C677 Wraithbinding!

As the cornerstone treasure of the Terror Claws, this cauldron was once a Divine Artifact!

In the vast Everlands, any Divine Level item is considered a rare treasure!

A Divine Artifact is undoubtedly an object of universal envy!

Only the sect masters of grand sects or individuals renowned for their high cultivation level in the world were deemed worthy to wield such power!

The Crucible of Evil suffered grave damage following the sect's downfall and the sect master's demise.

The cauldron spirit fell into a deep silence, hidden away for many years.

Even the Devil Palace, which had seized the shattered Crucible of Evil and submerged it in the Embers Sea, was unaware that the cauldron spirit still clung to life within.

When Yu Yuan delved into the little world inside the Crucible of Evil, he inadvertently roused the cauldron spirit.

Awakening from its dormancy, the cauldron spirit found itself weakened due to the cauldron's substantial injuries. Not only had its rank plummeted, but its consciousness had not fully restored.

Thus, when the enigmatic Spirit Magic known as "Wraithbinding" emerged from the cauldron's walls, the cauldron spirit was taken aback.

"I may have lost some of my memories, but I sense that this Wraithbinding isn't the renowned dark arts of the Terror Claws," the cauldron spirit remarked.

"If it's not the Terror Claws' spell or arcane technique, why would it be etched into the cauldron's inner wall?" Yu Yuan wondered, silently chanting the Wraithbinding. Utilizing his heaven soul to discern its essence, he quickly realized that Wraithbinding was a mystique capable of refining the earthly soul, thereby evolving into a Lunar Spirit!

Setting aside the origins of Wraithbinding, Yu Yuan reflected on the inscriptions imprinted upon his soul. He marveled at the depth and intricacy of the Spirit Magic, where each word revealed layers of mystery, articulating the earthly soul's transformations in a clear and comprehensive manner.

For a human, the existence of the three souls is a given, with the earthly soul playing a crucial role as the bearer of memories.

"To practice Wraithbinding, one must first isolate the earthly soul from the entwined souls..."

With this realization, an idea took root in Yu Yuan's mind, and he concentrated on the Mindscape, where the overlapping souls resided.

Utilizing the technique described in Wraithbinding, he attempted to harness the spiritual sense brimming with the earthly soul and transform it into "force," channeling his will into the spiritual sense. His goal was to extricate the earthly soul from the heaven soul and the dominant soul.

Whoosh!

The overlapping souls were forcibly cleaved apart by the spiritual sense, causing Yu Yuan an excruciating pain, as if his head were being split open. The agony was unbearable.

The Wraithbinding had warned that the initial division of the soul would be torturous, and indeed it was. Nevertheless, it was a necessary ordeal that he had to endure with gritted teeth.

Within the Mindscape, Yu Yuan could observe that, as the earthly soul separated from the heaven soul and the dominant soul, there were slender threads of spiritual sense that remained connected to both the heaven soul and the dominant soul.

During the separation of the earthly soul, these intertwined threads of spiritual sense were stretched taut before snapping apart.

Each time a thread of spiritual sense attached to the heaven soul and the dominant soul severed, Yu Yuan would shudder in pain, his face contorting as he gasped for air.

This single step alone was enough to bring him to the brink of unconsciousness, his body drenched in a cold sweat.

Furthermore, with each fracture of the spiritual sense, his endurance for pain and his consciousness edged closer to collapse.

Within half an hour, his mind thundered, and he collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

The process of detaching the earthly soul from the heaven soul and the dominant soul was only one-third complete, yet Yu Yuan's mental fortitude had reached its limit, making it nearly impossible to concentrate on the Mindscape.

Drowsily, he felt an overwhelming tiredness that made it impossible to keep his eyes open.

Before succumbing to sleep, he hastily ingested a Soul Essence Pill and promptly lost consciousness.

Upon awakening, his spent energy and willpower were fully replenished.

Two whole days had elapsed.

"What? My first attempt at practicing Wraithbinding, trying to separate the earthly soul from the entwined souls, resulted in me sleeping for two full days?!"

Yu Yuan's face drained of color as he learned from the cauldron spirit that two days had passed.

"Yes, exactly two days and nights. Master, this Wraithbinding seems rather peculiar. Would you like to cease practicing it?" the cauldron spirit inquired cautiously. "From what I understand, the earthly soul typically only separates from the heaven soul and the dominant soul after it has been refined and evolved into the Lunar Spirit. Only when the Lunar Spirit becomes independent, and the Solar Spirit is formed, do they truly become distinct entities."

The cauldron spirit explained, "You've only just reached the Subtlety Realm and haven't yet refined your earthly soul. It's too soon to be separating it from your heaven soul and dominant soul."

Despite gaps in the artifact soul's memory, it retained enough knowledge to understand the mysterious intricacies of various cultivation realms.

Yu Yuan, having lived two lifetimes, was already aware that the initial step in practicing Wraithbinding involved detaching the earthly soul in an extraordinary manner.

He was well aware of what the cauldron spirit mentioned, knowing that in conventional cultivation, the earthly soul typically transformed into a Lunar Spirit before parting from the heaven soul and dominant soul.

The need to separate the earthly soul upon reaching Subtlety did indeed seem peculiar.

Yet, as Yu Yuan pondered the path of Wraithbinding, he considered this novel approach to cultivation both intriguing and viable.

"I'll try again!"

Ignoring the cauldron spirit's advice, Yu Yuan, upon awakening, once more concentrated his willpower and submerged himself in his spiritual sense, wrenching at his earthly soul and enduring excruciating pain as he did so.

The forced separation of his overlapping souls was accompanied by unspeakable agony.

Before long, as his spiritual sense shattered, Yu Yuan lost consciousness again.

When he came to, four days had passed!

"Once more! I refuse to give up! I'm determined to find out how long it will take to detach the earthly soul! I'm also curious whether the cultivation method described in Wraithbinding is truly viable!"

Driven by his stubbornness, Yu Yuan set out on the path of Wraithbinding once again, disregarding the pain.

Each attempt at soul separation led to a collapse of his spiritual will, resulting in unconsciousness.

He would faint, wake, and resume his cultivation, repeating the cycle.

Fortunately, he was safely ensconced in a secluded training room within the Azure Vault in Afnetalos City, so there was no fear of being mysteriously slain during his bouts of unconsciousness.

Days passed in this self-inflicted agony, slipping away quietly.

Gradually, he managed to sever each link between his earthly soul and heaven soul, followed by the soulstone connections between his earthly soul and dominant soul.

Each cultivation session left him wailing and roaring in pain as if enduring the torment of a myriad of demons.

Then, one deep night, after coming to, the cauldron spirit urgently relayed a message: Xie Bin from the Obsidian Thunder Sect had been waiting outside for a long time, eager to meet with him.

He didn't immediately begin another round of cultivation. Instead, he stood up and noticed Xie Bin's furrowed brow and the grave expression that made him seem almost frightening.

"What's the matter? It must have been quite a while, hasn't it?" Yu Yuan asked, surprised. "I assumed you had already taken Lee Yu and the others and left Afnetalos to return to the Euwrea Continent by now."

"It's been over a month," Xie Bin said with a frown. "If it weren't for the Ashen Shadowmist, I would have led those talented youngsters through the Chen family's teleportation circle and left half a month ago."

"The Ashen Shadowmist affects you?" Yu Yuan inquired, puzzled.

"Have you not been outside recently? Aren't you aware of what's been happening?" Xie Bin was even more bewildered. "Have you been cultivating here all this time?"

"Yes, I haven't ventured out for the time being," Yu Yuan confirmed.

"The Ashen Shadowmist has spread from the Scarlet Dunes and has even shrouded the teleportation circle built by the Chen family outside the city," Xie Bin exclaimed.

Yu Yuan's face showed shock. "How could this happen?"

"Who knows why the Ashen Shadowmist is so abundant and why it's surging so fiercely," Xie Bin lamented. "Hidden within the mist are Sky Fiends, Terra Fiends, and malevolent creatures of unimaginable strength, and their numbers are growing. The sects' disciples and elders sent to 'dispel evil' have suffered grievous losses."

"Judging by the way the Ashen Shadowmist is advancing, it will reach Afnetalos soon. Maybe in another ten days or half a month, even Afnetalos will be engulfed by it."

"Many people have recently given up on the idea of leaving through the Chen family's teleportation circle. Instead, they're heading away from the trouble, moving south from the Songbird Empire toward Dedsend Lake."

"The Songbird Empire is relocating the common folk to other cities."

"The mightiest empire in the Everlands has called back all its border generals and battle-hardened warriors. Members of the Chen family who were out gaining experience, and even cultivators employed by sects, are rushing to the scene."

"We're in for a fierce fight!"

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