C479 Heaven and Earth of the Dao Merge Obtain Great Freedom!!
Hei Xun's real body, along with the long-hidden Solar Spirit, plunged into the depths of the sea. Simultaneously, the bookish woman reclining against a peach tree with a smile on her face also descended into the waters.
A crane's call pierced through the sea, causing a painful ringing in everyone's ears.
The ethereal white crane, exuding an aura of stillness, gracefully descended into the sea as well.
The Crane Rider, having played the jade flute, finally set it aside, casting an indifferent gaze upon the Pale Reaper, Peach Madam, and Hei Xun, who stood upon the Blood Altar.
The Guardian of the Devil Palace, the three Hei Xuns, began their slow convergence into one.
The Lunar Spirit and Solar Spirit Hei Xun pressed into their real body from either side.
As the two Hei Xuns merged with the real body, numerous fragmented islands within the Embers Sea burst into pieces.
Dozens of demonic beams and bolts of lightning erupted from the shattered islands, surging directly toward Hei Xun.
Above Hei Xun, the heavy waters parted abruptly, revealing a vast chasm that welcomed the incoming demonic beams and lightning.
The Pale Reaper, Peach Madam, and the white-haired Crane Rider were each positioned at the corners of the Blood Altar.
With a forceful "Hu!" the Pale Reaper swept away the throngs of spectral ghosts with a flick of his robe.
Atop the seven-tiered pagoda, three massive alien souls gobbled up hundreds of ghosts, voraciously chewing and invoking bizarre Spirit Magic.
Detaching from the pagoda, the alien souls manipulated the Codex of the Spirit, sketching out mysterious patterns.
The three peculiar Codex of the Spirit, once crafted by Soul Power, fluttered toward Hei Xun with a rustling sound.
The beams of demonic lightning that entered through the sea's gaping hole infused the soul spirits within the codices with new life and strange power.
Hei Xun spread his hands wide, gathering the three codices with a gracious smile and a word of thanks.
"The fare is yours."
Peach Madam's smile shone brilliantly as she plucked and scattered shimmering peach blossoms to Hei Xun.
Hei Xun accepted the gesture with a hearty laugh, as a beam of light burst from his crown, drawing the blossoms into his Mindscape.
The Crane Rider's expression was icy as he declared, "I don't have a boat."
"I wouldn't dare," Hei Xun hastily responded.
While they conversed, dozens of demonic lightning beams plummeted through the opening above his head.
Deep within the Blood Altar, a throng of blood snakes, embodying the refined essence of pure vitality, seemed to be a gift from the altar itself, burrowing into his corporeal body.
The presence of Hei Xun, the Guardian of the Devil Palace, permeated the Embers Sea in an instant. The immutable laws of the Great Way in this realm appeared to subtly adjust in response to Hei Xun.
"To reach the Unbound state is to merge with Heaven and Earth!"
Lin Yue, of the Colddeath sect, suppressed the fear gnawing at his heart. After a lengthy observation of the seabed, he finally abandoned all his illusions.
His covetousness for the Sunsorrow amber of the giant beast vanished completely once he realized what Hei Xun was undertaking.
Lin Yue dared not move too quickly or too overtly as he stealthily made his escape across the sea.
His extreme caution was clearly driven by the fear of drawing the attention of Hei Xun and other notoriously vicious individuals.
Even a mere glance from one of those legendary figures could spell the end of his life.
"Hei, Hei..."
Mo Yan, wielder of the Shadowblade, stuttered and no longer dared to refer to Hei Xun as a traitor.
He bit back his words, saying no more, even as he watched the Blood Altar and Hei Xun, he continued to retreat beneath the sea.
Without breaking the surface, he gradually distanced himself further and further below the waves.
Both he and Lin Yue recognized that Hei Xun, who had presided over the Embers Sea for years, intended to use the Blood Altar and the entire sea to merge with the Dao. Utilizing the Divine Thunder he had secretly amassed over time, Hei Xun aimed to surge into the Unbound Realm in a brief moment, propelling his cultivation level significantly forward.
A Great Cultivator of the Solar Spirit could merge with the Dao of a part of the world and achieve profound freedom.
Great Cultivators of the Unbound Realm were exceedingly rare across the Everlands, each possessing the credentials to found their own school.
The Skyblight Cult, Taintborn, Colddeath, Binders of Shadows, and the Poison Cult boasted only Unbound Realm powerhouses.
On the continent of Euwrea, the leaders of the seven lower sects were predominantly of this realm as well.
The Unbound Realm, second only to the Primordial Spirit, is an elite status that commands respect even beyond the Star River.
Currently, Hei Xun, infamous even outside the vast Everlands, was attempting to break through to the Unbound Realm within the Embers Sea!
During his breakthrough, the Pale Reaper, Peach Madam, and the Crane Rider were all present to shield him from external disturbances, ensuring the integrity of his Way of Heaven.
This strategy was clearly not conceived overnight; without years, if not decades, of planning, such seamless coordination would be impossible.
Mo Yan could see just how complete Hei Xun's control over the Embers Sea was.
He also understood that Hei Xun must have forged an early pact with the Blood Altar, aiming not only to transcend the Unbound Realm within the Embers Sea but also to leverage the altar to shatter the wall's seal and surge into the extraterrestrial Star River.
His ambition was not just to free himself but to liberate others from the confines of the Everlands.
Hei Xun saw the Blood Altar as a vessel to breach the wall and step into the extraterrestrial realm, with the confined ghosts and spirits as its passengers.
The Pale Reaper from the Land of Terror, Peach Madam from the Rainbow Ocean, the white crane, and the Crane Rider were all among those he intended to bring along.
It wasn't the Blood Altar that summoned them, but Hei Xun, the Guardian of Devil Palace.
Inside the crucible, Yu Yuan's mind raced as he discreetly withdrew.
At this juncture, he had no desire to ponder the veracity of the messages conveyed by Hei Xun through the Crucible of Evil.
He wished only to remain uninvolved.
The upheaval in the Embers Sea was bound to trigger a domino effect.
With the defection of Hei Xun, the Guardian of Devil Palace, and the arrival of the Pale Reaper, Peach Madam, the white crane, and the Crane Rider, a clandestine, bloody spectacle centered around the Blood Altar was already underway.
Beneath the sea, their skirmish with the Blood Altar and the Abyssal Leviathan was merely an appetizer before the main course.
Undoubtedly, more magnates and archdemon powerhouses would descend upon this place in due time.
The Blood Altar, soaring through the sky, would be the site of an unimaginably fierce battle before it departed the Everlands.
He had no intention of becoming a casual casualty at the hands of those powerful cultivators.
The Crucible of Evil did not levitate but instead roared along the ocean floor, keeping as far away as possible from the Blood Altar and the Spawn of Chaos.
The real body of the Abyssal Leviathan, emerging from the depths of the Spawn of Chaos, continued to swell.
"Hei Xun, what exactly is your connection to the Abyssal Leviathan?" Yu Yuan couldn't help but speculate.
In his past life, he had heard of the Land of Terror and the Rainbow Ocean. He had even encountered Peach Madam, though they had never formed a close bond.
The Pale Reaper was said to be a cultivator from Ebon Star in Euwrea, who, after perishing, left behind a residual soul that grew stronger in the Land of Terror, eventually becoming a pure soul entity.
Yan Qiling, as well as Loong Tianxiao, followed a similar path.
The Land of Terror, being one of the Everlands' most enigmatic locations, was inherently conducive to the nurturing of souls and ghosts.
If Loong Tianxiao and Yan Qiling sought to achieve a significant breakthrough in their soul work, they would likely need to venture into the Land of Terror in the future.
The Land of Terror was fraught with peril, forbidding the entry of the corporeal body.
The minimum requirement for human cultivators to enter was to attain the Lunar Spirit.
The mightiest being in the Land of Terror was said to rival a cultivator with a primordial spirit. Even the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep could not contend with this supreme entity within the Land of Terror.
The Pale Reaper's ability to carve out a domain in such a mystical place and earn the moniker "Spectre" spoke volumes of his formidable prowess.
Within the Land of Terror, a Spectre was on par with a cultivator of the Unbound realm. However, once outside the Land of Terror, within the broader Everlands, their status would be demoted, aligning more closely with that of a Solar Spirit cultivator.
The enigmatic Peach Madam from the Rainbow Ocean had an aura of mystery that even Yu Yuan, who had encountered her in his past life, couldn't unravel. He vaguely knew that she was once the consort of a powerful cultivator with a primordial spirit, but the identity of this cultivator and whether he was still among the living remained a mystery to Yu Yuan.
In a previous life, the Peach Madam had once implored him for a pill, and in exchange, he had requested a collection of rare miasma clouds from the depths of the Rainbow Ocean. Their transaction was as simple as that.
As for the white crane and the Crane Rider, Yu Yuan had never come across them before, nor had he had any interaction with them. It's possible they were malevolent entities that had risen to prominence over the past three hundred years.
However, observing the white-haired Crane Rider's demeanor in the presence of Hei Xun, and Hei Xun's deferential attitude towards him, it seemed that he was even more formidable than the Pale Reaper or the Peach Madam. Yu Yuan was well aware that such individuals were beyond his ability to contend with, and that keeping his distance was the wisest course of action.
To Yu Yuan's astonishment, Hei Xun, with whom he had previously engaged through the Crucible of Evil, did not pursue him, nor did he show any desire to seize the Crucible of Evil. Suddenly, from across the expanse of the Blood Altar, Hei Xun cast a profound and knowing smile in his direction, leaving Yu Yuan somewhat bewildered.
In that moment, the Crucible of Evil, which was transporting him away, trembled gently. It was the cauldron spirit stirring.
"What's the matter?" inquired Yu Yuan, his attention sharpening.
"When you practiced the Evil Body Refining technique inside the cauldron, you didn't truly earn my recognition," the cauldron spirit explained leisurely. "What truly made me accept you, and willingly accompany you, wasn't the Evil Body Refining technique you practiced."
"I understand, it's my 'Soul Forging through Enlightenment,' the legacy of Boulderdawn," Yu Yuan acknowledged.
"That's right," the cauldron spirit affirmed. After a thoughtful pause, it added, "To the Guardian of Devil Palace, individuals like Mo Yan and the offspring of the Colddeath Sect are inconsequential, too weak to even pique his interest in slaying them. But you, due to the presence of the Crucible of Evil and because you were seduced by the Abyssal Leviathan to aid in its escape, he would normally not have let you off so easily."
Yu Yuan pondered for a moment before saying, "At the very least, he wouldn't let me take you and the cauldron away without a fight."
Having refined the Crucible of Evil, secured a wealth of Sunsorrow, and advanced to the Veil Breaking realm, his journey had indeed yielded a rich bounty.
With the power displayed by the Guardian of Devil Palace and the protection afforded by those three, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to kill me before the Abyssal Leviathan unleashed its full might.
Yet, Hei Xun refrained from doing so.
Yu Yuan had racked his brain but couldn't fathom the reason.
After a lengthy pause, the cauldron spirit finally provided an answer, "He let you take me because you've genuinely earned my recognition. The way you gained my approval was by using Soul Forging through Enlightenment, because you've practiced the wondrous Spirit Magic of Boulderdawn, because you are the covert successor of Boulderdawn!"
Yu Yuan was startled. "So, Hei Xun, he is?"
"You've guessed correctly; he's just like you," the cauldron spirit responded. "Hei Xun likely received some legacy of Boulderdawn in the Star River beyond our world. Upon his return to the Everlands, he orchestrated his plans in secret, stirring up such an upheaval in the Embers Sea."
"Boulderdawn!"
