C739 Moonfall Strike!
Atop the mountain peak, the patterns on the Spirit Turtle's shell shifted subtly, forming the visage of the Azure Spirit.
Inside the shell, a voice sneered, "I recognize you, Yu Yuan! You've made quite a name for yourself in the outside world. But this is the Land of Terror! What level have you reached to so arrogantly think you can shatter my shell, painstakingly tempered over centuries?"
White Bone's lieutenants, many of whom were ghosts and Celestial Shades with awakened spiritual wisdom, looked on with a hint of bewilderment.
One ghost spirit, swift as a hawk and impatient by nature, cast eager glances at White Bone.
White Bone let out a dismissive snort.
"A turtle shell is still a turtle shell, no matter its hardness," Yu Yuan chuckled, unwilling to squander more time on this exchange. "Whether it can be broken or not, I already have my answer."
He pointed the sword sheath towards the turtle shell at the summit.
In a flash, the refined sword light sealed within his arm bone burst forth like crimson lightning, racing through his veins.
The sword's will nestled at the base of the sheath resonated, jubilant and exuberant.
Simultaneously, the sword spirit lurking deep within Yu Yuan's arm bone, as if suddenly bursting with spiritual wisdom, formed an arcane bond with his heaven soul, which had been honed by the Soul Forging through Enlightenment for an extended period.
Yu Yuan was rocked to his core.
He was acutely aware that his heaven soul had advanced significantly since his realm had ascended to the late stages of Subtlety, thanks to the tempering of the Soul Forging through Enlightenment.
It wasn't the sword spirit's spiritual wisdom that had awakened; it was his heaven soul that had rapidly progressed, now capable of discerning the sword spirit's messages.
The sword spirit remained unchanged; it was his heaven soul that had transformed!
In the following moment, the robust spiritual energy he had amassed within the little world of the Golden Sanctum was abruptly drawn out.
Following the spiritual energy, the potent and boundless vitality from the Profound Gate and acupoints within his middle elixir field was also extracted!
Lastly, the delicate strands of spiritual sense that intertwined with his three souls were likewise drawn forth.
The convergence of three forces created a surge of electric currents that flowed into the scabbard through his arm's veins.
"Nine Celestial Slashes, the fourth slash, Moonfall Strike!"
The sword spirit's intent boomed like sudden thunder in Yu Yuan's heaven soul.
Yu Yuan's eyes shone brilliantly, as though he had, in an instant, grasped the subtleties of the sword spell.
His soul and the sword's will resonated, transforming him into a Moon Slayer cultivator. Alone in the depths of the Star River, he reached the Moonfiend Clan's abode and repeatedly struck down the moon with his sword.
A burst of crimson sword light shot forth from the scabbard!
Atop Shadow Mountain, it seemed as if scarlet rivers interwove, fostering a sword's will so fierce it could rend all things within these crimson streams.
"What in the world is this?"
Azure Spirit, from within the vast shell of the Spirit Turtle, watched the sky change hues and the sword's will solidify into rivers, visibly startled. "White Bone, have you allied with someone who has forsaken the Everlands? Aren't you afraid of retribution from the upper sects, the Devil Palace, and Shadow's Keep?"
White Bone replied with an icy tone, "Fear? No."
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
The nurtured crimson sword light suddenly plunged downward, targeting the Azure Spirit Turtle's shell, which had been refined over centuries by the once-eighth-level archdemon.
"Moonfall Strike!"
Yu Yuan silently invoked the technique, feeling threads of spiritual sense blend into the crimson sword light as it thrust downward.
The space within the Land of Terror was like divine crimson lightning from the heavens, carrying an unmatched ferocity.
The sharp sword light swirled in the mountain's half-space, throwing the elements into disarray and seeming to tug at the very fabric of time and space.
This sword spell, derived from the Grand Sword Immortal's technique, once executed, infused the sword's will in harmony with the Way of Heaven. It was omnipresent, seemingly shrouding the entire region within a thousand miles.
Not only were Azure Spirit's minions taken aback, but even White Bone's higher-ranking ghosts were horrified to find their souls nearly cleaving in two as they sensed the sword spell's intensity with their spirited bodies.
It seemed that merely perceiving the sword's will's sharpness could wound their very souls.
"Terrifying!"
The fly-like subordinate of White Bone, whose eyes showed fear, couldn't help but retreat from the mountain summit.
Many weaker ghosts, already indistinct, became even more faded and ethereal.
As they were on the verge of vanishing from this realm, White Bone snorted and commanded, "Fools, do not attempt to perceive the power and path of the sword's will!"
As his voice dissipated, a crimson sword light streaked down like a shooting star.
"Crack!"
The enormous shell boasted by Azure Spirit was suddenly punctured with holes by the crimson sword light, killing the ghost within upon contact.
"Ahhh!"
The agonized wail of Azure Spirit echoed as the sword light descended.
"Moonfall Strike, the fourth slash..."
As spiritual energy, vitality, and spiritual sense ebbed away, Yu Yuan felt a surge of weakness. He realized he couldn't sustain the full force of the "Moonfall Strike" he had yet to fully release.
A vision flashed in his mind.
A towering figure stood in the depths of the Star River, wielding his sword to cleave a massive moon into silver meteorites that plummeted toward the Everlands.
The most precise fragment landed in the forbidden area, becoming part of the Soulforge Matrix upon impact, suppressing the evils within.
"Is my comprehension of the Moonfall Strike because I resonate with the great formation? Or is it due to my pioneering cultivation in the Moonfall Sanctuary?" Yu Yuan's mind brimmed with questions.
He suddenly realized that the forbidden area was named for the sword spell known as "Moonfall Strike," delivered through successive strikes.
The Moon Slayer wasn't the result of a single slash but rather a series of relentless cuts, each one fragmenting the moon further with unending sword light.
"Nine Celestial Slashes!"
Seizing the moment, the heaven soul communicated with the arm bone sword spirit. Having practiced Soul Forging through Enlightenment for some time, Yu Yuan's spiritual wisdom seemed to soar, and he faintly discerned eight additional slashes beyond the Moonfall Strike.
"Nine Celestial Slashes, Soulsever, Spirit Destruction, Starshard, Moonfall, Sun Splitting, Banish Evil, Demon Suppress, Dread Spawn, Godsbane!"
The name Nine Celestial Slashes suddenly resonated with Yu Yuan's heaven soul, marking the first time he became aware of the prestigious sword spell legacy left by a notable cultivator—the Nine Celestial Slashes. As of now, he had only managed to grasp the Moonfall Strike. Yet, with his current levels of spiritual energy, vitality, and spiritual sense, he couldn't fully execute the Moonfall Strike to its utmost potential. In just a brief moment, he felt disoriented and overwhelmed by a sense of weakness.
In that instant, the sword spirit retreated into obscurity, severing the connection with his heaven soul. "I'll take care of the rest. You focus on recovering," White Bone's voice conveyed a touch of softness. Then, he unleashed a searing white flame into the Spirit Turtle shell, perforated with countless holes.
Glancing down, Yu Yuan immediately noticed the punctures from the Moonfall Strike ablaze with the white flame. "White Bone! Spare me a lifeline!" Azure Spirit cried out in desperation. White Bone, however, ignored the pleas, using the purifying fire from the Sacred Writ of the Skeleton to incinerate the lingering ghostly spirits within the shell.
The Azure Spirit's subordinates, attempting to flee, found themselves prey to the vigilant followers of White Bone, who eagerly resumed their slaughter. Inside the shell, as the Azure Spirit continued to shriek, the white flames surged, filling the space and focusing on entrapping him. White Bone remained indifferent to the other ghosts, intent only on preventing the Azure Spirit from escaping.
Lost in contemplation, Yu Yuan delved into the intricacies of the Nine Celestial Slashes, pondering their significance. Meanwhile, the Crucible of Evil seized the moment, hungrily capturing ghost after ghost. The White Bone's loyal minions, upon noticing the approach of the Crucible of Evil, grinned obsequiously.
"It's a blessing for it to be chosen by you. Please, graciously accept it!" one of them exclaimed. Another taunted, "Foolish enough not to recognize a good thing, why not willingly enter the cauldron and be transformed into a Bane by our lord? Would you rather wait for me to slay you and consume your meager spirit?"
"My lord! If you value this ghost, I'll graciously offer it to you!" The intelligent ghosts, upon recognizing the Crucible of Evil's presence, promptly and wisely surrendered their captured prey.
They would no longer be as reluctant as they had been on their journey here.