C647 Accident

Over the next several days, members of other sects made a point of visiting the Obsidian Thunder Sect to learn about Xie Bin's origins from Huang Chuan. Qi Jinghai's visit and his words had quickly elevated Xie Bin to fame. Yet, Xie Bin refused to engage in conversation with anyone.

Yu Yuan, too, remained silent, spending his days behind closed doors, drinking. He was acutely aware of the profound impact Qi Jinghai's parting words had on Xie Bin, dealing him a significant blow.

The Glacial Storm Seal was the Obsidian Thunder Sect's most prized possession. Yu Yuan knew from his past life that it was a top-tier heavenly artifact with a formidable restraining power against the Star-Spawned Terror. Previously, the sect master of the Obsidian Thunder Sect had always wielded the Glacial Storm Seal. After perishing in the extraterrestrial, Yu Yuan had assumed the current sect master possessed it. To his surprise, it was Xie Bin who now held it.

Xie Bin would not have feared Qi Jinghai using the Thunder Sect to pressure him; he could have sought the support of the three upper sects to uphold justice and restrain the Thunder Sect from acting rashly. However, with the Thunder Sect having swayed the three upper sects to their side, Xie Bin and the Obsidian Thunder Sect were left with no recourse.

The thought of surrendering the sect's treasured Glacial Storm Seal was something Xie Bin could not come to terms with. One evening, a tipsy Xie Bin flung open his door and beckoned Yu Yuan to enter, instructing him to arrange the array that blocked out soul perceptions and sound.

Once everything was in place, Xie Bin declared, "Chen Xi, I've decided to leave Afnetalos."

Yu Yuan pondered for a moment, "Are you planning to lay low for a while?"

"I'm heading to the Godsblight Marsh," Xie Bin announced.

"Godsblight Marsh!" Yu Yuan exclaimed, taken aback.

"In Aetherius, only the Godsblight Marsh can disregard the three upper sects, the Devil Palace, and Shadow's Keep," Xie Bin explained, his breath heavy with the scent of alcohol. Yet, his clear eyes betrayed no hint of inebriation. "I refuse to surrender the Glacial Storm Seal!"

Yu Yuan nodded in understanding, "But for how long can you remain hidden?"

"Once another prodigy in cultivation emerges within our Obsidian Thunder Sect, and he's capable of wielding the Glacial Storm Seal, I'll pass it on to him," Xie Bin declared.

"Why do you have this item?" Yu Yuan inquired with curiosity.

"Well..." Xie Bin hesitated before continuing, "Since you're his hand-chosen disciple, I see no need for secrets. In the battle at the Star River in the extraterrestrial realms, my Solar Spirit was shattered. The old sect master sealed what remained of my Solar Spirit's soul within the Glacial Storm Seal, and I've been its keeper ever since."

"The Glacial Storm Seal contains a shard of my Solar Spirit, but our current sect master hasn't reached the Unbound Realm yet. He's not only incapable of controlling the Glacial Storm Seal, but he also harbors benevolent intentions and refuses to expel my residual soul from it," Xie Bin explained, his face etched with concern. "And so, the Glacial Storm Seal remains with me."

"Qi Jinghai mentioned there's still hope for your Solar Spirit to be restored?" Yu Yuan asked, astonished.

"It's far from simple," Xie Bin sighed deeply. "Qi Jinghai's master is a cultivator of the Unbound Realm within the Thunder Sect. Given that our thunder magic is of the same essence, he might stand a chance if he's willing to commit all his energy. But how could I forsake our old sect master, defect to the Thunder Sect, and surrender the Glacial Storm Seal?"

"Is there really no other way to reunite your Solar Spirit?" Yu Yuan pressed.

"There are those in this world capable of extracting and reconstituting my residual soul from the Glacial Storm Seal," Xie Bin admitted, as if he had pondered this before. "They are masters of Spirit Magic in the Star River of the extraterrestrial realms. But to become entangled with them would be..."

He trailed off, offering a wry smile instead.

"Boulderdawn," Yu Yuan voiced softly.

Xie Bin was visibly shaken. "How do you know of them? Information about the extraterrestrial Star River is under strict embargo! Their very existence and deeds are shrouded in secrecy. I only learned of their origins in the Everlands after venturing beyond our realm and encountering them myself."

The Divine Soul Sect's presence in the Everlands had been wiped out by the alliance of the three upper sects, the Devil Palace, and Shadow's Keep.

Only those cultivators who had ascended to the Solar Spirit level, battling Sky Fiends and extraterrestrial beings deep within the Star River, occasionally stumbled upon remnants of the Boulderdawn.

Indeed, in Yu Yuan's previous life, the Boulderdawn Sect had vanished for a time beyond the Star River, rumored to have ventured to even more distant reaches.

Lately, members of the Boulderdawn began to resurface, their power surging unexpectedly.

Xie Bin's encounter with the Boulderdawn was serendipitous. Initially, he mistook them for Otherkin similar to humans, but eventually realized they were fellow human cultivators who had departed the Everlands.

They were once a colossus that commanded the respect of the three great upper sects, the Devil Palace, and Shadow's Keep.

Yu Yuan, as a hand-chosen disciple of the God of Medicine, shouldn't have been privy to the Boulderdawn's secrets. Yet, he mentioned them with ease, leaving Xie Bin astounded.

"I visited the Moonfall Sanctuary and happened upon evidence of the Boulderdawn's existence," Yu Yuan explained nonchalantly. "Is there really no alternative to the Boulderdawn?"

After a moment of contemplation, Xie Bin replied, "For nearly a century, I've been covertly contemplating this issue, reviewing it over and over. I believe Qi Jinghai's master might possess the capability to employ the Boulderdawn's arcane techniques. Beyond that, there's an artifact. But that artifact..."

"What artifact?" inquired Yu Yuan.

"The Crucible of Evil, the treasure that anchors the Terror Claws Sect. It's said to harbor the power to gather alien souls and malevolent spirits, absorbing the resentment and all forms of negative psychic energy from the deceased, then transforming it into a force of evil. I have a hunch that the Crucible of Evil could also extract my residual soul from the Glacial Storm Seal, reconstituting it into a heaven soul."

"If the heaven soul can be condensed and returned to my mud pellet acupoint, I could refine it with the Lunar Spirit and nurture it with the dominant soul. Perhaps then I could resume my cultivation."

Xie Bin let out a sigh. "However, the Crucible of Evil has been lost for over a century. It was only last year that I heard it had been retrieved from the depths of the Embers Sea by a young man named Yu Yuan. I've kept tabs on him in secret, but..."

He shook his head, "I've also heard that all the items he possessed were confiscated by the Untamed before he left the Godsblight Marsh."

"As for me, I'm planning to seek refuge in the Godsblight Marsh to escape misfortune, and perhaps, just perhaps, gain the favor of the Untamed."

"With the Crucible of Evil in the hands of the Untamed, if they are willing to assist me, I believe I can reunite the heaven soul. When it descends into the mud pellet acupoint, I'll be ready to advance directly into the Spirit Walk Realm." Xie Bin continued unabated.

Then he noticed Yu Yuan's odd expression and the prolonged silence.

"Chen Xi, what's with that look?" Xie Bin asked, puzzled.

"This isn't the place to talk. Come with me to the Azure Vault. I've rented a training room there where I can show you something," Yu Yuan said abruptly, rising to his feet.

"Why?"

"I'll explain once we're there."

"Alright."

Two hours later, inside a training room on the seventh floor of the Azure Vault, Yu Yuan closed the door without bothering to arrange any flags. Here, there were fewer concerns.

"What do you have to show me?" Xie Bin couldn't contain his curiosity any longer.

Yu Yuan's expression had been so peculiar on the way over that Xie Bin felt uneasy, wondering what the God of Medicine's hand-chosen disciple was planning. If not for Yu Yuan's prestigious mentorship, Xie Bin would never have come to the Azure Vault on his word alone.

"Come forth."

With a soft invocation, Yu Yuan summoned a dark cauldron that emerged from the Zigong acupoint in his chest. As soon as the cauldron materialized, its surface glyphs began to wriggle independently, emitting an extraordinary pulse of soul energy.

"What is this?"

Having never laid eyes on the Crucible of Evil, Xie Bin, who had only heard of its legend, couldn't immediately recognize it.

"This is the very thing you were hoping to find by taking a chance in the Godsblight Marsh," Yu Yuan said with a laugh.

"Ah! How can that be!" Xie Bin exclaimed in shock, staring at Yu Yuan as if he were a monster. "You, you can't be the Untamed, can you? Impossible, the Untamed is a tenth level archdemon. He wouldn't be practicing leechcraft or be able to receive the God of Medicine's legacy!"

"Hahaha!"

Yu Yuan burst into laughter. "You've got it all wrong. I'm not the Untamed. I'm a human, just like you. This item was mine to begin with. The Untamed merely returned it to its rightful owner."

"You're Yu Yuan?!"

"Indeed, I am."

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