C822 Soulgraft
Luo Yue gently pressed her fingertip to Chu Yao's forehead.
Threads of iridescent light traveled from her finger, striking Chu Yao's spirited body with the swiftness of lightning.
An astonishing event unfolded before everyone's eyes.
Chu Yao's Lunar Spirit began to dissolve as if it were a wax figure exposed to flame.
A peculiar pill, thumb-sized and etched with tree-like patterns, materialized within Chu Yao's mind, only to vanish as his Lunar Spirit disintegrated.
Before long, Chu Yao was reduced to a pool of wax inside the flower basket.
"Soulgraft."
From within the Crucible of Evil, Yu Yuan observed the emergence of the odd thumb-sized pill and understood the gravity of Cao Jiaze's earlier words.
What's the rush if you can't die?
When Jiaze spoke, Yu Yuan assumed that even if Chu Yao's Lunar Spirit perished like Lee Yuchan's, his real body's presence in the outside world meant he wasn't truly dead.
Unexpectedly, Jiaze's point was that Chu Yao had merely entrusted a remnant soul to the Soulgraft, deceiving everyone with a sleight of hand to make it seem as though he remained.
The damage Chu Yao suffered was to a rare pill; his Lunar Spirit was untouched.
Only a Divine Level herbalist could craft such a high-grade Soulgraft. Coincidentally, Zhong Chichen was one, and Chu Yao was his fortunate son-in-law.
"Just a pill!"
Rahu's brows knitted in frustration as she gazed at the waxen puddle in the basket, feeling duped.
"The members of the Order of Healing fear death above all else, as you well know," Jiaze said with a soft laugh. "Once I felt Yu Yuan's approach and informed Chu Yao, as well as you and Lord White Bone, he had already hatched his plan and set it in motion."
The cultivators from Euwrea who had admired Chu Yao's valor and readiness to stand with Jiaze now silently cursed. They could never have imagined Chu Yao would switch places undetected, leaving behind a Soulgraft shadow in his stead.
Jiaze, who had clearly discerned the ruse, chose neither to intervene nor to alert them.
What could his intentions be?
Chu Yao's life was precious, indeed. Was Jiaze unwilling to offend Chu Yao, opting instead to pull them into a doomed battle against White Bone and Luo Yue?
Those individuals harbored deep-seated resentment but were too afraid to voice their grievances.
"You've been recognized as Luo Yue through that pill, and he's aware that you've made your move against him," Cao Jiaze said, clutching the miniature Mark of the Celestials and squinting his eyes. "His methods for preserving his life are second to none. After he drifted away, I lost track of his whereabouts."
"What does it matter if he knows who I am? What can he possibly do to me?" Luo Yue retorted with a sneer, her eyes mocking as she surveyed Cao Jiaze and the surrounding cultivators from Euwrea. "After my ascension to Ghost King, I have no fear of my identity being exposed. Chu Yao, his master, and my dear junior brother are all powerless against me until they attain their primordial spirits."
"As for the Land of Terror, if they dare to enter knowing who I am, I would welcome it."
The Ghost King of the Land of Terror is the mightiest here.
Once outside this realm, one's combat strength ascends a level, comparable to the Unbound Stage. As the Ghost King, Luo Yue could instantly retreat to her corresponding River Styx within the Everlands should the situation turn dire.
Zhong Chichen, the current leader of the Poison Cult, has not yet reached the primordial spirit stage. Once she leaves, she too can easily slip away.
Should those two dare to venture deep into the Land of Terror without regard for their lives, they would instead fall prey to her ambush.
With that in mind, what is there to fear about her identity being exposed?
Whoosh!
White Bone transformed into a streak of lightning, abruptly lunging at Cao Jiaze.
Simultaneously, tufts of ghastly white flames drifted towards the cultivators from Euwrea.
White Bone had grown impatient and sought to eliminate the potential threat once and for all.
"White Bone!"
The cultivators who had reached the Lunar Spirit stage were well aware of the dread instilled by White Bone's spectral flames. Seeing them approach, they fled desperately.
Their true fear was White Bone himself.
Luo Yue, still holding her flower basket, hadn't anticipated White Bone's sudden attack. Instinctively, her gaze fell upon Yu Yuan within the Crucible of Evil.
"If he refuses to leave, then there's nothing to be done," Yu Yuan declared.
Before White Bone made his move, he had been informed and had given his consent.
"Cao Jiaze!"
The elder from the Ebon Star sect watched as clusters of stark white flames drifted in every direction. The instigator, the White Bone King himself, had targeted Cao Jiaze, which sent the elder into a panic.
That was a Ghost King, after all!
Moreover, having slain both the Black Staff and Wintermaw, this Ghost King had become the mightiest in the Land of Terror. Not even the cultivators from the Unbound realm could stand a chance against him.
What about Cao Jiaze?
Despite his faith in Cao Jiaze, the elder was still overcome with anxiety. He bellowed into the void, "Dhoreus, where are you? Your subordinates, the ones in white robes, why aren't they coming to his rescue?"
"Cao Jiaze is the future of our Ebon Star. If anything happens to him, you can forget about ascending to the status of God of Ghosts."
He believed that only Dhoreus, accompanied by his nine Spectre-level subordinates, could swiftly appear and rescue Cao Jiaze from White Bone's clutches.
"Cao Jiaze..."
Yu Yuan squinted, standing within the Crucible of Evil, watching intently.
He, too, was curious about what made the Ebon Star's confident future sect master believe he could assist Dhoreus in achieving the breakthrough to God of Ghosts in the Land of Terror.
If being at the pinnacle of the Spirit Walk realm wasn't enough, then even the Mark of the Celestials, which could transform into a palace, was insufficient!
Cao Jiaze must have another source of support.
"Ah, why must you force my hand?"
Cao Jiaze shook his head, his face the picture of reluctance. "I didn't want to reveal my last resort, fearing the commotion would be too great and frighten others. White Bone, oh White Bone, I'm aware you're a Ghost King, second only to Dhoreus in his prime as the ruler of the Land of Terror."
"But surely, you don't believe you're truly unbeatable in the Land of Terror?"
"In the vast expanse of the Star River, there are still things capable of restraining you, White Bone."
"Take this, for instance."
A radiant sapphire materialized above Cao Jiaze's head, its teardrop shape emitting a mesmerizing light that was both dazzling and enigmatic.
Its splendor was beyond the power of words to convey.
Without warning, the teardrop-shaped sapphire transformed, splitting into three distinct parts.
One azure fragment morphed into a dark blue expanse of sky, from which a strange power capable of devouring the souls of all living beings emanated, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the aura of the Soulforge Pool.
As soon as the dark blue sky appeared, the White Bone King, Luo Yue, and all the spirited bodies and Lunar Spirits were overcome with a sense of impending doom.
The White Bone King, in his haste to reach Cao Jiaze, failed to halt in time and plunged headlong into the abyss.
In an instant, he vanished into the dark blue sky, like a droplet entering a tranquil blue lake, causing nary a ripple.
Cao Jiaze sneered and turned his attention to Luo Yue. "Your turn."
The dark blue sky soared and swooped down upon Luo Yue, who turned deathly pale.
Puff!
Yu Yuan, trapped within the Crucible of Evil, uncontrollably coughed up blood. The Altar of Rebirth within his little world of vitality spun too swiftly, overwhelming him.
His eyes burned with a deep red fury as he glared at the object that had split into three.
"Tears of the Azurefiend!"
Indeed, it was the Blood Altar of the Azurefiend clan he had once encountered at the bottom of the Embers Sea.
Initially shaped like a tear, the Blood Altar had divided into a Soul Altar, a Blood Altar, and a Spawn of Chaos.
The Tears of the Azurefiend, which had managed to flee the Everlands and transport Hei Xun, a man in white, and several demons to the Star River, were now inexplicably in the hands of Cao Jiaze.
And it seemed that Cao Jiaze had refined them into his very own Divine Weapon.
How had this come to pass?
