C199 Unseal
Yuan Lianyao's body gave a slight shudder.
The question had been gnawing at her as well.
Her father, Yuan Qiufang, had long ago surmised that the young master of the Yu family might have perished long before.
The reborn Yu Yuan was likely a powerful cultivator from the Land of Quiescence who had seized the young master's body with a refined soul.
Later, as she got to know Yu Yuan better, his sophistication and ruthlessness, along with his perspectives on many matters, convinced her that her father's judgment wasn't unfounded.
She also had a nagging suspicion that Yu Yuan might indeed have an unusual soul, just as her father had speculated.
Now, Su Xiangtian from the Su family must have sensed something extraordinary about Yu Yuan, prompting his inquiry.
"To tell you the truth, I don't have an answer," Yuan Lianyao finally said, her smile tinged with bitterness. "All I can say is that while Yu Yuan's methods may seem overbearing, his actions within Asvetaesi haven't been entirely out of line. The fall of the Huang family was due to their own doing, not his."
After a brief pause, she added, "Regarding Lin Hanyu and Lin Zhuyun's ordeal in the Yu family hall, I believe Lin Hanyu brought it upon himself."
"Lin Fengyan is dead, and Lin Hanyu is set to become the new head of the Lin family," Su Xiangtian sighed. "The whereabouts of the Lin family's daughter remain unknown. In the recent conflict at the Moonfall Sanctuary, both the Lin and Van families suffered severe setbacks. The empire's strength has dwindled significantly after this battle, and it will likely face immense pressure when confronting the Crimson Sun Empire."
"Yu Yuan?" Yuan Lianyao glanced at the pool, "What's your plan?"
"I will inform Her Majesty and allow her to make the final decision," Su Xiangtian replied.
"Oh," Yuan Lianyao responded, choosing not to continue the conversation.
Suddenly, the ground of the Soulforge Pool erupted with a boom. The pool, already sunken, was drawn down into the earth at an alarming rate as if pulled by a force from below.
Simultaneously, stray strands of sword's will that had lingered outside burst forth from the fissures in the ground, surging back into the earth.
The sky, long obscured by the great formation, finally cleared.
"Soulforge Pool!"
Su Xiangtian, initially startled, looked down only to find that the enigmatic pond had vanished without a trace after retracting deep into the earth.
The Soulforge Pool was not static. This pond, the heart of the Soulforge Matrix and a repository for Soul Power, could shift to any location beneath the Moonfall Sanctuary.
In the brief moment of his astonishment, the Soulforge Pool that had sunk into the ground was gone, leaving no sign of its existence.
Boom!
The pit, once concave, was now filled and sealed with rubble.
This series of events left Su Xiangtian and Yuan Lianyao completely dumbfounded. Yu Yuan, whom they had just been discussing, had also vanished into thin air.
"Whoosh!"
A massive shadow surged skyward towards the Crimson Sun Empire. Within the shadow's depths, the black and white child—the Soul Splitting Staff's artifact soul—seemed agitated.
Once the shadow pierced through the lingering clouds and reached the extraterrestrial realm, the black and white child finally burst into laughter.
The world is vast, and I am free to soar!
He had officially escaped the Moonfall Sanctuary and the clouds of the Soulforge Matrix, no longer bound by any constraints.
Following him, another figure, resplendent with golden dragon scales, also soared into the sky.
The man with a human head and dragon body was even more cautious. His scales, a complex weave of spiritual energy, vitality, and Soul Power, caused him great discomfort. It hindered his ability to unleash his full magical power, as if he were encased in a cumbersome shell, weary from merely walking.
Yet, this form offered him one advantage: an incredible resilience to attacks.
His concern was that, after years of confinement in the forbidden area, he might still be targeted by the forces of this world and cast down.
He had attempted to leave the Moonfall Sanctuary multiple times in the past, each time feeling its oppressive force.
Having experienced the forbidden area's enigmatic power before, he was well-prepared, but this time, as he ascended towards the heavens, there was no divine retribution or strange power waiting to chastise him.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
His wild and raucous laughter thundered across the sky above the forbidden area, echoing like a clap of thunder.
"I've broken free, fully intact in my soul spirit form. Even without dragon blood or the means to reshape my dragon body, I can still cling to life in this world in another form!"
He was ecstatic, his rough face flushed with a triumphant glow.
"Dragon Lake! Those despicable curs, just you wait for Loong Tianxiao!"
The man known as Loong Tianxiao, with the body of a dragon and a human head, took flight, determined a direction, and set off toward a lake and mountain range within the Crimson Sun Empire.
Below that expanse of sky.
Lee Yuchan, along with Qin Yun of the Midnightshields, were escorting Lee Yu, Yan Lu, Yu Feifei, and other juniors from the Silvermoon Empire. They were nearing the entrance and exit of the forbidden area that bordered the Crimson Sun Empire.
They all halted, gazing up at the sky in bewilderment.
They watched as the black and white clad boy broke free from the grey clutches of the clouds above, piercing through them.
Following him was the man who proclaimed himself Loong Tianxiao, with his human head atop a dragon's body.
"The grand sealing formation was just activated; how has it already ceased to exist?" Yan Lu was dumbfounded, feeling a profound sense of loss as he watched the boy drift away, as if something immensely valuable had forsaken him, parting ways for good.
Having once held the Soul Splitting Staff, he sensed a familiar presence emanating from the boy.
"Head to the Crimson Sun Empire. I have a feeling they won't harbor any ill will towards you," Qin Yun said, his forehead and temples pulsing. "Yu Yuan has charged me with ensuring your safe passage into the Crimson Sun Empire's domain."
A subtle remnant soul, from hundreds of miles away, had already silently infiltrated his Heart Lake.
This remnant soul came from Zhou Cangmin, the state preceptor of the Crimson Sun Empire and the Seed of Wisdom of the Ruby Hand.
Zhou Cangmin's orders were in line with Yu Yuan's.
He was to guide the Silvermoon Empire's youth safely into the Crimson Sun Empire's territory, then immediately divert their path and head straight back to the Silvermoon Empire.
Taking a detour, they would avoid the heartland of the Crimson Sun Empire and make a few stops along the way.
Deep within, Qin Yun wrestled with his thoughts. The Duan brothers had claimed that Zhou Cangmin directed them to ensure that the Empire's cultivators met their end at the Soulforge Pool. And the Duan family was known for practicing the dark arts of the Ruby Hand. This raised a question: was the state preceptor, so favored by the Sunfire Emperor, connected to the Ruby Hand? If there was a connection, could Qin Yun ever truly free himself from the state preceptor's influence?
"Mr. Qin! Yu Yuan once marked you with a remnant soul using the Dawn Arrow," Lee Yuchan interjected. "Can you confirm whether Yu Yuan is still alive?"
Qin Yun paused, then confidently replied, "Of course, he's alive."
"That's a relief," Lee Yuchan nodded in response.
Qin Yun, who had been uncertain, suddenly recalled that all four Dawn Arrows bore Yu Yuan's mark. Piecing together the myriad of oddities surrounding Yu Yuan, he came to a decision.
Almost simultaneously, Zhou Cangmin, in the guise of a white-clad young man's Lunar Spirit, ceased his concealment and descended from the heavens. He landed before Su Xiangtian and Yuan Lianyao.
"My apologies for the interruption. If I may be so bold, where is Yu Yuan of the Silvermoon Empire currently?" Zhou Cangmin inquired with impeccable manners.
