C1477 The Four Great Vicious Spirits!

A towering knight astride a warhorse was swathed in gauze, his burly frame exuding an odor of decay. The white bandages that ensnared him were stained with blood, seemingly unwashed for millennia.

His head had been severed, yet a deep red soul at his neck coalesced into a face that was both noble and commanding. The headless knight, clutching a short axe in one hand, emerged and, with his other hand pressed to his chest, bowed to Yu Yiyi. "Long time no see!" he greeted.

Nostalgia etched the features of his soul-formed visage. Memories flooded back of leading legions of Bane, arrayed in the Circle of Damnation, to aid Yu Yiyi in battle.

Yu Yiyi, known for her fiery temper, uncharacteristically nodded in response to his enduring respect, her voice tinged with complexity, "You're actually still alive."

The knight, his head now just a cluster of soul, let out a raspy chuckle but said no more. After the Terror Claws' leader fell in combat, and both Yu Yiyi and the cauldron suffered heavy losses to their enemies, he too was beheaded and perished. He owed nothing more to Yu Yiyi or his former master.

His resurrection was owed to Huangyin's assistance, a debt of gratitude he was bound to honor. With everything changed, and allegiances no longer shared, what purpose would more words serve?

A thundersnake less than two meters long hovered in midair, its body dark as coal, its tiny eyes glinting with malevolence as though it were mocking Yu Yuan. A pungent, acidic stench emanated from the snake, causing Yu Yuan slight discomfort.

Suddenly, pitch-black lightning crackled from the snake's belly, seemingly lethal to soul entities. Within the Crucible of Evil, behind the Solar Spirit, the lower-ranked Terra Fiends grew restless at the sound of the sizzling lightning.

Yu Yuan was taken aback. A Terra Fiend had managed to possess and refine such an unusual thundersnake?

The Terra Fiend's decision to refine a thundersnake into his demonform was quite unexpected. A crimson flag whipped in the wind, its blood-scented fabric carrying a grotesque and terrifying face that formed slowly, erupting into maniacal laughter.

"Crucible of Evil! Hehe, Crucible of Evil!"

The alien soul within the flag cackled eerily, seemingly taunting Yu Yiyi.

"Traitor!"

Yu Yiyi huffed, her gaze fixed on the face within the crimson flag with revulsion. "I should have known it was you! I should have refined you when I had the chance inside the cauldron!"

"Regretting it now? Too late!"

The alien soul, having regained its peak strength after being liberated from the cauldron's slave seal by Huangyin, showed no fear of Yu Yiyi.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The tombstone, crafted from an unknown wood, stood erect in the air like a door. Its natural wood grain, resembling peculiar soul threads, exuded an air of mystery.

The wooden tombstone hovered, swaying gently as the grain patterns on its surface began to stir.

Then, a woman of graceful countenance emerged with poise.

She was a pure and ancient Terra Fiend, awakened when Yu Yuan moved the Dragon Slaying Stage from the Moonfall Sanctuary. Upon her emergence from the wooden tombstone, she paid no attention to the others.

She didn't even glance at Huangyin, Yu Yuan, or the Dragon Slaying Stage, her focus solely on White Bone and the God of Ghosts.

"Youyu, after tens of thousands of years, I never thought I'd see you again."

With an elegant visage, her specter exuded an air of nobility and dignity. The devil soul and the wooden tombstone appeared to be one, clearly indicating a longstanding acquaintance with White Bone.

Her greeting was meant only for White Bone.

Yet, after a brief look at her, White Bone offered no response, unable to recall her identity or history.

He didn't even nod in acknowledgment.

"You still have the same bad temper as before."

The woman from the wooden tombstone didn't seem bothered. She smiled slightly and turned her attention to Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit. She then addressed the Bloodwraiths and the Baneblade, "You react quickly. Had you been any slower, the refined Bloodwraiths wouldn't have been able to return."

"You still have the same old temper," remarked the woman from the wooden tombstone, not minding in the least. She smiled and then turned her attention to Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit, who was methodically capturing the Bloodwraiths into the Baneblade, "You certainly react quickly. Had you been any slower, these refined Bloodwraiths would have been beyond retrieval."

"That might not be the case," Yu Yuan replied, his Solar Spirit holding the Baneblade with a radiant smile, undaunted by the arrival of the four.

The Headless Horseman, along with the alien soul within the crimson flag, were once the mightiest of Banes, having fought alongside Yu Yiyi and the previous master of the Crucible of Evil. Once the knight's soul regained clarity, it willingly heeded Yu Yiyi's commands, often leading the charge into battle.

The alien soul in the flag, having regained its memories and past, was more closely aligned with Huangyin, having been swayed by his deceptions on several occasions, leading to unrest. Yet, like Huangyin, the alien soul couldn't escape the Crucible of Evil's grasp and, willing or not, was compelled to fight.

This was why Yu Yiyi's perceptions of the Headless Horseman and the alien soul within the flag differed greatly.

The thundersnake, with lightning in its belly, had been possessed and refined by a powerful Terra Fiend, a being not of ancient origins but a more recent creation. As such, it held no familiarity or reverence for White Bone.

The elegant specter, having refined the mysterious wooden tombstone for shelter, belonged to the ancient lineage of Terra Fiends, possibly having fought alongside Youyu. After all, the Bloodbrawlers and the Terra Fiends had always been staunch allies, a bond that stretched back to ancient times.

She knew Youyu and only Youyu, aware of all that had transpired with him, which is why she made a point to greet him upon their meeting.

The four enigmatic beings that had emerged were unlike the Bloodwraiths within the Baneblade, each possessing complete intelligence and spirituality. They were inherently powerful, and in the Defiled World—a place that allowed them to exert their full strength—Yu Yuan sensed that they could consume and refine seven Bloodwraiths, prompting him to swiftly retract the Baneblade.

However, Yu Yuan did not share the wooden tombstone Earth Fiend's confident assertions.

"You think my cauldron is fake?" Yu Yuan challenged, standing upon the Dragon Slaying Stage.

"Do you think my cauldron is a fake?" Yu Yuan's voice rang out, his real body standing tall on the Dragon Slaying Stage.

Whoosh!

As the stage drifted over, Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit joined his real body, and he spoke, "The four of you are indeed extraordinary. You're either Ghost King-level souls or Demon God-level Terra Fiends. You're brimming with spirit and have room to grow even stronger, which is a delightful surprise to me."

"Surprised? What's there to be surprised about?" the alien soul within the crimson flag screeched.

"Low-level Banes are easy to come by, but the strongest Banes require both chance and luck. My cauldron currently has no shortage of low-level Banes, but it's in need of ones like you," Yu Yuan stated earnestly.

Whether it's the Banes of old or the ancient and modern Terra Fiends, they are all formidable.

Once pulled into the cauldron and marked with its unique slave seal, their spirit can be twisted, enslaving them to serve his purposes.

The cauldron's return to the ranks of Divine Artifacts hinges on the number and quality of the strongest Banes!

Yu Yuan was pleased with the four before him.

"I demand the Crucible of Evil. I've been enslaved by this cauldron for an era; I need to wield it myself to avenge my past humiliation!" Huangyin declared.

He glanced at Yuan Qingxi.

"Agreed."

Yuan Qingxi nodded. Seeing that White Bone offered no objection, he stirred the Evil Curse within the gray fox to assist Huangyin and the four formidable spirit monsters.

"You're the one with the loudest laugh," Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit Body pointed at the crimson flag and commanded in an indisputable tone, "Come here!"

Before the alien soul in the crimson flag could spit out its scorn, it sensed something amiss.

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