C338 The Dark Chess Piece

A figure that had no business being there materialized on the floating island.

He was a towering, muscular general clad in chainmail.

A member of the Van family, Van Yan.

Lau Ying, who had been monitoring Yu Zhu's movements through the Fallen Star Eyes, was taken aback by the sight.

Ever since the gilding treasure ship had made its appearance, she had kept a close watch on the Cloud Sail from above.

She clearly saw the moment Lee Yuangui discovered Yu Yuan and his companions, ushering them onto the Cloud Sail.

She faintly recalled that Van Yan had a hand in pushing Yu Yuan and the others toward their fate on the Cloud Sail, directly into the path of the Earth Demon, Bai Shang, who was now locked in combat with Yan Qiling.

At that time, Bai Shang had yet to reveal his true self, masquerading as a down-and-out figure.

Yet, in a departure from his usual detached demeanor, Bai Shang had engaged in a rare altercation with Van Yan.

When Bai Shang later returned to the Cloud Sail, seizing Wai Feng and departing, Van Yan shrank back into the crowd, avoiding any further confrontation with Bai Shang.

Subsequently, when the White-robed Imperial Advisor fatally struck Lee Yuangui's Niwan acupoint, exposing Bai Shang as the Earth Demon, Yang Yinquan of the Taiyuan Sect directed the blame towards the Silvermoon Empire.

Once again, it was Van Yan who stepped forward, asserting that the actions taken were solely the decisions of the empress and the Lee family.

As the Cloud Sail plummeted from the sky under Lih Baixiong's orders, with Wai Wujiang firing the ballista, the imperial elite scattered, and Lau Ying lost interest in Van Yan.

Yet, unexpectedly, Van Yan, who had consistently opposed Yu Yuan and clashed with Bai Shang, and who was quick to shift all blame onto the empress when things went south, had somehow unnoticeably made his way to the floating island.

With the prowess of the Middle Period of the Penetrating Stage, the robust Van Yan, his chainmail shimmering in the sunlight, was clearly no ordinary man.

The Van family general, known for his explosive temper, now stood on the floating island with an aura as tranquil as a mountain— a stark contrast to his previous demeanor.

Suppressing his Qi and blood, Van Yan moved stealthily on tiptoe, approaching Yu Zhu with the agility of a nocturnal cat. Suddenly, he swung a bright yellow octagonal hammer into view.

Bathed in sunlight, the hammer's head swelled to the size of a millstone, radiating an explosive energy that seemed ready to detonate.

With a swift motion, the yellow octagonal hammer crashed down towards Yu Zhu's head, as if a mountain were plummeting from the sky.

Boom!

Yu Zhu's body shook violently, and shards of emerald light scattered from her crown. As she trembled, her forehead split, leaking an unnatural green blood.

Grimacing in pain, Yu Zhu drew forth the blood from her heart, risking her cultivation progress to aid Yu Yuan in his dragon blood refinement. But now, she was forced to halt.

Ambushed and wounded, she reeled in confusion. On her floating island within the Absence Relic, how could she have been stealthily attacked?

Whirling around, she fixed her gaze on the uninvited guest, her green eyes shimmering with an eerie glow.

Van Yan, whose hammer strike had not been lethal, showed no surprise on his face, as if he had anticipated this outcome.

The bearded general in chainmail spoke with serene authority, "You should have heeded Mr. Bai's advice."

A flicker of scorn crossed Yu Zhu's eyes, mocking Van Yan for his audacity to confront her, despite his mere Penetrating Stage cultivation.

But as she prepared to unleash her true form and obliterate Van Yan, a sudden premonition of danger, linked through her bond with Yu Yuan, stopped her in her tracks.

She exhaled a breath tainted with miasma, a lethal blend of over a dozen poisons from the Absence Relic, which she had refined within her body for combat.

As the miasma surged towards Van Yan, she refocused, touching the natural armor on her chest to extract another strand of refined blood, merging it with the dragon blood beneath her on the floating island.

Enduring excruciating pain, she dismissed Van Yan as nothing more than a bothersome jester and resumed her dragon blood refinement, determined to bolster Yu Yuan.

She was acutely aware that at this critical juncture, Yu Yuan could not afford to be without her...

"Hehe," chuckled Van Yan with a mischievous grin, confidently striding through the miasma with his eight-edged hammer in hand.

The armor he wore was intricately patterned, its designs secretly coming to life. The myriad of toxins lurking within the miasma were repelled by a radiant light emanating from the armor, leaving Van Yan unaffected.

He swung the octagonal hammer once more, bringing it down on Yu Zhu with the force of a weapon.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hammer blow after hammer blow rained down. Yu Zhu, whose life force and rank far exceeded Van Yan's, endured the relentless pounding. The task of extracting her own heart's blood to refine the dragon blood droplets only added to her agony.

Blood smeared across Yu Zhu's face and head, her already unattractive features now twisted into something even more ghastly. Her skull, as hard as ferrous metal, began to fracture under the relentless assault of the hammer.

As Van Yan raised his hammer for another strike, a dazzling stream of stars burst through the evening sky, descending with a thunderous crash upon him. The celestial barrage tore into Van Yan's burly frame, leaving his flesh torn and ragged.

A figure, aglow with the brilliance of stars at his acupoints, descended with the star stream and fixed a frosty gaze upon Van Yan, his voice cutting through the air, "Despicable cur!"

Van Yan came to an abrupt halt, locking eyes with Lau Ying. "I'd advise you to stay within the safety of the Fallen Star Eyes and keep out of affairs that don't concern you," he warned.

Lau Ying's face was an icy mask of contempt. After observing the scene unfold, her anger flared. She found Van Yan to be exceptionally cruel and adept at concealing his true nature—a nature she found utterly loathsome.

No fool, Lau Ying had seen enough to understand the dynamics at play. Van Yan, the only person to have openly clashed with Bai Shang and the one Lee Yuangui seemed to dislike, was bold enough to challenge the Silvermoon Queen and the Lee family at a critical juncture. He was cut from the same cloth as Bai Shang and Lee Yuangui.

If Bai Shang and Lee Yuangui were visible chess pieces in this game, then Van Yan was the hidden piece—more deeply concealed and far more elusive.

Were it not for the significant aid Yu Zhu's dragon blood provided to Yu Yuan, potentially swaying the tide of this brutal conflict, Van Yan might still be lurking in the shadows.

Yang Yinquan, Su Xiangtian, Yuan Lianyao, and the rest—they could have fallen victim to his schemes at any moment, ensnared by his traps without warning.

Van Yan bore the surname Fan. Should he swear fealty unto death to the Silvermoon Queen, then the Van family within the Silvermoon Empire might well be privy to the full story, having long ago pledged their unwavering support to Her Majesty.

Or perhaps it was the Van family, or maybe it was Van Yan acting on his own initiative.

"Keep casting your spell. I'll handle this one."

Lau Ying inhaled sharply, igniting all the stellar energy within her body's acupoints.

Her extraordinary garment transformed into an immense starry sea in the blink of an eye, with countless fragments of stars twinkling and darting within, their starlight shifting positions rapidly.

Upon witnessing her stance, Van Yan's demeanor shifted. "Are you intent on a fight to the death with me? To my knowledge, you, the esteemed daughter of the Silver Moon Sect, have never truly faced someone in a life-or-death battle."

With a serene composure, Lau Ying replied, "That was then, this is now."

...

Amidst the ruins of the decaying city.

Yu Yuan gazed at his arm, marveling as droplets of silver dragon blood fell, regenerating flesh over bone, the new tissue enveloping sinew and skeleton with a vitality brimming with Qi and blood.

He could sense the rejuvenated flesh teeming with an extraordinary reserve of life force.

His veins, coursing with the essence of sword light and spatial abilities, felt as though they were being refined and purified anew.

His bones had become as unyielding as divine iron found within the stars.

He was aware that his survival, his escape from a violent death, was thanks to Yu Zhu, the being floating above him.

Yet, he was oblivious to the extent of Yu Zhu's suffering on his behalf at this very moment.

Watching the palm aimed at the brown iris being engulfed by a dark blue icy force, creeping up his forearm and shifting the battlefield, he continued to call out with his soul in urgent whispers.

After an eternity passed.

"I am here."

A soul thought, imperceptible to all but him, indescribable in words, suddenly surged into his heart lake and soul sea.

His eyes blazed with a brilliance akin to diamonds!

...