C1968 The Culprit!

In the Wasteland, the mention of Beast Gods sent a ripple of unease through the gathered otherkin warriors. As Yu Yuan uttered those words, their gazes shifted, now tinged with suspicion and wariness.

The very idea that Ferris could be in league with a Beast God from the Otherworld was unthinkable. They had all come together with one purpose: to stand vigilant against the Beast Gods of the Wasteland and to protect the Astral Domain from their incursions. The horrors that had befallen the Aihoyari and Monsa Nebula were fresh in their minds—horrors brought about by the unchecked flood of Beast Gods into their world.

Moreover, the threat was far from over, as surviving Beast Gods still roamed their world.

So when Yu Yuan suggested Ferris might be conspiring with a Beast God, the initial sympathy from the otherkin warriors evaporated, replaced by a newfound hostility.

"What proof do you have?" demanded Ferris, the slender Aberrant Soul, his voice cold as he faced Yu Yuan emerging from the grand hall. "Are you trying to pin a crime on us, just to justify a mob execution?"

"Your very existence is proof enough," Yu Yuan retorted, his gaze piercing as he scrutinized Ferris's chest, as if trying to see through the baggy gray robe to the heart beneath. "You're far too old, older than Harry and Pantley. By all accounts, you should have been dead long ago. The fact that you're still here, before my eyes, is all the evidence I need."

A chorus of mournful wails erupted from within the gray robe, a cacophony of ghostly cries unleashing a wave of strange power that muddled the senses. These were the souls of alien beasts from the Origin Realm, not of the Wraithlands, and even Yu Yuan, as the First Undead Dominator, could not avert his gaze from Ferris's chest.

With a wry smile, Ferris conceded, "So, you're not him after all."

Relief washed over the Aberrant Soul, clearly aware that Yu Yuan's dominant soul had not yet ascended to become a primordial spirit, and he was not the dragon slayer of old.

"You're not nearly as formidable without your former strength," Ferris observed.

While the meaning may have eluded some, Tianqi, who stood in Pantley's defense, recognized that Yu Yuan, despite his prolonged seclusion, had not achieved the coveted status of a primordial spirit.

As soon as Yu Yuan spoke, it became clear that Pantley's "death" was connected to the Dark Phoenix. He mentioned the events involving Ferris and the Wasteland, proving that his time in seclusion had been fruitful.

At the very least, he was beginning to recover his memories.

"Pantley."

Cardo, on the Starborn's land, was taken aback to see her once-familiar sister transformed into an old crone, devoid of her former grace and blocked by Tianqi. She asked in a hushed tone, "He didn't lie, did he? The one who's been hunting you, forcing you to hide all these years, was the Dark Phoenix from the Everlands?"

Through the blood-red barrier conjured by Tianqi, the Oceanfolk elder gazed at Yu Yuan and nodded slowly.

"Then... you shouldn't hold a grudge against him."

Cardo spoke impartially.

"I've never held a grudge against him. Even if I were truly killed by him, I wouldn't bear any resentment."

Pantley, leaning on her wand like a cane, suddenly had a spark of defiance in her eyes as she fixed her gaze on Yu Yuan and declared, "Don't be fooled by my aged appearance. I can regain my youth. Truly! It won't be long before I'm restored to my former self, once again the most beautiful woman in the Star River!"

She spoke to Yu Yuan as if in a trance.

Yu Yuan's brow furrowed.

Inside Pantley's heart, he sensed an extraordinary vitality, as if it were taking root and sprouting, simultaneously sustaining and consuming her life force.

Pantley's advanced age, yet lack of immediate death, seemed to be the result of this peculiar vitality.

Harry, from the Fire Lizard Clan, was in a similar predicament, also harboring this enigmatic life force.

"I don't even know what to say to you."

Cardo sighed softly and, in a blink, stood beside Tianqi, pleading, "Lord Tianqi, she and I have a history. May I take her with me?"

Tianqi turned to Yu Yuan, and upon seeing no objection, he shook his head and replied, "Let's wait a moment."

"Don't stir up trouble here. Let's have a word," Cardo said, reaching out to take Pantley by the hand, intending to lead her away. To Tianqi, she added, "I'll bring her to my place for now, but we won't leave this vicinity."

"Sister, I actually came here to help you."

Pantley, aged and frail, had a gleam of joy in her eyes as she eagerly reached out her hand.

In that moment, both Ferris the Aberrant Soul and Harry of the Fire Lizard clan fixed their gaze on Pantley's outstretched hand, their eyes filled with hopeful anticipation.

Cardo, unsuspecting, moved to take Pantley's hand, intending to lead her away.

*Crack!*

A dazzling bolt of violet-gold lightning struck, severing Pantley's withered, claw-like hand, which then fell to the ground.

As her hand hit the ground, Pantley suddenly realized what had happened. She flailed her arm, now ending in a stump that did not bleed, and screamed, "Who is it? Who did this?"

She felt no pain; her screams and cries were born of frustration that her near success had been thwarted.

"It was me."

Yu Yuan brandished the Dragon Slaying Stage, now transformed into a spiked weapon.

Cardo, with the delicate appearance of a porcelain doll, looked down at the severed hand, heard Pantley's piercing screams, and then turned her gaze to Yu Yuan.

"Brilliant Shield of Light!"

A thin, bright yellow shield of light materialized as Cardo waved her wand, enveloping her petite form in a protective embrace.

She stepped back and crouched down, using her wand to manipulate Pantley's fallen hand from within the safety of the light barrier.

Her cautious demeanor and actions drew astonished looks from all the Otherkin present.

A look of surprise and a flicker of anger crossed Cardo's porcelain-like face as she sensed the wrongness in the air.

"Truly worthy of being the matriarch of the Dawnbringers."

Yu Yuan, his face stern, stepped past Tianqi and approached the now pitiful-looking Pantley, saying impatiently, "Enough with the act. Whatever you were planning, it's never going to succeed now."

"Why?"

Cardo suddenly looked up.

Her wand sizzled as it moved, purifying the multitude of unknown toxins with its radiant power.

Cardo could sense the specific effects of the toxins: the vital energy being consumed, the blood energy being stripped away, the bloodline being contaminated.

Meanwhile, the severed hand on the ground, like some tenacious worm, continued to struggle against the "Brilliant Shield of Light," writhing under the harsh glare of the divine light.

This eerie spectacle sent chills down everyone's spine, jolting them into a sudden awakening.

If Yu Yuan hadn't severed Pantley's hand at the Dragon Slaying Stage, what might have become of Cardo and her?

What harm could Pantley's eerie hand have inflicted upon Cardo?

"Why?"

Cardo gazed at her once-sister, Pantley, who had vanished for tens of thousands of years only to reemerge abruptly. "Why have you done this to me?"

"I meant well. I wanted to... help you attain everlasting life," Pantley asserted with sincerity.

"Everlasting life? Like the life you lead?"

Cardo's expression turned icy.

"Yes, I wish for my sister to live forever."

The woman who was once the most radiant in the Astral Domain spoke earnestly, "We've grasped the essence of immortality. I wish for you to have eternal life too, so that we sisters can be together forever."

Elsewhere.

"Do you desire immortality?"

Ferris, the Aberrant Soul, had arrived in the evilkind's realm. He addressed Rebecca and the other evilkind clanspeople, "Isn't eternal life what you seek with us? Rebecca, I can show you the way to the path of immortality."

Harry of the Fire Lizard clan sat in silence upon a meteor.

"Sir?"

Tianqi, trailing behind Yu Yuan, was perplexed by the unexpected turn of events. Scratching his head, he inquired, "How should we proceed?"

"Set up defenses, then eliminate them all. Leave no survivors."

Yu Yuan issued the command with revulsion, "They've already encountered the Beast God of the Wasteland and have acquired certain items."

He paused for a moment.

"Senior Cardo, had you shaken hands with her just now, she might have regained some of her youth. As for you, I fear you would no longer be able to maintain your current visage," Yu Yuan added.

Cardo instinctively stepped back.

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