C341 The State Preceptor Was in Danger
The Silvermoon Queen's covert pawn had finally met with just retribution after a series of misdeeds!
As Van Yan met his demise, Her Majesty was unable to traverse the painting in time to reach the floating island and rescue him from Yu Yuan's clutches.
Indeed, the Queen had heard Van Yan's pleas for help and was aware of the sword's will Yu Yuan had been amassing, yet she chose not to intervene.
The sword spell Yu Yuan conjured in his other hand, a deep crimson, carried the essence of swordsmanship and a profound understanding of its truths, which even unsettled her.
After all, Van Yan was but a pawn; his death was inconsequential.
Moreover, Van Yan's end served to deplete a portion of Yu Yuan's strength, aligning perfectly with her intentions.
Every emperor ascends the throne stepping over a mountain of White Bones, treating lives as mere trifles.
The Silvermoon Queen was certainly not an exception.
For the sake of her objectives, sacrifices were deemed necessary.
When Lee Yuangui was annihilated by Zhou Cangmin, she watched from the shadows, utterly unmoved.
What then of Van Yan?
"Whoosh!"
In a flash, the Silvermoon Queen vanished into the painting, drifting off to another realm, continuing her pursuit of residual souls.
Holding the scroll, she roamed the Forgotten Ruins, eluding even Liu Ying, the guardian of the Fallen Star Eyes, who remained unaware of her presence in the desolate lands.
"Huala!"
Over the dilapidated city, the greatly enlarged purple ribbon suddenly burst forth with a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of light.
Yu Yuan, who had just executed a sword spell and slain Van Yan, was abruptly silenced by the dazzling display.
Both openly and covertly, numerous gazes were drawn to the purple ribbon.
Within the fabric, the purple clouds began to take on a fiery red hue as the High Oracle's Lunar Spirit intruded, igniting like flames.
It was clear to all that Zhou Cangmin and Shen Feiqing were locked in fierce combat within the microcosm inside.
At that moment, the purple ribbon shone with a more vivid, rainbow-colored radiance, as if the bright purple filled every inch of its expanse.
Following Zhou Cangmin's entrance, the emerging red hues slowly faded away.
A piercing phoenix cry emanated from within the ribbon, sorrowful and lamenting.
A vast purple phoenix, on the verge of taking flight, was faintly visible within the ribbon.
The indistinct purple phoenix seemed to beat its expansive wings, dispelling the purple glow as if to avoid being sullied by impurities.
Whoosh!
Out of nowhere, a whip-like white light burst forth from the purple silk.
The light transformed mid-air into the High Oracle's Lunar Spirit.
At that moment, the High Oracle's Lunar Spirit was so faint that in the night sky, it seemed as though a single gust of wind could scatter it, never to coalesce again.
Anyone with even a slight knowledge of Lunar Spirits could tell that the High Oracle had suffered grave injuries just by glimpsing his ethereal form.
After a moment's hesitation, the grievously wounded Lunar Spirit of the state preceptor took flight toward Thylethlume.
Inside the purple silk, Shen Feiqing let out a gentle sigh, tinged with a hint of regret.
Yu Yuan's face turned grim as he watched the High Oracle's Lunar Spirit.
He noticed an odd scroll that had appeared from thin air, relentlessly pursuing the injured Lunar Spirit.
Wherever the scroll passed, the fabric of space seemed to ripple, as if it were effortlessly weaving in and out of spatial fissures through some arcane means.
The High Oracle's fading Lunar Spirit was so swift that only its trailing image could be seen.
Yet the peculiar scroll seemed even swifter. Despite the considerable distance, it rapidly closed in, and in a mere moment, it had drawn significantly nearer.
It was clear that it wouldn't take long for the scroll to catch up to the Crimson Sun Empire's High Oracle.
Yu Yuan felt a heavy sense of foreboding, fearing that the Ruby Hand's top Hellbreed might not make it back in time before being consumed by the scroll.
Lee Yuchan, who had been escaping in a blind rush with Lee Yu, came to an abrupt halt.
She gazed up at the night sky in astonishment.
Zhou Cangmin's Lunar Spirit had just soared overhead.
Then, she witnessed the bizarre scroll stirring the heavens as it pursued the High Oracle's Lunar Spirit.
The female general, known for her icy demeanor and less-than-stellar reputation within the empire, suddenly fell silent. Bowing her head, she addressed Lee Yu, "If she truly conspired with the demons, then Bai Shang was acting under her orders. What are your thoughts? How will you act moving forward?"
Lee Yuchan refrained from using 'sister' and instead referred to her as "her."
She had recognized that the scroll hunting down the High Oracle's Lunar Spirit was none other than the Silvermoon Queen's cherished treasure, one of her most formidable weapons.
The pursuit of Zhou Cangmin by the scroll painting spoke volumes.
"I... I don't know either," Lee Yu admitted, his head bowed.
He was the Silvermoon Empire's most powerful new generation expert, the pride of the Lee family, and the beloved nephew of the empress.
The Silvermoon Queen cherished him as if he were her own.
He was entrusted with the empire's formidable weapon, the Gutrender, and had unrestricted access to all the Lee family's cultivation resources.
His father might not have been exceptionally gifted in cultivation, but he was the blood brother of the empress and Lee Yuchan.
And there was no question about his father's devotion to the empress and Lee Yuchan.
"I'm well aware of the deep affection your father, my elder brother, has for her," Lee Yuchan said with a heavy sigh. "Even if she were to betray all the citizens of the empire, or stand against every sect in the Everlands, your father would unwaveringly support her. This has been the case for many years and has never wavered."
Lee Yu gave a slight nod, "I'm aware."
"And what about you?" Lee Yuchan inquired.
"As for that, I don't know."
...
With Van Yan's demise, the sword spirit, brimming with the ultimate sword's will and sword spell, launched its assault!
Countless crimson sword lights furiously flooded into the brown eyeball.
The sword sheath, embedded in the platinum skull, vibrated in response, emitting sharp sword's will that penetrated downward, converging on the eyeball.
Yu Yuan, prompted by the sword spirit, held his breath and concentrated, resonating with the sword spirit.
Suddenly, a thread of his thoughts latched onto the sword spirit. Guided by its pull, the thread traveled along his arm bone's pathways, mingling with the myriad of crimson sword lights, all converging on the brown eyeball.
This was the mysterious realm that Zhou Cangmin, Xu Zixi, and Yan Qiling had eagerly anticipated—the very eye of the Shura in the Dark Realm!
A thread of Yu Yuan's consciousness pierced through an unseen veil.
Puff!
In the next instant, an all-encompassing chill, darkness, and desolation pervaded!
He found himself in a strange, alien land.
Yu Yuan's thread of consciousness was the first to witness the entire expanse, bathed in a sea of scarlet sword lights.
Thousands of scarlet sword lights stretched across this unfamiliar place like rivers and springs, each ten meters wide and spanning thousands of miles!
These rivers and springs, all formed from scarlet sword lights, shot straight into the dark depths beyond.
Deep within the darkness, countless glittering Ice Shards converged from all directions, swirling together to form the Shura's Residual Soul.
Yu Yuan's consciousness absorbed the sight of the scarlet sword lights, sensing that each river and spring embodied a unique mystery of swordsmanship.
Millions of rivers, all crimson, were forged from the pure essence of sword's will.
Upon further reflection, he was astonished to discover that the crimson sword's will and sword force, which had coiled around his bones like mighty pythons and dragons, were in fact the interwoven sword lights.
The sword lights in this realm evolved to reveal the true essence of swordsmanship, materializing the ancient, boundless, and majestic sword spell.
The sword spell was now endlessly transforming, seemingly encompassing numerous intricate and profound aspects of swordsmanship.
The sword spirit had drawn in a thread of his consciousness for a purpose: it wanted him to directly witness and experience the wondrous mysteries of the sword spell!
This was his invitation to master the sword!
