C57 Moon Shard

Inside the forbidden area, enormous pits scarred the landscape, each one harboring a Moon Shard at its deepest point. The divine force here was several times denser than in Asvetaesi or Thylethlume! Simply cultivating in this area, without undertaking any other tasks, proved to be far more efficient than training in Asvetaesi.

However, this was only true for the first four months. Yuan Lianyao had explained that the divine force within the Moonfall Sanctuary was capricious. At times, the spiritual energy would become chaotic and violent, unsuitable for cultivation and even harmful to those at lower realms.

The Silvermoon Empire had studied the Moonfall Sanctuary for many years, discerning that during certain phases, the spiritual energy would be gentler. As a result, they organized a trial every ten years. The trial lasted six months, but after the initial four, the spiritual energy would turn tumultuous.

This violent spiritual energy would obscure all, making it impossible for those outside to use weapons, the Lunar Spirit, or the remnant soul for perception. Thus, beyond the four-month mark, if trial-takers remained, the empire's noble families, including the Empress herself, could no longer intervene.

...

Yu Yuan exhaled deeply, his focus returning from the White Paper Fan. The four black To Know All is to Suffer All glowed with a dim, mournful light. The agony in his heaven soul had significantly diminished.

He was confident that in a few days, the White Paper Fan would completely heal the wounds his heaven soul had sustained. "Lee Yuchan..." he whispered the name, gazing up at the star-filled sky and the cool crescent moon. "The Silvermoon Empire's most ruthless female general, with a mastery in the late period of Subtlety. Just one unintentional glance from her could injure me, making my heaven soul feel as though it's being torn apart. One must not underestimate the Silvermoon Empire."

At that moment, he was situated within a pit. Before him lay a stone path leading downward, surrounded by several caves of varying sizes, each claimed by Yuan Ting, Zhao Yafu, Yu Feifei, and others.

Upon entering the forbidden area, our group casually selected a cavern to absorb the spiritual energy and acclimate to the surroundings.

"Brother Yu, should we descend to the bottom to check out the so-called Moon Shard?" Zhao Yafu, having just finished her meditation, approached and whispered, "Take a look around; many of these stone paths were left by those who came before us. Countless individuals must have sought the secrets of the Moon Shard down below."

The hole, formed by the impact of a Lunar Meteorite, had walls that were once smooth but now bore numerous chiseled passages and stairways that stretched deep below.

A cursory glance revealed more than a dozen stairways, resembling vines cascading downwards, and the walls were pocked with dozens of honeycomb-like caverns.

Some caverns were merely shelters, empty and unadorned.

Others were carved out, forming pathways to additional caverns.

"Let's take a look then," Yu Yuan said, rising slowly and descending one of the stone staircases. "But manage your expectations. Over ten thousand years, this place has been thoroughly explored, and for the last three hundred, no one has made any groundbreaking discoveries in the Moonfall Sanctuary. I suspect the so-called trials here are just a way for the Silvermoon Empire to pit the five great clans and seven cities against each other, testing the potential of the younger generation."

He was indifferent about this trial in the Moonfall Sanctuary. In his past life, he had traversed various Mysterious Realms and the Everlands with notable figures, gaining insights into the wonders of many exotic places.

He had never visited the Moonfall Sanctuary because it never yielded any rare treasures or spiritual herbs.

After all, in his previous life, he was a herbalist, not a cultivator.

"If you come across anything, let me know," Yuan Ting called out, having just awakened. He gestured to the pair, "I'll keep watch from up here. I won't be going down just yet."

For the initial four months, fatal incidents among the teams within the forbidden area were prohibited.

At the entrance, there were always individuals discreetly monitoring the interior with their remnant souls and artifacts.

As soon as a battle erupted, those in the outside world would instantly become aware of it.

This was why Yuan Ting wasn't concerned about Yu Yuan and Zhao Yafu.

For now, there was nothing to worry about.

"Alright, let's head down and have a look," Yu Yuan suggested, descending further. He occasionally glanced down and noticed that Zhao Yafu had outpaced him, disappearing from view.

It took him about fifteen minutes to reach the location of the Moon Shard, where he found Zhao Yafu.

The Moon Shard, a vast expanse of silver-white about three acres in size, shimmered with a metallic luster in the moonlight, reminiscent of an unusual Sunsilver.

"It feels somewhat chilly."

Zhao Yafu was already perched on the Moon Shard, crouching and caressing it with her palm. "Yu, this Moon Shard is truly peculiar. It resembles both a rock and Sunsilver."

"Can it conduct spiritual energy?" Yu Yuan inquired.

"There's no response on my end." Zhao Yafu, who had attained the Golden Sanctum, gently shook her head, adding, "Not even a sliver of spiritual energy can seep through."

"What about absorption?" Yu Yuan probed further.

"Nothing at all," Zhao Yafu replied.

As they spoke, Yu Yuan also settled onto the Moon Shard, extending his hand to feel its surface. It was indeed as Zhao Yafu described: slightly cool to the touch, stone-like yet metallic.

He covertly channeled the Nine Glories Wheel, but failed to draw any strange power from the Moon Shard.

It seemed to be solid throughout.

"How can cultivators glean profound spells from these Moon Shards? How can they leverage them to transcend their own levels of cultivation?" Zhao Yafu wondered aloud, baffled. "It's merely a stone with no discernible patterns. How can they possibly understand it?"

"Perhaps the mystery doesn't lie in this shard. Maybe others hold the secrets?" Yu Yuan offered, smiling. "Or possibly, this shard once held wonders that have since been claimed by someone else."

Zhao Yafu felt a pang of regret at his words. "If only we were born a few years earlier, we might have made some discoveries ourselves."

Yu Yuan walked around the Moon Shard, inspecting it meticulously.

He noticed that many areas of the Lunar Meteorite bore traces of chiseling, as well as scars from the slashes of blades and the impact of powerful strikes during battle.

Yet these marks followed no discernible pattern; they were not intentionally carved by anyone. This indicated that the so-called Moon Shard held no spells or legacies from those who came before, nor did it possess any particular mysteries.

"Let's go up."

Without further delay, he signaled to Zhao Yafu and began to climb ahead. After some time, he could already make out the cave they had left earlier.

"Brother, hurry up! We've made a discovery!"

Yu Feifei's head appeared, and upon spotting him, she eagerly waved him over.

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