C826 Queen Bee of the Shadow's Keep

Atop Skyreach Peak, the First Peak of the Everlands, the mountain summit was shrouded in mist.

Zu Ann, adorned with a feathered crest and clad in white, sat by a small pond at the peak, his eyes half-closed. He employed the Mirror of Fates to peer into the myriad lives of the world below.

From the Land of Quiescence to Aetherius and Euwrea, he could see every corner of the heavens and earth not concealed by the seventh level array.

At the pinnacle of the Unbound Realm and merged with the essence of Skyreach Mountain, his combat strength soared by one level here. Even the arrival of a Primordial Spirit or a Dark Deity would leave him unchallenged.

Only the combined might of multiple Primordial Spirits and Dark Deities could pose a threat.

In these tumultuous times within the Everlands, beset by strife from within and without, Zu Ann was keenly aware of the whereabouts and actions of the Primordial Spirits and Dark Deities.

Thus, he feared nothing.

With a tear, a chubby hand rent a space rift. Zhou You emerged with a grin, steadied himself before Zu Ann, and casually snuffed out the shimmering rift, then asked, "Zu Ann, it was you who arranged for Yu Yuan to enter the Land of Terror, wasn't it?"

Since aiding Chen Liangquan in claiming the imperial throne of the Songbird Empire, he had spent his days observing the peculiarities of the Everlands from this small pond after returning from Afnetalos. Zu Ann gazed at Zhou You impassively and confirmed, "Yes, it was my arrangement."

"By sending Yu Yuan there, did you consider having him join forces with White Bone and Luo Yue to confront Dhoreus?" Zhou You's curiosity was piqued.

He had just received the latest news and was intrigued by the sequence of events that had unfolded in the Land of Terror.

"I sent him to the Land of Terror merely to forge a Lunar Spirit," Zu Ann said, the corner of his mouth curling in amusement. "Little did I expect him to stir up such a tempest in that forsaken place."

"The Black Staff and Wintermaw fell in battle, Razses fled, Taruer is ensnared..."

Zu Ann mused, his expression enigmatic as he recounted the tale.

The cataclysmic events that unfolded in the Land of Terror were so vivid to him; it was as if he had witnessed them firsthand. He had a more detailed grasp of the events than anyone else.

Zu Ann finally summed it up, "The nickname your Skyreach Consortium gave him is quite fitting."

"You mean the God of Plagues?" Zhou You was taken aback.

Zu Ann nodded, a smile on his face.

"Zu Ann, how can you still smile?" Zhou You said with an eye roll. "If you know so much, then you're aware that he, along with White Bone and Luo Yue, made a move against Cao Jiaze. They're now imprisoned by the Blood Altar. White Bone and Luo Yue have met with the same misfortune."

"He's not going to die just yet," Zu Ann remarked nonchalantly.

"That kid has a strange affinity with the Soulforge Pool and the statue in the Moonfall Sanctuary. Surely, you don't want him to come to harm in the Land of Terror, right?" Zhou You said gravely.

"You do realize that White Bone wasn't the chosen one," Zu Ann said, gesturing towards him.

The small pond before them vividly displayed Cao Jiaze, holding the Mark of the Celestials in one hand and the miniature, translucent Tears of the Azurefiend in the other, within the domains of Dhoreus and Jiang Xingwen.

With the Mirror of Fates he wielded, he could observe everything in the world.

He could even peer into the Land of Terror if he chose to expend some mental energy.

However, due to the Will of the Root of the Lunar Meridian, he could only observe through the Mirror of Fates without being able to act.

"Cao Jiaze has gone to see Dhoreus!" Zhou You's face fell.

"White Bone is the God of Ghosts selected by the Will beneath the Land of Terror. Dhoreus, along with the candidates from the three great upper sects, the Devil Palace, and the Shadow's Keep, have also chosen their God of Ghosts," Zu Ann said, his expression turning grave. "But those who set out on the return journey have their sights set not on Dhoreus or White Bone, but on Tian Zang."

"Tian Zang, the Ghost King?" Zhou You exclaimed.

"Therefore, as long as Yu Yuan is alive, there's no need to rush. The variables are always in play."

...

"He can't be killed?"

"I can't kill him. If anyone is to do it, it will have to be you."

"Not now."

"Then we'll wait for your body to return, for you to regain your peak strength."

Cao Jiaze and Dhoreus, having concluded their dialogue within the domain of Cuion, lapsed into a tacit silence.

Soon after, Dhoreus vanished into Shadow Mountain, where Jiang Xingwen was located, his actions there a mystery.

Meanwhile, Cao Jiaze toyed with the Tears of the Azurefiend, his gaze fixed on the minuscule Yu Yuan, as well as White Bone and Luo Yue.

He, too, was waiting—for Dhoreus's return, and for the moment when Dhoreus would confront White Bone and Luo Yue.

The Land of Terror had its traditions, enduring through the ages. He had no desire to challenge them, nor to engage in a futile battle of attrition with the Soul Altar and the Root of the Lunar Meridian.

"I might as well do something while I'm idle."

With a flicker of thought, Cao Jiaze projected a remnant soul from the Mindscape within his brow, directing it into the Tears of the Azurefiend in his palm.

Whoosh!

His soul phantom materialized within the Spawn of Chaos, stirring the bizarre world of psionic power into a maelstrom of shifting mists and unpredictable winds.

"Come here."

At his summons, White Bone and Luo Yue, trapped within the Spawn of Chaos, were propelled by swirling lights from different directions to appear before Yu Yuan and him.

Yu Yuan snapped awake, his gaze settling on Cao Jiaze, who had quietly emerged within the eerie blue haze.

"Cao Jiaze."

Yu Yuan whispered, watching as White Bone and Luo Yue were enveloped and transported by the viscous luminance.

Luo Yue's soul retreated into a flower basket.

The basket's rainbow radiance was now sullied by the Spawn of Chaos, with Luo Yue's soul valiantly enduring. She deployed her refined Soul Power to dissolve the insidious thoughts that relentlessly invaded.

White Bone's skeletal form, once as pristine as jade, was now mottled with color.

The psionic light of the Spawn of Chaos appeared to have infiltrated his bones, making every movement feel like lifting a massive mountain.

His intelligent, lively green eyes occasionally flickered with sparks.

Just one look told Yu Yuan that this formidable Ghost King of the Land of Terror, aside from his skeletal form being compromised, was constantly fending off the Spawn of Chaos's assorted remnant souls, the soul-corroding toxins, and the terrifyingly impure lights from the depths of the Star River.

He suddenly felt guilty for involving White Bone and Luo Yue.

Ann Ziqing, Chen Qingyan, and Yuan Lianyao had all warned him about Cao Jiaze's formidable nature and advised him not to provoke him.

He had knowingly walked into the tiger's den, and as a consequence, he found himself trapped.

White Bone and Luo Yue had suffered alongside him.

"Everyone, wake up."

Cao Jiaze's phantom called out within the Spawn of Chaos, causing the psionic power flowing into White Bone and Luo Yue's souls to abruptly lessen.

White Bone and Luo Yue slowly regained consciousness, their eyes brightening simultaneously.

Yu Yuan and the two Ghost Kings formed a triangle around Cao Jiaze's phantom, all eyes fixed on him.

None of them made a move.

Like Yu Yuan, White Bone and Luo Yue had exhausted all their methods, only to find that within the Blood Altar, inside the Spawn of Chaos, they were without recourse.

The Cao Jiaze before them was merely a phantom; destroying it would achieve nothing.

Given the circumstances, they might as well hear what Cao Jiaze had to say.

"Just a moment."

Cao Jiaze left them with these words, and Yu Yuan, White Bone, and Luo Yue waited once more.

Time seemed to stretch on and yet pass in an instant.

Suddenly, a beehive fell from the outside world into the Spawn of Chaos and quickly reached the spot where Yu Yuan, White Bone, and Luo Yue were.

The Queen Bee emerged reluctantly from the beehive, transforming into a scantily clad woman.

Her phantom was indistinct, her figure strikingly voluptuous. As the beehive succumbed to the corruption of the filthy radiance, she spoke with a cold, stern voice, "I've already retreated and decided not to interfere. Why do you still insist on forcing my hand?" She was holding Cao Jiaze accountable.

Inside the beehive, countless minuscule phantoms buzzed, resembling her offspring or perhaps fragments of her own soul.

"Who told you to be a Ghost King?" Cao Jiaze said with a slight smile, introducing her to the perplexed Yu Yuan, "This former Queen Bee of the Shadow's Keep is now the Taruer."

Yu Yuan was taken aback. "She's the Taruer?"

When he noticed that neither White Bone nor Luo Yue was surprised by the sight of the skeletal remains, he instantly recognized that the Queen Bee before him was indeed Taruer.

The Taruer he had previously glimpsed, concealed among the many stones, was nothing more than an illusion created by Mind Magic.

"I've severed all ties with Shadow's Keep," Taruer huffed, "I owe them nothing. If anything, it's Shadow's Keep that owes me."

"You're not like the others; they were sealed here by me. You, on the other hand, were invited," Cao Jiaze said earnestly. "You're free to leave whenever you wish. The few sent by Dhoreus can only keep an eye on you. Who could truly confine you, Taruer?"

With these words, Taruer's hostility lessened slightly. "Alright, tell me, why have you called me here?"

"Do you have any idea where Tian Zang might be?" Cao Jiaze inquired.

At the mention of Tian Zang, both White Bone and Luo Yue fell silent. After a moment of contemplation, Taruer responded, "I don't know the exact location of Tian Zang, but there's one place that comes to mind where the likelihood is greatest."

"Where?" Cao Jiaze perked up.

"The Moonfall Sanctuary."

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