C382 Van Chaoguan Who Was Hiding His Strength!

Van Chaoguan's physique and features underwent a transformation at an astonishing rate. After the change, he stood tall and robust, his facial contours sharp as if chiseled by a knife, his vitality surging. His eyes shone with a bright and resolute light, exuding an extraordinary charm.

Yu Yuan momentarily lost his composure, expressing his astonishment, "What a peculiar fellow."

It was rare for someone to present themselves with an unsightly appearance year-round, but Van Chaoguan was one such anomaly.

Yu Yuan had previously found it odd that Van Le, with his striking looks, had a father who was both overweight and unattractive, as they bore little resemblance to each other. However, after the transformation, Van Chaoguan bore a striking resemblance to Van Le.

The now handsome and rugged Van Chaoguan no longer sported a playful grin. With a stern look, he twisted the blood-red thread and said to Yu Yuan, "I don't believe you've come here alone."

Lee Yuchan, perched atop the stone pillar, watched her cheeks hollow and her appearance wither rapidly. She was astounded by Van Chaoguan's transformation and realized she might have never truly understood him.

What kind of spell had the Van family patriarch been practicing to present such a common, even lowly, appearance all this time? Was his displayed longing and admiration for her genuine, or merely a facade to curry favor with the Lee family?

Confounded, Lee Yuchan felt that the Van family patriarch before her was now a complete stranger.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Yu Yuan's heartbeat inexplicably quickened. The veins leading to his heart seemed to swell, causing a subtle throbbing in his chest.

Van Chaoguan, now clutching the blood-red thread, exerted a tremendous oppressive force with his altered visage, making Yu Yuan feel uneasy all over. Van Chaoguan proved to be a much more formidable opponent than Lin Hanyu!

"Swoosh!"

The blood-red thread shot from Van Chaoguan's hand like a streak of crimson lightning.

"Ah!"

Lee Yuchan, standing on the stone pillar, let out a sharp cry of agony as jets of blood-red light burst forth from her towering form, cascading towards Van Chaoguan like a bloody torrent.

The Van family head, his fingers curled like talons, grasped the beams of bloody light with a vice-like grip.

Droplets of blood, glistening like red agate, formed in the palm of his hand.

"Pfft!"

A blood-red thread shot through Yu Yuan's left shoulder in the blink of an eye.

At the moment of impact, Yu Yuan's expression darkened ominously, and he bellowed, "Colddeath!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Hanyu, Lee Yuchan, and even Lee Yu were visibly shaken.

Colddeath was an infamous sect in the northern reaches of the Land of Quiescence. Its followers were loathed across all three continents, universally regarded as pariahs.

As the patriarch of the Van family, Van Chaoguan's practice of Colddeath's spells marked him as one of its disciples.

Even Lin Hanyu, who frequently interacted with him, couldn't have imagined that this plump, lecherous man was a disciple of Colddeath.

Insiders had always assumed that the Van family's patron was the Thunder Sect of Euwrea.

And that's precisely what the Van family had led everyone to believe.

But the fact that Van Chaoguan was practicing Colddeath's spells was a secret known to very few.

"He's kept it deeply hidden!"

Lin Hanyu felt a pang of astonishment, as if he was seeing Van Chaoguan for the first time. His gaze towards him was filled with bewilderment.

"The Blood Link."

Van Chaoguan whispered, and the blood pearls, formed from the blood light within Lee Yuchan's body, were activated by his casting of an enigmatic spell.

The blood pearls burst open in his palm with a series of pops.

The blood-red thread that had penetrated Yu Yuan's shoulder seemed to come alive, carrying with it the scent of Lee Yuchan's vitality as it infiltrated Yu Yuan's flesh.

It was like a slender vein, determined to integrate into Yu Yuan's body and become a part of him.

Meanwhile, as Lee Yuchan's vitality drained away, her once full figure withered alarmingly.

The Empire's female general experienced an eerie sensation, feeling as though she was being absorbed into Yu Yuan's flesh and blood. Her vitality, cultivated over many years, seemed ready to inflate Yu Yuan's body like a balloon.

Given Yu Yuan's cultivation level at the Golden Sanctum, with his middle elixir field yet to open, such an influx of vitality threatened to cause him to burst from within.

Her internal organs, meridians, flesh, bones, and blood would all explode from the pressure of her vitality.

Yu Yuan would certainly be shattered, and after her vitality was sapped, she would succumb to the depletion of her life force and die.

In that moment, she realized with stark clarity that Van Chaoguan was utterly indifferent to her survival.

His earlier displays of desire were nothing but a facade.

The current head of the Van family was cruel and merciless, a fitting disciple for Colddeath, devoid of any humanity.

"Brother Lin, you wouldn't disclose my practice of the Colddeath spell, would you?"

Upon witnessing the completion of the blood magic, Van Chaoguan sensed the vitality in Lee Yuchan's body being channeled into the blood-red thread within Yu Yuan. His demeanor eased, and he turned with a smile, asking the question.

"I can keep a secret," Lin Hanyu replied, shaking his head. "Besides, while Colddeath may not have the best reputation, it's still comprised of human cultivators, not Terra Fiends or extraterrestrial entities. It's true that Colddeath isn't popular, but in the Land of Quiescence, neither the Devil Palace nor Shadow's Keep have shown any intention to eradicate it."

"Therefore, Colddeath has every right to exist within the vast Everlands."

"Even if you practice the Colddeath spell and are recognized as a disciple, at most, others will be discreetly cautious, not aggressively hunting you down like they would a Terra Fiend or an extraterrestrial devil."

This reflects the stance of the people from both the Land of Quiescence and Euwrea towards Colddeath.

They despise its practices and will punish any actions that provoke universal outrage.

Yet they tolerate the existence of Colddeath, not pursuing a policy of extermination against its disciples, unlike their approach to Terra Fiends and Sky Fiends, who are eradicated on sight.

"Brother Lin, with your reassurance, I'm at ease," Van Chaoguan said with an easy smile. "I've communicated with the elder of my family using a mystique. The news of Su Yin's death here has been relayed. The Keep should have received the message by now, and it won't be long before his Lunar Spirit arrives."

Upon hearing his words, Lin Hanyu quickly responded, "Brother Van, your consideration is thorough."

Both were convinced that a master must be accompanying Yu Yuan.

Given that Van Xuan was aware of the situation, his Lunar Spirit could arrive in Asvetaesi with remarkable speed.

Yu Yuan, meanwhile, had his vitality transferred to him from Lee Yuchan by Van Chaoguan using Colddeath's blood magic. This vitality was taken directly from her and infused into Yu Yuan's flesh, extinguishing his life force.

Their current task was simply to wait for the individual supporting Yu Yuan to grow impatient and reveal themselves.

Should that person fail to appear, Yu Yuan's demise would be swift.

Puff! Puff!

Odd noises emanated from within Yu Yuan's body.

Each sound caused him to shudder slightly and his face to contort.

"Colddeath Sect!"

The blood-red filament, ever-expanding and embedding itself within him, was saturated with Lee Yuchan's potent vitality, violently clashing with the force within his bones.

He had fully unleashed the Evil Body Refining technique, directing the tumultuous and fierce psionic power within his bones and flesh against the invasive blood-red filament.

Yet, Lee Yuchan was significantly more powerful than Su Yin, with a vast disparity in their combat strength and realms.

One at the Lunar Spirit Realm, the other at the Veil Breaking Realm, Lee Yuchan's surging vitality and its quality far surpassed Su Yin's. The havoc wreaked upon his body by the influx of her vitality was beyond comparison.

The psionic power stimulated by the Evil Body Refining technique was utterly inadequate to suppress the blood-red filament, incapable of even the slightest disturbance.

Before long, the sword's will hidden within his two arm bones was stirred.

With a tearing sound, the sleeves of Yu Yuan's arms split open, revealing arms that had turned a deep crimson.

Fine, hair-like scarlet lightning quietly emerged from beneath his skin, distinctly visible to the eye.

"Damn it!"

Watching his arms transform, Yu Yuan's expression was one of agony, as if he were being flayed alive.

The power of the sword's will within his arms was exceedingly difficult to replenish, not something he could simply restore by gathering spiritual energy. Indeed, to use even a fraction was to lose that much forever.

The essence and brilliance of this sword could only be marginally replenished by the marks etched into the walls of the Soulforge Pool.

Additionally, there was the sword's essence that had been sealed within its sheath, along with its radiance.

This force, a legacy of the Moon Slayer cultivator, could only be collected in small amounts from the Soulforge Pool's walls and the sheath. Once used, it was gone.

Seeing the sword's essence activated and its light coursing through his arm was bound to cause him anguish.

"General Lee!"

He bellowed suddenly, his gaze snapping to Lee Yuchan. He fixed his eyes on her forehead, intently focusing on the Stormcage Rune.

The charm, engraved with the images of the sun, the moon, and lightning, suddenly erupted in a dazzling display of colors.

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