C315 Leaving the Dragon Soul

The battle around the lake was fierce, with cultivators falling every moment.

Abyssal Dawn, one of the seven great lower sects of Euwrea, was an anomaly.

They roamed the area, slaying cultivators. Both the space rifts and the Blackfang Legion warriors who had surged forth avoided Abyssal Dawn. Yang Yinquan and his group were also spared.

Yang Yinquan, tense and on edge, was initially baffled by the sudden turn of events.

But when he witnessed Shen Feiqing, clad in armor, ascend with the Lunar Spirit to hunt the seventh-level True Dragon from Dragon Lake, he grasped the full picture.

The space rifts, woven into a deadly net, were under Shen Feiqing's command!

This revelation was profoundly unsettling, and Yang Yinquan felt a surge of panic.

However, he quickly noticed that the cultivators of Abyssal Dawn remained unharmed.

Yang Yinquan paused, then swiftly pieced it together. He promptly issued orders for the disciples who had come with him from Abyssal Dawn to stay their hands.

"Father!"

Su Yan's soft call drew Su Xiangtian's attention.

As the new helmsman of the Su family in the Silvermoon Empire, Su Xiangtian was brimming with questions. "What's the matter?"

"Have you seen Yu Yuan?" Su Yan inquired.

"I've been keeping an eye on him," Su Xiangtian replied with a slight nod. "He and Liu Ying from the Starmoon Sect were the first to interact with Shen Feiqing. Before we arrived, they were seated apart. Judging by the current events, I believe Yu Yuan is involved as well."

A spark of realization flickered in Su Yan's eyes. "Dad, you have keen insight."

With a sigh, Su Xiangtian shared, "After you escaped from Moonfall Sanctuary, I had a chance to interact with him. He was just like this back then."

"What was he like?" Yang Yinquan, of Abyssal Dawn, couldn't resist joining the father-daughter conversation.

After a brief hesitation, Su Xiangtian candidly responded, "He was a law unto himself."

"Lawless? Him?" Yang Yinquan was taken aback.

"Dad, I'm going to Yu Yuan," Su Yan declared decisively. "I can't explain why, but I have a feeling that staying close to him is the safest option."

Su Xiangtian surprisingly nodded in agreement without hesitation.

Su Yan then bowed apologetically to Yang Yinquan of the Abyssal Dawn before she hurried over to where Yu Yuan was.

Almost simultaneously, Zhan Tianxiang, who should have been aboard the Nimbuswing, descended from the sky, skillfully avoiding the unpredictable space rifts, and dashed toward Yu Yuan with lightning speed.

"Yu Yuan!"

Next, Wei Feng, of royal descent from the Sunblessed Empire, arrived with a light whistle.

Before long, Qin Yun, Yuan Lianyao, Lee Yuchan, Su Yan, Zhan Tianxiang, and Wei Feng, representing different empires and factions, had all gathered around Yu Yuan.

Some were acquainted with Yu Yuan, while others were not.

Yet, amidst the unfolding chaos and uncertainty, they all chose to stand with Yu Yuan.

On the Nimbuswing, Van Yan of the Van family frowned in confusion, "How does a mere young master from the Yu family in Asvetaesi attract such a gathering of distinguished figures?"

Lee Yuangui replied, "I'm at a loss as well."

Above the ship, numerous nobles of the Silvermoon Empire, who had only heard rumors of Yu Yuan and had seen him recently in the Forgotten Ruins, were watching. Their families had no dealings with Asvetaesi and thus no ties to the Yu family.

When the Lin and Van families had put pressure on the Yu family, their families had either looked on indifferently or kicked them while they were down.

Now, witnessing many influential individuals gravitate towards Yu Yuan, they made a decision that would undoubtedly shape the Yu family's future.

"Bai Shuang will die."

Yu Yuan spoke with a detached tone, turning his gaze to the two senior cultivators from the Thunder Sect and Winter's Bite, who were undertaking the Spirit Walk. "I'm afraid those two seniors won't be able to escape either."

"How can this be?" Su Yan's face turned ashen.

She had just arrived to hear Yu Yuan utter these alarming words, leaving her utterly astonished.

With a loud crack, as if to confirm Yu Yuan's prediction, the Silverfrost Dragon, ensnared by the space rifts, began to shed its blood and flesh from the heavens.

The mournful howls of the Silverfrost Dragon were imbued with sorrow and despair, signaling its imminent demise. In an unseen corner, the Dragon Attendants, nurtured with dragon's breath and blood and chosen by the dragon itself, were systematically hunted down and slain by Le Baixiong and his Blackfang Legion. Those who managed to flee further were swiftly located by the space rifts and mercilessly torn asunder.

Bai Shuang, the Silverfrost Dragon, was swiftly shredded into pieces by Shen Feiqing, who wielded the intertwining space rifts with precision. Her remains plummeted into the lake below. The dragon's blood and flesh that entered the waters vanished in the blink of an eye, as mysterious spatial ripples began to emanate quietly from the lakebed.

Jiang Moyan and Zou Jin, two Spirit Walk cultivators, had intended to assist Shen Feiqing in her confrontation with Bai Shuang, but were halted by a remnant soul's message from Feiqing herself. "Seeking the Mystic Gate, are you? To open it, a blood sacrifice of true dragon's blood is necessary!" This message resonated solely within the Mindscape of Jiang Moyan and Zou Jin.

Motivated by the prospect of the Mysterious Realm, the two cultivators chose to stand by passively, witnessing Bai Shuang's demise at the hands of Shen Feiqing. They could distinctly sense the unusual spatial ripples emanating from the depths of the lake. Recalling Shen Feiqing's decision to remain on the small island at the lake's center rather than venture deep into the Forgotten Ruins, the cultivators deduced the significance of her choice.

At the lake's bottom lay a seemingly inconspicuous pebble. Yan Qiling, adept at creating little worlds, manipulated streams of divine light with his hands. The light unfurled like a curtain beneath the lake, dividing the waters and concealing the lakebed from prying eyes.

To the cultivators observing from the surface, the once crystal-clear lake now appeared dark and mysterious, with abnormal spatial fluctuations stirring within. Meanwhile, the true lakebed was strewn with chunks of dragon flesh and droplets of silver, pearl-like dragon blood.

Yan Qiling stepped off the cobblestone and stood at the bottom of Dragon Lake. He tirelessly cast spells while Yu Zhu assisted in extracting Bai Shuang's spirit from the dragon meat and dragon blood.

Bai Shuang's spirit, fragmented within her blood and flesh by blood magic, was subjected to a harrowing wail as it underwent refinement once more.

Strands of glistening silver light emerged from each drop of dragon blood and piece of dragon meat, intertwining like threads to form a tapestry.

Soon, a miniature silver dragon materialized in the palm of Yan Qiling's hand.

"A seventh-level Dragon Soul!"

Yan Qiling clasped his hands together, securing the tiny silver dragon in his pouch.

He cast a lingering glance at the remaining dragon blood and the abundant dragon meat.

It was then that he heard Yu Zhu's disdainful snort.

"I understand. I'll only take what I need," Yan Qiling said prudently, making his intentions clear before adding, "With your covert support, Yu Yuan will surely thrive in the Forgotten Ruins. Did he know about the Mysterious Realm hidden there, prompting him to specifically seek you out in the Serpent Spine Mountains?"

Inside the little world within the cobblestone, Xu Zixi looked towards the High Oracle, her eyes wide with astonishment.

Zhou Cangmin's brow furrowed. "You might be onto something. That gaunt girl was indeed fetched from Gloomhollow by him. Right after the chaos in Gloomhollow ended, the struggle for the Mysterious Realm in the Forgotten Ruins ensued."

He began to wonder if he, too, had been unwittingly caught in Yu Yuan's calculated web.

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