C1857 Do Not Return
Inside the Dragon Slaying Stage.
At Qiyan's behest, Yu Yuan once again tapped into the power of the distant Solar Spirit near the Abyssal Gate, enveloping the luminescent dome with a fresh blood-red canopy.
Once Yu Yuan completed the task, the chattering fiend spoke with a grave tone, "I bring a message from Lady Kaiya."
"Wasn't she with Han Qi in the Wraithlands?" Yu Yuan paused, puzzled, "How did you come into contact with her?"
"In Zekrica. I was once confined in an underground cavern there, where a tributary of the Lunar Meridian, refined by Lady Kaiya, overflowed with her essence." As Qiyan spoke of the Soul-Capturing, his demeanor turned exceedingly reverent, his words solemn, "She entrusted me to convey a few words to you."
"Go on!"
"Do not let your Solar Spirit with the complete life sequence return to the Everlands. And no matter what happens, do not allow your Solar Spirit to delve deep underground or cross the Earthfire to make contact... with it."
At this point, Qiyan began to shiver.
A burst of purple flame ignited deep within his devil soul, burning his memories as he spoke.
Yu Yuan's expression turned to one of shock.
Recently, Mo Baichuan had relayed a message from the Earthfire, expressing the need for his Solar Spirit to return in order to resolve the Dark Phoenix's sway over the blood of the Everlands' creatures. His unique Solar Spirit was required to descend and touch the Primal Soul.
Had the Solar Spirit needed to remain at the Abyssal Gate, and had Jihui not yet drawn the Dark Phoenix near, he might have considered sending his Solar Spirit.
Unexpectedly, Qiyan now relayed a message from Soul-Capturing, urgently advising against letting the Solar Spirit descend!
"Lady Kaiya has uncovered something significant in the Wraithlands! She discovered that when the Old Titan Spinosaurus descended into the Everlands, a rare treasure from the Abyss had crossed the Earthfire and reached the Primal Soul. Since that moment, the Primal Soul has been altered, no longer the same as before."
"You..."
Qiyan's voice suddenly took on a tone of deference, laden with a mix of fear and astonishment, leaving him momentarily bewildered.
Yu Yuan could clearly see that his devil soul was forming new memories, while the original ones were being consumed by the dark fire. He was simultaneously recalling certain things and forgetting others.
As Kaiya's messenger, he was subject to her use of an incredibly intricate Spirit Magic to ensure that he could not access the full truth and details. This was to prevent any leakage of information, and more importantly, to ensure that he forgot everything after delivering the message. This was crucial to avoid leaving any traces in his devil soul that could be detected after he left the Dragon Slaying Stage.
"Your so-called Project New Everlands, Kaiya understands its deeper meaning. You were aware of this and thus sought to distance yourself from it," he recounted.
"You failed, and as a result, you perished."
Qiyan hung his head, seemingly shaking, "Lady Kaiya warned to be wary of all the Most High from the Everlands. Anyone who merges with the origin must be approached with caution. It seems that only the Dark Phoenix, following in your footsteps, sensed something amiss and is searching for a way out."
"It may have been corrupted by an entity from the Abyss."
"Lady Kaiya also mentioned that she and Youyu are temporarily trapped. If you wish to find the entrance to the Wraithlands, you'll need to pass through the Starpierced Armor in the Ashlands."
"Once the Starpierced Armor reaches maturity, the constellation pattern on its shell will reveal the entrance to the Wraithlands."
"Furthermore, Lord Bertain is delving into the Abyss in search of answers, determined to understand what has befallen the Primal Soul of the Everlands."
Suddenly, a burst of faint purple flame erupted from the depths of Qiyan's devil soul, extinguishing numerous memory sparkles.
Moments later, he looked around in confusion, then turned to Yu Yuan with a blank stare. "Where am I? Why am I here? Yu Yuan, are you going to seal me again?"
Qiyan had forgotten everything.
Yu Yuan, taken aback by the news Qiyan had delivered, paid no mind to his ramblings.
The Primal Soul that had given rise to the marvels of the Everlands might have been compromised by the Abyss, leaving none who ascended to the Most High through the Origin Soul untouched.
Taishi had left instructions that the new Supreme God should be forged in the New Everlands, not on this ancient soil beneath our feet.
The deepest memories of the dominant soul were self-sealed. Could this be a safeguard against the Primal Soul?
Yu Yuan's thoughts were tangled, overwhelmed by numerous doubts and confusions that he couldn't unravel.
Before receiving the news of Qiyan's demise, he had been preoccupied with the enigmatic Primal Soul, which had undergone a transformation due to the acquisition of an Abyssal Treasure, leading to the creation of the magnificent Everlands civilization.
But now...
"Release me!" Qiyan demanded.
Whoosh!
A dark red cloud enveloped him, whisking the amnesiac fiend away from the Dragon Slaying Stage.
Once free, Qiyan located a familiar underground passage within the Rainbow Ocean and made his way toward the Defiled World.
Within the Shadowflame Blight Array, a grass hut once used for crafting poison pills housed a glowing white stone table, its surface a deep red.
Yu Yuan remained inside, not emerging for a long time.
...
In the Dark Star Domain, on the Primal Blood Continent, Ji Ningshuang, who had reverted to an ice sculpture, had a strand of sword light refining at her brow. With a crisp sound, she broke free from her frozen state.
She rose slowly, massaging her forehead with her slender fingers.
She sensed a shift in the trajectory of stars within her Mindscape, as if a warm and familiar presence was flowing into her from her homeland, through her Supreme God position.
The divine position, resembling a dazzling ice pillar inscribed with the Ice and Star Rules she had contemplated, shone even brighter due to her recent insights into the profound secrets of ice.
Unlike Lin Daoke, she harbored no intentions of forging the ice pillar into a sword. Instead, she contemplated the ice pillar with her spirit.
Suddenly, she felt that the ice pillar, refined with her primordial spirit and essence, was beyond her absolute control.
Whoosh!
The pervasive cold fog rushed toward the ground, no longer encircling Ji Ningshuang.
She looked down at the icy ground with a hint of confusion in her crystalline eyes.
Attempting to connect, she discovered that the extreme coldness guarding the Primal Blood no longer responded to her, leaving her unable to draw additional strength from the intense chill.
She sensed a distinct repulsion.
"How odd, why such a sudden shift in attitude? What could be the cause?"
Unable to find an answer, she lingered underground a bit longer, attempting to commune with the intense cold.
The frigid force that had once been favorable to her now turned icy and unresponsive.
With Yu Yuan's prolonged absence and the sudden rejection from the underground cold, she had no choice but to depart from the Primal Blood Continent.
...
At the Abyssal Gate.
Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit, seated atop the rainbow sea, shimmered like a transparent ruby.
Above him, the Abyssal Leviathan and the Lizard kept a vigilant watch from within the misty waters, though no abyssal creatures stirred below.
The little spinosaurus yawned, having waited for the Origin Gate to reappear, while Jihui arrived with the Dark Phoenix.
In the timeless forbidden area, without sun, moon, or stars, it was impossible to gauge the passage of time.
Suddenly, Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit opened his eyes and, using blood magic at his chest, he forged a Bloody River and submerged a strand of his consciousness within it.
In the Ashlands.
Ann Ziqing, now ascended to a Demon God, stealthily departed from Tyria and made her way above Eiwrone, where she encountered the Untamed.
"In your marsh, all your offspring perished due to the wrath of the Dark Phoenix."
Upon her arrival, Ann Ziqing observed the Ape, who was perched on a stone, absentmindedly puffing on his smoke tube, lost in contemplation of the swirling energy vortices. "The Dark Phoenix's avatar has returned to the Everlands, threatening the lives of its inhabitants to achieve her goal of slaying Loong Jie and Zhong Chichen," she reported, speaking on behalf of Yu Yuan about the events in the Everlands.
Untamed stowed his smoke tube and shifted his gaze from the vortices to Ann Ziqing, his expression tinged with bitterness as he inquired, "Is it Ann I'm speaking with, or is it Yu Yuan?"
"Consider it Yu Yuan," she replied.
"Very well," Untamed nodded, then after a moment's reflection, he added, "The Dark Phoenix is akin to the Solar Meridian in the Everlands. If you can resolve the issue of the Solar Meridian on the Primal Blood Continent, you'll be able to return to the Everlands and free its people from her grasp."
"She's been treating the inhabitants of the Everlands in such a way that it's clear she intends to leave. At this point, her connection to the Everlands' blood source should be severed." The Ape's face was etched with sorrow. "The evilkind of the Marsh have perished, as have my own offspring. I'm hoping you can make a difference."
His gaze was fixed on Yu Yuan, filled with hope and entreaty. "In this world, only your Solar Spirit has the power to sever this bloodline!"
"Do you want my Solar Spirit to go back to the Everlands?"
"That's merely my personal view. I believe it's the only viable solution."
"That's not a given. It could very well be your genuine belief."
