C196 Forbidden Area's Gift!

Yu Yuan had made his stance clear: he would not command the sword's will to strike at Ann Jieshan or the figure with a human head and dragon body.

"Why bother?" Yuan Lianyao whispered gently from the sidelines, trying to persuade him.

Yu Yuan was unswayed.

"Very well! Very well!" An elderly woman from the Van family, clutching a golden tome, burst into laughter, which quickly turned to a solemn silence.

She called out silently in her heart as droplets of blood, clear as diamonds, fell onto the golden book. The blood infused the tome, illuminating the ancient script within. The remnant souls of the Van family's learned ancestors, preserved in the ancient scrolls, seemed to stir to life. The book radiated a brilliant light that spanned thousands of miles in an instant!

"Cease this foolishness!" Lee Yuangui, the seasoned general, attempted to intervene upon sensing the brewing trouble.

Su Xiangtian furrowed his brow and sighed deeply, shaking his head at Yu Yuan at the bottom of the pool, as if to reprimand him for his rash behavior.

Several Lunar Spirit experts from various cities and families within the Silvermoon Empire also regarded Yu Yuan with disapproval. They all considered him too presumptuous and lacking in proper decorum.

Wasn't it the young man from the Yu family of Asvetaesi, who had merely reached the Soul Awakening Realm, and by sheer luck, been acknowledged by the true soul of swordsmanship within the Moonfall Sanctuary, thus receiving a tremendous windfall? Shouldn't he be overflowing with gratitude to the Empire? After all, wasn't it the Empress herself who had granted him access to the forbidden area? The Yu family's standing in Asvetaesi, their rise to prominence, wasn't it all under the Empire's protection? As a subject of the Empire, failing to consider its interests, refusing to assist the Empress in eradicating those alien soul archdemons, was indeed his failing!

How could one take the words of an Aberrant Soul at face value? Even if there was truth to them, what of it?

"Eh!" Deep within the pool, after a surge of ink-colored Soul Power, strands of invigorating, cool Soul Power suddenly darted towards Yu Yuan's forehead. This Soul Power was exceptionally refined and pure, capable of benefiting any soul.

Yu Yuan, who had been practicing Soul Forging through Enlightenment, instantly recognized the extraordinary nature of this energy. Through his arm bone and sword spirit, he sensed that this refined Soul Power was a boon from the Soulforge Pool.

It appeared that his efforts in aiding the enigmatic underground space—to concentrate the Soul Power of "To Know All is to Suffer All" and suppress the spatial gateway to the extraterrestrial—were indeed a significant feat.

The spatial passageway had been suppressed for centuries, ensuring peace for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

The Soul Power that had previously surged and activated the Soulforge Matrix was now gathering in greater abundance. After multiple refinements, it served as a reward, integrating seamlessly into Yu Yuan's Mindscape.

Of Yu Yuan's three souls—those of heaven, earth, and man—only his heaven soul could receive this magnificent boon through the technique of Soul Forging through Enlightenment.

"Thank you!"

This thought arose from the depths of his heart.

In a flash, he could distinctly feel the strands of Soul Power from the Soulforge Pool streaming towards his heaven soul.

Simultaneously, invisible sword lights began to emanate from the walls of the Soulforge Pool.

These sword lights penetrated his corporeal body in an instant.

Yu Yuan let out a soft cry as his heaven soul, fortified by the Soul Power, seemed to undergo a significant enhancement in mere moments. It was as if a divine eye had opened, allowing him to glimpse the profound mysteries of his being.

In this state, he seemed to effortlessly step into the realm of Subtlety.

Subtlety!

He could see the sword lights zipping through his flesh, meridians, and bones like flashes of arc light, aiding him in purifying and tempering his body, expanding his meridians, and fortifying his bones.

There was no need for additional practices like Evil Body Refining; under the ancient sword lights' cleansing, his corporeal body was experiencing a transformative rebirth.

"Yu Yuan!"

Yuan Lianyao, standing nearest to him, was the first to sense something extraordinary. Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Yu Yuan, whose soul and body were both undergoing a radical transformation, was so moved that he instinctively grasped her wrist, barely managing to open his eyes, his lips brimming with happiness. "I'm alright!"

His heaven soul was being suffused with Soul Power from the Soulforge Pool, while his body was being purified by the sword lights.

With these dual processes at work, Yu Yuan was confident that he was establishing the most robust foundation possible for his cultivation journey.

Not even the three great upper sects of the Euwrea, nor the Devil Palace or Shadow's Keep of the Land of Quiescence, possessed such power to cleanse and refine their disciples to such an extent, giving them almost divine assistance at the lower levels of their cultivation.

"Up there, up there?"

Yuan Lianyao pointed at the Soulforge Pool and saw a resplendent golden scholar emerge from an ancient golden book, his presence commanding as if he were about to step into the Soulforge Pool.

"I don't care about her."

Yu Yuan responded, unable to even stand. He immediately sat down cross-legged.

As soon as he was seated, he closed his eyes, indifferent to the disputes of the outside world.

Through the sword spirit and its imparted thoughts, he had learned that this realm, shrouded by the Soulforge Matrix, would soon succumb to silence.

When that time came, the Soulforge Pool would sink into the unseen depths of the earth.

The seal of the Soulforge Matrix would be lifted, and Soul Power would converge in the Soulforge Pool, sustaining its normal function.

The sword spirit that had merged with him would depart before long.

The sword light etched into his arm bone held the mysteries of swordsmanship. Only after advancing to the realms of Subtlety and Lunar Spirit would he be able to delve into these mysteries with his spiritual sense and remnant soul.

The Soul Power he had gained from the heaven soul and the tempering of his corporeal body was thanks to the sword spirit, the Soulforge Pool, and the sword scars on the pool's walls.

He was grateful to the sword spirit for slaying Moonfiends and numerous alien souls with malevolent intentions, aiding in the enrichment of the Soulforge Pool with Soul Power.

He intended to fully embrace this final blessing, as it would be a crucial factor in determining whether he could ascend to the pinnacle of existence in the Everlands.

"You're playing with fire."

A chilling voice echoed from a fissure in the earth, far from the Soulforge Pool.

The artifact soul of the Soul Splitting Staff, a child figure with a black-and-white visage, floated amidst a dark green phantom, casting a cold gaze upon Van Hen. "If Yu Yuan harbors any malevolent intentions, it won't just be you who suffers."

He then swept his gaze over Su Xiangtian and Lee Yuangui, "None of you will leave this place alive."

As his voice dissipated, from deep within the earth's fissures, Aberrant Souls with blue-black scales under their arms were drawn out and thrust into his chest.

Despite being deeply concealed, he managed to extract these Aberrant Souls.

Regardless of their wails, they were gradually assimilated into the body of the child.

The child's organs swelled as if sharp teeth were gnawing from within. In no time, he had completely digested the Aberrant Soul.

"The Soulforge Matrix will vanish once more, but should you attempt to harm Yu Yuan during this time, you're signing your own death warrant. Consider yourself warned," the child said before drifting away.

He was heading towards the Crimson Sun Empire.

The man with the human head and dragon body folded his arms in the sky, looking down at Van Hen with amusement, as if urging her to make her move.

"Pfft!"

The body, once possessed by Ann Jieshan and belonging to a cultivator of the Silvermoon Empire, exploded suddenly.

Ann Jieshan reformed into a blood shadow.

The blood shadow darted about, seizing the more formidable Aberrant Souls that had been under the control of the Terra Fiend, Fides, from seemingly out of nowhere.

The remaining Aberrant Souls were both fierce and sly, many possessing exceptional spiritual wisdom.

Their ability to evade the sword's will and avoid being vanquished spoke volumes of their strength.

These Aberrant Souls, lurking at a distance, could never have anticipated that Ann Jieshan, one of their own kind, would suddenly forsake his corporeal form to hunt them as a mere soul and blood.

Those spared by the sword's will met a grim end.

Lee Yuangui and Su Xiangtian exchanged glances.

"Refining these leaderless Aberrant Souls could be a stroke of luck," Lee Yuangui decided in an instant, resolved to act just like Ann Jieshan and target the distant Aberrant Souls.

He had, after all, noticed Duan Tianhong doing the same from afar.

Su Xiangtian, perched on the edge of the pool, was indecisive, unsure of his next move.

Van Hen, meanwhile, was fervently using the Lunar Spirit to summon the Yu family ancestor, urging him towards the bottom of the pool.

"No!"

Su Xiangtian cried out in alarm once more, fearing Van Hen's impulsive actions might trigger a domino effect.

But Van Hen ignored his pleas.

...

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