C173 Activate the Formation!
The Soul Transformation Pool's walls were etched with numerous sword scars, emitting a dark luminescence reminiscent of a swift, murky current.
A profound and enigmatic transformation was quietly unfolding!
The once parched Soul Transformation Pool now seemed to brim with soul energy.
This energy was faint at first, barely perceptible to the senses.
Yet, anyone at the Penetrating Stage with condensed spiritual consciousness could acutely detect the shifts occurring at the pool's base.
Lee Yuchan, having been bluntly chastised by Yu Yuan without a shred of courtesy, gazed in astonishment at the pool beneath her feet, then fixed her eyes on Yu Yuan with a start.
In that moment, she grasped the source of Yu Yuan's unwavering confidence.
The Soul Transformation Pool was replenishing its soul energy, signaling the imminent activation of the ancient and formidable Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation.
Yu Yuan, recognized by the sword soul, had the power to manipulate the world's sacred barriers!
Even the formidable beings like the Green Incubus, the White Ghost, and the Sky Shocking Emperor harbored a deep-seated wariness of these world's constraints.
What of the others who were present?
"Yu Yuan, I truly had no other choice!" Lee Yuchan, upon her realization, swiftly capitulated. As she leapt from the Soul Transformation Pool, she hastened to clarify, "If there was any way to rescue you, I would not have stood by! Moreover, the Duan family has assured me that due to your ties with the Red Devil Sect, they will spare your life!"
Yu Yuan turned a deaf ear to her pleas.
"Let it be. I only wish for you to understand my predicament," Lee Yuchan said as she departed from the Soul Transformation Pool. "Since you are here, I will seek out Lee Yu. Rest assured, I will look after your sister Yu Feifei, Zhao Yafu, and the others from Darkmoon City."
With that, she soared away.
She had come to realize that Yu Yuan harbored a deep-seated resentment towards her; insisting on staying would only lead to mutual discontent.
Once the Heaven and Earth Restrictions manifested anew, Yu Yuan within the Soul Transformation Pool would seem as if aided by divine forces.
The Duan brothers, Qin Yun, or even the Alien Soul Demons would likely be powerless against him.
Before long, the Soul Transformation Pool was destined to become a blood-soaked battlefield within the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area!
And Yu Yuan was bound to emerge as the protagonist.
"Uncle Tianxi, how are you holding up?"
Duan Guanlan, wiping the blood from his face, staggered over to the site of the Crimson Bell and called out to Duan Tianxi.
The bell's surface still flickered with fiery sparks, and fierce ancient sword intent was shredding the power within.
The fire clouds dimmed like dying stars.
Beside the Crimson Bell, Duan Tianxi, his eyelids quivering, wore a look of agony as he gazed at the bell and lamented, "We've taken a massive hit this time."
The sword lights and intents erupting from the earth were far more formidable than those previously slain from the Rainier Empire.
Each sword light and intent, born from the Forbidden Area, brimmed with the profound mysteries of the Sword Dao, almost as if they had a life of their own, swirling around the bell and ravaging the Matrix Diagrams etched within.
The bell wasn't crafted by Duan Tianxi, but was a legacy of the Balrog.
Of course, it wasn't among the two or three artifacts the Balrog possessed before its demise.
Those artifacts, now the Red Devil Sect's most sacred treasures, were secretly preserved.
The bell, a creation commissioned during the Balrog's Soul Wandering Stage, became redundant after its advancement to the Yang God Stage. Left in obscurity, the Balrog decreed it should go to the Duan family's progeny. Through twists and turns, it eventually came into Duan Tianxi's possession.
This bell was among the pinnacle of Earth Level artifacts, a rarity on the Profound Sky Continent!
Yet, against the relentless assault of the Earth Sword Intent, the bell's inscribed Matrix Diagrams were being systematically dismantled.
Inevitably, the bell's rank would plummet.
And Duan Tianxi, once a formidable Yin God, was now grievously wounded by the sword light.
Despite being at the Yin God Stage, surviving such brutal sword intent in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area was no small feat. He owed his life to the bell and the profound Fire Cloud Infernal Spirit Spell he practiced.
"Duan Guanlan, who in the world is Yu Yuan?"
Fear gripped Duan Guanlan's spirit. The loss of the Devil Soul Talisman had nearly scared him witless. "Even the ancient Moon Demon was critically injured by the talisman, nearly perishing. That talisman seemed to subtly connect with our sect's Holy Land! Yu Yuan, merely at the Spirit Accumulating Stage with nothing remarkable about him at the time, how did he manage to destroy the Devil Soul Talisman inside?"
No matter how hard he racked his brain, he just couldn't make sense of it.
Duan Tianxi let out a heavy sigh, his spirits clearly deflated. "Even the Imperial Advisor's meticulous plans have gone awry. Not even he anticipated the emergence of Yu Yuan in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area. The ones we've slain were those who covertly probed our Duan family, suspecting our ties to the sect."
"The jade plates the Imperial Advisor entrusted to us before their arrival had been subtly altered, making it easy to keep them in check."
"It was surprisingly simple to eliminate them. Qin Yun posed no threat, and with Lee Yuchan persuaded, Yu Yuan's unexpected appearance took us all by surprise!"
Their conversation unfolded openly, with no attempt to conceal anything from Qin Yun.
Qin Yun, the Sect Master of the Seven Divine Sect, stood at the brink of the Soul Transformation Pool, peering into its depths.
With his Yin God senses, he detected black soul energy seeping from the sword scars on the pool's walls, streaming into the pool.
Yu Yuan sat tranquilly at one corner of the pool, as if purifying his Heavenly Soul, awaiting the full formation of the array.
Below, the latent sword intent and brilliance seemed newly awakened.
Above, the thunder and lightning were still in their infancy.
The sky remained clear, the "Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation" not yet cast, leaving the heavens unobscured.
"I never imagined the Imperial Advisor would continue to back the Duan family, fully aware of our connection to the Red Devil Sect," Qin Yun mused, casting a glance at Duan Guanlan and Duan Tianxi. "The Imperial Advisor..."
In that instant, he felt as if a watchful eye had settled upon him.
Qin Yun looked up sharply.
He noticed thick clouds gathering directly above them, as if deliberately positioned there.
He was abruptly reminded of the resistance he faced when his soul had attempted to soar to the heavens not long ago.
"Imperial Advisor!"
A spark of realization dawned on Qin Yun, his expression turning to one of shocked enlightenment.
"Sect Master Qin, you've finally caught on," Duan Tianxi said, shifting his attention from the bell to him. "The Imperial Advisor has been overseeing our struggle from above all along. You should know he's allied with us, which is why we stand fearless."
"I understand," Qin Yun said, his face etched with bitterness.
Thick clouds drifted overhead, ominously beginning to descend.
Suddenly, a thunderclap boomed from the depths of the void.
In an instant, the sky above was alive with the crackle and boom of lightning and thunder. Massive bolts, like serpentine dragons, appeared to streak down from the Outer Star River, drawn by some celestial lightning reservoir.
With the flash of lightning, innumerable bizarre lines materialized out of nothingness and began to coalesce.
It was as though a lid was being placed upon the heavens, with eerie clouds thickening into existence.
Startled by the tumult, the Imperial Advisor of the Rainier Empire, caught within the descending cloud mass, shot upwards.
He seemed unwilling to risk falling into the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area at that moment, lest he be ensnared by the Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation.
…
