C1822 Levi River

Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit was abruptly drawn into the newly established Sword Prison. This marked his second venture into such a place, yet this Sword Prison was strikingly different from the last. Reconstructed within the Wraithlands, a part of the Starry Sky Forbidden Zone, the interior of this Sword Prison was shrouded in a thick mist of Yin Qi, giving it the appearance of a mystical paradise.

Within a spacious hall carved into the cave, Han Qi sat smiling serenely. Behind him, a massive stone door was shut tight, its surface etched with an intricate depiction. Blood-yellow rivers meandered across the carving, seemingly converging towards a distant origin.

As Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit gazed upon the artwork, where rivers merged like tributaries into the ocean, he thought he could hear the lamentations of countless malevolent spirits, momentarily clouding his consciousness. But in the blink of an eye, his spiritual wisdom was restored, and he was unaffected.

"True to the power of Wraithbinding, to be able to disregard the Levi River's toxins and regain clarity so swiftly," Han Qi lauded, rising from his seated position before the stone door.

"Levi River!" Yu Yuan exclaimed, his eyes showing a hint of surprise. Compelled, he looked again at the blood-yellow river on the stone tablet, asking, "The Levi River, does it also go by another name, the River of Forgetfulness?"

"The River of Forgetfulness is what the Lunar Meridian calls it for the beings of the Everlands. In the Wraithlands, it's known as the Levi River. Both Han Miaoyuan and Youyu entered the Wraithlands via this river," Han Qi explained, turning to face the stone door. He reached out, his hand seemingly penetrating the image of the Levi River.

With a casual stir, the sound of rushing water emanated from the river depicted on the stone. Then, with a hiss, a yellow-brown hemp rope materialized, as if conjured from the river's essence, and settled into Han Qi's palm.

Grasping the rope, he swiftly looped it around the neck of Tan Junshan's Lunar Spirit. Tan Junshan, who had ascended to the peak of the Unbound Stage and was on the cusp of challenging the Supreme God Stage, 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 Lunar Spirit.

The moment the rope ensnared Tan Junshan's Lunar Spirit, he became eerily still, as if his consciousness and thoughts were momentarily locked away.

Whoosh!

With a flick of his wrist, Han Qi anchored one end of the rope into the palace's dome, the other end coiled around Tan Junshan's neck, leaving him dangling midair.

It appeared as though Tan Junshan's Lunar Spirit had been hung in the grand hall of the palace.

Yu Yuan, maintaining his composure, surveyed the palace within the Sword Prison and noticed numerous windows embedded in the walls.

He deduced that the palace where Han Qi resided was indeed the heart of the Sword Prison.

Cells resembling caves dotted the surroundings, their windows serving as cell doors.

His Lunar Spirit drifted freely, showing no signs of distress or intimidation by Han Qi's tactics.

Even if the Lunar Spirit perished in the Sword Prison, it wouldn't inflict catastrophic harm to his real body or Solar Spirit.

With the real body intact and the Solar Spirit present, the loss of a Lunar Spirit was not irreversible.

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

They were seated motionless in separate cells, their bodies shrouded in a thick Yin Qi, eyes shut as if in deep slumber.

Yet, a tawny hemp rope dangled from the ceiling of their cells.

It descended upon their crowns and stretched into their Mindscape, encircling their Lunar Spirit's neck, seemingly siphoning their inner strength.

The two cultivators, masters of the Unbound Realm, cultivated numbly, engulfing the Yin Qi within their cells.

The Yin Qi circulated within them, refining their essence and becoming sustenance for the Lunar Spirit. But shortly after entering the Lunar Spirit, it was drawn out by the ropes.

It wasn't just Duan Yisheng and Zhongli Dapan; other unfamiliar cultivators were subjected to the same fate.

They absorbed Yin Qi with their bodies, purified it, and converted it into the gentle Soul Power within the Lunar Spirit, only to have it extracted by the ropes.

All the cultivators confined in the Sword Prison, once renowned across the lands, had now been reduced to mere vessels for harvesting Soul Power.

Yu Yuan didn't have to ponder; he knew Han Qi was the instigator.

"What a shame. Your Wraithbinding, if perfected, could propel your Lunar Spirit to the realm of the God of Ghosts. The God-King must have gleaned the secrets of necromancy after his exchange with Youyu."

Han Qi shook his head with a sense of regret.

Yu Yuan didn't rush to respond. He appeared all ears, eager to learn more secrets of the Wraithlands from Han Qi.

"We humans are the most special and atypical beings. At the moment of our birth, the three souls of heaven, earth, and man are present. Truly, advancing any one of these souls to its limit can lead to unparalleled strength. You, having reached this level, must have had such an insight."

Han Qi was clearly enthusiastic about the conversation.

"Looking at your external body, I noticed the little world of vitality lacks a Solar Spirit. Yet, the scent of flesh and blood within... it's reminiscent of the Great Demon God of the Blood Fiend. If I'm not mistaken, your Solar Spirit has already ascended to that lofty height, surpassing your real body."

"I've heard that Ann Ziqing of the Colddeath Sect, with the Solar Meridian in the Dark Star, evolved her Solar Spirit into a Demon God."

"Ann Ziqing and your Solar Spirit are prime examples of those who have ascended to the Most High using one of the three souls."

"And I represent a different approach," Han Qi said with a smile, gesturing towards his bizarre body, seemingly crafted from Shadow Moon Essence and the River Styx. "As soon as I embarked on the Spirit Walk, I decided to solely cultivate the Lunar Spirit, forsaking the refinement of the Solar Spirit and the dominant soul. Fortune favored me, and my Lunar Spirit broke through in the Wraithlands, becoming a God of Ghosts."

"You and I, we're both anomalies. Our paths diverge from the typical cultivators of the Everlands."

After these words, Han Qi fell into a thoughtful silence.

It was some time before he continued, "Your existence, along with Ann Ziqing's, indicates that the Everlands' Human Race has always had alternative paths to greatness. Yet, for millennia, since the inception of our cultivation system, it seems everyone has adhered to a singular way."

"That is to achieve the Most High by breaking through to the Primordial Spirit with the Dominant Soul. Our Lunar Spirit and our Solar Spirit are both gathering strength for the transformation of the Dominant Soul."

"I, along with Han Miaoyuan, still can't fathom why the cultivation system is so rigidly fixed."

"Previously, in the absence of a God of Ghosts and without anyone using the Solar Spirit to ascend to the Most High, we all doubted that there was any other path. We believed that ascending to godhood through the Dominant Soul was our only option."

"Now, it seems that is clearly not the case."

Han Qi gazed intently at Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan's mind was racing, yet his Lunar Spirit's expression remained unchanged.

For a human, when their Dominant Soul is cultivated to its zenith and evolves into the Primordial Spirit, it naturally transforms into a Primal Demon, akin to those of Bertain's kin.

In ancient times, the Human Race was stuck at the pinnacle of the Unbound Realm, unable to find a breakthrough.

It wasn't until his first incarnation was enlightened by the Demon God Bertain that he managed to overcome this hurdle, breaking through to the Primordial Spirit Realm and paving the way for those who followed.

Subsequently, all the pinnacle experts of the Human Race began to follow this path for advancement.

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

But ultimately, they all failed.

Over time, everyone came to believe that this was the sole path for the Human Race to reach the pinnacle, to transform the Dominant Soul and break through to the Primordial Spirit Realm to achieve the Most High.

"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 entrance, "I remember you once told me about when you were honing your skills in the Land of Terror, your Lunar Spirit... was torn apart by Rhutar."

"And it happened right under Yu Yuan's watch."

"Alas."

Han Qi shook his head with a melancholic sigh.

Whoosh!

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

She stood next to Han Qi, her eyes dull as she stared at Yu Yuan.

Yet she remained silent.

Yu Yuan's spirit body quivered, "It's you!"

The Lee family met their end together: Silvermoon Queen Lee Yupan and Lee Sha perished side by side, while Lee Yu fell at the hands of the Obsidian Thunder Sect.

Lee Yuchan, a distant memory for Yu Yuan, now stood before him in the newly forged Sword Prison, far beyond the terrestrial realm, alongside Han Qi.

A sudden realization washed over Yu Yuan as he recalled Rhutar, the Spectre, declaring that the person most prevalent in Lee Yuchan's soul memories was none other than Yu Yuan himself.

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

Lee Yuchan hesitated, then respectfully implored Han Qi, "It was he who brought my sister before Lee Sha, ensuring she found a good place in the world. Unlike Duan Yisheng of the Star Sect, who held Liu Ying, Jun Chen, and even Tan Junshan in higher regard, he did not seek vengeance for Lee Sha."

"Tan Junshan's presence here is merely as a Lunar Spirit; he will face no significant harm," Han Qi assured with an amiable nod.

Master?

Yu Yuan was taken aback. He hadn't anticipated that the Empire's female general, a practitioner of the "Shadow Curse," had not only restored her Lunar Spirit but also accepted Han Qi as her mentor.

"And what of Yu Yuan?" Han Qi inquired, his smile lingering.

...