C758 Giving Name to Yu Yiyi!

The little girl, clad in sackcloth, sat upon the steps as if she were a diminutive fairy, her posture relaxed and serene.

Beneath her, the tiers of seats were occupied by souls as fierce as the Frost Queen and the Second Bane, easily numbering in the thousands.

The girl, whose face remained unseen, extended a pale arm that glowed with a captivating radiance.

To Yu Yuan, it appeared she had only managed to form two arms. The rest of her body, including her delicate feet, had yet to be fully manifested.

"Please bestow upon me a name," the little girl requested, sitting upright on the stairs with earnest sincerity. "With your aid, I've barely managed to condense a phantom and slowly reassemble my memories and residual soul. I've now begun my journey of revival. As my new master, I ask that you grant me a new name."

If Lee Yuchan were present, she would scarcely believe that this cauldron spirit, taking the form of a young girl, could exhibit such an expression.

In her presence, the cauldron spirit's demeanor was cold and merciless, as though it wielded the malevolence of a deity ruling over this realm. It was enough to make Yuchan hesitate to venture here again.

Yet before Yu Yuan, the cauldron spirit was as docile and charming as a young girl next door, brimming with an innocent and endearing charm.

"A name?" Yu Yuan, now within the cauldron's little world, had to look up to see her faint phantom. "Didn't the original you have a name?"

"The past is the past, and now is now," the little girl replied with a gentle smile. "The reborn me is not the same as before. The me now is the true me; the past no longer defines me. Master, I ask that you name me, with just one small request."

Yu Yuan murmured to himself, "The past is the past, now is now, and the current me is the real me..."

Isn't that true for me as well?

In a former life, I was Hong Qi, and now I am Yu Yuan. Are they truly one and the same?

Should I cling to the memory of being Hong Qi, the God of Medicine from the Order of Healing? Or should I let go of my past identity and embrace who I am now?

I am Yu Yuan, and it is as Yu Yuan that I must continue to tread this path, step by step.

The words of the cauldron spirit struck Yu Yuan's heart like an epiphany, instantly dispelling the emotional fog that had long troubled him.

His spirit trembled, and Yu Yuan's eyes sparkled as he broke into a wide grin and laughed heartily, "You're absolutely right. The you that stands before me now, the you that follows me, that's the real you! Alright, what is it that you desire?"

"I wish to bear the Yu surname, like Yu Zhu does."

Though she lacked a physical form, Yu Yuan could sense her smiling sweetly, her voice brimming with happiness and anticipation as she made her request.

"The Yu surname, Yu..."

Yu Yuan massaged his temples, pondering aloud, "You are the spirit of this cauldron, always by my side. Henceforth, you shall be known as Yu Yiyi!"

"Yiyi, I am grateful for the name, Master. I truly adore it," she giggled, her laughter echoing throughout the cauldron's little world.

In an instant, the space was infused with a sense of delight and merriment.

"Alright, Master, you can step outside now," Yu Yiyi said with a light laugh, "The one lying in wait has revealed himself, but he's no formidable foe."

"Oh," Yu Yuan acknowledged with a nod.

In the blink of an eye, he was outside the cauldron. He surveyed his surroundings and spotted the elderly man from Winter's Bite, who had previously stood behind Cao Jiaze of the Ebon Star.

At the foot of the green-brown Shadow Mountain, the gaunt figure with a grim expression greeted him with a sardonic smile, "We meet again."

To the old man's left hovered a pale green flag.

The flag snapped in the wind, revealing a ghost within that resembled a frost wyrm, its dark red eyes coldly fixed on the Crucible of Evil.

"A Spectre without a title must be one of Thoaos's underlings," Lee Yuchan whispered, offering a discreet warning.

Spectres with titles were those who aspired to advance, vying for the Ghost King's crown.

Such Spectres ruled their own domains, reluctant to bow to the Ghost King, striving to preserve their autonomy.

Others, aware that they had no hope of ever challenging for the Ghost King's throne, would pledge allegiance for the sake of their own safety and interests.

The specter huddled behind the flag was none other than a former frost wyrm, elevated to its current form without any title or rank. Even the flag itself was a gift from Thoaos.

"I am Soong Wenheng from Winter's Bite, at the early stages of Spirit Walk. I've been commanded to journey to the Land of Terror to aid Thoaos in his ascension along the Path into Shadow. I..."

The newcomer from Winter's Bite chuckled ominously. "Yu Yuan, I know you all too well. Your name has been on the lips of everyone at Winter's Bite for the past five years."

"I'm truly flattered," Yu Yuan replied dryly, well aware that his frequent mention was undoubtedly tied to Lin Zhuyun. "I have just one question for you. You've come here quietly with one of Thoaos's underlings. Is Cao Jiaze from Ebon Star aware of this?"

"He's not aware. I just thought that I..." Soong Wenheng began.

"Knowing the outcome is enough," Yu Yuan interjected, nodding. He didn't care to engage in further conversation. Turning to Lee Yuchan, he instructed, "Stay by the Crucible of Evil. Come out, it's time to send them off!"

"Yu Yuan, hahaha!" Soong Wenheng pointed at him mockingly. "You haven't even reached the Lunar Spirit Stage. Are you trying to send me off? Is this some kind of joke?"

In the next instant, Soong Wenheng's smugness faltered as he noticed Lee Yuchan's gaze upon him, cold and detached as if he were already a corpse.

A sense of dread washed over Soong Wenheng.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Frost Queen and the Second Bane burst forth from the crucible in rapid succession.

Behind these formidable Baneful spirits, a torrent of over two thousand surged forth like a frenzied soul tide, overwhelming Soong Wenheng with a tsunami of violence, bloodlust, and terror.

Swoosh!

Realizing the dire situation, the specter that had advanced from a frost wyrm attempted to flee. But its reaction was too slow.

In the presence of the Frost Queen, the frost wyrm detected the bone-chilling aura of the Frozen Hellscape. One glance at the Frost Queen's form was enough to send it into a panic, its spirit utterly shattered by fear.

The frost wyrm had emerged from the Frozen Hellscape, where it had heard tales of a Star-Spawned Terror lying dormant in the abyss.

Upon the Frost Queen's arrival, her aura was unmistakably identical to the wyrm's. Her distinctive form allowed for immediate recognition.

In every way, the Frost Queen outmatched the wyrm. Her ice energy crushed it, leaving it with no choice but to flee, knowing it stood no chance.

"Why seek out death?" Lee Yuchan murmured to herself.

Shortly thereafter.

The frost wyrm, coaxed by Soong Wenheng of Winter's Bite into an ambush, was swiftly overtaken by the Frost Queen. She devoured it, transforming it into a frigid ice stream that she absorbed into her being.

Yu Yiyi's remnant soul chimed in at the right moment, "That frost wyrm's essence matched the Frost Queen's, making it nothing more than sustenance. This soul, having surrendered its resilience and valor, lacks both obstinate hatred and spirit. A lackluster soul cannot coalesce into a Bane."

"I'm aware," Yu Yuan acknowledged with a nod.

As they conversed, Yu Yuan observed Soong Wenheng of Winter's Bite trapped within the Soul Shatter rune circle. The Lunar Spirit of a Spirit Walk practitioner was being ground down, fading into oblivion.

Whoosh!

Yu Yuan seized the flag that the frost wyrm had considered a refuge. "This artifact..."

He was cut off mid-sentence as a vague face burst forth from the flag, roaring and lunging straight for Yu Yuan's forehead.

"Thoaos!" Yu Yuan's face paled.

He hadn't even gotten a clear look, but the name had slipped out instinctively.

"Moonfall Strike!"

With a graceful lift of his sword sheath, streaks of crimson sword light, exuding a terrifying might capable of annihilating all life, lashed out. They obliterated Thoaos's remnant soul and riddled the flag with countless holes.

With a resounding burst, the flag disintegrated, scattering into a cloud of fragments.

"Young man! I, Thoaos of Wintermaw, will not forget you!" the icy voice of Thoaos pierced sharply from the remnants of the flag.

Yu Yuan let out a cold snort, his demeanor unfazed.

...

Simultaneously, deep within the Land of Terror, inside an ice tombstone, Thoaos howled in frenzied rage.

In the sky not far off, within the grand palace formed by the Mark of the Celestials, Cao Jiaze furrowed his brow and inquired, "Wintermaw, what's going on?"

Thoaos, known as the Ghost King of the ice tombstone, bristled at the address but held back his temper. After all, Cao Jiaze was the future sect master of Ebon Star and the rightful owner of the Mark of the Celestials. Furthermore, he had come specifically to assist him.

"The Winter's Bite sect has persuaded one of my subordinates to seek out Yu Yuan's trouble," Thoaos declared with anger.

"Dead?" Cao Jiaze was not the least bit surprised, remarking nonchalantly, "Soong Wenheng, with his mere early Spirit Walk stage, dared to provoke Yu Yuan in the Land of Terror."

He shook his head lightly, "If he was looking for death, he has no one else to blame."

"Soong Wenheng can die for all I care, but he took one of my Spectres with him!" Thoaos lamented. "It's rare to find those who, like the frost wyrm, have cultivated into Spectres and are still willing to heed my command."

"With Soong Wenheng gone, there's no one left in Winter's Bite. It will just be you and me dealing with each other from now on," Cao Jiaze said with composure. "Wintermaw, what are your thoughts?"

Thoaos was taken aback. "Did you intentionally let Soong Wenheng die?"

"Don't spout nonsense. I haven't done a thing," Cao Jiaze responded, his face devoid of emotion as he looked towards the other Lunar Spirit guests within the palace. "You've all been with me from the start. If Winter's Bite ever brings up this incident in the future, you'll need to testify on my behalf."

"Of course, of course!"

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