C361 Soul Crystal
The sky was clear and unblemished.
A silvery Fallen Star Eyes streaked across the daylight sky, plunging toward the earth below. A few hundred meters from the ground, the lunar meteorite from outer space came to a halt.
Lau Ying, who had been wounded in her battle with Van Yan, was now fully healed and her spirit shone brightly.
At this moment, her gaze was subdued, and without a need to mentally manipulate the mirror-like table, the situation was clear enough for those around her to grasp.
"Is Her Majesty really leaving just like that?"
Zhan Tianxiang stroked his chin, his expression odd, as he remarked, "That commander, the one known as Lih Baixiong, seems to have also fled with his Yin God."
Zhao Yafu and Yuan Lianyao kept their silence.
"The Silvermoon Empire is likely facing its demise," Qin Yun observed.
"Even if the Lee family falls, another will rise to take its place," Ning Ji, whose cultivation was modest but whose loyalty to Yu Yuan was unwavering, interjected. "The Yan family stands a good chance to succeed the Lee family as the imperial house. In my view, even if Lee Yupan is ousted and hunted by his own kin, the Lee family will struggle to reclaim their past splendor within the Silvermoon Empire."
"What about the Yu family and Darkmoon City? What does the future hold for them?" Zhan Tianxiang mused.
"You're all too preoccupied with what's to come. We should focus on understanding the present circumstances," Lau Ying chided, casting them a reproachful glance. "Yu Yuan hasn't come to yet, and we're still in the dark about the peculiarities of that miniature world within the Asura's Eye."
"The empress's departure and the commander's flight surely signal their plan's failure, don't they?" Zhan Tianxiang asserted confidently. "They've been defeated, so Yu Yuan must be out of danger."
"That's not a given," Lau Ying countered, shaking her head. "His soul is unusual; it's not merely submerged in consciousness but seems to have a soul infused into the Asura's eyes. Perhaps due to his insufficient cultivation to reach the Yin God Stage, when one soul departed, the soul anchored in his body couldn't rouse his awareness for conversation and interaction."
"He's not like the empress, whose Yin God can leave and her physical form still functions with ease," Yuan Lianyao added. "Given his level of cultivation, any one of the three souls—of heaven, earth, or man—departing would be enough to trouble him deeply. How could he possibly remain as untroubled as before after losing one of his souls?"
As they conversed, Ning Ji once again lapsed into silence. Having previously used the Soul Summoning Flag to call upon Yu Yuan's spirit at the Yu family's ancestral home, he was aware that Yu Yuan's three souls were incomplete. Now, as he listened to their discussion, Ning Ji couldn't help but suspect that Yu Yuan's three souls were inherently different from those of ordinary people.
"Yellow Old Devil?"
Chi Hongyi, cradling her lute, descended gracefully from the Jade Tower and alighted upon the massive gourd. She gazed intently at the Yellow Old Devil, whose soul had just returned, and inquired, "What's the situation?"
Yan Qiling and Old Cash also directed their focused attention toward him from their respective positions.
"The details are unclear to me," the Yellow Old Devil admitted, still somewhat dazed. "All I can say is that I witnessed something remarkable in that realm! The lingering soul of the Asura within the Dark Domain is likely to vanish soon. And as for the Silvermoon Empire's queen, the Yin God within her may not be able to escape."
"I'm concerned about Yu Yuan," Yan Qiling interjected forcefully.
"Yu Yuan..." The Yellow Old Devil's soul bore a look of complexity. The mere memory of the formidable soul shadow formed from Yu Yuan's Heavenly Soul filled him with a profound sense of dread. "He should be alright. The turmoil within the Dark Domain will subside because of him. As for more details, I can't provide clarity. You'll have to wait a bit longer."
"What are we waiting for?" Old Cash demanded.
"We wait for Yu Yuan to come to his senses, for his Heavenly Soul to re-enter his body, and for him to be able to speak," the Yellow Old Devil explained.
"And what about the secret realm?" Old Cash pressed, eager for information.
His Jade Tower, which he had refined, was akin to a paradise capable of absorbing and engulfing the spiritual essence of Heaven and Earth, thereby fortifying the Jade Tower and enhancing its grandeur.
He harbored a deep longing for the secret realm and had many ideas about it.
The Yellow Old Devil looked up and fixed his gaze on Old Cash, offering a word of caution. "Regardless of what may happen, I urge you to dismiss any designs you have on the small world seen by the Asura."
"Why not?" Old Cash retorted with a huff.
"That entity is beyond our reach," the Yellow Old Devil sighed heavily, his resignation evident.
Having witnessed its wonders, he had lost all desire to covet it.
If the small world within the eyeball was indeed a reality and not an illusion, then they should steer clear of the secret realm contained within, no matter what.
Upon this realization, Yellow Old Devil couldn't help but inwardly marvel.
Lee Yupan and Shen Feiqing, though women, harbored ambitions vast enough to encompass the universe itself.
They even had the audacity to scheme for the secret realm, unafraid of incurring the wrath of both heaven and humanity, risking becoming pariahs in the Boundless Land.
Were they not daunted by the prospect of being hunted by the three great upper sects, the Demon Palace, and the Devil Palace on the Heavenly Source Continent?
...
Within the brown iris.
Mountains crumbled, rivers severed, and the earth split open with deep fissures during the massive quake.
From these chasms, beams of radiant treasure light burst forth, reaching for the sky and revealing scenes and oddities from beyond the stars.
Millions of icy crystals lay scattered among the gleaming Spirit Stone veins, falling prey to the increasingly fine strands of crimson sword light, turning to dust with each strike.
Each crystal encapsulated the lingering wisdom and soul of the Asura from the Dark Domain.
Employing the most ancient of Asura secret arts, he had forged and imprinted his soul's essence into these crystals.
The crystals, clear and flawless, shimmered with internal brilliance, their splendor and mystique etching his life's journey, his understanding of Asura power, and his profound knowledge of the cosmos garnered over many years.
Should a descendant of the Asura from the Dark Domain come upon this place and assimilate these remnants of soul crystals, they would undoubtedly ascend to great heights.
And these crystals, now one with the spirit stone mountains and the deep subterranean veins, were part of this world.
His intelligence and soul, pulverized by the crimson sword light, led to the collapse of landscapes and the severing of rivers, threatening to shatter the entire world into oblivion.
The omnipresent sword soul, clinging to every strand of crimson sword light, sought to annihilate all in its path.
The Chopping Moon cultivator of yore had used the sword sheath not to end the Asura, but to contain it.
His ulterior motive was to preserve the secret realm for the future, to be claimed by his Sword Sect brethren.
The sword intent within the sheath was eternal, undying, yet the sword soul had left no mark upon it.
His actions were undoubtedly imbued with profound significance.
The sword soul fused with Yu Yuan's arm was excessively violent, recklessly pursuing its goals without any regard for the fallout.
Had a sword soul been nurtured within the sheath from the beginning, the lingering soul and intellect of the Asura from the Dark Domain would have long been refined and obliterated.
What future could there be then?
The Asura's residual soul and intelligence had already become one with the microcosm within his gaze.
Should the Asura perish, the secret realm, as bountiful as the three great upper sects, would face ruin.
This was not the outcome desired by the Chopping Moon cultivator.
But now, with Yu Yuan's arrival, the sword intent housed in the sheath, commandeered by the sword soul, was poised to fulfill his incomplete endeavors.
A crimson sword glow swept by, shattering the icy crystals, turning soul thoughts to drifting ash.
The order of the Great Dao would spiral into disarray with the Asura's demise, leading to the collapse and eternal vanishing of this realm.
Yu Yuan's transformed colossal soul spirit roamed, encircled by fleeting scarlet sword lights, as it surged towards the dense clusters of cold crystals.
The Silvermoon Queen, battered and unable to flee, ceased her fruitless struggles.
Assuming the form of a Yin God, the empress willingly drew near Yu Yuan's soul spirit.
The crescent on her brow, the musings of Yuefei, conversed with her incessantly.
She spoke gently, persuasively, "Is a secret realm, as rich and pure as the Heavenly Source Continent's treasured lands, to be destroyed just because it's filled with the Dark Domain Asura's remnant soul and intellect?"
"Isn't that a terrible waste?"
"This land of treasures could sustain numerous cultivators, and it could help the child you cherish to secure and advance within the Yellow Court Stage."
"Please stop, halt your actions, or this world will indeed shatter."
"Once it shatters, it will be too late for everything."
