183. Past Mysteries
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At the now desolate Abyss of No Return, Feng Lian had foreseen Yu Wang's return...
...and she felt a stab of anger towards Fate, which had toyed with her and Yu Xuan!
But she had just overcome the so-called Love Tribulation after all...
Her heart was indeed tempered, calm enough now to see the bigger picture.
She would never let Yu Xuan's sacrifice go to waste, but most importantly, she would never let the world go to ruin if Yu Wang ever roamed free!
However, after her fight with Yu Wang, and with these last visions, her lifeforce was already spent.
She might not last more than a few days...
It was better to pour even more of her essence into the stars, boldly breaking the Star Edict one final time to trace the trail of events behind Zhurong Fen's existence...
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Yu Xuan had completely sealed Yu Wang, but there was something they had missed.
The murder scene in that secluded valley, where Yu Wang had first surfaced and killed Feng Lian's father...
Bits of his demon aura had remained, and somehow, they had found their way to the closest remnant of his essence.
The half buried in the Floral Realm!
There, Yu Wang slowly grew his strength, feeding off the flowers in those fields.
But only Yu Xuan could truly break the Demon Seal!
And besides, since Yu Wang had only ever existed as a small part of Yu Xuan, he would also need a dragon body exactly like Yu Xuan's... a body with a similar core and pearl.
But since Yu Xuan was no more, Yu Wang turned his sights towards Yu Xuan's blood dragon relatives.
That meant either a member of the demon royal family, all of whom Yu Wang had already killed...
...or a member of Sky Realm's royal family.
The choice was simple!
For thousands of years, Yu Wang used his ice essence to create Zhurong Fen, an empty vessel, and then planted her false soul within the previous Sky Empress, the Floral Deity's daughter who had returned home for a visit.
But Yu Wang underestimated Yu Xuan's determination to keep him in check, and Feng Lian smiled as a familiar face appeared in the Stars, filling her heart with warmth.
Even in death, Yu Xuan was determined to fulfill his promise and never let Yu Wang have his way!
So Yu Xuan would eventually be reincarnated somewhere far from Sky or Shadow Realm... the two realms which had led to all this.
Hidden in the mortal realm, he would be born as Yin Xiaolong, whose mere existence would become a stumbling block on Yu Wang's path, directly interfering with his resurrection...
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The visions broke as Feng Lian ran out of power, but a smile remained on her lips as tears streaked down her face.
"Hao! Hen hao!"
She didn't know what would happen after that, but since Yu Xuan had laid the groundwork, then she could only make things a little easier for him!
Drawing a breath, she performed a final series of complex seals.
Her phoenix aura burst forth, more powerful than it had ever been, but there was a sad air of finality as she swept her arms counter-clockwise, then clockwise, making tiny white orbs appear around her.
This move was the ultimate technique of any Night Immortal... one she had not come close to mastering, as she had only been the Vice.
But any little wave she could make was enough!
It was a technique that would surely cost her life and any possibility of rebirth, as it involved realigning a powerful star.
But Feng Lian didn't care.
She boldly began manipulating the stars, ensuring Zhurong Fen would never be born first.
"If Fate can use me, then I can certainly use it!" She said, even as blood flowed from the corners of her lips.
And so, Zhurong Fen was born second.
There was no telling how this tiny shift would change future events, but it would prevent Zhurong Fen from achieving her goals too early, buying time until Yu Xuan's incarnate grew much stronger!
Feng Lian thought of doing so much more to help him...
But her aura was already waning.
So she poured the last of her essence and memories into her Phoenix Feather and sent it into the star of Yan Liwei, an unrelated Phoenix.
Feng Lian couldn't help the flood of sadness that overcame her as she finished the spell...
She could have used this little Phoenix to meet Yu Xuan again in some way, but the future held no place for her, and she could never be reborn...
Still, she was content.
This Yan Liwei was a once-in-a-millennia Golden Phoenix who's Sunfire burned much brighter than hers.
Putting her on Yin Xiaolong's path would make her an immense help if Yu Wang ever resurrected, and the memories within her might lead to his defeat!
"A-Xuan..." Feng Lian weakly uttered, staring into the vast Abyss. "It's enough to know you'll live a better life someday!
"Perhaps... perhaps you two will have a different ending..."
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..
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Back in Yu Shui City, the memories swirled within Luoyin, drawing to a close...
At the Abyss that day, a familiar face had appeared with a few immortals to find Feng Lian.
It was Old man Bao, reminding Luoyin just how old his great-granduncle was!
Reclusive by nature, Old man Bao and a few of the older dragons had been in seclusion when the war began.
It was only after those two Immortals escaped with the Sky Emperor and raised the alarm that Old man Bao had rallied his kin and the elder immortals, hastening to the Abyss.
By then, Feng Lian was hanging by a thread.
She had just enough time to give the 'Golden Phoenix' prediction, and then say,
"The Demon King is no more..."
They misinterpreted her words and assumed Yu Wang was dead, believing she had somehow spent her life force to defeat him.
And as for the 'Golden Phoenix' prediction itself, Feng Lian had deliberately given it because it was necessary.
Feng Yuexia, a future peacock to be born directly within Feng Lian's family, was already destined to steal Yan Liwei's identity, no matter what.
Without the prediction, there was no fanfare surrounding Liwei's birth, so the Swallows had not been watchful, making it easy for Feng Yuexia and her mother to steal Liwei's powers, remaining close enough to poison her without a trace.
And this would eventually lead Yan Liwei to an early death...
But Feng Lian's prediction fanned the flames of greed even higher, making all eyes turn towards the Bird Clan. With these higher stakes, all the Swallows had witnessed Liwei's birth, and her parents instantly noticed what Yuexia's mother had done.
So even though Yuexia successfully stole her identity, the Feng family couldn't act rashly and harm Liwei in any notable way, letting her grow safely.
But her existence would remain a constant thorn in Feng Yuexia's side, and this enmity would eventually push Yan Liwei to the edge and set her right onto Yin Xiaolong's path, saving her life and bringing her Sunfire and Feng Lian's memories to him...
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Luoyin finally opened his eyes.
...just in time to grab Weiyan's wrist and tug her behind him, shielding them both against a direct attack from Yu Wang.
Yu Wang had turned his attention to them, and he presently wore an ugly look, almost as if he could sense the winds changing.
By now the wraiths were swiftly vanishing under the attack of the golden light... a technique Yu Wang now recognized as an advanced Purge.
The Elder Immortals had reinforced their counter-attacks on the wraiths, and the remaining Swallows were safe within Yinying's bell.
Yu Wang's Darkness spell had been decimated.
But what bothered him most was Zhang Luoyin...
Less than three minutes had passed since Xu Weiyan arrived with her golden light, and yet the look in Luoyin's eyes had changed, reminding him of...
'Yu Xuan...?!'
"Hmph." Luoyin stepped forward. "Long time no see... Did you enjoy the past five hundred thousand years spent like a rat in the gutter?"
The statement confirmed Yu Wang's suspicions and his expression turned even uglier, his blood-red eyes narrowing at Luoyin.
But Luoyin's lips only bent in the most insulting way possible. "And you said I was a 'mere piece of essence'... Half a millennia only improved on your shamelessness?"
Yu Wang kept his calm. "You've indeed recalled your past. But so what? Whatever the case, I'm the one who has existed over five-hundred thousand years, and I bear your original strength and knowledge!"
This was indeed true...
Despite his grand past lives, Luoyin was presently still in the Universal Tier (Grand Immortal).
Yet he remained unfazed...
He... did not feel at all like the Yu Xuan in Feng Lian's memories, and it felt a bit like watching someone else's life play out within him.
But the memories had unraveled the mystery... The uncertainty which had been Yu Wang's greatest advantage so far.
And with the mystery cleared, Luoyin could finally make some sense of past events.
It explained how his existence prevented the demon seal from working.
Not only had his very existence suppressed the Demon Seal, he had also somehow been in all the right places as 'Yin Xiaolong' to block their plans in any way he could!
The memories also explained why the dark aura had latched onto Yin Xiaolong's core so furiously in the past, to the point where Liwei's Sunfire hadn't been able to purge it.
The dark flame had originally been a part of him, so naturally it had merged with him almost at once!
As for Zhurong Fen's unwavering loyalty to Yu Wang... She had been nothing but a faux soul created with a singular purpose.
Even her attraction to Yin Xiaolong was likely because she was suddenly confronted with the brilliant light of the original Yu Xuan, as opposed to Yu Wang's dark shadow.
As for Zhurong Fen's knowledge of the stars, Yu Wang possessed Yu Xuan's knowledge, so it hadn't been too hard to teach Zhurong Fen how to manipulate the Stars!
And finally, Feng Lian's memories revealed why Yu Wang had now awakened, despite Luoyin being alive...!
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