C898 Xinshang

In the blood-stained forest, Bai Shenshen's body lay severed, her eyes wide with despair and terror.

Like her, dozens of Sacred Hands cultivators met their end in the Serpent Spine Mountains.

Among the fallen were several esteemed herbalists.

Training an herbalist was no small feat, requiring the expenditure of numerous rare treasures.

The value of herbalists was universally acknowledged; they were coveted by countless sects and clans.

"He's lost his mind! Loong Qi and Dragon Lake must have gone mad!"

Wen Xin was beside herself, shouting in disbelief, unable to accept the reality before her eyes—that the green dragon known as Loong Qi would dare to unleash such carnage in the Serpent Spine Mountains.

Although the Sacred Hands were not the most formidable, the Order of Healing that stood behind them was not to be taken lightly.

The current sect master, Zhong Chichen, was not only a master of alchemy but also renowned for his cultivation and personal combat prowess. Additionally, his reputation for forming alliances meant he had numerous allies at his level.

Once Zhong Chichen mustered his forces, he could march on Dragon Lake and force every giant dragon to bow.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the Crucible of Evil neared the grand palace of the Sacred Hands, Yu Yuan witnessed dazzling pillars of light piercing the heavens.

Within those pillars, visions of medicinal cauldrons, herbs, flames, and pills emerged, creating an enigmatic and wondrous formation.

Near Gloomhollow, a toxic miasma billowed, concealing the lethal winds howling within.

Sensing something, Yu Yuan glanced between the Sacred Hands' palace and Gloomhollow, then had a sudden insight: "Gloomhollow!"

Without hesitation, the Crucible of Evil soared towards the valley, a place he had known well in his past life.

As the cauldron settled in the valley, the deadly miasma, smog, and fearsome subterranean winds seemed to subside instantly.

"The Crucible of Evil!"

Joyous and astonished cries echoed from within the valley.

One by one, venerable herbalists, weathered by years of toil, dared to emerge.

Among them was Shi Yuxuan, the current sect master of the Sacred Hands. At the sight of the Crucible of Evil, his tightly wound nerves finally began to ease.

Suddenly, Shi Yuxuan seemed to remember something urgent and exclaimed, "Yu Yuan, you must leave at once! Head to Moonfall Sanctuary, the Silvermoon Empire, anywhere will do!"

"Yu Yuan, as the direct disciple of the God of Medicine, Hong Qi, you must stand up for us!"

"At Dragon Lake, a green dragon named Loong Qi has had the audacity to wreak havoc in the Serpent Spine Mountains!"

"Please, you have to ensure Dragon Lake pays for this!"

"..."

The elderly herbalists, with tears welling up in their eyes, were clamoring at the Crucible of Evil, their laments echoing far and wide.

"What has happened? Where is my mother? And Mr. Yan?" Yu Yuan asked, turning to Shi Yuxuan.

"Little Rou awoke not long ago. Upon receiving the news, Mr. Yan hastily took her to Moonfall Sanctuary," Shi Yuxuan explained swiftly. "Soon after Mr. Yan left, that green dragon from Dragon Lake showed up. I suspect..."

Shi Yuxuan continued in a hushed voice, using telepathy.

"I suspect the green dragon's brazen behavior is backed by the Order of Healing. Unless the Order has condoned Loong Qi's brutal actions, Dragon Lake wouldn't dare to cause such chaos at Sacred Hands!"

"Chu Yao from the Order of Healing demanded we deliver the medicinal herbs early. I refused, citing that it wasn't time yet."

"Moreover, after Xiao Rou regained consciousness, she revealed that your father is being held captive by Dragon Lake. She also mentioned that members of the Order of Healing were involved in certain matters."

Shi Yuxuan's revelations struck deep into Yu Yuan's core.

"The Order of Healing's complicity!"

Yu Yuan's complexion turned steely, his frame quivering slightly.

"Loong Qi is still near the Serpent Spine Mountains, not too far away. Make haste to Moonfall Sanctuary!" Shi Yuxuan's voice rang out once more, resonant and emphatic, "Don't worry about us! Gloomhollow is shrouded in a miasma cloud left by the ancients, which the green dragon fears and won't dare to penetrate."

"Understood!"

Yu Yuan clenched his jaw, aware that now was not the time for sentimentality, and planned to make his exit.

"Loong Qi has broken free!"

In that moment, Wen Lu, from within the cauldron, used the omnipresent trees and her Shadowkin bloodline to witness the green dragon at Dragon Lake. The sharp branches wedged in the dragon's scales were shattered into sawdust.

An elder with seven rings on his arm materialized above the green dragon, his face etched with weariness as he sighed deeply.

A misty golden glow bathed the dragon's body, nearly a hundred meters in length, freeing Loong Qi from the thorny branches.

The forlorn elder removed one of the rings and tossed it skyward.

Suddenly, a rainbow materialized in the skies of Gloomhollow.

As the rainbow appeared, everyone in Gloomhollow felt an odd sensation of their souls being anchored, their movements hindered.

"There's an old man, his left arm adorned with rings," Wen Lu reported frantically, relaying the information from the plants, "He's the one who aided the green dragon's escape. The rings above our heads appeared because of him, too."

"Ah!"

Shi Yuxuan was visibly shaken, his complexion turning ghostly pale, "That's Xinshang of the Ethereal Void Sect! I had the fortune of encountering him once in the Sundering Isles! He's a cultivator in the early period of the Unbound state! I've never heard of any amicable ties between the Ethereal Void Sect and Dragon Lake!"

"Master Xinshang!" Wen Xin's face turned ashen.

After a moment's hesitation, she blurted out, "Yu, Yu, I've heard the Ethereal Void Sect has a bone to pick with you. The, the dispute between you and the Ethereal Void Sect, it's got nothing to do with the Wen family, okay?"

"Wen Lu, shall we take our leave now?"

Upon learning that an Unbound cultivator from the Ethereal Void Sect had quietly arrived at the Serpent Spine Mountains and was nearby, Wen Xin immediately sought to distance herself from Yu Yuan.

An Unbound cultivator was an entity even more transcendent than Loong Qi, who was of the eighth level.

In her entire life, Wen Xin, having only ever lived on the Aetherius Continent, had merely heard of such cultivators but had never laid eyes on one.

Confronted with such a formidable adversary intent on capturing Yu Yuan, she realized that her only chance of survival lay in separating herself from him.

"Master Xinshang!"

"Is he aiding Dragon Lake?"

It wasn't just Wen Xin who was petrified; the survivors of the Sacred Hands sect, concealed within Gloomhollow and attempting to use the miasma and poisonous smoke to evade the green dragon's assault, were utterly panic-stricken.

This included their Sect Master, Shi Yuxuan.

"It's too late now."

Glancing at the rainbow encircling the sky and feeling the soul's intimidation, he understood that the newcomer was a high-level cultivator from the Ethereal Void sect.

With the adversary having deployed the ring so close and having pinpointed Gloomhollow, evasion was futile.

Against such a formidable opponent, the flight speed of the Crucible of Evil and any attempts at concealment were laughably ineffective.

"Our only hope lies with the Soulforge Pool in the Moonfall Sanctuary and that malevolent statue."

In that moment, Yu Yuan shut out the external noise, disregarding Wen Xin's words and the clamor from the Sacred Hands sect members.

He stilled his heart and reached out with his remnant soul to connect with the Moonfall Sanctuary.

Thankfully, the Serpent Spine Mountains were not an Illusion Orb, not a separate realm unto themselves.

With a single focused thought, he immediately sensed the presence of the Moonfall Sanctuary, the Soulforge Pool, and the Evil Statue's resonance.

To his astonishment, he discovered that both the Fallen Star Eyes and Liu Ying were also within the Moonfall Sanctuary.

The rustling and cracking sounds of the green dragon crushing vegetation and its low-altitude flight, along with its thunderous roars, echoed from a distance.

An imposing figure emerged silently in the center of the rainbow above.

With a sullen expression and a reluctant demeanor, he stood within the rainbow's embrace, gazing down at Gloomhollow, and murmured to himself, "The targets are ensnared, and Chong Xiao and Tianjing are en route. There's no need for haste on my part. I'll leave the matter to Chong Xiao and Tianjing."

Master Xinshang was the type to seize any opportunity to shirk his duties, seemingly content with having Yu Yuan cornered.

At Dragon Lake, an eighth-level green dragon. Could it really be afraid of the miasma cloud lurking within Gloomhollow?" He gazed curiously at Loong Qi, whom he had rescued.

The bleeding between Loong Qi's scales had ceased, and the gashes that had once split his skin were now healed.

The regenerative powers of an eighth-level giant dragon were astonishingly profound. He had only sustained superficial injuries. Despite appearing severely wounded, his bones and sinews remained unharmed.

Upon halting before Gloomhollow, the nearly hundred-meter-long green dragon transformed into a man with a somber demeanor and dragon horns on his forehead. "Wen Lu, and the young ones of Asvetaesi, come forth and meet your end!"

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