C762 The Empire's Twin Walls

A resplendent red lotus throne glided through the void, its vibrant aura shimmering in the air. At its heart, Yuan Lianyao's Lunar Spirit took her seat, her exquisite face etched with bewilderment.

She had been lured by a trail of blood-red light, which had led her astray from her intended path and into this desolate and peculiar place. The light had captured her attention because it sometimes morphed into the likeness of Yu Yuan.

"How odd. Is there a connection between that bloody light and Yu Yuan?"

Her suspicions arose because Yu Yuan's real body had reached this place, and within the little world of vitality, there existed an enigmatic altar. She feared that Yu Yuan might have encountered some misfortune during his travels.

White Bone had returned severely wounded and was tight-lipped about the details. He had only mentioned that Yu Yuan was visiting the domain of Ghost King Rahu. Learning that Rahu had ascended to become the sixth Ghost King of the Land of Terror—and considering White Bone's own defeat—she was anxious that Yu Yuan might be held captive by Rahu. She had resolved to venture into Rahu's territory, brandishing the banner of the Ruby Hand, hoping to rescue Yu Yuan from the Ghost King's clutches.

White Bone had not obstructed her departure, cautioning her only to take care. Unbeknownst to her, he had dispatched her to avoid the impending trouble from the converging Spectres.

Her journey was fraught with concern for Yu Yuan, fearing for his safety, which made her susceptible to the misleading guidance of the blood-red light.

Then, out of nowhere, she beheld the Crucible of Evil suspended in midair!

"It's actually here!"

Yuan Lianyao's eyes sparkled with excitement as she quickly maneuvered her lotus platform closer. Standing beside the ominous cauldron, Ann Ziqing, clad in purple divine armor, gave a wry smile and whispered, "Not too late after all."

With a whoosh, the red lotus arrived, and Yuan Lianyao, drawing nearer, cried out with unexpected delight, "Yu Yuan, is that truly you?"

Her eyes then darted beyond the Crucible of Evil, landing on Ann Ziqing. Her expression chilled, "You're here as well?"

She harbored no fondness for this priestess of the Colddeath. Much like Yu Yuan, she always sensed that Ann Ziqing was full of cunning plans and malicious schemes, which naturally made her quite unwelcoming.

"I just happened to bump into her," Ann Ziqing said with a beaming smile.

"Yu..."

Yuan Lianyao was about to speak again when she noticed Yu Yuan's breathing had become labored. His face was flushed, his body trembling slightly, and his eyes, wide open, were clouded with desire.

"What's wrong with you? Are you hurt?" Her face fell as she turned her angry gaze on Ann Ziqing and accused, "It's you again! Nothing good ever happens when you show up!"

"It has nothing to do with me. Mayor, can you please stop blaming me for everything?" Ann Ziqing pleaded, looking aggrieved.

"If not you, then who?"

"You're about to find out!"

"Whoosh!"

In that instant, a chilling phantom emerged from Yu Yuan's acupoint.

The phantom swayed as though dancing, exuding an unusual allure that Yuan Lianyao had never witnessed before.

"Lee Yuchan!"

Unable to contain herself any longer, Yuan Lianyao's phantom trembled violently, and bright red flames burst forth from the lotus platform beneath her.

Both hailing from the Silvermoon Empire, they had been pitted against each other from a young age, compared in beauty, grace, and the speed of their cultivation.

Despite the comparisons, neither emerged as the clear victor. They were both regarded by the Silvermoon Empire's elite as the nation's most distinguished women.

Lee Yuchan, being the sister of the Silvermoon Queen, had access to more resources and thus advanced to Lunar Spirit status first.

Yuan Lianyao was slightly behind, initially resentful until Yuan Qiufang was selected by Faang Yao for training with the Ruby Hand, propelling the Yuan family to new heights.

She too condensed her Lunar Spirit in a short time, reaching the late period of the Lunar Spirit realm, equal in status to Lee Yuchan, who had taken an unorthodox path with her Shadow Curse cultivation.

Yuan Lianyao had always harbored resentment towards this female general, her lifelong rival. Their relationship had been fraught with tension, and they had never seen eye to eye.

While she was governing Asvetaesi, Yuan Lianyao had numerous confrontations with Lee Yuchan, both openly and covertly, with victories split between them.

Now, witnessing Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit depart from his Mindscape, Yuan Lianyao struggled to articulate the turmoil within her.

"Why is she in Yu Yuan's Mindscape? What could possibly be shared between her soul and Yu Yuan's?"

"Is this woman vying for Yu Yuan's affections?"

These thoughts overwhelmed her, igniting the "blazing red lotus" within her to a fury.

"Yu Yuan!"

Conversely, once Lee Yuchan exited Yu Yuan's Mindscape, her Lunar Spirit swiftly regained its composure, her eyes icy and filled with anger as she stared at Yu Yuan.

The images of their souls intertwined replayed in her mind, each one bringing a flush of embarrassment unlike anything she had ever felt before.

She was clueless about what had transpired, feeling only that Yu Yuan had taken liberties with her.

In that moment, the Soul Voice of the cauldron spirit, Yu Yiyi, emanated from the cauldron beneath her: "Don't play innocent after gaining an advantage! You have no idea the magnitude of the problem you've just resolved!"

Lee Yuchan, poised to confront Yu Yuan with accusations, felt a shiver run through her at the sound of Yu Yiyi's voice. She promptly reined in her spirit, refraining from any rash actions.

Beneath her spirited body, the dark cauldron appeared as an Abyss ready to swallow her whole.

She quickly mastered her emotions, deciding not to rush into demanding answers from Yu Yuan. Instead, she pondered the cauldron spirit's words and then... attempted to engage the "Shadow Curse."

With a slight stirring of her spirit, her frosty eyes suddenly gleamed with clarity.

For the first time, she truly sensed the flow of remnant soul within her during the "Shadow Curse" practice, unimpeded by any blockage.

Previously, her Soul Power's circulation encountered nine points of congestion, harboring impurities and malevolent thoughts.

But now, with slight adjustments to the pathways of the "Shadow Curse," every wisp of her Soul Power seamlessly traversed the entire realm of the Lunar Spirit without any sense of stagnation.

Even the malevolent thoughts that had swirled in his mind, driving her to the brink of madness, had vanished without a trace.

"How could this be?" she whispered to herself.

She hadn't figured everything out yet, but the dramatic transformation of the Shadow Curse let her understand what the cauldron spirit meant when it said she had solved a great problem.

From now on, the practice of the Shadow Curse would no longer accumulate evil thoughts, preventing the inner demon from consuming her!

Her phantom trembled slightly, as she fought to contain her excitement. The once embarrassing visions no longer seemed so awkward.

Whoosh!

In the Mindscape, Yu Yuan's heaven soul and dominant soul had become one. The previous bewitching realm, like a beautiful dream, felt incredibly distant upon awakening.

"Was it a dream? It seems... it wasn't a dream!"

His gaze cleared rapidly as he looked at the bewildered female general. With a single thought, he understood that the Soul Forging through Enlightenment of the heaven soul, through the pathways of the Wraithbinding, had guided Lee Yuchan's Shadow Curse in that extraordinary state.

The creator of the Shadow Curse, the Stormcrowned Emperor, must have known of the wonders of Wraithbinding. Even the formation of the Shadow Curse was somewhat linked to it.

With this connection, the Shadow Curse's shortcomings could be corrected.

From now on, the new Shadow Curse that Lee Yuchan practiced, while still not comparable to Wraithbinding, would no longer suffer from backlash during cultivation, clouding her mind.

"Yu Yuan!"

Yuan Lianyao couldn't contain herself any longer. Upon waking, she saw her beloved staring blankly at Lee Yuchan and called out loudly.

"Ah!"

Yu Yuan's head throbbed with pain at the sight of Yuan Lianyao, uncertain of how to explain the situation.

A quick glance to the side revealed Ann Ziqing with a triumphant smile. "It's your mischief again!"

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