C878 Soul Puppet!

Qu Jing casually updated Yu Yuan on his current affairs.

His attention then shifted to the commanding presence of the Ice Goddess.

He watched the Frost Queen effortlessly sever the crimson electric snakes, releasing an Arctic Breath and conjuring an ice-blue flame.

With her chilling and otherworldly charm, the Frost Queen captivated the young prodigy from the Ethereal Void Sect, who couldn't help but nod in silent approval, murmuring to himself, "No wonder..."

Few were aware of his close relationship with Mo Yan of the Devil Palace.

They had faced trials together in their early years, forging a deep bond through life-and-death experiences. This bond was what led to the damage of the Spectral Umbrella during his first encounter with Yu Yuan.

Mo Yan was nearly trapped in the Moonfall Sanctuary by Yu Yuan via a spatial channel in the Land of Terror, but was rescued by his father, Zhu Zhenlin.

After sustaining severe injuries, Mo Yan recuperated in the Devil Palace and reached out to Qu Jing using a mystique.

He described a Bane within Yu Yuan's Crucible of Evil as breathtakingly beautiful, a sentiment that Qu Jing found utterly irrational.

It was then that he began to grasp the extent of Mo Yan's distorted psyche.

"If you ever encounter Yu Yuan, you'd better let the Crucible of Evil shatter than let that Bane die!" This was the essence of Mo Yan's heartfelt message.

Having been approached by the Sunlit Order with a request, Qu Jing agreed to intervene, partly to avenge Mo Yan and partly to seize the Frost Queen and eventually deliver her to Mo Yan.

"A Bane more formidable than Qi Yunhong requires a patient approach," Qu Jing thought with a hint of exasperation. "Luckily, time is on my side. Once Master Chong Xiao arrives, with his late-period Solar Spirit cultivation, he'll ensure stability within my little world."

With these thoughts, Qu Jing, who was holding the large black umbrella, vanished as suddenly as a reflection disrupted by a stone tossed into water.

In midair, the red electric snake, previously a maelstrom of lightning, light, and crystals, ceased its relentless assault on the Frost Queen and withdrew as if obeying a silent command.

"Save me!"

The soul of Qi Yunhong, wailing atop the retreating electric snake, seemed to suddenly regain its spiritual wisdom.

Yu Yuan remained impassive.

In an instant, the peculiar little world crafted by the Illusion Orb returned to tranquility.

"Qu Jing has concealed himself, and if we want to kill him, we must first draw him out. In this Mysterious Realm under his control, it's challenging just to locate him," Qin Yun sighed. "And to shatter a space forged by both the Illusion Orb and the Spectral Umbrella is as difficult as reaching the heavens."

Chong Xiao had been stationed in Gavanas for many years, a name familiar to Qin Yun.

He understood that if Qu Jing's words held truth, the arrival of Chong Xiao in this little world would signal the end for both him and Yu Yuan.

Their deaths would leave no trace, unknown to the outside world.

Thus, even Mr. Yan and the Boulderdawn Sect behind him, lacking concrete evidence and unaware of the events, would have no grounds for retaliation.

"Don't leave the cauldron!"

The urgent cry of Yu Yiyi echoed suddenly in Yu Yuan's mindscape.

Yu Yuan, poised to exit the cauldron to scrutinize this foreign land, was jolted to a halt. "Is there danger?"

"The aura of the electric snake, transformed after devouring Qi Yunhong by the 'Soulsear Bolt,' is still lingering nearby," Yu Yiyi explained as she maneuvered the cauldron in a slow rotation. "Once you step out of the cauldron and into the open sky, your Mindscape is vulnerable to assault by the storm of lightning created by the Soulsear Bolt."

At her words, Yu Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

"You've heard Qu Jing's proposition. Think about how we can overturn this disadvantage," he said, passing the dilemma onto the cauldron spirit.

He then quickly composed himself, regaining his calm.

"The options are to kill Qu Jing or to break free from this little world..."

These were the two solutions Qu Jing had presented to escape the current predicament.

After a moment's contemplation, Yu Yuan coldly exclaimed, speaking to himself, "Qu Jing has offered two paths, leading me to believe there's a way out, but they must be traps. Choosing either seems hopeless."

"However, under normal circumstances, if you inadvertently find yourself in someone else's little world, it seems there are only two ways to break free," Qin Yun responded with a furrowed brow after hearing his own mutterings.

"In my cauldron, there are thousands of Banes. Should they surge forth and arrange themselves into a formation, there might be hope of shattering this confined space," Yu Yuan said grimly. "Yet, there's an abundance of Soulsear Bolts at play here. These bolts are the nemesis of souls, and the weaker Banes are obliterated before they can even form a formation."

Gathering Banes was no easy task, and they were destined for greater purposes in the future. He had no intention of squandering them needlessly.

He had discussed this with Yu Yiyi and was aware that not just the Frost Queen, who could manifest a physical form, but also Blood Moon and Chebus would meet a dire fate upon contact with the Soulsear Bolt.

In time, both Blood Moon and Chebus would be capable of materializing a body like the Frost Queen. Possessing a physical form meant having a defense, no longer needing to confront the lightning with their souls alone.

He contemplated the situation, maneuvering the Crucible of Evil to bellow within this little world, while the Frost Queen retreated back into the cauldron's miniature realm.

"This realm can endlessly morph and stretch at your command, making it impossible for us to ever find its limits," Qin Yun soon realized. "Without a unique method, piercing the heavens is nearly impossible. Even if you wield that sword sheath and unleash a formidable strike, should the firmament keep extending upwards, your sword light will never find its end."

"Likewise, driving the sword light into the earth will also prove futile."

Qin Yun rolled up his sleeves, revealing a transparent red orb, crafted from concentrated spiritual energy, hovering above his palm.

Inside the orb, a tiny speck of light emerged. This speck transformed into the likeness of Yu Yuan, brandishing his sword towards the heavens.

As the speck and the sword light ascended, the orb floated upwards in tandem, ensuring that the speck and the sword light could never touch the orb's upper boundary.

"Now I see," Yu Yuan acknowledged, nodding. He then abandoned any lingering thoughts of forcefully rupturing the confines of this place.

We need to find a way to neutralize those Soulsear Bolts. Without the Bane, releasing all the Bane from the cauldron could potentially shatter the fabric of reality."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully as a remnant soul entered the Cosmos Ring. Inside, he saw soulstones, a furnace, the Seven Star Aegis, and a peculiar palm-sized soul puppet.

"The Seven Star Aegis is purely defensive. Despite its high rank, it remains unrefined."

"Even if the Seven Star Aegis were refined, it's doubtful it could shatter the space constructed by the Illusion Orb and Spectral Umbrella."

"The sword light drawn from the scabbard fails to reach the barrier's end, let alone make an impact."

"..."

After a moment, his eyes settled on the notorious soul puppet, which had brought infamy upon the Skyblight Cult.

The face of the soul puppet was indistinct, palm-sized, with no clear gender traits.

"Let's give it a try."

With a mere thought, the soul puppet flew out from the Cosmos Ring, grasped in his hand with only its head exposed.

As streams of remnant soul infiltrated the puppet, his mind was suddenly flooded with visions of piled corpses and the wails of countless evil spirits.

His remnant soul seemed to traverse through various scenes of carnage.

"Wraithbinding!"

In his Mindscape, his Lunar Spirit began to move autonomously, executing an arcane technique passed down from Boulderdawn. The myriad grotesque and bloody scenes shattered like a mirror hitting the ground.

Simultaneously, his Lunar Spirit, refined through Wraithbinding, effortlessly left his corporeal body and entered the puppet in his grasp.

The instant his Lunar Spirit merged, Qin Yun, who had been observing, visibly paled.

To Qin Yun's astonishment, the once vague features of the puppet in Yu Yuan's hand sharpened and defined within seconds.

"Yu, Yu Yuan!"

The puppet's face had transformed into that of Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan was now holding a smaller version of himself.

This miniature wooden Yu Yuan exuded an eerie aura, as if an ancient Evil God had stealthily awakened from a millennia-long slumber, poised to wreak havoc upon the world.

"Master, Master?" Qin Yun whispered tentatively, his voice cautious, "Are you still there? Are you still the same person?"

"Don't worry, it's still me," came the reply.

The speaker was a miniature, puppet-like version of Yu Yuan.

As it spoke, the true Yu Yuan closed his eyes and settled into a meditative pose within the cauldron, seemingly slipping into a deep slumber.

A chill of fear crept into Qin Yun's heart, and he instinctively stepped back to maintain a distance from this current incarnation of Yu Yuan. He even aimed the Dawn Arrow in his hand at the puppet-like Yu Yuan. "Who are you, really?!"

"I told you, I am still Yu Yuan. There's no need for alarm," the puppet responded, its expression unchanging.

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