C1285 Nine Ice Balls
The Golden Rock Beast King, having narrowly escaped the clutches of the secular bird's hunting trap, met a grisly end.
Its death was particularly gruesome.
It was clear that Lin Zhuyun was taking her frustrations out on Ogeus.
His massive form, pulverized by the totem-poles, was still being fought over by the three peculiar totem-poles, greedily seizing his blood, bones, and demon soul.
In that moment, the totem-poles appeared to morph into ancient, bloodthirsty evilkinds, completely devouring the ninth-level Monster Lord.
Soon after, not even the remnants of Ogeus's bones remained.
The horrific and bloody spectacle sent shivers down the spines of all the Solar Spirit cultivators present.
Faang Yao, pinned under an evilkind totem-pole and unable to move due to his severe injuries, suddenly realized how fortunate he was to be alive.
Chu Yao, known as the Divine Healer, was shivering in a corner.
Ill-suited for combat and of a timid nature, he had ventured to the extraterrestrial Star River to seek refinement, hoping to further sculpt his recently tempered Solar Spirit Body with the wonders of the cosmos.
He had never anticipated encountering so many unforeseen dangers on his journey beyond the stars.
Chu Yao was on the verge of tears.
"Don't worry. Your Solar Spirit Body holds no value to the totem-poles. There's no profit in killing you," Lin Zhuyun said with chilling indifference. She regarded Chu Yao and the others as if they were disposable trash, almost as though she would be soiled by their mere proximity.
Yu Yuan, standing atop the totem-pole of the Dark Phoenix, breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Yuan Lianyao make her escape and enter the Crucible of Evil.
"Since Ogeus hailed from Shadow's Keep and was a ninth-level archdemon..."
He was well aware that the Abyssal Leviathan bore a grudge against Shadow's Keep and Devil Palace, for it was these two sects that had exerted their full strength to suppress it within the Embers Sea.
And it was the highest authority of Shadow's Keep who had initiated the conflict.
The Dark Phoenix had utilized thirty-six totem-poles to erect the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons, impaling his real body and condemning him to an eternal stay within the Embers Sea.
The Abyssal Leviathan bore a deep-seated hatred for the Demon Palace, and Ogeus, being an archdemon of Shadow's Keep, was naturally a prime target.
Moreover, his Golden Demon Blood, Demon Bone, and Demon Soul could amplify the might of the totem-poles, bolstering the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons to greater heights.
Why wouldn't she seize the opportunity?
Yu Yuan, gripping his sword sheath, dared not unsheathe the Baneblade known as Bloodhell at such a critical juncture.
He suspected that the myriad blood-red glimmers and the seven Bloodwraiths within Bloodhell might also become targets of the totem-poles.
Clutching the sheath, a thought echoed within him, "Frost Queen, take her and the Crucible of Evil and leave at once!"
"Master?" The Frost Queen looked up abruptly, her gaze piercing the cauldron to the world beyond, fraught with urgency. "She's unharmed. But what will become of you if I depart?"
"Yu Yuan!"
Inside the cauldron, Yuan Lianyao now moved with ease, her voice rising in a call.
This wasn't her first foray into the little world within the Crucible of Evil; the surroundings were well-known to her.
Amidst the familiar, she observed the Frost Queen, Grimlantern, Armor Crusher, the eerie Chebus, and the peculiar purple civet. She recognized that after years, the Crucible of Evil had been fully restored.
The Frost Queen's ability to converse and possess complete spiritual wisdom signified her transformation into a formidable Bane.
In that moment, Yuan Lianyao confronted her own inadequacies, a touch of self-pity creeping in.
"Let's save any discussions for after we've left this place and meet again."
Yu Yuan, as the master of the Crucible of Evil, could hear her voice clearly, observe the subtleties of her expression, and even sense her innermost feelings and complex emotions. "Don't fret over me. Lin Zhuyun has her formidable skills, and I have my own resources to rely on!"
Before Yuan Lianyao could respond, Yu Yuan commanded once more, "Take her and leave!"
"Alright!"
The Frost Queen dared not defy his command. With a nod, she activated the array within the cauldron.
The Crucible of Evil howled to life once more.
The Solar Spirit cultivators, some grievously wounded by the totem-poles of Shadow's Keep and others pinned beneath the cauldron, watched helplessly as the dark cauldron carried Yuan Lianyao away.
Throughout this ordeal, Lin Zhuyun truly honored her word, neither interfering nor making any superfluous moves.
Perhaps, in her view, Yuan Lianyao, with her flawed Solar Spirit Body and not considered Hellbreed by the Ruby Hand, was no longer significant.
She wasn't worth occupying Lin Zhuyun's thoughts or warranting vigilant defense.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The massive totem-poles of the evilkind moved away from the space between her and Yu Yuan, guided by her will.
Each standing atop their own totem-pole, they watched as all surrounding meteorites were pulverized into dust.
The space between them opened up immensely, with no obstructions remaining.
Lin Zhuyun, with her mastery over the totem-poles, carved out a vast battlefield amidst the fragmented star sea.
"You've truly disappointed me. After venturing into the extraterrestrial Star River for so long, you still haven't advanced to the Solar Spirit level."
Lin Zhuyun shook her head, having discerned that Yu Yuan's real body was not a melding of Solar Spirit and flesh.
At best, he was at the pinnacle of the Spirit Walk. She felt a pang of regret, "Someone like you doesn't warrant the use of the evilkind's totem-poles. It would simply be too dull."
Clusters of Frozen Flames surged beneath Lin Zhuyun's feet.
She stepped off the Frozen Flames, leaving the totem-pole behind, as if the formidable might of the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons was unnecessary. She drifted towards Yu Yuan.
Rip!
From the icy depths of her crystalline eyes, beams of frosty light burst forth. Even hundreds of meters apart, her pale, elegant hand effortlessly shaped an ice sphere.
Suspended in midair, the sphere was cleaved into a multifaceted crystal.
Whoosh!
The bizarre ice spheres with multiple facets flew toward Yu Yuan and gradually came to a halt before him.
Yu Yuan naturally cast his gaze upon them and witnessed the multifaceted crystals beginning to display a variety of spectacles.
The spinning multifaceted crystals...
On one facet, there appeared the specter of the Frostfiend race within a world of biting cold and ice, where countless Frostfiends, resembling scorpions, bowed to the frigid air, as if in prayer for divine favor.
The crystal turned once more.
The enigmatic vista of the Frozen Hellscape unfolded before him, revealing entrances to chillingly cold caverns at the very depths of the Hellscape, seemingly leading to the so-called "Wintermaw."
The crystal rotated again.
Gargantuan ice serpents coiled around towering ice mountains, clashing with the frost wyrms he had previously encountered, as if vying for dominion over the Frozen World and its rules.
The multifaceted ice crystal continued to spin, revealing to Yu Yuan a multitude of wondrous worlds.
Through the small multifaceted crystal, Yu Yuan seemed to traverse the vast Star River, encountering various ice-bound races.
The Frostfiends were merely one among them.
Gradually...
Yu Yuan found himself deeply engrossed in the multifaceted crystal. His Lunar Spirit, Soul Power, and consciousness were unwittingly drawn into different Frozen Worlds, lingering within, unable to focus.
When he finally noticed, he was horrified to discover the difficulty he faced in holding a single thought.
"Without advancing to the Solar Spirit level, it's all too easy to drift during the Spirit Walk phase. Then, the residual soul is confined, unable to regroup," Lin Zhuyun observed, watching the nine distinct frigid realms within the crystal where Yu Yuan's ethereal soul form flitted about. She shook her head gently, "It's far too simple. The remnant soul is lured out with no effort. Without the Crucible of Evil in hand, your soul is far too vulnerable."
Striding upon the Frozen Flames, she glided to the front of the multifaceted crystal and gently grasped it in her hand.
Before her, Yu Yuan stood by the evilkind's totem pole, his eyes vacant and hollow, as if his soul had been stripped away.
"Goodbye."
Nine beams of ice light shot forth from Lin Zhuyun's palm.
They swiftly penetrated the icy sphere, aiming to annihilate the nine soul spirits of Yu Yuan that had been ensnared within.
"How dare you approach me?"
Yu Yuan's real body maintained a vacant, lifeless gaze, but the hand gripping the scabbard suddenly lifted.
