C201 Rebirth
The moon was suspended high in the sky, casting a brilliant glow, while the stars twinkled vividly.
Within the depths of the Moonfall Sanctuary, the divine force remained turbulent and wild, yet the region was devoid of any alien souls or Aberrant Souls, with no anomalies in sight.
Visitors from the Crimson Sun Empire and the Silvermoon Empire had long since departed.
Beneath the moonlight, a solitary figure stood.
The rift that had been torn asunder was now slowly healing over.
The earth lay smooth once more.
Gazing up at the star-studded sky and the cool crescent moon, he whispered to himself, "It's been some time."
He gently clenched his fists.
"Crack!"
Strands of spiritual energy danced around his fingertips like streaks of lightning.
With a change in the spell, the frenzied divine force around him surged forward.
"Hu! Hu!"
A semi-circular vortex centered around him formed rapidly.
The violent and disordered spiritual energy swirled around, the outer layers mingling with various negative energies, toxins, and a haze of gray-brown impurities.
Within the vortex, the spiritual energy underwent purification, becoming exceptionally pure.
He inhaled deeply, like a whale drawing in water, and watched as the pristine spiritual energy flowed into his body like a babbling brook.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, his bones emitted a crisp sound.
His arms glowed with a jade-like radiance, filled with a powerful, lustrous energy.
"Evil Body Refining Technique!"
His consciousness shifted, and he could almost see the pure divine force, like a nourishing dew, revitalizing his meridians, bones, internal organs, and flesh.
His whole body was suffused with comfort, akin to being immersed in a warm spring and cleansed by a medicinal elixir.
"Late period of the Soul Awakening Realm!"
Nine points of light, each as intense as a miniature sun, shone within the lower elixir field of his abdomen, perceptible only to his own senses.
"Nine Glories Wheel!"
The nine small suns orbited the Golden Sanctum of the lower elixir field, swaying continuously like a mysterious meteor belt deep within a celestial river, encircling a massive star.
The dazzling, colorful ribbon of meteor light drew in the pure spiritual energy, seeking to burst through the Golden Sanctum acupoint and carve open a path to another vast expanse.
A sharp pain erupted suddenly from the Golden Sanctum within the lower elixir field.
Yu Yuan let out a muffled groan, feeling a sharp, swelling pain in his lower elixir field. Involuntarily, he gasped in a cold breath and was forced to halt his practice.
His thoughts ceased, and the swirling vortex of spiritual energy surrounding him instantly dissipated. The spiritual energy scattered in all directions.
"I'm just one step shy of reaching the Golden Sanctum," he murmured, eyes narrowed as he gazed ahead. "I'm not sure if it's due to my physique or something else, but it seems particularly challenging to break through my lower elixir field and acupoint."
Within the Soulforge Pool, the world's array had thoroughly cleansed him. Yu Yuan, at the Soul Awakening level, had experienced a radical transformation.
For him, two months was quite a lengthy period. With the rapid growth of his heaven soul, there were moments when his consciousness was as perceptive as the spiritual sense in the Subtlety state, allowing him to discern the minutest details.
He could see his bones, gleaming like jade beneath the skin, incredibly sturdy. His tendons were exceptionally resilient, his meridians broad, and the flow of spiritual energy through them was swift as a river of light.
After this time of rigorous refinement, he was confident that in a battle against Zhan Tianxiang, he could rely on the sheer strength of his physical body to cause him considerable distress.
Zhan Tianxiang had ascended to the Veil Breaking Realm and, with the Golden Elephant God's dark arts, was a formidable opponent in that state. Yet, even with a Golden Sanctum between them, Yu Yuan felt a strong sense of confidence.
His practice of Evil Body Refining, coupled with the volatile spiritual energy and the purifying effects of the Soulforge Pool, had likely made him the strongest among his peers in the Soul Awakening Realm.
He even believed that across the Land of Quiescence or Euwrea, no other cultivator at the Soul Awakening level could surpass him in physical prowess.
"Regrettably, the sword spirit has returned to the elements of this world," he reflected with a hint of sorrow. The sword light in his arm bone no longer carried any trace of remnant soul or consciousness; the sword spirit that had once merged with him had seeped back into the walls of the Soulforge Pool.
Yet, the remnants of sword light persisted in his arm bone. With the ongoing refinement of his heaven soul and the strengthening of his consciousness, Yu Yuan was becoming acutely aware of the sword light's extraordinary nature.
As Yu Yuan's heaven soul focused his consciousness into the sword light, he discovered numerous sword scars and manifestations of sword's will within it.
This was the essence of a sword spell!
The sword light, akin to sword scars etched upon the Soulforge Pool's walls, represented a form of swordsmanship that was terrifyingly powerful.
Yu Yuan surmised that this swordsmanship belonged to the master of the sword spirit.
This same individual had left the sword scars on the Soulforge Pool's walls and had wielded the Moon Slayer technique in the starry expanse beyond our world.
That person had long since vanished, along with their sword.
Only the sword spell remained, etched into the pool's walls, while a smaller portion of the sword light, a miniature of the sword spell, was branded onto the arm bone of his arm.
Regrettably, despite his refined heaven soul, since he had not fully entered the realm of Subtlety nor had he aligned with the Lunar Spirit, he was unable to decipher the profound mysteries of the sword spell.
Consequently, he could not pursue its cultivation.
"I wonder what has become of the outside world."
Yu Yuan stood in solitude, lost in thought for an extended period. He deliberated whether to first return to the Silvermoon Empire or visit the neighboring Crimson Sun Empire.
As he pondered, his heaven soul, strengthened by the nourishment of the Soulforge Pool, mysteriously began to resonate.
From the direction of the Crimson Sun Empire, four faint consciousnesses, small as grains of rice, called out to him across the distance.
"Dawn Arrow, Qin Yun!"
He immediately realized that the intent he had infused into the Dawn Arrow, which had forcefully captured Qin Yun's mind, was emanating from the Crimson Sun Empire, not too far from his current location.
Qin Yun, from the Midnightshields, was still alive and had previously extended an invitation for Yu Yuan to visit the Midnightshields.
Alternatively, he could join the Midnightshields as a disciple and, under the guidance of another Lunar Spirit adept in swordsmanship, diligently pursue his cultivation during the initial stages of his journey.
Qin Yun had even insinuated that if Yu Yuan agreed, the future leadership of the Midnightshields could be his.
"Qin Yun is still around, but it seems he is not at the Midnightshields." After some contemplation, Yu Yuan surmised that Qin Yun might be in a forbidden area, aware of Yu Yuan's continued existence and awaiting his arrival.
"First, let's meet with Qin Yun to clarify the situation. The Dawn Arrow contains my imprinted thoughts, so Qin Yun should not dare to act rashly."
Resolved, he discerned the direction and set off for the Crimson Sun Empire.
...
On the border of the Crimson Sun Empire, near the Moonfall Sanctuary, lay a range of continuous mountains.
Within a hollowed-out tree, Qin Yun, the sect master of Midnightshields, was entwined by three strands of golden lightning.
Four Dawn Arrows were arrayed before Qin Yun's Lunar Spirit, contained within a silver vessel.
Qin Yun's Lunar Spirit appeared hazy and indistinct, as if still suffering from severe injuries.
Suddenly, the four Dawn Arrows flared to life.
It was as though flames were igniting within the arrows themselves.
Qin Yun's Lunar Spirit jerked abruptly as the three golden bolts of lightning crackled menacingly.
With a low groan, Qin Yun gazed at the four Dawn Arrows and thought, "I apologize."
Whoosh!
An old crone, her face etched with sinister markings, materialized from thin air. She fixed her gaze on the four Dawn Arrows and cackled oddly, "Mr. Qin, the Dawn Arrows are exhibiting unusual activity. Could it be that the youngster named Yu Yuan has finally shown himself?"
