C975 The World in the Well
Canli, a young girl from the Bright Clan of the Outland Star River, wore a faint smile on her lips. The light emanated from her chest, from the "Life Altar" she was born with—a nexus for all the light drawn from the cosmos and myriad stars.
"Since this is the Frost Well of the Dark Domain, it's up to me to cast the light," she declared with an air of unassailable confidence, standing at the heart of the well, her radiance piercing the darkness.
Under the glow of her light, the interior of the Frost Well, sealed by the might of Ruan Fu, was laid bare for all to see.
The Soul Transformation Pool had not been dragged down with him. The Ice Concubine, now reduced in size, hovered before him. Her once sharp scorpion tail morphed into an ice-blue hand that pressed against his chest, where a layer of ice had already encased his heart and acupoints. The Ice Concubine's delicate hand seemed intent on shattering the ice, sparing his heart and the miniature world of his blood from the Frost Well's chilling embrace.
Glancing down, he noticed his ankle submerged in the well's icy waters, yet devoid of sensation. More precisely, the numbing cold had rendered the flesh, tendons, and blood of his submerged ankle utterly insensate.
His left hand and palm were engulfed by the maw of a snow-white cold dragon, a celestial oddity with a slender, patterned body that whispered the secrets of ice. Yu Yuan caught sight of the dragon's three white vertical eyes, each one a window into a frigid, snow-laden realm.
Beyond the cold dragon, various star-born creatures clung to his shoulders, waist, and neck—each one a peculiar denizen of the extreme cold.
Some were silver-white, insect-like beasts with densely packed fangs, voraciously consuming his flesh and blood. Others, vicious beasts resembling spiders and Ice Armored Crocodiles, or unfamiliar birds, were sheathed in Frost Energy as they descended upon him in a ravenous frenzy.
Yet, where these creatures tore at his flesh, he felt nothing, as if the parts they ravaged were no longer his own.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered two sinister dark green snakes coiled around his submerged ankles, desperately dragging his body deeper into the well's icy depths.
It seemed that if his body was fully submerged in the well water, he would be encased in ice.
Crack!
The Ice Concubine's delicate hand, transformed from her scorpion tail, struck his chest, sending shards of ice flying.
"Often, it's the sheer darkness that drives people to despair, to the brink of suicide," Canli said, her smile radiant. She was unafraid in the eerie "Dark Domain Frost Well." "Many beings captured by the Asura Clan and banished to the Dark Domain didn't even need to be in the coldest depths. In no time at all, they'd be found dead."
"Most creatures can't withstand the darkness, the absence of sound, the lack of light."
"In such darkness, even the passage of time is unknowable. It doesn't take long for those cast into the Dark Domain to go mad and take their own lives," Canli explained softly.
"I understand."
Yu Yuan nodded, fully grasping the concept. As the Ice Concubine raised her tail to shatter the ice on his chest again, he shook his head, "There's no need."
His arm bones glowed with a crimson sword light, flowing like a river.
He gently closed his eyes.
Within the microcosm of his Qi and blood, the blood-red "Life Altar" spun silently.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
His limbs, frozen by the extreme cold, shattered piece by piece.
The Ice Flood Dragon, with its three white vertical eyes, became a blur of flesh and blood. In pain, it tried to flee back into the crevices of the well, but Yu Yuan's hand, now alert, clamped down on its sharp teeth.
"Thinking of escaping now? Isn't that a bit late?" Yu Yuan said with a grim smile. His hand, still lodged in the Ice Flood Dragon's mouth, thrust forward, piercing through its abdomen.
The Ice Flood Dragon's head was jerked up to Yu Yuan's shoulder, colliding with another entwined creature.
Wu! Wu! Wu!
The mutated Ice Flood Dragon appeared to scream, but with Yu Yuan's arm wedged in its body and mouth, its cries were muffled and bizarre.
Then, the crimson sword light burst forth within the Ice Flood Dragon, its body lighting up as if struck by scarlet lightning.
The other vicious beasts from the outer domain met the same fate. Once Canli unleashed a burst of light, allowing Yu Yuan to clearly see the situation, he turned the tables and slaughtered them all.
"Protect me," Canli implored as her silhouette swiftly ascended above Yu Yuan's head.
In that instant, Ruan Fu, the Great Elder of the Cold Yin Sect, materialized in the well's realm, his face contorted with rage. He emerged gradually from the icy waters below. As he rose, the water around him solidified, encasing him in an icy figure akin to that of the Ice Concubine.
"The Holy Daughter of the Bright Clan!" Ruan Fu announced, his gaze shifting from the Ice Concubine to Canli. Yu Yuan, however, did not even warrant a fleeting glance from him.
"Yu Yuan, this man has become one with the Dark Domain Frost Well. If I'm not mistaken, this Frost Well is under the Asura King's domain, specifically belonging to his youngest son who has just returned from the Dark Domain," Canli said with a soft chuckle. "Now that he has assimilated the Dark Domain Frost Well, he merely needs to break free from the Boundless Land to leverage its power and journey into the enigmatic Dark Domain."
"Should fortune favor him and he avoids the formidable Dark Asuras, he could harness the Dark Domain's intense frost energy and amass its unique dark magic. Those in the Devil Palace who practice dark arts may seek his favor, eager to acquire the Dark Domain's shadowy energies through him."
Canli, a native of the celestial realms, hailed from the Bright Clan—renowned for their disdain and dread of delving into dark powers and uncovering their truths. The reigning sovereign of the Devil Palace had secured his exalted position by inflicting grave harm upon the current Bright Clan chieftain.
Unlike the current chieftain, Canli was the sole possessor of the Innate Life Altar. The Bright Clan regarded her as the pivotal force in the eventual confrontation with the Devil Lord Tan Xiaotian. Hence, from a young age, she diligently studied the peculiarities of the Dark Domain and the entities associated with darkness and its energies.
With a trio of swift swooshes, crimson beams of blood burst forth from Yu Yuan's chest, impaling the vicious beasts that feasted upon his flesh. The blood beams voraciously devoured, extracting the fresh blood and chunks of meat from within the beasts.
Over a dozen different species of vicious beasts, painstakingly captured by Ruan Fu from various realms beyond the skies, were dead in an instant.
"Yu Yuan!"
Ruan Fu's attention finally shifted from Canli and the Ice Concubine to Yu Yuan.
Hovering in the air for a few seconds, Yu Yuan gazed at the two spiritual snakes dangling from his ankle, lifeless and drained of their essence by the Life Altar. "You clearly have no idea who I am."
The Life Altar was his secret weapon, and the Blood God Cult was aware of it. Cao Yi, too, was well-informed when he masqueraded as Ann Jieshan.
Yet, Cao Yi kept the secret to himself.
Ruan Fu, at least, was utterly oblivious.
Did he really think these beasts could gnaw at me, tear me apart?
As long as my mind is sharp and the Life Altar isn't frozen—if it can still unleash its power—these frost creatures, mere equivalents of Seventh Level Great Demons, are nothing but a lavish feast for the Taotie!
"You've been raising them, slowly enhancing their strength and rank, hoping to wield them in the future to bolster your own power," Yu Yuan said with a smile. "Too bad they haven't had the chance to mature, to reach a level where they could pose a threat to me."
With a vigorous shake, the desiccated corpses of the cold beasts were expelled from his body, tumbling into the water below.
"Unrestrained Stage, Dao Integration, Dark Domain Frost Well. I stand within your well, and you do have the grounds for your confidence. But Ruan Fu, have you ever considered that your Dark Domain Frost Well, and you yourself, are also within the bounds of the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area?"
Yu Yuan's laughter boomed.
