C713 The Soul Split Grand Array

With a howl that pierced the heavens, Liu Linzhi, of the Heavenly Ghost rank, unleashed a roar towards the palace dome. The soul-shattering sonic waves spread, summoning nearly a hundred formidable ghosts and spirits to burst forth from the rocky walls in an instant.

These so-called "shadows" were nothing but vicious souls and malevolent specters.

In the blink of an eye, the ghosts and spirits loyal to Liu Linzhi overwhelmed both the Ice Concubine and the second Evil Demon.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The materialized ghosts and spirits were ferociously brutal, yet upon contact with the Ice Concubine, their ethereal souls were infiltrated by her intense cold power, causing them to freeze and shatter.

Meanwhile, the second Evil Demon, once confined to the Sword Prison and reduced to a mere pool of blood, slipped free from the Evil Cauldron and coalesced into a blood-colored wraith, momentarily taken aback.

Amidst the throng of ghostly spirits, the second Evil Demon, with eyes as crimson as Liu Linzhi's, sensed a familiar scent and grew curious.

"An Evil Demon forged from a predecessor of my Blood God Cult!"

Liu Linzhi's visage, now visible within his armor, was etched with shock. "You possess the blood-colored jade pendant, indicating a connection to my Blood God Cult. Why then have you used the ancestors of my cult to transform into an Evil Demon?"

Whoosh!

Three ferocious spirits, with ghastly green faces and razor-sharp fangs, materialized their lethal claws and lunged at the second Evil Demon.

Black and gray soul glows streaked like spectral lightning, aiming for the blood shadow revealed by the second Evil Demon.

A dazzling burst of blood light suddenly erupted from the shadow.

The second Evil Demon's grin was sinister as its seemingly phantom form transformed into droplets of blood.

Each droplet morphed into a blood demon from the Outland Star River, appearing fleshed and voraciously savage.

Hundreds of Blood Demons, which should have been preying upon lives in the Outland Star River, now spawned from blood beads and viciously shredded the three malevolent spirits, reveling in their destruction.

Inside his armor, Liu Linzhi couldn't hide his trepidation as he demanded, "Which of our elders are you?"

"I'm eager to find out why you trapped me and drew me to the depths of Dark Mountain," Yu Yuan, manipulating the dark cauldron, momentarily widened the gap between himself and Liu Linzhi, with a host of ghostly spirits separating them. "Is it for that blood token, or is it for this mighty cauldron?"

The depths of the human heart can harbor great malice, a truth Yu Yuan hadn't expected to be mirrored so starkly in the spirits and phantoms. He had thought there was no bad blood between him and the Heavenly Ghost of Horror Land; in fact, their paths had crossed by sheer chance when he inadvertently saved Liu Linzhi with the blood-colored token.

Liu Linzhi's deferential manner when passing over the token had eased Yu Yuan's suspicions. As Liu Linzhi guided him deeper into Dark Mountain, the Heavenly Ghost engaged in idle chatter, recounting old tales to win his empathy, all the while using various artifacts and jars as bait.

Yu Yuan had been eager to leave the confines of the Evil Cauldron. He had cautiously checked for the absence of any biting cold winds in the palace, believing it to be a sign of safety, before stepping out of the cauldron to examine the wooden chests and iron boxes up close.

Little did he know, Liu Linzhi's apparent kindness was nothing but a web of calculated moves. Were it not for the beast skin gifted by Chen Liangquan, which proved crucial in the nick of time, his flesh and blood might have been rendered unrecognizable at their first confrontation.

Without having attained the Yin God Stage, a human cultivator's three souls would swiftly vanish upon bodily death. Yu Yuan's soul would have been seamlessly consumed by Liu Linzhi. Moreover, the Heavenly Ghost of Horror Land likely had methods to extract even the memories embedded within his earthbound soul.

This realization sent a shiver through Yu Yuan. He had been hunting geese all day, only to nearly be pecked by one!

"That jade pendant is of great importance to me," he declared. With the situation as it was, the Heavenly Ghost, transformed from a member of the Blood God Cult, no longer masked his intentions. "Since the cauldron you possess is an extraordinary Soul Artifact, I must have it. These other items, they are of no use to me; they do not enhance my power, nor can they aid my breakthrough to the Nether Ghost."

He gestured toward the wooden chests and iron boxes that glimmered with a greenish light.

"Now is the golden age for Horror Land! I can sense the Yin Qi surging from the underground Yin Vein source growing stronger by the day! With the aid of a rare treasure, I can ascend to the Nether Ghost! Perhaps one day, I might even claim the title of Ghost King of Horror Land! Legend says that if the Ghost King is willing to forsake all, he can be reborn as a mortal!"

"All I, Liu Linzhi, have ever desired is to live another lifetime—to walk the earth once more as a human, not in this ghastly form I currently possess!" Liu Linzhi declared with a cold snort. "My demise wasn't due to a failure in the Soul Wandering Stage, resulting in the destruction of my flesh and spirit. I was relentlessly pursued, cornered with no escape, and forced to use the Blood God Cult's blood escape technique. Now, it's nearly impossible for me to leave this place, and even if I could, seeking vengeance would be a formidable challenge."

"I refuse to wait in agony. My only choice is to ascend through the ranks, to reach the pinnacle of ghostly power in the briefest time possible!"

"Do you notice the blood-red rose pattern on this armor?" Liu Linzhi's laugh was laced with malice.

The armor was intricately carved with the pattern of a blood-red rose. At the center of the bud, a tormented, twisted face emerged.

"This is the soul of the woman I loved," Liu Linzhi said with a chilling smile. "Upon my first return home, I discovered she had married and borne a child, so I massacred her husband and his entire lineage. She had vowed to wait for me, to become my bride. She failed to keep her word, and for that, I exacted a terrible price, ensuring her entire family perished."

"I captured her soul in a unique vessel, but even that proximity wasn't enough for me, so I seared it into this armor."

He was at it again, dredging up bygone tales with a fresh spin on the narrative.

"Your quest for revenge and how you treated the woman you once loved are of no concern to me—I'm not the least bit interested," Yu Yuan said, his brow furrowed as he spoke distractedly to Liu Linzhi. His focus remained on the Ice Concubine and the Second Fiend Demon, observing their clash with the spectral forces.

The combat prowess of the Ice Concubine and the Second Fiend Demon far surpassed that of Liu Linzhi's minions. The Ice Concubine's ice-blue physique, laid bare to the biting winds, seemed not only impervious to the elements but even empowered by them.

A soft blue magical glow emanated from her, rippling outward in waves.

As the blue light rings passed, the spectral minions loyal to Liu Linzhi were thrown into disarray. Those unable to flee in time were penetrated by the intense cold, their very souls shattering into fragments.

The second Evil Devil transformed into a member of the Blood Devil Clan from the Outland Devaputra, working in tandem with the Ice Concubine. Together, they reduced the ghostly beings of Horror Land to mere wisps of smoke and ash.

"Master, as I've mentioned, our power—mine and the cauldron's—will surge within Horror Land!" The cauldron soul, brimming with anticipation, moved closer to Liu Linzhi. "Remember the monkey-shaped ghost we encountered at Dark Mountain? Its master is the truly formidable one."

"Liu Linzhi, you say? He's not as formidable as you think."

Suddenly, a flurry of evil spirits burst forth from the Evil Cauldron's maw.

Nearly seven hundred evil spirits, brimming with a deluge of negative energy, arranged themselves into an intricate soul formation within the palace, exerting an invisible pressure on Liu Linzhi.

"Soul Split!" intoned the cauldron soul, its voice a haunting blend of melody and magic, resonating with the soul formation.

Yu Yuan watched in awe as the soul array, woven from evil spirits, spun ceaselessly in the void, wrenching the soul of Heavenly Ghost Liu Linzhi from his armor.

Liu Linzhi's spectral form thrashed in desperation, unable to escape the relentless grip and pull of the soul array.

The Heavenly Ghost was forcibly dragged into the Soul Split formation, encircled by seven hundred evil spirits. As they spun, Liu Linzhi's soul was gradually ripped asunder.

The second Evil Devil, also from the Blood God Cult, had previously split into multiple Blood Devils. Now, seeing Liu Linzhi ensnared by the Soul Split formation, it swiftly coalesced back into a singular entity.

In a flash, the second Evil Devil reformed into a menacing blood shadow, approaching the swirling formation of seven hundred evil spirits.

In a swift motion, the blood shadow plunged into the formation, seizing the moment to snatch and consume the fragments of Liu Linzhi's disintegrating soul.

Liu Linzhi let out a piercing scream, his voice laced with terror as he pleaded for mercy, seeking Yu Yuan's forgiveness.

"I possess a secret about Horror Land that will shake the heavens. I hope to trade this knowledge for my life!" Liu Linzhi implored urgently. "I will surrender all that I have. I vow never to cross you again. I am even willing to serve as your vanguard, leading you into the heart of Horror Land."

"I'm aware of a Ghost King with deep ties to the Blood God Cult. He's waging war in the furthest reaches of Horror Land and desperately needs assistance. With the blood-colored token in hand, you're sure to earn his trust and secure a key role in his ranks. Consider me your introducer!"

Liu Linzhi, desperate to avoid death, pleaded fervently.

Yu Yuan remained indifferent.

As the Soul Split Array tore at Liu Linzhi, threatening to blur his consciousness, it abruptly ceased.

Simultaneously, the second Evil Demon, taking the form of a blood shadow, enveloped Liu Linzhi like a membrane and whisked him into the Evil Cauldron.

Within the cauldron, Yu Yuan, standing at its base, had a thought.

In an instant, his normal stature diminished a thousandfold.

He felt as though he had shrunk from a towering giant to a mere dwarf, plummeting from the heavens into the miniature universe within the cauldron.

There, the second Evil Demon stood like a deity, ensconced in a niche in the cauldron's wall.

This niche appeared to be the rightful abode of the formidable Evil Demon, previously unseen due to the dormant power of the Evil Cauldron.

"He was beneath the Ice Concubine initially. After absorbing Liu Linzhi, he ascended two levels from her position and moved to the forefront," intoned the cauldron soul, its voice echoing like that of an ancient deity within the cauldron's confines. "Liu Linzhi had the potential to be transformed into an Evil Demon. Yet, since one of similar origin already exists, his chance was forfeited."

The cauldron soul implied that the Evil Demon, created from practitioners of the Blood God Cult's Spiritual Spell, already had a second counterpart.

Whether due to specific rules or the Evil Cauldron's need for a variety of powerful Evil Demons from different origins, Liu Linzhi missed his opportunity to transform.

Instead, he became a nourishing sacrifice, aiding the ascent of the Second Evil Demon.

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