C2165 The Seal Was Unlocked

The silver dragon, its scales shimmering, soared beyond the atmosphere, clutching a blood-stained skeleton as it flew into the celestial beyond. The skeleton faced Yu Yuan, its hollow eye sockets filled with an eerie silence.

Zhongli the Great, the current sect master of the Ancient Desolate Sect, had ascended to godhood through his flesh. Yet, after gazing intently at the Soul Altar between Yu Yuan's brows, he managed to regain his sense of self with the aid of powerful blood energy, only to perish in an instant. A formidable figure had met his end.

The silver dragon glanced back at the vast expanse with trepidation, as if the most fearsome entity in the universe pursued it.

"Senior Zhongli."

Yu Yuan, manifesting in his true form, observed the diminutive silver dragon before him, along with the crimson skeleton it bore. His true body was not prone to deep emotions of joy or sorrow, yet he couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret.

The Yang God, connected to his true form, however, blazed with anger over the death of Zhongli the Great. The Yang God's wrathful emotions surged through the ether, imbuing the true body with a shared sense of indignation.

"Senior Zhongli!" Yu Yuan called out, his soul's essence and the blood energy within his body dispersing to engulf Zhongli the Great's crimson remains in a desperate search for a sliver of hope to revive him.

Alas, Zhongli the Great had left behind neither a remnant of his soul nor a single drop of his blood. Revival was a lost cause.

"Yu Yuan, we should depart at once. The Gray Domain is no battlefield for us!" Brie, having stepped onto the Dragon Slash Platform, drained the life force and vitality from Olliergues, while Barol joined in the persuasion.

"The Gray Domain is now under his dominion. Do not engage him in battle here."

"Never set foot in the Vast Expanse!" Barol and Brie warned.

"Great..."

Grimes, the Spirit Slayer, who was in the midst of extolling Yu Yuan, abruptly fell silent. Beside the Evil God, a dozen other Evil Gods had stealthily emerged from the Vast Expanse.

Faced with a choice between Yu Yuan and the Abyss Lord, they had sided with Yu Yuan. Their race's elders and ancient texts had revealed that it was the rise of the Abyss Lord, Yu Yuan, that had brought about their sudden prosperity. They also learned that in the heyday of the Abyss Lord, he had stood as an equal to the Founder who had created the Abyss.

The Abyss Lord's might gave them confidence that he could stand against the Founder. Yet, the haunting image of Zhongli's sudden demise, his flesh stripped away as he departed the Vast Expanse, leaving nothing but a skeletal frame, still left them uneasy. Witnessing the Abyss Lord's formidable power, some Evil Gods began to waver.

"You really are too stubborn," lamented the guardian in the guise of an elderly Protoss, heaving a sigh.

Boom!

The Evil God Temple, settled within the Vast Expanse, quaked violently before soaring skyward. A wave of spiritual consciousness, carrying the dense soul energy from the heart of the Vast Expanse, surged directly into the temple. The temple, constructed under Yu Yuan's directive, seemed to awaken with a soul of its own, severing its bond with Yu Yuan, the Abyss Lord. The once constant connection between Yu Yuan and the temple, spanning the celestial void, was ruthlessly erased.

His expression darkened, and he squinted towards the temple.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As the Evil God Temple ascended, it generated an immense gravitational pull. The opening in its dome became a "Chaos Abyss," instantly drawing in the Evil Gods. None of the Evil Gods remaining in the Vast Expanse, not even the likes of Grimes, could withstand the temple's pull.

In an instant, every Evil God summoned by the Protector was engulfed by the temple. The Protector's face turned pale as if he had stumbled upon something inconceivable, his eyes shifting from Yu Yuan to the temple.

Within the temple, the bizarrely shaped and colossal Evil Gods were either merged into the walls, clung to by thick pillars, or settled upon the ground. Their limbs intertwined with the temple in an eerie fusion, their flesh becoming an integral part of the structure.

The majestic and vast Evil God Temple had been constructed from the remains of countless fallen Evil Gods. It was a sacred site where every Evil God was required to pay homage upon their ascension. Thus, the Evil Gods birthed in the Abyss shared a profound bond with the temple.

They were born of it, and they perished within it.

In this moment, the temple, a symbol of the Abyss's ultimate dominion, had forcibly drawn all the Evil Gods into its embrace, briefly merging their bodies and souls with the sacred hall.

The Evil God seemed to have merged with the very flesh and blood of the sacred hall.

Their spiritual consciousness and soul power had refined the hall, transforming it into a demonic vessel for their use.

This was the method the Outland Devaputra employed to craft a devil body!

The secret art of infusing Devil Souls into artifacts, skeletons, and even entire mountains was a technique imparted to the Great Demon God Beilstein by the Vast Ocean Origin Soul.

Having devoured the Vast Ocean Origin Soul, he had effortlessly mastered it.

He was no longer confined to a suitable fleshly body; through the consecration of a special artifact, he could manifest his current might.

The Evil God Temple was the perfect magical object for this purpose, an ideal temporary vessel for his essence.

With a whoosh, an ethereal figure materialized above the temple, taking the form of Yu Yuan.

He invariably chose to present himself in the guise of Yu Yuan.

For ages past, his spiritual consciousness had descended upon Yu Yuan, seizing his body and reveling in the exquisite sensation of corporeality.

That feeling was unforgettable, and in his heart, he was meant to be Yu Yuan.

Now, having consecrated the Evil God Temple as his body, the spectral image of his soul remained that of Yu Yuan.

He spoke with tranquil authority, "I wish to observe."

Yu Yuan blinked in surprise. "Observe what?"

"The choices they make," he replied with a gentle smile.

The Evil God Temple, now hovering above the vast expanse, was etched with innumerable secret talismans that glimmered with an entrancing brilliance.

A mysterious magnetic field emanated from the temple, swiftly enveloping the entire Gray Domain.

This field purged the contaminating forces from the souls of the mightiest beings within the Gray Domain.

Suddenly, Reid, the High Priest of the Outland Devaputra, came to a realization of his identity and the fate of the one who had founded the Devaputra Race.

The Devil Soul within the depths of his eyes remained a dark hue, not purple.

"Yu Yuan..."

Zu Ann, Qin Luo, Van Heqing, Lu Hongpeng, and the newly ascended Great Sword Immortals Tan Junshan and Lin Yu—all regained their clarity of mind in an instant.

All the exalted beings of the Protoss and the mighty ones of the Devaputra Race seemed to be bathed in the light of the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, instantly regaining their self-awareness.

They all remembered what had transpired.

"Brother Yu, has Brother Yu arrived?"

In the midst of Duan Yisheng's fearful gaze, Lau Ying recovered all her suppressed memories and spotted the divine form of Yu Yuan, towering thousands of feet high in the distance.

Her face lit up with happiness as she transformed into a beam of starlight, eager to find Yu Yuan.

"Don't go!"

Sensing that something was amiss, Duan Yisheng yanked Lau Ying back down from the sky, his voice laced with panic, "Something dreadful is about to happen! Don't add to the chaos, girl! I have a terrible premonition that many will die. Please, don't act recklessly!"

"I have the power to twist their souls, to make them live entirely at my whim. But now, I'm curious to see what choices they will make once I restore their innate spirit and allow them to keep their self-awareness, especially after they learn the truth," He said, smiling at Yu Yuan, who understood everything He intended.

He lifted all the seals.

The Devaputra, the exalted ones of the Protoss, whose souls had been warped and tainted, were instantly cleansed of His influence, each becoming their true selves.

With just a thought, He had accomplished this through the Evil God Temple and the Gray Domain.

"Yu Yuan!"

From the direction of the Tia Main Planet, someone burst forth from the Jade Tower, constructed by the Babel Chamber of Commerce.

The Jade Tower was a newly built structure of opulence, adorned with jade, gold, and precious gems, surpassing even the grandeur of Emperor Hao Yu's palace. Old Cash, who had reached the Middle Period of the Unrestrained Stage, was one of the few fortunate enough to have his soul and thoughts corrupted by Him.

Now that the seals were undone, Old Cash reclaimed his sense of self. Seeing Yu Yuan appear, he emerged with a beaming smile to greet him.

"Don't come any closer!"

Yu Yuan commanded.

Old Cash, taken aback, suddenly cried out, "What's the matter? You think you're too good for me now that you've made something of yourself? Remember how I looked after you back when you were a nobody on the Crack Archipelago? I wagered everything on you—I even sacrificed the Jade Tower to save your life!"

"I remember," Yu Yuan nodded.

"Those who dare to show you kindness, those who draw near, they all meet the same fate as he did."

The deity presiding over the Evil God Temple spoke deliberately, casting a distant glance at Old Cash.

The soul within Old Cash flickered like a candle in a gale, snuffed out in an instant.

The Jade Tower, in all its golden splendor, still sparkled with precious jade, gems, and gold. The coins scattered across the floor retained the essence of Old Cash, along with the secrets of gold metal he had deciphered.

Yet, Old Cash's body, like Olliergues before him, was devoid of a soul.

Employing the same method Yu Yuan used to dispatch Olliergues, the deity effortlessly eradicated Old Cash as the Jade Tower soared away from the Tia Main Planet.

It was as effortless as brushing away ash.

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