C181 Fides Fell into the Pond!

The mayor of Asvetaesi fell into Yu Yuan's grasp, buoyed by the vibrant red lotuses.

Embracing Yuan Lianyao's ample waist and inhaling the heady fragrance emanating from her, Yu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully bowed to the blood shadow.

"Thank you, Mr. Xie!"

Upon uttering these words, he glanced down and noticed the mayor's pallid face, now unexpectedly tinged with a flush of embarrassment.

"Sister Mayor, are you okay?" he inquired gently.

Yuan Lianyao, overwhelmed with shock and bewilderment, clung to the comforting warmth of his hand around her waist, her mind in turmoil. "Put me down first!" she demanded.

The frustration of being wounded by her own weapon, her shoulder bleeding profusely, was unbearable for Yuan Lianyao.

She couldn't fathom why the lotuses, nurtured daily with her vitality, had fallen under the control of the blood shadow.

She was utterly ignorant of the Colddeath, the Blood and Shadow Mantra, and the Divine Cult.

One thing was clear to her: if the blood shadow truly wished her dead...

She would have been long gone.

She was scarcely aware of Yu Yuan's heroic deeds in the Moonfall Sanctuary, nor did she know that Yu Yuan, recognized by the Soulforge Matrix and harboring an ancient sword spirit, was an extraordinary anomaly in this realm.

She had assumed...

She had assumed that Yu Yuan's ascent from the Soulforge Pool was merely a facade, that he had no real intention of succumbing to Fides's control, regardless of her actions.

But now, Yu Yuan had managed to sway the blood shadow with just a few words!

The blood shadow had defected in the midst of battle, no longer heeding Fides, and had handed her life over to Yu Yuan as a grand gesture.

What exactly was happening?

Yuan Lianyao was at a loss.

Su Xiangtian, the other cultivators of the Silvermoon Empire, and Duan Tianxi and Qin Yun were equally perplexed.

Fides, too, gazed at the blood shadow in astonishment, querying with his Soul Echo, "Why?"

The blood shadow, a fusion of Ann Jieshan's blood from the Colddeath and a residual soul, shaped by the Ebon Star's mystique, shifted its inner blood light.

Fides immediately understood.

His expression a mix of incredulity and amusement, he exclaimed, "You actually trust him? Can a mere Soul Awakening novice, even with the sword spirit's endorsement and control over the Soulforge Matrix, truly make a difference? Do you honestly believe he can accomplish what I could not?"

"Alas, with your soul incomplete and your wisdom clouded, it's no wonder you can't see that you should be standing over there."

Fides was utterly disappointed with the blood shadow.

Yet, the blood shadow remained impassive.

Yu Yuan, cradling Yuan Lianyao, kept his other hand extended toward Fides. After flashing a radiant smile, he swiftly descended to the bottom of the Soulforge Pool.

The vibrant red lotuses, like glowing lanterns, gently pulled them both along.

As they touched down, Yuan Lianyao's eyebrows quivered, and a hint of color returned to her lips.

Refined and potent vitality flowed from the red lotuses into her middle elixir field.

Within the Profound Gate, the thick vitality radiated a powerful life force, swiftly revitalizing her organs. Even the wound on her shoulder healed unnoticed.

This pure vitality originated from her; it was the essence she had refined in her earlier years to purify the lotuses.

Now, as if sensing her injuries, the lotuses seemed to reciprocate with a life of their own.

"Sister Mayor, are you feeling much better now?"

Yu Yuan asked with a gentle smile, slowly assisting her to a seated position. "The Blood and Shadow Mantra of the Colddeath is extraordinarily enigmatic and wondrous. If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Xie is lurking somewhere in Asvetaesi, likely within the Yu family. He's a master of the Blood and Shadow Mantra, and he must have subtly embedded the bloodmark into your artifact."

"Using the Blood and Shadow Mantra, he could clandestinely influence your artifact with the bloodmark, controlling the vitality you infused into it."

"However, I'm convinced that Mr. Xie has ceased his manipulations and has dispersed his residual bloodmark. Consequently, the bloodmark has transformed into pure vitality essence, untainted by any other thoughts."

"You might want to try refining it."

Yu Yuan suggested.

Upon hearing his guidance, Yuan Lianyao, a cultivator of considerable prowess, had a sudden epiphany.

She promptly settled into a meditative posture at the bottom of the pool, where dark Soul Power swirled, and began to use her mystique to attune to the flow of vitality within the Profound Gate.

Her eyes sparkled with astonishment as she gazed at Yu Yuan. His description was spot-on; there indeed was an unfamiliar essence of vitality, ownerless and pure, mingling with her own coursing vitality.

"This is quite a stroke of luck," Yu Yuan said with a nod, then gestured a hand of thanks toward the blood shadow at the edge of the Soulforge Pool.

The blood shadow remained unresponsive.

Fides, the Terra Fiend, wore a look of displeasure as he coldly regarded the blood shadow.

Yet, Fides was well aware that the blood shadow was no easy adversary.

Despite the blood shadow's failure to obey his command to detain Yuan Lianyao, which would have allowed him to leverage Yu Yuan, he was not inclined to provoke a confrontation at this juncture.

"The Stormcrowned Emperor, along with the bronze coffin, has fled the Everlands and ventured into the extraterrestrial Star River."

Upon returning to the bottom of the Soulforge Pool and finding Yuan Lianyao unharmed, Yu Yuan looked up at Fides and revealed a fact, "As for you, if you wish to restore your soul and reclaim your lost memories, you should follow the path of the bronze coffin into the extraterrestrial realm."

Fides was taken aback, "Are you serious?"

"There's no reason to deceive you," Yu Yuan said with a shrug.

"So, the Stormcrowned Emperor has also fled to the extraterrestrial. In that case..." Fides mused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Did Master White Walker and the Sky Fiend Indigo Wraith also make their escape?"

After a brief pause, Yu Yuan clarified, "To put it precisely, White Walker, Indigo Wraith, and the Stormcrowned Emperor were all captured by the entity within the bronze coffin and were reluctantly taken along with him to the extraterrestrial."

"Even so, it might not be such an unfortunate turn of events," Fides remarked with a hint of wistfulness. "Remaining in this forbidden area, one still cannot elude the destiny of suppression. And in the Everlands, given their past actions, how could they find contentment? Should the news of their escape spread, the forces from the Land of Quiescence and Euwrea will surely not rest until they've had their retribution."

The words from Yu Yuan seemed to resonate with both the tree monster and the blood light.

"Boom!"

Out of nowhere, the imposing figure with a human head and dragon body returned from the distance.

Bathed in a golden glow, his soul's dragon form undulated with majestic grace.

He appeared to be in high spirits and, upon his arrival, heartily laughed and addressed Fides, "I am the one who has perished here, but the legacy of my insights will now have a successor."

As he spoke, a striking figure trailed behind him.

It was none other than Zhao Yafu.

"Brother Yu."

Zhao Yafu called out, approaching Qin Yun's side. She cast wary glances at Duan Guanlan and Duan Tianxi, evidently apprehensive.

Before departing, the Duan brothers had been on a killing spree, and she was still uncertain of the current situation.

"That girl is one of mine. Fides, make sure not to harm her," said the large man with a human head and dragon body, chuckling warmly. "Don't be scared, little girl. I'm right here."

It was clear that he held great affection for Zhao Yafu.

From within the Soulforge Pool, Yu Yuan's attention shifted from the Terra Fiend Fides to Zhao Yafu, and he smiled. "Your fortune is unmatched. The Moonfall Sanctuary has indeed been a treasure trove for you."

In his view, Zhao Yafu had already reached the peak of the late Golden Sanctum stage.

It seemed that any moment now, this young lady, who had only recently ascended to the Golden Sanctum, would leap into the Veil Breaking realm.

Zhao Yafu was significantly younger than Lee Yu, Yan Lu, Lin Zhuyun, and their peers.

Should she advance further, she might become the youngest Veil Breaking practitioner in the history of the Silvermoon Empire.

Her progress could potentially rewrite the annals of the Silvermoon Empire's Veil Breaking history.

Consequently, her standing and the attention she received within the empire would undergo a dramatic transformation.

The Zhao family from Asvetaesi might even surpass the Yuan family, becoming the preeminent clan in the future.

"Yu, I'll come down myself. Don't be reckless," she warned.

After a long hesitation, Fides made a tough decision. Like a shadowy wisp, he drifted towards the Soulforge Pool.

Yu Yuan braced himself for battle, the sword light within his arm bone blazing, firmly fixed on Fides.

Fides came to a halt three meters above the bottom of the Soulforge Pool and called out to those above, "Clear the area of any bystanders."

The tree monster, the man with the human head and dragon body, the blood shadow, and the myriad alien souls and goasts suddenly launched an assault on everyone present.

Except for Zhao Yafu, the visitors from both the Crimson Sun Empire and the Silvermoon Empire were their intended targets.

Yu Yuan had long anticipated this fierce and bloody conflict, which now erupted in an instant.

"..."