Ieuan paused, then drew a jet-black token from his pouch. Twisted demonic markings crawled across its surface, exhaling a chill that pricked the skin. "This is the Demon Summoning Token I found among the late emperor's relics. It is said to be able to communicate with the demonic soul sealed within. That, combined with Malevolent Path Hall's Soul Corrosive Array and the blood essence of three hundred Earthly Immortal Realm cultivators, we might just be able to rip a seam in that ancient seal."
Greed flashed across Stebarin's crimson pupils as they locked on the ominous token.
After a long, tense breath, he nodded. "Very well. I will trust you just this once. Let's meet at Netherworld Abyss tomorrow. If the plan fails, don't blame me for being heartless!"
With that, Stebarin dissolved into a torrent of black mist and seeped through the stone wall, leaving only silence in his wake.
Ieuan watched the darkness vanish, a knife-edged smile carving his lips. "When the demonic soul rises, its first feast will be you, Stebarin!" he whispered.
Soon, a new day arrived.
Netherworld Abyss was Celestia's most secretive forbidden ground, gaped beneath a sky of ashen clouds. Icy air wafted from the bottomless dark, and suspended at its heart hovered a colossal golden dome engraved with ancient runes. That, of course, was the seal that pinned the demonic soul to the void.
Beyond the shimmering barrier, Ieuan and Stebarin had etched a vast formation into the frost-bitten rock, its lines humming with grim intent.
Three hundred black-robed cultivators sat cross-legged at the array's core, faces waxen and empty—their wills long broken by Ieuan's secret technique. They were now nothing more than his death warriors.
Stebarin stood at the center, fingers weaving seals while guttural incantations spilled from his throat. Blood boiled from the captives, spun into scarlet strands, and sank into the core. The Soul Corrosive Array woke, unleashing tides of onyx fog toward the golden seal.
High above, Ieuan lunged over the seal, Demon Summoning Token clenched in both hands. With a savage cry, he slammed the obsidian token against the glowing dome, daring the abyss to answer his call.

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