C464 Ignite!

The dome of the Fallen Star Eyes opened, revealing a resplendent light path that plunged downward like a well.

Whoosh!

Having absorbed Luo Yiyi's Crucible of Evil, the cauldron pulsed with mysterious glyphs, emitting a dark and enigmatic demonic glow. It exuded a terrifying presence that could intimidate the soul and suppress the emotions of countless individuals.

The cauldron, already diminished a millionfold, wrapped in demonic radiance, shrank yet again by several degrees.

Yu Yuan's face lit up with a radiant smile as he extended his right palm upwards. The Crucible of Evil settled steadily, willingly, into his hand.

In just a short time, the Crucible of Evil had transformed into a miniature cauldron, its delicate and intricate design giving it a charming appearance.

Yet, anyone familiar with the Crucible of Evil's origins, having heard the legends from their sect elders, would never find it cute.

Du Huang, Kong Banbi, and the trial-takers from the Sword Sect and Forgeroses regarded the Crucible of Evil with the same wariness one would reserve for a devastating flood or a ferocious beast.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Strands of crystalline sword light, slightly delayed, cascaded down from the cosmic energy light path resembling a well.

Like birds returning to their nest, the sword light vanished once more into the scabbard held aloft by Yu Yuan.

As the seasons turned and the stars and celestial bodies shifted, the profound sword's will settled down, as if clinging anew to the depths of the scabbard.

The strength within the sword light, however, had been significantly depleted, making recovery a formidable challenge.

Yu Yuan felt a pang of regret, aware that the sword light had expended most of its sword force in a brief time due to its entanglement with the Abyssal Leviathan.

While the sword's will remained intact, the loss of sword force had diminished the sword light's true potency by seventy to eighty percent.

One such strand, which had merged with the Spirit Sword of a middle-aged cultivator from the Sword Sect, imbued with the divine might of thunder, was completely severed by the Abyssal Leviathan. This left the sword light and sword's will to vanish from existence, severing any chance of restoration.

Despite his regrets, Yu Yuan understood the futility of the situation and resolved to move forward.

Perhaps he wouldn't even be able to advance...

"Kid! You just had to provoke me!"

Freed from the sword light's restraint, the Abyssal Leviathan, once trapped by the evil dragon, glared at him from the depths.

He disregarded all the trial-takers still surviving on the ocean floor of the Embers Sea.

It seemed he had only one enemy in mind, Yu Yuan, and his sole desire was for Yu Yuan's demise!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The seawater surrounding him surged tumultuously.

It appeared as though his vitality was drawing the water toward him, slowing the flow to a crawl.

Yet the force generated by the water's movement was incredibly heavy.

Mo Yan from the Devil Palace mentally connected with the Shadowblade, his expression turning grave as he said, "This is bad, the seawater near the Abyssal Leviathan has become immeasurably heavier. It may look like ordinary seawater, but each drop weighs as much as extraterrestrial meteorite essence, surpassing the weight of Sunsilver by an unknown factor."

His Shadowblade, renowned for its heft, allowed him to sense these subtle changes.

Within the Fallen Star Eyes, Yu Yuan, gripping the Crucible of Evil in one hand and the sword sheath in the other, solemnly awaited the freed Abyssal Leviathan and the visible blue shadow.

This blue shadow housed the last Blood Altar of the Azurefiend clan in the Embers Sea, marking it as one of the area's deadliest entities.

Hei Xun had claimed that the Abyssal Leviathan was the most perilous creature in the Embers Sea.

Yu Yuan eagerly anticipated the clash that would ensue from their encounter.

Crack! Crack!

Eerie sounds of splintering bones emerged from the depths of the blue shadow. With the approach of the blue light, the Azure Veil shrouding the Embers Sea also seemed to undergo a transformation.

Yu Yuan looked up, sensing the Azure Veil that draped over the sea beginning to descend gradually.

The once invisible Azure Veil started to shimmer with a crystalline beauty as the Blood Altar neared.

Bathed in sunlight, the veil glowed with the luster of sapphires.

Despite the beauty of the Azure Veil as it slowly descended, no one had the heart to admire it. Watching it sink, they felt as though the heavens were collapsing, bringing down an unstoppable force upon them all.

"The Azure Veil is shrinking," Qi Nandou remarked, his delicate, feminine face etched with concern, a bitter smile playing at his lips. "It's not just us; the edges I marked with my spiritual sense are also drawing in. We're at the center of it all."

"Ah!" Hou Tianzhao cried out in alarm.

"The Azure Veil that shrouds the Embers Sea resembles a vast net submerged in water. The net's tightening signals that the fisher has found all the fish clustered together," Mo Yan explained, gazing at the gathered crowd and the Abyssal Leviathan. "To the Blood Altar, we are those fish."

"I never imagined we'd see a day like this," Chi Yin said, caught between laughter and tears.

"How little you know!" Mo Yan scoffed dismissively. "Once you forge your Solar Spirit and shatter the boundaries of the Everlands, stepping into the broader Star River beyond, you'll understand. In the vast reaches outside our world, human and evilkind champions are vulnerable. Isolated, they fall prey to the Sky Fiend and the schemes of Otherkin."

"In our hunts beyond our realm, we too become the hunted."

Chi Yin, of the Taintborn Sect, took Mo Yan's scolding in stride, countering, "That's out there. But here, in the Everlands, on our own turf—since when do these creatures dare to run amok?"

"Before humanity's rise to power, Star-Spawned Terrors and alien beasts from the cosmos often came to wreak havoc," Mo Yan added.

After being rebuffed repeatedly, Chi Yin huffed and fell silent.

"Do you think he'll try to seize the Crucible of Evil from Yu Yuan first?" Lin Yue murmured.

"He may wish to, but he likely knows it's futile," Mo Yan observed Yu Yuan closely. "Yu Yuan always keeps his sword sheath at hand. He can retract and unleash the sword light at will. If the Abyssal Leviathan dares to approach the Fallen Star Eyes, it won't get far before being constrained by the sword light again, its power continually being siphoned off."

Yu Yuan lifted the restriction because he wanted to concentrate his efforts on a confrontation with the Blood Altar.

"If Yu Yuan's hunch is right, the Blood Altar's primary target is his Abyssal Leviathan, and nothing else," Mo Yan added, punctuating his statement.

A blue shadow crept forward, rapidly closing in on the Abyssal Leviathan.

The Abyssal Leviathan ceased its hostile glare at Yu Yuan, turning instead to focus intently on the encroaching blue shadow, emitting sharp, piercing screeches.

The screeches conveyed the unique consciousness of the Abyssal Leviathan, seemingly attempting to ward off the blue shadow's advance.

The Abyssal Leviathan's posture clearly indicated that it shared Yu Yuan's belief: the blue shadow enveloping the Blood Altar was indeed targeting it.

"He's gambled correctly," Mo Yan murmured, his anxiety momentarily eased by the Abyssal Leviathan's stance. "If this turns out to be a clash between two titans, we might just stand a chance."

A wave of quiet exhilaration swept through the group as their hopes for survival soared.

"You're always right."

In that moment, Su Yan of the Abyssal Dawn Sect exhaled softly, the anxiety on her face visibly diminishing.

Yu Yuan was about to offer a reassuring smile to the group when he suddenly detected the cauldron spirit's vibrations. His expression darkened, and he swiftly grabbed the Crucible of Evil and the sword sheath, darting towards the Ethereal Vial.

"Let me through!" he barked at Liu Ying.

Caught off guard, Liu Ying hastily created a passage, allowing Yu Yuan to shoot through.

"Stay away from the Ethereal Vial!"

Another mental message echoed within the Fallen Star Eyes, audible only to Liu Ying, the artifact's keeper.

Liu Ying, Kong Banbi, Su Yan, and the others were left bewildered, unsure of Yu Yuan's bizarre actions.

"What's happening?!"

As Yu Yuan abruptly veered away from the Fallen Star Eyes and headed straight for him, Qi Nandou exclaimed in confusion.

"Allow him entry!" commanded Mo Yan.

Without hesitation, Qi Nandou gestured with his free hand.

A radiant glow, smooth and pure as white jade, coalesced around the Ethereal Vial, forming a translucent orb that enveloped Yu Yuan before swiftly drawing him inside.

Inside the Ethereal Vial, the dark adepts from the Land of Quiescence were transfixed on him.

This included Lin Zhuyun of Winter's Bite.

Devoid of any will to live, Lin Zhuyun's eyes were dull as she glanced at him, then dropped her head in resignation, as if awaiting her end.

"Yu Yuan!"

Yan Lu was quite delighted, stepping forward to greet him enthusiastically, "You've always had a keen eye. You actually figured out that the primary target of the Blood Altar was the Abyssal Leviathan!"

Yu Yuan's expression was awkward. He didn't immediately engage with Yan Lu's remarks. Instead, he utilized a remnant of psionic power from the Crucible of Evil to etch his thoughts and Soul Voice into the Fallen Star Eyes.

Liu Ying, on the other side of the Fallen Star Eyes, gazed back at him through the water.

This enchanting woman, seen by the Starmoon Sect as the key to their revival, trembled slightly. A torrent of complex emotions flooded the depths of her eyes: longing, gratitude, reluctance, and resignation.

Kong Banbi, Su Yan, Du Huang, and the others watched in astonishment through the barrier of the Fallen Star Eyes and the Ethereal Vial. They seemed to be urgently questioning Liu Ying, eager to know what had transpired.

Liu Ying ignored their queries, but the still Fallen Star Eyes suddenly took flight at an astonishing speed.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Qi Nandou lamented, his face a picture of dismay, "Yu Yuan, you show up out of nowhere, and the Fallen Star Eyes take off. You're not planning to betray me, to betray us, are you?"

"I'm sincerely sorry, but you're right," Yu Yuan sighed, bowing apologetically to the occupants of the Ethereal Vial, "Please don't hold it against me."

The crowd was taken aback.

But in the next instant, they sensed something amiss and noticed something peculiar about the Azure Veil.

"Whoosh!"

A bloodstained, deep red Blood Altar, constructed of bones and writhing flesh, burst forth from within the Azure Veil.

Despite the distance and the barrier of water between them, everyone felt a sudden chill and a sense of unease.

The cultivators who had opened their Vitality Profound Gates felt their own vitality roil uncontrollably at the sight of the Blood Altar, as if the altar's emergence had stirred up a tempest within their own little worlds.

The middle elixir field, the sea of vitality, was instantly whipped into raging waves!

The Blood Altar was expansive, its surface a deep crimson akin to blood itself, surrounded by stark white bones.

On the altar's edge, the flesh and blood of unknown creatures writhed, ensnared by the altar's grasp, their vitality and nutrients siphoned into its depths.

Spanning dozens of acres and towering over a hundred feet tall, the Blood Altar exuded a menacing presence. With a surge of potent energy, it soared past the Abyssal Leviathan, making a beeline for their Ethereal Vial.

"Pfft!"

A cultivator from the Taintborn Sect, who had only recently ascended to the Veil Breaking Realm, suddenly flushed red and collapsed into his own pool of blood.

Blood uncontrollably streamed from his mouth and from the Profound Gate of his middle elixir field.

"Damn it, it's still so far away!" Chi Yin exclaimed, both shocked and furious.

She was indifferent to the demise of her sect peers, yet her anger was directed at Yu Yuan. "You seem to have been mistaken. The Blood Altar didn't go after the Abyssal Leviathan as you had hoped!"

At that moment, everyone glared at him, their eyes filled with resentment.

Mo Yan, clutching the Shadowblade, was livid with rage. "This isn't what Hei Xun told us!"

According to the information Mo Yan had received from Hei Xun of the Devil Palace, the Blood Altar and the Abyssal Leviathan were sworn enemies. Upon encountering each other, they were destined to engage in a ferocious battle to the death.

Yet, the unfolding scene defied Hei Xun's account. There was no mortal combat between the Blood Altar and the Abyssal Leviathan.

The Blood Altar, having abruptly detached from the Azure Veil, now hurtled towards them, having effortlessly bypassed the Abyssal Leviathan.

Confronted with this unforeseen and illogical turn of events, Mo Yan felt his head throbbing, overwhelmed by indecision.

Yu Yuan, with a look of resignation, said, "It's after me."

​