C243 Dawn Brilliance
The Nightstorm, which had been dormant for ages, once again howled as it burst forth from the cavern.
Invisible and intangible, the Nightstorm was nonetheless immediately sensed by a Spirit Walk expert like Wu Xiting, who could perceive it clearly through his Lunar Spirit.
"Nightstorm!"
Wielding the Primal Flame Mirror, he was in the midst of a massacre, targeting cultivators from all over Aetherius within the valley.
At the middle period of the Spirit Walk Realm, he held both the Primal Flame Mirror and a short spear. With his superior mastery, the mystical spells at his command, and the tools in his hands, he was the undisputed strongest in the valley!
Since the moment he had critically wounded the black and skinny girl and pinned her against the rock wall, no one in Gloomhollow posed a threat to him!
Neither Loong Tianxiao nor Guan Xianyun could match him.
Yet, the resurgence of the Nightstorm caused his expression to shift subtly.
The Nightstorm posed a terrifying threat even to someone at the Spirit Walk Realm!
Only those who possessed the Solar Spirit could withstand the Nightstorm without fear.
And he had not yet ascended to the Solar Spirit level.
He had always believed that only the black and skinny girl could command the Nightstorm, which was why he had targeted her first upon entering the valley and covertly communicating with Mei Qiurong.
Unknown to others, he shared Mei Qiurong's deep-seated fear of the Nightstorm.
He had not anticipated that the Nightstorm would stir again, especially after the black and skinny girl had been impaled by the short spear, bleeding profusely with her armor shattered, seemingly powerless to retaliate.
"Yu Yuan!"
Wu Xiting realized that the Nightstorm was not headed for him but for Yu Yuan, and his face darkened dramatically.
The Nightstorm had the power to obliterate the Mindscape, reduce the mud pellet in the upper elixir field to ashes, and extinguish the three souls of heaven, earth, and man.
However, Wu Xiting was also aware that only those cultivators who had opened their upper elixir field and attained the Subtlety Realm would be instantly vulnerable to the Nightstorm's assault.
An unopened mud pellet, on the other hand, acted as a natural shield, making it exceedingly difficult for the Nightstorm to penetrate.
This meant that Yu Yuan, who was in the Soul Awakening Realm, should remain unharmed by the Nightstorm.
Why was the Nightstorm stirring, and why was it blowing towards him?
Wu Xiting couldn't immediately make sense of it.
Yet, he instinctively felt a sense of unease. He believed that the Nightstorm, now gusting towards Yu Yuan, posed a threat to him.
He wanted to avoid any danger at all costs and nip it in the bud!
So, he took preemptive action!
Because of the Nightstorm's gusts, he refrained from using any spells that involved the soul or spiritual sense. Instead, he simply flicked his finger towards Yu Yuan.
A pinpoint of light, no larger than a grain of rice, shone brilliantly from his fingertip!
This minuscule light, like a sun shrunk a billion times over, emitted a dazzling brilliance too intense to gaze upon directly.
"Dawn Brilliance!"
Chen Qingyan exclaimed, her beautiful eyes flashing with anger as she rebuked, "Mr. Wu, you made a promise to me!"
"I truly apologize. This young man is somewhat peculiar. I'll just have him shed a layer of skin first," Wu Xiting said with a hint of embarrassment, offering her a sheepish smile. "Rest assured, I'll be careful. I promised to spare his life, and that's exactly what I'll do."
The rice-sized gleam of light darted towards Yu Yuan.
Standing beneath the shadowy overhang, Yu Yuan felt the surge of the Nightstorm and abruptly turned his head.
The tiny dot of light, hurtling towards him, seemed like a tumultuous, burning sun in his eyes, unleashing an extraordinary radiance and heat.
The grand and powerful flame energy and vitality condensed within that small dot of light were so intense that they could reduce even a cultivator at the Veil Breaking Realm to ashes!
"Dawn Brilliance!"
Yu Yuan inhaled sharply, his face contorting with the sudden realization.
He was well aware that "Dawn Brilliance" was a formidable spell of the Sunlit Order! Many cultivators from the Order would harness the divine radiance of the sun, infusing it into their middle elixir field after purification and refinement.
The sun's fiery energy would fortify a cultivator's physique, imbuing their vitality with potent flame energy.
Employing the Sunlit Order's mystique, this energy would be re-extracted from the Profound Gate and fused with spiritual energy and vitality, then compressed into a tiny speck of light known as "Dawn Brilliance."
The "Dawn Brilliance," enveloped in vitality and spiritual energy, harbored the intense essence of the sun and was renowned throughout the continent of Euwrea.
Wu Xiting harnessed a speck of "Dawn Brilliance." With the spiritual energy and vitality of the Spirit Walk state, the minuscule brilliance possessed the potential to unleash a terrifying inferno, capable of effortlessly obliterating him.
As a ferocious and fiery sun surged forth with the might to annihilate the heavens and the earth, Yu Yuan's forehead throbbed with protruding veins.
"Mr. Wu! This—"
Chen Qingyan, sensing imminent disaster, let out another piercing scream. "If this strike lands, how will he survive?"
The "Dawn Brilliance," though not swift, continued to gather strength in transit, amassing vitality, spiritual energy, and the sun's power, enough to make her quiver.
It dawned on her that Wu Xiting's intent was not a mere reprimand for Yu Yuan, but rather his demise!
Amidst the unsettling Nightstorm, Wu Xiting, gripped by dread, desired no questions, no knowledge—only Yu Yuan's swift end.
"Apologies, Chenchen. It's been quite some time since I've dealt with someone of such a lowly level. I'm afraid I misjudged my own strength," Wu Xiting said with a forced smile. "You've only known him for a few days; surely, there's no significant bond between you. Your master wouldn't hold me accountable for the fate of such an insignificant boy, would he?"
His target was Yu Yuan alone; he had spared Chen Qingyan. Why would anyone from the Sword Sect bother over such a trifle?
Wu Xiting's concealment of his murderous intent, only to reveal it en route, was a calculated move to prevent Chen Qingyan from intervening.
Intervention, even if attempted, would be futile.
He dared to act so boldly because he had seen through the superficial connection between Chen Qingyan and Yu Yuan, ascertained while inhabiting Liu Zaihe's body.
Moreover, he had thoroughly investigated Yu Yuan's origins—a mere youngster from the Silvermoon Empire's Asvetaesi.
Having previously shown no hesitation in striking down cultivators across Aetherius while in Gloomhollow, Wu Xiting certainly wouldn't concern himself with an insignificant creature like Yu Yuan.
In fact, aside from Mei Qiurong of the Ebon Star Sect and Chen Qingyan of the Sword Sect, he held no one else in high regard.
Only practitioners from the other two upper sects, which were as renowned as the Sunlit Order, were considered his equals and worthy of comparison.
Everyone else was beneath notice!
"Chi la!"
The moment he finished speaking, a rice grain-sized point of Dawn Brilliance collided with Yu Yuan's chest.
Instantly, Yu Yuan was overwhelmed by a bizarre orange flame, as if struck by a ton-weight carriage, and with a thunderous crash, his back slammed against the rock wall beneath the gaunt young girl.
The solid stone wall cracked incessantly.
Yu Yuan's face turned a deep shade of red, and blood streamed from the corner of his mouth. Pinned against the rock wall, the rice-sized point of light in his chest continued to emit intense blazing flame energy and rampant vitality and spiritual energy, ravaging his flesh and sinew.
"Hu! Chi! Chi!"
As a result of the Dawn Brilliance strike, Yu Yuan, now embedded in the wall, experienced a violent clash of various strange spiritual energies and vitality within his chest cavity.
His chest was a mess of flesh and blood, with deep, bone-exposing wounds.
The rice grain-sized point of light persisted in emitting light and heat from the wound in his chest.
The orange-red flames engulfing Yu Yuan were not actual flames but a fusion of spiritual energy and vitality burning together.
The color of the Dawn Brilliance varied depending on the cultivator's vitality and the specific spells they practiced.
The orange-red flames consuming Yu Yuan were devastating his flesh and blood.
A crystalline sheen suddenly emerged from the bones in Yu Yuan's chest after the brutal impact.
Remarkably, not a single bone in Yu Yuan's chest had fractured!
Most astonishing of all, the exposed bones displayed a crystal-like hardness and resembled a mysterious Sunsilver, which was quite extraordinary.
Yu Yuan, panting heavily, lowered his head to inspect the torn flesh and exposed bones, his eyes reflecting an unusual hue.
He was still alive!
The Dawn Brilliance was not known for its piercing sharpness and could not penetrate the strong's flesh with a single strike. The true horror of this Sunlit Order spell lay in its relentless burning aftermath!
The searing of an opponent's blood, flesh, and bones would leave their internal organs shriveled and charred, the flames consuming them until death ensued.
Having undergone the transformative refinement of the Soulforge Pool and the rigorous practice of the Evil Body Refining technique, Yu Yuan's physical resilience had nearly surpassed that of any cultivator at his level within the Soul Awakening Realm.
He was formidable enough to challenge even those in the Golden Sanctum and Veil Breaking Realms, both realms of human cultivators!
This very resilience was why he had not been obliterated by the Dawn Brilliance in a single blow.
He was still alive!
As he felt the orange-red flames, released from that speck of light, infiltrate and dance around his body, Yu Yuan clenched his teeth and let out a roar of agony, yet his gaze remained unshaken.
"Evil Body Refining Technique?"
Wu Xiting, stroking his chin, observed Yu Yuan being gradually consumed by the orange flames with a hint of surprise. "I hadn't anticipated that the most unique body forging technique of the now-extinct Terror Claws would be so brutally powerful."
The Dawn Brilliance was not renowned for its ferocity, but Yu Yuan was merely at the early stages of the Soul Awakening Realm. Despite deliberately restraining his power to deceive Chen Qingyan, this strike should have been fatal to an ordinary cultivator of the Golden Sanctum.
Yu Yuan's survival was unexpected, yet Wu Xiting remained composed.
He was convinced that the relentless blaze of the Dawn Brilliance would soon reduce Yu Yuan to nothing more than a heap of charred remains, with no possibility of survival.
"Yiya, yiyayiya!"
Above Yu Yuan, the emaciated little girl impaled on the rock wall by a short spear looked down at him, overwhelmed by the Dawn Brilliance and nearly engulfed by the orange-red flames, her body almost embedded in the stone. She called out awkwardly.
Her eyes could convey every thought and emotion, but at that moment, Yu Yuan wasn't looking at her.
She resorted to a different, unfamiliar, and clumsy language to catch Yu Yuan's attention.
Hearing her, Yu Yuan looked up, bewildered.
Their eyes met.
In her gaze, Yu Yuan saw concern and urgency, a silent plea for him to escape.
It seemed she was pleading, "You're too weak now. Forget about me and get out of here, go as far as you can..."
"Chi la!"
A burst of crimson flame erupted from the short spear, and she let out a low, piercing scream, her eyes suddenly losing their luster.
"Yu Yuan!"
Chen Qingyan, relieved to see Yu Yuan alive, pointed the Snakeskin Scabbard at Wu Xiting and demanded, "Mr. Wu, he is my dear friend. I implore you to spare him!"
Wu Xiting's face registered a flicker of change as he was confronted with the Snakeskin Scabbard, his gaze shifting, clouded with indecision.
Meanwhile, Yu Yuan, severely wounded and unable to synchronize with the Nightstorm, took an alternative approach by channeling the "Nine Glories Wheel".
The moment the spell was invoked, the nine luminous points within the Golden Sanctum at the lower elixir field blazed to life with dazzling brilliance!
