C179 He Was Restrained!
Yu Yuan stood at the bottom of the Soulforge Pool, his face brimming with smiles. The Terra Fiend Fides, the tree monster, and the first-generation Elder of the Colddeath, now a sphere of blood light, all kept their distance.
As Fides issued his challenge, the ancient sword's will that burst forth from the earth's fissures and the thunderous roar from the clouds were keenly felt by them. They dared not make any hasty moves.
Yu Yuan's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of bitterness stirred within him. He alone knew that the Soulforge Matrix, crafted by the Boulderdawn, had not been fully activated. The Soulforge Pool required an influx of more Soul Power.
From a distance, he pointed at Fides, his sword's will emanating fiercely. The thunder from the depths of the sky was nothing more than a show of force. Until the matrix was completely formed, the power of the restrictions was inherently limited and unsustainable. The previous strike against Duan Tianxi had already depleted a significant amount of Soul Power.
Using the same tactic to punish Terra Fiend Fides might exhaust the silently consumed Soul Power before Fides was eradicated. In such a case, the Soulforge Matrix would naturally lose its operational capacity.
"It's not enough, still not enough," Yu Yuan mused, yearning for a fierce and bloody battle to erupt outside the Soulforge Pool. He anticipated the demise of more alien souls and Lunar Spirits like Duan Tianxi and Duan Tianhong. Only then would the sword scars on the walls of the Soulforge Pool be filled with additional Soul Power.
Terra Fiend Fides remained still, as did the tree monster and the sphere of blood light, neither launching an immediate attack. He gazed upwards, observing the dense swarms of alien souls converging around, seemingly awaiting Fides' command.
With each breath, more alien souls arrived in clusters, swiftly converging on the area. The sky above the Soulforge Pool gradually teemed with countless alien souls and Aberrant Souls, like a plague of locusts.
"If..." Yu Yuan contemplated. Should all these alien souls and powerful beings like Fides perish swiftly, the Soulforge Pool beneath him would surely gain an abundance of Soul Power. Then, the Soulforge Matrix would spring into action once more.
"I need to devise a strategy that forces them into a bloody battle without implicating myself," he mused.
...
"Duan Tianxi!"
Su Xiangtian called out with a commanding shout.
At the edge of the Soulforge Pool, Duan Tianxi, exchanging glances with Fides and the others across the void, slightly trembled and responded, "Present!"
Flanking Duan Tianxi were Duan Guanlan and Qin Yun. Qin Yun was poised for combat, while Duan Guanlan's complexion was ashen, his will to fight utterly extinguished.
The destruction of the Cursemark by Yu Yuan had struck a devastating blow to his spirit, leaving him unable to rally.
Deprived of the Cursemark, Duan Tianxi, despite his Veil Breaking prowess, seemed pitifully inadequate in the face of the formidable alien soul archdemons.
Whenever Fides cast a glance his way, he would shudder with dread, fearing that his soul might be scattered to the winds in the next instant.
"Does the Crimson Sun Empire have any more representatives to send?" Su Xiangtian bellowed.
Between him and Duan Tianxi stood the Terra Fiend Fides and the Soulforge Pool.
Through conversations with his daughter Su Yan, Su Xiangtian had learned that the Crimson Sun Empire's cultivators had been ambushed and slain by the Duan brothers, who had deep ties to the Ruby Hand.
Su Xiangtian was perplexed, struggling to understand the role of the Duan family in the Crimson Sun Empire and their agenda in this venture into the forbidden area.
He was also uncertain whether there might be cultivators from the Crimson Sun Empire lurking in the shadows, waiting for Fides and the alien soul archdemons to weaken each other before swooping in to seize the advantage.
"No more," Duan Tianxi admitted with a bitter smile, pausing before adding, "Our journey has met with an unexpected complication."
As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Yu Yuan at the Soulforge Pool.
Yu Yuan, feeling his stare, looked up and returned the gaze with a knowing smile.
A chill settled in Duan Tianxi's heart, and he found himself unable to voice his remaining thoughts.
For some inexplicable reason, Yu Yuan's gaze, despite his lower cultivation level, seemed profoundly incisive at that moment, as if a sagacious elder had pierced through to his very soul, leaving him with a sense of inescapable frustration.
"Nothing but a bunch of jesters."
Suddenly, the azure-robed lad, Fides, seemed to come to a decision and flashed a radiant smile. He gave a slight nod to the orb of blood light beside him. Yuan Lianyao, trailing behind with her red lotuses, abruptly paled as a mouthful of blood burst forth. The bright red lotuses appeared as if they had been daubed with blood, becoming more demonic and bloodstained, emitting a pungent, overpowering odor.
The blooming red lotuses cast a sinister glow that weighed heavily on the hearts of Su Xiangtian and the other visitors from the Silvermoon Empire, causing their expressions to shift dramatically. The middle elixir field within everyone, where vitality converged, roiled tumultuously. The thick blood coursing through their veins suddenly spiraled out of control!
"The mystique of the Colddeath!" Su Xiangtian exclaimed, his face draining of color as he stared at the demonic red lotuses that were once under Yuan Lianyao's command.
With a whoosh, the demonic red lotuses bound Yuan Lianyao, yanking her alluring form toward the orb of blood light. The orb twisted and swayed, transforming into a scarlet blood shadow. The blood shadow seemed to extend a hand, pointing above the Soulforge Pool.
Yuan Lianyao's enticing figure was levitated above the Soulforge Pool, suspended mid-air where Yu Yuan could see her, all by the pull of the red lotuses. "Hiss, hiss!" Within the demonic red lotuses, beams of straight blood light, sharp as spears and swords, pressed against Yuan Lianyao's ample chest, her white, slender neck, and the smooth, jade-like forehead at her mud pellet acupoint. It seemed that with just a few more inches, Yuan Lianyao would meet her demise.
The esteemed mayor of Asvetaesi, renowned alongside Lee Yuchan, was now helplessly bound by the Void Lock. The blood shadow stood by the Soulforge Pool, faceless and silent. Fides, the Terra Fiend, simply nodded and said, "Thank you." The blood shadow remained still, merely manipulating the enchanting red lotuses, infusing them with its power, ready to execute Yuan Lianyao at a moment's notice.
"Ms. Yuan!"
"Yuan Lianyao!"
Only at that moment did the visitors from the Silvermoon Empire grasp the gravity of the situation.
Su Xiangtian, in the middle stage of the Lunar Spirit realm, had fury etched across his striking features.
Right before his eyes, amidst the Silvermoon Empire's cultivators, Yuan Lianyao of Asvetaesi was shockingly seized and suspended above the Soulforge Pool by a blood shadow.
Such an indignity!
"My apologies, Yu."
The Terra Fiend, Fides, resurfaced, finally daring to peer down at Yu Yuan at the bottom of the pool. "Having a proper conversation with you is quite the challenge. So, I'll refrain from descending; I'll ask that you come up instead."
With a sharp sound, a jet of blood light pierced Yuan Lianyao's left shoulder, sending blood spraying.
Constrained by the red lotuses and menaced by the spiritual energy, Yuan Lianyao's face was a mask of bitterness. She could never have imagined that her life would one day be used as leverage.
Her life was merely a bargaining chip for a conversation with Yu Yuan.
