C93 Returning from Nowhere
The moonlight was icy.
A slender silhouette glided through the void, leaving a trail of afterimages with every step she took.
The moonlight cascaded over her like liquid, only to vanish in the blink of an eye.
She appeared to be consuming the moonlight itself.
Moments later, she stood suspended in the sky, the bright moon overhead, while below her, Lee Yu and his fellow trial-takers looked on.
Lee Yu clutched the "soul sacrifice ball" tightly and looked up, his face etched with shock, yet his voice remained eerily calm, "Fong Xin."
"Fong Xin!"
The realization dawned on everyone below; the unexpected visitor was none other than the leader of the Waning Moon City cultivators.
"It's not you."
Fong Xin's gaze was hauntingly green, like two lanterns flickering in her pupils.
She murmured in an ancient tongue, her eyes sweeping over each person below.
Those on the ground stared up at the still Fong Xin, a chill settling in their hearts.
They had surmised that the formidable spirit, impervious even to the "soul sacrifice ball," was none other than Fong Xin herself.
"What are you, this aberration?" demanded Lee Yuan of the Lee family, his voice a mix of bravado and underlying fear. "The Fallen Moon Forbidden Area has been the domain of our Silvermoon Empire from time immemorial! No matter your identity or nature, you cannot flout our laws and escape unpunished within the bounds of the Silvermoon Empire!"
"Silvermoon Empire's territory since ancient times?" Fong Xin's voice was soft, almost mocking. "You claim this forbidden land as your own?"
"Laughable."
Her gaze snapped to Lee Yuan.
A flicker of green fire danced briefly in the depths of her eyes.
The turbulent spiritual energy around Lee Yuan coalesced into a torrent that surged from beneath his feet.
Like a vast, ashen dragon, it propelled him skyward, delivering him straight before Fong Xin.
"This earth has always, always belonged to the Moon Demon Clan," Fong Xin declared, her words deliberate, ensuring all could hear and understand.
As she spoke, Lee Yuan writhed as if flayed by a thousand blades, his skin splitting open.
Blood cascaded from the heavens like a crimson river, stark and haunting.
Lee Yuan's eyes were wide open, his lips moving, but no words came out.
"Moon Demon!"
"Moon Demon!"
Below, the likes of Su Yan and Yan Lu, the proud scions of the Empire, came to a stark realization upon her self-revelation.
Just like Han Hui and Zhan Tianxiang, they too recalled the ancient legends, and their faces turned pale.
In the depths of a frigid night that seemed to stretch on without end, the Moon Demon stirred from its ancient slumber, signaling a possible shift in the reign of nations...
The Moon Demon had indeed awakened. The night was relentless, the world bitterly cold and harsh. Could these omens truly herald the fall of the Silvermoon Empire?
With this realization, they suddenly grasped that calamity might also be brewing within the Empire itself.
Perhaps the elders of their family, the military forces, and Her Majesty the Empress were all bearing the weight of the external threat posed by the Moon Demon.
With a resounding crash, Lee Yuan's body plummeted from the sky, striking the icy earth below.
"No matter her strength, the approach remains the same," Yan Lu steadied himself and declared, "Destroy her mortal form to draw out the Moon Demon. Without a physical vessel, only the Moon Demon's soul remains. Then we can use the soul sacrifice ball and other soul-targeting spells and artifacts to obliterate it."
As he spoke, the Broken Soul Staff appeared in his grasp, its aim locked onto Feng Xin from a distance.
In an instant, the staff blazed with a brilliant gold and silver radiance, exuding an aura that seemed to quell the soul, and it hurtled forward.
"This staff..." Fong Xin's voice carried a hint of surprise as she regarded Yan Lu. "What do you call it?"
"Broken Soul Staff!"
"No, that's incorrect," Fong Xin corrected, shaking her head. "It's not Broken Soul; it's Splitting Soul. The Splitting Soul Staff has the power to separate the three souls of heaven, earth, and humanity from their corporeal existence. This staff likely originated from these forbidden lands. Alas..."
"You're simply too weak."
She effortlessly recited the true name of the staff as the weapon neared her, then with a swift extension of her finger, she lightly tapped its tip.
A crackling sound filled the air as countless threads of green lightning entwined the staff, submerging its gold and silver glow and saturating the intricate patterns etched upon it.
With a gentle grip, she seized the Splitting Soul Staff and, facing a stunned Yan Lu, remarked, "This artifact is devastating to human practitioners, but it holds little sway over us Moon Demons."
With a swift motion, she hurled the Splitting Soul Staff, now a streak of green luminescence.
"Watch out!"
Amidst the cries of alarm, Yan Lu found himself without time to properly defend. He could only attempt to dodge with all his might.
The Splitting Soul Staff, swift as a sword, pierced through his waist and abdomen, inflicting severe injuries in an instant.
"Who's calling for Fan Li?"
Fong Xin scanned the surroundings, deliberately avoiding Yan Lu's gaze.
At her inquiry, many involuntarily cast their eyes toward Fan Li.
Fan Li inwardly cursed his luck.
"So it's you," Fong Xin remarked, her hand extending as if to grasp something from afar.
The chaotic spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth surged wildly, coalescing into a colossal hand that, like an eagle snatching a chick, suddenly seized Fan Li and hoisted him skyward.
"Lee Yu! Save me!"
Struggling desperately in midair, Fan Li's only hope was Lee Yu, who he believed could rescue him from Fong Xin's clutches.
High above, Fong Xin was out of reach, the distance too great for those below to approach.
Only a weapon could potentially harm her.
"Come forth!"
A short, green sword, as if nurtured within Lee Yu's central dantian and forged by his life force day and night, burst forth from his chest.
The blade, no longer than half an arm's length, radiated an intensity capable of piercing the heavens.
"Blue Profound Sword!"
Su Yan's voice, soft yet filled with a burgeoning hope, cut through the air.
"The Empire's esteemed weapon, the Blue Profound Sword!" Lim Zhuyun's spirit soared.
"Blue Profound Sword!"
"The Lee family has entrusted the Blue Profound Sword to Lee Yu!"
"A treasure of the nation!"
The onlookers witnessing the blue sword streaking toward Fong Xin erupted in astonishment.
The Blue Profound Sword, a streak of ethereal blue light, shot through the sky at breakneck speed.
Its sword intent was so fierce that the night sky hissed, as if space itself were being punctured by countless holes, unable to withstand the blade's piercing will.
"Pfft!"
The giant hand, a construct of spiritual energy, burst into nothingness as the Blue Profound Sword sliced through.
Van Ning plummeted from the heights.
In the next instant, the Blue Profound Sword had found its mark in Fong Xin's chest, transfixing her heart.
She could not evade it.
Yet the green glow in Fong Xin's eyes persisted. Gazing down at the Blue Profound Sword now embedded in her chest, she murmured, "This body isn't mine, and I am not human. A sword through the heart won't kill me."
As she spoke, her hand languidly extended toward the Blue Profound Sword.
Her fingers were entwined with countless slender green lightning bolts.
The onlookers below, hearing her words and witnessing her actions, grew pale.
They were abruptly reminded of Zhu Huan and Loh Ling, who had been reduced to chunks of flesh by the Moon Demon before making their escape.
Fong Xin, towering above, was far more powerful than those two. Who could possibly reduce her to a pulp?
Yet, it seemed that having her heart pierced was of little consequence to her.
"You're aiming at the wrong spot. Don't go for the heart, aim for the brow, and shatter her skull." Suddenly, from a distance, a voice that was both familiar and strange rang out.
"Yu Yuan!"
"Yu Yuan!"
...
