C339 The Sword Spirit Awakened!
After a year of dormancy, the sword spirit that Yu Yuan believed had vanished, assumed to have fused into the walls of the Soulforge Pool, finally stirred to full consciousness!
It was at the birth of the remnant soul that Yu Yuan confirmed the sword spirit's existence!
With the sword spirit present, the myriad of interwoven sword lights and the ancient, vast sword force were imbued with a soul!
Only with this soul could the sword spell unleash its full might!
Sizzle sizzle!
The sword light emanating from the arm bone, with its internal scarlet lightning, suddenly accelerated by more than tenfold!
Yu Yuan could distinctly see that, in a flash, countless fine scarlet sword lights burst forth from the sword light entwined within his arm bone!
The sword light swarmed like a school of predatory fish, racing and tumbling over each other, surging from his veins towards the center of his palm.
The dark blue frost encasing his wrist shattered abruptly into a spray of icy shards.
The scarlet sword light enveloped him densely, crackling like electricity!
His wrist, previously numbed and devoid of sensation from the ice energy of the Dark Realm Shura Eye, suddenly flared with intense heat.
Sensation was instantly restored to his touch!
More and more crimson sword lights, numbering in the tens of thousands, converged, tearing through resistance as they harnessed the space magic lingering in his flesh and veins, merging into streams of refined and piercing sword's will.
The relentless scarlet sword light, unstoppable as a force of nature, surged towards his palm!
His palm appeared as if donning a heavy glove of dark blue ice crystals, the biting coldness clear and pristine, the very essence of the ice energy concentrated within the Shura Eye of the Dark Realm.
Crack!
The sound of bursting ice resonated from his palm.
A dazzling crimson orb of light, formed from the fearsome essence of the sword light, emerged.
Cradled in Yu Yuan's hand, he perceived through his heaven soul that the orb was akin to a massive hedgehog, composed of innumerable sharp Divine Swords expanding outward, their tips pointing away while the hilts converged into a single point.
This sphere of crimson sword light, resembling a formidable hedgehog, sent a shiver through his heaven soul.
He had an inkling that if this orb of sword light were to strike any cultivator in the Spirit Walk state, or even a Solar Spirit, it could obliterate their three souls in an instant.
As the thought took hold, a divine radiance too brilliant for words burst forth from his palm like an exploding sun, its sword's will, capable of shattering space and obliterating stars, could no longer be hidden or suppressed.
Boom!
The thick layer of dark blue ice encasing his palm shattered into innumerable specks of light, scattering across the hard earth and boring deep, shadowy holes.
The Shura of the Dark Realm, once dominant, found its dark blue malevolence emanating from the brown Shura Eye overwhelmed by the explosive burst of sword light from his palm.
In that moment, the chilling tendrils that had been eroding Yu Yuan's mind, sending shivers through his three souls, quietly receded.
The strands of coldness, imbued with the residual soul of the Dark Realm's Shura, fled in fear due to the destruction of the dark blue ice energy, seeking refuge within the brown Shura Eye nestled in the platinum skull.
When the sword spirit awoke and a remnant soul was conveyed, Yu Yuan's heart swelled with joy and his soul was invigorated. The dire situation that had nearly led to his explosive demise was swiftly reversed.
In the blink of an eye, the sword spirit regained dominance and seized the initiative.
Yu Yuan looked again and saw not a single shard of dark blue ice on his palm or forearm. Instead, he saw only threads of dark blue malevolent energy retreating like a tide toward the brown Shura Eye.
The Shura, with its residual soul and spiritual wisdom intact, sensing danger, immediately changed its approach.
It withdrew into its own little world, drawing upon the vast spiritual energy it had consumed over thousands of years in the Forgotten Ruins. With the Dark Realm Shura's mystique, it braced to withstand the onslaught of the persistent sword's will.
"Yu Yuan!"
"Yu Yuan!"
Yan Qiling and Xu Zixi called out in delighted surprise.
Engaged in fierce combat and entangled by Bai Shang and the white-haired crone, they were deeply concerned for Yu Yuan, fearing he might not withstand the ordeal, risking the collapse of both his soul and body.
Before the battle, Yan Qiling had sent a message to Yu Zhu, giving her a sign.
Yu Zhu rose to the challenge. She soared to the floating island, forgoing the dragon blood she had meticulously refined, and blended it with her own lifeblood. She then infused the potent lifeblood, filled with the power to regenerate flesh and blood, into Yu Yuan's arm, pulling him back from the brink of death and out of the Abyss.
Yu Yuan, through sheer determination, managed to persevere.
Once that trial was behind him, the sword spirit was fully awakened!
The hardship had finally given way to relief.
Whoosh!
A figure was suddenly sent flying from the floating island above.
Blood mingled with starlight, falling like a light rain.
Yu Yuan looked up and immediately recognized the ejected figure as Liu Ying from the Starmoon Sect.
He couldn't help but let out a soft gasp of surprise.
Even after the malevolent remnant soul of the Shura had departed from his Mindscape, he was able to shift his focus and reach out to Yu Zhu on the floating island to inquire about the recent events there.
Yu Zhu had transformed the floating island; she was its master. So why had she confronted Liu Ying?
Perhaps Liu Ying, presuming herself a privileged disciple of the Starmoon Sect, had overstepped by acting on behalf of the seven major sects and made a move against Yu Zhu.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he established a spiritual link with Yu Zhu. Amplified by the Soul Forging through Enlightenment technique, his Third Eye opened, sending a tendril of thought to merge with Yu Zhu.
In a flash, he understood everything.
He learned that Van Yan was the one who had sent Liu Ying flying. Moreover, Van Yan had stealthily climbed the floating island and was relentlessly striking Yu Zhu's head with his Eight-Flanged Mace.
At this very moment, Yu Zhu was still under attack by Van Yan, struggling with the grievous wounds inflicted while she tirelessly worked to refine the Silverfrost Dragon's potent lifeblood.
His spiritual tendril witnessed the mace, heavy as a great millstone, crashing down upon Yu Zhu's skull.
As the light scattered, even Yu Zhu's skull, as hard as iron, showed signs of fracturing.
Greenish blood streamed down Yu Zhu's face, from her forehead to her neck, painting a harrowing and pitiful sight.
"Van Yan!"
Yu Yuan, standing at the bottom of the pit, looked up and bellowed with the ferocity of a bloodthirsty beast.
It dawned on him that Yu Zhu would not have fallen victim to Van Yan's assault if she hadn't been so focused on protecting him, sacrificing her own strength to refine the dragon's lifeblood. It was for his sake that Yu Zhu had remained vigilant, leaving her vulnerable to Van Yan's repeated attacks.
Unable to fend off Van Yan's relentless assaults, Yu Zhu, already grievously wounded, fell victim to his brutal attacks time and time again. The peculiar Eight-Flanged Mace he wielded seemed to have a particular effectiveness against her, ultimately leaving her prostrate in a pool of her own blood.
Liu Ying, outclassed by an entire realm, desperately tried to come to her aid but was similarly repelled with force by Van Yan.
"Yu Yuan! She, she..." Liu Ying, her form reminiscent of a shooting star enveloped in a dimming celestial glow, spoke to Yu Yuan with a feeble voice, "Because of you, she's been gravely hurt. She couldn't afford to stop, not even for a moment's respite, which is why she was continuously pummeled by him."
"Please, think of something—save her quickly!"
Her Fallen Star Eyes cascaded down like a torrent, bolstering her as she fought to stabilize her condition.
Meanwhile, Van Yan, perched upon the floating island, paid her no heed, singularly focused on eliminating Yu Zhu first and foremost.
At that same moment, Xu Zixi and the white-haired crone were locked in a losing battle. Her seven serpentine companions writhed helplessly in the void, their struggle palpable.
Inside the bodies of these seven pythons, a multitude of slender white snakes feasted on their vitality, growing stronger by the minute. Xu Zixi and her serpentine allies shared a bond, feeling each other's pain as if it were their own.
Injured, she brandished her jade flute, casting a resplendent glow that filled the heavens, clashing fiercely with the crone's White Bone Crutch.
The confrontation between Yan Qiling and Bai Shang had turned in Bai Shang's favor after he had slain Wang Jinlin and seized the Divine Sword forged from Shadowgold.
As for the High Oracle Zhou Cangmin, he had vanished into the folds of the purple silk, leaving no trace behind.
The other cultivators from the Silvermoon Empire, who had plummeted from the Nimbuswing, now found themselves relentlessly pursued by Le Baixiong's Blackfang Legion, too preoccupied with their own survival to attend to anything else.
"I..." As the crimson sword light bore down on the brown orb, Yu Yuan, with no other recourse, attempted to connect with his sword spirit, conveying his dire plea.
He was determined that Van Yan must perish!
