C187 The Concealed Passageway!

"Just die here."

Yu Yuan gazed at the Terra Fiend Fides with a smile.

"Why?" Fides asked, bewildered.

"Terra Fiends are cunning and adept at beguiling hearts. Truly, the reputation is well-earned," Yu Yuan said serenely. "Just like Lord White Walker, you're no different."

"Yu, could you clarify?" Fides pleaded, his face twisted in distress. "I simply wished to leave this realm. Surely, that hasn't impacted you?"

Yuan Lianyao moved closer to Yu Yuan, equally baffled.

She couldn't understand why Yu Yuan had suddenly become hostile during their conversation.

"Lord Fides, I believe you're not just trying to leave this place. You actually intend to allow entities from the extraterrestrial realm to enter here, don't you?" Yu Yuan remarked sharply.

At his words, Fides' expression turned thunderous.

Without further inquiry, his figure, which hovered over the Soulforge Pool, leaped up, aiming to soar into the heavens.

He was unmistakably attempting to flee!

"You won't get away."

Yu Yuan's sneer was icy, his eyes glinting with intensity as he engaged the sword spirit with the heaven soul, targeting Fides.

"Die!"

From the sword scars on the pool's edge, seven sword's wills burst forth!

Each sword's will followed the next, thrusting towards Fides.

The body Fides had projected out of the Soulforge Pool subtly split, creating dozens of his various forms.

Each of the dozens of Fides carried the essence of his soul, none of them illusions.

The seven sword's wills, like streaks of cold lightning, pursued the many Fides.

In a flash, Fides and the seven sword's wills vanished from the vicinity of the Soulforge Pool.

"He can't escape."

Yu Yuan's frown deepened, his voice grave, "Fides deceived me. His desire wasn't to flee the Everlands!"

Yuan Lianyao looked down, observing the waning black Soul Power and the replenishment that followed each strike of the sword's wills. "What's going on?"

"The Soulforge Pool is not only the lynchpin of the Soulforge Matrix but also crucial in suppressing the subterranean passageway!"

Yu Yuan inhaled deeply before explaining, "Beneath the Moonfall Sanctuary lies a spatial passageway, opened by the Star-Spawned Terror in ancient times. The Boulderdawn Sect established the Soulforge Matrix precisely to contain that passageway, preventing the Star-Spawned Terror from invading from the extraterrestrial."

"What?" Yuan Lianyao exclaimed in shock.

"Cultivators from the Land of Quiescence and Euwrea have been guarding the starry expanses of the Everlands year-round, establishing myriad seals to thwart the Star-Spawned Terrors from breaching our defenses and infiltrating the Everlands," Yu Yuan explained, his gaze fixed on the murky heavens. "Occasionally, a few escapees, akin to the Indigo Wraiths, manage to slip through. They are quickly detected and jointly subdued or exterminated."

"However, should this spatial passage be left unchecked, hordes of Sky Fiends will surge through."

"The Star-Spawned Terrors have the ability to consume the three souls of heaven, earth, and man within humans, thereby rapidly augmenting their own strength. If numerous Sky Fiends were to wreak havoc across Aetherius, the predominantly mortal population would face catastrophic devastation."

"The various empires are utterly powerless to stem the tide of Sky Fiends."

"Countless humans will fall prey to the Sky Fiends, their three souls consumed, leading to their demise. These Sky Fiends will swiftly grow in power. By the time the cultivators from Euwrea and the Land of Quiescence arrive, it may already be too late."

"Even the cultivators from those continents can't eradicate all the Sky Fiends globally in such a short span of time."

"The grim outcome we can anticipate is the complete annihilation of Aetherius's mortals, including all manner of sentient Fellbeasts, at the hands of the Sky Fiends."

"The mortals of Aetherius number in the hundreds of millions; they are the bedrock of both Euwrea and the Land of Quiescence. You're probably aware that the more powerful the cultivator, the more challenging it is for them to conceive offspring. As they ascend in their cultivation, the likelihood of having children diminishes even further."

"The major sects from both Euwrea and the Land of Quiescence depend on the mortals of Aetherius to select and nurture their future disciples."

"The extinction of Aetherius's mortals would signify a crippling blow to the future of both Euwrea and the Land of Quiescence," Yu Yuan clarified.

"Is the Terra Fiend Fides, along with that tree monster and the creature with a human head and dragon body, intending to open the spatial channel to let the Sky Fiends pour in?" Yuan Lianyao listened, her skin crawling at the thought.

"I'm not sure if the other alien souls are aware, but Fides certainly knows what's at stake," Yu Yuan said with a cold snort. "If he succeeds in his plan, the Sky Fiends, swarming like locusts, will devastate the entire land of Aetherius."

"What exactly is happening with Boulderdawn?" Yuan Lianyao exclaimed, visibly shaken.

"Boulderdawn created the Soulforge Matrix specifically to suppress the spatial passageway. Yet, within the sect, some have covertly opened the passageway, drawing in parts of the Sky Fiend and extraterrestrial alien souls. Because of the Soulforge Matrix, these entities can't escape, so Boulderdawn's cultivators refine them, using their essence to enhance their own powers."

He gestured towards the alien souls being eradicated by the sword's will, their remnants merging with the sword scars on the wall. "Those were introduced earlier on."

"Some members of Boulderdawn have recklessly opened the spatial passageway in secret, causing great dissatisfaction among the other sects," Yu Yuan explained, sorting through the information he had just gathered. "Additionally, it seems some Boulderdawn disciples have fallen under the sway of the Star-Spawned Terrors, leading to severe rifts with the major sects of the Everlands."

"They've clandestinely released several Sky Fiends, which led to the downfall of Aetherius's once-thriving empires overnight, bringing untold suffering to all living creatures."

"As a result, Boulderdawn has incited widespread fury, prompting the sects to unite and besiege them."

"Many of Boulderdawn's own disciples, who were simply fulfilling their duties, got caught in the crossfire. The conflict escalated into a relentless and bloody standoff, resulting in the deaths of many innocents from Boulderdawn."

"Some Boulderdawn disciples have even fled far into the starry expanse, scattering across the cosmos, some with noble intentions, others not so much."

"To this day, those from Boulderdawn who reside beyond the Star River have split into various factions. Some have allied with the Sky Fiends, intent on returning to the Everlands to reclaim what they've lost. Meanwhile, others have established new enclaves in the outer reaches, continuing to hunt Sky Fiends and pursue their cultivation."

As he spoke, Yu Yuan gazed into the sky, his expression grave.

"The remnants of the Boulderdawn Sect, now allied with the Sky Fiend, have grown so powerful that the various sects of the Everlands are increasingly uneasy. Within the Everlands, many malevolent entities have been seduced by the Boulderdawn Sect and convinced by the Sky Fiend, and they now harbor treacherous intentions."

"Fides must have been swayed by the Boulderdawn remnants and the Sky Fiend to attempt opening that spatial gateway."

"The White Walker and the Indigo Wraith I encountered earlier likely harbored the same intentions."

Yu Yuan was suddenly puzzled.

The entity in the bronze coffin, labeled by the White Walker as the Boulderdawn's greatest sinner, had not tried to open the spatial passage after escaping.

Instead, the White Walker, Indigo Wraith, and the Stormcrowned Emperor were bound and led out of the Moonfall Sanctuary, plunging into the extraterrestrial Star River.

Did he not realize the consequences of opening the spatial gateway?

He, being called the greatest sinner, was clearly more suited for the task than Fides and most likely to succeed. So why did he refrain?

If he was part of the Boulderdawn that had turned to evil and sided with the Sky Fiend, why would he hold back?

Which side was he truly on?

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