302: Chapter 237: Taoist Exorcism, Yin Yang and Five Elements Refining the Ghost Soul

Five Behemoth Warriors flew backward, their shields shattered, arms twisted, and blood splattered in the Void Realm, leaving shocking trails. Two Ballista platforms turned into smoking scrap metal, their runes completely extinguished. The massive, ghostly green body of Ancestral Soul - Wrathful Soul hovered before the tower, its eyes, burning with cold Soul fire, swept like searchlights over the broken defense line, finally fixating on the observation platform at the tower's core—Lin Zhou's location. Behind it, on the shriveled face of Skullcrusher Mogrosh, the cruel and playful smile grew more pronounced. The blood-red light from the Ancestral Staff in his hand began to gather again, clearly preparing to launch the next fatal strike or summon something even more terrifying.

A sense of despair, like cold vines, tried to entwine the hearts of every defender. Zhao Hao's eyes were bloodshot, but he dared not let the injured Red Dragon charge forward to its death again. Wang Meng struggled to get up but was pulled back by the sharp pain and internal injuries, only able to let out an unwilling roar. Li Mo's fingers trembled slightly on the control panel, data streams flashing wildly in his eyes, yet he couldn't find a feasible solution—conventional physical attacks were almost ineffective, energy attacks lacked intensity, and mental attacks... they weren't good at large-scale, high-intensity mental attacks.

The Law Murloc Inquisitors led by Siren were resolute. The Net of Law might be able to bind and harm the ghastly Soul, but against such a massive Ancestral Soul summoned by a Divine-Grade shaman, their power was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Although the Vast Righteous Qi of the Literary Heart Elves could slightly counteract evil, the difference in magnitude was too great.

Everyone's gaze involuntarily turned to the figure standing in the center of the observation platform, enduring the greatest pressure—Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou could feel his heart pounding heavily, the sound of blood rushing echoing in his ears. His Divine Power reserves were only about 5000/40000, insufficient to support another large-scale, high-intensity Net of Law. Almost all conventional methods had been exhausted. Was he really just going to watch the defense line collapse and everyone perish here?

No! Absolutely not!

Crisis, like the sharpest whetstone, instantly ground away all his distracting thoughts, hesitation, and fear, leaving only the most core, purest spark of inspiration—that was the Origin of the Dao he had forged throughout his journey, integrating the Hundred Schools of Thought and carrying the seed of civilization!

Physical immunity? Energy resistance? Unstable mental structure?

Ghastly Soul... an aggregate of negative energy and ancestral grievances... a chaotic and resentful mental collective...

Taoist! Yin and Yang Five Elements, harmonize all things, refine evil spirits!

"The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things. All things carry Yin and embrace Yang, and through the blending of their Qi, they achieve harmony."

"Know the masculine, keep to the feminine, and be a ravine for the world. Being a ravine for the world, the constant virtue will not depart, returning to the state of an infant."

"Calamity is what fortune leans on; fortune is what calamity hides under. Who knows their ultimate end? They have no fixed state."

Chapters of the tao te ching flowed through his mind like a clear spring. Taoist thought was never merely a combat technique, but a supreme philosophy expounding the Origin of the Universe, the operation of all things, and the transformation of energy. Dealing with such a chaotic negative energy aggregate, forceful attacks might yield half the results for twice the effort, or even lead to contamination. The best method was to guide, decompose, refine, and return it to its Origin!

A plan, audacious to the point of madness, instantly formed in his mind!

"Li Mo!" Lin Zhou's voice rang out in the communication channel, carrying a strange calmness yet imbued with undeniable resolve, "Immediately calculate and construct a temporary, high-intensity energy conversion and containment Formation model, with the tower's core observation platform as the Origin and the Innate Eight Trigrams' positions as the foundation! I need eight critical energy nodes, corresponding to 'Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui'. The nodes must be able to withstand high-intensity positive and negative energy clashes and resonate with my Divine Power and the Fire of Civilization! Calculate the optimal placement and energy transmission paths! Quickly!"

Li Mo was stunned. Although he didn't understand what Lin Zhou was going to do, he had absolute trust in Lin Zhou's Orders and was filled with a researcher's instinctive excitement for such high-difficulty, real-time calculations and modeling. "Understood! Retrieving tower structural data, energy pipeline diagrams, external Void Realm energy flow readings... combining with Eight Trigrams positional parameters... establishing a multi-dimensional model... calculating!" Data streams surged in his eyes, and his hands became a blur on the control panel.

"Zhao Hao! Wang Meng! Siren! Elena (remote)!" Lin Zhou continued to command, speaking very quickly, "Listen to my Orders! Zhao Hao, your Red Dragon, after the Formation is activated, will be responsible for harassing that old shaman in the rear. You don't need to injure the enemy, just attract some of his attention and interrupt any continuous buffs he might apply to the ghastly Soul or interfere with my Formation setup!"

"Wang Meng, any Behemoth Warriors who can still move, retreat to the inner layer and protect Li Mo and the control core!"

"Siren, Law Murloc Inquisitors, once the Formation is complete and the ghastly Soul is drawn in, immediately set up the Net of Law around the Formation's periphery. Not for killing, but to form a second layer of rule barrier, preventing energy leakage and the ghastly Soul from forcibly breaking out!"

"Elena, Wenxin Elf Scholar, fully maintain and enhance the Radiant Virtue Domain, adjusting its energy frequency to be highly synchronized with 'Yang', 'Life', and 'Order' attributes, serving as one of the 'Yang' pole energy sources for the Formation!"

Although everyone was confused, Lin Zhou's do-or-die confidence infected them, and they immediately endured their pain or roused their spirits, beginning to prepare.

At this moment, the Ancestral Soul also seemed to notice the abnormal changes in the energy flow within the tower, letting out an impatient roar. Its giant hand, formed of smoke, rose again, condensing dense dark-green negative energy, preparing to directly smash the observation platform!

"Model complete! Eight node coordinates marked! Optimal energy transmission path calculated! Synchronized to your tactical vision!" Li Mo's voice sounded almost simultaneously.

Lin Zhou's eyes blazed with brilliance! Eight bright golden light points instantly appeared on his tactical goggles, distributed in mysterious positions above, below, and around the tower in the Void Realm. Connecting these light points were countless intricate, data-streaming optimal energy pathways.

"Now!"

Lin Zhou no longer hesitated, unleashing his remaining Divine Power without reservation! At the same time, he communicated with the Temple of Civilization deep within his Godhead, fully drawing upon that point of Origin—the Fire of Civilization!

"Tao Follows Nature, Yin and Yang Five Elements, heed my command!"

"Formation arise—Yin-Yang Five Elements Demon Refining Formation!"

He rapidly formed complex hand seals, each step aligning with the supreme principles of heaven and earth, activating the rules of the Void Realm. Vast Divine Power, mixed with wisps of faint golden, seemingly weak yet containing the supreme aura of civilization, Fire of Civilization, like eight agile light dragons, instantly reached the eight preset nodes along the optimal path calculated by Li Mo!

"Qian position (Heaven), fix!"

"Kun position (Earth), suppress!"

"Zhen position (Thunder), generate!"

"Xun position (Wind), move!"

"Kan position (Water), soften!"

"Li position (Fire), intensify!"

"Gen position (Mountain), solidify!"

"Dui position (Lake), please!"

With each clear shout, the corresponding node erupted with dazzling light, each a different color, representing pure energy of various attributes such as metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and thunder! These energies were not released randomly; under the harmonization of the Fire of Civilization and Lin Zhou's precise control of his Divine Thought, they rapidly intertwined and connected according to the positions of the Innate Eight Trigrams and the principles of Five Elements generation and subjugation!

A gigantic, translucent, slowly rotating three-dimensional Eight Trigrams light-and-shadow Formation diagram, centered on the tower and enveloping hundreds of meters of the surrounding Void Realm, roared into existence amidst dazzling light! Within the Formation diagram, Yin and Yang fish slowly swam, Five Elements' radiance flowed ceaselessly, wind and thunder rumbled faintly, and water and fire were perfectly balanced! A powerful aura of Order, harmonization, and refining rules permeated the area, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding chaotic Void Realm and evil negative energy!

[Divine Art/Formation: Yin-Yang Five Elements Demon Refining Formation (Temporary Enhanced Version)]

Creator/Host: Lin Zhou (LV249, intermediate Lesser Divinity).

Core Energy: Lin Zhou's own Divine Power (instant consumption of 3000 units!) + Fire of Civilization Origin (small but crucial).

Formation Principle: Based on Taoist Yin and Yang Five Elements and Eight Trigrams positional theory, a temporary rule Domain is constructed. Within the Domain, chaotic, evil, and negative energy attributes will be continuously suppressed, decomposed, and transformed (refined), while Order, life, and positive energy attributes will be enhanced and circulated.

Effect on Enemy (for targets like Ancestral Soul):

Energy Stripping: Continuously strips negative energy and chaotic thoughts from the target, weakening its existential foundation.

Structural Disruption: Disrupts its internal energy structure using the principles of Five Elements generation and subjugation, making it difficult to maintain a stable form.

Core Refining: Uses the Fire of Civilization as the 'furnace fire' and the Yin and Yang Five Elements as 'fuel' to gradually 'refine' the target's negative core into relatively pure energy/information crystals that can be absorbed or utilized.

Consumption: Maintaining the Formation continuously consumes approximately 800 units of Divine Power per minute, and places an immense mental burden on the host.

Weaknesses: The Formation's range is fixed; the target needs to be drawn into the core area of the Formation for optimal effect; if the host is severely injured or loses mental control, the Formation may collapse.

The moment the Formation took shape, the Ancestral Soul's palm, imbued with terrifying negative energy, struck down! However, this palm did not shatter the observation platform as intended; instead, it slammed onto the suddenly rising Eight Trigrams Formation diagram's light and shadow!

"Hiss—!!!"

Like a red-hot iron block falling into ice water! The giant dark-green negative energy palm contacted the flowing Yin and Yang Five Elements Formation light curtain, emitting a violent and piercing sound! The Formation's radiance flowed, and the Five Elements' power was inexhaustible, rapidly decomposing, neutralizing, and transforming the vast negative energy contained within the giant palm! The giant palm visibly thinned and dimmed at a rapid rate!

"Roar?!" The Ancestral Soul let out a surprised and uncertain roar. It felt its connection with this Void Realm and with the

"Wretch! Enter the Formation!" Lin Zhou stood at the Formation's eye (the center of the Yin and Yang fish), his hair bristling, his eyes like lightning, pushing the Fire of Civilization to its limit. Faint golden flames subtly flowed within the Eight Trigrams Formation diagram, like the Samadhi True Fire in a Pill Furnace!

The powerful suction and refining force generated by the Formation began to actively pull and envelop the Ancestral Soul! The ghastly Soul's massive body was involuntarily dragged towards the center of the Formation diagram. It struggled wildly, spewing negative energy breath, and waving its smoky arms, but in the face of the ceaselessly flowing Yin and Yang Five Elements' Formation power, these attacks were either decomposed or deflected, their effectiveness greatly reduced! More crucially, the Formation's power directly acted upon its chaotic mental core, making it feel its 'consciousness' being slowly but firmly sorted, stripped, and purified. This pain far surpassed physical damage!

"No! This is impossible! What kind of evil magic is this?!" Behind him, Skullcrusher Mogrosh's sneer froze on his face, replaced by an expression of incredible shock and fury! He felt his connection with the Ancestral Soul being forcibly interfered with and weakened by a higher-level, more fundamental power! Even more terrifying, maintaining the summoning and buffing of the Ancestral Soul required a vast amount of his Divine Power and mental energy, and now that this connection was interfered with, backlash began to appear!

He tried to increase his magical output, stabilize the connection, and even wanted to directly attack Lin Zhou himself. But Zhao Hao's two Red Dragons, fearless of death, lunged at him. Although their Dragon Breath and claws struggled to break through the Ancestral Protection Barrier, they successfully attracted and diverted his attention.

"Break!" Mogrosh roared, forced to divert his attention to deal with the Red Dragons' harassment.

And in this brief moment, the full power of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Demon Refining Formation was unleashed! The Ancestral Soul was firmly trapped in the center of the Formation diagram. Its massive ghostly green body, under the rotation of the Yin and Yang fish and the washing of the Five Elements' radiance, was like a snowman falling into a furnace, rapidly 'melting' and shrinking! The swirling smoke grew thin, and the wailing faces within it became calm and dissipated one by one. The cold Soul fire flickered violently, its light dimming.

"Refine!"

Lin Zhou gritted his teeth, a trace of blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth. Maintaining this Formation placed too great a burden on him, but he did not relax, injecting his last Divine Power and the Fire of Civilization into the Formation.

Ten minutes... twenty minutes...

The Ancestral Soul's size shrank from fifty meters to thirty meters, then ten meters... Finally, when the last wisp of dark green smoke dissipated into a wisp of clear smoke in the faint golden Fire of Civilization, only a fist-sized, crystal-clear, pale purple prismatic crystal, emanating gentle and pure Soul fluctuations and faint ancestral Battle Intent, remained silently suspended in the center of the Formation diagram.

[Obtained: Ancestral Essence (Epic)]

Type: Special Soul Materials/Rule Crystal.

Quality: Purple (Epic).

Source: A powerful Ancestral Spirit summoned by a Divine-Grade shaman, purified and refined by the Yin-Yang Five Elements Demon Refining Formation and the Fire of Civilization. All chaotic, resentful, and negative energy has been removed, retaining relatively pure ancestral Soul Origin and partial combat rule imprints.

Effects:

Soul Nourishment: Can be directly absorbed, greatly enhancing the absorber's Soul strength and mental upper limit (significantly effective for deities and hero units).

Rule Comprehension: Contains fragments of ancestral rules (biased towards Orcish battle Souls, shamanic primal natural power). Absorption may grant faint comprehension or skill inspiration in related fields.

Advanced Materials: Can be used as core Materials for refining Soul-type Divine Artifacts, constructing special Heroic Spirit summoning arrays, or performing high-level Soul contracts.

Status: Highly stable, unpolluted.

"Pfft—!!!"

Almost simultaneously with the Formation of the Ancestral Essence, in the distant Orc Camp, Skullcrusher Mogrosh, who had been fully maintaining the summoning but was forcibly cut off and suffered severe backlash, violently spat out a large mouthful of foul-smelling green blood. The light of the gem at the tip of his Ancestral Staff instantly dimmed by more than half, and he himself seemed to have had his spine removed, his aura suddenly weak. A look of extreme pain and resentment appeared on his face, and his figure swayed precariously.

The Divine-Grade Shaman Chief suffered severe injuries!

In front of Watchtower No. 7, the Eight Trigrams Formation diagram slowly dissipated. Lin Zhou's body swayed, almost unable to stand, his face as pale as paper, his Divine Power almost depleted. But in his hand, he firmly held the Ancestral Essence radiating pure purple light.

Inside and outside the tower, there was silence. Both the defenders and the distant orcs who witnessed all this were too shocked to speak by this scene that turned the tide.

Taoist evil-slaying, Yin and Yang Soul Refining. The Fire of Civilization, its Divine Might just beginning to show.