a supreme primordial spirit but also boldly confront Han Miaoyuan, the human race's leader.
Moreover, judging by the unfolding events, Yu Yuan appeared to be in the driver's seat!
Shi Jing'er's spirits had been weighed down by the knowledge that Lin Daoke had sealed off Ionodios, rendering Taishi, Taixu, and the other God-Kings powerless to return to the Everlands. She was at a loss for what to do next.
Even as the Fiendpeak in the Land of Quiescence was besieged by Thunder Sect cultivators, she had merely arranged for a cursory inspection.
She was genuinely frightened.
She feared that the Skyreach Consortium would meet its end under her watch, and that her compatriots, including Jun Chen and Feng Zhong, would end up languishing in the Sword Prison, devoid of hope and daylight.
But now...
"He's become even more formidable than he was in the Ashlands!"
Yin Tiehua's wrinkled face tensed as she gripped her cane with such intensity that her knuckles seemed to protrude more than ever, a clear sign of her emotional fervor. "I've told you, Yu Yuan defies all conventional wisdom. I journeyed with him through the Ashlands for a time, and the things I witnessed gave me a profound confidence in him."
"Today, at this very moment, he has greatly expanded his trust in me!"
Yin Tiehua and Hu Po, who had hurried over from the Artifact Sect, were even more excited and talkative than Shi Jing'er, Jun Chen, and Feng Zhong.
"I never would have imagined that Yu Yuan, still in the Unbound Realm, could overpower Wei Zhuo."
Jun Chen, the premier counselor of the Skyreach Consortium, inhaled deeply. He suddenly felt hopeful that his father, imprisoned in the Sword Prison beyond the stars, along with Zhongli Dapan, might find a way to freedom.
"He actually managed to move the Spirit Swords and Divine Swords in the Sword Cave!" exclaimed Feng Zhong, slapping his thigh in astonishment.
...
Elsewhere.
Whoosh!
Youyu materialized in the Bloodbrawlers' domain, appearing amidst the fluttering venomous insects and Voodoo Shades. He looked at Xuanli, who was scratching his head in confusion, and asked, "What's your decision?"
"Sir, it's an honor to meet you!"
Yuan Qingxi and Lianjing quickly bowed in respect.
With a slight nod, Youyu said, "He made you a promise before we returned from the Ashlands. I'm aware of your dissatisfaction with him, but Han from the Ebon Star Sect has also turned against us when we were down."
The Ebon Star's current Heavenly Palace was modeled after the Bloodbrawlers' Earthly Palace, even using its most precious treasures for construction.
"What about it? What does it think?" Xuanli asked, looking down at the ground.
The Root of the Lunar Meridian was the linchpin behind the Bloodbrawlers, and it was this source that had taught Xuanli his Mind Magic and various mystiques.
Xuanli trusted that the Root of the Lunar Meridian would make its own choices, and he respected it.
Yu Yuan had returned discreetly, using the Dragon Slaying Stage to instantly travel to the Thunder Sect and flatten the most vigorous of the newly risen upper sects. Xuanli was, of course, aware of this event.
If not, Youyu wouldn't have made the special journey from the Land of Terror.
Once he recognized that Yu Yuan was indeed Taiyin, he understood that Yu Yuan's strength was immense and could not be gauged by his current realm.
Despite his expectations, he had not anticipated Yu Yuan's immense strength!
The grudge against Yu Yuan, the inner turmoil and hesitation, seemed to have been significantly diminished by the Dragon Slaying Stage's suppression of the Thunder Sect and the formation of the River of Swords.
"He didn't tell me, but I know what he's thinking. The ideal outcome would be for Yu Yuan and Wei Zhuo to destroy each other in this battle," Youyu stated, his expression impassive.
Yu Yuan had targeted the Primal Soul, and since Wei Zhuo had only limited influence over the Root of the Lunar Meridian, it would be preferable for both to vanish.
"Wei Zhuo is clearly no match for him!" Xuanli exclaimed.
"That's why he's feeling uneasy. He's still deliberating, wanting to take another look," Youyu said, the corners of his mouth twitching in a semblance of a smile, yet his face and eyes remained devoid of mirth. "You don't need to rush your decision; just observe for now. From my perspective, even if we, the Bloodbrawlers, stay neutral, he won't hold it against us afterward."
"After all, he's the one who has always been in debt to the Bloodbrawlers."
"Exactly! He owes us, and we did nothing wrong back then!" Xuanli suddenly found clarity and stopped agonizing over the decision, "So we'll just sit back and enjoy the show! Let's see who will emerge victorious in the end—the sects led by Yu Yuan or those under Han Miaoyuan's control!"
Youyu nodded slightly. "Neutrality is indeed the most prudent approach."
His words were meant for both Xuanli and the Root of the Lunar Meridian.
...
At Fiendpeak.
"Qi Jinghai, why haven't you given the order yet?"
Yu Yiyi rose into the air from the mountain's summit, her face etched with scorn as she observed the Thunder Sect newcomer, arm raised and body rigid. A fierce glint flashed in her eyes, "Since you're taking so long to act, it's time for us to step in."
Hei Xun, Indigo Wraith, and the others burst into hearty laughter, their previous frustration dispelled.
Without Yu Yiyi needing to say a word, as cultivators of their stature, they could infer from the shifts in divine force and minor signs that trouble had befallen the Thunder Sect.
Qi Jinghai and the cultivators of the Stormclap Circle's panic served as confirmation.
While they harbored doubts, Yu Yiyi provided them with an answer, making it crystal clear that Yu Yuan was wreaking havoc at the Thunder Sect's headquarters, completely ignoring Wei Zhuo's slaughter!
Wei Zhuo was still pinned down by the Dragon Slaying Stage!
Whoosh!
Yu Yiyi made a beeline for Qi Jinghai.
Her exquisite black armor, as she darted forward, seemed to sprout from her very skin, enveloping her graceful figure like a sinister bloom.
A purple civet perched on her shoulder, and in her hand, she wielded an ice lance of extreme cold. Weaving through streaks of green and crimson lightning, she appeared before Qi Jinghai like a specter.
"Protect the Little Master!"
Lu Ji, a cultivator at the Unbound Stage, let out a shriek at Yu Yiyi's approach. He observed a multitude of Bane taking flight within the Fiendpeak Mountains, assembling into a vast and malevolent array.
A formation resembling a honeycomb materialized, composed of 30,000 Bane, their collective wails shredding the eardrums of the Thunder Sect's cultivators and tearing at their very souls.
Another formation of twenty thousand Bane morphed into an ocean that entombed wandering spirits, with dense Bane transforming into numerous Soul Runes within its depths.
Additionally, a fog of Bane converged, clouding the thoughts and consciousness of nearby beings, muddling their cognition.
Soul Shatter, Dead Sea, and dark fog.
The myriad strange arrays within the Crucible of Evil, bolstered by the swift approach of one hundred thousand Bane and the advancement of many higher-tiered Bane, allowed the Cursed Artifact to effortlessly achieve Divine Level cohesion.
Yu Yiyi orchestrated the Myriad Demons Circle, turning the cauldron into her protective armor. The Soulsear Bolt and the Thunder Sect's verdant lightning could not penetrate the dark armor she donned.
Puchi!
Yu Yiyi, having impaled a cultivator's Divine Visage with her icy lance and incinerating him with frigid flames, scoffed, "The Thunder Sect's Divine Thunder is indeed perfectly effective against formless Bane and ghosts. But if your Thunder Sect were truly powerful, why then has the extraterrestrial Sky Fiend not been vanquished?"
"Sky Fiend, why do you seek to refine the demonform?"
"Because once the devil soul possesses a body, it gains an armor impervious to lightning! Your Divine Thunder can't reach the devil soul directly, so how can it obliterate their essence?"
"Take a closer look!"
With those words, Chebus, Armor Crusher, Silver Chain, and Grimlantern materialized one by one.
Each had a refined corporeal form!
The most formidable Banes roamed amidst the lightning, their demonforms struck by thunderbolts, leaving only scorched fissures, yet they were not vanquished by the might of the storm.
"You've lived up to my expectations."
At that moment, Yu Yuan's laughter echoed from above.
A blue, teardrop-shaped crystalline platform descended gracefully, with Sky Fiend Youqian squinting in amusement beside Yu Yuan, who stood in his spirited body and Lunar Spirit form.
He boldly exposed his Lunar Spirit to the Thunder Sect's cultivators and the mighty beings of the Everlands.
Swoosh!
Dozens of Soulsear Bolts hurtled towards them, but before they could reach the Blood Altar, they were engulfed and dissolved by the Spawn of Chaos.
"Yu Yuan!"
Hei Xun, White Walker, and Stormcrowned Emperor, standing atop Fiendpeak, gazed up and called out to him.
Clearly, they hadn't anticipated that his Lunar Spirit and real body would be separate.
"I won't overlook any of the Thunder Sect's disciples here."
Yu Yuan chuckled, leaving Youqian's Blood Altar and descending into the midst of the swirling Banes.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The innumerable Banes seemed to become part of his Lunar Spirit, reinforcing and amplifying it until his once insubstantial spirit surged in strength.
In just a few breaths, his Lunar Spirit had grown a hundredfold, becoming a colossal entity composed of tens of thousands of Banes!
"Heh!"
The gargantuan Troll, towering thousands of feet high, rose amidst the mountains of Fiendpeak and leaped forward.
In its left and right hands, tens of thousands of Banes coalesced into two spiraling black vortexes, which he wielded, launching them towards the Thunder Sect cultivators' heads.
"Come out!"
The Troll, forged from Lunar Spirit, erupted with a sinister laugh.
The cultivators from the Thunder Sect, not yet reaching the Unbound state, including Qi Jinghai, felt as though their crowns were being forcibly opened. Their souls were being wrenched out, one by one.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The souls of these individuals uncontrollably soared out, falling into the dark, swirling vortexes cradled in the Troll's hands.
In the next instant, chilling screams of agony emanated from the twin vortexes.
It was the Bane, feasting on their souls.
