C47 The Five New Moons of the Empire

It came as quite a shock when Yuan Lianyao and Su Yan paid a visit to the Yu family in the dead of night.

Snapping out of his initial surprise, Yu Yuan furrowed his brow and asked, "What brings you two here at this hour?"

The entire Yu family was sound asleep at the time.

He found the situation odd and couldn't make heads or tails of it. Could it be that these two women were behind it?

"Why are you the only one awake in the Yu family?"

Su Yan was the first to speak, sizing up Yu Yuan from head to toe. "With such a disturbance at the Yu family, it should've woken everyone up, cultivators and mortals alike."

"How did you come to know about the commotion at the Yu family?" Yu Yuan asked with a hint of hostility in his voice.

"I just happened to be passing by," Su Yan evaded, continuing, "There were no signs of trouble in the surrounding estates when the Yu family experienced this 'earthquake.' I'm really curious about what you're hiding."

"And who exactly are you to question us?" Yu Yuan's eyebrows lifted, though a smile played at the corners of his mouth. "Do you think you have the right to meddle in Yu family affairs just because you're from the Su family?"

The truth was, Su Yan's words had taken him aback.

Why were the disturbances only felt by the Yu family and nowhere else? What could be the cause?

Despite his shock, Yu Yuan harbored deep-seated grievances against the Su family. Coupled with Su Yan's somewhat haughty and impolite demeanor, he had no intention of being courteous.

"I was merely asking out of curiosity." Su Yan, who had faced embarrassment earlier that day, was well aware that the young man from the Yu family before her wouldn't afford her any respect. She pressed on, "Our families have been in business for many years. It's only natural that I show some concern."

"There's no need for the Su family to concern themselves," Yu Yuan replied coolly.

He had learned from Yu Lili upon his return that Su Yin from the Su family had paid them a visit.

Su Yin's manner of speaking had greatly displeased the patriarch, and the Yu family members shared the sentiment.

Did the Su family expect him to wait on their children hand and foot at the upcoming grand gathering? To be nothing more than a servant or, worse yet, cannon fodder?

They also demanded that the Yu family surrender the alchemist whom they suspected was being concealed.

On what grounds?

Simply because the Su family had been lowballing the Yu family for years, while feigning to look after them?

"I, too, am curious about what's been happening within the Yu family."

As the tension mounted, Yuan Lianyao offered a gentle smile, deftly easing the atmosphere. "As the City Lord of Darkmoon, I'm responsible for addressing the city's many oddities. Moreover, our personal rapport is quite strong. Sensing that something was amiss, I naturally came to check on you. You're aware of how much I care about you."

Her fondness for the Su family was nonexistent.

Yuan Qiufang had been whisked away by Faang Yao of the Red Devil Sect. With the Blazing Inferno Halberd in play, his integration into the sect was a foregone conclusion.

This connection bolstered her confidence significantly.

Yu Yuan's discord with the Su family was, to her delight, an advantageous development.

"Your relationship is surprisingly close..."

Su Yan murmured under her breath.

She cast a glance at Yuan Lianyao and then at Yu Yuan, her expression laced with intrigue.

She was well aware that the blood-stained hands of Darkmoon's city lord were renowned throughout the empire.

Her uncle, Su Yin, made it a point to visit this crimson lotus each time he passed through Darkmoon. What was his motive?

Was it not his desire for Yuan Lianyao's beauty, hoping for a chance at intimacy?

Like her uncle, there were many in the empire who harbored such desires for this crimson lotus, wishing to claim her affections or take her as their own.

Yet, she had never heard of anyone who truly succeeded.

Yuan Lianyao's reputation as a deadly beauty was well-earned; those who dared to overstep met their demise.

They were either executed outright or fell victim to her cunning and lethal plots.

This unclaimed crimson lotus, who had risen to lead both the Yuan family and Darkmoon City, was no ordinary figure.

"Could it be that Lim Zhuyun's betrothed is involved with her?" The thought sprouted in Su Yan's mind, but she quickly dismissed it as preposterous, shaking her head. "Impossible, utterly impossible."

"City Lord Sister, I'm willing to shed light on your queries," Yu Yuan said with a smile to Su Yan. "Regarding her? It's inconvenient to discuss."

Yuan Lianyao nodded in understanding and addressed Su Yan, "Little Sister Su, you may return now."

Without delay, Yuan Lianyao confidently strode toward the Yu family's gate.

"Next time you wish to visit my Yu family, kindly notify us during the day before arriving," Yu Yuan murmured with a hint of disdain. "Sneaking around in the dead of night, your actions reek of mischief. Is this the Su family's way? So thoughtless. And the person from this morning was no better."

Su Yin, leveraging the Su family's influence, pressured his grandfather into submission, which infuriated him.

His resentment toward the Su family, and Su Yan in particular, ran deep.

Besides, with his cultivation of spirit plants and herbs, selling them as pills would maximize profits.

As an alchemist, he knew the Yu family could stand on its own without the Su family's support.

He had resolved to stop supplying medicinal herbs to the Su family.

He intended to reserve all the herbs for his own use.

After a bout of veiled jabs, Yu Yuan joined Yuan Lianyao, cheerfully ushering the City Lord into the Yu family home before casually shutting the gate behind them.

"Clang!"

The sound of the door slamming shut was jarringly loud.

Su Yan, cherished and adored by the Su family, stared at the sealed door of the Yu family, her delicate face turning a shade of iron blue.

...

"You've got nerve," she remarked.

Amidst the broken tiles, Yuan Lianyao elegantly twisted onto a stone bench and seated herself with a flirtatious air, smiling as she gazed at him. "Do you know who that young lady is?"

"I do not," replied Yu Yuan.

"Su Yan, the treasured daughter of Su Xiangtian," Yuan Lianyao said, her demeanor suddenly stern and her voice growing heavier as she spoke of Su Xiangtian. "Su Xiangtian is not like Su Yin. In the Silvermoon Empire, Su Xiangtian is a figure of high regard. Although he shares the Su surname, he comes from a collateral branch of the family."

"Yet it is Su Xiangtian, born of that side branch, who has usurped the direct line to become the designated future head of the Su family!"

"Su Xiangtian has already become a revered Yin God within the Empire!"

"Su Yin, who is the same age as him, is merely in the Middle Period of the Profound Break Stage," Yuan Lianyao declared.

"Yin God," Yu Yuan expressed his astonishment. "The Su Yin who arrived today is at the Profound Break Stage, yet Su Xiangtian, who is of the same age, has already reached the Yin God Stage. And there's an entire Penetrating Stage separating them."

"Despite my pride, I hold great admiration for him," Yuan Lianyao admitted, her spirits somewhat dampened. "This Miss Su from the Su family is as renowned as your fiancée, Lim Zhuyun. They are both the Empire's new generation's pride. Among the Empire's five 'New Moons,' both Su Yan and Lim Zhuyun are included. To be acknowledged by the Empress as a Rising Bright Moon is no small feat."

"Su Xiangtian? A New Moon of the Empire?" Yu Yuan was taken aback.

Since the realignment of his Earth Soul and Heavenly Soul, his focus had been solely on Darkmoon City and certain affairs on the Quietus Continent. He hadn't devoted much attention to the Silvermoon Empire or its other cities. To him, with memories of his past life, neither Su Xiangtian nor the so-called five New Moons endorsed by the Empire's Empress were particularly groundbreaking. He had once witnessed the pinnacle figures of the Boundless Land's hierarchy. Having observed their grandeur, he wasn't overly impressed by the Silvermoon Empire on the Profound Sky Continent, its national pillars, or its five New Moons.

He hadn't even inquired about the remaining three New Moons of the Empire, aside from Lim Zhuyun and Su Yan.

"At the Empire's grand celebration, Su Yan, Lim Zhuyun, and three others will also be present," Yuan Lianyao explained. "These five New Moons are the center of everyone's attention, and the Empress herself has high hopes for them."

"Let's not dwell on that," Yu Yuan dismissed, changing the subject. "Have you noticed anything unusual with the Yu family's activities?"

"I sensed with my spiritual awareness that the Yu family is shrouded in a white fog, permeated with an endless sense of sorrow," Yuan Lianyao hesitated before continuing. "During the process, my consciousness became intertwined with it. Not long ago, I found myself disoriented, lost in memories of the past."

"Moreover, the earthquake at the Yu family estate that Su Yan mentioned is indeed real. After her reminder, I took a look around elsewhere."

"All the other estates are intact, with no signs of an earthquake."

"Could you explain what exactly is going on with your family, the Yus?"

Her gaze shone brightly as she stared at Yu Yuan. "Why were you the only one able to wake from your slumber when the quake struck?"

Yu Yuan's brow furrowed deeply as he mused, "There is certainly something odd at play."

The sorrow conveyed by the four black characters on the white paper fan didn't seem particularly intense to him.

Yuan Lianyao had suggested that this sorrowful sentiment somehow shrouded the entire Yu family. How could that be?

Such a faint notion of sorrow couldn't possibly have such a vast reach, let alone plunge the entire Yu family into its depths, much less affect Yuan Lianyao, who is at the Penetrating Stage, causing her to succumb to it!

Unless...

Unless there was a force amplifying that sorrow significantly!

"What could it be? Some kind of artifact? Or a formation located within the Yu family's domain?"

Suddenly, a clue dawned on him. Recalling the Yu family's earthquake, he scanned the estate once more—the towers, the walls, and the columns.

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