C316 For No Reason at All
The stars shone with a dazzling brilliance.
Perched above the Fallen Star Eyes, Liu Ying of the Starmoon Sect gazed intently at the ground beneath her. The shimmering meteorites transformed before her, their luminescence painting vivid scenes of the battles that had taken place around the lake, presenting them with striking clarity.
Space rifts ripped open, and as Shen Feiqing's Lunar Spirit left her body, Liu Ying witnessed the entire confrontation with Bai Shuang.
The words of Yu Yuan echoed in Liu Ying's mind: "The banquet is about to begin!" Initially filled with doubt, she couldn't grasp the deeper meaning.
However, as she watched Shen Feiqing, who should have been devastated by the backlash of the "Ancient Echoes of the Void," not only avoid serious injury but also return with even greater strength to slay her dragon foe, Liu Ying's understanding of Yu Yuan's words began to crystallize.
With this realization, she cast spell after spell, her thoughts shifting rapidly.
The gleaming silver stone at her feet now mirrored the location of Yu Yuan.
Flanking Yu Yuan were two women from the Silvermoon Empire, one aloof, the other seductive, both stunningly beautiful.
Then, as figures like Wei Feng, Zhan Tianxiang, Zhao Yafu, and Su Yan gathered, Liu Ying listened in on their conversation with covert astonishment.
It wasn't long before she heard Yu Yuan suggest that Jiang Moyan and Zou Jin might meet their demise.
The revelation left Liu Ying thoroughly shaken.
Tuning the Fallen Star Eyes with a mental touch, she saw countless slender space rifts that, in the wake of Shen Feiqing's departure, could traverse dozens of miles in a mere moment.
One after another, cultivators from the Thunder Sect, Winter's Bite, and the Sunblessed Empire fell with ease.
The commander, once ousted by the Forgeroses and now a clandestine force within the Sunblessed Empire, aiding the current emperor's rise, was revealing his trademark savagery.
It dawned on Liu Ying that the scheme orchestrated by the lower sects of Euwrea to besiege Shen Feiqing and draw her out through the Mystic Gate was likely doomed to fail.
"Ding Ling!"
The sound from a bracelet of fine white jade reached her Heart Lake.
With a subtle raise of her eyebrows, Liu Ying understood that her fellow Starmoon Sect members had reached the Forgotten Ruins and were using the array to connect with her through the Fallen Star Eyes.
She carefully considered her options and decided on a course of action: Hold position and avoid any hasty moves.
Until the situation was clear, she didn't want members of the Starmoon Sect rushing in unprepared.
Otherwise, they might all be annihilated by the formidable commander.
...
Yu Yuan stood at the edge of Heart Lake, gazing relaxedly at Shen Feiqing on the mid-lake island.
Her real body stood on the island, petite yet exuding the presence of a towering mountain, an unmovable commander with eyes half-closed, as if caught between sleep and wakefulness.
With the Lunar Spirit absent, her real body couldn't unleash its full combat strength.
Yet, her detached Lunar Spirit floated in the air.
The armored Lunar Spirit, towering like an ancient deity, seemed to exist in a different time and space, with bright space rifts interweaving around it.
Clusters of ghostly light burst near the Lunar Spirit, reminiscent of the spatial ripples that occasionally shimmer in the depths of the cosmos.
Yu Yuan, somewhat familiar with the "Ancient Echoes of the Void", knew she was still amassing power!
Zou Jin and Jiang Moyan, two cultivators adept in Spirit Walk, could never imagine the extent of the bizarre forces Shen Feiqing could draw from the space rifts and the unknown realms beyond the stars.
The most fearsome aspect of the "Ancient Echoes of the Void" was its devastating power, which would be fully unleashed in Shen Feiqing's feigned "backlash".
Yu Yuan was convinced that Shen Feiqing, having survived this ordeal, would grasp the true intricacies of the Forgeroses' forbidden spell.
After this battle, Shen Feiqing's realm and power would soar to unprecedented heights.
If she could live through this and be reborn, Shen Feiqing would ascend to the status of a true terrestrial War God, capable of challenging archdemons with her extraordinary physique.
"Yu Yuan, what about those two cultivators from the Thunder Sect and Winter's Bite?" Yan Yu of the Silvermoon Empire, puzzled, watched Zou Jin and Jiang Moyan who were calmly observing the unfolding events. She whispered, "Are they really going to die?"
"Now is the time," Yu Yuan declared softly.
Boom!
The ground didn't just tremble on the mid-lake island; the land for miles around seemed to sink several inches.
Shen Feiqing, petite in stature, stomped her foot and rocketed into the sky like a cannonball.
The terrifying force that seemed to make the earth itself sink emanated from that very stomp of Shen Feiqing.
As Shen Feiqing rose, numerous chaotic cyclones materialized out of thin air around her.
Each cyclone, massive as a millstone, churned through the void, reversing time and throwing the divine force into disarray with its domineering and brutal strange power.
"Open the Third Eye!"
Yu Yuan activated the soul power from the little world within the Soulforge Pool, causing his eyes to shine brilliantly.
He suddenly noticed specks within the many millstone-sized cyclones surrounding Shen Feiqing.
Upon closer inspection, these specks magnified a million times revealed themselves to be part of an extraterrestrial Star River.
Yu Yuan understood that these chaotic whirlwinds were manifesting the fearsome might of the Ancient Echoes of the Void, after Shen Feiqing had silently drawn in the psionic power from unknown Star Rivers.
"Hu!"
Shen Feiqing, clad in armor, allowed her Lunar Spirit to plummet and merge into her body.
The space rifts became like whips in Shen Feiqing's hands, lashing out at Jiang Moyan of the Thunder Sect.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"
The bright and sharp space rifts, like flood dragons, surged forth to strike down Jiang Moyan.
Shen Feiqing, adept at multitasking, had already closed the distance to Zou Jin.
Her small palm reached out, striking through the air.
Zou Jin's face contorted in alarm.
Being at the middle period of the Spirit Walk and a level above Jiang Moyan, Zou Jin felt as if a tumultuous and chaotic extraterrestrial space-time was crashing down upon him at Shen Feiqing's clap.
The connections between him, the Forgotten Ruins, and the real space were instantly swallowed up and obscured.
Zou Jin could no longer see or feel anyone else.
He felt utterly alone, adrift in the dark, icy coldness of outer space, overwhelmed by the crushing force of an unknown and turbulent domain.
"Crack! Crack!"
Zou Jin realized that the space he occupied, his world of extreme cold forged by millennia of ice power, soul power, and vitality, was fracturing inch by inch.
In that moment, Zou Jin came to the stark realization that their earlier assault on Shen Feiqing, along with Jiang Moyan and the seventh-level Silverfrost Dragon, had been nothing but a farce.
"The Ancient Echoes of the Void mantra can twist and disrupt time itself, harnessing the enigmatic forces of space and time from beyond our realm. How could anyone hope to contend with such power?"
Shen Feiqing, according to earlier intelligence, was merely a mid-level Spirit Walk cultivator.
Yet now, this former prodigy and outcast of the Forgeroses, was demonstrating combat prowess far surpassing her own level.
In other words, Shen Feiqing, who should have been overwhelmed by backlash, had suddenly exhibited the strength of a cultivator in the late stages of Spirit Walk!
And possibly even greater!
...
With her power fully unleashed, Shen Feiqing's invincible presence and her ability to warp time and space commanded everyone's attention.
Yuan Lianyao, Lee Yuchan, Qin Yun, and others began to believe Yu Yuan's prediction.
—Zou Jin and Jiang Moyan would perish!
All eyes were on the transformed heavens, watching Shen Feiqing take on two opponents, obscuring the stars and manipulating the space rifts with an aura that seemed to sever the heavens from the earth.
Yu Yuan's Heart Lake was suddenly filled with the voice of Yan Qiling.
Almost simultaneously, the High Oracle and Xu Zixi sent their fervent messages.
Shen Feiqing, showcasing the domineering might of the "Ancient Echoes of the Void," had, intentionally or not, activated a mysterious seal that had lain dormant in the depths of the Forgotten Ruins for years.
Yu Zhu was the first to sense the reaction!
Following her, Yan Qiling, Zhou Cangmin, and Xu Zixi each conveyed their insights through the Heart Lake.
Mystic Gate!
...
