C353 The Shadow of the Moon
Blood cascaded like a river around the edges of the pit, where the dismembered limbs and heads of Tusk Beasts and soldiers lay strewn, staining the pit's bottom a deep crimson. The pungent scent of blood billowed skyward like a plume of dark red smoke.
The sword sheath continued to emit a potent sword intent, its radiance undiminished and ever-flowing.
Lih Baixiong, on the cusp of achieving the Soul Wandering state at the Peak of the Yin God Stage, gazed upon the pit and the horrific demise of his comrades with an expression of profound sorrow etched upon his Yin God visage.
At the behest of the Silvermoon Queen, the Earth Demon Bai Shang and a white-haired crone trembled with fear, halting just in time on the precipice of disaster. They had hoped to evade calamity, to escape unscathed.
But then, the sword intent surged anew!
"Chi! Chi!"
Fresh tendrils of sword intent, like frigid bolts of lightning, burst forth from the sword sheath.
Bai Shang and the white-haired crone tensed instantly, fleeing like smoke before the sword intent could draw near. The crone's White Bone Crutch plunged into the earth with force as she, along with her crutch, burrowed into the ground's depths to dodge the lethal sword intent.
The nascent sword intent pursued Bai Shang and the crone relentlessly, soaring into the distance and penetrating the earth.
Unyielding, the chase continued until a pained wail echoed from the crone deep within the earth, still suffering injury from within its bowels.
The Silvermoon Queen, clutching the Soul Sacrifice Diagram, halted her descent dozens of yards from the pit. Her obscured face bowed, she surveyed the upheaval within the pit. The Tusk Troops' soldiers had been slain by the sword intent in an instant, before even setting foot in the pit.
She also witnessed Bai Shang and the white-haired crone, who had sworn years of loyalty to her, fleeing at the mere sound of the sword intent.
A wave of anxiety flooded the Silvermoon Queen's heart. Holding the Soul Sacrifice Diagram, she no longer dared to press forward. Instead, she maintained her composure, immersing her mind and soul into the diagram.
With the Soul Sacrifice Diagram and the soul sacrifice ball interconnected, she could communicate with Yuefei through arcane methods.
"Whoosh!"
The Soul Sacrifice Diagram unfurled once again, its canvas teeming with shadowy figures, resentful spirits, and strange souls that continued to flow into the soul sacrifice ball, all under the control of the Moon Queen. She was manipulating the ball to alter the cosmic balance within the Asura's eye in the Dark Domain.
The queen extended her hand and suddenly pointed at the scroll.
In the heavens, the pure and icy moonlight seemed to respond.
A brilliant stream of moonlight infused the Soul Sacrifice Diagram, guided by the queen's fingertip, leaving behind a crescent moon imprint.
With the crescent mark complete, her consciousness plunged into it, establishing a connection with the Moon Queen within the soul sacrifice ball.
...
High above.
Lau Ying, perched above the Fallen Star Eyes, let out a piercing scream, pointing at the Silvermoon Queen reflected in the mirror, "The seal she's casting is the Moon Soul Shadow! The queen of the Silvermoon Empire is not only entwined with the Earth Demon and the rebels of the Demon Palace, but she may also harbor unspeakable secrets with the Moon Demons from beyond our realm!"
"Moon Soul Shadow?" Yuan Lianyao inquired with intrigue, "What's that?"
"Beyond the stars, the Moon Demon Clan excels in a seal known as the Moon Soul Shadow, which allows them to communicate soul thoughts through the moon!" Lau Ying's expression grew stern, "Our Silver Moon Sect, especially the Moon Sect lineage, is most familiar with the Moon Demons! Many of their seals and secret arts, I must admit, have been referenced by our Moon Sect."
"The Moon Soul Shadow is a common means of communication among the Moon Demons!"
"The Silvermoon Queen's mastery of this seal indicates that she has secretly practiced the Moon Demon's secret arts. And whoever can communicate with her using the Moon Soul Shadow is surely another practitioner of the same art!"
"Or perhaps, it is the Moon Demon itself!"
As she spoke, Lau Ying had a sudden revelation, glancing down at the Fallen Star Eyes beneath her, her body quivering with the shock of her insight.
"What's wrong?" Qin Yun asked.
"Just now, the Fallen Star Eyes plummeted as if yanked by the Silvermoon Queen." Lau Ying paused thoughtfully, "These Fallen Star Eyes originate from the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, crafted from the lunar meteorites that are the Moon Demon Clan's habitat. If the Silvermoon Queen is versed in the Moon Demon's sigil magic, then..."
She abruptly grasped the reason behind the vanishing of the restless souls and why she could see an empty canvas and the Soul Sacrifice Diagram.
Despite her expertise, the Silvermoon Queen remained unseen.
The Queen, adept in the Moon Demon Clan's sigils and influential over the celestial moon, could elude the scrutiny of the Fallen Star Eyes. The very essence of these eyes was crafted from lunar fragments.
It stands to reason that the Silvermoon Queen may have emerged in the Absence Relic long ago, yet her Fallen Star Eyes failed to locate and pinpoint her presence.
"Moon Demon? She's entwined not only with the Earth Demon and the Demon Palace but also secretly with the Moon Demon?" Qin Yun scoffed.
The Earth Demon Bai Shang and the white-haired crone of the Demon Palace, though not human, hailed from the Boundless Land.
In the strictest sense, both Bai Shang and the crone were creatures of this realm.
The Moon Demon, however, belonged to the Devaputra, an extraterrestrial race.
Fraternizing with the Devaputra was deemed a graver sin, utterly unforgivable by the venerable cultivators of both the Heavenly Source and Quietus Continents.
"She dares to rouse the Asura from the Dark Domain; what wouldn't she dare?" Lau Ying cast a sidelong glance at him, seemingly thinking Qin Yun was overreacting. "The Silvermoon Queen is leading the Silvermoon Empire and all her allies down an irreversible path."
...
Shen Feiqing ceased her battle with Old Cash.
As Lih Baixiong's flesh vanished and her troops were reduced to mist in the blink of an eye, the commander's eyes reddened with fury.
She had personally built this loyal cadre, a vital force for her future ambitions.
In a fleeting moment, her finest were decimated.
How could her heart not ache?
With a thunderous roar, she returned to the purple silk, soaring toward the pit as if on a magic carpet.
"No!"
The fleshless Lih Baixiong, now a Yin God, projected a Soul Sound that pierced Shen Feiqing's consciousness.
Shen Feiqing remained deaf and blind to it.
"Wait! Just wait!"
The queen, startled and pointing at the Soul Sacrifice Diagram, etching the lunar shadow, also cried out.
The Silvermoon Queen's command resonated far more than Lih Baixiong's.
Amidst the tragic deaths of his subordinates, the commander, with eyes bloodshot from rage, halted midair.
She stood over the swath of purple silk, her gaze fixed on the Silvermoon Queen with eyes that had turned a fiery red. "You promised there would be no unexpected complications!"
"I did promise," the Silvermoon Queen acknowledged without denial. With a voice as unyielding as Mount Tai, she addressed Shen Feiqing, "You take charge of the exterior; the individuals below are my responsibility. I assured you, I can handle it."
The 'exterior' she mentioned included Old Cash, Chi Hongyi, and Yan Qiling.
With Bai Shang and the old crone now in flight, Shen Feiqing's presence was crucial to reinforce their position.
As Shen Feiqing wavered in her fury, she caught sight of a delicate shadow emerging leisurely from the Queen's brow, drifting toward the Soul Sacrifice Diagram.
Shen Feiqing's face turned ashen.
The rest, Yan Qiling and Old Cash included, were equally taken aback.
Above, Lau Ying, Yuan Lianyao, Qin Yun, and others were profoundly shaken.
"Her true self!"
"The Queen herself has come, not just her Yin God!"
"We assumed this vessel was merely a ruse. To think it's actually the Queen's flesh and blood!"
The crowd was abuzz with astonishment.
The Silvermoon Queen's visage was indistinct, casting an ethereal aura that led many to mistake her for a Yin God inhabiting another shell.
They believed the true Queen remained within the Empire, observing from the shadows.
Only when her Yin God soared from her brow into the Soul Sacrifice Diagram did they realize that the Queen holding the diagram was indeed herself.
"Leave it to me!"
With her Yin God departed, the Queen, still with her Heavenly Soul and primary soul intact, pledged earnestly to Shen Feiqing.
The shock had left Shen Feiqing with a newfound composure.
...
Within the Dark Domain's Asura Eye, a microcosm in its own right.
Yu Yuan's consciousness, ensnared within the 'well' of crimson sword radiance, began to swell in an enigmatic fashion.
The intersecting scarlet beams faded into nothingness.
Yu Yuan, once merely a consciousness, slowly manifested his Heavenly Soul.
As he meditated on the Soul Forging Technique and reached out to the mysterious space at the bottom of the Soul Transformation Pool, his Heavenly Soul inexplicably journeyed from his mind into this strange new realm before him.
The Heavenly Soul, not yet advanced to the Yin God Stage, astonishingly managed to detach from the body and delve deep into a secret realm—an incredibly extraordinary feat!
Even more astounding was the rapid expansion of Yu Yuan's Heavenly Soul.
It was being infused with soul energy as boundless as the ocean, seemingly without end.
Yellow Old Devil, who had also entered in the form of a soul spirit, gazed upon Yu Yuan, now appearing almost corporeal, and was overwhelmed by the fearsome aura emanating from Yu Yuan's soul shadow. The shock was beyond words.
"How is this possible?"
The Earth Soul solidifies into a Yin God, while the transformation of the Heavenly Soul marks the emergence of a Yang God.
Yu Yuan had practiced the Soul Forging Technique in the Yellow Court Stage for some time, yet his Heavenly Soul was far from undergoing the metamorphosis into a Yang God. But now, Yu Yuan's Heavenly Soul was emanating waves of soul energy so powerful that even the Yellow Old Devil's spirit felt stifled!
