86: Chapter 86 Falsely Proclaiming a Demonic Decree, Using Secret Methods

Lin Ye wore an arrogant expression, his gaze icy as he faced Master Youquan. He slightly raised the "command token of ten thousand ghosts" in his hand, causing its emanating demonic might to intensify:

"Does the Demonic Lord need to inform you of everything when He acts? I have come bearing the sacred object, which in itself is the edict. Youquan, do you know your crime?"

Master Youquan frowned, his suspicion deepening, but the "command token of ten thousand ghosts" could not be faked. Its aura caused the core Cultivation Technique of the Yinkui Sect within his body to palpitate and submit.

He suppressed his doubts and said in a deep voice: "What crime have I committed? This 'Seven Kills Soul-Locking, Deeply Planted Demonic Seed' ritual is being conducted in accordance with the decree left by the Demonic Lord many years ago, aiming to control key figures of this realm and pave the way for the Demonic Lord's arrival.

Now that we have reached the critical moment, Your Excellency has suddenly appeared and obstructed the ritual. What is your intention?"

"Obstructed?" Lin Ye sneered. "The Demonic Lord's decree is to control, not to completely destroy his Divine Soul and true spirit!

What you are doing now, forcibly extracting his Origin with the 'soul-seizing bead' and planting the 'Heart-Devouring Demonic Seed'—once completed, this person will become a Puppet that only knows how to kill and lacks all intelligence. While his combat power may be formidable, he will have no possibility of further growth, nor will he be able to fulfill his original value. Furthermore, it is likely to alert the Righteous Path of this realm and disrupt the Demonic Lord's overall layout! This is not the Demonic Lord's intention!"

He shouted sternly, while simultaneously secretly using his spiritual power to activate the "command token of ten thousand ghosts," causing it to emit an even more ancient and majestic wave of intent, as if it were truly conveying some kind of decree.

This was an "edict" he had fabricated on the spot, based on the lines of blood-red text from the previous vision and the information provided by Gui Li, combined with his own understanding. It was half-true and half-false, but it sounded quite reasonable.

Upon hearing this, Master Youquan's expression changed slightly. The Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators of the Yinkui Sect beside him, as well as the two traitorous Elders of the Lingyun Sword Sect, also revealed expressions of doubt and uncertainty.

They indeed only knew that they had to complete the ritual to control Master Lingxiao, but they were not entirely clear about the specific consequences of the ritual or the Demonic Lord's deeper intentions.

"What is the Demonic Lord's new decree?" Master Youquan asked, his eyes flickering.

"The Demonic Lord has ordered that the ritual be paused. Using this person (Master Lingxiao) as a 'Soul-Guide,' you are to set up a 'Deceiving the Heavens' Formation to assist a wisp of the Demonic Lord's Divided Soul in descending into this realm unnoticed, and taking his place!

In this way, He can obtain all of his memories, cultivation, and connections, thereby truly controlling the Righteous Path of this realm and paving a smooth path for the Demonic Lord's true self to descend!"

Lin Ye's words were astonishing. This was a plan he had come up with on the spot, combining the characteristics of the "Soul-Locking Curse," which sounded more brilliant and better suited the identity of the "Demonic Lord."

"Divided Soul descent? Taking his place?" Master Youquan's mind was shaken.

This plan indeed sounded much more brilliant than simply creating a Puppet, but it was also much more difficult and riskier. He stared at Lin Ye: "Do you have proof for what you say? How will the Demonic Lord's Divided Soul descend?"

"Proof?" Lin Ye pushed the "command token of ten thousand ghosts" forward. The dark gold patterns on the surface of the token shimmered with light, faintly projecting a blurry image of countless ghosts worshiping. At the same time, a more pure and ancient aura of the Demonic Lord (which was actually a wisp of Origin contained within the token itself) was released.

"This token is the proof! The Demonic Lord's Divided Soul naturally has the sacred object to guide it! You only need to pause the ritual, reinforce the 'Soul-Locking Curse,' stabilize his Divine Soul, and wait for the Demonic Lord's Divided Soul to descend through the sacred object!"

In his words, he exaggerated the function of the "command token of ten thousand ghosts," making it sound reasonable.

Master Youquan looked at the phenomenon of the token and felt the aura of the Demonic Lord (although it was diluted) that made his very Soul feel oppressed, and most of his doubts vanished.

Such a pure aura of the Demonic Lord could certainly not be forged. Moreover, the "Divided Soul descent" plan proposed by the other party was indeed more brilliant than their "Puppet refinement," and it also fit the Demonic Lord's consistent style of operation (preferring secret control rather than brute force destruction).

"Since that is the case, I will follow the Special Envoy's words." Master Youquan finally relented and signaled to the surrounding Cultivators, "Pause the ritual and reinforce the Soul-Locking Curse."

Upon hearing this, the eight Foundation Establishment Cultivators who were maintaining the Formation changed their hand seals, and the chanting turned deep and low. The light of the blood-colored Formation on the ground dimmed slightly, and the dark purple "soul-seizing bead" also stopped extracting, but it still hovered above Master Lingxiao, continuing to maintain the efficacy of the Soul-Locking Curse.

"Special Envoy, please come forward and inspect." Master Youquan turned to the side and made a gesture of invitation, but his gaze was still sharply scrutinizing Lin Ye.

Lin Ye knew this was the final test. If he dared not step forward or revealed any flaws, he would immediately face a thunderous strike.

His expression remained unchanged. He gave a look to Gui Li (letting him keep an eye on the others), then, holding the "command token of ten thousand ghosts," he took Su Waner and walked slowly toward the altar.

The closer they got to the altar, the thicker the cold, evil, and Soul-piercing aura became. The power of the Soul-Locking Curse was like an invisible spider web, enveloping the entire altar area. The flame of the soul-calming ancient lamp in Su Waner's hand flickered slightly, and the cyan-white halo barely protected the two of them.

Lin Ye endured the discomfort and arrived at the edge of the altar, his gaze falling on the unconscious Master Lingxiao. He saw that the Sect Master's face was as pale as paper, and there was a strange, dark red rune between his eyebrows that was slowly pulsating, echoing with the "soul-seizing bead" above. His aura was weak, and his Divine Soul fluctuations were extremely obscure; he had clearly been severely injured by the Soul-Locking Curse and the previous ritual.

He had to do something, at least to try to weaken the Soul-Locking Curse or destroy that "soul-seizing bead"!

But Master Youquan was right beside him, and the other two Foundation Establishment Middle Stage traitorous Elders also approached, their eyes burning.

"The Soul-Locking Curse has been reinforced and can ensure his Divine Soul does not dissipate for seven days. Special Envoy, when will the Demonic Lord's Divided Soul arrive?" Master Youquan asked.

"The guidance can begin immediately." While answering, Lin Ye slowly raised the "command token of ten thousand ghosts," aiming it at the "soul-seizing bead" above the altar. At the same time, he secretly communicated with the yan jun token in his right hand and transmitted a voice message to Su Waner: "Senior Sister Su, listen for my signal, and with all your might, activate the soul-calming ancient lamp, targeting the soul-seizing bead!"

"However, the guidance requires absolute silence and must be based on the 'Demon-Suppressing' power of this place, with some adjustments." As Lin Ye spoke, he pretended to start drawing runes in the air with the "command token of ten thousand ghosts." In reality, he was secretly injecting a wisp of the Great Sun Golden Flame's Origin aura, mixed with "Lingyun Sword Intent," silently into the token. Then, through the token, he transformed it into an extremely obscure wave, attempting to invade the connection node between the "soul-seizing bead" and the Soul-Locking Curse.

This was delicate work; he could not cause too much disturbance. He was betting on the natural suppression that the Great Sun Golden Flame and Lingyun Sword Intent had against this evil demonic artifact, as well as the cover provided by the "command token of ten thousand ghosts" as a "same-source sacred object."

Master Youquan and the others watched intently. Seeing that Lin Ye's movements looked authentic and that the sacred object's brilliance was flowing, their doubts lessened even further.

However, just as that obscure wave of Lin Ye's, mixed with extreme Yang and Sword Intent, was about to touch the core of the "soul-seizing bead"—

A sudden change occurred!

That dark purple "soul-seizing bead," which had been hovering quietly, suddenly shook violently! At its core, a ghostly image, identical to the ghost face pattern on the "command token of ten thousand ghosts" but even more ferocious, appeared on its own!

The ghostly image let out a silent, sharp shriek!

An evil demonic intent, ten times stronger than before and filled with violence, greed, and destruction, erupted like a volcanic explosion from the "soul-seizing bead." Ignoring Lin Ye's disguise and the suppression of the "command token of ten thousand ghosts," it rushed crazily toward the pitch-black token in Lin Ye's hand and toward Lin Ye himself!

"Not good! The soul-seizing bead has a spirit; it has seen through the disguise!" Gui Li transmitted in horror.

"You are not the Special Envoy! Who are you?! How dare you profane the sacred object and interfere with the ritual?!" Master Youquan reacted instantly, murderous intent surging in his eyes. He roared sternly, and the terrifying pressure of his Golden Core Stage erupted, a pitch-black ghost claw grabbing directly at Lin Ye!

The two traitorous Elders and the Yinkui Sect Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator also attacked simultaneously!

"Act!" Knowing he could no longer keep up the disguise, Lin Ye roared. He channeled the mixed power he had prepared and accumulated for a long time (Great Sun Golden Flame, Lingyun Sword Intent, the aura of the yan jun token, and all the spiritual power from his just-broken-through Ninth Layer of Qi Refining) through the "command token of ten thousand ghosts," transforming it into a brilliant, strange beam of light—gold mixed with silver and entwined with black Qi—that slammed violently into the incoming demonic intent and the grabbing ghost claw!

At the same time, Su Waner also tried her best, pushing the flame of the soul-calming ancient lamp to its limit, transforming it into a condensed cyan-white light arrow that shot toward the "soul-seizing bead" above the altar!

"Break for me!"