C1783 Calming the Ghost Tide

In the mountains of the Ghost Wizard Sect, the Asuras gazed at the enormous ghoul glyph that had undergone yet another transformation, as if invigorated.

While Jee Ningshuang spoke, the light in the eyes of these tragic souls, now puppets of the Yin Vein, was dissipating.

Yu Yuan clearly saw streams of blue-grey smoke escaping from the depths of their souls.

These streams were being drawn into the Asura Talisman, which had expanded to include ninety-six different Asura symbols!

The souls, oppressed by the Shehun, were being exploited, and all the ghostly spirits unprotected by Youyu were once again set upon a path seeking their own demise.

Invisible, slender tributaries of the Styx, akin to soul pathways of the Yin Vein, materialized near the enigmatic Asura Talisman.

Wherever this talisman resided, those rivers and soul channels would also emerge.

"We..."

In the ominous clouds of Horror Land, Chu Ling, Luo Yue, and Qianjie, the three great Ghost Kings, watched the resurgence of the prismatic halos within them. Their once-held reverence for the Yin Vein had finally vanished.

Even they, due to the Asura Talisman's abrupt mutation, felt the resurgence of the slave imprint.

Each Ghost King, including the Heavenly Ghost and those within Horror Land, bore this slave imprint, rendering them unable to control themselves.

Youyu had bequeathed them the power to counteract the slave imprint, but he had not removed it, for doing so would have alerted the Yin Vein.

Whenever the slave imprint surfaced, the vibrant soul energy left by Youyu would trigger, aiding them in resisting the Yin Vein and preventing them from spiraling out of control.

Yet, there were many more ghosts, neither favored by Youyu nor always loyal to him, now fleeing Horror Land.

Their trajectory suggested they were headed for the Ghost Wizard Sect, drawn to that peculiar ghoul glyph.

"Stop them!"

The First Spirit flicked the Mindlock Diagram, wielding his Soul Artifact to intercept the ghosts rushing toward the Ghost Wizard Sect, intent on their own destruction, and forcibly detained them within the scroll.

Luo Yue and Qianjie, after a moment's hesitation, joined the effort to halt the ghosts and rebel against the Yin Vein.

From that moment on, they had decisively parted ways with the Yin Vein, brandishing their divine weapons, targeting the persistent Yin Vein beneath the earth's surface.

"Jiang Xingwen?"

Upon learning from Yu Yuan's account that the first to invoke the Asura's secret curse was none other than the female practitioner from the Taiyuan Sect, Xuanli's expression grew somber. "Perhaps it was her arrival, bearing the will of the Yin Vein, that led the reclusive Great Cultivator of the Ghoul Glyph Sect into a downward spiral," he mused.

"Has she met that person before?" Yu Yuan asked, astonished.

"Yes."

Xuanli gestured toward the icy remains of the Unrestrained Stage Great Cultivator. "He, too, is at the Unrestrained Stage. Since I've united the Ghoul Glyph Sect and the Voodoo Cult, he's only visited me once. He spends his days in a gloomy cave, etching the numerous talismans he's collected. Not long ago, Jiang Xingwen came to see him."

"Just the one time?"

As the current head of the Ghost Wizard Sect, Xuanli considered the Unrestrained Stage cultivator a member of his command.

Each Unrestrained Stage cultivator is incredibly valuable. Persuaded by Jiang Xingwen, and after secretive communications with the Yin Meridian, the Asura Talisman branded within his Yin God was triggered.

He ultimately transformed into an Asura, nearly allowing the triangular Asura Talismans to seep into the consciousness of Lianjing, Yuen Qingxi, and others.

"Jiang Xingwen won't escape this."

Yu Yuan shook his head, suddenly realizing that at the heart of the Yin Meridian's source, all beings from the vast expanse should offer their soul power when needed.

Jiang Xingwen had become its most devout follower, yet when cornered by Shehun, it would sacrifice her without a second thought.

Just like when it battled Shehun in the deep pool, it summoned every soul and ghost under the heavens.

Had Youyu not taken precautions, Chu Ling, Luo Yue, Qianjie, and even Yuan Qingxi, Lianjing, Youyu, and Xuanli would have been fodder for sacrifice.

Now it was Jiang Xingwen's turn.

"Furthermore, there are three other Unrestrained Stage cultivators with hidden Asura Talismans in their minds."

Jee Ningshuang looked up at the Asura Talisman that was nearing completion. With her Primordial Spirit, she sensed the world and pinpointed three great cultivators who could have been threats.

Among them were an elder from the Cold Yin Sect, a guest elder from the Crack Archipelago Merchant Guild, and a reclusive clan elder from the Chen family of the Luan Bird Empire.

"The three of them transformed into Asura Talismans, the kind Xuanli mentioned that could poison ghouls at the Unrestrained Stage," Jee Ningshuang said with a sneer of disdain. "Considering how the Unrestrained Stage cultivators were swayed by the Asura Talismans, they're prime candidates for our purposes."

"Provide me with the precise location, and I'll use the Dragon Slash Platform to teleport there instantly!" Yu Yuan declared with resolve.

"There's no rush. This Asura Talisman..." Jee Ningshuang's lips twisted into an icy smile as she cast a glance toward Horror Land. "It's concealed within the array and power of the Asura Talismans, and it's connected to them. We need to take the Asura Talismans to Horror Land."

"Do you need me to sever the connection?" Yu Yuan inquired softly.

"I'm perfectly capable of handling it myself." Jee Ningshuang's face bore a look of pride, as if she held no regard for the Yin Meridian: "For some reason, the Extreme Cold Dao Law I've mastered, along with my Ice Sword, seem to effortlessly shatter its soul force and array."

While Shehun and the Yin Meridian were engaged in battle, Yu Yuan and Tan Xiaotian had traveled to Hellfire Mountain. She, too, had been summoned back by Yu Yuan.

While she was deep beneath the Nether Abyss, she could vaguely sense the presence of the Yin Meridian and the tumult of the battle. Having access to the various Extreme Cold Realms, she had a premonition.

If she were to confront the Yin Meridian, the Extreme Cold Laws at her disposal, particularly the aspects related to the Frost Dragon, would surely deal a heavy blow to the source of the Yin Meridian.

She harbored no fear of the Yin Meridian even before it was subdued, much less now.

Thus, the tip of the Starfrost Sword pierced the massive Asura Talisman, constructed from ninety-six soul arrays.

At the sword's tip, brilliant starlight suddenly flared!

The soul threads linking to Horror Land and guiding the Asura Talisman toward the Yin Meridian were obliterated by the radiant sword light.

"These are new soul threads, devoid of my power," Jee Ningshuang offhandedly explained, her hand moving with the sword as effortlessly as if she were painting on air. "As the malevolent souls of numerous Asuras shifted and the spirits of thousands of ghosts converged, soul forces not my own began to reform the array. This externally formed soul array still seeks to erase my spiritual imprint and claim this Asura Talisman as its own."

"You're dreaming."

The renowned Starfrost Sword unleashed a flurry of blinding sword lights, dancing within the Asura Talisman that Ji Ningshuang had originally forged, now being slowly eroded by external forces.

Swoosh!

The sound of silver threads being severed echoed from the enigmatic talisman. "Translocation? No need for such hassle. We don't have to visit the other three realms."

With a delicate twist of her wrist, she directed beams of sword light, infused with the essence of extreme cold, precisely into the three nascent soul arrays.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

An elder from the Cold Yin Sect, a guest elder from the Babel Chamber of Commerce, and an aged patriarch from the Chen family of the Luan Bird Empire were reduced to fragments.

Millions of miles away, three Unrestrained Stage cultivators, swayed by Jiang Xingwen to ally with the interests of the Yin Meridian, met their demise in an instant.

"Let me quell this surge of the Asura Tide."

Amidst the scrutiny of many, Ji Ningshuang brandished her sword, showering down torrents of sword light.

Each stroke of her blade targeted the vast and arcane new Asura Talisman!

With every sword light that descended, a life beyond saving was lost in the Taiyuan Sect, the Crack Archipelago, or the Ghost Wizard Sect, their Asura souls bursting forth like fireworks.

The sound of souls being extinguished, like a string of firecrackers, resonated for quite some time.

"Done."

Sheathing her sword, she gazed upon the forlorn Asura Talisman, now riddled with holes and torn apart by her actions. "Two thousand seven hundred and thirty incarnations of Asura have been eradicated. Those who bore the mark of Asura in their minds, yet to be awakened, I've slain them as well."

"Only Jiang Xingwen remains. As long as she is unable to roam and implant ghoul glyphs in the minds of others, the disaster will not perpetuate."

"The suppressed entity lacks the strength to escape; it's incapable of initiating another Asura Tide."

Ji Ningshuang remained suspended in midair, her sword at her side.

She was indifferent to the potential backlash from the sects and powers of those she had eliminated.

Though she had taken many lives, anyone she deemed a threat, whether they had morphed into Asuras or not, was swiftly and ruthlessly extinguished by her hand.

Xuanli's gaze fixed on her, his expression darkening by the moment.

If the principles of the Great Dao indeed dictated a cycle of mutual generation and opposition, then Ji Ningshuang, the wielder of the Starfrost Sword before him, was the destined nemesis of both him and Youyu.

He could already sense it.

…