C792 A Strange Phenomenon Appears!
The Holy Mountain, resplendent in silver and white, stood amidst the ice tempest like a Titan, its presence quelling the evils of the heavens.
Its divine light, silver and pure, held the sanctified power to cleanse the world's filth. When it shone upon ghosts and spirits, they were reduced to dust in an instant.
Shadow Mountain, renowned for the White Bone, radiated an aura that clashed starkly with the surrounding world.
The Silver Peaks had twisted the ice magic, challenging the celestial rule of the Land of Quiescence!
The ice tempest raged on, yet the Wintermaw's form, crafted from a massive Celestial Ice Crystal, was riddled with cracks and gaping fissures.
Infinite light permeated through the White Bone's structure!
The shrill wails of Thoaos, the Ghost King, pierced the souls of all who heard, causing both mortals and ghosts unbearable agony.
Despite their discomfort, the onlookers strained their eyes, focusing intently on the radiant, icy figure within the heart of the tempest.
"Wintermaw..."
In the depths of the grand palace, phantoms of Lunar Spirits uttered the name with a mix of reverence and bitterness.
Whether they adored or despised him, Thoaos of the Land of Terror was their chosen leader.
Thoaos was the sole Ghost King who had formed an alliance with Euwrea, open to the assistance of Cao Jiaze.
Being in the Land of Quiescence, the Ghost King naturally had an affinity with the native cultivators.
This very kinship allowed sects such as Devil Palace, Shadow's Keep, Ruby Hand, and Colddeath to penetrate the region, either to support the Ghost King's dominion or to elevate a Spectre to royalty.
Although the sects of Euwrea had considered the Land of Terror, they found no favor with its Ghost King.
Even the Spectres seldom engaged with the sects of Euwrea.
For Cao Jiaze, the heir apparent to the Ebon Star sect, carrying the Mark of the Celestials and gaining entry with his corporeal body—and Thoaos's endorsement—was an honor of the highest order.
Upon his return, all cultivators of Euwrea would regard him with even greater esteem.
If Thoaos could truly ascend to the God of Ghosts within the Land of Terror and seize control of this realm, then Cao Jiaze would be poised to make a significant advance in Euwrea and across the Everlands.
But now...
"Brother?"
An elder from the Ebon Star sect, a senior to Cao Jiaze yet of equal rank, emerged from a group of Lunar Spirits and positioned himself behind Jiaze.
His gaze was icy, clearly harboring lethal intentions towards White Bone.
Without turning, Jiaze kept his eyes fixed below and spoke with a cool detachment, "Just keep watching. Spare yourself any futile thoughts."
His tone was akin to chastising a junior, utterly discourteous.
Yet, the elder, his senior by a generation, showed no sign of anger.
Stirred by Jiaze's tone and demeanor, the elder's spirits lifted. He nodded in agreement and withdrew obediently.
"That demeanor, that attitude, it means he's still in command, nowhere near losing his grip!"
The elder, well-acquainted with Jiaze's ways, understood from the subtlest of expressions that his nephew had contingencies in place, that he could still steer the situation.
"Lord Black Staff?"
Ann Ziqing of the Colddeath sect pursed her lips and lifted her swan-like neck to gaze at the vast black cloud overhead, spanning nearly a hundred acres, "Lord Thoaos may not last much longer. If you continue to stand by idly, I fear you'll be left to confront White Bone on your own when the time comes to act."
Her words cast a multitude of eyes upon the black cloud.
After White Bone had summoned the Silver Peaks and shattered Thoaos' icy form, Qignas fell into a sudden silence.
He ceased his taunts, his aggressive posturing, and made no further moves.
It was as if Qignas, the Black Staff Ghost King, had vanished into the depths of the black cloud.
"Where is Razses?" In response to Ziqing's challenge, Qignas countered with his own question, "I know you can reach him. What's his stance?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" retorted Ziqing, her lips curling.
Among the Ghost Kings, both those present and those yet to arrive, each was aware of the others' precise whereabouts.
Rahu, high above, and Razses, deep beneath the earth, were concealed within an ordinary Shadow Mountain. She was convinced that both Wintermaw and Black Staff, who stood before her, were well aware of this fact.
Ghost Kings could communicate with one another through mere thought, without any hindrance.
"You know full well that Razses is deep underground, and you could easily initiate a conversation directly. So why are you asking me?" Ann Ziqing's face showed her irritation.
"I asked him, but he didn't respond!" Qignas, the Ghost King, huffed coldly.
"Then he hasn't decided yet." Ann Ziqing spread her hands, as if to say, 'He hasn't decided, so what could I possibly know?'
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Small Ice Shards burst forth from the ice tempest like a fine drizzle.
At that moment, the Frost Queen, standing next to the Crucible of Evil with her lower half ablaze with ice-blue flames, seemed to exert a magical pull on the Ice Shards.
The starshard Ice Shards, like a burst Star River, streamed towards the Frost Queen.
"The fragments of the Celestial Ice Crystal!"
Cultivators from Winter's Bite eyed the Ice Shards with covetous glances, unable to resist flying out of the grand and mystical palace.
Cao Jiaze turned a blind eye, his lips curling into a faint, icy smile.
A Lunar Spirit from Winter's Bite transformed in an instant into a radiant Ice Shard, attempting to gather the scattered Ice Shard fragments.
Puff!
The Ice Shards, ejected from Wintermaw like dagger-sharp blades, pierced through the crystal.
The Lunar Spirit cultivator from Winter's Bite let out a pained howl.
The other cultivators, who practiced ice magic, were shocked by his severe injury. They quickly withdrew back into the safety of the palace, one after another.
Only the Frost Queen, emerging from the Crucible of Evil, extended an arm as pure and white as snow.
In her palm, an ice-blue flame ignited and grew larger.
The Ice Shard fragments, drawn to the flame in her palm, flocked to it like birds to their nest, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"Why?" A cultivator, skilled in ice magic, called out in frustration upon returning to the palace.
Cao Jiaze remained silent.
Chu Yao from the Order of Healing, after a moment's hesitation, spoke up, "The Celestial Ice Crystal refined by Thoaos contains the extreme cold of the Frozen Hellscape. She was able to collect it while Thoaos was preoccupied because she, like Thoaos, carries the aura of the Frozen Hellscape and has grasped some of its deepest icy secrets."
Upon hearing this, the cultivators practicing ice magic quickly fell in line.
"Furthermore, since Thoaos was your chosen one, isn't it unethical to seize the Ice Shards from his body while he's wounded?" Chu Yao added.
His words left the others visibly more uncomfortable.
Whoosh!
The small Glacial Storm Seal in Ann Ziqing's palm burst forth, transforming into a sphere of lightning-entwined ice.
"Glacial Storm Seal!"
Deep within the palace, cultivators from the Thunder Sect fixed their gaze on the Glacial Storm Seal.
Confusion spread across Ann Ziqing's beautiful face as she whispered, "Could it be...?"
As expected.
Some of the Celestial Ice Crystal fragments were snatched mid-flight by the Glacial Storm Seal on their way to the Frost Queen.
"The crafting of the Glacial Storm Seal also involved the Celestial Ice Crystal!" She came to a sudden realization.
"Ann Ziqing, the Glacial Storm Seal is the Thunder Sect's most prized possession!" A Thunder Sect cultivator pointed at her, his words dripping with condescension, "Obsidian Thunder Sect and our Thunder Sect are essentially one! By taking our artifacts and causing chaos in the Land of Terror, you're blatantly challenging our Thunder Sect!"
"Challenging?"
Ann Ziqing's lips curled into a smile as she nodded earnestly at him, "Consider it a challenge then. What are you going to do about it?"
Crackle!
Bolts of fierce lightning erupted from the Glacial Storm Seal immediately after her words.
The sudden outburst terrified all the ghosts and spirits, including the Lunar Spirit within the palace. They hastily retracted their phantoms, too frightened to utter a word.
For ghosts and spirits, thunder and lightning are the ultimate nemesis!
In the Land of Terror, except for the rare ghosts with physical forms, any ethereal spirit that came into contact with such fearsome lightning would be instantly annihilated.
The Glacial Storm Seal, the prized treasure of the Obsidian Thunder Sect, had vanquished innumerable Sky Fiends and otherworldly entities in the far reaches of the Star River. When the ghosts of the Land of Terror were struck by its lightning, their fate was sealed without question.
"Ann Ziqing!" Cao Jiaze, who had maintained his composure within the grand palace, finally lost his patience and called out sternly. With a furrowed brow and a look of displeasure, he commanded, "Stand back and observe!"
Chu Yao, his face set in a severe expression, also warned, "Don't bring trouble upon Colddeath!"
"No, this isn't right!" Ann Ziqing, clad in her purple divine armor, watched anxiously as the bolts of lightning uncontrollably shot from the Glacial Storm Seal, insisting, "I didn't command this!"
Her face was a storm of frustration and anger. Despite having taken no action, why was this happening? She was still torn, grappling with the decision to either align with Razses or to stand resolutely with Yu Yuan when it mattered most. She hadn't made up her mind and, like Razses the Ghost King, she was watching and waiting, in no rush to act. The Glacial Storm Seal's escape was an accident, against her wishes.
Whoosh! Mid-conversation, the first bolt of lightning traced the path of the hole where White Bone had been seated, plunging deep into the ground.
"What!?" The names of Cao Jiaze, Chu Yao, Qignas, Mo Yan, Ann Ziqing, and all present who witnessed the lightning's trajectory echoed in shock.
The lightning had entered the hole, but to what end? Simultaneously, the Ghost Kings who had stealthily infiltrated the Ossuary sensed a subtle shift throughout the Land of Terror. The Shadow Mountains within their domains could no longer draw upon the Yin Qi from beneath the earth. The River Styx, nourished by the Root of the Lunar Meridian and always within their perception, had ceased its flow!
An anomaly had manifested in the heavens, all due to a single bolt of lightning!
"Yu Yuan has forged a Lunar Spirit. In the Land of Terror, with the cultivation of Subtlety, he has transformed an earthly soul into a Lunar Spirit. At the instant of its creation, it must face the constraints of the Way of Heaven and endure the trial of the calamity thunder!"
The voice of Razses, the Ghost King, echoed from deep within the earth.
