C419 Eighth Rainbow!!

Su Yan's face was etched with alarm. The sight of the Fallen Star Eyes approaching seemed to her a lifeline in dire straits.

"Where are the rest of the Abyssal Dawn Sect's trial-takers?"

Wrapped in the glow of cosmic energy, Liu Ying expressed her astonishment, "Why are you alone? I haven't detected any other life forms in the vicinity."

"The fate of the others remains unknown."

Adorned in a flowing green robe, Su Yan's movements were as graceful and enchanting as the swaying leaves of seaweed. Yet her brows were knit with a deep-seated anxiety and sorrow. "You might find this laughable, but when the Abyssal Dawn trial-takers spotted a dark blue stone radiating a soft blue glow, they all hurriedly gathered around it."

"And then what happened?" Liu Ying felt a sense of foreboding.

Before she had located Lee Yueyue of the Starmoon Sect, she too had encountered a fleeting, eerie blue light.

"And then?" Su Yan continued, channeling the spiritual energy from her Golden Sanctum's elixir field, enveloping herself in a resplendent aura of spiritual energy, regardless of the drain on her reserves. "There was no 'then.' That stone, casting a dim blue light, wasn't stationary—it was shifting position."

"Once they reached it, they vanished inside the stone, which then carried them away."

Su Yan hung her head, a flush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. "I sensed something was amiss, and knowing my own abilities and cultivation level were not on par with the more powerful senior brothers and sisters of our sect, I realized that charging in after them would have been a death wish, a needless sacrifice."

"You made the right call!" Liu Ying affirmed.

Bolstered by her validation, Su Yan looked up sharply, her hands balled into fists. "The first thing I did after the blue light had gone was to make a break for the surface! I believed the most prudent course of action was to alert the guardians above about the anomalies occurring at the sea's bottom."

Liu Ying let out a soft sigh. "Regrettably, I can't ascend any longer."

"You're aware of it too?" Su Yan gasped in astonishment.

"Every Starmoon Sect trial-taker except for me has been confirmed dead," Liu Ying acknowledged with a nod. Noticing Su Yan's continuous expenditure of spiritual energy within her own protective screen of energy, she suggested, "Let's continue this conversation inside."

A dazzling streak of starlight curled towards Su Yan like a ribbon.

Moments later, Su Yan found herself enveloped by the Fallen Star Eyes, standing shoulder to shoulder with Liu Ying.

The luminescent barrier of the Fallen Star Eyes expanded slightly as a result.

"My artifact holds an abundance of cosmic energy. To avoid accusations of cheating from the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep, I refrained from unleashing its full potential," Liu Ying explained. "Times have changed. Fei Yi from the Devil Palace has lost contact with Lord Hei Xun, confirming that something has indeed gone awry for us."

"Up there..."

Liu Ying sighed softly once more.

"Something is definitely amiss up there!"

Fei Yi, Yan Lu, and the rest finally caught up.

Fei Yi declared, "There's trouble at the seabed. Lord Hei Xun and Lord Dusk Raven have made no move; they must be facing problems too!"

Liu Ying nodded, "I'll use the Fallen Star Eyes to gather as many survivors as possible. Let's all regroup!"

"Agreed!"

...

Across the islands at sea.

"What's happening?"

"Is there an issue beneath the sea? Why can't my remnant soul penetrate?"

"I can survey the heavens and earth, yet the seabed remains hidden from my sight!"

"What are the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep up to?"

"Where's Hei Xun?"

"And Dusk Raven?"

The cultivators from the seven lower sects, the Colddeath, the Taintborn, and the Skyblight Cult grew restless.

It started when a Thunder Sect elder attempted to use an artifact to communicate with a trial-taker below but failed.

The elder then soared from the island, hovering above the sea to peer down.

All he saw was a swath of dark blue.

His remnant soul was repelled by the same dark blue expanse when he tried to reach the ocean floor, prompting a sense of unease. He alerted his nearby cultivating companions.

It was as if a single pebble had stirred a thousand waves!

The sect leaders, previously meditating with little concern for the seabed, began to investigate.

None could pierce the enigmatic dark blue light barrier with their artifacts, remnant souls, or sight. The ocean floor's anomalies remained hidden from all.

The elders, tasked by their sects and leading their disciples, promptly set out for the two large islands that housed the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep.

Curiously, Hei Xun, who was expected to be on the Devil Palace island, was nowhere to be found.

This indicated that the Devil Palace's guardian was absent from the island.

All eyes simultaneously shifted toward the desolate Skullcairn Pavilion of Shadow's Keep.

Dusk Raven emerged slowly, his face etched with a grim expression. He surveyed the dozens of elders and leaders from various major sects suspended in the air and said, "The dark blue light barrier at the sea's bottom is not the work of Shadow's Keep. As for Hei Xun, I'm clueless about his whereabouts and unable to reach him."

Python Queen, Xu Zixi, stood behind him, her expression fraught with concern at the threshold of Skullcairn Pavilion.

"What is the Devil Palace playing at?"

"Could Hei Xun have descended into the sea? Aren't there established rules in the Embers Sea? Hei Xun, you, and the leaders are prohibited from entering the sea during the trials!"

"Hei Xun has gone under the sea, cutting off our vision and soul perception. What is he planning?"

"The Devil Palace's reckless actions have shattered a millennia-old rule; they owe us an explanation!"

The clamor from the crowd was incessant.

Dusk Raven, standing on the island of Shadow's Keep, listened to their roars and turned to ask, "Has anyone reached Shadow's Keep?"

Xu Zixi shook her head, "The Soul Voice cannot be transmitted through any items."

Dusk Raven's expression darkened further, "Without a teleportation circle in the Embers Sea, if the remnant soul can't be sent to Shadow's Keep through an item, then they will remain unaware of the events transpiring here."

"If Lord Hei Xun were present, we might try from the Devil Palace's side, but now..." Xu Zixi offered a wry smile.

"I will sacrifice a drop of my lifeblood to make one more attempt to locate Hei Xun," Dusk Raven declared, inhaling deeply. "If that fails, I will endeavor to break through the dark blue light barrier. Should that prove impossible, you must leave the Embers Sea immediately and rush to Shadow's Keep to inform them of the situation."

"I understand!" Xu Zixi exclaimed urgently.

The anomalies in the Embers Sea had both the Dusk Raven and her feeling extremely apprehensive.

...

Otherworld.

A sliver of sunfire, transformed by the Nine Glories Wheel, coalesced into a beam of fiery light before slipping into Yu Yuan's little world within the Golden Sanctum.

In the upper realm of this world, the eighth rainbow finally manifested!

Each rainbow was a streak of scarlet lightning, a burst of sunfire!

Eight represented the current pinnacle!

The emergence of the eight rainbows signified that Yu Yuan's little world of the Golden Sanctum had successfully undergone its eighth refinement!

Those capable of reaching the eighth level of the Golden Sanctum were exceedingly rare in the vast Everlands, true prodigies of the highest order.

Yu Yuan, reborn into a new life, hailed from a modest family in Asvetaesi of the Silvermoon Empire.

Since the realignment of his heaven soul and earthly soul, he had never dared to dream that his cultivation talent in this life could ascend to the eighth level of the Golden Sanctum!

Attaining the eighth level of the Golden Sanctum was a mark of a once-in-a-lifetime genius on both the Land of Quiescence and the Euwrea Continent!

On the Aetherius Continent, a child capable of this feat was one in a hundred million!

Cultivation talent was a divine gift, and the initial expanse of the Golden Sanctum was predetermined, measurable by instruments.

Yet, the number of Golden Sanctum acupoints one could refine remained a mystery.

This enigmatic talent often set the upper limit for a cultivator's potential, determining whether they might one day reach the pinnacle and strive for the Primordial Spirit Realm.

Levels seven, eight, and nine were the primary benchmarks for assessing the likelihood of achieving the Primordial Spirit.

Yu Yuan, now at the eighth level of the Golden Sanctum, was confident that in this life, he was destined to reach the ultimate shore—the Primordial Spirit Realm.

With a deep exhale, he continued to draw in the sunfire, allowing it to burst forth and integrate with the little world beneath the Golden Sanctum.

Time passed indeterminately.

When the spiritual energy and fiery power within the little world of the Golden Sanctum had reached their zenith,

his body jolted sharply, and he abruptly emerged from his meditative state.

At that very moment, he realized his cultivation had progressed from the middle to the late period of the Golden Sanctum realm.

Following the eighth refinement, the little world within the Golden Sanctum ceased to expand, no longer increasing the capacity of heaven and earth. Instead, it naturally propelled his cultivation realm forward.

Reaching the eighth level of the Golden Sanctum marked the maximum capacity of the lower elixir field in this lifetime.

He had not reached the legendary pinnacle — the ninth level.

"Attaining the eighth level is already a mark of an unparalleled genius, a feat to take pride in! Beyond the Golden Sanctum, there are the middle elixir field, the upper elixir field, and the mud pellet acupoint, each with its own set of formidable challenges! The journey of cultivation is long and unending; we must proceed with patience and care."

Far from being disheartened, he was instead filled with boundless passion and desire, abruptly awakening from his meditative state.

Simultaneously, a faint consciousness emerged from the crescent moon hanging in the sky.

"I am the Abyssal Leviathan, born from the extraterrestrial Star River."

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