C214 Fear Filled the Air
The Everlands were vast and boundless.
Yet at times, it felt terrifyingly small.
When Bai Shenshen mentioned that Chen Qingyan's master was a formidable cultivator of the Sword Sect, with the surname Ji, and had deep ties with the Devil Palace, Shadow's Keep, and the Binders of Shadows, Yu Yuan immediately understood the gravity of the situation.
In the blink of an eye, three hundred years had passed.
The individual who was already so dazzling in Euwrea was considered a treasure by the Sword Sect.
His radiance had once overshadowed the cultivators of his era.
Yu Yuan had always felt inferior due to his inability to cultivate in his previous life.
Moreover, without the ability to cultivate, his life potential remained untapped, and his lifespan was inevitably short.
Driven by this, he pursued the path of reincarnation at all costs, hoping that in his new life, he would have the opportunity to continue his past connections.
However, there was a complication with the Rebirth Pill, which delayed his return by three hundred years.
When he heard news of her again after three centuries, she had already attained the cultivation of the Unbound Stage.
Beyond the Unbound Stage lies the realm of the primordial spirit!
The primordial spirit stood at the pinnacle of the Everlands and even the Infinite Galaxy, an eternal and indestructible presence.
Even her disciple could deter the Binders of Shadows in Aetherius, making Zanas hesitate to make a move.
Zanas would rather face the wrath of King of Wraiths' descendant, Liu Zaihe, than cross her bottom line and provoke her disciple, Chen Qingyan.
This clearly illustrated the extent of her formidable influence in the Everlands.
"Rip!"
Suddenly, a flag whipped in the wind and tore apart violently.
The flag transformed into tattered pieces of cloth.
Wisps of miasma seeped out from the fragments, coalescing into a dense cluster of miasma once again.
Zanas, who had been manipulating the nine flags with the mystique of the Binders of Shadows, suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, his complexion turning ghostly white.
His eyes were filled with terror and anxiety.
"Rip! Rip! Rip!"
One by one, the remaining nine flags were shredded from within.
The sky was a whirlwind of fabric scraps, with countless Alien Bugs and venomous creatures nowhere to be seen, all consumed by the ravenous miasma cloud.
Vibrant clusters of the miasma cloud converged, once again forming a tumultuous sea of miasma.
On the exposed arms and neck of Zanas from the Binders of Shadows, tattoos etched deep into his skin were visible, looking as though they had been carved with a blade, the wounds so deep that bone could be seen. Upon his bones lay even smaller, more sinister spell symbols.
The destruction of his natal artifact had clearly inflicted severe damage on Zanas. His body, flesh, and even the Lunar Spirit within his acupoint were all left listless and weakened.
The cultivation spell of the Binders of Shadows was unique, with the middle elixir field in the chest harboring a rich vitality that shared a profound connection with Alien Bugs and poisonous creatures.
At this moment, his middle elixir field was ablaze with blood-red light, as if the unseen remnants of Alien Bugs and poisonous creatures were bleeding out their vital energy.
This residual vital energy had an irresistible allure to the miasma cloud sea.
Zanas sensed danger!
His face drained of color, he no longer concerned himself with Liu Zaihe or Yu Yuan, nor did he bother to seek justice.
In an instant, his entire being seemed to transform into an escape talisman.
"Whoosh!"
As Zanas's blood sprayed in all directions, he coalesced into a wraith buoyed by three Ghoul Glyphs, weightlessly darting toward another forbidden area within the Serpent Spine Mountains.
The miasma cloud, initially drawn by him and manipulated to his will, trailed behind, drifting away.
The cloud's velocity noticeably quickened.
Once regrouped, it was a kaleidoscope of colors, emitting a sour, toxic odor that weighed heavily on the mind. The miasma cloud spanned dozens of acres in the void.
As it floated over Yu Yuan, Bai Shenshen, and the rest, they fell silent, too frightened to utter a single word.
Even the fervent discussions about Chen Qingyan ceased.
Unexpectedly, just as the miasma cloud was about to pass over them, it halted abruptly.
The group looked up in extreme fear, transfixed by the sky above.
They could faintly sense a chilling consciousness seeping from the miasma cloud, as if it were infiltrating their flesh, bones, and even their souls.
The chilling consciousness was unmistakably non-human, brimming with an undisguised loathing and malevolence toward humanity.
Bai Shenshen and the other survivors perceived this frigid presence as if it could, at any moment, coalesce into a lethal intent and obliterate their three souls of heaven, earth, and man.
Overwhelmed by despair and the specter of death, their bodies became rigid.
Far off, Chen Qingyan, donning a green veil, had her playful gaze replaced by one of solemnity. She looked on at the miasma cloud with astonishment.
She instinctively sensed a formidable consciousness and being concealed within the miasma cloud.
This consciousness, teeming with disdain for earthly beings and endowed with spiritual wisdom, was innately murderous and adhered to the ruthless doctrine of survival of the fittest, posing an extreme danger even to her.
She became warily vigilant.
She was aware that Zanas wouldn't dare harm her and that Bai Shenshen would keep her safe, all thanks to her esteemed master.
Yet, the enigmatic entity lurking within the miasma cloud would not concern itself with such matters, and it possessed the very power to end her life!
The proud descendant of the King of Wraiths, Liu Zaihe, gazed at the miasma cloud, his forehead glistening with sweat.
He was consumed by fear.
Of all those present, only Yu Yuan stood tall and unyielding like a pine, squinting his eyes and looking up at the miasma cloud with a sly smile curling his lips. "Impressive growth, isn't it?" he mused silently.
"Hu! Hu! Hu!"
For some unknown reason, the miasma cloud, which had briefly stilled, suddenly accelerated.
The cloud, moving much faster than before, trailed behind Zanas and drifted away.
"Ah!"
Bai Shenshen, drenched in sweat, let out a breath as if she had been drained of all strength.
Then, those around Yu Yuan, their nerves stretched to the breaking point and now suddenly slackened, collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"I was terrified, absolutely terrified!"
"There was something inside the miasma! A powerful, mysterious entity!"
"I felt it! That thing nearly killed all of us just moments ago!"
They mopped their brows, chattering and rejoicing in their narrow escape.
Even Bai Shenshen, once assured of her safety, found her legs giving way, and she slowly sank to the ground.
Only Yu Yuan remained erect, his gaze fixed on the vanishing miasma cloud, lost in thought.
Chen Qingyan's attention was immediately drawn to the anomaly.
Once she confirmed that the life-threatening entity within the miasma cloud was Zanas, Chen Qingyan finally relaxed and strolled toward Yu Yuan.
Liu Zaihe paused, then quickly caught up.
"Where have you come from? Are you a descendant of the Su family from the Silvermoon Empire?"
Before he even arrived, Chen Qingyan called out, her radiant eyes fixating on Yu Yuan, the sole figure standing. "Centered around you, what is that dust? Why has the hidden entity within the miasma refrained from attacking you because of it?"
Others sensed the anomaly but couldn't pinpoint the cause.
She was the second, after Zanas, to detect the irregularity.
She understood that Bai Shenshen and the others owed their survival to that dust.
She observed the dust emanating from Yu Yuan's sleeves, floating in the air like particles, not settling, safeguarding both Yu Yuan and those nearby.
Additionally, she noticed a different, purple-hued dust previously clinging to the nine flags.
Indeed, it was Yu Yuan who had inflicted the grievous wounds on Zanas.
Yet, she chose to keep this secret to herself.
"I have no idea what you're referring to."
Yu Yuan regained his composure, offering her a carefree smile and a nonchalant response.
