C542 The Key to the Picture

In the Land of Quiescence, within the sect of Colddeath, Ann Ziqing was immersed in a Blood Pool, her eyes half-closed in relaxation, yet her mind was awash with thoughts. She pondered cultivation techniques, the doctrines of her order, the tumultuous state of the continent, and the chaos of the outside world, all swirling through her consciousness like clusters of clouds.

Beside the Blood Pool, a Spirit Armor, gleaming like amethyst, rested on a stone platform, radiating a dazzling light. Ann Ziqing, submerged in the pool, faced her own Lunar Spirit, which was also enveloped in the dense blood, resembling a ghastly blood-drenched robe.

The physical form and the Lunar Spirit scrutinized each other, searching for any weaknesses or flaws to address and correct. Suddenly, the amethyst-hued Spirit Armor she had set aside began to glow inexplicably. The glow started at the armor's chest and soon illuminated the entire piece.

Blood-red lines crisscrossed the Spirit Armor, creating dozens of intricate arrays of varying sizes, each with its own miraculous function: to ignite vitality, soothe the soul, fortify the body, and hasten the gathering of spiritual energy.

The brilliance of the Spirit Armor filled the secluded chamber with a surge of violent vitality, abruptly interrupting Ann Ziqing's unique meditation. In a flash, the blood-wrapped Lunar Spirit merged with her. She closed her eyes and, upon reopening them, revealed a pair of crimson eyes that shone with an unsettling intensity.

She cast a glance at the purple Spirit Armor. It obediently took flight and hovered before her. A blood crystal set into the armor's chest pulsed with a faint, indistinct aura. Ann Ziqing chuckled in amazement, "My young master has indeed unlocked the wonders contained within the jade pendant."

With a light tap of her finger on the blood crystal, she began to decipher the first message. As the information unfolded, Ann Ziqing's expression grew solemn. Moments later, she emerged from the pool, wrapped in a radiant, bloody light.

The Spirit Armor, as if sentient, fitted itself onto her form in the most flattering manner, accentuating her exquisite figure and her whimsical charm. In the blink of an eye, she stepped out from the hidden Blood Pool and materialized beneath the blood-red canopy of the sky.

"I need to travel to Celestial Isle using the rune circle! Set it up immediately!"

...

On an unnamed island.

Faang Yao, accompanied by Yuan Lianyao, made a grand entrance in the sky above Tong Laoqian and Gao Qin.

Within the fiercely burning fireball, the one-armed Faang Yao burst into laughter. "What's the occasion? Are we here to find someone or to kill?"

"Pei Zhen has died. Are you replacing her to oversee Demon's Scar?" Zhu Peining of the Skyreach Consortium inquired.

Faang Yao shook his head. "Only temporarily."

"Your timing couldn't be better!"

Python Queen Xu Zixi, noticing Yuan Lianyao emerging from her retreat, brightened up and approached eagerly, "We're not interested in digging deep or uncovering secrets. We just need to know, is Yu Yuan on the island?"

"You're planning to besiege Yu Yuan?" Yuan Lianyao asked, her tone icy.

"Absolutely not," the Python Queen quickly clarified. "We need to ascertain his location. He's crucial. We need him to accomplish certain objectives."

"Being used as bait again?" Yuan Lianyao looked at Mo Yan with disdain.

Mo Yan, perched atop the Silver Rainbow Shuttle, shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm here to avenge the Ruby Hand. Your protectors are dead, and the Ruby Hand has been slow to respond. As a fellow sect, shouldn't you be thankful for the Devil Palace's strenuous efforts?"

At his words, Yuan Lianyao's expression soured further. She dismissed Mo Yan and turned to Xu Zixi, "I'm clueless. I'm just here for the spectacle."

"Hmm?"

Zhu Peining from the Skyreach Consortium let out a soft gasp and gazed into the distance.

Others followed her gaze.

Zhu Peining's spirit quivered as she tuned into Feng Zhong's remnant soul, her heart racing.

A diminutive figure clad in purple divine armor, exuding a pungent scent of blood, approached swiftly like a Bloody River.

"People from Colddeath!"

Sensing the significant disturbance, many onlookers gasped in recognition.

Ann Ziqing, suspended in the void, suddenly fixed her crimson eyes on an old man blending in with the crowd of independent cultivators on another island.

The one-eyed elder was casually chatting with someone nearby.

He suddenly fell silent.

"Ming Kun, let me tell you, the most formidable figures in the Sundering Isles aren't just the Grand Sword Immortal from Sword Island, but also the enigmatic guardian of the Skyreach Consortium, and of course, Lord Xueyin from the Colddeath Sect," a wandering cultivator explained to the one-eyed elder with great animation. "Rumor has it that Lord Xueyin from Acora Island is at the peak of the Solar Spirit Realm and on the cusp of ascending to the Unbound Realm."

"What makes Lord Xueyin so fearsome is his youth!"

"He's been cultivating for less than two hundred years! To reach the pinnacle of the Solar Spirit Realm and possess the power to break through to the Unbound Realm in just two centuries – isn't that terrifying?"

"The Colddeath Sect places immense hope in him, believing he's the one who could successfully refine his primordial spirit!"

"Ming Kun, are you even listening?"

After speaking at length, the man noticed the one-eyed elder's silence and couldn't help but raise his voice.

The Abyssal Leviathan, disguised among the other wandering cultivators, twisted his mouth into a savage grin that sent shivers down the spine of the storyteller.

"You, Ming Kun? That smile of yours is..."

Before he could finish, the chatty cultivator who had been elucidating the intricacies of the Sundering Isles for so long burst into a cloud of blood mist!

A dozen or so cultivators from the Subtlety and Veil Breaking Realms looked on in horror.

The one-eyed elder simply grinned and let out a strange chuckle.

His seemingly afflicted eye suddenly burst forth with a dazzling brilliance, like a sun emerging from the depths of the sea, forcing everyone to avert their gaze.

"It's time for some peace and quiet."

As the one-eyed elder spoke with a smile, flames shot from his eye, striking the nearby cultivators.

In an instant, more than a dozen were set ablaze and consumed by fire.

Elsewhere on the island, cultivators of various realms felt an overwhelming force assail them. Unable to defend themselves, their bones and organs were crushed from the pressure.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

One by one, the cultivators burst open like ruptured balls, dying in rapid succession.

A thick blood mist swiftly enveloped all five islands.

"Over there! What's happening over there?" Tong Laoqian was petrified. Glancing at the nearby island, he realized that all the independent cultivators had perished in mere moments.

"It's him! The Abyssal Leviathan that's been suppressed in the Embers Sea!" Yuan Lianyao cried out.

No sooner had she spoken than a scarlet cast-iron sign, etched with countless divine flames, soared up from the ocean depths.

Whoosh!

From Sword Island, a dazzling river of sword light, imbued with a destructive sword's will, burst forth.

A faint red shadow flickered behind Ann Ziqing.

The next instant, a deep crimson Bloody River fell from the heavens, enveloping the island.

Within the Bloody River, the remains of ancient archdemons, extraterrestrial Otherkin, and divine emperors floated, exuding a formidable force that stifled all life and silenced the cosmos.

"Xueyin!"

Inside the Silver Rainbow Shuttle, the Dark Herald of the Devil Palace gasped, then commanded, "Mo Yan, make your escape!"

"Understood!"

Without another word, Mo Yan steered the Devil Blade away from the chaos.

The Dark Herald maneuvered the Silver Rainbow Shuttle, casting a glance at Zhu Peining, and advised, "Stay out of this."

Zhu Peining, still only at the Spirit Walk Stage and not yet a Solar Spirit, could only watch.

Faang Yao of the Ruby Hand coughed and mocked himself, "I'm merely an observer."

"A bunch of insects daring to slay a god."

The chilling voice of the Abyssal Leviathan emanated from the blood-shrouded island.

As one of the most enigmatic entities in the vast stellar sea, he was more ancient than the gods themselves. To many beings across the universe, he was a deity.

And he proclaimed himself a god, rightfully so.

Whoosh!

The mysterious island, responding to his icy command, surged from the sea.

Like the floating island Yu Zhu had refined in the Forgotten Ruins, this larger landmass split from the ocean and flew off in a particular direction.

The island sent waves of psionic ripples through the air, tearing through space and covering vast distances in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the island, once part of the Sundering Isles, was wrenched from its domain by the divine power of the giant beast.

"The Cosmic Giant Beast is rumored to have a natural affinity with the sea, its power magnified within the marine realm."

Ann Ziqing hovered high above, gazing at the deep crimson Bloody River as she pursued the island. In a gentle tone, she cautioned, "Be careful. Our Colddeath Cult has shallow roots; don't overexert yourself."

Xueyin was the brightest new star of Colddeath's current generation, vitally important to the sect.

She couldn't bear the thought of Xueyin, on the cusp of condensing his primordial spirit, perishing in the vastness of the Everlands at the hands of the Abyssal Leviathan.

Even a grave injury from the Abyssal Leviathan that might hinder his future breakthroughs in cultivation was unacceptable.

"A cosmic giant beast! The cosmic giant beast from the Embers Sea!"

"Wasn't it said to have soared into the Star River beyond our world? Why then has it suddenly appeared in the Sundering Isles?"

Other cultivators from different islands leapt into the sky, startled by the disturbance.

Numerous powerful beings, who had been gathering in search of Yu Yuan, hastily trailed behind the island as it departed.

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