C506 The Cold Moon of the Night
The night deepened, and the stars vanished from sight.
An eerie silence enveloped the Sundering Isles.
Above Demon's Scar, a bright moon unexpectedly rose, piercing the darkness!
Inside a red-rock pavilion, Yu Yuan, deeply engrossed in his cultivation, felt an intense heat flare up at his lower elixir field.
It was as if a tidal wave of flames had erupted within his Golden Sanctum, a little world within him, raging fiercely.
Immersed in his meditation, he witnessed eight clusters of sunfire within his Golden Sanctum, relentlessly battering against the boundaries, desperately seeking escape.
Yu Yuan's face darkened. He was about to employ a mystique to quell the disturbance when a sudden sense of dread overtook him.
"This is bad!"
With a sharp exclamation, he rose to his feet and declared, "Yuanyuan, we need to evacuate now!"
"What?" Yuan Lianyao responded, startled and bewildered.
In that moment, the once clear and cold moon morphed into a bizarre shade of green jade.
Out of nowhere, a torrential downpour began.
Each droplet, a crystalline green, seemed sentient as it targeted the structures erected by the Ruby Hand between the trio of dormant volcanoes.
Puchi!
The green droplets pierced through the red stone, igniting into emerald flames.
The flames, a chilling dark green, exuded an icy aura reminiscent of the Frozen Hellscape, and they sought out the disciples and elders of the Ruby Hand with a malevolent intent.
Xiao Yun, held captive by Pei Zhen, looked up in horror as a cluster of green flames approached, sending a shiver through her.
She had encountered such flames before, deep beneath the Embers Sea, on a woman possessed by the Sky Fiend.
"Ah!"
The spectral green flames descended upon her, and upon contact, they erupted into a voracious blaze.
They consumed not only her corporeal body but also the three souls of heaven, earth, and man.
Before Pei Zhen could inform the sect of her betrayal, as instructed by Zhu Peining to reveal Yu Yuan's true identity, Xiao Yun was engulfed by the green inferno.
Simultaneously, the pavilion was filled with the sounds of agony.
Figures, wreathed in the dark green flames, emerged through windows, doors, and even the roofs, their screams echoing with torment.
"Who dares to wreak havoc in my Demon's Scar?"
Pei Zhen's shriek pierced the air as she stood upon the crimson drum. Within the column of flame above her, innumerable glyphs materialized, shooting skyward towards the moon.
With a flourish of her sleeves, three streams of lava cascaded from the dormant volcanoes.
The tumultuous lava falls, teeming with countless tiny Fire Crystals and carrying a towering heatwave, obeyed Pei Zhen's remnant soul, reversing their flow towards the heavens.
As the warden of Demon's Scar, Pei Zhen, in the middle period of her Spirit Walk, had long mastered the volcanic fire veins within the mountains, commanding them at will.
On Demon's Scar, Pei Zhen could tap into the might of the late period of Spirit Walk, thanks to those three magma veins!
"Splash, splash, splash!"
Torrential rain cascaded from the heavens.
Each droplet was the color of emerald, like shards of translucent green jade shattered across the sky.
The verdant raindrops carried an essence of extreme cold!
As they fell, the fire pillar above Pei Zhen's head, along with the three roiling lava falls, were infiltrated and crackled under the siege of the Arctic Breath.
The once fierce flames were swiftly snuffed out.
The Fire Crystals, mingled within the lava, were reduced to dust upon contact with the emerald droplets.
Pei Zhen bellowed in rage as the dark fire glyphs within the fire pillar above her began to extinguish.
Realizing the dire situation, the red drum beneath her feet soared upward like a giant unfurled umbrella, heading towards the eerily cold moon.
A solitary, ethereal figure loomed above the moon.
The shadow shifted, stepping out from the moon. The moon that had materialized above Demon's Scar was effortlessly seized by her, condensing into a lance brimming with icy radiance.
She grasped the lance, formed of the moon's essence, and extended it gently towards the red drum below.
"Crack, crack!"
The world seemed to succumb to a deep freeze!
The frigid moonlight and the dark green chill merged into the Cosmic Order, an extreme coldness that dwelled in the depths of the Frozen Hellscape!
The moon's lance, sharp at both ends, pierced the red drum that Pei Zhen had tirelessly refined day and night.
The drum's fiery surface was effortlessly penetrated!
At the moment of rupture, Pei Zhen let out a stifled groan, blood streaming from her seven orifices. The Lunar Spirit, nestled deep within her Mindscape, fractured like shattered porcelain, riddled with countless cracks.
The Lunar Spirit was gravely wounded in an instant!
Looking down, she witnessed the Ruby Hand's elders and disciples, who had come for adjustments, now ablaze with verdant flames.
Their flesh and the three souls were all aflame!
With a splash, a cauldron enveloped Yu Yuan and Yuan Lianyao, plunging into the abyssal sea, rapidly descending.
Pei Zhen lamented, realizing Demon's Scar had succumbed. Remaining was futile, so she prepared to employ an escape technique and make for Celestial Isle.
A figure, radiating an endless chill, materialized from the sky.
"Who might you be?"
At a glance, Pei Zhen felt her soul shiver with an unspeakable cold.
Then, she saw a glint of icy malice in the figure's verdant eyes.
The "Bright Moon" spike pierced the vibrant red drum, transforming into a streak of frosty lightning that shot through her forehead.
Her Mindscape and the three souls of heaven, earth, and man were instantly frozen.
A second later, Pei Zhen's icy head shattered into fragments.
All three souls extinguished!
The enigmatic figure withdrew the spike, melding it into her palm, where it swiftly became an eye as cold as the moon.
She placed this eye over her left, allowing it to seamlessly integrate.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Clusters of life-stealing, soul-burning green flames converged from all directions.
Like swallows returning to their nest, they merged into her chilling presence.
Her left eye, now gleaming with the brilliance of the cold moon, grew even more formidable after absorbing the unleashed green flames, before she abruptly plummeted into the sea.
On a nearby unnamed islet, Tong Laoqian, keenly observing Demon's Scar, trembled ever so slightly.
Concealed on the island, perched atop a lush tree, he alternated his gaze between Demon's Scar and the soul-searching sweeps of the area.
Yuan Lianyao and Yu Yuan could leave Demon's Scar in secret, and he would sense them whether they soared through the skies or plunged into the sea.
Now, as he desired, Yu Yuan had unleashed the Crucible of Evil and taken Yuan Lianyao into the ocean depths. Yet, he remained in place, hesitant to make a move.
He had preemptively withdrawn all his remnant souls.
He masked the fluctuations of his vitality, spiritual energy, and the stirrings of his Lunar Spirit as best he could.
He feared drawing the attention of that chilling, elegant figure!
While covertly monitoring Demon's Scar and keeping tabs on Yuan Lianyao and Yu Yuan, he never anticipated a sudden, bloody purge in the dead of night.
The Ruby Hand, which had been ascending to the pinnacle of the first level in the Everlands, was the target!
Pei Zhen, in the middle period of Spirit Walk and who had refined three magma veins, was obliterated in a swift, shadowy assault.
Tong Laoqian, who had witnessed the entire massacre, felt a chill spread through his body.
"Who is that woman? Her methods are so vicious and brutal; she hardly seems human!" Tong Laoqian lamented inwardly. "Doesn't she fear the Ruby Hand's vengeance? In the Everlands, across the Sundering Isles, who would dare such wanton boldness?!"
Tong Laoqian, who had hoped to seize an opportunity after Yu Yuan's departure from Demon's Scar, was now paralyzed with fear.
His cultivation level matched Pei Zhen's—if Pei Zhen could die, so could he!
Deep beneath the sea.
Yu Yuan and Yuan Lianyao sat within the little world inside the Crucible of Evil, both looking worse for wear.
The cauldron spirit's presence was severely weakened from being roused against its will.
Yu Yuan was aware that the cauldron spirit had already expended significant energy condensing the peculiar evil spirit.
The cauldron spirit had long ago warned him not to interfere—
Unless it was a matter of life or death!
And indeed, they had faced such a moment! With no other choice, he had reluctantly reached out to the cauldron spirit, halting the condensation of the bizarre evil spirit.
In the end, the cauldron spirit's painstaking efforts to refine the evil spirit had been in vain.
The cauldron spirit itself was also left weakened and vulnerable.
Fortunately, the Crucible of Evil was a Divine Level artifact. Yuan Lianyao and Yu Yuan, taking refuge inside it, descended into the deep sea, making it nearly impossible for them to be discovered.
"Who is she?"
Yuan Lianyao's lips were dry as she spoke, mirroring her troubled mind.
Yu Yuan and Yuan Lianyao had managed to evade the corrosive green flames thanks to the protection of the Crucible of Evil.
As they sank with the Crucible of Evil into the ocean, she witnessed Pei Zhen's vibrant red drum being impaled by the ethereal figure wielding moon-forged spikes.
At that moment, she had an ominous premonition.
She realized that Pei Zhen, who had stood watch over Demon's Scar for many years, was likely in grave danger.
And yet, the ethereal figure that descended from the heavens seemed eerily familiar to her.
"You've seen her before," Yu Yuan said darkly. "Lin Zhuyun's body may still house a soul, but whether it remains hers, I cannot be certain."
"Ah!" Yuan Lianyao gasped in alarm.
"At the bottom of the Embers Sea, she was taken over by the Sky Fiend. That Sky Fiend likely hailed from the depths of the Frozen Hellscape. Given her naturally cold constitution and her practice of Winter's Bite spells, she was an ideal vessel for possession," Yu Yuan explained, taking a deep breath. "Back then, she was completely under the Fiend's control, devoid of any self-awareness."
"But now..."
Yu Yuan paused, deep in thought, before continuing, "Now, I believe she has regained her sense of self. The moon that looms over Demon's Scar is the Abyssal Leviathan's other eye, a wondrous object forged from the Moon Soul. I suspect that the Abyssal Leviathan used the Moon Soul to either obliterate or suppress the Sky Fiend Soul, granting her self-awareness."
"It seems she has reached an understanding with the Abyssal Leviathan and is currently acting on its behalf."
"The Abyssal Leviathan's other eye, the eye of the burning sun, has been relentlessly scanning to pinpoint my location. Meanwhile, she has become the Leviathan's sharp blade, sent by the cosmic giant beast to end me!"
Yuan Lianyao exclaimed in astonishment, "How can she be so powerful?"
Pei Zhen, who was in the middle period of Spirit Walk and had refined the magma fire vein beneath Demon's Scar, possessed combat strength that nearly reached the late period of Spirit Walk.
How was it that she stood no chance when facing Lin Zhuyun?
"The strength she wields comes from the Sky Fiend of the Frozen Hellscape. Once the Sky Fiend possessed her, her Mindscape underwent an earth-shattering transformation. Those emerald flames are the Sky Fiend's gift to her," Yu Yuan mused, then added, "Without the Abyssal Leviathan's aid, she couldn't break free from the Sky Fiend or retain her spiritual wisdom."
"Yet the Abyssal Leviathan actually consented to bestow upon her its other eye!"
"That eye shielded her from the Sky Fiend's soul corrosion. Furthermore, the eye was inherently attuned to her spell and soul, rendering her even more formidable."
"The Devil Palace's Guardian, Hei Xun, the Pale Reaper, Peach Madam, and the Crane Rider likely found themselves at the mercy of the cosmic giant beast while feasting upon it. Summoned by the Blood Altar, another Sky Fiend from the Frozen Hellscape had originally accompanied Hei Xun."
"Lin Zhuyun, once possessed, became the point of breakthrough for the Abyssal Leviathan, aiding her in casting off the Sky Fiend's shackles and awakening her own consciousness."
"We must exercise utmost caution; the Lin Zhuyun we now face may indeed be herself. However, there's likely a pact between her and the Abyssal Leviathan, compelling her to slay me on its behalf."
Yu Yuan felt a sense of unease even within the confines of the Crucible of Evil.
He was aware that after dealing with Pei Zhen, Lin Zhuyun would likely descend into the abyssal depths.
His concern grew as he pondered whether his betrothed, whose temperament and power had dramatically shifted, could locate the Crucible of Evil in the ocean's depths.
Beneath the Sundering Isles, the waters were murky and obscure, teeming with countless fish, numerous lurking sea demons, and cultivators at one with the aquatic realm.
These fish, sea demons, and cultivators could all lead Lin Zhuyun astray, forcing her to sift through the chaos.
"Your cauldron seems to be moving with purpose?" Yuan Lianyao inquired with curiosity.
"Yes, we're heading to a specific location, but we'll need to take a roundabout route," Yu Yuan confirmed with a nod. "If we manage to get inside, we should be able to evade Lin Zhuyun's pursuit."
