C2014 The Second Yu Yuan

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Drawn by the Dragon Slash Platform, the Frost Energy cascading from the Outer Star River turned into a wisp of white smoke as it neared the Hellfire Mountain Range.

Places steeped in various chilling energies, such as the Nether Abyss, the Cold Yin Sect, and Horror Land, suddenly became tranquil.

Not a whisper of Frost Energy stirred.

Beneath the surface, invisible to the naked eye and undetectable by the soul, a force superior to the fundamental laws of the cosmos sealed off all locations that could channel Yin energy and had even the faintest resonance with Yu Yuan.

It was the hidden icy rules of these strange lands that were being sealed.

At this moment, it seemed as though the entire cosmos was in harmony with the Hellfire Mountain Range, fueling the roaring flames and amplifying their might.

"Ugh!"

Wu Rann of the Devil Palace, his eyes leaking traces of fire, clutched at his face, howling in agony as he and other practitioners from the Devil Palace regrouped with Cao Ji, Lu Hongpeng, and others from the Sword Sect who had not yet departed.

"Do not attempt to perceive the Hellfire Mountain Range with your divine sense!"

Before Wu Rann could join the other two supreme beings, blood had already begun to seep from the corners of his eyes.

Lu Hongpeng and Cao Ji, who had intended to probe the Hellfire Mountain Range with their divine sense, halted their efforts at Wu Rann's cautionary words.

They turned to Wu Rann, alarmed, and asked, "You?"

"I looked with the Eyes of the Soul!"

Wu Rann, still reeling from the ordeal, his hands covering his bleeding eyes and brows, spoke with a tremor of fear, "This is a power beyond our ken!"

"I warned you to leave it be, but you wouldn't heed my advice."

The Soul Summoning Flag, emanating a primal energy and the essence of a supremely wise soul, drifted from the Ascension Mountain Range and came to rest before the three exalted beings.

"For millennia, this hidden fire at the heart of the cosmos has been its guardian."

"Thanks to this fire's presence, the source of the Yin Meridian, the Demon Phoenix, the Great Demon God Beilstein, and all manner of otherworldly spirits and celestial titans have been kept at bay."

"It is this that has allowed it to slumber in peace."

The exceedingly wise soul shadow emerged from the Soul Summoning Flag, draping it over himself like a cape. "Remember this: any source spirit akin to the Geocentric Fire is beyond your ability to conjecture or perceive."

As he spoke, he extended his hand toward Wu Rann's bleeding brow and commanded, "Release your grip!"

Wu Rann jolted as if he had heard the profound voice of the Great Dao echoing through his soul's sea of consciousness.

Thus, Wu Rann complied and released his hand.

The insubstantial finger of the soul shadow pressed against his bleeding forehead, soothing the fissures at the corners of his eyes and erasing the burst wounds and scorched areas within his consciousness.

"Thank you for your assistance."

When Wu Rann's vision cleared and he became aware of Ji Hui's presence, he instinctively bowed slightly in gratitude.

"Sir..."

Ji Hui turned his back to Wu Rann, Lu Hongpeng, and Cao Ji, addressing them. "Sir is back for good this time. Remember, when he truly awakens, I, Han Miaoyuan, Lin Daoke, Tan Xiaotian, and all the mightiest of our Human Race will pay homage to him."

"He has been the true god of our Human Race and our spiritual mainstay since ancient times."

Ji Hui's voice was like a soft chant.

Meanwhile, the three supreme beings—Wu Rann, Lu Hongpeng, and Cao Ji—as well as Kong Banbi, Chen Qingyan, and others from the Primordial Yang Sect in the vicinity, were left bewildered by Ji Hui's cryptic words.

They were uncertain about the identity of the "Sir" Ji Hui mentioned.

...

Deep within the fiery heart of Hellfire Mountain.

Ji Hui, who had lain dormant at the core of the vast expanse for untold millennia, reached out through Yuan Lianyao's form towards Yu Yuan, seeking a share of the Life Stoste.

His every thought resonated throughout the world, and without speaking, Yu Yuan understood his desires and knew what he sought.

The towering inferno crackled fiercely, consuming the protective light of the Dragon Slash Platform and assimilating its power.

Yu Yuan, trapped at the center of the crystalline light barrier, found his primary soul concealed, rendering him incapable of casting any spells.

However, a strand of his Yin God, far off in the Realm of Demons, was swiftly gaining clarity.

At that moment, he realized with stark clarity that the Origin Soul in the Realm of Demons had chosen his Yin God and bestowed upon him the power and dominion of the Undead Ruler for this very purpose!

It was all to prepare him for his eventual return to the Vast Expanse, where he would confront the Origin Soul lurking beneath the earth!

The Origin Soul was acutely aware that once the Origin Soul from the Nether Abyss had eroded the Origin Soul of the Vast Expanse, it would become its next target!

If it remained passive, it would suffer the same fate as the Vast Expanse's Origin Soul, thoroughly corrupted by that entity.

"I've already said no, and that's final. Don't even entertain the thought."

When Yu Yuan faced Yuan Lianyao's body and realized he couldn't use the secret techniques associated with his main soul, he swiftly shifted his tactics and mindset.

The Hellfire Mountain's power couldn't sever the spiritual connection between him and the Yin God!

The soul shadow that emerged in his sea of consciousness could still detect the presence of the Path of the Undead.

He had the power to command the nearby Path of the Undead!

"Undead, bridge to the Great Path of Yin Spirits!"

With this thought, part of his soul power in his sea of consciousness surged toward the soul shadow capable of escaping the underground will's seal.

In a flash, his Yin God supplanted his main soul, taking dominion over his physical form.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The numerous Paths of the Undead beyond the Vast Expanse and the still-vibrant Yin Meridian tributaries deep within were suddenly infused with boundless Frost Energy.

Even more astonishingly, all the Paths of the Undead beyond and the Yin Meridian tributaries at the heart of the Vast Expanse could now interconnect with the Dragon Slash Platform.

The Dragon Slash Platform, transformed into a radiant dome of ice, continued to expand outward even amidst the fierce flames.

Within this crystalline barrier, a spectral figure, seemingly forged from lost souls, began to materialize, propelled by the Paths of the Undead and the Yin Meridian tributaries.

Yu Yuan's true form no longer experienced any discomfort.

Meanwhile, in the nearby Horror Land.

With the source of the Yin Meridians gone, a figure emerged from the long-dried pond in the depths below.

A second Yu Yuan.

This incarnation, resplendent with silvery brilliance and refined with the purest essence of Yin Sunflower, materialized where the source of the Yin Meridians had once vanished.

After him, Youyu emerged as well. They had both arrived from the Nether Abyss.

"A familiar world, a familiar place, and familiar faces."

Youyu materialized at the bottom of the parched pond, retrieved the heart stone, and gently tossed it to the pond's floor, proclaiming, "Ghosts who worship me, I have found a new haven for you. You may now return."

The Yin Meridians connecting to the pond were immediately suffused with the radiance emanating from the heart stone.

Ghosts and spirits that had been living in constant fear due to the world's increasing heat heard Youyu's voice.

They rejoiced, chanting Youyu's name as they entered the Yin Meridians in succession.

Guided by the glow of the heart stone, they traversed the Yin Meridians, covering vast distances in an instant.

They flocked to the wondrous stone lying at the bottom of the pond, each one merging with it.

The Divine Stone seemed to provide a direct link to the Nether Abyss, offering them passage to the cycle of reincarnation and the choice to continue their cultivation on the path of ghosts.

"Youyu, you will oversee the gathering and organization of those ghosts and spirits that lack the power to break free from their realm and cannot manifest in the outer world."

Having delivered this message to Youyu, Yu Yuan, who had come from the Nether Abyss, abruptly made his way toward Hellfire Mountain.

In a flash, Yu Yuan appeared before the Geocentric Fire and the three Supreme Beings.

"Yu Yuan!"

"He's emerged!"

"He has actually managed to break free from the Hellfire's seal!"

The cultivators closely monitoring the unfolding events were startled by Yu Yuan's sudden emergence, pointing at him and exclaiming in disbelief.

"He is not alone!"

Wu Rann, of the Devil Palace, having just adjusted to the external light and heat, employed the secret arts of the soul and discovered that Yu Yuan's body was threaded with veins resembling the mythical Grim River.

Faintly, from the depths of Yu Yuan's meridians, the wailing of countless ghosts could be heard.

This presence was starkly different from that of the Yu Yuan they had known before.

"Soul Summoning Flag."

Upon his arrival, Yu Yuan's gaze settled on the flag behind Ji Hui with a peculiar interest. He smiled and remarked, "The crafting of this flag and its formation borrowed heavily from the power of the Yin Meridians' source and the insights of the Ghost Dao. Yet, this object holds no value for me."

He raised his hand and seized the air.

Countless fine, gray-white beams of light materialized on the surface of the Soul Summoning Flag, revealing the highest mysteries of the Ghost Dao. The profound truths of soul reincarnation, the pathways for the return of the dead to their origins, and the secret arts for erasing and retracing soul memories were all displayed through numerous gray-white threads of Yin law.

The mental link between the Soul Summoning Flag and Ji Hui was severed in an instant.

The souls and spectral beings that Ji Hui had attracted and tethered within the flag, as if heeding the summons of a ghostly deity, broke free from Ji Hui's will and departed from the flag one by one.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thousands of ghosts, along with some abyssal spirits, scattered from the Soul Summoning Flag like an uncountable flock of crows, descending into the Yin Meridian tributaries deep within the earth.

They followed these tributaries, converging upon Youyu's heart stone with the reverence of pilgrims.

Ji Hui couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Sir, you will inevitably return. Everything you have crafted for me will once again end up in my hands."

"And..."

Ji Hui glanced at the ground beneath him, "It's awake."

"Since it has awakened, even with the involvement of the Origin Soul from the Demon Realm, the Origin Soul cannot cross over. It merely grants you the body and strength of a ghost god. What difference does that make?"

Ji Hui burst into laughter, clapping his hands, undeterred: "The Origin Soul hopes to use you to counter it, but that's merely a fool's dream."

No sooner had he spoken than the heart stone in Youyu's grasp burst forth from the depths of Horror Land. As the heart stone gathered the many ghosts and spirits, along with the foreign souls from the Soul Summoning Flag, it was infused with an alien consciousness.

"Youyu, you should not have returned."

Han Qi emerged silently, shaking his head with a smile. "In the Demon Realm, since you and Yu Yuan received the will's support, I was powerless against you."

"But now that you're in the Vast Ocean Realm, you no longer have a say!"

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