C879 Soul Control

Deep within the head of the soul puppet, Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit took residence in another wooden figure, finding himself in an enigmatic space. He was seated at the head of a long table, the puppet's hands resting flat on its surface.

This table wasn't tangible; it resembled a murky soul sea. As the puppet representing Yu Yuan touched the table, his remnant soul unfurled, spreading along the table's length and out to its sides.

On either side of the table sat six shorter wooden puppets with indistinct features. Only Yu Yuan, occupying the principal seat, displayed his true visage in this arcane space, thanks to the Lunar Spirit within.

The table, akin to a bizarre soul sea, allowed his remnant soul to ripple outward like water, perceiving a multitude of thoughts and memories that swarmed around him like fireflies.

"The soul puppet comprises seven seats, with the foremost being the controller. The six other puppets flanking it shall serve as vessels for imprisoned souls," he discerned.

"A cultivator's three souls of heaven, earth, and man, or the transformed Lunar Spirit—whichever is drawn into a soul puppet—gains dominion over the rest. This includes the original body, the Solar Spirit, and any marked items..."

In time, Yu Yuan grasped the workings of the soul puppet, its arcane methods inscribed upon the soul sea-like table.

"What an odd artifact," he murmured to himself. Shifting his consciousness, he felt as though he now possessed a wooden physique.

Glancing downward, he was astonished to find a hand protruding from the soul puppet he was holding. The thumb bore his own likeness! The remaining six fingers, each with a face on the pad, were indistinct due to the absence of residing souls.

Realization dawned on Yu Yuan; the seven fingers of the soul puppet's hand corresponded to the seven wooden figures in the mysterious space. The thumb, his position, signified his role as the controller. The other six fingers remained faceless, awaiting the presence of a soul.

After a moment's contemplation, he cleared his throat and said, "Qin Yun, release your Lunar Spirit into this soul puppet. I wish to conduct an experiment. Come now, what are you hiding from? What is there to fear?"

Qin Yun, taking on the guise of a scholar, looked on with an expression that seemed to perceive the utmost evil. He was backing away, step by step.

Judging by Qin Yun's demeanor, it appeared that any additional pressure might send him fleeing from the Crucible of Evil, dashing haphazardly through the miniature realm formed by the Illusion Orb and Spectral Umbrella.

"I am still Yu Yuan!" he insisted.

"Stop right there!"

Qin Yun's shouts echoed as he pressed his back against the cauldron's wall, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

Yu Yuan, seated in quiet meditation, had his eyes closed as though in deep slumber.

In his hand, he held a small puppet that had sprouted Yu Yuan's face. It had just struggled fiercely, stretching an arm from Yu Yuan's palm, revealing seven fingers.

The thumb, bizarrely, also bore Yu Yuan's face!

Three faces of Yu Yuan appeared simultaneously: the true Yu Yuan in a dormant state, the puppet Yu Yuan shouting and flailing, and even the thumb on the puppet was Yu Yuan's...

This eerie tableau sent shivers down Qin Yun's spine. "The soul puppet, the nefarious rare treasure of the Skyblight Cult from the legends! The master... might have been overtaken by this malevolent entity."

On their journey here, Yu Yuan had mentioned something unearthed deep within the Yu family's domain.

Qin Yun was aware that both the Seven Star Aegis and the soul puppet were in Yu Yuan's possession.

"He aims to consume my Lunar Spirit, compelling me to willingly enter the puppet!"

Qin Yun's mind quaked with fear.

"The master's spiritual wisdom remains intact."

It was then that Qin Yun heard a chilling voice.

The voice emanated from the cauldron wall he leaned against. "My name is Yu Yiyi, the artifact soul of this great cauldron. There is no need for fear. Such is the nature of the Skyblight Cult's evil rare treasures. The master's face manifesting on the soul puppet, and likewise on the thumb, serves as undeniable proof."

"Proof of what?" Qin Yun exclaimed in alarm.

"It proves that the master is the true master of the soul puppet," Yu Yuan's voice, cool and serene, infused with a tranquility that soothed Qin Yun's fraying nerves, "The master is merely conducting a minor experiment. There's no need for fear."

"But I am truly frightened. As the cauldron spirit, could you perhaps release a Bane to carry out the verification?" Qin Yun cautiously suggested to Yu Yiyi, his voice laced with entreaty and appeasement.

"Banes are out of the question; only human cultivators can manage that," Yu Yiyi stated.

Yu Yuan overheard the exchange between Qin Yun and Yu Yiyi with crystal clarity, which left him rather astonished. Observing Qin Yun's extreme terror, Yu Yuan couldn't help but feel the urge to chuckle. He smirked slightly, the soul puppet mirroring a ghastly and eerie grin.

Whoosh!

Disregarding Yu Yiyi's counsel, Qin Yun, petrified by the puppet's smile, hastily retreated from the cauldron, exclaiming, "He's been possessed by a goast! You, as the cauldron spirit, must have fallen under his spell too!"

Qin Yun remained unconvinced by anything Yu Yiyi said.

"Uh…"

Yu Yuan, residing within the soul puppet, experienced a moment of embarrassment. After pondering briefly, he attempted to make a move.

"Crack crack."

The joints of his other hand emitted a peculiar sound as they freed themselves from the grip of his palm. The puppet's hand, bearing only three fingers, was as sharp as daggers.

"How odd. The entry of the Lunar Spirit caused the Heaven Soul and Dominant Soul of the real body to momentarily slip into slumber," Yu Yuan mused. To his amazement, he discovered that his remnant soul had imperceptibly permeated every nook of the table and had made a full circuit through the wooden bodies of the other six soul puppets.

Some of the remnant soul flowed back, forming a shadow within the main puppet's body.

"A shadow? With this shadow, my Lunar Spirit can withdraw? And then, using the Lunar Spirit's shadow, I can maintain control over this puppet and the imprisoned souls?" He had an epiphany.

"Wraithbinding!"

His Lunar Spirit endeavored to employ the arcane capable of engulfing a Sky Fiend and enticing it into his Mindscape.

He was astounded to sense numerous faint residual souls in this peculiar realm.

The residual souls, strewn across the distance, all bore the essence of Qi Yunhong.

"Qi Yunhong's Lunar Spirit was obliterated by Qu Jing and the Sage of the Ethereal Void. Yet, because his demise occurred within the Illusion Orb, the fragments of his Lunar Spirit didn't fully vanish. Had it been the outside world, his Lunar Spirit would have long since rejoined the cosmos, merging with the Root of the Lunar Meridian in the Land of Terror."

With this realization, he noticed that the residual soul fragments from Qi Yunhong's Lunar Spirit, drawn by the Wraithbinding, were actually infiltrating the soul puppet.

One strand after another, dozens upon dozens...

The wisps of residual soul fragments were akin to the torn pieces of Qi Yunhong's Lunar Spirit, dismembered and then drawn back together by the Wraithbinding technique within the soul puppet.

They reconvened in the peculiar space within the soul puppet's head, on one of the figures seated at the table.

The soul puppet's once vague features were finely sculpted to reveal the visage of Qi Yunhong.

Correspondingly, on the seven-fingered hand of the soul puppet, another fingertip transformed into Qi Yunhong's face.

Sizzle!

At that moment, Yu Yuan, seated in the place of honor, placed his palm on the table. His remnant soul, like invisible lightning, surged into the wooden puppet harboring Qi Yunhong's Lunar Spirit.

Yu Yuan's remnant soul enveloped the Qi Yunhong-bearing soul puppet in an intricate, seamless net.

Suddenly, countless tiny sparks were contacted by Yu Yuan's remnant soul.

Each spark bore the imprint of Qi Yunhong's memories.

"What a wondrous insight," Yu Yuan whispered to himself.

Sizzle!

Once more, the hidden scarlet electric snakes emerged en masse, writhing in the shadows.

On the forehead of each snake was the twisted, frenzied, and pained phantom of Qi Yunhong.

Oddly, the frenetic expression on these phantoms gradually ceased, as if the agony that once begged for death could no longer be felt.

Dozens of red electric snakes, each with a phantom of Qi Yunhong, let out a sudden, fierce cry.

Intersecting lightning glyphs shone from the forehead of each snake, coalescing into a magic circle infused with the essence of thunder magic in midair.

Crack!

The dispersed red electric snakes willingly converged, their bodies entwining to solidify the magic circle.

"This shouldn't be possible," remarked Qu Jing, emerging once again from the shadows, his large black umbrella in hand.

Staring in amazement at the red electric snakes, born from the Soulsear Bolt and the fragments of Qi Yunhong's Solar Spirit, he spoke, bewildered, "What kind of external force could restore his spiritual wisdom and allow him the strength to break free from his bonds?"

He gazed at the soul puppet bearing Yu Yuan's visage, his confusion palpable.

The soul puppet, absent from the world for centuries, had become unrecognizable to him.

"..."