C658 I Believe It Now!!

The sword's will surged endlessly, unleashing a scarlet sword light that soared from its sheath.

In that moment, Yu Yuan's spiritual sense was wholly absorbed in the Moon Slayer's sword spell, a cultivator's ultimate technique.

Refining spiritual energy, he channeled the robust vitality of life and strands of spiritual sense to commune with the sword spirit.

Boom!

The ice barrier, which the Frost Queen had been maintaining with great effort, shattered under the explosive sword's will emanating from Yu Yuan as he pointed the sheath at the handle of the Spectral Umbrella.

The Frost Queen, usually detached and unfeeling, was struck by the peerless sword's will radiating from Yu Yuan, awakening a primal fear within her.

She trembled uncontrollably.

The cauldron spirit relayed a message: The Sky Fiend, who had once traversed the Star River from the extraterrestrial realms, felt a sense of relief upon returning to the little world within the cauldron after gathering the "evil."

Her relief stemmed from the fact that Yu Yuan was her new master, not her adversary.

With the Frost Queen's departure, the Second Bane also retreated into the Crucible of Evil. Alone on the outside, Yu Yuan shed his burdens and his fighting spirit soared.

Swoosh!

A scarlet sword light was the first to dart from the sheath, targeting the dark handle of the umbrella.

Qu Jing's pupils constricted as a wave of intense unease washed over him. His left middle finger split open, and drops of blood fell.

The dripping blood stirred the dormant array within the Spirit Mirage, triggering a transformation in the little world's rules!

The umbrella's handle morphed into a colossal column, so large it would take ten people to encircle it.

The once piercing umbrella handle lost its edge, replaced by a sense of massiveness, a deep, mountain-like presence as unyielding as the walls of a fortress.

Chi!

A glint of red sparked on the columnar handle.

As Yu Yuan's mind shifted, the scarlet sword light, now as fine as a needle, punctured the surface of the umbrella handle, which resembled a massive column.

This point was insignificant compared to the broad expanse of the handle, yet the impact of the scarlet sword light caused the handle to inch backward, slowly retreating towards Qu Jing's chest.

A cloud of blood mist engulfed Qu Jing, who, deep within it, bore the visage of a hibernating wolf jolted awake by the looming threat.

His eyes, which had been half-closed as if he were not fully awake, now opened completely.

"Rumors from the outside world are often false, and I tend to greet them with skepticism," Qu Jing began, his demeanor and tone turning stern and serious. "I had assumed the many tales about you, Yu Yuan, were merely the work of those with an agenda to aggrandize you. Without seeing you in person, without verifying for myself, I never believed them."

He paused briefly, then added in a softer voice, "Now, I believe them."

Chi! Chi!

Two more streams of scarlet sword light pierced the massive handle of the umbrella.

Within the Spirit Mirage, the handle of the Spectral Umbrella, broad as a towering stone column, spanned the distance between Yu Yuan and Qu Jing. It stretched over a hundred feet, and at that moment, as if summoned by Qu Jing, it hurtled toward him.

Liu Ying's eyes sparkled with intensity. Watching Yu Yuan draw his sword sheath and exude a fierce killing intent, she quickly interjected, "You two should stop now. There's no need to harm each other!"

"Harm each other?"

Qu Jing shook his head, and the emerald Cosmos Ring on his finger flashed briefly.

A tiny finger transformed into a bolt of golden lightning and shot straight for Yu Yuan's Profound Gate acupoint.

The small, fuzzy finger radiated an extreme surge of blood energy. As it neared Yu Yuan's acupoint, it even caused the Altar of Rebirth to spin wildly.

Liu Ying was taken aback, "A ninth-level archdemon's finger, from the Golden-eyed Ape!"

That resplendent golden finger of the archdemon stabbed into Yu Yuan's chest.

Boom!

The beast skin, intricately etched with complex patterns by Chen Liangquan, which Yu Yuan wore close to his skin, erupted with a mix of dull yellow, ashen green, and silvery flashes of demon energy.

The blood light formed a protective film around Yu Yuan, and then the three distinct colors of demon energy, guided by the array, streamed towards the elixir field in his chest.

The finger of the archdemon, refined by Sage Lingxu and given to his disciple, failed to penetrate the small world of his vitality.

"A gift from the Shadow's Keep?"

Qu Jing focused his gaze and within the bloody light enveloping Yu Yuan, he could see a liger roaring, a silver snake slithering, and a green crane spreading its wings in dance.

A portion of the vitality from three Fellbeasts was ingeniously sealed within a piece of beast skin, which had been stripped from an eighth-level archdemon. The roars of the liger, the gliding of the silver serpent, and the dance of the immortal crane infused the skin with a blend of yellow, silver, and grayish-green demon energy. This energy clashed with the finger of a ninth-level archdemon in a spectacle invisible to the naked eye, as the vitality of the four archdemons collided like Divine Thunder innumerable times.

"The Ethereal Void Sect truly has profound depths," Yu Yuan remarked with a toothy grin, relishing the bond with his sword sheath and the wondrous integration of his spiritual sense with the sword spirit. In a sudden leap, he plunged into the Crucible of Evil.

Gripping the sword sheath, Yu Yuan propelled himself skyward aboard the Crucible of Evil. A brilliant crimson sword light sliced through the darkened heavens, shattering the illusory jade palaces of the Spirit Mirage, rending the mountains and lakes, and pulverizing birds and giant beasts alike.

As the sword sheath slipped from his grasp, Yu Yuan watched, his spiritual sense, spiritual energy, and vitality draining rapidly, as it transformed into a crimson sword that carved a gaping hole through the Spirit Mirage. "Is that all there is?" he mused.

Standing atop the Crucible of Evil, Yu Yuan followed the path of the sword sheath, stepping through the breach and emerging on the other side.

"Yu Yuan!"

"The Crucible of Evil!"

"And that scabbard!"

Upon his arrival in the real world, Zhan Tianxiang, Zhao Yafu, Kong Banbi, Hou Tianzhao, Lin Yue, and other nefarious prodigies from the Land of Quiescence erupted into exclamations.

Inside the cauldron, Yu Yuan was nearly spent. He hadn't anticipated that wielding such an artifact and battling someone like Qu Jing would be so exhausting. The strike that pierced the Spirit Mirage had nearly depleted all his spiritual energy and spiritual sense. Only his little world of vitality remained robust, sustained by the Altar of Rebirth.

With his spiritual energy and spiritual sense severely depleted, a second strike was out of the question. Yet, he sensed that the sword spirit still harbored some reserve strength. If he could match its pace, the sword spirit could tap into the residual power of the scabbard, allowing him to press on in his fight against Qu Jing.

In Yu Yuan's estimation, Qu Jing still had some tricks left unrevealed.

Hmm?

As he pondered, Yu Yuan abruptly noticed that the finger of the ninth-level archdemon, responding to Qu Jing's call, was about to detach from his chest.

At that moment, the blood-scented Altar of Rebirth materialized within the little world of the crucible where he resided.

The finger was engulfed by the Altar of Rebirth as effortlessly as a whale gulping water.

Immediately thereafter, the Altar of Rebirth returned to his little world of vitality.

All these events transpired within the confines of the Crucible of Evil, hidden from the view and perception of onlookers.

Only Qu Jing felt the sudden and ruthless severance of the remnant soul's connection to the finger.

Whoosh!

Emerging from the breach in the Spirit Mirage, Qu Jing looked down at the Spectral Umbrella, now with an extra hole, his expression somber. He then reached out and grasped it.

The Spectral Umbrella began to contract, and with it, the small world inside started to close.

Liu Ying, wielding the Fallen Star Eyes, seized the opportunity to fly out, her eyes alight with excitement as she eagerly sought out Yu Yuan.

Upon spotting the Crucible of Evil, she swiftly maneuvered the Fallen Star Eyes towards Yu Yuan.

Meanwhile, Qu Jing, holding the now-diminished Spectral Umbrella, fixated his gaze on the perforated spot, lost in contemplation.

Zhan Tianxiang, Zhao Yafu, Kong Banbi, and numerous sect disciples had all convened at the scene.

Yu Yuan had managed to extricate himself from the Spectral Umbrella and break free from the Spirit Mirage.

Qu Jing possessed other artifacts and sophisticated spells yet to be deployed, but he was acutely aware that he had lost his chance to eliminate Yu Yuan, especially under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Additionally, his heart was now overshadowed by a veil of gloom.

——Yu Yuan had shattered the Spirit Mirage with his sword sheath, escaping the domain Qu Jing ruled over!

"Let's go."

Qu Jing retreated to the Starskiff and, with a brief instruction to Han Xu, closed his eyes and settled down.

His demeanor suggested that he had never engaged in battle with Yu Yuan, as if nothing had transpired.

He even disregarded the finger of the Golden-eyed Ape, the ninth-level archdemon, as if it were of no consequence.

Han Xu gave him a piercing gaze and immediately understood that this proud and haughty Brother had not gained the upper hand against Yu Yuan. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Yu Yuan to emerge alive from the Spirit Mirage.

Han Xu, well-acquainted with Qu Jing, knew in his heart that Yu Yuan had become a formidable adversary to Qu Jing.

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