"Activate the formation!"
"Begin the Soul-Tracing Secret Rite!" A steady, powerful voice rang through an ancient space.
It was a voice the present Yun Qing knew exceedingly well. It belonged to Yun Che, the Yun Clan's First Elder.
"Everyone, keep the Soul Lamps steady! There must be no disorder!"
Then more voices, all deeply familiar from Yun Qing's memories, sounded one after another.
"The eastern position is secured!"
"No abnormalities with the northern Soul Banner!"
"The Nether Lamp is lit!"
"Wait-"
"Why has the Lady Sovereign still not responded?"
Outside the gray world, twelve Soul Lamps hung suspended within an ancient sacrificial hall of the Yun Clan. Countless formation patterns covered the ground.
At its center, a vast Soul-Tracing Ancient Formation was operating at a frenzied pace. The man presiding over it was none other than Yun Che, the Yun Clan's First Elder.
But the Yun Che of this moment was far from the perpetually composed man he would later become. Veins bulged at his temples as his hands formed seals, and immortal power surged from his body into the ancient formation like raging rivers and seas.
"Open another layer!" Even his face had begun to pale.
Someone cried in alarm, "First Elder! We've already opened the ninth layer! Any further, and we'll damage our clan fortune!"
Yun Che gritted his teeth. "Open it!"
"Yes!"
Boom! The great formation shuddered, and all twelve Soul Lamps erupted with light. Yet even after the formation had been active for a long time, there was still no response. Whispers occasionally rose from the darkness.
"Is the soul rite correct?" "There is absolutely no mistake!"
"Then how could this happen?"
Yun Che's brows knitted tightly, his expression turning thoroughly grim. "The Soul-Tracing Secret Rite is complete, and the karmic connection has been locked on