C2041 The Abnormality of the Divine Statue

The human race was once again embroiled in internal conflict, sparked by Yu Yuan's emphatic rejection of the Will of the Deep from the Everlands, refusing to allow the Solar Spirit to return from the extraterrestrial realms.

Yu Yuan was reluctant to delve deep underground and traverse the sea of fire symbolized by the Blazing Fire to face it.

Consequently, the Blazing Fire continuously instructed Mo Baichuan to relay messages, all of which Yu Yuan dismissed.

Han Miaoyuan, at great personal cost, attempted to convince Yu Yuan, hoping that Boulderdawn could gain additional supreme experts in exchange for the return of Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit.

Yet, Yu Yuan remained steadfast in his refusal.

The persistent absence of Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit was the root cause of the irreparable rift between the two parties.

Nevertheless, now, stronger than ever and having ascended to the eleventh level, Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit, deep within the Ashlands, still proceeded to encounter the Will of the Deep.

Everyone began to sense that after being repeatedly spurned by Yu Yuan, the Will of the Deep, undeterred by the vastness of the Star River, descended upon the Ashlands to confront Yu Yuan in person.

As it had desired, Yu Yuan ultimately could not withstand its influence and ventured into the earth's depths.

As Yu Yuan's eleventh-level Solar Spirit soared into the earth's core, the intense heat from the Everlands seemed to recede.

The world's most potent flames parted, creating a clear passage for Yu Yuan's approach.

With the descent of his Solar Spirit, Yu Yuan's Demonic Vessel, previously expressionless and vacant, began to flicker with light, slowly regaining its sentience.

However, his real body, seated solemnly on the Dragon Slaying Stage, kept its head lowered, concealing its true face from view.

What thoughts occupied the real body remained a mystery to all.

Suddenly, a resplendent figure burst forth, its body clad in shining silver armor, as it soared toward a secluded cavern in Eiwrone.

"The Paladin of Radiance, Norant!"

"Norant is attempting to flee the Ashlands!"

Brie and Jessica from the Silverscale Tribe cried out in alarm.

The Dawnbringers' expert who had once imprisoned Elena had been lying low, biding his time. It was only when he saw the dire straits of the Ashlands and heard of the anomalies with Cardo that he decided to reveal himself.

Norant's intention was clear: he aimed to use the Eiwrone cave as his escape route to return to the Dawnbringers' Astral Domain.

He had learned that Cardo had been chosen to inherit the legacy of the Light Spirit at the pinnacle of the Abyss.

Yet, the Light Spirit had always been on the terrestrial realm of the Abyss's highest level. Was Cardo now consorting with the Abyss's Otherkin?

Norant had concealed himself within the Ashlands, hoping to quietly assess the situation and clarify Cardo's status through Boulderdawn. Unexpectedly, he found himself trapped.

With the ambiguous relationship between Boulderdawn and Han Miaoyuan, Norant grew impatient with waiting.

He was prepared to risk it all and attempt to break free from the Ashlands through the cave engulfed in blazing fire, eager to return to the Luminous Planet. His goal was to rally his forces and seize the opportune moment to claim the chieftainship of the Dawnbringers.

Jihui let out a low chuckle and shook his head, "Seeking your own demise."

As he spoke, the "Paladin of Radiance" Norant stepped into the cave, where the flames intensified dramatically.

The flames in the other caves, by contrast, began to fade.

The fire that had filled the deep caverns converged towards the one Norant was using to flee, causing the energy of the flames at the entrance to surge a hundredfold.

Consequently, Norant's grand escape plan was thwarted on the spot.

Norant had miscalculated; he had thought the flames would at most injure him and that he could still make it out alive. But the flames' convergence and the hundredfold amplification ensnared him in a fiery inferno. His armor cracked and shattered under the heat, and his flesh was set ablaze.

Amidst agonizing screams, Norant was reduced to ashes, vanishing within the cave.

The flames that had converged in one cave, now dispersed due to his demise, once again filled the other caves evenly.

Seeing Norant's failed escape, the Otherkin warriors, who had harbored their own escape plans, promptly abandoned their futile hopes.

"Why not just watch quietly? Isn't that better?" Jihui said with a smile.

Yu Yuan remained motionless for a long while, prompting Jihui to stand up, somewhat reluctantly. His gaze pierced through the barrier of Tyria and settled on the Space-Time Archway forged by the Seven-Colored Dragon, Zhong Chichen.

This archway was the sole teleportation circle capable of connecting with the outside world.

At that moment, beside the archway stood Duskjaw, the Three-legged Golden Crow, numerous ninth-level giant dragons, and a host of individuals from the Skyreach Consortium, Starmoon Sect, and Forgeroses.

As Jihui's gaze fell upon the resplendent Time Gate, it suddenly became chaotic with space magic.

"The same goes for all of you," Jihui said in a low voice.

He left the Everlands and soared towards Tyria, "Stay put in the Ashlands, and don't even think about leaving."

Zhong Chichen, already unsettled by Yu Yuan's odd behavior, felt a jolt as his connection with the Time Gate was severed by Jihui's mere words.

Yet, Jihui lacked the power to cause such anomalies with the Time Gate.

Zhong Chichen quickly realized that it was the influence of the Everlands on the deepest Void Rules within the Ashlands that had caused the Time Gate to spiral out of control.

Boom!

A colossal stone statue burst forth from a deep valley on Tyria.

It bore both benevolent and fierce visages and was a relic of Taixu, recognized by many from Boulderdawn.

The emergence of the statue caused Jiang Miaojie, the Indigo Wraith, Hei Xun, and Hua Xin to look on with slight apprehension.

They remembered that after Taixu acquired the Demon God's body of the Blood Fiend, he seldom resorted to using this statue.

During his time in the Everlands, and even out in the extraterrestrial Star River, the statue served predominantly as Taixu's temporary vessel, housing his primordial spirit.

Yet, the statue had not been seen for ages, and its whereabouts were unknown. To their surprise, it had been lying dormant in Tyria.

Now, the massive stone statue that had erupted from the earth stood like a sentinel by the Time Gate, as if tasked with the solemn duty of protecting it.

Coincidentally, the statue's menacing and aggressive aspect faced the Duskjaw, the Three-legged Golden Crow, and the ninth-level dragons. Yet, its benevolent and mild side was directed toward the members of the Skyreach Consortium, Starmoon Sect, and Forgeroses. The alien beasts and giant dragons, not of the human race, recoiled subconsciously as they felt their souls being torn apart by its malevolent presence.

Shi Jing'er, Feng Zhong, Tong Laoqian, Tan Junshan, Duan Yisheng, and others from the Everlands seemed to hear a soothing voice when faced with its gentle side. The Unbound Realm cultivators of the human race immediately found tranquility, their previously anxious expressions melting away.

"It, what exactly is it...?" Jiang Miaojie whispered in awe.

As Zhongli Dapan of Forgeroses regained his composure, his expression grew incredibly complex. He vividly remembered this two-faced statue, once confined within the extraterrestrial Sword Prison by Nie Qingtian. Thanks to President Lyi and the Boulderdawn's scheming, they located the Sword Prison in the Star River and caused it to plummet into the Godsblight Marsh of the Everlands, where the statue merged with the prison. Countless villains imprisoned within the Sword Prison were slaughtered by the fused statue.

The Evil Statue seemed to perpetually reveal its kinder side only to Yu Yuan. Zhongli Dapan later learned that the statue had initially attempted to possess Yu Yuan because of the connection between the Sword Prison and Nie Qingtian, and Yu Yuan's harboring of a sword spirit. The details remained a mystery, but the Evil Statue's demeanor had shifted dramatically, becoming exceedingly submissive to Yu Yuan. Could it be that the statue had recognized Yu Yuan as the reincarnation of Taiyin from the Boulderdawn?

Zhongli Dapan found the mystery perplexing.

With a whoosh, Yu Yuan's Demonic Vessel abruptly appeared at the Time Gate. His eyes flickered, struggling to regain clarity. The two-faced stone statue, standing sentinel at the Time Gate, immediately angled its gentler side toward him. With an expression of deep reverence, as if suddenly endowed with spiritual wisdom, the statue knelt before Yu Yuan's Demonic Vessel, shaking its head in a pleading gesture for him not to depart.

"Sir."

Jihui's voice emerged from beyond the wall, his gaze fixed on the Demonic Vessel high above.

"Taixu, your unwavering loyalty over the years has never faltered, and not solely because I aided in your ascension to godhood. The statue I bestowed upon you has been subtly instilling in you a profound reverence for me."

"Do you truly not recall?"

After speaking, Jihui paused, waiting for a response, but Yu Yuan remained largely unreactive.

Thus, Jihui called out gently, "Hamm, you may speak now."

The massive stone statue, embodying both malevolence and mercy, began to speak with human voice.

"I hail from the Abyss, one of its Evil Gods. Like Arthurs, I could only traverse to the Origin Realm in spirit. Once I learned of your identity, I pledged my eternal loyalty to you, vowing to remain by your side."

"O great Lord of the Abyss, I have awaited your return, your reawakening."

The statue bowed deeply to Yu Yuan.

As Jihui had once knelt before Yu Yuan's real body, the statue's devotion was equally fervent.

...

Now back in Yangzhou, he had finally returned to the comfort of his own home.