C661 Devil's Counterattack

The deaths of the Abyssal Dawn Sect members seemed to confirm Tan Junshan's suspicions; they were merely a harbinger of the demons' retaliation.

Moments later, a new scene materialized on another moonstone crystal.

A group of over a dozen members from the Golden Bone Tribe burst forth from beneath a sand dune, intercepting another group of trial-takers from the Thunder Sect. The Golden Bone Tribe members radiated a blinding golden light, fearless in the face of the lightning. As they closed in, they were like golden blades, ruthlessly slaying the Thunder Sect's trial-takers.

It appeared to be an act of vengeance.

Elsewhere, another battle unfolded on the moonstone crystal, revealing seven murky specters encircling a group of disciples from third-rate sects on Euwrea.

The specters tightened their grip like constricting ropes, and soon, eight trial-takers from the Veil Breaking and Subtlety realms lay on the ground, their bodies rigid.

Their vacant, lifeless eyes told the tale: their souls had been consumed by the specters, leaving their fleshly bodies as nothing more than worthless husks.

"Ah!"

Inside the crystal, Du Huang of the Forgeroses Sect was seen laughing heartily as he brutally pummeled five fellow sect members into an unrecognizable state.

Standing amidst the five lifeless bodies, Du Huang exuded an aura of murderous intent, like a deity of carnage.

"Du Huang! Isn't he a disciple of the Forgeroses?" Liu Ying, bewildered, clutched her forehead, shocked by the scene revealed within the moonstone crystal.

Yu Yuan's face darkened. "Deep within the Godsblight Marsh, Du Huang, Shen Feiqing, and Tan Yuan are together. Shen Feiqing and Tan Yuan are there to lead Zhongli Dapan."

The man claiming to be Tan Junshan from the Moon Sect nodded, "Du Huang is of Zhongli Dapan's lineage. Recently, Zhongli Dapan returned to the Forgeroses and challenged the current Sect Master. Zhongli Dapan emerged slightly victorious, aspiring to claim the title of Sect Master, but he was met with disapproval from nearly all the sect's disciples and elders."

"Outraged, Zhongli Dapan declared that the Forgeroses would be divided. Taking some of the sect's elders with him, he began to establish his own faction. Du Huang, along with Tan Yuan and Shen Feiqing, signifies that Du Huang and his master have sided with Zhongli Dapan."

Yu Yuan was taken aback. "Could it really be a time of change?"

"The Sky Fiend has arrived, and the Otherkin are stirring in all corners of the world, ready to strike. Moreover, those who departed from the Everlands years ago are plotting their return." Tan Junshan's face was etched with gravity. "We're facing a challenge like no other. A misstep could topple the five supreme forces' hold over the Everlands."

"Master Tan, is it truly that dire?" Liu Ying gasped.

"The Aetherius has been thrown into disarray following the return of a divine statue capable of altering destiny," Tan Junshan clarified. "Trouble has arisen in the Godsblight Marsh, the sealed spatial passageway in the Moonfall Sanctuary has opened, unleashing forbidden evil souls and Sky Fiends upon us."

"Places like the Frozen Hellscape, Land of Terror, and Rainbow Ocean, which even the five supreme sects cannot control, are in turmoil. And beyond our world, battles rage on. The Everlands has faced many crises, but few as perilous as this."

As he spoke, Tan Junshan's eyes narrowed, his expression turning peculiar.

"But when you think about it, the previous era was also rife with conflict. The three upper sects seized the moment and secured their dominance. Keep in mind, those sects weren't nearly as powerful then as they are now." Tan Junshan's face bore a mix of concern and veiled hope. "Sects that are prepared, that can seize opportunities amidst chaos, might very well reshape the world in the years to come."

In that era, upper sects fell, third-rate sects rose to lower sect status, and lower sects ascended to upper sect ranks.

The shift of an era brings with it numerous perils, but also opportunities.

"Boom!"

A moonstone crystal suddenly erupted with a dim glow.

The glow, deep underground, was enveloped by a massive specter. The Fallen Star Eyes detected it only after shattering the soul threads and spiritual energy that obscured it.

Within the glow, a hazy figure of an old man sat, his neck adorned with a collar woven from leaves.

"Ethereal Void Sect, Sage Yingye!"

With just one glance, Tan Junshan recognized the indistinct old man seated within the ghostly light.

"Sage Yingye!"

Liu Ying exclaimed softly, quickly realizing that the leaf-like remnant soul attacking Yu Yuan was indeed the old man concealed underground, shrouded in the eerie glow.

"He's been targeted by a Terra Fiend. Sage Yingye is in the late period of Spirit Walk and is an expert in stealth and assassination techniques," Tan Junshan said, clearly astonished. "Given his skills, he wouldn't have been discovered unless he had attempted an assassination."

"He made an attempt on my life," Yu Yuan stated.

At that moment, the one assaulting the spectral light was the Terra Fiend that had received the skin from Chen Liangquan. It must have sought out Yingye underground after the attack, tracking him down to launch its assault.

The Terra Fiend's attack had shattered the outer layer of concealment, drawing the attention of the Fallen Star Eyes due to the significant disturbance.

Without the Terra Fiend's assault and the destruction of the shielding array, even a Divine Artifact like the Fallen Star Eyes might have failed to detect Sage Yingye.

"Sage Yingye made an attempt on your life? And you survived?" Tan Junshan looked into his eyes, seemingly in disbelief. "The Abyssal Leviathan launched an attack on you from afar, and so did Yingye. Yu Yuan, is your luck really that strong? To survive all of that?"

Yu Yuan shrugged. "Perhaps it is just that strong."

"Alas, Sage Yingye is a designated Sage of the Ethereal Void Sect. Now that he's been marked by such a vicious Terra Fiend, and I've witnessed it, I can't just ignore it," Tan Junshan said with a look of conflict.

"Master, you must not help him!" Liu Ying protested.

"If I don't help, I won't be able to stay in the Scarlet Dunes much longer; I'll have to act as if I never saw anything," Tan Junshan replied.

"Master, you were never here in the first place!" Liu Ying declared firmly.

"Is that so? Very well."

Tan Junshan hesitated briefly before deciding to side with his own. Moonlight burst forth from within him, and in a flash, he transformed into a tiny crescent moon and vanished from sight.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Shortly after Tan Junshan departed, a crystal, resembling a starry eye, suddenly developed a fracture.

"Pfft!"

Out of the blue, Liu Ying coughed up a small amount of blood.

She stared in shock at the crystal now marred with a crack. After a moment's hesitation, she smeared the blood from the corner of her mouth onto the damaged crystal.

"This Star Eye must have detected an anomaly and attempted to lock onto it," Liu Ying quickly explained. "But the entity it perceived is so incredibly powerful that the Star Eye couldn't withstand it and shattered. I'll try to use my lifeblood to get a glimpse of the other side."

"You could die. Don't be impulsive!" Yu Yuan cried out in alarm.

He was uncertain of the limits of the Fallen Star Eyes' vision, yet he understood that if a crystal detected something it couldn't project, causing it to shatter instead, it was likely something far beyond Liu Ying's current level—a fearsome entity that should not be trifled with.

He didn't want Liu Ying to gamble with her life.

Regrettably, Liu Ying ignored his plea. With a hand stained in her own blood, she traced intricate star maps on the increasingly fissured crystal.

Once the six diverse star maps solidified, Liu Ying commanded, "Open!"

Boom!

The star maps drew upon the cosmic energy stored within the Fallen Star Eyes, interlinking to form a grand star map. Within this expansive constellation, a shadow abruptly materialized.

A figure stood deep within the Scarlet Dunes, surrounded by a host of enigmatic Terra Fiend creatures and hybrids akin to the Golden Bone Tribe.

This person appeared to have recently arrived in the desert, carving out a niche in the underground—a little world of his own—and seemed to be questioning the Terra Fiends and the Otherkin hybrids.

Yu Yuan recognized the figure.

It was his old friend, Zu Ann!

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