At the base of the tower, the Locust Mother seemed to sense something. The resonance suddenly spiked, sounding like a colossal beast that had been suppressed for centuries being roused from its slumber.
The entire Soul-Suppressing Tower shook violently. Humanoid bas-reliefs peeled off the walls in chunks, and the illumination artifacts on the stone surfaces flickered and burst one after another.
Debris poured down from the ceiling like rain.
Inside the Soul-Refining Furnace, the vengeful souls—provoked by the fluctuations of the array—battered the furnace walls with frantic screams. The vessel was soon covered in cracks under the relentless assault, and resentment and copper poison billowed out from the fissures, instantly filling the stone chamber.
Mo Yuan's face turned ashen in an instant, his gaze heavy and horrified.
He knew that because of the copper poison mysteriously ravaging Kushi County, the Locust Mother's power was continuously growing. The Soul-Suppressing Tower could not hold this great fiend for much longer.
He had originally estimated they had three months. Though it would have been rushed, he still would have had time to prepare...
But now...
"Quickly, reinforce the Myriad Ghost Dragon-Suppressing Array!"
Mo Yuan's shout was like a crack of thunder.
They could wait no longer; this fiend must not be allowed to break the seal now!
Upon hearing his command, the elders' expressions tightened. They let out deep sighs, exchanged a glance, and simultaneously formed hand seals, chanting incantations with rapid urgency.
In an instant, thick plumes of malevolent Qi surged from various clay jars, coalescing into their respective natal malevolent ghosts.
These ghosts took various forms: some were Yakshas with green faces and jagged fangs, some were skeletal wraiths, and others were Judges draped in heavy chains.
As soon as the natal malevolent ghosts appeared, they carried a terrifying aura. Following their masters' orders, they threw themselves without hesitation toward the talismans lining the tower walls.
They merged their own spectral bodies with the flickering talismans, attempting to use their souls as the foundation to restabilize the crumbling sealing array.
The power of the array was vast. Even using a natal malevolent ghost as a medium was like a mantis trying to stop a carriage; they had to endure a massive backlash. The ghosts' forms became translucent within the light of the talismans, yet the elders did not falter. Behind them were the disciples of the sect, the thousands of commoners, and the vast earth that carried all living things and nurtured countless legacies.
The way of the immortal, the way of the Corpse Soul Sect, was the passing of the flame.
To light a spark in a world of filth, to seek a sliver of life—even if it meant falling into the abyss, there was no turning back.
The Sect Master bore ten thousand tribulations and was laden with sin; it was time for these old bones to stand up as well.
Though they were covered in karmic hindrances and might turn into Shuras, they would have no regrets through nine deaths.
They sat cross-legged, continuously channeling their spiritual power into their natal malevolent ghosts to support the array's operation. Their hair turned gray inch by inch amidst the malevolent Qi, and their faces withered rapidly as if their lives were being drained away.
Yet, no one pulled back. No one retreated.
However, the impact coming from the bottom of the tower exceeded everyone's expectations. The Locust Mother, suppressed at the base, sensed Piao's existence. The resonance had now transformed into a torrent capable of destroying heaven and earth.
BOOM!
With an earth-shattering explosion, the Soul-Refining Furnace finally succumbed to the strain and shattered completely.
The furnace body blew apart, and countless vengeful souls that had been refined and burned surged out from the opening and the cracks like wild horses breaking their reins.
No longer bound by any constraint, they rampaged through the tower like a parade of a hundred ghosts.
The majority of the vengeful souls lunged directly at Mo Yuan. Drawn by their obsessions, they carried bitterness and a thirst for vengeance, scrambling to swarm him and tear at his deformed body.
Mo Yuan let out a muffled groan as a terrifying ghost Qi erupted from his body in an attempt to drive the souls away.
However, these souls had accumulated over years, repeatedly tortured within the Soul-Refining Furnace; their resentment had reached a terrifying level. With every wraith that forced its way in, Mo Yuan's body became more distorted.
Mo Yuan was instantly wreathed in karma-fire—manifested from the sins he could no longer suppress. It burned fiercely, as if it might incinerate him completely at any moment.
In the sky, the once-clear firmament was suddenly swallowed by dark clouds, and lightning flickered within!
"Block them! Do not let the copper poison spread!" Mo Yuan roared through the bone-eroding pain.
The vengeful souls were endless, and every single one carried the copper poison. If they escaped the Soul-Suppressing Tower, Kushi County—and even the entire Cangzhou Commandery—would fall completely.
"Form the array! Protect the tower!"
Jiang Ziang's eyes were bloodshot as he screamed the command.
Dozens of Corpse Soul Sect disciples moved in response, quickly forming a human wall of flesh and blood behind him.
Most were young, many having entered the sect only a few years ago, yet not a single one retreated.
The vengeful souls came like a black tide, crashing against this thin line of defense.
A young disciple at the front was hit first; three or four wraiths pierced through his chest, burrowing into his internal organs. His body shook violently as copper spots rapidly spread from his heart, but he remained rooted to the spot. Driven by a lingering will, he activated the clay jar in his hand to buy a few moments for the senior brothers and sisters behind him.
"Hold... the gate... can't... let them out..."
Bloody foam spilled from the corners of his mouth as he forced out his final words before his body slowly collapsed.
"Junior Brother!"
A female disciple beside him cried out in grief, but her hand seals did not stop. With tears in her eyes, she bit her fingertip and used her blood as a catalyst to force her spiritual power to its limit. A bloody light bloomed, temporarily repelling the surging souls, but her face turned as white as paper in an instant.
Another disciple was submerged by the wraiths. Under the erosion of the copper poison, he let out a subhuman wail. Before completely losing consciousness, he used his last strength to push his nearby sect-mates away.
The defensive line was constantly being pushed back, every step treading on the blood and corpses of their peers.
Jiang Ziang's left arm had already been corroded by the copper poison, but he ignored it entirely, still charging at the front while waving his Soul-Guiding Banner.
"Disciples of the Corpse Soul Sect, hear my command!"
His voice was hoarse but reached every corner of the tower. "Behind you are the thousands of people of Kushi County—today, we fight to the death and do not retreat!"
"To the death! No retreat!" the remaining disciples responded in unison. Though their voices were weakened, their resolve was like iron.
They used their bodies as walls and their souls as barriers, blocking the torrent of vengeful souls in the most primitive way possible.
People fell, and others stepped up to take their place.
Inside the tower gates, it had become a Shura field, every inch of the floor stained with blood and copper poison.
But it was like trying to put out a forest fire with a cup of water.
The knocking ghosts were frantically devouring the vengeful souls, but the numbers were too great. Soon, knocking ghosts were torn apart by the wraiths, turning into chunks of rotten meat.
The disciples of the Corpse Soul Sect were being forced back step by step. Many were possessed by the souls, their bodies rapidly overtaken by the copper poison as they collapsed and twitched in agony.
Jian Huaishuang's gaze became incredibly grave.
He let out a low shout, and the giant sword on his back hummed as it left its scabbard. The paper armor on his body instantly transformed into countless sheets of white paper, scattering in all directions like a blizzard.
Every sheet of paper carried a sharp sword intent, cutting like a blade as they wove through the swarm of wraiths, harvesting those possessed by the copper poison.
"Slay!"
Jian Huaishuang's sword intent was pure, aided by death energy. With every white paper that flew past, a vengeful soul was precisely purified and dissipated.
However, there were simply too many. They came one after another in an endless stream. Even with Jian Huaishuang's profound sword intent, one man and one sword could hardly turn the tide. He could only watch helplessly as more vengeful souls broke through the defense and scattered toward the outside of the tower.
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