C817 Obey

The Fallen Moon Forbidden Area was besieged by thousands of foreign devaputras, their howls filling the air as they clashed with the powerful souls within the forbidden zone. Towering above them, an evil statue forged by the Sword Prison loomed like a mountain range suspended in the heavens.

As soon as the devaputras stepped into the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area from the subterranean passages, they were immediately corrupted by the malevolent influence of the evil statue. Their minds were twisted, turning them violent, deranged, and bereft of reason. This fate was shared by the Earth Demons, Giant Demons, and other malevolent beings that had been confined here for millennia, all suffering from the same distortion of their spirits.

The forbidden area had transformed into the most tumultuous and deadly expanse within the Boundless Land. The cycle of death was relentless: souls perished, devaputras burst apart, and Great Fey were reduced to bone and dust. Their golden and dark red blood rained down, pooling into a macabre river of colors.

The bloodshed and brutality spilled beyond the confines of the forbidden grounds. Devaputras and nefarious entities fleeing the area were swiftly intercepted and slain by an alliance of cultivators led by the Primordial Yang Sect, leading to desperate and deadly confrontations.

Warriors of the Yin God Stage, Soul Wandering Stage, and Yang God Stage fell in battle, one after another. Numerous ferocious devaputras, Earth Demons, and demonic powerhouses managed to break free, vanishing without a trace.

Cultivators from the Heavenly Source Continent urgently communicated with their sects, pleading for reinforcements to thwart the havoc wreaked by the devaputras. Regrettably, such dire circumstances were not unique to this region; similar crises plagued both the Boundless Land and beyond. The leading forces of the five great sects were stretched thin, overwhelmed and unable to regain control.

The infamous Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation had been temporarily lifted, allowing passage both in and out. Yet, the cultivators from the Heavenly Source Continent were preoccupied with hunting down the fleeing devaputras and evil spirits, too wary to venture deeper into the perilous zone.

Above, the base of the Soul Transformation Pool was a maelstrom of dark soul energy. The devaputras and evil spirits that met their end in the savage battles of the forbidden area had their power siphoned by the pool, their souls absorbed into its depths.

When the souls of the deceased dissipated in the outside world, they were ultimately drawn into the subterranean Yin Meridians. This Yin Meridian, also known as the River of the Dead Souls, originated from the ominous expanse known as Horror Land.

In the vast expanse of the Boundless Land, the battles between great empires have led to the tragic deaths of mortals and cultivators alike. Their souls invariably flow into the subterranean Yin Meridians, bolstering the source of these meridians' power.

It is in the Horror Land that new Ghost Kings have emerged with alarming frequency.

Yet, within the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, the Soul Transformation Pool consumes and refines all souls of the deceased, mercilessly shredding the laws of the Great Dao that once bound them.

"The eye of the Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation, the pivotal hub of the entire array, is none other than the Soul Transformation Pool itself—a Divine Artifact!"

Yan Qiling, one of the rare few within the forbidden area whose mind remained uncorrupted by the evil statue, sat within a massive, oval-shaped crater, his gaze fixed intently on the Soul Transformation Pool above.

This crater once held a colossal silver meteorite.

He was aware that the Silver Moon Sect had taken this meteorite, blending it with a myriad of celestial treasures to forge the Fallen Star Eyes, now in the possession of Lau Ying.

Whoosh!

The former empress, cool and detached like a descending silver moon, landed in the crater and inquired icily, "My sister perished in the Horror Land?"

"It was merely her Yin God," clarified Yan Qiling.

"Who is responsible?" the Silvermoon Queen demanded.

"It appears to be an ancient ghost named Qianqiang, formerly a subordinate of the Mingdu Ghost King," Yan Qiling replied, spreading his hands in a gesture of limited knowledge. "Please don't look at me that way. I managed to open the spatial passage twice, but each time was fleeting, and the intelligence I gathered was scarce."

"The Horror Land, once dominated by Mingdu a millennium ago!"

The Silvermoon Queen spoke of this figure without a hint of trepidation, her spirit undaunted, "Next time you open the spatial passage, do inform me beforehand. I shall send my Yin God to slay the Qianqiang Ghost."

"Have you lost your mind?" Yan Qiling's expression grew grave. "As a mere Yin God, you might not stand a chance against Qianqiang Ghost in the Horror Land. He would be easy prey outside, but in that land of eerie Yin energy, your odds of victory are slim."

"I don't need your interference in my affairs. Just give me a heads up, that's all," the Silvermoon Queen declared, her voice laced with lethal intent.

"Yu Yuan is present. He'll handle it," Yan Qiling interjected, shifting the conversation.

A cold, mocking smile played on the lips of the Silvermoon Queen. She was about to scornfully point out that if it weren't for Yu Yuan's meddling in the Absence Relic, she, along with Chen Liangquan, Zhongli, and the rest, wouldn't have been held up for so long, entangled in needless complications.

Preferring not to dwell on the tired subject, Yan Qiling cut to the chase: "He was in the dark about everything until now."

Suddenly, all eyes—Yan Qiling's, the Silvermoon Queen's, and those of the formidable Vicious Souls and Devaputras—turned toward the Soul Transformation Pool.

The pool, suspended midair, emitted an aura that sent shivers down the spines of countless souls. Dark glimmers of light sprayed forth as beams of sword energy burst from its walls.

This time, even without Yan Qiling's assistance, the space was breached, revealing a bright, blade-like fissure.

Streams of sword energy, along with dark soul power, surged into the gap.

"It's invading Horror Land!"

Yan Qiling's complexion drained of color, his scalp prickling with horror, as he realized the gravity of the situation. "It's clashing with the fundamental laws of Horror Land. Its incursion could trigger catastrophic changes in both the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area and the Fallen Moon that no one can predict!"

The Silvermoon Queen was equally stunned. "It has already quelled that individual's residual sword force. It could easily remain beyond Yu Yuan's control. Why this madness?"

Yan Qiling remained silent, offering no reply to her question.

"Was Yu Yuan not chosen by the sword soul, but by it?" Lee Yupan pressed on.

Yan Qiling maintained his silence.

"What is really happening?"

"For the time being, neither you nor I have the right to know."

...

Deep within the underworld.

Yu Yuan's Yin God hovered over the vast Nether River, sensing the disturbance from the Soul Transformation Pool billions of miles away.

He detected an inviting scent...

The Soul Transformation Pool was causing such a stir, seemingly beckoning him to return to the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area.

His Yin God and his true self were aware of the upheaval above. They knew that his Yin God had once again reached out to the Soul Transformation Pool, which had forcefully shattered its seal without the consent of the Yin Vein's source will. It was now launching an assault on Horror Land in a manner akin to invasion.

At that moment, the silent will of the Yin Vein's origin once again made itself known.

This time, the message from the Yin Vein's source was straightforward: it desired for him to sever the connection with the Soul Transformation Pool of his own volition and to cease any attempts at sensing it.

The original pact remained unchanged. The Yin Vein's source would no longer delve into his previous identity or his true intentions within Horror Land.

There was no longer any need for his Yin God to lie upon the Stygian River, allowing the Yin Vein's source to probe his past through its magic.

He even detected a reluctant acquiescence within the will of the Yin Vein's source, as if the unseen ruler of this realm was also at a loss—powerless against the aggressive incursion of the Soul Transformation Pool.

"Alright."

Yu Yuan accepted the terms without reservation.

The very next moment, he ceased all efforts to concentrate on or deliberately sense the presence of the Soul Transformation Pool.

Abruptly, the quaking Horror Land returned to tranquility.

The murky, oppressive sky ceased to be pierced by sword light, and the surge of dark soul energy faded away, swiftly restoring everything to its original state.

Whoosh!

Yu Yuan's Yin God was abruptly ejected, materializing before the skeletal remains, Luohou, and the Initial Spirit Ghost King.

"Yu Yuan!" Luohou exclaimed, her eyes wide with astonishment, "What caused those bizarre forces in the sky?"

Yu Yuan shot a glance at the Initial Spirit Ghost King and furrowed his brow, opting not to respond.

The Initial Spirit Ghost King, adorned with an imperial crown and in the form of a child, gave him a penetrating look and declared, "I will observe the conflict between you and him from the sidelines, with a vow of non-interference."

With those words, the Initial Spirit Ghost King vanished in an instant, reappearing beside Ann Ziqing. With a sweep of the Mindlock Diagram, she was whisked away.

"The greatest fear of Mingdu is that my flames will consume Horror Land," the white bones mused, a sinister gleam flickering in their emerald depths, "It appears Mingdu has misjudged their true adversary."

He gazed at Yu Yuan in silence.

A wry smile crossed Luohou's face as she remarked, "For some reason, the recent upheaval made me feel as though Horror Land was on the brink of annihilation."

She, along with the white bones and the Initial Spirit Ghost King, were all aware that the earth-shattering disturbance had been triggered by Yu Yuan.

The Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation, a marvel of ancient engineering, dominated the landscape of the Heavenly Source Continent. At its heart lay the Soul Transformation Pool, a crucible of power that could forge the mightiest of warriors or the most dreadful of fiends.