C689 The Heart of the Human Heart

"Are those people out of their minds?"

Liu Ying's lips curled into a wry smile as she rolled her eyes and glanced toward the Azure Vault. With a cold laugh, she said, "How could anyone think Yu Yuan released the Soul-Igniting Mist? Don't they realize that if Yu Yuan were truly responsible, he would have immediately informed the Songbird Empire?"

The consequences would have been dire if Chen Langzhi hadn't timely discovered the news of the Soul-Igniting Mist!

She knew all too well that it was Yu Yuan's recognition of the lethal Soul-Igniting Mist that allowed it to be contained before it could spread widely.

Yet...

"He's the God of Plagues!"

"The Skyreach Consortium doesn't call him the God of Plagues for no reason!"

"Exactly! Wherever he shows up, disaster follows! This Yu Yuan kid is the prime suspect!"

"Yu Yuan from Asvetaesi and the disaster in Afnetalos are undoubtedly connected!"

The accusations rose like thunder, impossible to ignore.

Qi Jinghai of the Thunder Sect remained at the Azure Vault. He hadn't departed with the majority of the sect's elders and disciples. At that moment, he was deep in discussion with many who had stayed behind.

Chen Langzhi squinted, a glint of surprise in his eyes, and smiled, "It's Qi Jinghai."

Yu Yuan frowned. "I don't recall provoking the Thunder Sect?"

"You assisted Xie Bin in refining his heaven soul, and that put you at odds with the Thunder Sect." Chen Langzhi piloted the Golden Carriage slightly higher into the sky for a clearer view. "Qi Jinghai stayed because he's still concerned about Xie Bin's Glacial Storm Seal. With Xie Bin in the Azure Vault, Qi Jinghai is keeping watch."

"But for him to suddenly shift the blame to you, I didn't expect such a startling reaction."

Chen Langzhi was genuinely astonished.

From his vantage point, with his Spirit Walk cultivation, he could see that many of the furiously indignant people had no ties to the Thunder Sect or Qi Jinghai.

Yet, just a few words and conjectures from Qi Jinghai had given those desperate souls an outlet, and they eagerly cast the blame onto Yu Yuan.

Jin Xiaolie of the Skyreach Consortium looked equally astonished. "Yu, it seems you're not exactly winning any popularity contests."

"There's never a shortage of excuses for those who wish to lay blame," Yu Yuan replied with a wry smile. "I need you two to stand up for me. When I noticed the Soul-Igniting Mist, I feared for the lives of the people in Afnetalos and immediately had the city's general relay a message to Mr. Chen. Without my warning, the death toll in this city would have been much higher."

"Is this the thanks I get for my good intentions—suspicion?"

Yu Yuan was suffused with a sense of frustration.

He and Zu Ann had been best friends in a past life. He suspected that Zu Ann was behind the release of the Soul-Igniting Mist. Uncertain of what had become of Zu Ann after three hundred years, he chose, after much deliberation, not to align with his old friend.

His current life had brought him close friendships with Liu Ying, Zhao Yafu, Zhan Tianxiang, Xie Bin, and Lee Yu. Unwilling to watch familiar faces perish one by one to the Soul-Igniting Mist, and unwilling to see Afnetalos, the grandest city in the Everlands, descend into a nightmarish hellscape, he had revealed the source of the mist and warned Chen Langzhi. He did this in the hope of protecting the people he cared about and ensuring the safety of Afnetalos.

And what was his reward?

A chorus of support for Qi Jinghai?

Yu Yuan, choked with indignation, felt on the verge of collapse. He quelled the turmoil within him and managed to say, "I just hope that Mr. Chen and Mr. Jin don't disappoint me."

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Figures dashed out of the Azure Vault, each riding a Spirit Sword.

The guards and the Chen family had likely been informed about the Soul-Igniting Mist and its containment, preventing further spread.

After ascertaining that Afnetalos was now safe, they had the audacity to converge on the Skyreach Consortium's branch to confront Yu Yuan.

Xie Bin, Zhan Tianxiang, Zhao Yafu, Kong Banbi, and others couldn't contain themselves any longer. They hurried over upon seeing the crowd stirred into a frenzy by Qi Jinghai's instigation.

In a matter of moments, more than half of the cultivators who had been stationed at the Azure Vault were now heading towards the Skyreach Consortium's branch.

Across from the temple, Ann Ziqing's graceful legs swayed as she gazed at the seething crowd with her deep, enigmatic eyes. A mocking smile played on her lips.

Below her stood Lin Yue of the Colddeath Sect and Han Ling, among others. Having learned that the Soul-Igniting Mist was under control, they had left their post at the Azure Vault and now caught sight of their divine maiden.

Han Ling, Lin Yue, and the remaining members of the Colddeath Sect halted in their tracks.

"You should stay out of the Cloud Lake affair," Ann Ziqing said with a light chuckle.

Lin Yue nodded in agreement. "We have faith in Yu Yuan."

"Damn it! They're like a pack of rabid dogs!" Hou Tianzhao of the Ruby Hand Sect cursed as he watched Qi Jinghai, the calm and composed future sect master of the Thunder Sect, fly through the air. "I've never dealt with him before, so why is he so malicious?"

A flash of bloodlust gleamed in Ann Ziqing's eyes. "Yu Yuan has no sect backing him. Many see him as weak and easily bullied."

With that thought, she adjusted her seated posture to face the direction of Cloud Lake and the Skyreach Consortium branch, whispering to herself, "Let's see how you handle this."

From her elevated state, she could survey the entirety of Afnetalos. She could clearly observe Yu Yuan's every move and gesture at the Consortium branch when she focused her attention.

Still choosing to watch Yu Yuan from the shadows, she felt a sense of anticipation. She was eager to see what choices he would make and what kind of stir he would create.

Meanwhile, Yu Yuan's expression was dark as he stored the Crucible of Evil into the Zigong acupoint, watching the approaching crowd and communicating with the artifact soul within the crucible. His mood had become somewhat twisted.

As he faced the incoming waves of anger and hatred, a recurring thought plagued his mind: 'I should never have bothered with the fate of others!'

"I hail from the Ebon Star Sect; my name is Fung Xiujuan," declared a richly dressed woman in her forties, standing atop an inverted zither that floated above Cloud Lake. Her ample figure contrasted with her delicate features, and the zither beneath her feet shone with a brilliant light, clearly no ordinary object.

She materialized in the sky above the Skyreach Consortium's branch, not bothering to cross Cloud Lake. With a furrowed brow and an icy tone, she confronted Yu Yuan from across the expanse of water.

"You're so young, without any sect affiliation. You shouldn't even know about the Soul-Igniting Mist. And even if you've heard of it, there's no way you could accurately identify that extremely faint water mist as the initial form of the Soul-Igniting Mist!"

"Unless, of course, you've already encountered the Soul-Igniting Mist before!"

"Or perhaps someone in the city has informed you, using you as a mouthpiece to spread the word about the Soul-Igniting Mist, sowing panic among the people."

"If it weren't for the fear of the Soul-Igniting Mist spreading, Ditdite and the sect representatives at the Azure Vault wouldn't have taken such risks!"

"Now Ditdite is dead, and many others as well!"

"Yu Yuan, you must give a clear explanation! You need to account for how you came to know about the Soul-Igniting Mist and how you were able to identify it so quickly!"

Fung Xiujuan, a cultivator from the Ebon Star, was at the late period of the Spirit Walk stage, just like Chen Langzhi and Jin Xiaolie.

Her sect, the Ebon Star, was among the most elite in the Everlands.

Her affiliation with the Ebon Star gave her an air of superiority over Chen Langzhi and Jin Xiaolie.

She floated on her zither above Cloud Lake, not even acknowledging Chen Langzhi and Jin Xiaolie with a greeting.

Clearly, she didn't consider them worth her attention.

"Explain? To whom? To you?"

Yu Yuan scoffed, standing tall atop the pavilion like an unsheathed sword, radiating defiance. "What, do you think you're so impressive just because you're from the Ebon Star?"

"Let me handle this," Chen Langzhi interjected before Yu Yuan could speak. He stepped forward to face Fung Xiujuan, quickly signaling with his eyes for Yu Yuan to stay calm.

He intended to clarify the situation and dispel their doubts.

"Chen Langzhi! This kid is far too arrogant!"

Fung Xiujuan bellowed, "I'm aware of his ties to Shadow's Keep, and out of respect for them, I won't kill him. But I need to understand what he knows! The simplest method is to send my Lunar Spirit into his Mindscape to uncover the truth!"

As the female cultivator from the Ebon Star spoke, she manifested her Lunar Spirit.

Transforming into a strikingly beautiful woman adorned in vibrant garments, her Lunar Spirit made its way toward the acupoint between Yu Yuan's eyebrows.

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