C693 Brave and Fierce

"Yu Yuan has left the city!"

Ann Jieshan's voice suddenly rang out from the mirror across from the Azure Vault.

Only Ann Ziqing and Han Ling stood before the mirror.

Lin Yue and the rest of the Colddeath disciples were still housed within the Azure Vault, utilizing the training room to purify their bodies and concentrate their lifeblood.

"Left the city?"

Han Ling, who had once scorned Yu Yuan back on Acora Island, was momentarily dumbfounded, struggling to grasp the situation. "Who would he leave with? Who in Afnetalos City still has the courage and confidence to venture out?"

Han Ling had just witnessed Weixian and Qu Jing's return, gathering in front of the Azure Vault.

The group that had left the city returned with only a quarter of their number surviving, many among them wounded.

Even a cultivator of Ditdite's caliber, a Sage of the Solar Spirit, was slain by the extraterrestrial demons after leaving Afnetalos. Who else would dare to venture out?

Without Tan Junshan's escort, those who left the city were doomed!

With the Soul-Igniting Mist issue resolved, the wisest and safest course was to remain in Afnetalos.

So why would Yu Yuan choose to leave?

"Did he truly leave the city?"

Ann Ziqing, engrossed in drawing vast amounts of essence from a deep red blood jade, was taken aback. A shimmer of surprise danced in her eyes, and her lips curved in bewilderment. "Why would Yu Yuan leave the city? Is it because of Qi Jinghai's trap or Fung Xiujuan's accusations? Isn't it well-known that he has someone protecting him?"

The goddess of Colddeath suddenly realized she could no longer fathom Yu Yuan's motives.

"He left the city alone, ignoring Chen Langzhi's advice, Liu Ying's offer of companionship, and Jin Xiaolie's pleas to stay," Ann Jieshan, reflected in the mirror as a blood shadow, seemed equally perplexed. "Liu Ying wanted to join him, but she was stopped by several elders from the Starmoon Sect."

"Liu Ying is the hope of the Starmoon Sect, the key to their future struggle against the Ethereal Void Sect," Ann Ziqing said softly, nodding in understanding. "The Starmoon Sect would never permit her to act recklessly. I'm curious, though, how did Yu Yuan manage to leave Afnetalos? And has he indeed already left the city?"

"Using the mystique, I observed his vitality heading straight north," Ann Jieshan stated.

"North? Through the north gate?" Han Ling gasped in astonishment. "The north gate leads to the Scarlet Dunes! That's also where the Ashen Shadowmist is thickest!"

Even Ditdite and the group that left the city had chosen the south gate.

To the south of Afnetalos, the Ashen Shadowmist had claimed its last territory. The Sky Fiends and archdemons that roamed there were considered the most dispersed.

The Chen family's teleportation circle was situated to the north of the city, between the Scarlet Dunes and Afnetalos. If Yu Yuan was to leave the city, why would he choose that location?

"My young master continues to amaze me," Ann Ziqing said with a light laugh. "I can't deduce his motives for this action. He left the city resolutely when everyone else returned defeated. Could he be trying to prove something?"

"To prove he's stronger than Ditdite and all the others who left?"

Han Ling scoffed, "He's got a death wish."

Within the mirror, Ann Jieshan countered, "He's at least proven one thing: Yu Yuan's courage surpasses everyone else in the city! Especially considering he's only attained the Subtlety Realm!"

Ann Ziqing nodded enthusiastically, her face beaming, "The young master truly earns my respect!"

...

"What? Yu Yuan left the city? He went outside? To the north gate?"

"He dared to leave the city?"

The news set off a storm of reactions!

Once Chen Langzhi and the Skyreach Consortium confirmed the news, it spread rapidly among all the sect survivors remaining in Afnetalos, sparking fervent debates.

Some speculated that Yu Yuan, possibly entangled with the Soul-Igniting Mist, fled hastily to avoid future accountability.

Others suggested that Yu Yuan, having incensed Ebon Star's Fung Xiujuan, realized he couldn't evade her pursuit and thus made a desperate dash out of Afnetalos.

There were also those who believed Yu Yuan was playing the hero, seeking to prove his exceptional nature.

Opinions varied widely.

Yet, the fact that Yu Yuan had left the city alone, venturing into the densest part of the Ashen Shadowmist to the north, was now an indisputable truth known to all cultivators.

Some people pitied him, others were anxious on his behalf, but many were secretly pleased, eagerly anticipating the announcement of his demise.

...

In the expansive wilderness to the north of the city, a dense gray fog obscured visibility, making it difficult to see. Releasing one's spiritual sense felt like trudging through a swamp, every step a struggle, with all sense of perception rendered useless. Eerie shrieks occasionally pierced the fog, sending shivers down one's spine.

A massive black cauldron floated leisurely in the void, its mouth agape.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Strands of thick "evil qi" seeped out quietly from the earth, from desiccated corpses, and from shattered artifacts.

This "evil qi" lingered in the Ashen Shadowmist, refusing to dissipate into the ether.

The moment the cauldron spirit left Afnetalos, it manifested in this realm, its excitement vibrating into a thunderous cheer that caused Yu Yuan's Mindscape to reverberate.

"Master! You've made the most intelligent decision since I've been following you!"

"Master! How did you know there would be such an abundance of rich, dense evil qi outside? How did you figure out that the evil qi in the outside world could be so easily catalyzed into evil spirits?"

"Master, I assure you, if we survive this journey, we'll be able to amass enough evil qi from the Ashen Shadowmist beyond the city to forge more Bane. Master, both you and I are destined to make our mark across the vast Everlands and the boundless extraterrestrial starry skies!"

"The evil qi here is far purer and superior to that within Afnetalos! We should have ventured out long ago to harvest this evil qi!"

Yu Yuan rubbed his temples as the cauldron spirit's exuberant cries echoed in his head.

He had considered that if the deaths of mortals and low-level cultivators within Afnetalos could give rise to evil qi for the Crucible of Evil to absorb, then what about beyond the city walls?

Surely the cultivators who perished outside, with their higher realms and more potent souls, would also produce usable evil qi?

What he hadn't anticipated was that after a period of catalyzation by the Ashen Shadowmist, the cultivators who died beyond the city, including the Otherkin and the Sky Fiends, would ferment an even more tumultuous evil qi. This could be refined into more formidable evil spirits, which, upon further evolution, could transform into Bane.

Hundreds of thousands of Banes formed an imposing formation, unleashing the true power of the Crucible of Evil!

"Awoo!"

"Wuwuwu!"

The piercing screams of archdemons and the mournful cries of Terra Fiends echoed from miles away.

"Master, do you truly harbor no fear of death?" inquired the cauldron spirit.

Yu Yuan offered a slight smile and responded with composure, "If my hunch is right, I might actually be safer outside the city than within its walls."

He was, of course, thinking of Zu Ann.

If Zu Ann was indeed the mastermind behind all the malevolent entities and demons outside of Afnetalos, orchestrating this entire ordeal, would he allow Yu Yuan to perish?

Zu Ann, aware of the impending manifestation of the Soul-Igniting Mist and being the sole direct disciple of the God of Medicine, Hong Qi, would surely recognize and even release it.

Clearly, he had used Yu Yuan to disseminate the news of the Soul-Igniting Mist, sowing fear among the city's inhabitants and compelling cultivators like Ditdite to evacuate.

With just one move, Zu Ann had decimated nearly half of the cultivators left to defend Afnetalos.

Recently, a false display of the Soul-Igniting Mist over Cloud Lake had toyed with everyone, indicating that Zu Ann was keeping a close watch on him, observing every action from the shadows.

Given these circumstances, by leaving Afnetalos as Zu Ann desired and embracing the company of demons, Yu Yuan was likely fulfilling Zu Ann's wishes.

"Hu!"

A colossal specter loomed, howling as it surged from the Chen family's teleportation circle in the distance.

The specter's passage was marked by continuous shrieks.

Many evil spirits and Otherkin, harboring ill will towards Yu Yuan, gathered stealthily around him. Upon hearing the specter's wails, both Sky Fiends and Otherkin hastily cleared a path.

"It's that Terra Fiend!"

Still a hundred miles away, Yu Yuan covertly employed his mystique, opening his Third Eye, and immediately recognized the familiar presence.

The Terra Fiend had once shielded him from Yingye's lethal strike and had presented him with a beast skin crafted by Chen Liangquan.

It was the same Terra Fiend who had located Yingye underground and, at Yu Yuan's request, had Zu Ann execute him on the spot.

Now, aware of Yu Yuan's departure from the city, the Terra Fiend had come searching for him in haste.

"I'm waiting for it to come."

Yu Yuan remained composed, masterfully handling the Crucible of Evil, choosing to stay put. He harnessed the cauldron's marvelous abilities to draw in the malevolent Qi nearby. "Once we've made contact, we'll head to the southern part of the city. There, we'll gather all the malevolent Qi from those who perished in the mist, be they human or archdemon."

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