C192 Fighting with Hostility

The sword's will etched into the pond's wall, starved for Soul Power, indiscriminately suppressed the spatial passageway to ensure an ample supply. It targeted everyone: alien souls and human cultivators alike.

Should the passageway open, allowing countless Sky Fiend creatures to flood in, the aftermath would be catastrophic.

However, once sufficient Soul Power was channeled into the four ancient black characters of the mantra "To Know All is to Suffer All," the space channel to the extraterrestrial could be secured, preventing activation. The sword's will then became selective in its targets.

It struck first at the tree monster, the Wraith Ape, and the man with the human head and dragon body.

To the sword's will, neither the tree monster nor the Wraith Ape were human; they were alien.

Many aliens were already suppressed within the Moonfall Sanctuary, bred as prey by the Boulderdawn.

For these aliens, the sword's will inscribed on the pond's wall prioritized their destruction.

The human cultivators of the Silvermoon Empire, who obeyed Su Xiangtian, were spared only when there was an abundance of Soul Power.

Su Xiangtian and his group approached the Soulforge Pool with great caution, not daring to be reckless.

But once they noticed that the sword's will was only striking at alien souls and Aberrant Souls, even as it came close to them, they were reassured and avoided it.

Soon, a group of seven reunited at the Soulforge Pool, all Lunar Spirit cultivators.

"Young lady."

The venerable General Lee Yuangui approached Zhao Yafu, his eyes gleaming with an arresting light, "You're from Asvetaesi, aren't you?"

Zhao Yafu nodded vigorously, replying eagerly, "It's an honor to meet you, Grandfather Lee."

"Then..."

Lee Yuangui's gaze landed on the man with the human head and dragon body, who was besieged by the sword's will and the piercing sword light. "What's your connection to him?"

At this, Su Xiangtian and the other Lunar Spirit powerhouses turned their attention to the scene.

Zhao Yafu's face was a picture of distress as she stuttered, "He... he has helped me."

"Are you Yu Yuan?"

A frail old woman, clad in a drab, greyish-brown robe, peered down into the pond with a venomous stare. "My family member, Van Le of the Van family, perished at the entrance to the forbidden area! Before his death, Van Le shattered a Soul Note, sending a final message back to our family."

Yuan Lianyao was taken aback. "Senior Van Hen, what are you talking about?"

Yu Yuan frowned and raised his voice, "What do you mean?"

The remaining seven cultivators from the Silvermoon Empire had convened above the Soulforge Pool. They refrained from rash actions.

They were still unclear about the current situation.

Lin Fengyan, one of their own, had perished, and several of his companions had fallen to the sword's will.

Despite the sword's will no longer showing any hostility, they dared not approach the Soulforge Pool at this juncture.

They were all eager to understand what exactly had transpired.

Van Hen's revelation that Van Le had transmitted a Soul Note before his death sparked their curiosity.

Su Xiangtian paused, then remarked, "You've never mentioned this before."

Pain etched Van Hen's brow. "Van Le was the pride of the Van family and one of the Empire's five luminaries. His death dealt a severe blow to us. His final Soul Note warned that Yu Yuan of Asvetaesi exhibited suspicious behavior in the Moonfall Sanctuary and that there were many inconsistencies about him."

All eyes instinctively turned to Yu Yuan.

Su Xiangtian remained silent. He observed Ann Jieshan, now in a flesh-and-blood form, and the warrior with the human head and dragon body, currently bound by the sword's will, and said, "Terra Fiend Fides, the tree monster, and the Wraith Ape were all slain by the sword's will on the pool's wall. Before I arrived, I heard from Zhao Yafu that she hoped for your mercy?"

Su Xiangtian cast a glance at the human-headed, dragon-bodied warrior.

"I've spoken with Su Yan, and she too has mentioned that you have the ability to wield the powers of the Moonfall Sanctuary," Su Xiangtian said, his face a picture of bewilderment. "You've slain many Moonfiends. This suggests that you're in harmony with this realm and capable of harnessing its forces. It seems likely."

Yuan Lianyao's heart raced with trepidation.

Su Xiangtian's words pointed to the very issue that troubled her the most.

Van Hen, taken aback, cried out sharply, "So, can you also manipulate the sword's will on the pool's wall? This elder from Colddeath, why has he not perished? And what about him?"

Van Hen gestured towards the figure with a human head and a dragon's body, adding, "He's still alive!"

"Yet, the current head of the Lin family within our empire was slain by the sword's will, his soul utterly destroyed!" Van Hen's voice rose with emotion. "Yu Yuan, can you honestly claim that you have no connection to those who have perished in the empire?"

"No," Yu Yuan replied, shaking his head.

"Yu Yuan, if only you could exert a bit more control over the sword's will," Su Xiangtian squinted, his gaze shifting between the human-headed dragon and Ann Jieshan, who had taken on a corporeal form, "they are all alien souls, once the most savage beings within the empire, and they inherently belong to the forbidden area. You..."

"What about it?" Yu Yuan interjected.

"Use the sword's will to cleanse them," Su Xiangtian said earnestly. "Little Yan has reached out to me, asking for a personal discussion with you. The friction between the Su and Yu families is a minor issue. Rest assured, upon our return to the Empire, I'll have Su Yin visit your Yu family to offer your grandfather an apology."

"Su Xiangtian!" Van Hen exclaimed sharply.

Su Xiangtian gestured for her to calm down, "I'm aware that Van Le was a prodigy of the Empire, but he's gone now. Not just him, many of our Empire's brightest, as well as those who joined us, have suffered grievous losses."

"Our nation is in a state of profound vulnerability; we must take action."

Lee Yuangui silently nodded in agreement.

In this pivotal moment, Su Xiangtian remained remarkably composed, not inclined to delve deeper into whether Lin Fengyan's death was connected to Yu Yuan.

His priority was to swiftly eliminate the alien souls unrelated to the Empire.

By doing so, he could verify whether Yu Yuan truly had the ability to control the rune circle of Moonfall Sanctuary, as Zhao Yafu and Su Yan had suggested.

Once this was ascertained, he would consider his next move.

"Van Hen, let's not dwell on the loss of Van Le from your family for the moment," the veteran general spoke softly before continuing, "Lin Fengyan's demise was sudden, and in my view, it's unrelated to Yu Yuan."

Upon seeing that both Su Xiangtian and Yu Yuan had stepped forward to defend Yu Yuan, Van Hen gave a muffled snort and wisely chose to remain silent.

"Those who are not of our kind will surely have different intentions," Lee Yuangui said with gravity to Yu Yuan. "If you truly can harness those sword's wills, it would be best to deal with those unrelated alien souls sooner rather than later."

The sword's wills pressed against the back and the back of the head of the human head dragon body figure, yet they did not penetrate, which spoke volumes.

The mere fact that Ann Jieshan was still alive served as undeniable evidence. After all, Ann Jieshan had switched sides during battle, delivering Yuan Lianyao, who had been captured alive, directly into Yu Yuan's hands as an early gesture of goodwill.

"To be completely honest," Yu Yuan began, bowing respectfully at the bottom of the pool towards the old general who had previously encountered Su Xiangtian and another old general from the forbidden area, "I can indeed exert some influence over those sword's wills."

Lee Yuangui and Su Xiangtian showed signs of relief and satisfaction, feeling that their protege was teachable and that their efforts to defend him had not been in vain.

"However, I will not allow the sword's wills to slay either of them," Yu Yuan added.

​