C2148 I will Awaken You All!!

Kaiya and Youqian were scanning their surroundings, responding to Hamm's call.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Their soul's ripples spread out like the tides caused by the ocean's roar, surging with great force.

At this moment, the two great Demon Gods of the Sky Fiend clan disregarded the battle between the Secular Bird Queen and Saca.

To them, Yu Yuan's presence and demeanor seemed to outweigh everything else.

"Yu Yuan, was it you who allowed the Secular Bird Queen to massacre the Sky Fiends of the Zagreus Astral Domain?"

Youqian's magic power roiled in the direction Hamm had surveyed. His resonant demonic voice echoed through the silent realms, detonating amidst the Ghouls of the Otherkin warriors.

Many Ghouls charging at Chen Qinghuang were struck by his magic power, bursting into showers of blood and severed limbs.

"Senior Brother..."

Kaiya massaged her forehead, feeling memories deep within her soul stirring, as if about to awaken.

"Yu Yuan, surely you could have prevented the Secular Bird Queen's madness, right?"

At that moment, Zhong Chichen turned to Yu Yuan with a grave tone, "You've grown stronger, yet it seems your full awakening has changed you. Have you noticed it yourself?"

Yu Yuan paused, taken aback.

"You've become increasingly indifferent to life."

Zhong Chichen murmured, "In the past, even as the Taiyin God-King, you were indifferent only to your enemies' deaths. But this Yu Yuan has always valued loyalty and righteousness. However, recently..."

He hesitated before continuing, "The Otherkin warriors and those near the Starway, once of the Boulderdawn sect, have all perished by the Secular Bird Queen's power, yet you've shown a troubling lack of concern."

"The Otherkin is one thing, but those from Boulderdawn were merely misled."

Zhong Chichen spoke softly.

"Rainbow Sage, have you grown too soft-hearted?" Loong Jie inquired with a hint of surprise.

"Be quiet! Your cultivation of the Golden Dragon Way of Heaven has turned you into a cold, unfeeling war machine. You're indifferent because your Way is such, as were your ancestors."

"Yu Yuan is not like that."

Zhong Chichen spoke with a touch of melancholy, observing Yu Yuan's contemplative silence. "I mean no offense. I'm aware you must have your reasons. I'm just concerned that you're becoming more and more... inhuman."

"If you only care about right and wrong, willing to sacrifice everything for your ideals, then how are you any different from those Primal Animas who are devoid of emotion?" Zhong Chichen shared his perspective.

Yu Yuan remained silent for a long while. He had indeed sensed that something was amiss. With the formation of the Soul Altar, as the structure grew ever higher, his indifference to the lives of beings increased.

The people and things he once held dear, with few exceptions, seemed less significant to him now.

Was the act of constructing the Soul Altar, amassing the profound meanings governed by the Primal Anima, and seeking to rise above them, actually having the reverse effect?

He was growing stronger, yet more emotional, becoming more like a human.

Meanwhile, as the Soul Altar's influence expanded, he found himself becoming more detached from life, more devoid of emotion.

Yu Yuan pondered deeply and declared, "I will get to the bottom of this and be more vigilant."

He recognized that the Soul Altar was indeed subtly affecting him, turning him cold and unfeeling. For his goals, he could sacrifice anyone without a second thought.

To facilitate the arrival of the great Demon God Bertain, he had stood by while the Secular Bird Queen unleashed her fury.

Had he shone the light of the Soul Altar on Chen Qinghuang back in the Straikepera, could he have erased those symbols of death?

Perhaps then, he could have prevented Chen Qinghuang's madness and averted a disaster in the Zagreus.

"I hope that someday, you'll be able to tell me what transpired," he yearned.

"It's only you who might stand a chance against it, who could awaken us."

Suddenly, Kaiya's final entreaties to him, before she lost her sanity, resurfaced in his mind with the clarity of a lightning strike.

"I may have been wrong. Perhaps I was deceived by the Primal Vitality. There must be another way," Yu Yuan murmured to himself.

With a whoosh, the Dragon Slaying Stage emerged from the shadows and settled above the Starway, echoing with the howls of the Sky Fiend. "Senior Brother Zhong, secure the Starway. Don't let any more Sky Fiends come through!"

Manifesting his real body beneath the Dragon Slaying Stage, he gazed down at the throng of Star-Spawned Terrors.

"Yu Yuan!"

Kaiya and the Great Demon God Youqian exclaimed in unison.

"Master!"

And there was the zealous Evil God, Hamm.

"You once called me senior brother and expressed a wish for me to awaken you in the future—to tell you what had transpired, to help you reclaim your true self."

Yu Yuan turned to Kaiya and the bewildered Youqian, declaring, "I am here to awaken you."

Whoosh!

The Soul Altar, nestled within his sea of consciousness, emerged from his brow and radiated a dazzling Soul Cleansing Brilliance above his head, enveloping both Kaiya and Youqian.

The lesser beings, unable to break free from the Sky Fiend's grasp, were kept at bay by the rainbow radiance emanating from the Dragon Slaying Stage.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

Beneath the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, Kaiya and Youqian's greenish-black devil souls revealed strange knots of death, akin to those in Taishi's. Yet, under this miraculous glow, they began to dissolve bit by bit.

Kaiya, poised to resist, and Reid, who had conjured the Tears of the Azurefiend, were struck motionless as the first beam of the Soul Cleansing Brilliance touched them.

As long as a glimmer of their soulspark emerged, they would retain their memory of Yu Yuan.

In the depths of their devil souls, the shared history with Yu Yuan became vividly clear, as if the Soul Cleansing Brilliance was etching it deeper into their being.

This was particularly true for Youqian!

His acquaintance with Yu Yuan dated back even further. As the Ghost King Tian Zang, he was a demon of the Moonfall Sanctuary.

He and Yu Yuan shared a multitude of memories, and the images of them fighting shoulder to shoulder surfaced one after another in his mind.

"Yu Yuan!"

"He has never been our enemy. He is our guide! Boulderdawn Sect was founded on his principles, beyond the stars. We regard him as our beacon."

"We were the ones who were misled, our thoughts twisted, our memories tampered with!"

As the residual soul within Youqian's devil soul dissolved and the long-buried memories resurfaced and intensified, Youqian lifted his head.

A smile of liberation played at the corners of Youqian's lips.

At that moment, Kaiya was whispering to herself, using her murmurs to reinforce her impression of Yu Yuan and rebuild the memories that had been wiped away. After a short while, she lifted her head, her smile brimming with contentment.

"Senior Brother, you truly haven't let me down. I knew that if anyone in this world could awaken me from His twisted thoughts, it would be you!"

"It had to be you, Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother!"

Kaiya's voice suddenly rose in an excited scream, "My father! He's still captive in the Evil Temple. He needs your strength to help him rediscover who he truly is!"

"He's lost. Now, he needs you to lead the way!"

Bertain had been Yu Yuan's mentor in both of his lives. In the first, he guided Yu Yuan in his practice, establishing the human race's cultivation system and devising a method to ascend to the Primordial Spirit. In the second life, Bertain taught Yu Yuan the art of weapon refinement, transforming what should have been an unremarkable existence into one filled with excitement and variety.

Now, the same mentor who had led Yu Yuan in both lives was lost in the Evil Temple, and he needed Yu Yuan's help to find his way out.

Beneath the Dragon Slaying Stage, Kaiya and Youqian were bathed in the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, while the Sky Fiends encircling them gazed at Yu Yuan as if he were a demon.

"Kaiya, Youqian, have you both lost your minds?" Saca yelled from a distance, pointing at Yu Yuan. "This Yu Yuan is the chosen vessel for His possession, a great honor for Yu Yuan! You should capture him alive and present him as an offering, allowing Him to descend through Yu Yuan's will!"

Under the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, Kaiya and Youqian looked at Saca with eyes full of pity.

"Yu Yuan, Saca is my father's most devoted disciple. Should we..." Kaiya implored.

"My power is only sufficient to awaken the two of you. He is a formidable Demon God, and the stronger one is, the harder they are to awaken. Considering his influence, I fear it could jeopardize your full recovery," Yu Yuan said, shaking his head in clear refusal.

To prevent an ambush from Saca and the Sky Fiends, he gave orders to Zhong Chichen, "Hold off those Sky Fiends. I need enough time to completely cleanse the invasive forces from Kaiya and Youqian's minds."

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