C457 The Unknown 'evil'!

The Ethereal Vial glided along the ocean floor.

Mo Yan, a young man from the Devil Palace, caressed the Shadowblade, a weapon as heavy as a mountain, with the tenderness one might show when stroking a beloved's skin. His eyes brimmed with adoration.

"Chi-la!"

A tiny spark of blood shot from his fingertip, zipping into the body of the Devil Blade.

This renowned Devil Blade in the annals of the Devil Palace absorbed his blood light, its artifact soul seemingly leaping for joy within.

Any cultivator or individual with an arcane-imbued soul could sense the movement of the artifact soul within the Devil Blade when near Mo Yan.

As Mo Yan's hand graced the blade, a multitude of mystical glyphs briefly surfaced.

Suddenly, his eyelashes twitched.

His eyes slowly dimmed, exuding an eerie sense of lifelessness, as if his soul had vanished.

It was as though his soul had plunged into the depths of the Devil Blade.

A distinct ripple of soul energy emanated from the Shadowblade. Mo Yan appeared to fade away, while the Devil Blade itself began to glow, capturing the attention of all present.

This bizarre transformation was fleeting.

Moments later, Mo Yan jolted as though snapping awake from a profound nightmare. Sweat beaded his forehead, and his demeanor underwent a stark transformation.

The once carefree and jovial Mo Yan now wore a stern and solemn expression.

"Turn the Ethereal Vial around; we must seek out the Fallen Star Eyes!"

He addressed Qi Nandou with an authoritative tone that brooked no argument.

"Ah? Why?"

Qi Nandou, clutching the Bone-Devouring Shuttle, reeled in his focus and pointed the Flying Shuttle, crafted from White Bone, ahead. "We're nearly at the other border. Mo Yan, with the combined strength of the Bone-Devouring Shuttle and the Ethereal Vial, I'm confident we can shatter the so-called 'Azure Veil'."

The others were perplexed, unable to grasp why Mo Yan would issue such a directive at this pivotal moment.

"I'll say it again! Turn back and search for the Fallen Star Eyes!" Mo Yan insisted.

From the moment he emerged from the Crucible of Evil, he had never displayed such an intense and commanding presence as he did now, making those around him uneasy.

Fei Yi, hailing from the Devil Palace, noticed the expression on his face and felt a sense of foreboding.

"Could this lead to unnecessary complications? Qi Nandou, Hou Tianzhao, and Lin Yue are not to be trifled with. They only follow decisions that align with their interests. If they believe they're being led to their doom, they may not be so compliant," Fei Yi pondered.

He was well aware of the tactics and behaviors of Qi Nandou, Hou Tianzhao, and others when traversing the Land of Quiescence.

Fei Yi was genuinely concerned that they were unaware of Mo Yan's true stature and might disrespect the Devil Palace.

"You've already mentioned that we might not come out on top in a fight against the Fallen Star Eyes," Hou Tianzhao said with a hearty laugh. "You've also acknowledged that Yu Yuan is a tough opponent, one you're not sure you can defeat. So, what's changed? Have you decided to turn back and wipe them out?"

"I think we should avoid unnecessary complications," Chi Yin of the Taintborn Sect interjected.

Mo Yan looked at them and clarified, "We're not going to fight against them, but alongside them."

"What?" Qi Nandou exclaimed in surprise. "Has the Blood Altar already targeted them? If that's the case, we need to make a swift exit and break through the Azure Veil!"

"It's not the Blood Altar. It's the bizarre fish that's been following Yu Yuan. It's called the Abyssal Leviathan, and it hails from the Star River in the extraterrestrial realm," Mo Yan explained.

"An extraterrestrial anomaly!"

"That strange fish, an elder of the evilkind? It actually originated from beyond our world?"

"It all makes sense now!"

With the totem-poles in mind, Chi Yin and Lin Yue had a moment of realization.

"The Abyssal Leviathan is ferocious and intent on annihilating everyone on the Fallen Star Eyes. While I'm indifferent to their fate, if it gets its hands on the Crucible of Evil, we're in for a world of trouble," Mo Yan said, taking a deep breath. "Yu Yuan is up there, and he has the Crucible of Evil with him! His Crucible will grant the Abyssal Leviathan immense power!"

Lin Yue was taken aback. "He's managed to refine the Crucible of Evil?"

Mo Yan nodded.

"What about us?" Qi Nandou hesitated.

"If the Abyssal Leviathan gets the Crucible of Evil, even if we manage to break out of the Azure Veil, there's no guarantee we'll make it out alive!" Mo Yan said coldly, looking at him. "I've been in touch with Hei Xun. He wants us to turn back and join forces with Yu Yuan to confront the Abyssal Leviathan. We absolutely cannot allow it to break through the Azure Veil!"

"Understood!"

Upon hearing Mo Yan invoke Hei Xun's name, Qi Nandou immediately redirected the flow of the Ethereal Vial without further delay.

"Lord Hei Xun! Does Lord Hei Xun have any instructions for us?"

"What's the situation at sea? Are the elders who led us here aware of our predicament?"

"Are they still alive?"

Many were excited to hear Mo Yan mention Hei Xun, bombarding him with questions.

Mo Yan furrowed his brow and replied, "Nearly everyone at sea has perished."

"Ah!"

...

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

In the sea, an invisible bane flew swiftly. The bane, seeking its destination due to the cessation of the Fallen Star Eyes, finally arrived.

The Fallen Star Eyes created a barrier of cosmic energy, its starlight shimmering brilliantly, preventing the bane from entering.

As the bane collided with the cosmic energy barrier, what was previously invisible to the onlookers became gradually visible, highlighted by the scattering starlight.

Yu Yuan gripped the sword sheath tightly, aiming at the Abyssal Leviathan. Sword light occasionally burst forth from the sheath, filling the gaps in the sword light cage and continuing to bind and restrict the Abyssal Leviathan.

The Abyssal Leviathan, now appearing as a gaunt old man, sat on the ground, tending to his severe abdominal wounds.

He hung his head, ignoring everyone else, and concentrated solely on stabilizing his condition.

Kong Banbi, Du Huang, and others were eager to help but were at a loss for what to do, left only to fret anxiously.

"No, something isn't right!"

Liu Ying, whose control over the Fallen Star Eyes had been wrested away by the Abyssal Leviathan and compromised by an external force, suddenly regained some clarity. She looked up at the glowing barrier created by the Fallen Star Eyes.

"Pfft!"

The once intangible malevolent energy took the shape of a fist imprint and struck the cosmic energy light screen.

The light screen burst with starlight, and the odd energy infused by the Abyssal Leviathan was unexpectedly neutralized in part.

Only Liu Ying could perceive the artifact soul of the Fallen Star Eyes, whose mournful wailing abruptly ceased at that moment.

Liu Ying's eyes sparkled with realization.

"No, it's not malevolent energy... it's something else."

Kong Banbi of the Sword Sect paused, his attention caught by Liu Ying's remark that something was amiss. He pointed at the fist-shaped "evil spirit" and said, "Could it be a fully formed evil spirit?"

The entity, the size of a fist and referred to as an "evil spirit," repeatedly struck the cosmic energy light shield. Far from fading away, it grew in strength and slowly became visible.

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Simultaneously, other malevolent energies naturally converged upon it, assimilating into its form.

It continued to morph, growing significantly larger.

In just a moment, after devouring all the malevolent energy drawn by the presence of the Crucible of Evil, it swelled to the size of a stone disc.

"The evil energy produced in such a short time by the trial-takers slain by Mo Yan and his companions couldn't possibly coalesce into an evil spirit! And even if it could, it wouldn't be this powerful!"

Kong Banbi wore a puzzled look. After pondering, he suggested, "There's only one explanation. The evil spirit must have been lying dormant at the bottom of the Embers Sea all along! It must have been drawn here by the emergence of the Crucible of Evil, sensing its call from afar!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The ever-transforming and burgeoning "evil spirit" relentlessly pounded against the light shield of the Fallen Star Eyes.

As specks of starlight scattered, the psionic power poured into it by the Abyssal Leviathan vanished as if by magic.

The artifact soul ceased its lament and, filled with anticipation, awaited the "evil spirit's" intensified onslaught.

Liu Ying had a sudden revelation and exclaimed, "The entity controlling the Fallen Star Eyes must be doing so to fend off this evil spirit! That old man must have foreseen that the advent of the Crucible of Evil would draw forth such an evil spirit, one that would instinctively converge and pour into Yu Yuan's body!"

With a whoosh, the dark magical glow heralded the emergence of the cauldron that everyone had previously seen on the island. It now burst forth from Yu Yuan's chest, from within his elixir field.

"The Crucible of Evil!"

"It really is the Crucible of Evil!"

"You were right. Yu Yuan has actually refined the Crucible of Evil and incorporated it into his middle elixir field at the Profound Gate!"

As the Crucible of Evil, now reduced to the size of a watermelon, hovered silently over Yu Yuan's chest, emitting a sinister magical light, the onlookers gasped in astonishment.

"I can control the Fallen Star Eyes again!"

Liu Ying, who had been struggling to rid herself and the artifact soul of the strange power inflicted by the Abyssal Leviathan, spat out several mouthfuls of blood in her agony. Yet, upon regaining control, she cried out in ecstatic disbelief.

The relentless assaults by the mysterious "evil spirit" had completely drained the strange power the Abyssal Leviathan used to bind the Fallen Star Eyes.

Constrained by the sword light cage and severely wounded, the Abyssal Leviathan snapped open its eyes at her exclamation. Its small, one crimson and one pearly white eye, stared eerily at Yu Yuan. "You allowed it entry, but was that truly wise? Kid, do you even understand what it is? By letting it into the Crucible of Evil, can you still claim the cauldron as your own?"

"Think it over carefully!"

As the Abyssal Leviathan focused on healing its wounds, it sensed the presence of "it" with the waning power of the Fallen Star Eyes and issued a cautionary warning to Yu Yuan.

At these words, Liu Ying, who had regained control of the Fallen Star Eyes and reconnected with the artifact soul, was momentarily dumbfounded.

"What, what?"

The Fallen Star Eyes blazed with light, activating the starstones at its core one by one. As the artifact filled with cosmic energy, Liu Ying was utterly bewildered.

"Wait! Just wait!"

Kong Banbi yelled, urging Liu Ying, who was about to open the Fallen Star Eyes alongside the artifact soul and permit the evil spirit entry, to reconsider her actions.

Liu Ying quickly conferred with the artifact soul, reinforcing the stability of the Fallen Star Eyes and, in turn, thickening the protective light screen even further.

This was done to stop the evil spirit from easily breaking in and to prevent it from entering further inside.

After much effort, she had finally gained control over the Fallen Star Eyes, yet her actions seemed to mirror those of the past.

"Yu Yuan! Can that thing get in?" She looked at Yu Yuan with a pitiful expression, feeling overwhelmed by the recent events, which had surpassed her expectations, making her question her own intelligence.

Shouldn't the evil spirit that emerged out of nowhere be assisting Yu Yuan and the Crucible of Evil in confronting the extraterrestrial threat?

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