C33 Intimidating from Afar

The sky blushed a deep crimson.

Ann Ziqing approached at a leisurely pace, her entire being aglow, radiating a dazzling brilliance that was almost too intense to behold.

Her light resembled the natural luster of blood-red jade.

Though ordinarily a vision of beauty, at this moment, she was cloaked in an extraordinary aura.

All those in the valley, their hearts heavy, fixed their gazes upon her.

She was the center of attention.

"So, that morning was not merely a figment of my imagination," Yu Yuan mused bitterly, recalling the morning he had glimpsed Yuan Lianyao.

Yuan Lianyao, gravely wounded, also remembered sensing an unusual surge of blood energy before her departure that day.

She had even let out a soft "Huh?" in surprise.

Yet, she never would have guessed that this strange energy emanated from a mere maid at Yu Yuan's side.

She had assumed someone from the Yu family was practicing some dark secret arts in the shadows.

"When Yinn Jue arrived late at night and trapped you in ice, I thought you were insensible," Yu Yuan said after a brief silence. "Did you witness anything then?"

As she walked, Ann Ziqing laughed softly. "I saw your might, Young Master, and it filled me with admiration. I watched you torment Yinn Jue with a poison pill, and how you muffled his cries for fear he'd scream. In that moment, Young Master, you truly captivated me."

"I'm curious, with your level of cultivation, what brings you to the Yu family?" Yu Yuan inquired.

"Sorry, that's a question I'd rather not answer," Ann Ziqing replied, her face a picture of apology. "But I'm even more curious about you. The number of lives lost in Darkmoon City doesn't concern me, as long as my Senior Brother's Yin God can be successfully refined. As for you, Young Master, I would cherish the opportunity to continue serving at your side."

"Continue serving at my side?" Yu Yuan's mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Or perhaps you mean to abduct me and keep me close?"

"Young Master, I truly believe it is a privilege to serve you," Ann Ziqing said earnestly. "Once you awaken, your potential is boundless. Darkmoon City, the Yu family—they're too small for you. The Blood God Cult is where you truly belong."

Ann Ziqing came to an abrupt halt in her conversation.

Her eyebrows flickered, signaling she had detected something amiss.

A crimson orb materialized out of thin air in her palm.

Then, a single drop of blood sprang from the skin cradling the orb and seamlessly integrated into the glowing sphere.

"Blood God's Tear! Open the Heavenly Eye!"

With her incantation, the blood from her body ignited a dazzling divine light within the orb.

In a blink, the orb transformed into a clear, reflective mirror.

It revealed the images of three individuals.

Lim Hanyu and Lim Zhuyun stood beside a middle-aged man clad in white, radiating an exceptional aura.

All three gazed skyward, their faces contorting with shock.

Dozens of miles away, atop a verdant peak distant from Darkmoon City, Lim Hanyu, his daughter, and an elder from the Cold Yin Sect sharply turned their eyes to the heavens.

The once-clear sky was now stained with a blood-red hue!

Ann Ziqing's striking visage then materialized within that crimson firmament.

Her face hovered in the bloodied sky, peering down with an inscrutable gaze, as a deity might survey the mortal realm.

"The Blood God Cult is casting their spells in Darkmoon City. I urge my peers from the Cold Yin Sect to make haste and depart," her voice echoed from the sky. "Furthermore, the Yu family's young master has been chosen by the Blood God Cult. I implore the Lim family and the Cold Yin Sect to cease your petty schemes."

With her message delivered, the blood-red sky gradually returned to normal.

Lim Hanyu and his daughter exchanged bewildered glances.

"Her name is Ann Ziqing. When I visited the Yu family, I discovered she was the one caring for Yu Yuan," Lim Zhuyun murmured, still reeling from the revelation. "To think she could project her likeness across the sky from miles away... I had always assumed she was just a simple maid."

Her mind flashed back to the moment in Elfview when Ning Ji had cast the Soul Summoning Array, and Yinn Jue had unexpectedly intervened, shattering the ritual.

Was Yinn Jue really about to kill Ann Ziqing in a fit of rage?

She tasted a hint of bitterness in her mouth.

"She must be at least at the Yin God Stage," declared Liu Wei, the Cold Yin Sect Elder, who had hurriedly arrived to investigate Lu Qun's death and mediate the dispute between the Lim and Yu families. His brow furrowed, he added, "To think she's been concealed within the Yu family, serving Yu Yuan as her master?"

Lim Zhuyun sighed softly. "I'm not entirely clear on the specifics."

"It looks like Lu Qun's death will be in vain," Liu Wei shrugged, seemingly resigned to the conclusion of his task. "Lu Qun had Yinn Jue strike at the Yu family's young master twice. With a Yin God from the Blood God Cult stooping to serve Yu Yuan, Lu Qun's fate was sealed by his own misfortune."

"Elder Liu, what about the humiliation my daughter and I suffered at the Yu family?" Lim Hanyu asked with a hopeful gaze.

"Have you lost your senses to anger?" Liu Wei frowned. "If you'd just think it through calmly, with your intellect, you'd realize that's not something you should be saying."

Lim Hanyu promptly fell silent.

"The Blood God Cult in the north of the Quietus Continent is every bit as strong as our Cold Yin Sect," Liu Wei spoke somberly. "A Yin God from the Blood God Cult serving as a maid to the Yu family's young master doesn't raise questions? That young master, who has been shrouded in mystery for seventeen years and even resurrected from death, is likely part of the Blood God Cult's machinations."

"Such an individual..."

Liu Wei paused for a moment, glancing at Lim Zhuyun, and continued, "The cultivation talent of such an individual has long surpassed that of the common folk."

What he meant was that the Blood God Cult's high regard for Yu Yuan suggested his significance to them was far greater than Lim Zhuyun's to the Cold Yin Sect.

If Lim Zhuyun was seen as a future pillar for the Cold Yin Sect, then Yu Yuan was treasured by the Blood God Cult, potentially even as a future leader.

Should the Cold Yin Sect provoke further trouble, they risk igniting a bloody conflict with the Blood God Cult, with untold casualties before its end.

"I understand," Lim Zhuyun murmured, her head bowed as she tightly clutched the corner of her garment, her grip growing firmer with each passing moment.

"Hu!"

Simultaneously, on the other side of Darkmoon City, a blazing column of light erupted like a fiery waterfall, slamming into a blood-red arm.

The sky was suddenly ablaze with a magnificent burst of Spiritual Qi, so intense that it stung the eyes of onlookers.

Deep within the cascade of flames, myriad runic symbols danced like fire spirits, constantly shifting and aligning into various intricate and mystical formations, holding back the blood-red arm.

"Red Devil Sect!" Lau Wei's eyes shone with surprise. "Who would have thought that Darkmoon City, so unassuming, is actually a haven for the mighty? The Blood God Cult has laid a trap, intending to purge the city with blood, and now the Red Devil Sect intervenes. In the north of Quietus Continent, these two powers are at odds. Could it be they see Darkmoon City as their battleground?"

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Lau Wei decided they could not linger. "You and your father must leave Darkmoon City at once. Upon your return to the Lim family, enter seclusion immediately and use the pellets I've provided to attempt the Profound Break. Once you've achieved it, your sect will guide you away to cultivate on the Heavenly Source Continent."

Lim Zhuyun nodded in compliance. "Understood."

"Let's go!"

...

In the valley of Jewelry Mount.

"I've sent the Lim family and a Cold Yin Sect elder away," Ann Ziqing reported, tucking a scarlet orb of light into her sleeve. She smiled sweetly at Yu Yuan, "I've made our stance clear. The young master is the chosen one of our Blood God Cult. If the Cold Yin Sect has any sense, they'll restrain themselves and not dare to cross him again."

Regarding the young master's betrothed, Ann Ziqing shook her head with a tinge of pity. "If she's blind to his worth, she's not our concern. Once the young master joins our Cult and masters our Spiritual Spell, Lim Zhuyun will no longer be a match for him. By then, it will be she who aspires to his level."

In Darkmoon City, the surviving members of the four great families cast peculiar glances at the pair.

They observed the nominal master and servant.

Most incredulous were Huang Fann, Huang Tianyi, and the others from the Huang family.

Why did Ann Ziqing, once concealed within the Yu family, continue to hold Yu Yuan in such high regard after her identity was revealed? Why was she so adamant about persuading him to rejoin the Blood God Cult?

And why did she still wish to attend to him as a maid?

What virtues or abilities did Yu Yuan possess to warrant such attention?

"Let it go. The Blood God Cult has a terrible reputation, and I'm not fond of their cultivation methods," Yu Yuan said, shaking his head, seemingly unaware that Ann Ziqing was no longer the obedient maid he once commanded. "Besides, your senior brother isn't holding the winning hand you think he is. Your strategies and preparations may not be as foolproof as you believe."

"Is there something else I should know?" Ann Ziqing asked with a playful smile.

"Boom!"

In the distance, a massive blood shadow formed from blood-red clouds burst apart.

A colossal hole was torn through the crimson canopy of the sky.

The hole blazed with intense flames.

Numerous fiery symbols, like small red crystals, flickered as they dissolved and dismantled the Blood God Cult's so-called "blood sacrifice array."

​