C177 Su Xiangtian!
Ann Ziqing, a servant girl within the Colddeath, had been covertly residing in the Yu family for many years. She had selected him because his incomplete heaven soul and earthly soul left him befuddled and lacking in spiritual wisdom. This allowed Ann Ziqing the freedom to move about without fear of discovery. It appeared Ann Ziqing was on a quest for something.
What was she searching for?
Another disciple of the Colddeath had long been preparing to harness the power of Asvetaesi to forge a Lunar Spirit, a matter unrelated to Ann Ziqing. Her brief stay indicated she sought something else under the guise of a purple-clad servant girl and using Ann Ziqing's identity.
The world was undergoing transformation, with various beings emerging from dormancy, among them a mass of blood light. He was the elder brother of the Colddeath's founder and the sect's inaugural elder. Concealed within the Ebon Star sect of Euwrea, he covertly mastered the sect's three great spells and even developed his own extraordinary spell. Even in death, his blood did not perish.
The Colddeath was certainly aware of his astounding legacy. After his suppression by Boulderdawn and his sealing within the Moonfall Sanctuary, the Colddeath likely conducted a clandestine search for him. They must have discovered some trace of him, learning that the blood light, formed from his very essence, had been inadvertently removed from the forbidden area and ended up in Asvetaesi, most likely within the Yu family.
Ann Ziqing was probably seeking him. Should she succeed in finding him and returning him to the Colddeath in the Land of Quiescence, it would be an achievement of epic proportions! This would far surpass merely aiding someone in the condensation of a Lunar Spirit.
Yu Yuan was convinced that the orb of blood light before him was precisely what Ann Ziqing was seeking. Regrettably, despite her many years in Asvetaesi, the anticipated upheaval in the Moonfall Sanctuary never occurred, and the hidden blood light remained undisturbed. Otherwise, it might have already been reclaimed by the Colddeath and enshrined.
"Yu Yuan!"
Yuan Lianyao heard his scream once more, her heart swelling with hope. She stepped across the red lotus blossoms, eager to cross over and clarify the situation.
"Don't!"
A slender, handsome middle-aged man with streaks of white in his hair raised his hand in restraint. "Don't go over there just yet."
Yuan Lianyao glanced at him and said, "Su Xiangtian, your daughter and the Su family members are all among the trial-takers! If Yu Yuan is alive, he's our only chance to understand what's happening!"
"My daughter is very much alive," the composed second-generation leader of the Su family replied, his gaze fixed on the distant sky. "I can sense the aura of the Celestial Plume Raiment even from a thousand miles away."
Su Xiangtian, from a collateral branch of the Su family, had risen so remarkably that he was already designated as the future head of the family.
Before arriving at the forbidden area, he had advanced to the middle period of the Lunar Spirit Stage, standing as the most powerful among his contemporaries and earning the trust of both the Su family patriarch and the empress.
Rumors suggested that the empress saw Su Xiangtian as the only one capable of following in Zhou Cangmin's footsteps.
The Crimson Sun Empire's state preceptor, significantly older than Su Xiangtian and in the late period of the Spirit Walk Stage, was on the brink of transforming his heaven soul into a Solar Spirit, potentially becoming a prominent figure in the Sunlit Order.
Su Xiangtian was a luminary of his generation within the Silvermoon Empire, already at the middle period of the Lunar Spirit Stage.
Once Zhou Cangmin departed Aetherius to become an elder of the Sunlit Order, and Su Xiangtian matured into the Spirit Walk Stage, the Silvermoon Empire could overturn its subjugation by the Crimson Sun Empire.
The empress's high expectations for Su Xiangtian were well understood by the elders.
This was the reason why, despite not being the strongest, the cultivators from the Silvermoon Empire who were sent to the forbidden area were content to follow Su Xiangtian's lead, guided by the subtle hints from the empress.
"Yu Yuan is vital to Asvetaesi and to our Empire!" Yuan Lianyao exclaimed.
She was aware that Su Yin of the Su family had taken the chance to exert pressure on the Yu family, ceasing to purchase spiritual herbs and causing a rift between the Yu and Su families.
Su Xiangtian wouldn't normally concern himself with such minor issues, but Su Yin's underhanded tactics had already led to the Yu family's dissatisfaction with the Su family. Su Xiangtian was bound to have caught wind of some of the discord.
Could this influence Su Xiangtian's perception and behavior towards Yu Yuan?
"The Yu family shares a connection with our Lin family. We must do everything we can to safeguard Yu Yuan," Lin Fengyan of the Lin family stated gravely to Su Xiangtian. "Brother Su, we cannot disregard him simply because his cultivation level is modest."
Lin Fengyan, the elder brother of Lin Hanyu and uncle to Lin Zhuyun, was known for his stable demeanor. He was a tier above Su Xiangtian, with his cultivation only in the early stages of Lunar Spirit.
His younger brother, Lin Hanyu, was at the late stage of Veil Breaking and hadn't yet stepped into the Subtlety realm.
It was evident that Lin Fengyan, having reached the Lunar Spirit level, possessed exceptional talent. In the Empire, the Lunar Spirit was a cultivation level and realm to be proud of.
Yet, compared to Su Xiangtian, the current head of the Lin family, there was still a significant gap.
In the entire Silvermoon Empire, Su Xiangtian was a unique figure who surpassed his peers.
"Rest assured, Brother Lin. Before my arrival, the Empress herself instructed that regardless of their cultivation level or status, anyone from the Empire would be brought back alive with the utmost effort," Su Xiangtian assured him earnestly. He then turned to Yuan Lianyao and said, "I'll assess the situation now."
"Understood," Yuan Lianyao nodded in agreement.
A subtle remnant soul emerged from within Su Xiangtian.
Suddenly, far away, Su Yan's Celestial Plume Raiment stirred without a breeze. Each pristine white feather, like exquisite jade, radiated a holy and crystalline glow.
"My father has arrived!" Su Yan exclaimed with delight.
"Su Xiangtian himself!" Lee Yuchan's icy gaze sparkled with sudden interest upon hearing the news. "Is it truly him?"
Su Yan gave a slight nod. "And what's more, my father has advanced to the middle period of the Lunar Spirit realm."
The young nobles of the Empire gasped in amazement upon learning of Su Xiangtian's latest breakthrough.
While Yu Feifei, Zhao Yafu, and others from Asvetaesi weren't deeply familiar with Su Xiangtian, those like Yan Lu, Lee Yu, and Zhan Tianxiang, who were well-versed in the Empire's affairs, were utterly astounded.
Su Xiangtian's progression to the middle period of the Lunar Spirit realm signified that no peer of his era could overshadow him any longer.
The elder Patriarch of the Su family had already declared that once Su Xiangtian advanced further, he would willingly step down in favor of the younger man.
As a member of the Empire's side branch, becoming the helmsman of the influential Su family, and at such a young age, Su Xiangtian was undoubtedly going to make history.
If Zhou Cangmin was the idol of the Crimson Sun Empire's youth, then Su Xiangtian was the hero to all young people in the Silvermoon Empire!
Even Lee Yuchan, known for her ruthless and bloodthirsty nature, showed a flicker of admiration for Su Xiangtian when she heard of his breakthrough to the middle period of the Lunar Spirit Stage.
"Su Xiangtian of the Su family..."
Inside the Soulforge Pool, Yu Yuan overheard the outside conversation. He watched the azure-robed lad, Fides, with a smile, feeling no fear. He quietly furrowed his brow, concerned that the cultivators from the Silvermoon Empire might not be able to withstand what was coming.
"Yu Yuan!"
Suddenly, Su Xiangtian inhaled deeply, his eyes shining brightly as he exclaimed, "Asvetaesi has produced someone truly remarkable!" He was speaking to Yuan Lianyao.
