C889 Soul Web
"Stay put in the carriage!" Wen Xin commanded with a severe look, shooting Yu Yuan a fierce glare. "We'll talk about whatever it is later!"
"Got it!"
Yu Yuan quickly withdrew.
The conflict between the Wen family and Hidden Dragon Lake didn't concern him, and he was well aware that the Spirit Void Sect was scouring the world for him.
He certainly didn't want to risk revealing himself too soon because of the Wen family and end up in jeopardy.
"Could it be those villains from Hidden Dragon Lake have found us again?"
Startled by Yu Yuan's revelation of his bloodline awakening, Wen Lu was jolted awake by Wen Xin's words and spoke anxiously, "What do we do? I'm worried that Third Grandmother and the others won't be able to cope!"
Lately, she noticed fewer family members each time she awoke.
She had this sinking feeling that their disappearances were somehow because of her.
Her kind heart ached at the thought of people continually losing their lives for her sake.
"Don't make an appearance; don't distract them," Yu Yuan instructed firmly.
Patterns, small in size but radiant with spiritual energy, illuminated the carriage's interior. Crafted from specially refined iron, the carriage boasted a decent level of defense. With the added protection of the array, it should withstand attacks from anyone below the Yin God Stage.
Yu Yuan silently approved.
Wen Lu's carriage was evidently more robust and better defended than Wen Xin's own.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Soon, heavy footsteps resonated like a drumbeat.
Without any preliminary negotiation, Yu Yuan quickly heard the cacophony of weapon clashes, physical impacts, and wild spiritual energy from outside the carriage.
He listened in calm detachment, his thoughts drifting to another matter.
Lulu's Dark Elfkind bloodline was peculiar, capable of enhancing the vitality of nearby plants and aiding in the growth of medicinal herbs.
Such a gift was a gem for the Medicine Sect and any family cultivating herbs.
"I wonder if her bloodline talent is sustainable and how much potential remains untapped," Yu Yuan pondered, stroking his chin, considering further observation.
If Wen Lu proved valuable, he wouldn't hesitate to entice her to the Medicine Sect or to Elfview.
"Profound Break Stage. She'd certainly qualify for the Quietus Continent with that level of power."
Suddenly, an overwhelming and terrifying power descended out of nowhere, taking one's breath away.
Yu Yuan's face subtly shifted in color, a flicker in his eyes. He quickly suppressed his scattered thoughts, bowed his head, and refrained from dwelling on it further.
"Hopefully, the Star Concealing Fruit will work..."
Outside the carriage.
Wen Xin, engaged in battle, Wu Dong providing support, and the three Dragon Servitors who had attained the Penetrating Stage, along with their invited ally, all visibly blanched.
"Could it be that the green dragon is already near?"
Clutching her Dragon Head Staff, Wen Xin's face drained of color as she glanced at the carriage concealing Lulu. "Child, your Third Grandma is of no use now. I fear I can no longer protect you."
She ceased her attack, allowing the spiritual energy within the Dragon Head Staff to surge chaotically.
Her despair stemmed from the knowledge of the green dragon's might, sapping her of the will to fight.
Meanwhile.
A brawny man with a dark green dragon tattoo around his neck cast a fearful glance at the sky, urgently signaling with his eyes for his lower-ranked followers to cease their assault.
"Has the Wen family caught the attention of some powerful being? This level of soul presence can only belong to a Yang God!"
He internally screamed, petrified to the point of paralysis.
The Wen family's cultivators and the assailants from Hidden Dragon Lake, who were fiercely clashing moments before, now stood still, shivering and uneasily enduring the dreadful pressure.
The woods fell silent, so much so that the drop of a pin could be heard.
"Chi-la!"
A trail of fire sparked outside the carriage Lulu occupied, revealing a piercing force perceptible only to those at the Penetrating Stage, which violently shattered the carriage's layered protective enchantments.
In an instant, it invaded the carriage.
Yu Yuan kept his head down, motionless.
Lulu gazed upward in astonishment, sensing an invisible eye scrutinizing her for a brief moment.
Beneath that gaze, she felt utterly exposed—as if her soul, flesh, bones, and innermost thoughts were laid bare for all to see.
The feeling of intense vulnerability lasted only briefly before the discomfort vanished.
She exhaled deeply.
In another carriage, Qin Yun slept soundly, his snores echoing, while Qi Yunhong sat with eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the events that had unfolded.
When the overwhelming pressure that could make even a Penetrating Stage expert tremble and contemplate kneeling vanished...
Qi Yunhong bolted upright from his feigned slumber, as Qin Yun's eyes snapped open. They exchanged glances, their earlier drowsiness and composure nowhere to be found.
"Who was that?" Qin Yun's voice was rough with tension.
"Tianjing," Qi Yunhong replied with a disdainful snort. "That old dog's soul sense and vital energy swept over me, nearly scared me senseless. The Star Race's 'Star Concealing Fruit' is indeed wondrous; his soul sense just flickered by without taking a closer look."
"Tianjing, in the late period of the Yang God Stage, we're lucky," Qin Yun exclaimed, thumping his chest in relief.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Dragon Servitors, equally terrified, had been in the midst of battle but, clueless about the occurrence, left without a single harsh word, hastily retreating.
They withdrew to understand what had transpired and to determine which faction the fearsome soul sense belonged to.
A hundred miles away...
A gaunt old man stood atop a barren Dwarf Mountain, hands clasped behind him. His pervasive soul sense surged back like a receding tide, pausing in his Consciousness Little World for a few seconds before expanding once more.
"A half-blood girl. I detect the scent of Dark Elfkind bloodline; her cultivation is too weak, the bloodline barely awakened."
Taoist Tianjing murmured to himself, not overly concerned.
His current predicament was the elusive Yu Yuan, whose trail he had failed to pick up even after two days of searching.
Together with Taoist Chongxiao, their soul senses wandered the nearby lands, centering on the Seven Divine Sect's territory, meticulously scouring every nook within a five-hundred-mile radius.
Oddly, there was not a hint of anything out of the ordinary.
Every family and power associated with the Spirit Void Sect under the Rainier Empire's banner had been rallied for a thorough search.
Even under the weight of sect pressure, the Crown Prince Liu Xu had covertly instructed the empire's cultivators to seek out Yu Yuan and his companions in all the major cities.
Unless they had access to a spatial artifact, it was impossible for Yu Yuan and the others to have vanished so swiftly and silently.
Yet, they had come up empty-handed.
"Big shots in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area are taking notice. If we don't find Yu Yuan soon, we'll lose our chance to eliminate him," Taoist Tianjing said, his gaze darting about in agitation.
After learning of Chu Jing's demise, he and Taoist Chongxiao had resolved to swiftly take out Yu Yuan.
Then, they planned to withdraw to the Spirit Void Sect and take refuge within the protective array of the sect's gates.
That way, even if the Divine Soul Sect sought retribution, they could rest easy within the array's protection.
Little did they expect that within the borders of the Rainier Empire, Yu Yuan and his companions would vanish without a trace.
"Qi Yunhong couldn't possibly have refined the Spectral Umbrella so quickly, even if he had come back from the dead. And if he dared to attempt it, I would have sensed it immediately!"
"Where could they be hiding?"
The more Taoist Tianjing pondered, the more his irritation grew.
...
A still-flustered Wen Xin lifted the carriage curtain and stepped into the compartment where Yu Yuan and Lulu were.
"Someone was watching me in secret for a moment," Lulu said anxiously as soon as Wen Xin entered, "It must have been a powerhouse far beyond our level!"
"Thank goodness it wasn't that green dragon. I was convinced it was him," Wen Xin's tone had lost some of its edge, and her demeanor softened when she looked at Yu Yuan. "Had it been that green dragon, I would've been dead. And you, you would've been captured and taken to Hidden Dragon Lake for a fate worse than death."
Yu Yuan, aware of the true situation, kept silent about the individual who had swept the area with their soul sense, clearly searching for him.
Instead, he turned to Wen Xin and cleared his throat before speaking, "Your true destination isn't Valwall, is it? Let me take a wild guess—you're planning to flee to the Silvermoon Empire next door, aren't you?"
Wen Xin was taken aback, "Lulu, why do you spill everything to him?"
"I didn't say anything," Lulu protested, her face a picture of hurt innocence.
...
