C439 Spirit Gathering in the Cauldron!

Outside, the Fallen Star Eyes and the glass bottle maintained a distance from the Chaos Roc, while the remnants of various factions alternated their gazes between the deep cave and the Chaos Roc.

They waited in silence, eager for Yu Yuan to emerge swiftly.

Many attempted to communicate with the Chaos Roc, using either their spiritual sense or their thoughts.

The Chaos Roc remained indifferent, steadfastly guarding the cave entrance without a hint of response.

It was unable to enter, and it refused to allow others inside.

"Man, this elder from the Demon Race sure has a foul temper," someone remarked.

"Indeed. It's slammed into the cave so many times. If it can't penetrate the depths, why not let us try? Clearly, it's not its place of cultivation, or it would be able to enter," another pondered.

"How did Yu Yuan know how to get in? That's the real mystery," a third voice chimed in.

The crowd buzzed with speculation.

In that moment, Lau Ying on the Fallen Star Eyes and Chi Nandou, connected through the glass bottle, both saw a flicker of recognition in each other's eyes.

They turned their attention in unison to a specific direction.

Their sudden alertness startled many.

Yan Lu voiced his concern, "It's not the Blood Sacrificial Altar tracking us down, is it?"

"No, it's Lu Baichan from the Profound Sky Sect," Lau Ying clarified.

"Rosy Jenny?" Fei Yi inquired.

With a subtle nod, Lau Ying confirmed, "We would have been out of their reach with our speed, and they wouldn't have found us. But we've stopped..."

The Fallen Star Eyes and the glass bottle, both superior to the Rosy Jenny, outpaced it with ease.

Their wait for Yu Yuan at the sea-bottom cave had inadvertently allowed the slower Rosy Jenny to close in.

"This doesn't bode well," Chi Nandou muttered, his expression growing somber. "That foolish woman from the Profound Sky Sect might try to rescue the Demon Race's bull. For all we know, the Golden Barbarian Ox could be aboard the Rosy Jenny."

Hou Tianzhao's face also tensed with concern.

Simultaneously, Kong Banbi of the Sword Sect, who had been quiet since entering the Fallen Star Eyes, broke his silence, "Yu Yuan and I left the Rosy Jenny together. He departed to prevent the Rosy Jenny from rescuing the Demon Race's bull, for reasons you're all aware of..."

Kong Banbi succinctly laid out the reason.

Lau Ying listened intently and remarked, "After your departure, I encountered the Rosy Jenny, and it bore no Golden Barbarian Ox."

Kong Banbi nodded in acknowledgment. "Perhaps I worried needlessly."

"Caution is a virtue," Lau Ying said with a smile, her gaze then shifting to the horizon as the Rosy Jenny slowly materialized and drew nearer.

Inside the orb, Lu Baichan, alongside Tang Cann from the Profound Sky Sect and members of the Primordial Yang Sect, maintained a heavy silence.

It wasn't until they caught sight of the Fallen Star Eyes and the nearby glass bottle that Lu Baichan's face brightened with excitement and surprise.

Reuniting with the main force in times of peril was always a stroke of luck.

Especially since the Fallen Star Eyes had the power to shatter Yu Yuan's so-called Dark Blue Curtain at the sea's bottom, offering them a glimmer of hope for survival.

Yet...

The demeanor of Lau Ying from the Fallen Star Eyes, Chi Nandou with the glass bottle, and Hou Tianzhao from the lower sects was markedly cold and detached.

Their expressions were tinged with clear distaste and aversion.

A chill went through Lu Baichan as she pondered, 'Chi Nandou and Hou Tianzhao are one thing, but Lau Ying hails from the Silver Moon Sect on the Heavenly Source Continent, which includes many from the seven great lower sects. Why such a look?'

She and Tang Cann represented the Profound Sky Sect and the Primordial Yang Sect. Why would Lau Ying and her fellow lower sect members harbor such animosity?

Baffled, she wondered if it all boiled down to Yu Yuan.

"What a headache!"

Chi Nandou exhaled a weary sigh, eyeing the nearing Rosy Jenny. He turned to Hou Tianzhao and said, "The Profound Sky Sect and those from the Primordial Yang Sect are fools. Their presence might draw the Blood Sacrificial Altar's notice. What's our move? Do we ignore them and make a break for it?"

Hou Tianzhao rubbed his chin, contemplating the Chaos Roc and the shadowy cavern. "Let's wait and see."

"Fine," Chi Nandou conceded. "Regardless of what lies within that cave or how formidable that senior is, we can't linger. The senior has struck the cave several times, and I fear the commotion might alert the Blood Sacrificial Altar, prompting them to swiftly close in."

"No, that won't happen," Hou Tianzhao said, shaking his head. "The cauldron's vital energy hasn't spread far—just within this small area."

"Anyway, I'm not about to risk my life for mere curiosity," Chi Nandou huffed, having already noticed Hou Tianzhao's fascination with the shadowy cave, which explained his lack of urgency to depart.

Knowing Hou Tianzhao as he did, Chi Nandou was aware that in the face of mortal danger, Hou would unhesitatingly sacrifice anyone nearby.

...

"Evil Cauldron!"

Prompted by the youth from the Devil Palace, Yu Yuan reconsidered the seabed cave, now viewing it as the Evil Cauldron incarnate.

He surveyed his surroundings, piecing things together in his mind.

This so-called seabed cave was actually shaped like the upturned Evil Cauldron, its mouth facing outward.

The entrance he had used to enter the cave was the cauldron's mouth, gaping like the maw of a colossal alien beast.

Above the cauldron's mouth was its body, fused with the island's subterranean rock. Essentially, the thick rock encased the Evil Cauldron, obscuring its body from view.

The same rocky layer lined the cauldron's interior, which initially prevented him from recognizing that the very ground he stood upon was the Evil Sect's treasured artifact.

According to the Chaos Roc, the high-ranking cultivators of the Devil Palace and Demon Palace had once attempted to meld the Evil Demon concealed within the Evil Cauldron with the Tears of Blue Devil. They aimed to see if the Aura Altar could refine it into pure soul power.

The Outland Devaputra could swiftly regenerate their depleted soul energy using the Aura Altar.

The cultivators from the Devil Palace and Demon Palace had covertly constructed an Aura Altar at the sea's bottom and transported the Evil Cauldron there, most likely to harness the altar's power to distill pure soul energy. This would provide their most powerful members with a rapid means to enhance their realms and replenish their expended strength.

Should the Aura Altar manage to extract an immense surge of flesh and blood energy, the Demon Clan would rejoice immensely.

The Demon Clan places immense value on the cultivation and fortification of their physical forms. Abundant flesh and blood energy is their elixir of choice.

Practitioners within the Devil Palace, predominantly human, shift their focus to soul refinement after condensing their Yin Gods, aiming to strengthen the three souls of heaven, earth, and humanity.

Should the Aura Altar succeed in refining pure soul energy, it would surely become a grand feast for the gluttonous Taotie of the Devil Palace.

This reasoning suggests that the alien race corpses found in the island's cave were likely brought in later, intended for sacrifice at the Aura Altar.

Yu Yuan recalled that the Evil Sect's downfall stemmed from civil conflict, not an extraterrestrial race war.

The primary function of the Evil Cauldron was to harvest evil spirits and transmute them into more potent forms, not to house a multitude of alien corpses or their flesh and bones.

"Ah, now I understand," Yu Yuan said, the corner of his mouth curling into a knowing smile. He turned to the young man from the Devil Palace and said, "Thanks for the information. My visit here was specifically to seek out the Evil Cauldron."

"You think you can just take the Evil Cauldron?" The young man from the Devil Palace burst into laughter. "In your dreams! Even if it's damaged, it's still a former Artifact! Do you even grasp what an Artifact is? You believe you can just waltz off with the Evil Cauldron? The Tears of Blue Devil must have addled your brain."

"I am a scion of the Evil Sect," Yu Yuan replied with a smile.

"The Evil Sect is no more; it has been eradicated. You can't claim to be its scion simply by practicing the Devil Spell of the Evil Sect!" The young man scoffed, giving Yu Yuan a thorough once-over before adding, "Merely obtaining the Devil Spell and practicing it for a time won't grant you the Evil Cauldron."

He had noticed earlier that Yu Yuan had deliberately displayed his aura, revealing the extraordinary aspects of the Evil Body Refining Skill.

"I have no need for the extraneous contents of the cauldron, including the alien corpses," Yu Yuan stated, taking a deep breath. "I am only interested in the Evil Cauldron itself! Moreover, I intend to take it with me in short order!"

"Go ahead! Try all you want—I won’t stand in your way." The youth adopted a laissez-faire stance, allowing Yu Yuan free rein, while he himself backed away toward the mouth of the cave.

"Fine!"

Without further ado, Yu Yuan invoked the Evil Body Refining Skill, channeling the Devil Spell and transforming his body into a magnet, drawing in the chaotic spiritual energies from within the Evil Cauldron.

"Hu! Hu! Hu!"

Streams of smoke and flickering energy surged from every corner of the cave.

Even specks of unidentified light were drawn to Yu Yuan.

In that moment, Yu Yuan felt like a colossal magnet, his Yellow Court Little World in the lower dantian spinning like a vortex of magical power, ensnaring and engulfing all the power it could attract.

Unlike the Glorious Heavenly Wheel, the Evil Body Refining Skill, once activated, required no cleansing or purification. It indiscriminately devoured the mixed, wild, and even conflicting spiritual energies, much like a whale gulping water, absorbing them wholesale into his body.

The distinction between the Devil Spell and the Spiritual Spell was profound.

"Pfft!"

Tiny, glittering lights struck Yu Yuan's body, penetrating his flesh and blood like minuscule iron filings clinging to his bones and organs.

Some of the spiritual energy carried corrosive toxins that seeped into his skin, causing a fiery, excruciating pain that was beyond words.

Sharp, knife-like beams of light were also instantly drawn into the Yellow Court Little World, where, after being refined by the Glorious Heavenly Wheel, only a trace of pure spiritual energy settled into the realm below.

"The impurities within the spiritual energy are detrimental to the Yellow Court Little World. Toxins and foreign evil forces have largely fused with my flesh and bones."

Yu Yuan, practicing the Evil Body Refining Skill in an attempt to stir the Evil Cauldron, meticulously perceived and earnestly sensed the subtle shifts.

The Devil Palace youth watched him, his face etched with astonishment, "An Eight Refined Yellow Court practitioner!"

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