C836 Combination!
The unpredictability of life's events could not be more evident than in this instance. No one could have anticipated that Dhoreus and White Bone, longtime adversaries and each other's nemesis, would be compelled to unite against a common foe due to the return of Tian Zang.
Tian Zang's ferocity knew no bounds. Having seized Dhoreus's body and reclaimed the Blood Altar, he entered the River of Souls and, with only the Spawn of Chaos at his side, effortlessly dominated the scene. Tian Zang, now the de facto leader of all ghosts and malevolent spirits, exuded an air of unrivaled supremacy.
Beneath him, the Blood Altar, resembling a lotus throne, had fused with his soul, empowering him to cow the myriad ghosts within the River of Souls. The river's waters ceased their flow at his presence, and one by one, the radiant stars, forged from mysterious substances, were snuffed out.
The sapphire-skinned, razor-toothed Tian Zang, with a sneer on his face, watched Dhoreus with a mocking laugh. He continued to wield the Spawn of Chaos, striking down the ancient ghosts, save for Rhutar, whom he left to Yu Yuan's vengeful wrath.
The other spectres, who had served Dhoreus loyally for a millennium, were relentlessly pursued by the blue shadows of the Spawn of Chaos. As the essence of their demise spread, they dared only to whirl around Dhoreus in desperation.
That was until Dhoreus's soul, with White Bone's consent, slipped into the pristine skeletal form. In White Bone's eye sockets, the eerie green glow of his eyes abruptly went dark, as if two ghostly lanterns had been snuffed out.
Three seconds passed before one of White Bone's eyes reignited with a vibrant green soulfire, now more tempestuous, exuding a breath of ruin capable of extinguishing the souls of all beings. His soul, it seemed, had coalesced within that single eye in a mere moment.
The other vacant socket began to flicker with a pure black flame, emanating an aura of chilling silence and profound mystery. Swiftly, the flame intensified, and with a resounding burst, it transformed into a dark soulfire, bearing the distinct scent of Dhoreus.
White Bone and Dhoreus, two Ghost Kings who had once reigned supreme over the Land of Terror, found themselves sharing a skeletal form, an unthinkable alliance forged in the face of Tian Zang's overwhelming threat.
A streak of silver light shot through the sky from the nearby border, arriving in an instant.
White Bone extended his hand and seized the sharp awl he had crafted from the peak of Shadow Mountain.
"We have arrived."
The voice that emanated from White Bone was unmistakably a blend of his own and that of Dhoreus.
Two souls, two minds, fused into a single body, speaking with one voice.
His diminutive skeletal form, akin to the burgeoning peaks of Shadow Mountain within the realm of Dhoreus, suddenly soared in stature.
In a mere moment, White Bone transformed into a colossal skeleton giant, hundreds of feet tall, radiating an eerie white luminescence. With a single step, he descended upon the resplendent Star River like a deity presiding over the cycle of life and death.
Tian Zang bellowed with laughter, "I've been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"
Upon the giant's entry into the Star River, a boundless expanse of silver-gray Yin Qi flooded the area, forming a barrier as natural as any wall.
From her vantage point outside, Luo Yue could not discern the unfolding events within the Star River. She could only faintly sense that two, no, three formidable beings were now locked in combat—one a fusion of the other two.
Luo Yue shifted her gaze.
The Spawn of Chaos, a blue shadow, had not been recalled by Tian Zang and continued its assault on the remnants of Dhoreus's forces, swallowing yet another ancient ghost.
As the ghost, resembling a massive lion, was consumed by the blue shadow, it laughed wildly, proclaiming loudly,
"Your Highness will surely grant us resurrection! The Ghost King himself has this power, and once he ascends to the God of Ghosts, he will even have the might to revive the Ghost King!"
The ancient ghost, facing its end with the valor of a martyr, was devoured by the blue shadow.
Yet, it showed no fear, convinced that Dhoreus would not be defeated, believing that as long as Dhoreus lived, all of his devoted followers would be reborn.
They had all been through such resurrections before.
"Yu Yuan!"
It was then that Rhutar emitted a piercing, heart-wrenching wail.
Luo Yue abruptly turned away.
A crimson sword light had unsheathed, its will transmitting a message to extinguish all hope and possibility for the souls' survival.
For reasons unknown, as the sword's will took shape, Luo Yue felt the very fabric of the Cosmic Order within the Land of Terror being forcefully restrained.
It could be said that the Cosmic Order of the Land of Terror had subtly shifted, imbuing this sword spell with boundless enigmas. The piercing sword light eradicated the soul spirits, too minute for the naked eye to see, throughout the Land of Terror, leaving nothing but dust in its wake.
Luo Yue, transfixed by the crimson sword light, felt her soul sizzle as if on the verge of shattering. She turned deathly pale. The wails of Rhutar soon faded away, and she could only faintly discern countless tiny golden flecks being shattered further, their memories and thoughts snuffed out one by one.
As a Ghost King herself, Luo Yue realized she had grasped some mysterious principle. Under the might of this sword, Rhutar had met his absolute end. Not even Dhoreus, with his power to alter the cosmos, could resurrect Rhutar. The sword light, severing all vitality from the soul, had been bolstered by the force of the Root of the Lunar Meridian.
Dhoreus could only embody a fraction of the will of the Root of the Lunar Meridian, not its entirety. He was powerless to reverse the fate of the ghost slain by that sword spell; Rhutar's demise meant he was beyond the cycle of reincarnation, leaving not a trace behind.
"Soulsever, Soulsever..." Yu Yuan, ensconced within the cauldron and flanked by an array of Bane forming a Soul Nexus, clutched his sword sheath and murmured to himself. He was delving into the profound mysteries of "Spiritrend," deeply understanding the fusion of various powers within him and their flow through his meridians.
Behind him, thousands of Bane transformed into a dark canopy, beneath which a blood-red crescent moon loomed. The sword's will, fierce and unmatched, lingered around him. As it persisted, the space outside the cauldron creaked ominously, hinting at the emergence of a spatial gateway.
Rhutar, his first intended victim, had been utterly obliterated by the strike of Spiritrend. The Soul Nexus, conjured by the multitude of Bane, was instrumental, remotely binding Rhutar and leaving him nowhere to flee. Simultaneously, it mired him in a quagmire of souls, severely impeding his movements.
After being targeted by the Blood Moon, Rhutar's spirit was battered by an endless barrage of malevolent and distracting thoughts, leaving his soul wounded.
The deathblow was, of course, the Spiritrend.
As soon as the sword spell was cast, even the tiniest remnant soul of Rhutar began to disintegrate.
At that moment, he was also aware of the ultimate truth of the Root of the Lunar Meridian and had bolstered the sword spell with the Shadow Moon Essence.
Could Rhutar possibly escape?
Whoosh!
Another ancient ghost, loyal to Dhoreus, hesitated for a moment before seemingly choosing to fly into the engulfing blue shadow.
Yu Yuan, puzzled, wondered aloud, "Am I imagining things?"
After swinging her sword and standing down, Luo Yue, seeing no further threat, drifted over and inquired, "What kind of illusion?"
"Why do I have the feeling that the Spectre willingly entered the Spawn of Chaos controlled by Tian Zang?" Yu Yuan posed the question.
"Your intuition is correct. He did indeed enter willingly, seeking his own demise," Luo Yue explained with clarity, "He preferred to die at the hands of Tian Zang rather than under your sword. He sensed that being struck down by your sword spell would strip him of even the faintest chance of rebirth."
Spiritrend was already the nemesis of ghostly spirits, and with the empowerment from the Root of the Lunar Meridian and the Way of Heaven, it was virtually invincible in the Land of Terror.
The Rhutar, executed by this sword spell, could not be resurrected even if he ascended to become a God of Ghosts.
That ancient ghost realized this, which is why, after a brief hesitation as the blue shadow approached, he actively sought death.
He dared not flee, for fleeing would be treason, and he was well aware of the dire consequences of betraying Dhoreus.
Unable to escape and outmatched in battle, his only option was death.
Between certain death and a slim chance at life, who wouldn't choose the latter?
"Not just him, the others will seek death in the same way," Luo Yue asserted confidently.
Her prediction was soon confirmed. The remaining three ancient ghosts loyal to Dhoreus appeared to be fleeing, yet they subtly avoided Yu Yuan, trying to put as much distance between themselves and him as possible.
Then, as if by coincidence, they were successively pursued by the blue shadow and consumed.
The white-robed figure, along with the eight ghosts who had returned from the star rivers of the extraterrestrial realms, perished one by one. Rhutar met his end at the edge of the Spiritrend, while the remaining ghosts were consumed and dissolved by the Spawn of Chaos.
Suddenly, in this particular area, only Yu Yuan and Luo Yue remained, along with the resplendent Star River that had emerged from the River of Souls, now shrouded in a thick mist of Yin Qi that obscured the view within.
"Junior Brother..." Luo Yue squinted her eyes, cradling the flower basket, as she looked at him, her words caught in her throat.
Yu Yuan, taken aback, asked, "What's on your mind?"
"Tian Zang and White Bone, whom will you support?"
