C497 A Key
A figure composed of infinite light materialized out of thin air above the mountain's summit.
Yu Yuan looked up and with just a glance, his heart fluttered and his soul tremored.
A colossal Yang God, a thousand feet tall and bathed in a spectrum of divine light, wearing a feathered crown and white robes, hung in the sky like a resplendent sun.
His terrifying majesty unfurled, enveloping the heavens as rainbow-hued divine lightning danced around him.
His visage was ancient, reminiscent of an immortal from a bygone era, who, after soaring through the Outer Star River, returned to his native soil with an effortless descent.
Whoosh!
The towering Yang God, surrounded by the roaring laws of the Dao, rapidly diminished in size.
In the blink of an eye, he contracted by a millionfold, assuming a normal human form, and settled by the small pond.
A golden fishing line shot from the heavens, piercing down to the pond as if it plunged deep into the earth's abyss, reaching the ocean floor beneath Rosy Island.
The clear depiction of three continental landscapes within the pond subtly transformed once more.
They reverted to Rosy Island, to that very hillside.
Yu Yuan looked down and could even see two severed, bloodied fingers lying atop the hill.
The golden fishing line, having descended from the celestial heights, now touched the pond before him, extending toward the summit of Rosy Island.
A single line, threading through the three realms of heaven and earth!
As if a deity from the starry skies beyond cast a fishing line, angling for souls in the mortal realm.
"Your name is Yu Yuan."
The ancient man, now in the form of a Yang God, adjusted his feathered crown by the pond's edge. "The Evil Cauldron resides within you."
He nonchalantly fixed his crown, sparing Yu Yuan only a cursory glance, yet he spoke his true name with certainty.
"I pay my respects, Elder Zu."
Yu Yuan greeted him with a smile and a respectful bow, adhering strictly to the etiquette of a junior. "I knew I couldn't deceive you. Elder, when you probed me with your Yin God by the sea of Rosy Island, I was aware that you had seen everything."
The angler behind the island was none other than the Yin God of Zu Ann, who had long remained hidden beneath Rosy Island.
The man before him was Zu Ann's Yang God, presiding from the tallest peak in the Boundless Land, surveying the mortal world.
Yet, Zu Ann's true form resided in a galaxy beyond the Boundless Land, wielding the late Unrestrained Stage power to guard a critical location, warding off potential invasions from otherworldly races.
Yin God, Yang God, and true form, each occupied distinct realms, all linked by the Skywatch Mirror.
The Skywatch Mirror lay before Yu Yuan, manifesting as nothing more than a small pond.
In this realm, one could gaze upon the Rosy Island below and the vast expanse of the Boundless Land. Beyond the stars, the movements of alien races stirred.
Yu Yuan peered into the mirror thrice, taking in the Rosy Island, the vast ocean, and the entirety of the Boundless Land, all through the marvel of the Skywatch Mirror.
"I am aware that my surname is Zu, and I consider myself a junior," Zu Ann stated, his demeanor detached as he sat by the pond's edge, eyeing the golden fish line. With a snort, he questioned, "Who is your master? From what I've gathered, you hail from a modest herbalist family in Darkmoon City of the Silvermoon Empire. I find it hard to believe that someone of your origin would recognize me."
Yu Yuan stood by the same small pond, watching the descending golden fish line entwined with numerous vengeful souls clamoring to ascend.
The golden line before him was the very one that had swiftly ended the life of the Yin God.
At that moment, the golden line reached deep into Rosy Island, where many souls within a secluded space on a small hillside saw it as a ladder to escape their confines.
Yu Yuan watched with compassion as the souls, resembling serpentine creatures and slender pythons, scaled the golden line.
Before long, a particularly resilient new soul reached the base of the small pond.
It seemed that with one more step, it could break through the celestial dome and arrive in this world.
Zu Ann let out a derisive chuckle.
With a flick of his finger, the pond's surface shimmered with iridescent light.
The new soul, ecstatic at the sight, leaped upwards as if it had spotted a lifeline. It indeed breached the celestial barrier and entered this world.
Instantly, the soul transformed into the gaunt man who had met a tragic end atop the mountain.
The soul was that man's Yin God, which had been pulled into a mysterious place within the hill and had swiftly taken on this new form.
After escaping the chilling depths of its icy prison, it found itself in a place that felt as warm and welcoming as spring, believing it had stumbled upon a grand fortune and divine favor.
Zu Ann's hand shot out, grasping the soul in his palm, and with a forceful squeeze—
Boom!
The gaunt man was utterly obliterated, his last vestiges of sentience and thought crushed into oblivion.
He was utterly and irrevocably dead.
"His fortune was truly abysmal; no one else is to blame," Zu Ann said with a stoic face. "He was ignorant of Rosy Island's rules, landing on that hilltop out of the blue, his luck at rock bottom. Yet he fancied he could break free, clung to a sliver of hope for life, and rushed headlong to his demise."
Yu Yuan concurred, "Indeed, flying so carelessly over the head of Senior Zu's wife, his luck was certainly dreadful."
At these words, Zu Ann finally showed a flicker of emotion.
In the vast Boundless Land, many were aware of Rosy Island's regulations concerning the small hill.
But only a handful knew the true reason, that the hill was the resting place of his deceased wife, "Fei Xia."
"Who is your master?" Zu Ann demanded, giving Yu Yuan his full attention for the first time.
"I've come for a key," Yu Yuan said, inhaling deeply, his demeanor solemn and earnest. "That key was entrusted to the Senior over three hundred years ago by someone from the Crack Archipelago."
Zu Ann's form shook slightly, his eyes so piercing that Yu Yuan felt his vision blur just from meeting his gaze.
Yu Yuan had to avert his eyes, unable to withstand the direct look for fear of damaging his eyesight from the unintentional force emanating due to his inner turmoil.
"Three hundred years have passed. How did you come by his legacy of alchemy?" Zu Ann inquired gravely.
"Jade Peak, in the Chilly Wind Valley," Yu Yuan responded.
"Jade Peak is within the Medicine Sect's domain, and Chilly Wind Valley..." Zu Ann murmured to himself, mulling over the information. "Yu Yuan, you've been to the Jade Peak after traversing the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, indeed making an appearance in Chilly Wind Valley. And Yu Zhu, he emerged in the Absence Relic right after the turmoil in the Chilly Wind Valley subsided."
He was piecing together the puzzle in his mind.
Yu Yuan kept quiet, patiently awaiting further response.
With the Skywatch Mirror in his possession, this late-period cultivator of the Unrestrained Stage could survey the mortal realm from above. Knowing one's name, he could delve into the collective consciousness to uncover myriad secrets.
Since Zu Ann could name Yu Yuan outright, it was clear he had been monitoring the anomalies in the Ember Waters, piecing together his likeness, origins, and former movements through various means.
Thus, Zu Ann must have a clear insight into Yu Yuan's journey from Darkmoon City, through the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, Jade Peak, and Absence Relic, right up to his latest exploits in the Ember Waters.
Zu An was currently busy untangling the connection between himself and the distant inheritor of his legacy.
"The island in the Crack Archipelago?" Zu An abruptly inquired.
Without a moment's delay, Yu Yuan responded, "It's an unnamed island, unaffiliated with any sect or power, and has no ties to the Medicine God Sect. Its obscurity is what makes it so well-concealed."
Zu An pressed on, "In the place that the key unlocks, what is the most valuable item hidden within?"
"The pill furnace," Yu Yuan answered.
Zu An nodded, satisfied with the confirmation, and instructed, "Hold on a moment."
Boom! Thunder rolled!
Suddenly, the sea of clouds churned, and lightning streaked across the sky.
In the midst of the vast clouds, an inconspicuous cluster burst open, revealing a hidden realm.
Swoosh!
A red copper key, summoned by Zu An, flew out from a small space that had been sealed for three hundred years.
The key hovered steadily before Yu Yuan's chest.
Yu Yuan, visibly moved, reached out to catch the floating key and place it into his Mustard Seed Bracelet.
"Hold on," Zu An interjected, facing Yu Yuan across the red copper key, "Give me a piece of Giant Beast Amber for the three hundred years of safekeeping."
Yu Yuan was taken aback. "The legacy I was informed of made no mention of such a fee."
Zu An offered no explanation, simply extending his hand.
After a brief pause, Yu Yuan reluctantly retrieved a crystallized essence of Chaos Roc blood from his Mustard Seed Bracelet and handed it over to Zu An, saying, "Senior Zu, this is what you owe me. According to our agreement, I shouldn't have to offer anything in exchange for the key."
"Indeed, it is the Giant Beast Amber!"
Zu An let out a soft cry of surprise as the shimmering "Giant Beast Amber" was cast into the Skywatch Mirror. In the blink of an eye, it settled atop a small hill on Rosy Island.
Realization dawned on Yu Yuan, and he murmured softly, "A single piece of Giant Beast Amber alone cannot revive her."
Zu An's gaze sharpened. "You seem to know a great deal, young man."
"One piece of Giant Beast Amber is certainly not sufficient," Yu Yuan reiterated.
"Over three hundred years have passed, and I've collected many things," Zu An retorted with a cold snort. "Yet your grand-uncle never made any promises about concocting medicine! Aside from Zhong Chichen, there's no one else I trust."
Yu Yuan chuckled, "If you're willing to wait a bit longer, I'll be able to assist you with the refinement process in the future."
