C27 I Am the Lunar Spirit!

Mayor Yuan Lianyao was the Huang family's primary target!

Yuan Lianyao was also the only known Subtlety in Asvetaesi to the Huang family!

She possessed the highest level of cultivation, wielded significant authority, and could sway the decisions of both the Zhao and Yu families. Furthermore, she was the one who bestowed the Blazing Blood Lotus Seal upon Yu Yuan and executed Huang Bin.

It was clear she had to be eliminated first!

As for Yu Yuan, merely at the Spirit Channel Realm, he would be easily controlled once the grand scheme was in place.

"I'm not even a blip on their radar," Yu Yuan mused with a wry smile as he watched the Aureum Stone shatter into a cloud of dust under Yu Wei's powerful strike. "Uncle, at this juncture, our Yu family is actually in a safer position. The Huang family is more intent on taking out the Yuan and Zhao families first. Our weakness is our shield."

The Huang family patriarch, Huang Fan, was a mid-Veil Breaking practitioner!

His brother, Huang Tianyi, was at the early Veil Breaking stage!

And Huang Chen, the second generation of the Huang family, despite his youth, had also reached the early Veil Breaking stage, hot on the heels of his father, Huang Fan!

The Huang family boasted three Veil Breaking practitioners!

With such formidable power, it was no wonder they no longer regarded the Yu family as a threat, justifying the years of oppression the Yu family had endured.

Yu Wei led him away from Yuan Lianyao's platform. Only when he noticed that neither Huang Fan nor Huang Chen paid them any heed did he finally agree with Yu Wei's assessment.

Looking back at the Yu family, Yu Wei saw that Zhao Dongsheng and Yuan Fu had cornered the Huang family members, led by Huang Tianyi.

The Huang family had no spare energy to trouble the Yu family any longer.

"The Huang family has only risen to power in the past decade," Yu Wei said gravely. "Both Huang Tianyi and Huang Chen advanced to Veil Breaking during this time. Huang Fan also progressed from the early to the middle period of Veil Breaking. All of this happened after our elder's legs were broken."

Yu Yuan paused, then suddenly asked, "Grandfather's legs—wasn't there a rumor that an outsider hired by the Huang family was responsible?"

Yu Wei nodded in confirmation, "Our elder was also at the early Veil Breaking stage, on par with Huang Fan. Back then, our Yu family was at least as strong as the Huang family, if not stronger. At the same level of cultivation, our elder should have been a bit stronger than Huang Fan. Without an outsider's treacherous attack on our elder, how could he have ended up in such dire straits?"

"I understand," Yu Yuan said, his gaze turning icy. "It must be the Colddeath. I never imagined that the Huang family had fallen under the Colddeath's influence a decade ago."

"Colddeath?" Yu Wei exclaimed in horror. "The Colddeath from the northern part of the Land of Quiescence, the one from the legends?"

Yu Yuan gave a slight nod.

Yu Wei's face drained of color.

"Hu! Hu! Hu!"

Nine dazzling red lotuses burst forth from beneath Yuan Lianyao's feet, spiraling above her head.

Beads of blood, resembling red agate, sprayed from the shattered Aureum Stone, aiming for Yuan Lianyao. But they were relentlessly crushed by the circling red lotuses.

"Boom!"

The blood beads transformed into a thin veil of scarlet mist.

The mist descended like a drapery, turning the valley's daytime sky a deep crimson.

A terrifying, oppressive force, thick with the scent of blood, descended from above, shrouding everyone in the valley.

"A blood sacrifice magic circle!" Yu Yuan's expression darkened, and he frowned in concern. "Something's off. The elder from the Ruby Hand should have dismantled the other arrays on the mayor's command. It's still daylight; the blood sacrifice magic circle shouldn't be active."

"Mayor!" Huang Chen bared his teeth in a wide grin, bursting into laughter. "Didn't see that coming, did you? Don't assume that just because you've reached Subtlety, you can do as you please in Asvetaesi!"

As he spoke, Yu Yuan's attention was immediately drawn.

He noticed that the scarlet mist descending upon Yuan Lianyao was rapidly thickening.

Upon a second glance, it appeared as viscous as fresh blood!

To his surprise, the nine red lotuses under Yuan Lianyao's command began to wobble, seemingly uncontrollable.

Pain etched itself across Yuan Lianyao's beautiful face as her eyes repeatedly darted to the Profound Gate at her chest.

"With the blood sacrifice magic circle combined with the boiling blood mist, what can you do, even at the level of Subtlety?" The gaunt Huang Fan was seated on the platform where Huang Bin's body lay, his hands manipulating the air as if pulling invisible strings.

"Crack!"

At his command, the earth in the valley split open, revealing golden beams of light that unearthed chunks of Aureum Stone.

The Aureum Stones, buried deep beneath the ground, exploded midair, releasing more blood beads that burst into a mist and surged towards Yuan Lianyao with a loud pop. The Huang family had spent years mining these stones, only to have them concealed underground, each harboring strange blood beads within.

It was clear that the Huang family had been laying the groundwork for many years, all for this very day.

"The blood sacrifice magic circle has significantly amplified the mist of boiling blood. It's quite the strategy," Yu Yuan remarked, impressed. He turned to his uncle and explained, "Unless something unexpected happens, our mayor, who has reached the Subtlety Stage, is experiencing a surge in his vitality. He's even channeling the eight extra channels to strike at his internal organs."

Yu Wei's face blanched with shock. "If the middle elixir field of the Profound Gate is out of control and the internal organs are gravely damaged, he may no longer have the strength to fight."

Yuan Lianyao, in the Subtlety Stage, was Asvetaesi City's most formidable figure, towering above everyone else in realm. She was the linchpin in suppressing the Huang family.

Should she falter first, the morale of the Yuan, Zhao, and Yu families would plummet instantly.

The cultivators from all three families would then feel that if even she was powerless to retaliate, how could they hope to triumph over the Huang family, especially when they've conspired with external foes? And to make matters worse, the mysterious outsiders pulling the Huang family's strings had yet to reveal themselves.

"Brother Yu."

Zhao Yafu, from the Zhao family, had broken away from the main group with Zhao Xi and now approached Yu Yuan and Yu Wei.

"Yu Yuan! I have been sent by Elder Fu to protect you," declared Le Feng, the guard captain, as he reluctantly emerged from the Yuan family's side. He joined Yu Yuan alongside Zhao Xi and Zhao Yafu.

Zhao Xi, still puzzled, scratched his head. He couldn't fathom why his father, Zhao Zhenghao, had instructed him to accompany Zhao Yafu and stay close to Yu Yuan.

Zhao Xi, in the late period of the Golden Sanctum Realm, along with Yu Wei and Le Feng, who were in the middle and early periods respectively, all converged around Yu Yuan.

"Elder Fu told me..." Le Feng muttered, feeling quite aggrieved, "that I'm to follow your commands for the time being. Damn it, I'm the captain of the guards in Asvetaesi. If I'm taking orders from you, does that mean all the city guards will have to answer to you too?"

He spoke the last sentence in a hushed tone.

Yet, Zhao Xi, Yu Wei, and the others heard him loud and clear.

Moreover, as if in response to his words, Yuan Fu of the Yuan family gestured, signaling the rest of the guards to break away from the Yuan family's group and head their way.

The guards of Asvetaesi and the Yuan family members were essentially two separate factions.

Both factions, however, were orchestrated by Yuan Lianyao.

"This..."

Zhao Xi's expression was one of astonishment as he wondered, 'What skills does Yu Yuan possess that have earned him such trust from Yuan Fu?'

Even Le Feng and the city's guards were at his command?

"Lian Ran!"

At that moment, the mayor, his face twisted in agony, let out a sharp cry.

The nine wilting, vibrant lotuses seemed to be revitalized by a surge of spiritual energy in the blink of an eye.

The nine lotuses burst into divine light and began to burn quietly.

They resembled nine dazzling red lanterns!

The look of pain on Yuan Lianyao's face vanished in that moment, replaced by a sly, malevolent smirk of a plan well-executed.

Huang Fan, who was opposite her, manipulating the spell and levitating the Aureum Stone, caught sight of her familiar grin and felt a chill, "You, your Profound Gate didn't spiral out of control!"

"How could this be?" Huang Chen, terrified, exclaimed, "With the blood boiling mist and the blood sacrifice magic circle, how could she have remained unscathed?"

"Go!"

Yuan Lianyao stood on the dais, her hips swaying as she danced.

Two fiery red lotuses, blazing like fireballs, hurtled towards Huang Fan and Huang Chen.

"Boom! Boom!"

The two men, Huang Fan and Huang Chen, spat blood as they were blasted back more than ten meters.

That single blow had left them both grievously wounded.

"A mere Veil Breaking Stage, and yet you dare to be so bold in my presence," Yuan Lianyao chuckled coquettishly, casting an approving glance at Yu Yuan from afar, "Don't think that with the Colddeath's assistance, you can limit me or cause my Profound Gate to lose control."

Yu Wei, in a daze, said, "Yu Yuan, didn't you say that unless something unexpected occurred, the mayor's Profound Gate would have already become uncontrollable and chaotic?"

Zhao Xi, Zhao Yafu, and Le Feng all gave him peculiar looks.

They had all caught the way Yuan Lianyao's gaze lingered on him.

Her eyes clearly conveyed that her immunity to the effects of the boiling blood mist and the blood sacrifice magic circle had a significant connection to Yu Yuan.

"What a coincidence. The accident just occurred," Yu Yuan said with a composed demeanor, pointing to his nose. "I am that accident."

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