C363 !
Silvermoon Queen Lee Yupan experienced a moment of disorientation, her soul seemingly adrift as the world around her whirled and shifted, stars and landscapes trading places in a dizzying dance of time and space. She instinctively knew that a monumental change was on the horizon.
With a focused gaze, she soon spotted an unfamiliar figure materializing from nothingness—Yu Zhu, enshrouded in a colorful miasma cloud. Yu Zhu was no stranger to her. Initially, Lee Yupan was unaware of her origins, only recognizing her as the mysterious and remarkable girl who was a constant companion to Yu Yuan.
It was the White-robed Imperial Advisor, Zhou Cangmin, who first shed light on Yu Zhu. After parting with Yu Yuan in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area and upon Yu Yuan's return to the Silvermoon Empire, Zhou Cangmin had a clandestine meeting with Lee Yupan. He spoke of Yu Yuan and mentioned Yu Zhu, but when it came to Yu Zhu's origins and her enigmatic presence, the Imperial Advisor deliberately withheld information.
The astute and perceptive Silvermoon Queen took note, her curiosity piqued. She began to inquire in secret, her investigations deepening the mystery and wonder surrounding Yu Zhu.
Through diligent questioning, Lee Yupan reached a conclusion: Yu Zhu was no ordinary being and was intricately linked to the horrific events in Chilly Wind Valley near the Jade Peak Mountains.
When Yu Zhu established herself in the Absence Relic, concealing her presence within the lake, the Queen used the Soul Sacrifice Diagram to mask her own essence and observed Yu Zhu in secret, confirming her suspicions—Yu Zhu was indeed an extraordinary entity.
Subsequently, with the emergence of Shen Feiqing, the White-robed Imperial Advisor, Python Queen Xu Zixi, Yan Qiling, and Yu Yuan joined forces to explore the secret realm, unveiling the true extent of Yu Zhu's remarkable abilities. She harmonized with the Absence Relic's path, commanding the land and sky, and could summon the toxic miasma clouds to coalesce the lingering spiritual energy.
Yu Zhu had an instantaneous connection to the subtle shifts within the Absence Relic—spatial anomalies and tremors of the earth were all within her keen perception. To call Yu Zhu a minor deity of the Absence Relic was hardly an overstatement.
Thus, the empress, in her wisdom, came to view Yu Zhu as an unpredictable element, one to be watched with a careful and discreet eye.
As Yu Yuan's physique proved insufficiently tempered, he struggled to withstand the sword light crystallizing within his arm bones and meridians. At the brink of collapse, Yu Zhu extracted the essence of her own heart's blood to cleanse and refine the Naga blood provided by Bai Shuang, using it to mend Yu Yuan's wounds. Sensing trouble early on, Lee Yupan covertly instructed Van Yan to intervene.
Consequently, Van Yan's betrayal was revealed as he attempted to halt Yu Yuan's healing process. Thus, Lee Yupan's concern for Yu Zhu surpassed that of anyone else. She regarded Yu Zhu as the sole individual who had selflessly devoted everything to Yu Yuan, even willing to sacrifice her life for him.
Lee Yupan had encountered many beings more emotive than humans, and she deeply understood this truth. It was such a being, enveloped in a unique aura of Qi and blood, shrouded by the colorful miasma cloud, that suddenly materialized in this realm, leaving Lee Yupan astounded.
In the next instant, the unexpected occurred. Wisps of purple smoke quietly emerged from where her flesh had been torn asunder by the crimson sword light. The smoke tendrils rose and converged into a haze.
This delicate purple fog drew in the pure spiritual energy of the surroundings, slowly but rapidly condensing, exuding a profound richness. The dense fog further refined into droplets, not of water, but of blood—crystalline blood droplets.
Each droplet of purple blood radiated an enchanting allure, its brilliance captivating from a distance, dazzling to the point where one's gaze and very soul seemed drawn into its depths.
Drop by drop, dozens of these blood beads formed.
"The demonic blood that Shen Feiqing had stripped from Wei Feng's body was also channeled here through the Soul Sacrifice Diagram and the soul sacrifice ball, which you then transformed into a corporeal form," Yuefei's soulful voice resonated clearly in Lee Yupan's mind.
"Though your condensed body was shattered by the sword's radiance, the demonic blood did not simply vanish. The demonic energy, once interwoven with your power, has now dissipated. On your own, you lack the strength to recollect the demonic blood and rebuild your flesh. Yet, there are those who can gather these fine strands of dispersed demonic blood, manifesting them as smoke, coalescing them into fog, and ultimately crystallizing them into blood beads."
Yuefei was deeply moved.
"Such divine power is beyond your grasp or use at the Soul Wandering Stage. Our schemes in this world have been detected by those with true might. It's only natural that we faced defeat."
Lee Yupan was overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness and despair.
She watched as dazzling purple blood beads, each emitting a precious light and exuding an energy that set hearts racing, flew towards Yu Zhu.
Drop by drop, the demonic blood from Wei Feng's body, harnessed by Lee Yupan after Wei Feng's demise, found its way to Yu Zhu.
Like a blood rain merging with the ocean.
Each purple bead that touched Yu Zhu seamlessly integrated into her being.
This process was far simpler than the refining of the demonic blood by Shen Feiqing or its use by Lee Yupan.
The demonic blood welcomed Yu Zhu, its rich energy and powerful life force instinctively and eagerly moving towards her chest.
At that spot lay Yu Zhu's heart.
The very heart's blood she had previously extracted had originated there!
With a burst, a sphere of purple brilliance exploded from Yu Zhu's chest, shining like a nascent purple sun.
The pure demonic energy radiating from it cast a purple luminance that left Lee Yupan spellbound, its splendor and uniqueness overwhelming.
"She once saved Yu Yuan with her heart's blood. Now, the one who cherishes Yu Yuan returns the favor in kind."
Yuefei's soulful voice resonated once more, "Unlike the commander, you are both purely human, but she is of the Demon Phoenix lineage, which naturally endears her to the Demon Phoenix blood. The absorption and refinement of this blood happen effortlessly, without any resistance. This girl, Yu Zhu, is a rare hybrid of two ancient demonic species from the Boundless Land."
"At least one of her lineages is as ancient and venerable as the Demon Phoenix. She is not human but a purer form of Demon. She is the unique offspring of different demon species, exceedingly rare and brimming with boundless potential."
The elder of the Moon Demon Clan spoke with a soul voice tinged with both admiration and envy.
The ancient Demon Clans are now exceedingly scarce, some having ascended to the status of Demon Gods, enshrined within the Demon Palace, possessing near-immortal lifespans and formidable powers.
Some met their end in battles beyond the heavens, others perished fighting the Nagas, and yet others fell amidst human conflicts.
The majority of the present-day Demon Clan are descendants of their ancient forebears, their bloodlines diluted and lacking the purity required to inherit the divine powers and talents etched deep within their ancestral blood.
Yu Zhu, by the judgment of the Silvermoon Queen, is the progeny of two distinct and unusual Demon Clans.
The fact that these disparate clans gave rise to her existence is nothing short of miraculous.
Her lineage traces back to an ancient Demon Clan akin to the Demon Phoenix.
Her effortless acceptance of the Demon Phoenix's blood is testament to her divine favor.
"Eh?"
Lee Yupan gasped in surprise, her soul form gazing upon Yu Zhu, who was bathed in a purple glow. She couldn't help but see this slight and shadowy girl as the most fortunate being under the heavens!
In that moment, the formidable soul, born of Yu Yuan's Heavenly Soul, was thrashing about, pulling at the very essence of this realm.
He was extracting soul crystals, forged from the remnants and intellect of Asuras from the Dark Domain, each emanating a chilling aura.
From earth's fissures, from mountains of Spirit Stones, from the depths of rivers, he retrieved these icy crystals.
The massive soul pried them free and pressed them into Yu Zhu's skull, a skull that had withstood repeated blows from Van Yan's eight-edged hammer.
"Crack!"
As the icy crystals descended upon her head, they shattered, releasing a dazzling light. The essence of the Asuras' remnant souls and intelligence flowed into her head.
Many glints of light were snuffed out within that radiant essence.
"Just as I thought, what the Chopping Moon cultivator couldn't achieve, the titans of the Divine Soul Sect can," Yuefei remarked, her anger subsiding into a mix of admiration and fear. "The extinguished light crystals represent the individual consciousness of the Dark Asuras, the very essence of the Asuras themselves. The colossal soul from the Divine Soul Sect that manifested here has obliterated the Asura's will, transferring remnants of its soul, memories, knowledge of this realm, and perhaps even the Asura's secret techniques into that girl."
"And that girl, she's not only withstanding it but also assimilating it on her own."
The reason she possesses such power is that she is inherently the source of the Great Dao from the Absence Relic, having been nurtured by the world beyond. For millennia, perhaps even tens of millennia, the Dark Domain Asura's eye—a microcosm in its own right—has been surreptitiously siphoning the spiritual essence of the Absence Relic to sustain this extraordinary realm.
From this perspective, the Dark Domain Asura is nothing more than a cunning thief. He pilfered the fortune and spiritual might that rightfully belonged to the girl, integrating them into the fabric of this world.
The spiritual energy here, the very foundation of Heaven and Earth, and the encompassing space, all bear the distinct essence of the Absence Relic.
Now, she has been ushered into this domain, garnering the attention of a high-ranking figure from the Divine Soul Sect, who has infused her with demon blood to catalyze her flesh's growth and metamorphosis. Meanwhile, the Dark Domain Asura's residual consciousness, stripped of self-awareness, has been assimilated into her being, refined and absorbed by her.
She emerges as the ultimate victor, destined to rule over this domain. And when she makes her return to the Absence Relic, she will reign supreme as its sovereign.
