C175 Terra Fiend Fides!

At another side of the Soulforge Pool, Lee Yuchan and the younger members of the Silvermoon Empire regrouped, gazing into the distant sky together.

"Auntie..." Lee Yu began, his voice trailing off. He was eager to ask what had transpired at the Soulforge Pool but hesitated, noticing the somber look on Lee Yuchan's face.

"Lord Lee," Zhan Tianxiang couldn't contain himself any longer. With a stern expression, he demanded, "The Duan brothers from the Crimson Sun Empire have turned on their own, clearly trying to hide their ties with the Ruby Hand! Why did you leave Yu Yuan behind and come to us alone?"

"Was Yu Yuan taken captive?" Su Yan chimed in, concern lacing her words.

Zhao Yafu, Yu Feifei, and the others from Asvetaesi all wore expressions of doubt.

"General Lee, it would be best if you clarified things," urged Yan Lu from the Yan family, echoing the sentiment for an explanation.

Lee Yuchan, known for her ruthless disposition, felt a wave of bitterness as she faced the scrutiny of the younger generation. When Duan Guanlan had targeted Yu Yuan with the Cursemark, attempting to strip away his sword spirit, she had failed to stand resolutely by his side—a grave error.

Ultimately, Yu Yuan had relied on his own strength to shatter the Ruby Hand's Cursemark, a rare treasure, and gravely wound Duan Tianxi, turning danger into safety. And she had been of no help...

The guilt and unease weighed heavily on her as she reflected on her inaction. She knew she had failed Yu Yuan.

Thus, facing the probing questions of the Empire's youth, she found herself without the confidence to rebuke or make excuses.

Then, an epiphany struck her. Through the trials at Moonfall Sanctuary, Yu Yuan, once an obscure figure from Asvetaesi, had demonstrated his prowess, earning the trust and respect of all his contemporaries, including Lee Yu. The remaining trial-takers were the future elite of the Empire, and in their hearts, they seemed to draw nearer to Yu Yuan, placing their trust in him more than ever before—not in her, Lee Yuchan. This realization left her feeling awkward and powerless.

"Look!" Su Yan suddenly cried out, her petite figure adrift in the void as she unfurled her Celestial Plume Raiment.

Her attention was constantly fixed on the Soulforge Pool.

After her startled cry, everyone followed her gaze toward the Soulforge Pool. They saw clusters of alien souls and evil spirits surrounding it, each emanating a terrifying and brutal aura.

"Those archdemons that Lin Zhuyun has seen before have all gathered at that pool," she observed.

Lee Yu summoned the Soul Orb, sliced his fingertip, and let three drops of blood fall onto it, transforming the mysterious artifact into an eye for a brief moment.

Beside the Soulforge Pool, the azure-robed lad, the large tree, the middle-aged man with a human head and dragon body, along with a tumultuous blood light, were all revealed by the Soul Orb.

Those nearby saw the scene with crystal clarity.

The middle-aged man within the Soul Orb seemed to detect their gaze.

He looked back coldly from within the Soul Orb.

His eyes, as if peering through the Soul Orb, seemed to see everyone present.

His originally brown irises, in a flash, resembled a deep pool hiding lurking evil dragons, instilling a sense of extreme peril.

All those gazing at the Soul Orb's interior felt as though they had been struck hard.

Each person, Lee Yu included, experienced a piercing headache and dared not continue looking at the Soul Orb.

Only Zhao Yafu, after a muffled grunt, suddenly heard the sound of a dragon's roar within her acupoint.

As the dragon's roar began, Zhao Yafu was no longer affected. Her gaze towards the Soul Orb took on a wistful hue, as if she were lost in memories.

The middle-aged man inside the Soul Orb seemed to have a sudden realization.

After a brief hesitation, he left the Soulforge Pool, his long dragon tail swaying as he made his way directly toward them.

"Move out! Evacuate!" Lee Yuchan's face turned pale as she yelled for everyone to quickly distance themselves.

Zhao Yafu, however, paused for a moment, disregarding the calls to retreat. She transformed into a red cloud and moved toward the middle-aged man with the human head and dragon body.

She approached him willingly.

A distinctly powerful dragon's breath emerged from Zhao Yafu, and in the unseen realm, it seemed to coalesce into an ancient giant dragon, roaring and shaking the heavens and earth.

"Auntie, he's not coming for us," Lee Yu said, momentarily taken aback. "It seems we're not significant enough to draw him away from the Soulforge Pool."

Everyone could see that the man with the human head and dragon body had come specifically for Zhao Yafu.

He was merely in a spiritual form, lacking any physical substance.

Yet the aura emanating from his spirit body made everyone's hearts race erratically, as if they were on the verge of bursting.

"General Lee, shouldn't you check on her?" Yu Feifei asked with urgency. "Her abilities aren't strong enough. Could she have been seduced by that creature, prompting her to approach him voluntarily?"

Lee Yuchan let out a soft sigh. "I sustained serious injuries at the Soulforge Pool. And that man with the human head and dragon body is far more formidable than I ever was, even in my prime. So..."

She reluctantly acknowledged her helplessness.

"Zhao Yafu should be alright," Su Yan, clad in the Celestial Plume Raiment and hovering in the void, observed the man with the human head and dragon body from a distance and spoke gently, "When he approached Zhao Yafu, his heart was filled with joy, not malice."

Upon hearing this, everyone's brows furrowed in contemplation.

Meanwhile.

Yu Yuan, seated quietly in a corner of the Soulforge Pool, absorbing the dark Soul Power from its depths, opened his eyes stealthily.

He became vigilant as the middle-aged man with the human head and dragon body approached Zhao Yafu.

In his arm bone, the sword spirit, which had been dormant for an extended period, stirred to life amidst the glimmers of sword light, regaining a faint consciousness.

Sensing his concern, the sword spirit proactively transmitted a thought.

He immediately eased his mind.

The middle-aged man with the human head and dragon body might be his adversary, intent on his destruction, but he would not harm Zhao Yafu.

For Zhao Yafu, this man was a source of fortune, her guardian within the Moonfall Sanctuary.

"Ah!"

The azure-robed lad beamed a smile, his clear eyes fixed on Yu Yuan. "Little brother, you're awake? What's your name? Did you manage to defeat the Moonfiend inside, and the other Moonfiend that arrived afterward?"

To his left and right, both the towering tree and the orb of bloodlight seemed to fix their gaze on Yu Yuan.

It wasn't through sight, but rather through some kind of elusive, unknowable remnant soul that the connection was made.

Behind Qin Yun, Duan Guanlan and Duan Tianxi walked away, unable to do anything else.

They stood shoulder to shoulder with Qin Yun, gazing down at Yu Yuan, who sat in solitude beneath the Soulforge Pool.

"Are you waiting for the cultivators from the Silvermoon Empire?"

Yu Yuan looked up at the azure-robed lad, covertly using his heaven soul to attempt further communication with the sword spirit. With a slight quiver in his gaze, he spoke, "You, if I'm not mistaken, are called Fides. Back in the Moonfall Sanctuary, you were an alien soul with the potential to rank among the top ten. The Stormcrowned Emperor gravely wounded you and even refined a portion of your residual soul. Since then, you've remained in hiding."

"It seems someone later took you from the Moonfall Sanctuary. Fides, you are likely a Terra Fiend born in some bizarre region of the Euwrea Continent."

While sensing the chaotic and intermittent remnant soul transmitted by the sword spirit, he pointed at the azure-robed lad, recounting his origins and past battles.

Fides, like the White Walker, was a Terra Fiend from the Everlands.

Fides came into being on the Euwrea Continent, in an area rife with swamps. Whether due to a cataclysmic shift in the world or the culmination of eons, the swamps' springs suddenly awakened to spiritual wisdom, consuming living beings to augment their own power.

Ultimately, Fides evolved into a Terra Fiend that wreaked havoc in the region.

The Boulderdawn captured Fides and sealed him here, keeping him in secret captivity in an attempt to refine him, but without success.

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