The Demon with Holy Radiance

A spectral form slowly materialized above the woman’s decaying remains, quickly coalescing into her living likeness.

Yang An watched silently from the side, afraid to even breathe, let alone make a move.

Although he was merely a bystander, and they couldn’t sense his presence, the figures before him were likely from the highest echelons of two great Celestial Sects—he could tell from the tone of their conversation.

In the presence of such beings, even if this was just a memory fragment, he felt an overwhelming pressure.

’Is that the soul of the Bow Lady’s original self?’

Yang An just watched the spectral form above the woman’s remains in silence.

But what he found strange was that the crescent-shaped mark that had been on the woman’s right eye was now gone.

"We’re too late. A part of her soul is missing."

The other figure said, a note of dissatisfaction in their voice.

"So be it. If the part of her soul she lost is ’Joy,’ I’d rather she not resent me after she leaves. Forgetting all this and becoming a Wandering Soul would be fine."

The Sect Leader of the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect said wistfully.

"What if it was ’Desire’ or ’Anger’? Besides joy and sorrow, her other parts might eventually remember you."

"That doesn’t matter. By then, we will likely have long turned to dust. If she can remember me, and if we have any hope in the future, I will take her away from here."

"Heh. Drop the hypocritical act. If we don’t do this, there will be no hope at all."

The other figure let out an abrupt, cold laugh.

"My sect’s Twelve Royal Treasures have been shattered. If her soul cannot successfully imitate Undone Xie and protect the Kui, Zhou Quan, until he awakens, then what hope do we have? That is the question you should be considering."

After a brief silence, the Sect Leader of the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect gave his answer.

"I will use a Forbidden Artifact from my Southern Dipper Celestial Sect to compensate for the missing part of her soul. This replica cannot be merged with one of your Miaohua Celestial Sect’s Forbidden Artifacts, so let us handle it."

"That would be for the best."

The figure from the Miaohua Celestial Sect nodded.

The next moment, the two figures vanished on the spot, taking the soul of the Bow Lady’s original self with them. Everything around fell silent once more, verging on deathly stillness.

Yang An stood rooted to the spot, a storm raging in his heart.

’The conversation I just heard... I think I’ve just stumbled upon an incredible secret.’

’The Twelve Royal Treasures... Undone Xie... a replica...’

’It’s Miao Ye from the Riverbed Ancient Collection in the Xiyue River!!’

’The so-called Twelve Royal Treasures are the Seal in the Ancient Collection that suppresses Miao Ye!’

’So this was a contingency plan laid by the Five Great Celestial Sects?’

But what he hadn’t expected was that the Unidentified Arrow was actually made from the soul of the Bow Lady’s original self.

No wonder the Bow Lady, though originally just a Magical Artifact, could perfectly unleash the power of the Unidentified Arrow without any cost or backlash.

’Does the Workshop Master know the reason behind all this?’

’Otherwise, why would he have given me the Bow Lady after I obtained the Unidentified Arrow? How could there be such a coincidence?’

Now, Yang An understood. The Bow Lady’s origin was likely that missing part of her original self’s soul.

Only this could explain why the woman had the Bow Lady’s aura about her, yet wasn’t entirely the Bow Lady.

’In the eyes of the people from the Southern Dipper and Miaohua Celestial Sects, was she seen as the representation of some kind of emotion?’

’But where did she go?’

Yang An scanned his surroundings, but he couldn’t sense the Bow Lady’s aura. The two figures had taken the soul of her original self, and the place had returned to an eerie calm amid the cataclysmic ruin, yet nothing else seemed to have changed.