C768 I Sharpened My Spear Before the Battle
A colossal curved blade was perched atop Shadow Mountain, drawing the Shadow Moon Essence from within the mountain as if it were alive. As the Essence merged into the blade, the souls within the twenty-eight blackwood beads, belonging to Imdohr, underwent infinite transformations, morphing into a myriad of life forms—men, women, the elderly, and children, each soul shape-shifting.
From a distance, Yuan Lianyao watched, feeling her own soul ensnared by the blackwood beads, struggling within, nearly unable to escape. Suddenly, a ring of bright red flames ignited at her feet, snapping her back to reality as her consciousness was on the brink of being lost.
Her face etched with alarm, Yuan Lianyao quickly regained her composure, avoiding any further glances at the beads and banishing the visions she had witnessed from her mind. She turned to warn Yu Yuan but found him gasping for breath, his eyes wild with frenzy, already lost in confusion without Imdohr's influence.
"Crucible of Evil!" The eerie laughter of Imdohr echoed from within the beads. The blackwood beads served as Imdohr's vessel, while the massive scimitar was his weapon of renown. Thousands of ghosts clustered near Shadow Mountain, casting a dark, ash-like cloud over the area.
Imdohr, a prominent figure among the Spectres, recognized Yu Yuan. "Kid, you've got guts. Knowing that White Bone is trapped and what you're up against, you still had the courage to come?" he taunted as the blackwood beads drifted lazily toward the Crucible of Evil.
The giant curved blade continued to siphon the Shadow Moon Essence from Shadow Mountain. "Imdohr!" Yuan Lianyao's Lunar Spirit Body was suddenly overwhelmed by a tremendous force as Imdohr drew near. A trail of ghostly light spilled from the magic power shield of the Crucible of Evil, indicating Imdohr's Soul Power was stealthily permeating the area.
Her heart sank with the realization that Imdohr, the fourth-ranked Spectre, was a formidable new ghost, more recent than Rahu and White Robe. Seemingly emerging from nowhere, he had ascended to the rank of Spectre in just a few short decades.
In an astonishingly brief time, he had transformed into a Spectre, a testament to his boundless potential.
The Imdohr wasn't just formidable in its own right; it possessed two other potent artifacts: a bead that housed its soul and a massive curved blade, both of which were sources of immense power, their origins shrouded in mystery.
Just as powerful as White Bone, the Imdohr was also seen as a formidable contender for the title of Ghost King.
How could Yuan Lianyao not be concerned?
"The fourth-ranked Imdohr!"
Yu Yuan's voice emerged as a hoarse roar, his eyes smeared with a blood-like dark red, exuding an aura of bloodlust.
A murderous impulse raged uncontrollably in his mind.
"Kill! Go forth and kill! Kill!"
The bloodthirsty thoughts engulfed his sanity like a tidal wave.
In that moment, he was oblivious to the might of the Imdohr, unaware of the significance of this entity, second only to White Bone, within the Land of Terror.
All he knew was the name Imdohr and its fourth-place ranking.
But what did that matter?
The scabbard slipped silently into his grasp.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
His frenzied state sparked a series of piercingly sharp sword's will from the base of the scabbard.
The sword spirit within his arm bone stirred to life, and a sword spell began to take shape.
Yu Yuan trembled as a streak of sword light flashed through the depths of his mind!
The sword light, like Divine Thunder splitting the sky, shone brilliantly within his Mindscape, captivating his entire focus.
This masterful display of sword light traced its intricate paths within the confines of his Mindscape, branding itself indelibly into the depths of his soul.
With the three souls of heaven, earth, and man, he studied the sword light, becoming fully engrossed and seeking to comprehend its essence.
A voice suddenly resonated, "Nine Celestial Slashes, Soulsever!"
"Spiritrend!"
The sword light twisted and turned within his consciousness, revealing its mystical nature.
In his bewildered and frenzied state, he gripped the scabbard, aiming it at the Imdohr, eager to attempt a strike.
A crimson sword light surged through his arm bone and veins like a bolt of lightning, flowing into the scabbard and harmonizing with the intricacies of the sword spell, further amplified by the scabbard's enhancement.
The sword spell and the sword's will were slowly coming to fruition.
"Hmm!"
Imdohr's phantom within the blackwood bead underwent a sudden change. A dangerous aura emanated from the sword sheath Yu Yuan was gripping, causing Imdohr to hesitate.
Ranked fourth among the Spectres of the Land of Terror, he utilized twenty-eight dispersed souls to sense from multiple directions.
He sensed the sword spell gradually taking shape within the sword sheath that Yu Yuan held.
"How can this be? How could the impending strike of a sword from a youngster with such a low level of cultivation cause my heart to flutter?"
In the Land of Terror, where he had slain countless Lunar Spirits and Spirit Walk warriors, Imdohr had only been focused on the Crucible of Evil above. He had assumed that Yu Yuan's standing in the Land of Terror was solely due to his reliance on an artifact renowned throughout the Everlands.
Yet now, he perceived a threat emanating from the sword sheath in Yu Yuan's hand.
"Ab!"
Imdohr, ever cautious, called out to one of his generals with a commanding voice.
A purple and red Celestial Shade, in the form of a flood dragon, emerged from behind Shadow Mountain, shaking its head and tail. Its anaconda-like body shimmered, instantly appearing before Imdohr.
The flood dragon ghost, a hundred meters in length, contained hundreds of ghostly spirits within its spirited body, which appeared to be in the process of being assimilated.
Yuan Lianyao, with a keen gaze, exclaimed, "One of White Bone's subordinates."
"Wuwu!"
The flood dragon Celestial Shade, known as Ab, suddenly opened its mouth wide and engulfed the Crucible of Evil.
In an instant, it had completely swallowed the Crucible.
Before Yuan Lianyao could react, she and Yu Yuan, along with the Crucible, found themselves inside the belly of the Celestial Shade anaconda.
Dozens of ghosts, once under White Bone's command, had long since lost their self-awareness and were now fused into an enigmatic soul entity within the belly of the beast.
Crack!
The numerous ghosts furiously battered the magic shield, causing it to resonate with a resounding "Dong Dong."
"Yu Yuan!" Yuan Lianyao called out urgently.
She had just realized that the magic power shield of the Crucible of Evil was deforming under the ghosts' assault and looked as though it would soon shatter.
She was acutely aware that Yu Yuan's flesh and blood were vulnerable in the Land of Terror. Without any need for Imdohr's intervention, the relentless, icy winds that pervaded the area could easily erode his very being.
Her concern grew in silence.
Yu Yuan had a firm grip on his sword sheath, with the essence of the sword's will coursing through him, and his stance clearly indicated a sword strike. Yet, inexplicably, no sword light emerged.
Was it possible that he was attempting to grasp the essence of the sword in such a critical moment?
An odd notion took root in Yuan Lianyao's mind. With closer scrutiny, she noticed that Yu Yuan's demeanor did indeed suggest he was in deep contemplation of the sword force.
"Choosing to understand the sword now? Has he lost his mind?"
