C795 Divine Power Enhancement!
Yu Yuan brandished his sword relentlessly. With each swing, scarlet sword light, as vibrant as a rainbow ribbon, tore through the onslaught of lightning and thunder with an unmatched sword's will.
"Moonfall Strike!"
This technique, originating from the Moon Slayer cultivator, was incredibly resilient! As long as the three forces within him weren't depleted, he could keep executing this sword spell, delivering strike after strike.
Even more astonishing was that each subsequent scarlet sword light in the unending sequence of Moonfall Strikes grew slightly more formidable than the last. It was unclear whether Yu Yuan's increasing mastery of the sword spell was the cause or if this was simply the inherent essence and characteristic of the Moonfall Strike.
The Moonfall Strike was all about slashing and cleaving.
Suddenly, a new vision blossomed deep within Yu Yuan's mind. This vision, a sword spirit imprinted on his arm bone, had been awakened by his repeated sword swings, forming yet another sword spell.
In this vision, he saw a figure wielding a sword, thrusting at dazzling stars. With each thrust, the sword's tip burst forth like a crimson sun, unleashing a power so explosive it shattered the luminous stars into meteor fragments.
This was a different sword spell, the Star Shattering Slash! Though it was termed a slash, it was truly a thrust! A thrust at a critical point where the terrifying sword force at the tip erupted. The remnant soul, vitality, and spiritual energy clashed and detonated, creating an explosive force.
The vision revealed that when the Star Shattering Slash, executed by a Moon Slayer cultivator, penetrated a small star, it could instantly permeate the star with its explosive power, reducing it to a shower of meteor fragments.
If this sword spell were applied to the chest of a living creature, such as the heart of an archdemon or an Otherkin, wouldn't the heart be pulverized into a mist of blood and dust in an instant?
With this realization, Yu Yuan's excitement surged.
However, as he was about to delve into the intricacies of the Star Shattering Slash, the Spiritrend, which he had previously grasped, resurfaced in his mind.
Instinctively, he altered his sword technique and wielded the yet unmastered Spiritrend in a swift strike. As the new stance was executed, a radically different insight flooded into his heart.
"It's different!"
Streams of remnant soul proactively summoned spiritual energy and vitality, merging them within the network of veins and arteries.
Before the sword spell was even cast, his soul perception had already multiplied several-fold!
The heaven soul worked in tandem, making it seem as though he could acutely sense every soul, thought, and whiff of intelligence within this silver-gray expanse.
He distinctly felt the elusive will emanating from the Root of the Lunar Meridian within the River Styx.
The enigmatic little worlds, conjured from the Root of the Lunar Meridian, intercepted and isolated the lightning and thunder that had assailed him from the Glacial Storm Seal.
Each layered, mystical little world bore the intent of the Root of the Lunar Meridian.
Moreover, within the lightning composed of ice and thunder that surged toward him, there was a sliver of Xie Bin's consciousness, faint and shrouded in bloodlight.
Xie Bin's lingering thoughts were wrapped and suppressed by Ann Ziqing's psionic power, not assimilated.
He could sense that too!
Such profound insight was nothing like his previous attempt at executing Spiritrend on solid ground!
"I've got it!"
In a flash of realization, he understood, "Spiritrend must advance to the Lunar Spirit and forge Soul Power! Only then can the true might of this sword spell be unleashed!"
With this thought, he discovered that beyond the remnant soul, traces of Shadow Moon Essence intermingled with the spiritual energy in the seven acupoints within his chest, also infused into Spiritrend, converging into a vibrant crimson sword light.
Whoosh!
The sword light swept through, obliterating all lingering thoughts within the lightning, including Xie Bin's suppressed remnants, into oblivion.
"Soulsever, Soulsever, it severs the very thoughts of the soul, all spirited bodies, even the mind itself!"
Yu Yuan's eyes sparkled with a surge of exhilaration.
A thread of the sword spirit's will resonated with his own spirit.
He suddenly realized that because his body was extraordinary, with seven acupoints in his chest arranged like the Big Dipper, and due to the opening of the Shadow Moon Essence and the favor of the Root of the Lunar Meridian, his use of Spiritrend was in harmony with the Cosmic Order of the Soul!
In the Land of Terror, his Spiritrend was endowed with an otherworldly power!
Such an augmentation was something even the legendary cultivator of Moon Slayer had never possessed!
In the Land of Terror, Yu Yuan wielded the Spiritrend, a nightmare for every ghost and soul that dared to cross his path. Each slash carried the might of a divine blade, a gift from the Root of the Lunar Meridian, annihilating ghosts, erasing spirits, and punishing any Lunar Spirit that ventured into this forsaken place.
"You, having condensed your Lunar Spirit here, your sword spell aligns perfectly with the necromancy of this realm!"
This very sword spell was once wielded by a swordsman in the Star River of the extraterrestrial realms to defeat Dhoreus. Even after a millennium, it continued to torment him day and night.
The consciousness of the Root of the Lunar Meridian echoed in this microcosm, advising, "Yet, it is the first sword spell that should aid you against the calamity thunder!"
Heeding the advice, Yu Yuan understood that the Moonfall Strike was the key to efficiently shattering the calamity thunder. With newfound clarity, he set aside the pursuit of the Star Shattering Slash and the use of Spiritrend, focusing solely on executing the Moonfall Strike repeatedly.
In the domain of the Ash Tomb Spectre, a projection of Dhoreus conversed with a white-robed figure and eight subordinates by the River of Souls. Abruptly, a multitude of fine, crimson beams of light emerged from the river's depths, nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. The towering projection of Dhoreus blurred, as if the scarlet beams had instantly shredded it to pieces.
A vicious, brutal wail erupted from the River of Souls, causing hundreds of Earth Specters and spirits at the Ghost Level to dissipate into nothingness from the sheer ferocity of the cry. The once supreme Ghost King's uncontrollable shriek led to the instant demise of the weaker ghosts.
The white-robed figure and the eight ancient ghosts looked on in horror at the crimson light beams within the River of Souls. Simultaneously, the Abyssal Dawn Sect Elder, who believed she had dominion over the River of Souls, clutched her head in agony. Her once beautiful face twisted with pain and struggle, as if invisible swords were piercing her soul, inflicting an unbearable torment.
She was unaware that Dhoreus had transferred a portion of the residual Soulsever sword force to her through a secret technique.
In doing so, she took on some of the pain meant for Dhoreus.
Without her, Dhoreus would have fallen into a state of disorientation and clouded consciousness.
Her assistance allowed Dhoreus to maintain his sense of self and his plans for the future, preventing him from falling into silence at critical moments.
After some time.
Jiang Xingwen was still in excruciating pain when Dhoreus' visage reappeared on the River of Souls. "Yu Yuan has mastered Spiritrend."
"Spiritrend!"
The eight ancient ghosts who had ventured with him from the Land of Terror to challenge the otherworldly beings all cried out in alarm.
The mention of Spiritrend sent Dhoreus and the eight ancient ghosts, whose might was so great that even he lacked confidence, into a state of panic.
"This slash?" murmured the Pale Reaper.
"Countless ghost spirits, Terra Fiends, and even Sky Fiends have tasted the bitterness of Spiritrend," Dhoreus said with a somber sigh. "This sword spell seems to have been forged specifically to counter the ghostly beings of the heavens. And yet, that young man managed to form a Lunar Spirit in the Land of Terror and even received its favor."
"After grasping the essence of Spiritrend, Yu Yuan has become the fourth major concern, following Youling, White Bone, and Razses."
...
Deep underground.
Beyond a shimmering silver barrier, the Ghost King Razses paid no heed to Yuan Lianyao or the cauldron spirit's questions within the Crucible of Evil.
Razses stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his demeanor haughty.
Suddenly, he sensed an intense aura so terrifying it seemed to threaten the severance of his soul. He turned towards the crevice in horror, his pupils dilating with anxiety.
"This aura..."
The aura that seeped from the crevice was the one Yu Yuan had quietly unleashed while mastering Spiritrend with a single sword strike, now detected by the Ghost King.
"A sword spell that seems to carry the very principle of the rule designed to discipline all ghostly beings!"
Razses was both astonished and perplexed. "In all of the Land of Terror, perhaps even the entire Everlands, only one entity could bestow such a uniquely extraordinary aura upon this sword spell!"
As the wisest Ghost King of his generation, Razses pondered for a moment and quickly turned his thoughts to the Root of the Lunar Meridian.
"Dhoreus, Your Highness, didn't you claim to represent its will and execute its desires? Your Highness, you have the power to harness the River Styx and extend your influence through it. Yet, Yu Yuan, who is clearly allied with White Bone, how has he also gained its approval?"
Razses shook his head, finding himself at a loss for understanding.
He was aware that as the embodiment of the Land of Terror's will, the Root of the Lunar Meridian couldn't take physical form, couldn't manifest a soul's shadow, and couldn't directly determine the fate of the souls and ghosts there.
The Root of the Lunar Meridian wasn't a living being in the traditional sense; it had to depend on others to act on its behalf.
It appeared to have selected Yu Yuan, channeling some of its power through his sword spell, allowing Yu Yuan's sword to purify the Land of Terror in its stead.
But according to Dhoreus, White Bone came with his pale flames to destroy the Land of Terror, didn't he?
Yu Yuan and White Bone were clearly allies, so why did he receive its favor?
"What I know now must not be the full truth!"
Enlightened, Razses, the Ghost King, wavered and withdrew his gaze from the crevice. Instead, he offered a friendly smile and nodded to Yuan Lianyao.
In an instant, he and the Soul Locking Diagram vanished.
Yuan Lianyao was somewhat startled. "What does this Ghost King intend?"
...
On the ground.
Ann Ziqing of the Colddeath sect suddenly noticed that the suspended Glacial Storm Seal had ceased unleashing its thunderbolts.
After a moment of hesitation, she reached out to summon it.
Whoosh!
The miniaturized Glacial Storm Seal settled back into her palm.
She was thrilled. Sensing with a thread of her soul, she quickly discovered that one-third of the Divine Thunder, which the Obsidian Thunder Sect treasured, had been drawn out to form a thunderous calamity aimed at Yu Yuan.
The remaining two-thirds of the Divine Thunder was still concealed within the Glacial Storm Seal, unused.
"Odd, only a third?" Ann Ziqing mused, perplexed.
At that moment, the thought of the First Spirit Ghost King echoed within her Mindscape, "The fearsome power of the Glacial Storm Seal is capable of slaying even Demon Kings and Demon Gods. A mere third of the Divine Thunder is sufficient to obliterate all the Spectres in the Land of Terror! Even I would have to pay a price to escape it."
"Do you really think that using a fraction of the Divine Thunder from the Glacial Storm Seal to strike down a newly formed Lunar Spirit is beneath you? Is the power not formidable enough?"
"Lord Razses, you've finally deigned to respond. What's your stance on Yu Yuan?"
"Yu Yuan is due to face the calamity thunder. As for my stance, I'm currently neutral. But your relationship with Colddeath is not my concern."
"I will align with your position!"
A man and a ghost swiftly formed a tacit agreement in the shadows.
The next moment, the ice tempest abruptly vanished, and the once towering Ice Titan shrank down bit by bit.
It became a mere meter-tall ice tombstone.
The ice tombstone, riddled with holes, blazed with white flames that cleansed all impurities.
These flames, emanating from within White Bone's own body, shrouded the ice tombstone.
White Bone was reduced to a speck of light the size of a grain of rice, which flew out from the ice tombstone and suddenly resumed its normal size.
He looked up with his emerald-green eyes at the dark clouds above, then turned his gaze toward a distant Shadow Mountain.
"Black Staff, Taruer, which of you will be next?"
"Or will you come at me together?"
White Bone boldly challenged them to battle.
