C1913 It Changed the Flow of the Soul
According to the Undead Lord, to prevent Han Qi from escaping, the Wraithlands had been sealed.
With the Wraithlands under seal, no powerful beings from the outside, especially those from the Everlands, should have been able to enter.
Indeed, the reinforcements from the Everlands that Han Qi had been anticipating were unable to breach the Thornsnare.
The Thornsnare, under the tight control of the Undead Lord, would not allow any incidents until its seal was broken.
Yet, at that moment, a wisp of a residual soul drifted out from the Thornsnare.
It was the residual soul of a human elder!
After emerging from the Thornsnare, he was as disoriented and devoid of spiritual wisdom as the other ghosts and specters of the extraterrestrial Star River.
This residual soul was incredibly faint and blurred, appearing as if it would dissipate with the slightest breeze within the Wraithlands.
The soul of a true expert, even in death or fragmented, would not appear so insubstantial.
He was merely a mortal unversed in the ways of cultivation.
Nonetheless, when human cultivators from the Everlands perished in the Star River, their lingering wills would return to the Everlands, just as they originated.
Since the inception of humanity, no one had ever died and willingly entered the Wraithlands as a residual soul or ghost.
This was due to the other Undead Lord, the ferryman, who had succumbed to the Everlands while laying out the path of the undead.
The one before us was the first!
He was neither Han Miaoyuan nor Yu Yuan, who had entered in their corporeal bodies, nor Han Qi, who had arrived as a cultivated Lunar Spirit, nor Youyu, who had ascended to a God of Ghosts.
He was simply an ordinary deceased soul!
"A human elder who died of illness," observed the Skeleton Horse, fiercely loyal to Wagner. Its eyes ablaze with eerie green flames, it fixated on the old man's residual soul and roared with excitement, "Never before have I witnessed such a spectacle!"
As all eyes were upon him, the ghostly remnant of the elder instinctively made its way toward the Levi River.
The moment his feeble soul made contact with the Levi River, its memories and lingering thoughts were erased by the river's power. Carried by the current, he was swept away with the flow.
He was so feeble that he couldn't awaken his spiritual wisdom, nor could he catch the attention of the ghosts. Consequently, he transformed into a mere wisp of Soul Power within the Levi River, destined to be absorbed by the Crucible of Rebirth. "Reincarnation!" Kaiya pondered a possibility, her face subtly shifting as she exclaimed, "If his soul merges into the furnace, where will it reemerge?"
Whoosh!
The Soul-Capturing God-King, with his immeasurable power, materialized beside the ancient tree rooted along the Levi River, demanding, "Why has this happened?" "Why? Why? I seek the answer as well," the ancient tree murmured in a Soul Voice.
Rip! Rip! Rip!
The Thornsnare, a web interlaced with countless pathways, was undone by the ancient tree. With the barrier lifted, those brave and capable enough to locate the entrance to the Wraithlands could now attempt to venture forth.
"Lord Taiyin, can you offer me an explanation?" The Soul Voice of the ancient tree echoed within the Lunar Spirit that Yu Yuan was refining within his real body. "Yu Yuan?" "Master!" Kaiya, Yu Yiyi, and the Skeleton Horse all turned their gaze toward his real body.
"I sense something from beyond," Yu Yuan announced, gripping the Dragon Slaying Stage at Shadow Mountain. He felt a connection to three peculiar rivers in the world beyond the Wraithlands, which had established a spiritual link with him—or more specifically, with his evolving Lunar Spirit.
Suddenly, he envisioned a fleet of Starborn and Shura battleships, teeming with Everlanders and humans, navigating through the starry expanse of an entirely unknown Astral Domain. They appeared to be selecting a new world to settle, arranging for all aboard to inhabit this fresh realm. On these ships, formidable cultivators stood guard, protecting the frail mortals within.
Among the mortals, some elderly and infirm succumbed to old ailments after enduring the long journey through the stars. Their deaths were a natural end. The souls of these frail beings, upon departing the warships, were meant to drift towards the Everlands, drawn by its enigmatic pull, slowly coalescing into its essence.
Yet, a river dense with Yin Qi in the nearby cosmos altered the trajectory of their souls. Thus, the fragile human spirits were diverted en route.
Rip!
Three stark gray meridians emerged on Yu Yuan's spirited body, becoming strikingly visible.
"Those are the three branches of the Lunar Meridian."
As Kaiya turned her attention, she heard three peculiar sounds of tearing.
Hidden in the extraterrestrial sky by the Root of the Lunar Meridian, one branch lay within Zekrica, while the others were elsewhere. The connection between these branches and her soul had been severed.
The soul mark she had left was forcibly wiped away by a Mind Magic more potent than her own.
In its place was the aura of Yu Yuan, whose presence had not yet ascended to the God of Ghosts and belonged to his Lunar Spirit.
"Your existence, the forging of your Path into Shadow, has managed to bring about such a remarkable transformation!"
The ancient tree seemed to suddenly realize that Primal Vitality's gamble on Yu Yuan was beginning to pay off.
Through Yu Yuan's existence, it saw the residual souls of humans who had left the Everlands and migrated across the extraterrestrial Star River. After death, these souls were converging towards the Wraithlands, following the path left by the Undead Lord.
What did this signify?
It indicated that the Primal Vitality, previously powerless over the cycle of life and death in the Everlands, was now extending its influence there!
He was merely a mortal now, but what about later?
Currently, he was just a deceased from beyond our world, but what about later?
"So, you are the key element!"
The Undead Lord, after confirming this through the evil spirits housed in the ancient tree, paused briefly.
"If that's the case, you've earned your place in the Crucible of Rebirth."
Beneath the astonished and envious eyes of Kaiya and the Skeleton Horse, the ancient tree, along with the shadow energy at its crown, vanished with Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit, leaving Yu Yuan's corporeal form behind.
...
Deep within the Wraithlands, in the most enigmatic location of this world, stood the Crucible of Rebirth.
Hua! Hua! Hua! Hua! Hua!
Streams of blood-yellow Levi River flowed into a vast, dark pool. The water in this pool gently swirled in rings, resembling a funnel.
Countless undead souls spiraled with the water, as if undergoing endless cycles of purification.
Below the funnel, it appeared to be the path to rebirth for new souls.
"Old Three, wake up."
Perched above the secluded pool in the Wraithlands, the ancient tree, diminutive as a pebble, called out to the heart of the Wraithlands with its deep and age-old Soul Voice.
As it called, another Undead Lord materialized.
"The event my Lord has long awaited is likely unfolding now."
From the swirling depths of the Crucible of Rebirth, a transparent shadow slowly took form, resembling a delicate woman, yet lacking distinct facial features.
Its emergence caused the flow of the Crucible to noticeably slow, seemingly due to its distraction.
"Do you intend to elevate this human's Lunar Spirit to a God of Ghosts?"
It settled above the ancient tree, perching on a lush leaf, scrutinizing Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit with earnest. "A human from the Abyss? What have you been up to while I was preoccupied?"
The souls of the Undead Lords, much like human souls, appeared capable of mutual communication.
As it rose from the depths and gazed upon Yu Yuan, the secrets once held by the Undead Lord the ancient tree represented were secrets no more, revealed through Yu Yuan.
"All by my master's command. While you attended to the Crucible of Rebirth, I reached out to my master."
The ancient tree paused briefly before speaking, "As you know, it's quite rare for my master to make contact. I require your assistance to vividly recount his life experiences across his lifetimes."
"How many lives has he led?"
"Three."
"Even for me, he presents a challenge, but I am prepared to attempt it."
