C1443 How dare You!

Tong Laoqian was completely stunned.

Taruer, who had accompanied him, wore an expression of utter confusion. "Yu Yuan, Du Jing was once your herb slave in a past life, yet now he has transformed into a ghost."

"Du Jing!"

Feng Zhong was equally astonished.

Amidst the bewildered stares, Yu Yuan explained, "Three hundred years ago, as I was preparing for reincarnation, I set up several contingencies. On an inconspicuous island within the Sundering Isles, there's a concealed chamber. Apart from myself, Du Jing had some knowledge of it as well."

At this juncture, whether the hidden chamber beneath the obscure island was exposed or not became irrelevant.

He spoke candidly, "I retrieved the items from within last time I visited the Sundering Isles. Du Jing was on that island before Tong Laoqian expelled him. Recently, I discovered signs that someone had tampered with the chamber beneath the island. Aside from Du Jing, no one else comes to mind."

"Moreover, given Tong Laoqian's extreme reaction, combining these two events led me to suspect that he might still be alive."

His reasoned analysis brought a hush over the crowd.

"In the vast Everlands, the sacred sites for practicing necromancy are naturally our Land of Terror, where the Yin Qi is most abundant and potent. Yet, necromancers are not confined to the Land of Terror; there are formidable necromancy cultivators scattered across various forbidden areas."

"Take, for example, the Rainbow Ocean. Terra Fiends, while not necromancers, lack a physical form. They are born as soul spirits, congealed from a multitude of malevolent emotions. I sense the presence of the Rainbow Ocean in Du Jing's being, his soul naturally exuding a toxic corruption..."

"Therefore, Du Jing's residual soul lingers in the Rainbow Ocean. Should his physical form and Lunar Spirit both perish, he would turn to necromancy. It was on an island that Tong Laoqian passed by where he found the indigenous people dead and their souls devoured. Du Jing chose that moment to launch a surprise attack."

"With the strength of a Spectre, Du Jing, now a necromancer, nearly ensnared Tong Laoqian."

Tong Laoqian and Taruer discussed the sequence of events in detail.

After his breakthrough, Qin Yun sensed that Yu Yuan might not linger in the Sundering Isles for long. Rather than pursuing Yu Yuan, he decided it would be wiser to await his arrival in the Serpent Spine Mountains.

Consequently, Qin Yun made his way back to the Serpent Spine Mountains. There, he solidified his realm and marveled at the mysteries of the Solar Spirit, all the while keeping watch for Yu Yuan.

Tan Yuan returned to the Forgeroses, while Tong Laoqian and Taruer, the Ghost King, set off for the Sundering Isles together. During their separate explorations, Tong Laoqian was ambushed.

Upon receiving Tong Laoqian's distress signal, Taruer hurried to his aid, only to find that Du Jing had already stealthily withdrawn.

"Du Jing has likely been taken in by the Bloodbrawlers," Yu Yuan revealed, confident they were alone in the trading company's secret chamber.

"The Bloodbrawlers?" Tong Laoqian looked puzzled, clearly unfamiliar with the sect.

Taruer, with his long history stemming from Shadow's Keep, showed a flash of astonishment. "The Bloodbrawlers, vanished for tens of thousands of years?!"

"You're aware of them?" Feng Zhong asked, taken aback.

"I learned from Razses, the Ghost King, that the Soul Locking Diagram he mastered is a Bloodbrawlers' artifact," Taruer clarified.

"Soul Locking Diagram? The Spectre Binding Scroll?" Yin Xueqi's curiosity was piqued. "A relic of the Bloodbrawlers, indeed the Ghost King of the Land of Terror, could potentially harness it. Razses, with his ability to refine the Soul Locking Diagram for his own use, must possess a deeper understanding of the Bloodbrawlers than we do."

"Taruer, could I trouble you to summon Razses for me?" Yu Yuan asked.

Each Ghost King from the Land of Terror ruled over their own domain, beneath which flowed a Styx connected to the Root of the Lunar Meridian.

Utilizing the River Styx, a Ghost King could instantly return to the Land of Terror from their external endeavors.

As long as Taruer was not confined by any fearsome arrays or artifacts and remained unbound, she could, in a mere moment, return to the Land of Terror and to her associated Styx.

"I'm not sure if Razses is currently in the Land of Terror," Taruer answered earnestly.

"If there's another way, could you pass on a message for me? Oh, and if Luo Yue is around, ask her to visit the Sundering Isles too," Yu Yuan requested.

Feng Zhong burst into a wide grin at the mention of Luo Yue, chuckling, "That would be excellent!"

"Luo Yue's knowledge of the Poison Cult far exceeds any of ours, given that she was once their leader. She might also have some insights into the secrets of the Bloodbrawlers," Yu Yuan clarified.

"There's no need for me to go back to the Land of Terror just to deliver a message. Rest assured, I've got this covered!" Taruer promised, then added, "And do let me know when Green Willow returns to the Everlands."

Taruer showed a hint of shyness when speaking of the former supreme leader of Shadow's Keep, a captivating woman who, after falling in battle, became the Ghost King of the Land of Terror. She had always harbored feelings for Green Willow, who, it seemed, did not reciprocate.

"Understood," Yu Yuan consented.

The group remained in the Sundering Isles. Yin Xueqi continued her search for relics connected to the Bloodbrawlers on Celestial Isle, with Feng Zhong's assistance. Taruer employed a mystique to reach out to the Land of Terror, while Tong Laoqian focused on healing.

Over the next few days, women from Winter's Bite and Cloudwater Sect began dying under mysterious circumstances. The atmosphere in the Sundering Isles grew eerie, prompting solitary cultivators to depart. Even sects like Sunlit Order, Ebon Star, and Thunder Sect started arranging for their disciples to leave. Yu Yuan's notorious reputation was no laughing matter to them, and they took the situation very seriously.

Unable to expel Yu Yuan and without any directive from their sect elders other than to keep their distance, the other cultivators had no choice but to leave. As a result, within just over a week, the once-thriving Sundering Isles saw more than half of its cultivators vanish. Those who remained were determined to uncover the cause behind the recent spate of deaths.

With a whoosh, in the quiet of the hall, Yu Yuan opened his eyes and called forth the Dragon Slaying Stage from deep within his acupoint. Once his soul merged with the stage, he sensed the Crucible of Evil racing away.

After arriving in the Everlands, the Crucible of Evil and Yu Yiyi parted ways with Yu Yuan to gather more evil spirits.

While in the Everlands, with the Dragon Slaying Stage within him, Yu Yuan could always sense the approximate location of the Crucible of Evil and Yu Yiyi.

This time, he was jolted awake by the sensation of something hunting in the vicinity of the Crucible of Evil's activity—targeting Yu Yiyi in an attempt to seize the Crucible!

His expression turned icy as he expanded his remnant soul, reaching across the expanse of the Everlands to establish contact with Yu Yiyi through the Dragon Slaying Stage.

Without the Dragon Slaying Stage, he wouldn't have been able to sense Yu Yiyi over such a vast distance. Holding the Dragon Slaying Stage, space and distance seemed to dramatically collapse.

"Save me..."

He faintly heard Yu Yiyi's plea for help, emanating from the region controlled by the Terror Claws and Skyblight Cult.

Yet, even with the Dragon Slaying Stage's vision, he was unable to see what Yu Yiyi was enduring, only able to feel the cauldron spirit's distress and restlessness.

Who would dare to be so audacious?

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