C363 !
Silvermoon Queen Lee Yupan felt her soul slip into a trance, and suddenly the world around her seemed to whirl, as if time and space had turned upside down. She knew instinctively that a momentous change was imminent.
Focusing her soul's gaze, she spotted a strange figure materializing out of thin air—Yu Zhu, enshrouded in a seven-colored cloud. Yupan was no stranger to Yu Zhu. Initially, she knew nothing of Yu Zhu's origins, only that this mysterious girl was often seen at Yu Yuan's side, exuding an air of mystery and distinction.
It was the High Oracle Zhou Cangmin who first introduced Yu Zhu to her. After bidding farewell to Yu Yuan at the Moonfall Sanctuary and as Yu Yuan decided to return to the Silvermoon Empire, Zhou Cangmin had a secret meeting with Yupan. During their conversation, he spoke of Yu Yuan and mentioned Yu Zhu. However, the state preceptor deliberately concealed the origins and the remarkable nature of Yu Zhu, leaving Yupan to wonder about her true intentions.
The astute and perceptive Silvermoon Queen took note and began to inquire discreetly. The more she probed, the more enigmatic and fascinating Yu Zhu became. Yupan's interest was piqued, and after extensive inquiries, she reached a conclusion—Yu Zhu was no ordinary being and was deeply connected to the tragic events in Gloomhollow of the Serpent Spine Mountains.
When Yu Zhu settled in the Forgotten Ruins and concealed herself within a lake, Yupan used the Soul Chart to mask her presence and observed her secretly, confirming her suspicions—Yu Zhu was indeed an extraordinary entity.
Later, with Shen Feiqing's presence, the High Oracle, Python Queen Xu Zixi, Yan Qiling, and Yu Yuan formed an alliance to explore the Mysterious Realm. It was then that Yu Zhu's miraculous abilities came to light. She resonated with the Way of Heaven in the Forgotten Ruins, capable of controlling the land and converging all the poisonous miasma to harness the residual spiritual energy. The slightest changes in the Forgotten Ruins, the anomalies in space, and the tremors of the earth—all were instantly perceived by the slender girl. To call Yu Zhu a minor deity of the Forgotten Ruins would not be an overstatement.
Hence, the empress covertly considered Yu Zhu an unpredictable factor. When Yu Yuan was on the brink of being overwhelmed by the sword light condensing in his arm bones and meridians, Yu Zhu detached the lifeblood from her own heart, purifying Bai Shuang's Naga essence to heal and restore Yu Yuan's wounds. Yupan, who had long sensed trouble, covertly instructed Van Yan to intervene.
After Van Yan's exposure and his subsequent attack on Yu Zhu, aimed at preventing Yu Yuan's recovery, Lee Yupan found herself more invested in Yu Zhu's well-being than anyone else. To Yupan, Yu Zhu was the one person who had given her all to Yu Yuan without expecting anything in return, even willing to lay down her life for him. Yupan had encountered many extraordinary beings, and Yu Zhu was no exception—a creature wrapped in a seven-colored cloud, exuding a peculiar vitality, and suddenly appearing in this world.
Yupan was understandably astonished. Then, without warning, a bizarre transformation occurred. Wisps of purple smoke began to rise silently from the ground where her flesh had been torn asunder by the crimson sword light. These tendrils of smoke coalesced into a thin mist, which drew in the pure spiritual energy of the surroundings, becoming denser and imparting a profound richness.
The mist further refined itself into droplets that shone like crystal-clear water. But these were no ordinary droplets—they were droplets of blood. Each one was suffused with an enchanting beauty, shining so brightly from afar that they captured the gaze and threatened to ensnare both the eyes and the soul of any onlooker. Dozens of these purple blood beads formed, each one pulsating with a mesmerizing light.
"The demonic blood that Shen Feiqing extracted from Wei Feng, guided by the connection between the Soul Chart and the Soul Orb, was refined by you into a new body," Yue Fei's remnant soul resonated clearly in Yupan's mind. "Your reconstructed body was shattered by the sword light, but the demon blood did not vanish. The demon energy within it dispersed into countless threads. With your current power, it's impossible to gather the demon blood and rebuild your flesh. Yet, there are those who can transform the scattered demon blood into a mist and then into these blood droplets."
Yue Fei's voice was tinged with a sense of wonder. "Such a profound ability is beyond your grasp as a Spirit Walker. Our schemes in this world were detected by those with true power, and our downfall was inevitable."
Overwhelmed by a sense of defeat and helplessness, Yupan watched as the precious purple blood beads, brimming with terrifying demon energy, began to drift towards Yu Zhu.
Droplet by droplet, the vibrant purple blood from Wei Feng's body, now devoid of life, was harnessed by Lee Yupan and directed toward Yu Zhu. It descended like a blood rain into the ocean, each drop silently integrating into Yu Zhu's form with ease. This process was far simpler than when Shen Feiqing refined the demon blood or when Yupan herself had utilized it.
The demon blood harbored no resistance to Yu Zhu, willingly channeling its copious demon energy and the robust force of vitality straight to her chest, where her heart resided. The very heart's blood she had once extracted originated from there.
With a resounding boom, a burst of purple brilliance erupted from Yu Zhu's chest, akin to a nascent purple sun ascending into the sky. The emanating pure demon energy and the radiant purple glow left Yupan utterly mesmerized by its exquisite splendor and unique allure.
"She once saved Yu Yuan with the blood of her own heart, and now, the one who watches over Yu Yuan is reciprocating in kind," Yue Fei's remnant soul echoed once more. "Unlike you and the commander, who are purely human, she possesses a demon form, making her more likely to gain the favor of the Dark Phoenix's blood. The absorption and refinement of the demon blood happen seamlessly, without any resistance. This young lady, Yu Zhu, is a rare hybrid of two ancient mutant strains from the evilkind of the Everlands."
"One of them is as venerable as the Dark Phoenix itself. She is not human but still belongs to the evilkind, purer in essence than Wei Feng. She is the offspring of different evilkind, a union far more uncommon, with boundless potential for the future." The elder of the Moonfiend Clan spoke with a voice tinged with both admiration and envy.
Nowadays, ancient evilkind are exceedingly scarce. Some have become legends like the Dark Phoenix, worshipped in the Shadow's Keep, boasting near-immortal lifespans and formidable powers. Others have perished in extraterrestrial battles, fallen fighting the Nagas, or succumbed amidst internal strife with their human counterparts. Most evilkind today are diluted descendants of these ancient beings, their bloodlines lacking the purity and the theurgic imprints of their forebears.
Yu Zhu, according to Yue Fei's assessment, is the hybrid offspring of two distinct and unusual evilkind lineages.
The fact that these two evilkind, not even of the same species, could produce someone like her is nothing short of miraculous.
One of her ancestral lines is akin to the ancient evilkind, similar to the Dark Phoenix.
Her effortless acceptance of the Dark Phoenix's blood is a testament to her unique heritage.
"Eh?"
Lee Yupan was suddenly taken aback. In her soul form, she gazed at Yu Zhu, who was bathed in a radiant purple glow, and couldn't help but think that this slight, dark-skinned girl was incredibly fortunate to be so favored by the divine.
At that very moment, Yu Yuan's heaven soul was tumultuously stirring in the deepest reaches of this realm.
He was extracting Soul Crystals, formed from the Shura's residual souls and spiritual wisdom, which exuded a chilling presence.
They were unearthed from the crevices of the earth, the mountains of soulstones, and the depths of the rivers.
One by one, the Ice Shards were pried loose by the immense soul and thrust into Yu Zhu's skull.
Her head had been subjected to repeated blows from Van Yan's Eight-Flanged Mace.
"Crack!"
As the Ice Shard approached her head, it shattered, releasing a dazzling light. The essence of the Shura's residual soul and spiritual wisdom flowed into her head.
Numerous glinting fragments within the radiant essence were snuffed out.
"Indeed, what the cultivators of Moon Slayer could not achieve, the titans of Boulderdawn can," Yue Fei remarked, her irritation giving way to a mix of admiration and fear. "The independent consciousness of the Dark Realm's Shura is represented by those extinguished shards of light, the very essence of the Shura itself. The mighty soul from Boulderdawn has obliterated the Shura's will, infusing the girl with the Shura's lingering thoughts, memories, knowledge of this realm, and possibly even the Shura's mystique."
"And that girl, remarkably, is able to endure and assimilate it all on her own."
The reason for this is that the girl is inherently a source of the Way of Heaven, born from the world outside. For thousands, even tens of thousands of years, this little world within the Dark Realm Shura's eye has been quietly absorbing the spiritual energy of the Forgotten Ruins to sustain this strange land.
From this perspective, the Dark Realm Shura is nothing short of a thief. He has pilfered the fortune and spiritual energy that rightfully belonged to the girl, integrating them into this realm.
The spiritual energy here, the very fabric of heaven and earth, the space itself, all bear the essence of the Forgotten Ruins.
Now, she has been taken into the Dark Realm, favored by the titan of the Boulderdawn, who has infused her with demon energy to aid the growth and transformation of her flesh. The Shura of the Dark Realm, stripped of its self-awareness, has been assimilated by her, absorbed and refined.
She is the ultimate victor, destined to be the sovereign of this world. Upon her return to the Forgotten Ruins, she will reign supreme!
