C777 The Soul Condensing!
The silvery-white Shadow Mountain gleamed with a purity akin to fresh snow, casting a dazzling brilliance across the landscape. Tens of thousands of ghosts, under the command of various Spectres, besieged the mountain in impenetrable layers. Their howls reverberated through the heavens and across the land, echoing far and wide.
Any Spectre, no matter their location within the Land of Terror, could sense the tumultuous and fearsome activity emanating from this region. Even those spirits without any grudge against White Bone, who had never before ventured to this place, were drawn by the commotion and converged on the site. Suddenly, the Shadow Mountain within the Ossuary became the center of all attention.
"White Bone! White Bone! White Bone!" The cries of countless ghosts and spirits filled the air as they desperately surged toward the Silver Peaks.
With a chilling rip, the weaker spirits disintegrated into ash upon contact with the mountain. The Shadow Mountain, where White Bone had spent years in cultivation, had become a relentless grinder, slaughtering the unwitting spirits one after another.
A faint silver light screen materialized, barely revealing the Shadow Moon Essence within, which flowed like the Star River in a precise pattern, its power bolstering the screen's might. "The Shadow Moon Essence endows this mountain with boundless power! Yet, it is diminishing!"
"White Bone shall never reign as king in the Land of Terror!" "Kill! Keep killing!"
The icy command of the Spectres acted as a death knell, driving legions of ghosts toward the Silver Peaks, where they met swift annihilation. From a hundred miles away, even more spirits were being summoned. To the Spectres, these ghosts were expendable fodder, their deaths chipping away at the Silver Peaks that concealed White Bone.
As the spirits perished, time slipped away silently, and with it, the Shadow Moon Essence within the Silver Peaks that White Bone relied on was slowly depleting.
"He won't last much longer," Chu Yao of the Order of Healing remarked, gazing at the Silver Peaks from the grand palace formed by the Mark of the Celestials. He spoke to Cao Jiaze, "Once the formation breaks, White Bone is doomed."
Cao Jiaze's demeanor remained undisturbed, his voice detached, "Death is his inevitable fate."
Nearby, the Spectres raised their voices in a frenzy, unleashing their remnant soul and evil energy with wild abandon.
Ghosts surged like tidal waves, their hysterical screams filling the air as they rushed forward to meet their demise.
The local Spectre, having received a hint from Cao Jiaze and Chu Yao or an instruction from the Ghost King, learned of a terrifying prophecy.
Should White Bone ascend to the throne of the Ghost King, the Land of Terror would be plunged into a dark age not seen in tens of thousands of years!
This news, once spread, incited an uproar among the countless ghosts.
Determined to prevent White Bone from becoming king, they sought to grind him down to death within the confines of his own Shadow Mountain.
...
In the dimly lit cavern, the diminutive White Bone Spectre sat with his back against the rock wall, his jade-white skeletal form fractured in several places, now enveloped in a ghostly glow.
White Bone's emerald eyes darted about, occasionally glancing at the ground beneath him.
A silvery, hair-thin filament extended from his spinal column, penetrating deep into the bowels of Shadow Mountain like a soul's tendril, probing a hundred meters below the surface.
Crack!
He manipulated a joint, realigning the twisted bones.
Even this minor movement caused the light in White Bone's emerald eyes to fade slightly.
He was aware of the severity of his injuries; without a miracle, he would be unable to heal quickly using only the Yin Qi of Shadow Mountain.
Outside, the relentless assault of the ghosts and their souls continued unabated.
"Would Yu Yuan dare to enter my domain under these circumstances?" White Bone pondered in the shadows.
At this critical juncture, Yu Yuan represented his final, sole beacon of hope.
He was acutely aware that with Yu Yuan's aid, there was a faint possibility of reversing his fortunes.
"A faint, barely discernible spark of hope," White Bone murmured, his gaze sinking into despondency.
Time passed, and then, the slender thread leading to the earth's depths quivered ever so slightly.
White Bone, who had been sitting motionless for an eternity, caught the vibration, and a burst of green brilliance ignited within the depths of his dim eyes.
Like twin green suns, they rose from the horizon, casting a radiant glow upon the dark chamber.
"Yu Yuan!"
White Bone rose abruptly, his bones crackling with the movement. His white skeletal form shook with anticipation.
He sensed that Yu Yuan had begun to act, and the scales of victory, ever so slightly, began to tip in his favor.
In the silver-gray expanse, Yu Yuan alternated his gaze between Yuan Lianyao and a delicate, handsome figure, his face etched with contemplation. "Advancing to the Lunar Spirit..." he mused, a glint in his eye.
Refining the Lunar Spirit, in contrast to forging the Solar Spirit, was significantly simpler. Preparing a Solar Spirit demanded an array of magic items due to its corporeal nature, consuming far more time and energy in the process than its lunar counterpart. The creation of a Solar Spirit was fraught with difficulty, and the likelihood of failure was exceedingly high.
Cultivators approached the refinement of the Solar Spirit with the utmost caution, leaving no room for error. However, transforming an earthly soul into a Lunar Spirit typically required only a pill to enhance Soul Power and a distinctive setting.
Upon its initial formation, the Lunar Spirit was profoundly fragile. Until it stabilized, even the slightest disturbance could impact it. Thus, cultivators aiming to refine the Lunar Spirit generally required the safeguard of a rune circle. Ideally, they would also have the silent guardianship of a senior with formidable prowess to ensure they remained unharmed by the elements during their transformation.
In that silver-gray microcosm, Yu Yuan engaged in a silent dialogue with Yu Yiyi while observing Yuan Lianyao and the ghostly Fox Monkey. Yuan Lianyao was purifying her Lunar Spirit with the rich Yin Qi of the area. Meanwhile, the Fox Monkey-shaped ghost embarked on its journey toward becoming a Celestial Shade.
Yu Yiyi's persistent voice echoed in the recesses of his mind. As he focused, Yu Yuan sensed his earthly soul harnessing the influx of Yin Qi through the technique of Wraithbinding, refining his soul. The Yin Qi here was substantially more concentrated and pure than anything he had experienced in Shadow Mountain.
Streams of Yin Qi seeped into his Mindscape, drawn in by the earthly soul. He distinctly felt his spiritual sense being tempered and honed. Already in the late stages of Subtlety, he was well-qualified to make the leap to the Lunar Spirit. The setting was naturally conducive to the Lunar Spirit's refinement, and with no one else intruding, he had no concerns to distract him from his pursuit.
"A Ghost King bereft of his soul shouldn't awaken immediately, right?" he pondered.
"I hope White Bone didn't have any malevolent intentions in inviting you here." Yu Yiyi, unconcerned with anything else, continued to entice him, "I've always believed that this peculiar realm is the perfect place for you to forge a Lunar Spirit!"
"Very well!"
Yu Yuan was not one to dither. Without further contemplation, he sat down resolutely.
He held his breath and concentrated, exerting himself to draw in the Yin Qi of this small universe.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As he actively engaged in the process, the rate at which the Yin Qi flooded into his mud pellet acupoints surged, increasing more than tenfold!
Suddenly, the thick Yin Qi within his Mindscape, too dense to dissipate, shrouded his three souls.
As the Wraithbinding technique roared into action, a vast majority of the Yin Qi, like an overwhelming tide, infused his earthly soul.
His earthly soul swelled as if inflated within the confines of his Mindscape!
