C1474 Formation!
Lowering his head, Yu Yuan frowned as he gazed upon Colorful Lake. Tiny, vibrant dragons danced like brilliant lightning, radiating a clear vitality and emitting a faint spatial aura. In the depths of Yu Yuan's eyes, a kaleidoscope of colors began to emerge.
Sizzle sizzle!
The Dragon Slash Platform beneath him shimmered with a spectrum of divine light, seemingly aiding him in his attempt to perceive something elusive.
"What are you looking at, kid?" Huangyin asked, his composure unshaken. He followed Yu Yuan's gaze toward Colorful Lake. "Thinking of going down there?"
"It's not out of the question," Yu Yuan replied with an easy smile.
He had detected an unusual spatial disturbance at the bottom of Colorful Lake even before making his move. The most pronounced ripples emanated from the very spot where the grotesque demon had settled its massive form. This involuntary association with the Origin Realm Gate led him to suspect a hidden passageway at the lake's bed, possibly connecting to the outside world.
Yet, even with the aid of the Dragon Slash Platform, the murky waters of Colorful Lake obscured his vision. He could only sense the faint spatial ripples that seemed to spread from the depths below.
"What have you sensed?" asked the white skeleton, breaking the long silence with an unexpected inquiry, noticing the peculiar expression in Yu Yuan's eyes.
"Ah!" Yu Yuan exclaimed, caught off guard by the sudden interjection of the spectral white skeleton.
"I've detected the spatial fluctuations, but clarity eludes me. Nonetheless, I suspect they've been misled by the Origin Realm God and have forged a gateway at the lake's bottom," he said, his lips curling into a cold smirk, his tone losing all pretense of courtesy. "I could tolerate the internal strife of the Vast Ocean, but if you two are conspiring with external foes, plotting against the myriad powers of the Vast Ocean from within and without..."
He shook his head, concluding, "Then I'll have no choice but to eradicate the threat at its root!"
Upon hearing this, the white skeleton's expression turned icy. He cast a probing look at the visibly anxious Yuen Qingxi and questioned, "Is what he's saying true?"
Yuen Qingxi, who had always been forthright in the presence of the white skeleton, found himself hesitating for the first time.
He appeared troubled, wrestling with the desire to reveal the truth while seemingly harboring some reservations.
"Mr. Yuan, unless you unfurl the scroll, he is not Youyu! Please proceed with caution!"
Huangyin's voice rang out with stern authority.
Yuen Qingxi's face registered a flicker of conflict before he made a decisive choice, descending from the air to kneel reverently before the white skeleton. Bowing his head, he implored, "Please forgive me. I must confess that all I have done, I have done for you and the Ghost Wizard Sect. It was all to see you return to this world, to lead us, and to restore the Ghost Wizard Sect to its former splendor."
As he spoke, he continued to bow deeply, his respect and devotion to the white skeleton shining through without a hint of falsehood.
The white skeleton observed him in silence, a glimmer of emotion surfacing in its hollow gaze. It also sensed a twinge of guilt towards him.
"Let it be," the white skeleton decided, choosing not to delve further.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The colorful little dragons that had been circling Yu Yuan now made their way down toward the Colorful Lake.
"Are you intent on sealing your own fate?"
Huangyin's face darkened, and a burst of purple devil fire leapt from the depths of his eye sockets, plunging into the Colorful Lake below.
Instantly, a fiery Flood Dragon emerged, its body seemingly crafted from the waters of the lake, yet infused with some alien substance.
The one-eyed Flood Dragon's pupil danced with the same purple devil fire, clearly indicating that it was now host to Huangyin's Devil Soul.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The bizarre Flood Dragon unleashed a torrent of fire upon the colorful little dragons, the breath of the flames as intense as subterranean fire.
The vibrant little dragons began to dissolve rapidly under the onslaught of the flames.
Boom!
With the emergence of the Flood Dragon, the surface of the Colorful Lake burst into fierce flames.
Elsewhere, the sky was thick with devils, ghosts, and other foul-smelling creatures, all under the command of the one-eyed Huangyin, who now began to arrange them into a formation.
The first formation they formed was, astonishingly, the "Soul Split"!
Devils and ghosts surged, roaring and shrieking with ear-piercing demonic sounds, as if they sought to tear apart anyone who could hear them.
When the "Soul Split" manifested, the space around the Dragon Slash Platform appeared as though it had been sliced by an invisible divine blade.
The space emitted creaking noises, seemingly on the verge of being ripped into fragments, threatening to shatter the Dragon Slash Platform, Yu Yuan, and the Evil Cauldron along with it.
"The Soul Split triggered by the Demonic Tide is quite intriguing," Yu Yuan mused, nodding as he stood atop the Dragon Slash Platform and gently stamped his foot.
A seven-colored ripple emerged from the edge of the platform, instantly stabilizing the space.
"Go!"
With a mere thought, the Evil Cauldron floating above his head surged towards the throng of demons and ghosts.
The dark cauldron began to spin and expand gradually.
Bunches of Demonic Marks on the cauldron's surface underwent bizarre transformations, seemingly reconfigured by Yu Yuan's soul threads into entirely new patterns.
Dark soul energy burst forth from the Demonic Marks as the spinning Evil Cauldron's mouth transformed into a vortex, ready to engulf the souls of all beings.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before the Soul Split could fully materialize, the demons and ghosts were swept into the Evil Cauldron like a deluge, only to vanish within its internal microcosm.
"Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation!"
"Soul Transformation Pool!"
Yuen Qingxi and Huangyin were suddenly thrown into disarray.
At that moment, the intricate lines on the cauldron's surface took on an air of profound mystery. The aura and scent emanating from them were unlike anything the Evil Cauldron had previously possessed.
It was the Soul Transformation Pool, hidden deep beneath the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, that bore such Demonic Marks!
This was the enigmatic array of the Divine Soul Sect, designed to target the malevolent entities howling within the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, including the Heavenly Devils deliberately released from the Realm's passage!
The Heavenly Devils, conjured by the Divine Soul Sect for their disciples to refine, were formidable.
Yet the devils and ghosts that hovered above, lacking the strength and intelligence of the Heavenly Devils, were of a much lower order.
In a mere moment, nearly ten thousand demons and ghosts were devoured by the Evil Cauldron. Within the cauldron's miniature world, they surged toward the recessed grooves at the base of the stairs.
Once trapped in the grooves, they were immobilized as if pinned down by steel nails, unable to move in the slightest.
Under Yu Yiyi's manipulation, the cauldron commenced the refining of these spirits, transforming them into subdued devils.
"You, you..."
Huangyin, one of the Earth Demon Ancestors, began to tremble. He watched in agony as the myriad demons and ghosts he had summoned were abruptly drawn into the Evil Cauldron.
"The secret arts and formations of the Evil Sect alone couldn't achieve this effect, but it seems you've forgotten where I began my journey of cultivation. In the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, I wielded the Soul Transformation Pool, slaughtering all in my path without fear, empowered by the Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation. Are you truly unaware of that history?"
Yu Yuan sneered with a hint of mockery, "Having such intimate knowledge of the Soul Transformation Pool, to the point where the Optimus Nine Slashes I mastered are etched into its walls, I am well-versed in its wonders!"
"To confront you, I must employ the techniques and formations of the Divine Soul Sect—after all, it was they who vanquished you!"
As he spoke, an additional twenty thousand demons and ghosts vanished into the cauldron's maw.
Huangyin was on the brink of madness. He resumed his chanting, using the ancient demonic tongue in a desperate attempt to command the escape of the spirits.
Yet, it appeared to be futile.
"Huangyin, I find myself truly grateful to you now, and I mean that sincerely. The true test of the Evil Cauldron's might, whether it can rival its former glory, hinges on this very moment!"
Yu Yuan closed his eyes atop the Dragon Slash Platform, his three souls in harmony as he concentrated on operating the Soul Transformation Formation.
Whoosh! The overwhelming tide of ghosts, demons, and spectral entities of various forms were irresistibly pulled into the Evil Cauldron, much like iron filings drawn to a magnet.
