C1776 Asura Talisman

Nestled near the border of the Silvermoon Empire lay the Jade Peak Mountain Range. Jiang Xingwen from the Taiyuan Sect, accompanied by her disciple Su Yan and several practitioners from both the Su family and the Taiyuan Sect, ventured into the mountainous expanse from the Silvermoon Empire.

Su Yan, whose beauty was usually striking, now wore a vacant expression as she dutifully trailed behind Jiang Xingwen. The other disciples from the Su family and the Taiyuan Sect mirrored Su Yan's demeanor, exuding an eerie sense of lifelessness akin to that of the walking dead. Throughout their journey, the group remained silent, not a single word exchanged among them.

Jiang Xingwen, who led the way, had impressively reached the Unrestrained Stage. Yet, an ominous aura clung to her, and wisps of white smoke occasionally seeped from her ears and nose. Every so often, Jiang Xingwen would glance back at Su Yan with a look of uncertainty.

It seemed she was contemplating some action involving Su Yan, but the potential cost left her indecisive.

Above them, Yu Yuan's Yin God materialized, surveying the group below in his spectral form. "Living beings, yet they resemble phantoms. The Yellow Court Little World is steeped in chilling Yin Qi," he observed.

Yu Yuan scrutinized the scene and discovered an intense concentration of Yin Qi within the core energy centers of Su Yan and the other Taiyuan Sect practitioners. This Yin Qi was more potent than their spiritual energy and vital essence, an exceedingly abnormal phenomenon. A living creature filled with Yin Qi would easily attract malevolent spirits and could potentially transform into an Asura.

"Asura!" Yu Yuan gasped, his focus sharpening on the souls of Su Yan and the others. He noticed their Yin Gods were siphoning strength from their Heavenly Souls and primary souls—a secret art used to transmute individuals into Asura.

A chill ran through Yu Yuan as he thought of Xuanli. The art of Asura refinement was a closely guarded secret of the Ghost Wizard Sect, with experts like Yuan Qingxi and Lianjing skilled in its practice. Du Jing had been a victim of such a transformation.

Now, those versed in the dark art were under Xuanli's command. Was the Ghost Wizard Sect plotting to avenge the Yin Meridians, scheming in the shadows to unleash their retribution?

As he pondered, he continued to observe discreetly and soon sensed Jiang Xingwen's presence deep within Su Yan's consciousness.

At that moment, Jiang Xingwen halted abruptly in the thick of the forest, her gaze shooting upwards with a hint of alarm.

Yu Yuan chose to reveal himself, his Yin God form descending gracefully to hover before Jiang Xingwen and her companions. "You're a member of the Taiyuan Sect, yet you dare to practice the secret arts of the Ghost Wizard Sect. Do you really intend to transform the Su family's disciples and your own sect's cultivators into Asuras? What are you thinking?" he challenged.

Su Yan had bridged a connection between the Su family and the Taiyuan Sect, drawing many talented youths from the Su family towards the sect.

Consequently, the Su family had become subordinate to the Taiyuan Sect. As an elder of the sect who had attained the Unrestrained Stage, Jiang Xingwen naturally had influence over the Su family members.

Yet, it appeared she was plotting to use them for nefarious purposes.

"What I plan to do is none of your business. You have no say in it," Jiang Xingwen retorted icily.

"I have no say?" Yu Yuan scoffed mockingly. "Don't kid yourself, Jiang Xingwen. Even the Taiyuan Sect is within my reach if I choose to intervene!"

Recently, the Yu family had faced threats not only from the Thunder Sect and the Spirit Void Sect but also from members of the Taiyuan Sect.

Now, with Jiang Xingwen's sudden appearance in the Jade Peak, Yu Yuan couldn't shake the suspicion that she might be orchestrating the Taiyuan Sect's aggression towards his family.

Jiang Xingwen, a descendant of Nie Qingtian's beloved, had once been ensnared by Mingdu, falling prey to a web of deception. After Mingdu's defeat in the struggle against the spectral forces of the White Bone, Jiang Xingwen's nature had drastically changed, harboring deep-seated hatred and even plotting his demise in the Starry Sky.

"Mingdu..." Yu Yuan mused, realizing that Jiang Xingwen might have been influenced by the will of the Yin Meridian through her connection with Mingdu.

Indeed, it happened just as predicted.

Suddenly, Jiang Xingwen spoke up, "I can no longer sense the will of the Yin Meridian."

"What is your connection to it?" Yu Yuan asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

"It has bestowed its favor upon me. The Ghost Wizard Sect's secret arts, the art of reincarnation, and the Asura refining methods largely originate from it. Given its favor, is it any wonder that I would craft an Asura?" Jiang Xingwen replied with a sneer, addressing Yu Yuan's Yin God, "It once told me that should I lose contact with it for an extended period, I must undertake certain tasks on its behalf."

"And so, I am beginning that work now."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a secret incantation was activated within the depths of Jiang Xingwen's soul.

At the Babel Chamber of Commerce branch nestled in the Jade Peak Mountain Range, an elderly member of the Su family, his complexion ashen, clutched his head and let out a pained howl. A novice in the Yin God Stage, his Yin God had suddenly gone rogue, consuming his main soul and Heavenly Soul, and in a flash, he was transformed into an Asura.

The moment he became an Asura, a flurry of ghoul glyphs materialized and embedded themselves into the brows of other cultivators in the palace.

Once the ghoul glyphs merged with their Yin Gods, these cultivators' Yin Gods began to consume their own Heavenly Souls and main souls, initiating their transformation into Asuras.

With each new Asura, a fresh wave of ghoul glyphs coalesced, seeking out the minds of adjacent cultivators.

Consequently, chaos erupted within the Babel Chamber of Commerce branch.

But the turmoil didn't end there.

On the Heavenly Source Continent, the Taiyuan Sect was also thrown into disarray as Asura Talismans burst forth. All practitioners who had attained the Yin God Stage and harbored Yin Gods within their minds fell prey to the ghoul glyphs.

Yin Gods preyed upon the Heavenly Souls, the souls of Yang Gods, and all soul energy of the main souls, each one metamorphosing into an Asura.

The Quietus Continent, an amalgamation of the Voodoo Cult and the Ghoul Glyph Sect, now under the leadership of the Ghost Wizard Sect and Xuanli, was likewise engulfed in pandemonium, ravaged by these ghoul glyphs.

"Master! A new Asura Talisman has emerged, more intricate than any we've deciphered before, and it has begun wreaking havoc within our own ranks!"

In a state of panic, Lianjing sought out Xuanli, whose face was overcast, and exclaimed, "I believe this is its fallback plan coming into play. It must have anticipated that we would ultimately align ourselves with Lord Youyu, so it has chosen to bestow its favor on someone else, imparting upon them a completely new Asura Talisman!"

"The Asura Talisman!"

High above the valley, Xuanli surveyed the stone structures and the treehouses, witnessing the agony of the Ghoul Glyph Sect and Voodoo Cult followers. He bellowed with authority, "Everyone, maintain a distance of at least a thousand meters from one another. No clustering together!"

On the Crack Archipelago, the Asura Talisman was activated as well. The island of the Taiyuan Sect succumbed first, with carriers of the Asura Talisman, their eyes and complexions tinged green, soaring towards other islands.

These individuals were in the throes of their Yin Gods consuming their other two souls, rapidly metamorphosing into Asuras.

At the instant of their transformation, new Asura Talismans would spontaneously materialize and drift into the consciousness of nearby practitioners. Once an Asura Talisman merged with a person's Yin God, they too would become just like the others.

The Asura Talisman outbreak spread across the Heavenly Source Continent, the Quietus Continent, and the Profound Sky Continent.

Yu Yuan, with a mere thought, called forth the Dragon Slash Platform from his true form in Elfview Town, enveloping the entire town beneath a lucent canopy.

"Have you lost your mind?"

His Yin Spirit confronted Jiang Xingwen, who was witnessing the disturbances at the Babel Chamber of Commerce branch. He fixed her with a piercing gaze and demanded, "You're obeying a foreign entity? Do you even realize what you're doing?"

"A foreign entity?"

Jiang Xingwen's laugh was cold and mocking. "Back in Horror Land, didn't you also collaborate with such beings? That skeleton ascended to become Youyu through the spiritual path of a foreign entity. And isn't it true that Xuanli and the Ghost Wizard Sect flourished under its patronage?"

"So, it's fine for you to cross the bridge and then destroy it, but not for them to retaliate?"

With each word, Jiang Xingwen's bitterness deepened. "Youyu has grown too powerful and now turns a blind eye to its demands, the very epitome of ingratitude! Sensing Youyu's change of heart, and knowing that Xuanli, Yuen Qingxi, and all the Ghost Kings were under Youyu's influence, it shifted its favor to me. What's so wrong about that?"

"I don't care whether it's an outsider or not. I simply heed its words and assist it in doing its work well!"

"Since it has suffered a calamity, I will fulfill its wishes and transform the vast expanse into a paradise for the Asura! I will turn the entire world into a land of utter terror, where all flesh and blood creatures will fall to the Asura!"

Jiang Xingwen's voice rose, her expression one of unyielding madness.

"The whole expanse?" Yu Yuan's face paled, "Where else but the Jade Peak?"

"You'll find out soon enough!"

Jiang Xingwen sneered malevolently, her eyes brimming with venom, "You caused the death of Mingdu, and now you seek to destroy it! You, Yu Yuan, and your Divine Soul Sect, are all deserving of death a thousand times over! Youyu, Xuanli, and all those favored by it, if you dare to defy its commands, then you too shall perish along with the expanse!"

She was the embodiment of the Yin Meridian's will, her soul twisted as she voiced the dark desires of the Yin Meridian.

With the Yin Meridian repressed by Shehun and sensing its impending eternal silence, it set Jiang Xingwen's scheme in motion, compelling her to light a new Asura Talisman, intending to inflict torment upon the entire expanse.

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