C1776 Voodoo Charm
Nestled near the border of the Silvermoon Empire lay the Serpent Spine Mountains. Jiang Xingwen from the Abyssal Dawn, along with her disciple Su Yan and several cultivators from both the Su family and the Abyssal Dawn, ventured into the mountains from the Empire.
Su Yan, striking in appearance, seemed somewhat vacant as she trailed behind Jiang Xingwen. The other disciples, much like Su Yan, exuded an eerie stillness, as if they were mere shells of themselves, devoid of life.
The entire party journeyed in silence, not a single word exchanged among them.
Jiang Xingwen, at the forefront, had incredibly reached the Unbound Realm. Yet, an ominous aura clung to her, with wisps of white smoke occasionally seeping from her ears and nose.
Every so often, Jiang Xingwen would glance back at Su Yan with a look of indecision. It was as if she wanted to use Su Yan for some purpose but was acutely aware of the steep cost, leaving her in a state of uncertainty.
Above them, Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit materialized, observing the group below in his spirited body form. "Living beings, yet they resemble ghosts. Even the little world within the Golden Sanctum is permeated with this chilling Yin Qi," he mused.
Yu Yuan scrutinized them closely and discovered an intense concentration of Yin Qi in the elixir fields of Su Yan and the other cultivators. This Yin Qi was more potent than their spiritual energy and vitality, an alarming anomaly.
Living creatures with bodies saturated in Yin Qi were easy prey for ghosts and could potentially transform into... Voodoo Shades!
"Voodoo Shades!" Yu Yuan gasped, his focus narrowing on the Mindscape of Su Yan and the others. He observed their Lunar Spirits consuming the power of their heaven souls and dominant souls.
This was the arcane art of transforming a person into a Voodoo Shade!
A shiver ran through Yu Yuan as he thought of Xuanli. The Bloodbrawlers held the secret to this dark craft, with Yuan Qingxi and Lianjing being particularly adept at creating Voodoo Shades. Du Jing himself had fallen victim to their sinister methods, turned into a Voodoo Shade by their hands.
Those who were adept at refining Voodoo Shades were now all under Xuanli's command. Was it possible that the Bloodbrawlers intended to defend the Lunar Meridian and stir up trouble behind the scenes?
With this thought in mind, he continued to observe discreetly and soon picked up on Jiang Xingwen's presence within the depths of Su Yan and her companions' Mindscape.
At that moment, Jiang Xingwen halted abruptly in the thick of the forest, her gaze shooting upward with a sense of alertness.
Yu Yuan chose to reveal himself, allowing his Lunar Spirit to drift down and hover before Jiang Xingwen and her group. He confronted her, "You're part of the Abyssal Dawn, yet you practice the Bloodbrawlers' arts. You even intend to turn the Su family's disciples and your own sect's cultivators into Voodoo Shades. What exactly are you plotting?"
Su Yan had connected the Su family with the Abyssal Dawn, drawing many of the family's talented youths toward the sect.
Consequently, the Su family became a subordinate to the Abyssal Dawn. As an elder of the sect, now in the Unbound Realm, Jiang Xingwen naturally had sway over the Su family members.
Yet, it appeared she planned to use them for some nefarious purpose.
"What I plan to do is none of your concern, and you're in no position to interfere," Jiang Xingwen retorted icily.
"Not in a position to interfere?" Yu Yuan let out a derisive snort. "Don't flatter yourself, Jiang Xingwen. Even your Abyssal Dawn isn't beyond my reach."
Not long ago, aside from members of the Thunder Sect and the Ethereal Void Sect, individuals from the Abyssal Dawn had also harbored ill intentions toward the Yu family.
Now, with Jiang Xingwen's sudden appearance in the Serpent Spine Mountains, Yu Yuan couldn't shake the suspicion that she might be orchestrating an assault against the Yu family from behind the scenes.
Jiang Xingwen, a descendant of Nie Qingtian's beloved, had once been ensnared by Dhoreus in the Land of Terror, falling prey to a meticulously crafted illusion of affection. Defeated in the conflict between White Bone and the God of Ghosts, she was unable to escape that entrapment, which drastically altered her temperament. Since then, she harbored a deep-seated hatred for Nie Qingtian, even harboring thoughts of murder under the extraterrestrial skies.
"Dhoreus..."
Yu Yuan had an epiphany, realizing that Jiang Xingwen might have been in contact with the will of the Lunar Meridian through Dhoreus.
Sure enough.
In the next moment, Jiang Xingwen suddenly asked, "I can no longer sense the will of the Lunar Meridian."
"What is your connection to it?" Yu Yuan asked with a furrowed brow.
"It has bestowed its favor upon me. The arcane practices of the Bloodbrawlers, the reincarnation techniques, and the methods for refining Voodoo Shades largely come from it. Since it has shown me favor, is it any wonder that I would create Voodoo Shades?" she retorted with a sneer.
Jiang Xingwen continued, addressing Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit, "It told me that if I were unable to reach it for an extended period, I should carry out certain tasks on its behalf."
"And so, I've begun to act."
As soon as she finished speaking, a spell was activated deep within Jiang Xingwen's soul.
At the Skyreach Consortium branch in the Serpent Spine Mountains, a Su family elder with a ghastly pale face suddenly clutched his head and let out a mournful cry.
He was a cultivator who had only recently entered the Lunar Spirit Stage. His Lunar Spirit had gone rogue, consuming his dominant and heaven souls, and in a flash, he morphed into a Voodoo Shade.
As he transformed, Ghoul Glyphs materialized and zipped into the foreheads of other cultivators in the palace.
The Ghoul Glyphs merged with their Lunar Spirits, causing them to also consume their heaven and dominant souls, initiating their transformation into Voodoo Shades.
With each new Voodoo Shade, additional Ghoul Glyphs were created, burrowing into the minds of nearby cultivators.
Consequently, chaos erupted within the Skyreach Consortium branch.
But the turmoil didn't stop there.
On the Euwrea Continent, the Ghoul Glyphs caused a similar outbreak. All cultivators who had attained the Lunar Spirit Realm and harbored a Lunar Spirit within their minds were being invaded by the Ghoul Glyphs.
The Lunar Spirits were consuming the heaven souls, the Solar Spirits' souls, and all the Soul Power of the dominant souls, causing them to evolve into Voodoo Shades.
The Land of Quiescence, a territory established by the merger of the Poison Cult and the Binders of Shadows and led by Xuanli, was also thrown into disarray, ravaged by these Ghoul Glyphs.
"Master! A new Voodoo Charm has emerged, more enigmatic than anything we've deciphered before. It's erupted from within us!"
In a state of panic, Lianjing sought out Xuanli, whose face was clouded with darkness, and exclaimed, "I believe it's the contingency it left behind to strike against us. It must have anticipated our eventual alliance with Lord Youyu, so it has bestowed its knowledge of a brand new Voodoo Charm upon another!"
"Voodoo Charm!"
Xuanli, hovering high above the valley, gazed down at the stone buildings and the wooden huts perched in the trees. He witnessed many followers of the Poison Cult and the Binders of Shadows clutching their heads in agony. He bellowed, "Everyone, maintain a distance of a thousand meters from one another. Do not gather together!"
On the Sundering Isles.
The same Voodoo Charm was activated, with the island of the Abyssal Dawn succumbing first. Many carriers of the Voodoo Charm, their eyes and complexions tinged green, took flight towards neighboring islands.
Their Lunar Spirit was engulfing their other two souls, rapidly metamorphosing them into Voodoo Shades.
As they turned into Voodoo Shades, new Voodoo Charms spontaneously materialized, drifting into the minds of nearby cultivators. Once a Voodoo Charm merged with their Lunar Spirit, those individuals were transformed, becoming just like the rest.
The outbreak of Voodoo Shades had spread to the continents of Euwrea, the Land of Quiescence, and Aetherius.
Yu Yuan's thoughts flickered, and from his real body in Thylethlume, he conjured the Dragon Slaying Stage, enveloping the entire town in a luminescent white canopy.
"Have you lost your mind?"
His Lunar Spirit loomed before Jiang Xingwen, sensing the disturbance at the Skyreach Consortium's branch. He glared at her and demanded, "You're obeying the Lunar Meridian, an alien entity? Do you even realize what you're doing?"
"An alien entity?"
Jiang Xingwen let out a cold laugh, "Back in the Land of Terror, didn't you also collaborate with such beings? That White Bone, didn't it ascend to become the God of Ghosts through the Path of the Soul, transforming into the Youyu we know today? Xuanli, the Bloodbrawlers, weren't they all graced by its favor?"
"Why is it that you're allowed to cross the river and burn the bridge, yet it's not allowed to retaliate?"
With each word, Jiang Xingwen's bitterness deepened. "Youyu has grown too proud, blind to its needs, like an insatiable ingrate! It sensed Youyu's betrayal and knew that Xuanli, Yuan Qingxi, and all the Ghost Kings were under Youyu's influence. So it shifted its favor to me. What's wrong with that?"
"I don't care whether it's a different kind or not. I'm just following its instructions and helping it get things done!"
"Since it has suffered a calamity, I will fulfill its wishes and transform the Everlands into a haven for Voodoo Shades! I intend to turn the entire world into the Land of Terror, where every living creature becomes a Voodoo Shade!"
Jiang Xingwen's voice rose in pitch, her face twisted with obsession and insanity.
"The entire Everlands?" Yu Yuan's face darkened with concern. "Where else but the Serpent Spine Mountains?"
"You'll find out soon enough!"
Jiang Xingwen laughed malevolently, her eyes brimming with venomous spite. "You caused the death of Dhoreus, and now you seek to destroy it! You, Yu Yuan, and your Boulderdawn Sect are deserving of death a thousand times over! Youyu, Xuanli, and all its favored ones, if you dare defy its commands, then you too shall perish along with the Everlands!"
She was the embodiment of the Lunar Meridian's will, her soul twisted, voicing the dark desires of the Lunar Meridian.
The Lunar Meridian, oppressed and sealed by the Soul-Capturing force, realizing it was on the brink of eternal silence, activated Jiang Xingwen as its pawn. She was to light the new Voodoo Charm, intending to afflict the entire Everlands with its curse.
