C182 Slaughter!!
The human head dragon body alien soul, stretching dozens of meters long, swayed gently.
Within a radius of a hundred miles, the chaotic and unruly divine force seemed to be drawn and pulled by its presence.
A mix of gray, milky-white, dark red, and various other energies, along with peculiar crystals, bone debris, and fragments of items, all flowed into its dragon form.
Segment by segment, the dragon body expanded, growing longer and more sinuous.
In an incredibly brief span of time, the human head dragon body had stretched to nearly a hundred meters, as thick as a cascading waterfall.
Brilliant golden light burst forth from within the dragon body, dazzlingly bright to the point of blinding.
He, who initially lacked a physical form, had somehow forcefully condensed a corporeal body from the myriad spiritual energies, worldly impurities, and filth.
Though not made of flesh and blood, it exuded an aura of unparalleled might.
"Howl!"
The muscular figure let out a roar, and patterns of golden light materialized in the sky.
Meanwhile, Duan Tianhong, engaged in intense combat, noticed a hissing sound emanating from the bubbling magma pool.
Upon closer inspection, one could see numerous golden boas within the magma pool.
The boas, small as serpents, showed no fear of the intense flames, darting through the molten liquid with ease.
The burly man flashed a grin and suddenly turned his gaze toward Duan Tianxi.
Duan Tianxi let out a muffled grunt, seized Duan Guanlan, and swiftly departed.
"Ha ha!"
The man with the human head dragon body, his dragon tail undulating like a stream of golden light, abruptly pursued Duan Tianxi.
Golden dragon scales shed from his body, glittering as they followed in hot pursuit of Duan Tianxi.
Simultaneously, the leafless branches of the tree monster transformed into spears and swords, thrusting towards Su Xiangtian, Lin Fengyan, and the other cultivators from the Silvermoon Empire.
The perched alien soul archdemons vanished into the branches.
Each branch, in the blink of an eye, seemed to be imbued with boundless strength.
"Sssst!"
A peculiar sound whispered through the cosmos, as if leaves were gently touching the ground.
The cultivators from the Silvermoon Empire, most of whom were in the late period of Subtlety or at the Lunar Spirit Stage, were visibly shaken.
The tree monster's branches were stark and leafless.
Yet in their minds, in their perceptions, they could vividly envision the leaves.
Their eyes could not see, but their souls could sense, and their spiritual sense could detect the omnipresent leaves.
The eerie rustling was the sound of these invisible leaves falling upon them.
Or perhaps, they were descending into their Mindscape.
The current head of the Lin family, Lin Zhuyun's great uncle, suddenly had eyes clouded with pain and confusion.
Withered leaves began to emerge quietly in the depths of his gaze.
Without his awareness, blood started trickling from the corners of his eyes.
Yet, he was oblivious to it.
In the instant the tree monster launched its attack, the blood shadow mysteriously vanished above the Soulforge Pool.
Following the disappearance of the blood shadow, all the cultivators from the Crimson Sun Empire and the Silvermoon Empire felt their vitality roil and the Profound Gate shake.
Yu Yuan, at the bottom of the Soulforge Pool, was overwhelmed by a crushing pressure descending from above.
His chest was so heavy he felt an urge to scream, as if that might somehow alleviate the discomfort.
With his profound knowledge of Colddeath's mystique, he quickly realized that the first elder of Colddeath had used himself as the nucleus to activate the blood sacrifice magic circle.
His blood was the essence of the blood sacrifice magic circle, suspended high above.
All those within its reach, including the Wraith Ape and other archdemons, were constrained by the blood sacrifice magic circle if they had flesh and blood.
Of course, the elder had the freedom to target anyone at will.
He had clearly spared Yuan Lianyao and extended goodwill towards Yu Yuan, but when Terra Fiend Fides decided to act, Ann Jieshan, the elder of Colddeath, intervened as well.
"He did it for your sake, too."
Fides, the Terra Fiend, said with a smile, "Whether it's me or him, we're both willing to assist you first. You need the Soulforge Pool to be brimming with Soul Power, and you want the magic circle reactivated. In fact, our goals are aligned."
Yu Yuan paused, "Are you certain?"
He harbored not the slightest trust in the Terra Fiend Clan, especially after the precedent set by the White Walker.
The Terra Fiend was notoriously cunning and despicable, infamous for its devious plots. Having been severely duped by the White Walker, trusting Fides was naturally a challenge for him. Moreover, what alien soul, once suppressed in the forbidden area, would ever welcome the activation of the Soulforge Matrix?
If the rune circle were to be triggered, wouldn't Fides, along with the Wraith Ape and the human head dragon body man, be bound once more, doomed to an eternity without daylight?
"Once the Soulforge Matrix is reactivated, you, who have been acknowledged by the sword spirit, will gain control over the seals," Fides explained confidently. "We're willing to accept your control over the forbidden area's power, because... with your limited cultivation, you're simply incapable of unleashing the full might of those seals."
"So, I'd like to know," Yu Yuan inquired solemnly, "what benefits do you, or they, stand to gain from activating the Soulforge Matrix?"
There would be no point for these alien souls to proceed if there were no advantages to be had.
As they conversed, the sword light within Yu Yuan's arm bone began to intensify with heat. Beneath his feet, the flow of dark Soul Power surged more rapidly.
"Ah!"
From the direction of the Silvermoon Empire's cultivators, a harrowing scream erupted. A cultivator was seen impaled through the neck by a branch. The branch, with the corpse in tow, glided through the air, passing over the Soulforge Pool. For a fleeting moment, Yu Yuan's keen eyes perceived a sky littered with withered yellow leaves. A blink later, the leaves vanished, as if they were never there—an illusion.
With a whoosh, ethereal blue shadows, as if drawn by an unseen force, burst forth from the body and were yanked towards the sword scar on the pool's edge. Then, a streak of blood light flashed by.
The Silvermoon Empire cultivator, who had met his end by impalement, was now inhabited by Ann Jieshan of the Colddeath. As Ann Jieshan's potent vitality flooded the vessel, even the imposing human head dragon body man couldn't help but frown and turn his attention to the unsettling event. The newly possessed cultivator let out a raspy, low chuckle.
The laughter was jarring, startling everyone into an involuntary glance in his direction.
The "blood sacrifice magic circle" that shrouded everyone remained intact. Ann Jieshan, suspended in midair in his borrowed body, looked down at Yu Yuan and reminded, "Remember your promise."
Yu Yuan quickly nodded in affirmation. "I will not forget!"
For some reason, he instinctively felt that among all those present, including the cultivators and the alien souls, Ann Jieshan posed the greatest threat.
"The great formation will be activated again!"
With those words, Ann Jieshan, in his human form, suddenly descended into the midst of the Silvermoon Empire's cultivators.
From his position at the bottom of the pool, Yu Yuan could only catch glimpses of the sky. The clash between Ann Jieshan and the Silvermoon Empire's cultivators was out of his view.
Yet the succession of agonized screams reached his ears with chilling clarity.
He knew Ann Jieshan had begun a ruthless slaughter.
As someone from the Silvermoon Empire, Yu Yuan's face remained impassive, devoid of sorrow.
The few he truly cared about had long since departed.
Yuan Lianyao, with whom he shared a past, and Zhao Yafu, both close at hand, were unharmed.
Deep down, Yu Yuan, who never truly saw himself as a subject of the Silvermoon Empire, felt no attachment to the empire's cultivators, even those led by Su Xiangtian.
Let death come if it must.
