Chapter 1332: The Soul Infant Grand Array

The jade skeleton feared no death and hurled himself madly against the seal.

Boom! The stone pillars cracked apart.

Old Devil Ye immediately made a decisive retreat.

The sealing force became violently chaotic, and the two masses of soul fire within the jade skeleton's eye sockets flickered ever more fiercely.

Boom! At last, the jade skeleton shattered the seal!

"Haha..." A chilling, sinister laugh rang out from the jade skeleton.

Old Devil Ye lifted his head and stared at the crazed devilish monster, his gaze shifting uncertainly.

Then, without warning, the jade skeleton’s laughter stopped abruptly. He cursed furiously, then suddenly pitched forward and crashed heavily onto the stone path.

Only then did Old Devil Ye notice that even a body as hard as the jade skeleton’s had suffered catastrophic damage. The bones had shattered inch by inch. The seal’s power was terrifying indeed. No wonder this devilish monster had insisted on finding a jade skeleton body.

Crack... Crack... The jade skeleton twisted in a grotesque manner. His brocade-like skin gradually recovered, swelling like a balloon at a speed visible to the naked eye as he slowly regained a human outline.

His shattered bones reconnected one by one. Twisting unnaturally, the jade skeleton rose from the ground once more.

His current state was exceedingly strange. Even someone as widely experienced as Old Devil Ye had never seen anything like it before.

He possessed no flesh or blood, yet his bones, skin, and meridians remained completely intact.

Through his brocade skin, one could clearly see his skeletal frame, along with the shriveled, dried meridians running throughout his body.

He should have been nothing more than a dried corpse. Yet now, he had come alive.

Soul fire flickered within his hollow eye sockets as the jade skeleton twisted his neck and turned toward Old Devil Ye.

Old Devil Ye distinctly felt as though he were being watched. Secretly on guard, he unconsciously took a step backward.

"Hmph!" The jade skeleton let out a cold snort, his tone filled with displeasure. "If you had released me earlier, things would never have come to this! Now I no longer have enough time to fully seize control of this body. My strength will inevitably be affected!"

Old Devil Ye’s expression did not change. He stared intently at the jade skeleton, only finding the jade skeleton unfathomably deep and immeasurable, which made him even more wary.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he said calmly, "According to what you told me before, your current strength should already be sufficient. Were you deceiving me?"

The jade skeleton gave a strange laugh. "You are really doubtful. Though you have offended me many times, you were also the one who released me from that sunless prison. Compared to that, those offenses are trivial matters. Bringing you along is no more than lifting a finger, and it has little effect on me. Why would I risk violating my oath and suffering backlash?"

A flicker passed through Old Devil Ye’s eyes. "Is that so? It is good that you can understand my difficulties, Senior. The reason I’ve survived until today is because I’ve always been cautious enough."

At those words, the jade skeleton burst into loud laughter. "Good! Very good! People like you do indeed live longer! To have reached this point, even in my era, you would have been counted among humanity’s outstanding talents! Give me the Soul Infant Grand Array!"

The Soul Infant Grand Array was the cluster of crystal spheres that sealed countless Spiritual Infants. The Nether Crystal Tower had spent years on the battlefield devouring blood and souls, and after fusing with Spiritual Infants, those spheres had been refined into an object of supreme evil.

Old Devil Ye waved his sleeve, sending the Soul Infant Grand Array drifting toward the jade skeleton. Since he had personally refined it, he had no fear that the jade skeleton could seize control of it.

Whoosh! The jade skeleton formed a seal. The Soul Infant Grand Array began spinning rapidly before him, releasing a thick stench of blood. Streams of blood qi poured from the crystal spheres. In the blink of an eye, the entire array transformed into a cloud of blood mist, from within which shrill ghostly screams erupted endlessly.

Within the blood cloud, the figures of those Spiritual Infants flickered in and out of sight. Like the other evil spirits, they had completely fallen and been assimilated by the blood qi.

The jade skeleton made no effort to hide anything from Old Devil Ye. In his hands, the Soul Infant Grand Array radiated waves of bloody wind and an unspeakably sinister aura.

He was refining the Soul Infant Grand Array, completing the final step. This was part of the agreement between them.

In the end, the two joined forces and successfully finished refining the Soul Infant Grand Array!

"When the time comes, the Soul Infant Grand Array will require both our strength to activate. For now, keep it with you..." The jade skeleton returned the completed array to Old Devil Ye, but suddenly paused mid-sentence. He lifted his head and looked into the distance, the soul fire in his sockets flickering intensely. "The celestial gate is about to open. Move! If you do not wish to miss this chance, then from this point onward, you must obey my instructions exactly! If you ruin my great plan, you know the consequences!"

Feeling the pressure radiating from the jade skeleton, Old Devil Ye showed no fear. He calmly met his gaze. "Senior, you likely cannot understand the suffering of cultivators in this age. Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance that what you said is true, I am willing to trust you once. This is the only opportunity of my life. Of course I know what must be done!"

The jade skeleton replied flatly, "You only dared believe me because every change in Ziwei Palace has unfolded exactly as I predicted. But soon, you will know your choice was correct!"

The two sped away from the stone path.

As the jade skeleton reset his own bones one by one, he surveyed the surrounding environment. It felt as though ages had passed!

When he clearly saw the prison that had confined him for countless years, the soul fire in his eyes suddenly flared bright, overflowing with deep hatred.

But then, another thought crossed his mind, and he sank into confusion. Of the enemies who had imprisoned him back then, how many were still alive?

The jade skeleton noticed Old Devil Ye constantly weaving back and forth through layers of ancient barriers, busily making arrangements. He instantly guessed Old Devil Ye's purpose and said disdainfully, "A pointless effort."

Yet he did not stop Old Devil Ye.

***

Within Abyssal Ruin, in the sea of mist, everyone had retreated far from the vortex. Expectation and vigilance filled their faces as they stared into its depths.

Chaotic currents surged like a raging tide, thunderous roars shaking heaven and earth. Then, a strange fluctuation appeared.

Faintly, they saw the shadow of an enormous gate. Carrying overwhelming force, it forcibly tore through countless chaotic streams and rose from the vortex!

It was the first time Qin Sang and the others had witnessed such a majestic spectacle.

The towering gate seemed to hold up heaven and earth itself. Its aura was even grander than the broken gate of Ziwei Palace. On its surface, the crimson character "Sin" blazed like fresh blood, radiating terrifying killing intent that struck directly at the mind and shook the soul!

"Let's go!" Canghong took the lead and rushed toward the celestial gate. The others quickly suppressed their shock and followed closely behind.

Rumble! The celestial gate trembled violently and cracked open a narrow gap. No one rushed in immediately. Instead, they formed ranks outside the gate and waited.

After a while, the gate’s trembling grew increasingly violent, and the opening widened wider and wider. Yet no movement came from within.

The group exchanged glances, then entered in single file. What greeted them was a wasteland of ruins!

After confirming that Old Devil Ye was not here, Qin Sang began surveying the surroundings.

Unlike the inner palace of Ziwei Palace, this place was incomparably dark and oppressive.

Heavy leaden clouds hung overhead, pressing so low they seemed almost within reach, stretching endlessly across the entire sky and suffocating everything beneath them.

Deep within those clouds, thin bolts of lightning occasionally flashed, bringing the only faint glimmers of light to this world.

Though those lightning strands appeared slender, the fluctuations they emitted were anything but ordinary. One happened to appear not far from them.

In that instant, Qin Sang’s entire mind tightened. Every hair on his body stood on end. His body nearly trembled uncontrollably as he felt as insignificant as an ant.

If that bolt of lightning had struck toward him, he would likely have been reduced to ashes on the spot. The others fared no better.

Even Jingyu, who was born with mastery over lightning, turned deathly pale and nearly reverted to her true form.

A wave of unrest swept through the group. They had only just stepped into Sin God Palace, and already it had dealt them a crushing display of power.

It was not that Ziwei Palace lacked ancient barriers more dangerous than this place. But those were hidden deep away. As long as no one disturbed them, they rarely revealed themselves.