C870 Black Woman

Four beams of rainbow light formed a square, encasing the Evil Cauldron.

The elder, bearing a striking resemblance to Qin Yun, had white hair and a beard, with long eyebrows that drooped like silver serpents. Despite his aged appearance, he was only in the Middle Period of the Yin God Stage.

His eyes wide with fury, he confronted Qin Yun, who was at the Soul Wandering Stage, and berated him, "The Empire has been good to you, yet you've turned your back on it to scrape by in a rival nation! Qin Yun, do you have no shame in returning to Valwall?"

"I'm merely passing through." Qin Yun's expression darkened as he signaled Yu Yuan with a look to disregard these individuals.

Despite being of a higher realm and appearing younger, he seemed somewhat intimidated by the man.

"And who might you be?" Yu Yuan inquired with curiosity.

"I am Qin Feng, an elder of the Qin Family from Valwall," the old man declared with pride, casting a sidelong glance at Yu Yuan before adding, "Qin Yun should address me as his uncle!"

Yu Yuan was taken aback, "At your age and still not as advanced as Qin Yun? You shouldn't rely on your seniority to command respect."

Qin Yun's cheeks reddened, "I've dedicated the family's rare spiritual materials and pellets to cultivating our clan's gifted youth. Fostering the Qin Family's next generation is my priority. Unlike some, when I became the head of the Seven Divine Sect, my concerns were only for myself!" This was a veiled jab at Qin Yun.

"Lack of talent is no excuse for making excuses."

Yu Yuan huffed, his gaze briefly sweeping over the other three, noting they too were at the Yin God Stage.

The most formidable among them was in the Late Period of the Yin God Stage, skinny as a reed and oddly dressed in a loose, pale green robe.

As he approached through the air, Yu Yuan almost mistook him for a fluttering green banner.

Adorned with a Mustard Seed Bracelet, the man's piercing eyes were fixed on the Universe Ring on Yu Yuan's finger.

"Heh, greed knows no bounds," Yu Yuan thought to himself, immediately sensing the man's covetous intentions toward his Universe Ring.

"Zheng Dongbang."

As Yu Yuan's gaze settled on the man, Qin Yun pursed his lips and coolly identified him, "From Valwall, the patriarch of the Zheng family."

He casually gestured towards two other elders, both in the early stages of the Yin God Stage, "Wu Shan and Wu Shui, two clan elders from the Wu family of Valwall."

His demeanor only became somewhat restrained and uneasy in the presence of Qin Feng, who was, after all, his senior.

In his youth, Qin Feng had often disciplined him with whippings and scoldings, leaving a deep-seated unease about Qin Feng in his psyche.

As for the Zheng and Wu family elders, he barely gave them a second thought. His rise to the Yin God Stage, coupled with the trials he faced in the outside world, had brought him to the Middle Period of the Yin God Stage, and subsequently, he joined the Seven Divine Sect. In his dealings with the Zheng and Wu families, their elders were always obsequiously smiling.

During his tenure as the sect master of the Seven Divine Sect, his influence in the Rainier Empire was surpassed only by the Imperial Advisor, Zhou Cangmin.

"Rainier Empire..."

Yu Yuan nodded to himself as he listened to the introduction, now fully informed.

It was at this point he realized that the practitioners from the secular dynasties were indeed leagues behind those from the other two continents.

The various empires' prodigies were often spotted by the sects of those continents at a young age, waiting only for them to reach the Profound Break Stage before whisking them away.

Those whose talents emerged later were just as likely to be absorbed by the sects once they demonstrated exceptional gifts and levels of cultivation.

Rebellious independent cultivators, once they achieved a certain level of mastery, would similarly gravitate towards places like the Crack Archipelago or the Desolate Swamp, where other practitioners congregated.

Most who remained in the empires year after year had resigned themselves to their fate, possessing but ordinary talents.

Take, for instance, the four before him, each one an elder of Qin Yun, having lived a century or two just to barely reach the Yin God Stage.

Even with fortune on their side, their cultivation journey was likely capped at the Soul Wandering Stage in this lifetime.

Higher accomplishments were improbable.

"I've reached the Yin God Stage before thirty, yet they've only managed this at one or two centuries old," Yu Yuan mused internally, finding it pointless to engage further with them.

"Forget it. Since you hail from the Qin family, I'll spare them any trouble on your account."

With a dismissive wave of his hand, he addressed Qin Yun, "Return to where you came from."

Qin Feng remained motionless, his gaze stern as he fixed his eyes on Qin Yun and bellowed, "Stop your obstinacy! If you sincerely renounce your errors, I can intercede with the First Prince for leniency before you commit a grave mistake!"

"He's a disciple of Yang Chuhe..." Qin Yun replied, shaking his head.

"Then stand aside. We'll apprehend this youngster and deliver him to the First Prince!" Qin Feng declared.

Yu Yuan, growing restless, realized that Qin Yun, given his origins, would likely hesitate to confront an elder. As he was about to intervene, a thought struck him. Unfamiliar with the strength and depth of the Evil Cauldron's newly spawned demons, he decided to test them.

Whoosh!

The first to emerge was a woman shrouded in a black robe.

Her face concealed by the robe, only her gray-white hair peeked out. Upon her arrival, she began to mourn in a low, despairing voice, as if calling out to the spirit of her deceased son.

"Wuu! Wuu!" Her wails suddenly pierced the air.

A wave of dark, mournful malevolence spread outwards, touching the hearts of all in its path.

In an instant, the four Yin Gods from Valwall bore bloody marks on their foreheads!

Zheng Dongbang, at the late Yin God Stage and as lean as a bamboo pole, was clad in a green robe. Abruptly, an ethereal bird took flight, its wings casting a soothing, soul-steadying glow.

Crack!

Within seconds, the glow summoned by the mystical bird succumbed to the onslaught of the black-robed woman's malevolent spirit, showing signs of shattering.

Zheng Dongbang was taken aback, having underestimated Yu Yuan's formidable demons, and was caught off guard by Yu Yuan's swift and unprovoked attack.

As the glow fissured, Valwall's mightiest warrior beat a hasty retreat into the city.

Meanwhile, the Wu Family's two elders, Wu Shan and Wu Shui, at the early stage of the Yin God Stage and without any artifacts for instant protection, were already bleeding from all orifices.

Black and green blood oozed from the seven orifices of Wu Shan and Wu Shui.

Yu Yuan glanced at them and couldn't help but chuckle. "Of all the paths to cultivation, why choose to secretly practice the toxic arts of the Voodoo Cult? It's a shame—the Wu Family of Valwall City has been tainted by their influence."

As the two Wu Family elders, known as Wu Shan and Wu Shui, desperately tried to flee...

A black figure split in two, penetrating the consciousness of each elder.

Subsequently, the elders, practitioners of the poison technique, let out blood-curdling screams.

Qin Feng, with blood trickling from his eyes, trembled and pointed accusingly at Qin Yun, struggling to voice his condemnation.

Qin Yun let out a sigh. "Hurry back to Valwall City! Don't you see? If the Young Master hadn't spared you, you'd share the same fate as Wu Shan and Wu Shui!"

Qin Feng hesitated, not daring to face Yu Yuan, and instead shot Qin Yun a venomous look. "You'll get what's coming to you!"

With that, he departed to be reborn.

Many figures now lined the towering walls of Valwall City, overlooking the Evil Cauldron from a distance, too fearful to make a move.

"Old Master Zheng has returned!"

"The Wu family's two patriarchs... they seem on the brink of death!"

"Qin Yun didn't lift a finger. What did that kid from Darkmoon unleash? How can it be so fearsome?"

Their murmurs carried only from a distance.

Soon after, the vitality drained from the eyes of the Wu Family elders, their once vibrant spirits dimming.

The black figure emerged from their foreheads, subtly shifting within Yu Yuan's perception.

The black figure's true essence, housed within the Evil Cauldron, and the dark robe were in constant flux. Though it appeared as two separate entities entering Wu Shan and Wu Shui, one was a spirit and the other, mere clothing, both capable of enigmatic transformations.

Halfway through, the two figures merged and bowed gracefully before Yu Yuan, before dissolving into the cauldron.

The corpses of Wu Shan and Wu Shui plummeted from the sky, lifeless as birds felled by arrows.

"No one should stand in our way to Valwall now."

Yu Yuan's mind stirred, and the Evil Cauldron soared once more. He spared not a glance for the skeletal remains at Wu Mountain and Wu Shui, but instead, he quietly reached out to Yu Yiyi, eager to learn more about the enigmatic black woman.

Qin Yun, sharing space within the cauldron, wore an expression of astonishment. He had been lingering near Elfview of late and hadn't set foot in Spider City.

He was unaware of the formidable power the Evil Cauldron wielded in Yu Yuan's grasp. A mere release of an Evil Demon from it had been enough to slay those at Wu Mountain and Wu Shui, and even Zheng Dongbang, in the late stages of the Yin God Stage, had fled without daring to engage in battle.

"Seven Divine Sect!" Anticipation for the upcoming journey sparked within him.

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