C1822 Grim River

Yu Yuan's Yin God was abruptly drawn into the newly established Sword Prison.

It was his second venture into a Sword Prison, yet this one bore no resemblance to the first. The interior of this Sword Prison, recreated from Dark Mountain—one of the Starry Forbidden Ground's domains—was shrouded in a thick Yin Qi that swirled like clouds and mist, giving it the appearance of a celestial realm.

Inside a spacious hall within the stone cavern, another Han Qi sat smiling serenely.

Behind him, a massive stone door was shut tight, adorned with an intricate painting.

Rivers of blood-yellow seemed to flow within the stone's etchings, converging towards a distant origin.

As Yu Yuan's Yin God gazed upon the images that resembled rivers merging into the sea, he thought he heard the wails of countless malevolent spirits, momentarily clouding his consciousness.

But in the blink of an eye, he regained his clarity, unaffected by the disturbance.

"Truly worthy of the Ghosting Arts, to be able to disregard the Grim River's torment and regain lucidity so swiftly," Han Qi, seated before the stone door, commented with admiration as he rose to his feet.

"The Grim River!"

A look of intrigue crossed Yu Yuan's face, and involuntarily, his gaze returned to the blood-yellow rivers etched on the stone, asking, "The Grim River, does it also go by another name, the River of Forgetfulness?"

"The River of Forgetfulness is what the Yin Meridian calls it for all living creatures. Over in Dark Mountain, it's known as the Grim River. Han Miaoyuan and Youyu entered the Dark Mountain through this very river," Han Qi explained, turning to face the stone door and reaching out to touch it. His hand seemed to penetrate the depiction of the Grim River.

With a casual stir, the sound of flowing water echoed from the Grim River.

A yellow-brown hemp rope, as if spun from a refined force within the Grim River itself, materialized and dropped into his palm.

Then, with one hand, Han Qi deftly looped the rope around the neck of Tan Junshan's Yin God.

Tan Junshan, who had ascended to the Peak of the Unrestrained Stage with aspirations of achieving the highest divine rank, found himself powerless to resist.

Like a chicken caught by the neck by a butcher, he was effortlessly ensnared by Han Qi with the yellow-brown hemp rope.

The neck of the Yin God was ensnared.

In the instant the hemp rope encircled Tan Junshan's Yin God, he became eerily still, his consciousness and thoughts seemingly locked away for a moment.

With a whoosh, Han Qi flung the rope, embedding one end into the palace's dome while the other end looped around Tan Junshan's Yin God neck, suspending him midair.

It appeared as though Tan Junshan's Yin God had been hanged in the grand hall of the palace.

Yu Yuan, maintaining his composure, surveyed the interior of the palace within the Sword Prison. He noted numerous windows embedded in the walls all around.

He deduced that this palace, where Han Qi resided, was at the heart of the Sword Prison.

Cells resembling caves were scattered about, with windows serving as their doors.

Yu Yuan's Yin God floated and drifted effortlessly, undisturbed by Han Qi's tactics. Even if his Yin God perished here in the Sword Prison, it wouldn't spell ruin for his true form or Yang God.

With his true form intact and the Yang God still present, the loss of a Yin God was not irreversible.

Before long, he spotted the familiar figures of Zhongli and Duan Yisheng from the Star Sect.

They sat motionless in separate cells, their bodies shrouded in dense Yin Qi, eyes shut as if in deep slumber.

Yet, from the ceiling of their cells dangled brown hemp ropes.

These ropes descended upon their crown chakras and extended into their Consciousness Little Worlds, ensnaring their Yin Gods and seemingly draining their inner power.

Both masters, having attained the Unrestrained Stage, cultivated in a numb state, endlessly drawing in the Yin Qi from their surroundings.

The Yin Qi coursed through them, refining their essence and becoming sustenance for their Yin Gods. But shortly after entering the Yin Gods, it was siphoned off by the ropes.

This fate was not exclusive to Duan Yisheng and Zhongli. Other formidable figures, unfamiliar to Yu Yuan, were subjected to the same process.

They absorbed the Yin Qi with their bodies, purified it, and converted it into the Yin essence within their Yin Gods, only to have it extracted by the ropes.

All the once-renowned cultivators confined within the Sword Prison had been reduced to mere vessels, providing Yin essence for an unknown purpose.

Without a second thought, Yu Yuan knew that Han Qi before him was the instigator.

"What a shame. Your Ghosting Arts, if perfected, could propel your Yin God into the realm of ghosts and gods. The Divine King, after his exchange with Youyu, must have also unraveled the secrets to cultivating the Ghost Dao."

Han Qi shook his head ruefully.

Yu Yuan didn't rush to respond. He adopted an eager-to-listen demeanor, aiming to uncover more of the Demon Realm's secrets from Han Qi.

"Humans are the most extraordinary and atypical beings. From the moment of our birth, we possess three souls. Truly, advancing any one of these souls to its ultimate state can lead to unparalleled strength. You, having reached this level, must have had similar realizations."

Han Qi was clearly enthusiastic about the conversation.

"Observing your external body, I noticed it lacks a Yang God. Yet, the scent of your flesh and blood... it strongly resembles that of the Great Demon God from the Blood Devil Clan. If I'm not mistaken, your Yang God has already ascended to that lofty height, surpassing your physical form."

"I've heard that Ann Ziqing of the Blood God Cult, with the aid of the Yang Vein in the Dim Starfield, has evolved her Yang God into a Great Demon God."

"Ann Ziqing, along with your Yang God, exemplify what I mean by one of the three souls reaching the apex."

"I represent a different approach."

Han Qi smiled, gesturing towards his eerie form, seemingly crafted from the essence of Yin Sunflowers and the Styx. "At the Soul Wandering Stage, I opted to solely cultivate my Yin God, neglecting my Yang God and main soul. Fortuitously, my Yin God broke through in the Demon Realm, ascending to a ghost god."

"We are anomalies, you and I. Our journeys diverge from the typical practitioners of the Boundless Human Race."

After these words, Han Qi lapsed into silence.

It was some time before he spoke again. "The existence of you, me, and Ann Ziqing indicates that the Boundless Human Race has always had alternative paths to supremacy. Yet, for millennia, since the inception of our cultivation system, it appears everyone has adhered to a singular route."

"That route is the ascension of the main soul to the Primordial Spirit, with our Yin God and Yang God merely serving to facilitate the main soul's transformation."

"I, along with Han Miaoyuan, still can't fathom why there's such a rigid cultivation system in place."

"Previously, in the absence of ghosts and gods, without anyone achieving the highest state with the Yang God, we doubted any other path was viable. We believed that ascending to godhood through the main soul, reaching the Primordial Spirit Stage, was our sole option."

"Now, it's clear that isn't the case."

Han Qi gazed intently at Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan's mind raced, yet the Yin God's expression remained unchanged.

For the Boundless Human Race, when the main soul is cultivated to its zenith, it naturally evolves into... the Primordial Demon, akin to Beilstein's kin.

In ancient times, the human race was stuck at the Peak of Unrestrained Stage, unable to find a breakthrough.

It wasn't until he, in his first life, received guidance from the Great Demon God Beilstein, that he crossed that threshold, breaking through to the Primordial Spirit Stage and setting a precedent for others.

Subsequently, all peak experts of the human race began to follow this path for advancement.

It's not that others hadn't considered alternatives. Before Han Miaoyuan and Han Qi, many talented individuals emerged, attempting to forge new paths and explore different cultivation systems.

But they all ended in failure.

Over time, it became the collective belief that this was the only route for the human race to achieve greatness, to transform the main soul and ascend to the Primordial Spirit Stage.

"Yuchan, won't you come out and greet an old friend?"

As Yu Yuan pondered in silence, Han Qi let out a light chuckle and called out to an open cave door, "I remember you mentioned that during your training in Horror Land, your Yin God was shredded by the Qianqiang Ghost."

"And it happened right under Yu Yuan's watchful eye."

"Alas."

Han Qi shook his head, sighing deeply.

Whoosh!

The female general of the Silvermoon Empire emerged from the cave, her presence chilling.

She stood next to Han Qi, her eyes a dull grey, staring at Yu Yuan.

Yet she remained silent.

Yu Yuan's soul trembled, "It's you!"

The Silvermoon Queen, Lee Yupan, and Lee Sha had perished together, and Lee Yu had met his end at the hands of the Clouds Sect.

In his fading memories, Lee Yuchan, whom he scarcely recalled, now stood before him in the newly formed Sword Prison beyond the heavens, alongside Han Qi.

Yu Yuan felt as if he were suddenly transported to another era, recalling the moment when the Qianqiang Ghost ripped apart Lee Yuchan's Yin God and revealed that the person most prominent in her soul's memories was none other than himself.

"Master, is there a chance for Tan Junshan to be spared? He's not like Duan Yisheng; he has shown kindness to my sister."

Lee Yuchan hesitated briefly before bowing to Han Qi, pleading, "It was he who brought my sister to Lee Sha, ensuring she found a good place in life. Unlike Duan Yisheng of the Star Sect, who values Lau Ying, Jun Chen, and even Tan Junshan more, he did not seek vengeance for Lee Sha."

"There's no cause for concern; Tan Junshan's Yin God is here, and he will be fine," Han Qi assured her with a nod and a smile.

Master?

Yu Yuan was taken aback. It had not occurred to him that the Empire's female general, who practiced the Martyr Spell, had not only reassembled her Yin God but also accepted Han Qi as her master.

"And what of Yu Yuan?" Han Qi inquired, still smiling.

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