C349 Moonfiend
The Silvermoon Queen let out a soft sigh, tinged with a hint of regret. With a deft flick of her finger, the Soul Orb in her grasp began to twirl, casting a faint purple glow. Her silver garments fluttered as she materialized abruptly before Qi Hongyi, who cradled her lute.
The sudden appearance of the Queen caused Qi Hongyi's face to contort with shock. Suspended above the cavernous pit, Qi Hongyi had been surrounded by emptiness. Yet, the arrival of the Silvermoon Queen made the space around her feel oppressively crowded, as if an unseen colossus had descended, occupying every inch.
An invisible force seemed to compress the very air, leaving Qi Hongyi in a state of extreme discomfort. Despite her delicate appearance, the Silvermoon Queen exuded the presence of an ancient and formidable Demon God.
Her face obscured, the Queen clutched the Soul Orb in one hand and the Soul Chart in the other, wielding them as if she were the deity governing the souls' destiny, reincarnation, and rebirth. The Soul Chart abruptly folded into a vertical scroll. Gripping it like a baton, the Silvermoon Queen struck down at Qi Hongyi.
The cries of countless tormented spirits erupted in Qi Hongyi's mind, so intense that the dark disciple's eyes began to bleed. The descending Soul Chart felt like a collapsing realm of aggrieved souls, overwhelming her Mindscape.
In a daze, Qi Hongyi realized her Mindscape was now overrun with hundreds of residual souls. Her memories, spiritual wisdom, and clarity were shattered by the onslaught. Her slender fingers, poised to play a bewitching melody on her lute, were too slow to inflict any damage upon the Silvermoon Queen.
Shen Feiqing shook her head, striding forward on a path of purple silk toward the floating Jade Tower, refined by Tong Laoqian. Even from hundreds of meters away, the female commander's punch drilled through the air. Her fist's intent surged like a river, ruthlessly striking the jade-constructed edifice without warning.
Tong Laoqian, who had been watching intently from the railing, turned ashen. Behind him, the houses of white, green, blue, and purple jade began to show cracks, and a three-story building crafted from black jade crumbled to the ground.
Tong Laoqian's face quivered with intense pain.
The artifact he had refined and named "Jade Tower" was not only his cultivation sanctuary but also the apple of his eye, having been nurtured with his blood, sweat, and years of dedication.
For centuries, he had scoured empires and dynasties for copper coins, secretly infusing many imperial jade seals into the Jade Tower. He amassed the fortunes of ancient reigns, creating a unique haven where he could gather spiritual energy in various mystical realms.
The Jade Tower could attract and accumulate the divine force of heaven and earth anywhere.
It served as a magical elixir field, an extension of his little world, a reservoir for spiritual energy and items.
The Jade Tower not only absorbed spiritual energy to aid his cultivation but also functioned as a Cosmos Ring.
When Shen Feiqing intervened, the structures within began to crack and collapse, threatening his very existence.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Shen Feiqing swung her fists, unleashing the "Ancient Echoes of the Void," striking through the air.
Though her punches seemed to hit nothing, they materialized elsewhere, forcefully tearing through space, bypassing the Jade Tower's defenses, and impacting the buildings within.
Tong Laoqian's face contorted with distress, as if he were on the verge of tears.
Standing by the pit, the Terra Fiend Bai Shang watched Xu Zixi with an impassive gaze.
Xu Zixi's brows were knitted tightly; she was caught in an internal struggle.
As soon as the Silvermoon Queen and the General engaged in combat, Qi Hongyi and Tong Laoqian were overwhelmed.
Being a soul, Yan Qiling was inherently vulnerable to the Soul Orb and Soul Chart, forcing him to take refuge within the Jade Tower.
In this scenario, if Bai Shang and the white-haired demon snake decided to collaborate, they could inflict severe damage or even kill her!
Bai Shang held back, biding his time.
Waiting for her decision!
If she heeded Shen Feiqing's counsel and extricated herself from the situation, she would remain unharmed.
Should she stubbornly attempt to protect Yu Yuan and strike once more, she would face the combined onslaught of Bai Shang and the white-haired demon snake.
Failure to recognize the gravity of her situation could very well lead to her demise.
The Python Queen, Xu Zixi, gazed intently at Yu Yuan, her eyes filled with hesitation and inner turmoil...
Amidst the chaos of battle, neither they nor Xu Zixi, who was wrestling with her own thoughts, noticed a crucial detail.
The Soul Orb that the Silvermoon Queen had been clutching had vanished without a trace!
A tiny speck of purple light, no larger than a grain of rice, slipped unnoticed into a crevice. It made its way into the brown eyeball of the Dark Realm Shura in an instant.
"The Soul Orb!"
"The Soul Orb has made its way into the Dark Realm Shura's solitary eye!"
"Even in the heat of combat, the empress managed to covertly employ a technique to miniaturize the Soul Orb and insert it into the Dark Realm Shura's brown eye, intertwining it with Yu Yuan's sword strike!"
"To me, it seems the Silvermoon Queen's true intent in attacking Qi Hongyi was to unleash the Soul Orb!"
Zhan Tianxiang, Zhao Yafu, Yuan Lianyao, and Qin Yun, all watching from above, exclaimed in shock.
Liu Ying, wielding the Fallen Star Eyes, grew increasingly uneasy and murmured softly, "Why did Yu's sword's will encounter such complications when it clashed with the Dark Realm Shura's residual soul and spiritual wisdom? Between the Golden Fiend and the Soul Orb, I fear he might be overwhelmed."
"He's got this," Yuan Lianyao asserted, taking a deep breath. Despite the knots in her stomach, she chose to have faith in Yu Yuan, trusting in his ability to overcome the battle within the center of the brown eye.
The Starmoon Sect's young girl gave her a quizzical look, as if to question the source of her unwavering confidence.
"Brother Yu will be just fine!"
Zhao Yafu clenched her fist with determination, her lips pursed as she defiantly muttered, "Neither that so-called Golden Fiend nor the Soul Orb can harm Brother Yu!"
Liu Ying, puzzled, inquired, "The Silvermoon Queen is your nation's empress. As her subject, why do you not hesitate to support Yu Yuan so staunchly?"
Zhao Yafu replied earnestly, "Brother Yu has helped me on several occasions and even saved my life in the Moonfall Sanctuary. From my perspective, he can do no wrong."
...
Within the Shura Eye, a microcosm unfolded in the Dark Realm.
In the center of the "well," Yu Yuan's shadowy figure, a manifestation of his thoughts, was coaxing words from the Golden Fiend, trying to understand the chaos and twists unfolding outside.
Suddenly, the shadowy projection of his mind felt an immense pressure descending upon it.
A small piece of amethyst quietly began to expand, transforming into a purple crystal sphere—the Soul Orb!
Yu Yuan, who had previously witnessed Lee Yu wield this very item in combat against the Moonfiend, would have undoubtedly let out a loud cry if he were able to make a sound.
Within the murky depths of the Soul Orb, a wraith began to grow, slowly becoming more distinct.
As the wraith's form became clear enough to recognize, Yu Yuan was struck by a renewed sense of shock. "Yue Fei?"
A year prior, during his trials in the forbidden area, he had come face to face with the long-sealed Moonfiend.
Many trial-takers had fallen victim to the Moonfiend, and numerous young men like himself had perished.
The instigator, the leader of the Moonfiend, was known as Yue Fei.
Yu Yuan had once used his sword's will to subdue Yue Fei, albeit briefly.
Wasn't Yue Fei supposed to have perished in the Moonfall Sanctuary? Why then did her visage reappear within the Soul Orb?
Plagued by a myriad of doubts that refused to dissipate, Yu Yuan felt as though he was trapped in a dream, shrouded in a dense fog, unable to discern reality. He began to question whether the space he occupied was truly part of the Dark Realm or the inner world of the Shura.
"The Silvermoon Empire, founded in the name of the moon."
Yue Fei's essence within the Soul Orb conveyed her thoughts and intentions, "Our Moonfiend Clan, clinging to existence, has been bound to the Silvermoon Empire for ages. The third shadow that stands behind the Silvermoon Queen is none other than me, a member of the Moonfiend Clan!"
