C963 Nine Seals Arriving

A streak of blood-red light, resembling a cascading waterfall, suddenly pierced the dark expanse of the sky from a great distance.

The light shot directly toward the forbidden area, carrying with it the voice of Ann Jieshan from the Colddeath Sect. Within the bloody radiance, strands of peculiar sword's will ebbed and flowed, seemingly gnawing at the souls trapped inside.

"Ann Jieshan!"

Yu Yuan watched in astonishment from behind the wall, sensing the presence of Ann Jieshan.

With quick discernment, he realized that the blood light was indeed a manifestation of Ann Jieshan. He also surmised that Ann Jieshan must have been ambushed by a formidable member of the Sword Sect and had sustained significant injuries.

"The Hierarch of our sect is en route. The Colddeath Sect has officially severed ties with the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep, choosing instead to align with your forces!" Ann Jieshan's voice boomed from within the blood light.

His declaration sent a ripple of reaction through the experts of the three upper sects, the Devil Palace, and Shadow's Keep.

The Colddeath Sect, much like the Ruby Hand, was a prestigious power within the Land of Quiescence.

In recent years, following Ann Jieshan's return, the sect's secret book had been refined. Certain bloody spells that necessitated vile sacrifices were expunged, earning the Colddeath Sect newfound acceptance from the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep as they returned to a more honorable path.

Hierarch Ann Wen, known as the Evil God, was seen as a potential future Supreme God.

The Colddeath Sect's declaration of opposition to the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep was akin to a bombshell, catching many of those present off guard.

"Intercept him!"

Cao Jiaze of the Ebon Star Sect issued the command with a cold snort.

The Ebon Star Sect's experts, who had emerged from the Mark of the Celestials, immediately set their sights on Ann Jieshan.

Many elders were well aware of the history between Ann Jieshan and the Ebon Star Sect.

Ann Jieshan, a contemporary of the Colddeath Sect's first patriarch, had once covertly inhabited the body of an unparalleled prodigy from the Ebon Star Sect. He had stealthily acquired numerous Ebon Star spells and, by integrating them with the Colddeath Sect's blood magic, transformed himself into an otherworldly entity.

When Ebon Star uncovered the truth, they found themselves unable to kill Ann Jieshan.

Left with no alternative, they confined Ann Jieshan within Moonfall Sanctuary, ensuring he could never break free.

Yu Yuan, upon entering the forbidden area and lifting the numerous seals, tacitly allowed Ann Jieshan to escape and return to Colddeath, triggering a remarkable transformation within the sect.

Now, after years of confinement, Ann Jieshan had surprisingly come back to the very place he had been detained.

"If it's you..."

With a slight shift in his thoughts, Yu Yuan watched as the blood light that Ann Jieshan had become swiftly pierced through the green and black boundary, entering the forbidden area and coalescing back into a blood shadow.

The Ebon Star's experts, ready to strike, saw Ann Jieshan re-enter the forbidden area and were forced to stand down.

Fear gripped their hearts.

They were terrified of sharing the fate of Tang Zheng and Grey Wolf King, lured into the forbidden area by Yu Yuan only to be besieged by the Otherkin's formidable warriors.

"Why have you come alone?" Yu Yuan inquired, puzzled.

"I happened to be nearby," Ann Jieshan replied, his crimson eyes emitting an intimidating glow. He glanced at Tang Zheng, whose Divine Visage lay shattered, with the Lunar Spirit and Solar Spirit dispersed across the forbidden area. "To see a mountain's master reduced to such a plight is truly lamentable."

"Cough!"

Clearing his throat, Ann Jieshan spoke with a hint of embarrassment, "Yu Yuan, if you don't mind, may I refine Tang Zheng's blood?"

Tang Zheng, a cultivator of the Unbound Stage, possessed a vitality that was exceptionally potent, even though he was not an archdemon.

For the visibly wounded Ann Jieshan, Tang Zheng's blood, once processed through Colddeath's blood magic, could facilitate a swift recovery.

"You've made a long journey to aid us on behalf of Colddeath. Tang Zheng's blood is yours to refine," Yu Yuan consented with a nod.

"Thank you."

With a whoosh, Ann Jieshan dissolved into slender beams of blood light that slithered like serpents through Tang Zheng's body.

Tang Zheng's form withered rapidly, his flesh desiccating until he resembled a mummy that had been dried for millennia.

This macabre spectacle sent shivers down the spines of the Otherkin's elite.

The arcane practices of the Colddeath Sect were considered terrifying by all. The Otherkin, with their expertise in bloodlines, found the Colddeath's techniques particularly vexing.

A persistent rumor suggested a profound connection between the Colddeath Sect and the most aberrant branch of the Sky Fiend—the Blood Fiend—rooted deep in the Abyss.

Both the Blood Fiend and the Colddeath Sect were feared entities in both the extraterrestrial realms and the Everlands, notorious for their malevolent presence.

Their techniques and secrets bore striking resemblances to one another.

Whoosh!

Ann Jieshan's blood shadow gradually rose from Tang Zheng's desiccated body. His sanguine form swiftly refined into a skeleton, developing flesh, sinew, and muscle.

Within seconds, Ann Jieshan appeared to undergo a metamorphosis, emerging as a normal man.

He even conjured a gray robe to drape over his frame, his blood-stained face shifting contours and angles until it settled.

He now possessed a visage that was entirely unfamiliar to Yu Yuan, Ann Wen, Ann Ziqing, and the other disciples of the Colddeath Sect.

Upon seeing this new face, Yu Yuan was momentarily taken aback.

Seated within the Soulforge Pool, Yu Yuan couldn't resist glancing at Cao Jiaze in the outside world. He then turned back to scrutinize Ann Jieshan, who had used Tang Zheng's blood to craft his corporeal form.

Remarkably, Ann Jieshan bore a fifty to sixty percent resemblance to Cao Jiaze.

With a raspy chuckle, Ann Jieshan spread his hands, revealing two luminescent jade seals in his palms.

Yu Yuan recognized one of the seals from Gloomhollow—it was the Mark of the Celestials, once wielded by Mei Qiurong.

Ann Jieshan, in collusion with Zhou Cangmin, had orchestrated Mei Qiurong's demise, resulting in the Mark of the Celestials being taken to the Land of Quiescence by Zhou Cangmin, a significant contribution to the Ruby Hand's cause.

The nine Marks of the Celestials were indispensable.

Should any one of them be lost, the Ebon Star's seventh-level array would not be able to unleash its full might, rendering it incomplete.

Cao Jiaze, the designated successor to the Ebon Star's Sect Master and the leader of this expedition, was the pivotal figure in breaking the array, yet he carried only seven of the Marks of the Celestials.

At this moment, Ann Jieshan, who should have been a member of the Colddeath, found himself with two additional Mark of the Celestials in his palm after stepping into the forbidden area. With that, all nine Mark of the Celestials had converged at the Moonfall Sanctuary.

Ann Jieshan bore a striking resemblance to an aged Cao Jiaze, which unsettled Yu Yuan deeply, and he instantly sensed that something was terribly amiss.

"Surround and kill him!"

The two Yu Yuans, their faces turning grim, simultaneously pointed at Ann Jieshan. At their command, Tian Zang, Xi Quan, Luo Yue, and others, including the wielder of the Withered Sword, all launched an assault on Ann Jieshan.

Ann Jieshan merely smiled, the sinister bloodlight in his eyes fading away, his demeanor now exuding an air of righteousness, devoid of any malevolence. "Too late," he declared.

The two celestial marks in his hands transformed into a radiant sun and a luminous moon, rising into the void. Beneath the dark green sky, both celestial bodies shone brilliantly within the forbidden area.

Unhindered by the Soulforge Matrix, the connection between the Mark of the Celestials remained intact. The seven external marks also began to emit an extraordinary divine brilliance.

Whoosh! The seven Mark of the Celestials spun rapidly, drawing in the three upper sects, Sage Lingxu, and experts from the Unbound, Solar Spirit, and Spirit Walk realms.

Suddenly, it was as if an alternate void passage had been established, with the seven seals vanishing into the ether. The next instant, the seven seals, bearing the might of numerous Euwrean experts, bypassed the Soulforge Matrix and entered the forbidden area, joining the other two celestial marks in the void.

The nine Mark of the Celestials hovered in the air, their light resplendent. Figures emerged from within the seals, dispersing like stars amidst the celestial marks that shone like the sun and moon.

Although the Soulforge Matrix remained intact, Cao Jiaze and a host of Euwrean powerhouses leveraged the mystical properties of the nine Mark of the Celestials to step into the forbidden area together.

Those intent on swiftly eliminating Ann Jieshan abruptly halted in the void, poised for action.

Ann Jieshan and Cao Jiaze stood side by side in the sky, exchanging smiles beneath the nine Marks of the Celestials.

It was as though long-lost kin had been reunited.

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