C337 Bones to Flesh
Yu Yuan was beyond caring about the surrounding battles.
The fierce clashes between Xu Zixi and the white-haired crone, Yan Qiling and Bai Shang, Zhou Cangmin and Shen Feiqing... he had disengaged from them all, even from the death of Wong Jinlin.
His finger, aimed at the dark brown eye of the Asura from the Dark Domain, had become encased in a sheath of ghostly blue frost.
This frost emanated from the eye, a chilling, silent, and dark current that left his fingertip frozen and numb.
He was nearly unable to feel his hand at all, as if it no longer belonged to him.
The sensation in his hand was fading fast...
Droplets of blood oozing from his torn flesh turned to blood crystals in the biting cold.
The sword light, rushing toward the Asura's eye and imbued with piercing spatial abilities, was congested by blocked meridians and the icy flow.
Invisible to the naked eye but visible to the Heavenly Soul, deep within the bones of his palm, two forces were colliding with ferocity!
One force, emanating from the dark brown eye, was the blue ice's glow.
The other, a surge of sword light from his arm, carried spatial abilities and a refined, razor-sharp sword intent, appearing as crimson crystal threads.
In the perception of the Heavenly Soul, these disparate forces were countless, a dense swarm.
And his palm had become the primary battlefield!
The sword light and the refined sword intent, now unable to penetrate the brown eye, made his palm the new arena. The current tide of battle suggested that the Dark Domain Asura's accumulated power within the eye was gaining the upper hand.
The Asura's power, seeping from the eye, was infiltrating his palm.
And, bit by bit, it was creeping up his arm, through his bones and meridians.
Should his palm succumb, the Dark Domain Asura's sinister blue energy would follow, invading his forearm and then his upper arm.
He might die before the sword soul could fully awaken or before he could unleash a single sword strike.
And with his death, the sword soul, born of him and bound to his arm, would also perish.
The Dark Domain Asura would then return to the world, restored to his full might!
The Absence Relic, the Silvermoon Empire, the Divine Might Empire, and even the Profound Sky Continent could all face a bloody reckoning at the hands of this Dark Domain Asura.
He may have been indifferent to the world at large, and to the common folk of both nations, but there were still many dear to him in this life—loved ones and a few close friends—who would also face their end all too soon. More crucially, the soul he had painstakingly resurrected was on the brink of being extinguished.
"Are you there?"
As he watched his arm's flesh tear and his hand numb under a layer of dark blue frost, Yu Yuan concentrated on his heart, reaching out to the sword soul that had once resonated within the interweaving sword lights.
Through his celestial spirit, he could see speckled lights twinkling like stars amidst the strands of sword energy. These dazzling points were the remnants of the sword soul's consciousness, scattered in hiding and now converging in a pivotal moment.
Gradually, an ancient, vast, and wild aura began to coalesce from these numerous points of light, silently taking shape.
He was certain the sword soul was present; otherwise, the revelation of the white-haired crone's true serpentine nature wouldn't have flashed into his soul, embedding itself as a profound memory.
Yet, the sword soul's full awakening was agonizingly slow. He feared he might not last...
"Chi! Chi! Chi!"
His bare arm's skin and flesh were ripped asunder, exposing bone deep enough to see. Segments of bone shone like crimson crystals, emitting a blinding divine radiance.
Regrettably, even those crystalline bones and the robust sinews attached to them could not withstand the fearsome sword intent and were on the verge of bursting apart.
Once the sinews snapped and the bones shattered, the chance to wield that sword strike again would be lost forever.
Should his body explode and perish this time, all three of his souls would be reduced to cinders, with no hope for rebirth.
He did not wish to die, so he frantically pondered solutions, desperate to find a way to overcome this dire strait.
Drip! Drip!
Out of nowhere, a droplet of silver brilliance descended from the heavens. Upon closer inspection, it was a silver orb of blood, brimming with the potent essence of a dragon—Dragon blood!
The blood of the Silverfrost Dragon, Bai Shuang!
Looking up, he saw the floating island drifting directly above him in the sky.
Sinewy dragon tendons, each one knotted and tethered to the floating island, cradled the mingled flesh and blood of the Nagas laced with Bai Shuang's icy remains beneath the island.
The island itself was crafted from the shattered bones of Bai Shuang's dragons.
And those glimmering silver orbs? They were the lifeblood of Bai Shuang's fallen dragons!
A single drop of this dragon blood fell upon Yu Yuan's arm, stripped of its flesh, and unleashed a torrent of vital energy!
In an instant, Yu Yuan's arm was reborn, flesh wrapping around bone!
Veins, once on the verge of bursting, regained their resilience, sheathed anew in living tissue.
Drip! Drip!
More dragon blood rained down from the floating island, each drop unerringly finding Yu Yuan's hand as if guided by unseen eyes.
Each drop of dragon blood not only bore Bai Shuang's refined essence and vitality but also carried a strand of Yu Zhu's arcane force, extracted from the Absence Relic, seemingly capable of resurrecting flesh from bare bones.
And so, Yu Yuan's arm, burdened beyond endurance, was spared from shattering by the nurturing dragon blood.
Out of Yu Yuan's sight, Yu Zhu's ethereal silhouette was shrouded in a kaleidoscope of miasma.
Yu Zhu presided above the floating island.
Her aura, in delicate wisps of mist, coalesced around her, seeping into the island below, infusing the unrefined blood essence of the Silverfrost Dragon with her own spirit, each drop falling upon Yu Yuan's arm.
The toll of her actions, the sheer exertion and agony, remained unseen to all.
Bai Shuang's dragon blood was potent with life force, yet laced with a chilling frost.
She had to painstakingly separate the frost's bite, harnessing only the life-giving essence, mingling it with the last of her heart's blood, sacrificing her own well-being to endow each drop with the miraculous power to mend bone with flesh.
Without her intervention, Bai Shuang's dragon blood would have only compounded Yu Yuan's wounds, causing more harm than healing.
The once harsh sun had lost its sting.
High above, through the Fallen Star Eyes, Lau Ying of the Silver Moon Sect anxiously peered into a stone clear as a mirror, witnessing the unfolding drama within.
She saw Lih Baixiong slay Wei Wujiang, and watched as the elite of the Silvermoon Empire scattered in panic following the downfall of Cloud Sail.
She witnessed Lih Baixiong astride the Tusk Beast, commanding the black-armored soldiers to pursue the cultivators from various families and factions who had plummeted from the Cloud Sail.
Unaware of the White-robed Imperial Advisor's soulful message to Yang Yinquan, she was oblivious to Lih Baixiong's intentions.
The scene shifted, and her expression subtly changed.
She beheld Yu Yuan's arm, the flesh torn, revealing bones shimmering with a crystalline glow, the robust veins starkly exposed.
Next, she saw a drop of silvery blood fall, and as it did, the nearly severed veins of Yu Yuan were swiftly enveloped by regenerating flesh.
Her gaze followed the blood's descent and naturally fell upon Yu Zhu, who, utterly spent from her spellcasting, could no longer shield the floating island.
Within the miasma, Yu Zhu's frail form trembled, wracked with immense pain.
Blood seeped from beneath her natural armor, mingling with the dragon blood she had refined.
The moment her blood made contact with the dragon blood, she shuddered in agony.
The process of using her own blood to neutralize the frost power within the dragon blood, retaining only its vital essence, was excruciating, akin to flaying her own skin.
Drenched in sweat, her eyes and face betrayed her torment.
Yet, she persevered, refining each drop of dragon blood, anointing Yu Yuan's arm, aiding the regeneration of bone and flesh, fiercely ensuring the sword soul's awakening remained unbroken.
Through the Fallen Star Eyes, Lau Ying observed every one of her actions, watching as she sacrificed her own well-being to aid Yu Yuan.
A wave of emotion washed over Lau Ying.
Not all beings of other kinds were devoid of compassion, driven only to kill.
Yu Zhu, once a figure of dread to her, remained unmoved by Bai Shang's temptations. In Yu Yuan's direst moment, she risked her own spiritual progress, exerting every ounce of her strength to protect him. Wasn't this selfless act unfolding before her?
Her resolve was clear: she would risk her own life to ensure Yu Yuan's safety.
Empowered by the residual sword soul and sword intent of the Slash Moon warrior, Yu Yuan, with remarkable fortitude, endured the pain and countered the assaults of the Dark Domain's Asura.
Yet, it was Yu Yuan who brought her an even greater measure of suffering.
