C908 An Ominous Omen
Beneath the veil of night, the "Fallen Star Eyes" glittered with an otherworldly glow.
Yu Yuan soared down and was greeted by the sight of Lau Ying, ethereal as a moon goddess, standing before a luminous moonstone, gesturing to him.
Drawing nearer, Yu Yuan noticed Lau Ying's pallor and the dimness in her eyes, betraying a weariness as if she hadn't slept well in ages.
"What's wrong?" Yu Yuan inquired, his voice laced with concern.
"Take a look for yourself."
Lau Ying beckoned him closer, pointing to the gleaming moonstone surface. "By wandering with your soul, you can witness the nightmares that have haunted me. I desperately hope they remain just that—nightmares, and not a prelude to the future."
Fear was evident in her voice, her shoulders quivering ever so slightly.
Filled with curiosity, Yu Yuan released strands of his soul essence, which drifted into the moonstone tableau before Lau Ying.
In a flash, he was transported on a soul journey to a potential future.
The first vision that struck him was the Profound Sky Continent, a wasteland strewn with the dead.
The land, largely populated by mortals, was a battlefield where the Luan Bird, Silver Moon, and Kingdom of Rewia were locked in a brutal war against Divine Might, Brilliance, and Crimson Sun. Countless towns suffered, with structures and palaces either collapsed or ablaze, smoke and flames reaching for the sky.
Within the city walls, the bodies of commoners and soldiers alike lay charred or decaying, abandoned and unattended.
Deep in the mountains and lakes, cultivators from the six great empires clashed fiercely. Peaks crumbled, rivers ran dry, and forests lay shattered.
The vision shifted, revealing the Ancient Desolate Sect, now under Zhongli's command, its protective arrays shattered. One after another, the sect's resilient cultivators burst apart in midair, their remains falling like a gruesome rain.
It appeared the Ancient Desolate Sect had met its end.
Another scene unfolded: the Blood God Cult was under siege by the Devil Palace and the Red Devil Sect. Yuan Lianyao and Hou Tianzhao, having ventured into the cult's domain, were slain by the blood shadows unleashed by Ann Ziqing.
Elsewhere, the Filthy Spirit Sect lay in ruins, trampled by the formidable demons of the Demon Palace.
The Golden Elephant Ancient God manifested his true form, bearing the Gold Mountain on his back, and with a barrage of golden orbs of light, he annihilated many practitioners from the Filthy Spirit Sect.
A golden radiance emanated from him, rippling outward, claiming the lives of the sect's weaker disciples in quick succession.
The scene shifted once more. The formidable members of the Sword Sect approached the gates of the Silver Moon Sect, led by Ji Ningshuang of the Starfrost Sword, who encircled the Silver Moon Sect's experts.
Yet, within the Silver Moon Sect, Ji Ningshuang's Aspect shattered, and he perished beneath the vast starlight.
Chen Qingyan, closely connected to him, wielded a frost dragon-forged blade in a fierce battle against Lau Ying, the bearer of the Fallen Star Eyes.
Both met their end.
With a thunderous crash, Yu Yuan's soul consciousness, which had been adrift in his mind, snapped back to the present.
"Did you see? I died. After my battle with Chen Qingyan, we both fell," Lau Ying lamented, her face etched with sorrow. "We bore no ill will towards each other. Why did we have to fight to the death?"
Yu Yuan remained silent, processing the vivid images that lingered in his thoughts.
Yuan Lianyao had fallen to Ann Ziqing. Chen Qingyan and Lau Ying, too, were no more. Jee Ningshuang's Aspect had been obliterated. Their fates seemed grim.
Could all this have been merely a nightmare?
After what felt like an eternity, Yu Yuan, still shaken, asked in a strained tone, "These bizarre visions—are they your dreams? How did they come to be?"
Lau Ying gestured towards the sinister stone statue in the distant sky.
The normally benevolent faces of the twin statues now appeared indistinct and blurred. Yu Yuan reached out with his mind to the statues, only to encounter a chaotic maelstrom, a stark contrast to the past.
"It materialized in my dream," Lau Ying murmured. "It told me that manifesting these scenes in my dream had drained much of its strength. It will need considerable time to recover. In fact, it's on the verge of becoming disoriented."
Yu Yuan's face darkened. "It spoke to you?"
"Yes, it warned that these scenes might unfold in the future," Lau Ying confirmed with a grave nod. "I also saw Elfview razed to the ground, every member of the Yu family perished. There was more—I witnessed Yu Zhu being hunted, forced to flee from the Absence Relic."
"In the future!"
Yu Yuan was thunderstruck, unable to contain the terror rising within him.
"It spoke of many potential shifts in the future," Lau Ying said, her eyes slightly narrowed as she delved into her memories. "It was a warning, informing me that the scenarios and visions it showed could become reality after the grand trade fair hosted by the Evil Sect concludes."
"I've been waiting for you in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area because I wanted you to see these possibilities, to understand what might take shape in the future."
"What I witnessed was even more extensive. I saw battles involving the three upper sects—the Devil Palace, the Demon Palace—and many unknown warriors. Most were like us, with only a few being outsiders and Devaputra."
"The final vision you saw was of my death."
"And I... I saw the entire Boundless Land fracture, breaking apart into dozens of land fragments."
Lau Ying shuddered at the memory of her last vision. "I hope it's not true. The things it showed me were too horrifying, almost beyond belief."
Yu Yuan took several deep breaths, trying to regain his composure.
After a moment's pause, he said, "You should stay in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area for now. Don't leave it! If possible, try to convey these visions to your master within the forbidden area! As for me, I must make an immediate trip to Evil Peak to seek counsel."
The evil statue, rumored to be a formidable war weapon forged by the Divine Soul Sect, possessed unfathomable might.
It had revealed those scenes to Lau Ying in her dreams through the Fallen Star Eyes, serving as a forewarning to both her and me.
But could the future of the Boundless Land truly unfold in such a way?
With a swift motion, Yu Yuan landed on the teleportation array and gestured for Qin Yun, Lulu, Qi Yunhong, and Old Cash to join him.
"Mr. He, could you please transport us to the Evil Sect?" he asked.
"Anytime," He Zhan responded with a smile.
"Everyone, please hurry!" Yu Yuan called out.
Lulu, Old Cash, and Qi Yunhong had been wandering the Forbidden Area, intrigued by its mysteries and eager to uncover the secrets of this long-revered place.
At Yu Yuan's insistent prompt, they quickly assembled.
"Something's off with your face," Old Cash observed, eyeing the Fallen Star Eyes with concern. "Lau Ying has been out of sorts too, mumbling about constant nightmares. Just yesterday, her complexion was an unhealthy shade of pale. Why do you look the same after coming down?"
"Young Master, has something happened?" Qin Yun inquired.
"Yu Yuan, what's the matter?" Shi Yuxuan chimed in.
"It's complicated and of great importance; I can't explain right now," Yu Yuan replied, as he acknowledged the arrival of the others with a nod to He Zhan. "Please, let's make haste."
"Alright, no one should recklessly channel their Spiritual Force or Soul Intent. I'm about to activate the array!" He Zhan cautioned.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Beams of brilliant light encircled the teleportation array, and a fierce spatial tremor erupted beneath their feet.
The dazzling screen of light gradually enveloped them all, then abruptly shrank.
In a blink, they vanished.
Whoosh!
Reappearing within a similar array belonging to the Evil Sect, Yu Yuan and his companions were greeted by a cacophony reminiscent of crashing waves. They beheld a myriad of bizarre and exotic beings and saw President Lyi delivering a stirring speech aloft.
"Yu Yuan, you've made it just in time!"
