C364 Solar Spirit Body
Above the Forgotten Ruins, with the Godsblight Marsh on the horizon, a petite figure in purple darted across the sky like a bolt of arc light, leaving a dazzling trail in the harsh sunlight.
Abruptly, the purple figure came to a jarring halt!
Beneath the relentless sun, Shen Feiqing trembled violently. Behind her fearsome mask, her eyes brimmed with anxiety and terror.
Confused, she scanned her surroundings and called out in a guttural, peculiar voice, "Who's there?"
Silence was her only answer.
Yet, an immense force from the heavens shrouded her with an oppressive weight she couldn't begin to fathom.
Beneath this power, the commander of the Blackfang Legion sensed something profound.
She felt as though the very cosmos was bearing down upon her!
It was as if a thought, a manifestation of the cosmic order of this realm, had descended upon her with a thunderous impact.
Despite the Forgotten Ruins' years of desolation and scarce spiritual energy, the vast expanse concealed many enigmatic wonders.
As the colossal force approached, Shen Feiqing sensed the Forgotten Ruins awaken with a consciousness, casting a cold gaze upon her from an unknown realm.
This enigmatic sensation was disconcerting, causing her veins to throb painfully and disrupting the "Ancient Echoes of the Void" mantra she had been diligently cultivating.
"Chi! Chi! Chi!"
The power that had integrated into her flesh and acupoints, refined within the Profound Gate of her middle elixir field, was suddenly stirred.
Shen Feiqing's face contorted in alarm!
High above, her Lunar Spirit scrutinized her inner self.
To her horror, she saw strands of purple crystal light, resembling delicate chains, come alive within her blood and the little world of her Profound Gate.
Upon closer inspection, the chain-like purple crystal light revealed a purple phoenix, its wings unfurled, soaring through the Star River.
A sense of boundless mystery and the exhilarating freedom of flight emanated from the phoenix within the crystal light, its beauty striking with just a glance.
This was none other than the essence of the Dark Phoenix's bloodline, which she had extracted from Wei Feng!
The once seemingly invincible commander in the Forgotten Ruins was now gripped by fear. She involuntarily looked up at the blazing sun in the sky, wondering, 'Has that entity sensed my presence?'
As the thought crossed her mind, wisps of purple crystal light began to escape from her body. Clusters of refined essence, which she had painstakingly condensed over time, were being drawn out and gathered in the little world within the Profound Gate, leaving her vitality essence significantly depleted.
The Commander's face turned pale, haunted by the belief that the Dark Phoenix's attention meant certain death.
Regret washed over her, quickly followed by resentment toward Lee Yupan. If only Yupan hadn't miscalculated, failing to secure control within the Shura Eye's little world in the Dark Realm, she wouldn't be facing such dire consequences.
She had refined Wei Feng's demonic blood, which should have been undetectable to the Dark Phoenix within the Dark Realm's Shura Eye. However, in the vast Everlands, the Dark Phoenix had left a demon soul to watch over Shadow's Keep. This soul was inextricably linked to the Dark Phoenix's real body.
It must have been the demon soul that detected the scent of its kin's blood, alerting the Dark Phoenix, whose true form resided far beyond the stars. Through its mystical powers, it reached across vast spaces to mete out punishment.
The Dark Phoenix was ancient, its existence predating the history of human cultivation and even the eldest of the giant dragons of this era. For the oldest of demons, its reprimand signified death.
"Forget it, forget it. To fail in my endeavor and pay with my life was always a possibility..." Shen Feiqing thought, resigned to her fate, no longer willing to fight.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Strands of purple light continued to stream out from her body, vanishing into the sky above the Forgotten Ruins. Once every trace of demonic blood she had extracted from Wei Feng was removed, Shen Feiqing stood in shock as the oppressive, invisible force that had been restraining her dissipated in an instant.
Then, almost simultaneously, she heard the voice of the Silvermoon Queen emanating from her Heart Lake. Lee Yupan, through her real body and the use of the Soul Chart, communicated a startling truth with her remnant soul.
The demonic blood belonging to Wei Feng, which Shen Feiqing had refined, had been siphoned by a Boulderdawn luminary within the little world of the Dark Realm. This figure had also extracted the blood of Lee Yupan and Shen Feiqing herself from that very same little world.
The cosmic order maintained balance, temporarily sealing off the entire space of the Forgotten Ruins.
It seems that even the Boulderdawn's leading figure did not wish for the Dark Phoenix to detect the significant changes in the Forgotten Ruins, to know that her descendant, with a pure bloodline, had been slain and then forcibly extracted.
"Yu Zhu, that Yu Zhu, has she not received all the fortunes?"
Shen Feiqing, after receiving Lee Yupan's remnant soul, hovered in the air, dumbfounded, and suddenly found the situation laughable.
She and the Silvermoon Queen had toiled for years, only to inadvertently enrich someone else in the end, benefiting that dark, skinny, and unattractive girl.
Lee Yupan had lost it all, and her kingdom was on the brink of being forgotten.
For now, Shen Feiqing could only seek refuge in the Godsblight Marsh, her future uncertain.
She had yet to speak with Lee Yupan, but was suddenly overwhelmed by the last remnant soul from the Silvermoon Empire's queen, transmitted through the Soul Chart, brimming with panic and dread.
The once-clear lake had lost its island.
The real body of the Silvermoon Queen, clad in silver and wounded, was flanked by the Terra Fiend Bai Shang and the white-haired crone, flying above the lake.
The trio suddenly stumbled and halted mid-air.
They looked down in astonishment.
Zhou Cangmin, in his white attire, stood next to the Python Queen Xu Zixi. He greeted Lee Yupan with a smile, "Your Majesty, it is a great honor to meet you once again."
Just two days prior, Lee Yupan had wielded the Soul Chart, driving Zhou Cangmin to flee.
Unexpectedly, within a mere two days, Zhou Cangmin had reemerged.
The Silvermoon Queen, whose Lunar Spirit had been gravely damaged within the Dark Realm's little world, turned deathly pale with just one look at Zhou Cangmin.
The Terra Fiend Bai Shang and the white-haired crone from Shadow's Keep were terrified.
On the shore where the mid-lake island once was, Zhou Cangmin, clad in white, radiated light, his flesh and blood shimmering like pure spiritual energy, crystal-clear and luminous.
Before him stood Zhou Cangmin, not a mere illusion of a Lunar Spirit, but a tangible presence. Yet, he was not composed of flesh and blood, but rather of pure spiritual energy. This radiant being, whose body gleamed like a crystalline sculpture, was none other than a true Solar Spirit. The transformation of his heaven soul into a spirited body marked him as a genuine Solar Spirit.
It was beyond anyone's belief that the state preceptor of the Crimson Sun Empire had secretly condensed a Solar Spirit, acquiring the power to traverse the extraterrestrial realms and the Star River. On Aetherius, while Lunar Spirits were regarded as Gods of Ghosts by the empires, a Solar Spirit was revered as a true deity.
"Two days ago, you nearly caused the demise of my Lunar Spirit. Your Majesty, don't you think an explanation is in order?" Another Zhou Cangmin rose from the lake, smiling as he gazed up at the sky. This was the Lunar Spirit that had reunited with the Solar Spirit after fleeing.
Both the Lunar Spirit and the Solar Spirit were concealed here, patiently awaiting the Silvermoon Queen. Meanwhile, Zhou Cangmin's real body and dominant soul remained within the borders of the Crimson Sun Empire. Bai Shang and the white-haired crone could only sigh, their former ferocity gone. They understood why Zhou Cangmin feared neither the exposure of his ties to the Ruby Hand, nor the reprisals from the Sunlit Order or the Sunfire Emperor.
One who achieves the state of Solar Spirit becomes a figure of immense stature, commanding respect in any corner of the Everlands. Additionally, it is customary for newly ascended Solar Spirits to venture into the cosmos, challenging the Sky Fiend and the Otherkin of the Star River to refine their Solar Spirit Body, hone their remnant soul, and perfect their spells.
Such was Zhou Cangmin, a Hellbreed of the Ruby Hand. Even the Sunlit Order would not rashly seek his demise. Only if they were prepared to ignite a full-blown war, risking massive turmoil within the human realms, would they act against him. Until Zhou Cangmin committed an unforgivable transgression, he was untouchable. This stood as an unspoken accord among the mighty sects of the Everlands. The Solar Spirit was exceedingly rare, and once attained, it necessitated a confrontation with formidable foes beyond our world.
Even under the watchful eye of the Solar Spirit, the great sects could tolerate the mutual slaughter and deaths of Spirit Walk cultivators. They would turn a blind eye and avoid escalating the situation.
"Relinquish the imperial jade seal and the Soul Chart, and abdicate the throne."
The High Oracle spoke confidently, "I have already negotiated with the Devil Palace. The Yan family, who are in good standing with the Devil Palace, will assume control of the Silvermoon Empire. Furthermore, the Silvermoon Empire will be rebranded as the Shadowlight Empire."
"Lee Yupan, my presence here is merely to inform you, not to solicit your opinion."
