C687 Retract the Evil
A golden arc sliced through the night sky, speeding from a secluded corner of the city like a flash of lightning.
Whoosh!
Above Luan Bird City, the heavens appeared to be cleaved in two by the radiant streak.
Abruptly, the golden arc halted before Ma Jianjiang, its dazzling light weaving into the form of a tall, burly elder.
The elder was clad in the distinctive loose robes of the Babel Chamber of Commerce, adorned with the unmistakable seven-colored staircase emblem prominently embroidered on his chest.
"Ma Jianjiang! Has the Soul Igniting Nether Fog truly appeared in Luan Bird City?" His eyes, wide as gongs, shimmered with a golden brilliance, and his voice boomed like a great bell, "You're well aware that some matters must not be spoken of lightly!"
"Greetings, Elder Jin!"
The Chamber's deacon bowed respectfully, then gestured towards Yu Yuan, saying, "This is Yu Yuan, from Darkmoon City."
"The Plague God of Darkmoon City?" The golden-eyed elder was taken aback.
Yu Yuan, caught off guard, managed a wry nod.
"Yu Yuan, meet our Chamber of Commerce's head in Luan Bird City, Elder Jin Xiaolie," Ma Jianjiang introduced, "Though Elder Jin oversees the city, he seldom meddles in its affairs, preferring to wield his martial prowess to resolve the Chamber's troubles."
"Trading in spiritual materials and pellets isn't really my forte," Jin Xiaolie confessed with a nonchalant shrug, "My expertise lies in combat and the art of vanquishing foes."
Yu Yuan had quickly surmised that Jin Xiaolie possessed the advanced capabilities of the Soul Wandering Stage's Late Period.
The Chen family of the Luan Bird Empire had their own set of rules, forbidding excessively powerful forces from lingering within the city.
The Soul Wandering Stage was the threshold of power they would tolerate.
Jin Xiaolie, at the Late Period of the Soul Wandering Stage, practiced his cultivation in Luan Bird City, ever in search of the moment to break through and refine his Yang God. He would step in to handle the Chamber's difficult situations when necessary.
Like at this very moment.
"Is it truly the Soul Igniting Nether Fog?" Jin Xiaolie demanded.
Upon his arrival, his soul consciousness had already unfurled, taking in the various districts of the city. He observed the Chen family leading the troops of the Luan Bird Empire in the grim task of burning bodies.
Without discrimination, they were executing cultivators and clan disciples who had breathed in the purple mist.
Whoosh!
In a flash, Lau Ying, with her Fallen Star Eyes fixed on Yu Yuan, sped to the Babel Chamber of Commerce branch alongside Yu Yuan and Jin Xiaolie.
"Yu Yuan, is it truly the Soul Igniting Nether Fog that's thrown Luan Bird City into turmoil?"
Lau Ying's arrival was marked by her alarmed cry, her quivering lips betraying her deep fear.
The dreaded Soul Igniting Nether Fog!
"There's no mistake," Yu Yuan confirmed with a grave nod.
"Cultivators from the Primordial Yang Sect, Spirit Void Sect, Thunder Sect, and Cold Yin Sect, along with remnants of the Filthy Spirit Sect and young members of the Devil Palace, have united and are rushing out of the city," Lau Ying explained, her delicate white hand pointing southward. "Neither the Chen family nor the elders of other sects can hold them back."
"Is it because they've learned that the Soul Igniting Nether Fog has begun to spread throughout Luan Bird City?" Yu Yuan inquired.
"Yes," Lau Ying nodded. "Upon discovering the spread of the Soul Igniting Nether Fog, they were thrown into a panic. To them, the fog is far more fearsome and perilous than the Dark Ash Dust Mist that looms outside the city. They'd rather confront the outer realm's demons, alien souls, and cosmic visitors than perish inexplicably to the fog."
"Lord Jin, what's our course of action?" Ma Jianjiang asked.
The cultivators within Luan Bird City were split into two camps: one advocating for a staunch defense, while the other had already opted to risk death by leaving the city to escape the ravages of the Soul Igniting Nether Fog.
As he posed his question, more members of the Babel Chamber of Commerce gradually converged from various parts of the city.
"The Soul Igniting Nether Fog..."
Jin Xiaolie, riddled with anxiety, tugged at his hair, unable to reach an immediate decision.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Strands of malevolent energy, drawn to the Evil Cauldron, drifted from the streets where the seven lower sects' Dao Houses stood.
The newly formed "evil qi" entered the Evil Cauldron and swiftly coalesced into unconscious, chaotic "evil spirits."
The cauldron soul buzzed with excitement.
It urgently informed Yu Yuan that the cultivators who perished from the Soul Igniting Nether Fog, although their souls were consumed as fuel, their worldly attachments, resentment, and overwhelming hatred for their enemies had intensified wildly!
These emotions were crucial for the formation of evil spirits.
"To condense evil spirits, a surge of negative emotions is needed, not the power of the soul," the cauldron soul explained, its excitement palpable. "The more evil qi we gather, the more evil spirits we can refine, significantly enhancing the cauldron's power! In time, it might even return to its former glory!"
"So, the people who died from the Soul Igniting Nether Fog, their overflowing negative emotions spawned evil spirits?" Yu Yuan inquired, intrigued.
"Exactly! Master, if it won't cause any inconvenience, I'd like to go into the city and collect these evil spirits myself," the cauldron soul proposed to Yu Yuan.
After a moment's consideration, Yu Yuan nodded, "Just be cautious."
"Understood!"
Suddenly, the Evil Cauldron shrank into a tiny black speck, like a grain of rice, and left the Babel Chamber of Commerce branch to independently gather the nascent evil qi.
Yu Yuan maintained a constant mental link with the Artifact Soul.
He could faintly sense a multitude of evil spirits drifting from various parts of the city, converging towards the Evil Cauldron.
Jin Xiaolie, the head of the branch, noticed the Evil Cauldron's activity but chose not to interfere.
He was aware that this treasure from the Evil Sect could refine and condense evil qi into evil spirits, which would eventually form an imposing Evil Demon array, deterring malevolent forces far and wide, even causing Outland Devaputra to shudder.
Jin Xiaolie pondered whether he should lead the Chamber of Commerce members to evacuate sooner rather than later.
"Yu Yuan, should we... consider leaving the city?" Lau Ying murmured.
From the towering edifice of the Chamber of Commerce, Yu Yuan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the unfolding events while covertly communicating with the Evil Cauldron, sensing the emergence and distribution of the evil qi.
He observed the Chen family and the Luan Bird Empire deploying their forces, employing ruthless and bloody tactics to swiftly eliminate those afflicted by the Soul Igniting Nether Fog.
Regardless of their status within the empire or whether they were a disciple of a sect, the Chen family was taking a direct and brutal approach to quell the unrest—massacre.
It seemed that the Chen family and the Luan Bird Empire were likely to contain the spread of the Soul Igniting Nether Fog.
"There's no rush. I have a feeling that the Chen family and the Luan Bird Empire will manage to handle the issues brought on by the Soul Igniting Nether Fog," Yu Yuan said, shaking his head. "We can make a decision later, once the situation spirals out of control and even the Yin God Stage experts are compromised by the fog."
Lau Ying agreed, "Okay!"
"We'll follow the young Yu's advice," Jin Xiaolie, who lacked decisiveness, quickly instructed Ma Jianjiang after Yu Yuan's explanation. He urged patience, advising against issuing any hasty commands or leaving the city.
"Ah, the God of Plagues truly lives up to the name," Jin Xiaolie lamented suddenly. "We should have been vigilant the moment you set foot in the city. The Babel Chamber of Commerce's assessment of you was spot on. Wherever you go, chaos and death seem to follow."
Yu Yuan gave it some thought and couldn't help but chuckle ruefully, finding himself at a loss for a rebuttal.
Two hours later, a piercing scream, like the cries of ghosts and the howling of wolves, erupted from the southern part of Luan Bird City!
Through the ethereal glow of the ascension array's azure curtain, one could see a stunning display of divine brilliance and lightning in the sky above the city's south. It pierced through the Dark Dust Mist, illuminating the heavens with an almost terrifying brightness.
"The battle has begun!"
