Chapter 37: At the Bottom of the Soul Transformation Pool

Quietly gazing at the Soul Transformation Pool, Lu Yun's gaze lingered on the swirling black clouds in the sky, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes. He couldn't quite grasp why, but Lu Yun had a feeling that these drifting black clouds concealed some secret. But what could it be? Lu Yun just couldn't put his finger on it.

With a soft sigh, Lu Yun seemed to sense something and turned his head, met by two pairs of concerned eyes. Giving them a reassuring smile, Lu Yun conveyed his message without words. A faint smile played on his lips as he floated gently down into the Soul Transformation Pool. No words were exchanged; Aoyuki and Cangyue simply glanced at him with concern, their silent communication saying it all.

As he descended into the pool, a powerful corrosive force surged towards Lu Yun's body, rapidly eroding his protective true qi. In just a moment, the nine layers of true qi he had deployed around his body were pierced through, leaving Lu Yun utterly shocked. While he continued to reinforce his true qi, Lu Yun explored the nature of the pool's water and pondered how Jian Wuchen had overcome the formidable erosion.

Descending three zhang, a whirlpool of dark currents assaulted Lu Yun, tearing apart most of his external true qi and increasing the pressure on him tenfold, making it difficult to circulate his true qi. Most terrifyingly, these dark currents carried a corrosive nature, effortlessly dissolving any layers of true qi Lu Yun deployed. Indeed, the Soul Transformation Pool lived up to its reputation of being able to transform all things.

Within the Soul Transformation Pool, Lu Yun's mental waves were completely unable to detect any information, swallowed up entirely by the strange currents. Helplessly, Lu Yun had no choice but to invoke the mysterious cloak, hoping to see if it could resist the pool's invasive force. Strangely, as Lu Yun activated the mysterious cloak, a dark red aura flashed across his body, and the enigmatic Ghost King Battle Armor automatically appeared, forming a several-foot-sized barrier around him, isolating him from the pool's water.

From afar, the exquisite Ghost King mask concealed Lu Yun's true face, its entire surface shimmering with a strange dark red light, complemented by the character "king" on the forehead, giving him a majestic and dignified appearance like that of an earthly emperor. Adorning his body was a set of exquisite dark red armor, shimmering with colorful rays, exuding a mysterious aura. The armor protected key parts of his body, including the vital acupoints of his chest and abdomen, as well as important areas below, yet it appeared exceptionally delicate and graceful. Draped over his shoulders was a transparent cloak that seemed to blend naturally with him, emitting a faint flow of light that accentuated his figure like jade.

A strange brilliance gleamed in Lu Yun's eyes, a mysterious and inscrutable smile playing at the corners of his mouth, as he floated down along the rapid currents. At this moment, Lu Yun began to ponder: How had Jian Wuchen overcome the onslaught of these dark currents? Deep down, Lu Yun had a feeling, albeit uncertain. Since parting ways in the Ghost Realm, Lu Yun had sensed a change in Jian Wuchen, but what exactly? He couldn't fathom it, for Jian Wuchen concealed it well.

Enough about Lu Yun for now; let's turn our attention to Jian Wuchen. As he entered the Soul Transformation Pool, what did he encounter? Jian Wuchen faced a situation similar to Lu Yun's, albeit with one crucial difference: Jian Wuchen did not possess Lu Yun's miraculous Ghost King Battle Armor. However, he was clever enough to conjure the Blood River Diagram, enveloping his body within it. Originally, this was just a trial borne out of desperation, but it unexpectedly yielded remarkable results.

The Blood River Diagram, under Jian Wuchen's control, transformed into a suit of red armor that clad his body. At the center of his chest, a blood-red gossip emitted a mysterious aura, with a blood tower clearly visible within. At the back of the armor, two peculiar monsters formed the pattern of a yin-yang fish, imprinted on the armor. With the Blood River Armor in place, a miraculous barrier automatically formed around him, resolving his worries and allowing him to enter the depths of the pool in peace.

Descending hundreds of zhang, Jian Wuchen was amazed at the unfathomable depth of the Soul Transformation Pool and the increasing pressure as he went deeper. Moreover, the deeper he went, the more intense the swirling currents became. Despite his Blood River Armor, Jian Wuchen found it difficult to control his body, which tumbled uncontrollably along with the currents.

After who knows how long and how deep he had descended, Jian Wuchen finally arrived at a peculiar stone chamber. Here, three stone caves were arranged in a triangular formation, each containing a swirling black wave that formed a powerful vortex, converging at the center of the chamber. In this way, the dark currents of the Soul Transformation Pool surged from this chamber, rushing straight to the surface.

Carefully surveying his surroundings, Jian Wuchen's gaze lingered on the three directions of the stone caves, contemplating where the Soul Sealing Talisman might be hidden. Avoiding the three mighty rotating blood waves, Jian Wuchen attempted to use his true qi to sense any movements around him. As his entire body was enveloped in a purple light, the mysterious Purple Qi Devouring Sun true qi formed a purple barrier around him, shrouding him in a protective layer. Simultaneously, as the purple energy surged, Jian Wuchen's body emitted a blood-red glow, and countless blood-red runes converged around him, forming a rotating compass. On this mysterious compass, after a moment of intense fluctuations, the pointer pointed to one of the caves on the left.

A flash of excitement crossed Jian Wuchen's eyes as he glanced at his Blood River Armor, feeling both joy and astonishment at its miraculous properties. With a smirk, Jian Wuchen swiftly headed towards the cave on the right, disappearing into the swirling black waves in a blink of an eye. Shortly after Jian Wuchen's disappearance, Lu Yun also arrived in the chamber.

With a quick glance around, Lu Yun activated his mental waves, carefully probing for any signs of activity. As he landed softly on the pool's bottom, Lu Yun prepared to examine the composition of the walls when his left hand suddenly emitted a bright silver light, a peculiar sensation creeping into his heart. His heart pounding, Lu Yun focused on his left hand, where the words "Seal Soul" shimmered with a silver light, growing stronger by the moment. Simultaneously, a strange aura emanated from the pool's depths, tugging at Lu Yun's heartstrings.

Puzzled by this development, Lu Yun cast a careful eye on the three stone caves, hoping to uncover their secrets. Despite finding nothing discernible from the outside, all three

 caves appeared identical. However, Lu Yun felt a strange pull from his left hand, drawing him towards the cave on the right. With a brief moment of contemplation, Lu Yun shot towards the right-hand cave, disappearing into the depths of the swirling black waves.

Body spinning with the giant waves, after passing through layer after layer of vortexes, Jian Wuchen's body appeared in a very strange stone cave. Here, in the center of the cave, stood a very large stone dragon head statue. The stone dragon's giant mouth was wide open, with a diameter of over ten feet, and the rolling ink-black water was being sucked into its mouth, forming a powerful centrifugal force. At the same time, the stone dragon's ink-black eyes emitted two beams of light, intersecting in the air about ten feet away. At the intersection of the stone dragon's gaze, a three-inch-long square jade talisman, shimmering with dark blue light all over, stood quietly in midair.

Looking at the jade talisman in midair, Jian Wuchen's eyes revealed a hint of excitement, unable to suppress the intense emotions in his heart. Finally, he found the Soul Sealing Talisman. Carefully observing the jade talisman in midair, Jian Wuchen saw the two ancient characters "Seal Soul" shimmering with dark blue light. Moving his gaze away, Jian Wuchen began to contemplate how to retrieve the Soul Sealing Talisman. Judging from the situation, although there were no monsters guarding this place, it was not so easy to obtain the talisman, otherwise it would not have been able to resist being refined by the peculiar aura of the Soul Transformation Pool. It should be noted that the Soul Sealing Talisman had the function of suppressing and sealing all ghostly beings; all ghostly beings in the world would avoid it, but the Soul Transformation Pool unexpectedly had the ability to refine it, indicating that this place was extraordinary and possessed unfathomable power.

After pondering for a long time, Jian Wuchen suddenly raised his head, a brilliant light flashing in his eyes, stepping towards the Soul Sealing Talisman step by step. At this moment, Jian Wuchen's whole body was surrounded by a purple glow, and he appeared like a purple golden body, exuding a strong and powerful aura. Slowly extending his right hand, a ring of purple light surrounded his right arm inch by inch, approaching the Soul Sealing Talisman. When it was three inches away, he suddenly grabbed the Soul Sealing Talisman.

His body trembled, Jian Wuchen's face twisted, his entire body stuck firmly to the Soul Sealing Talisman, unable to break free. At the same time, the ink-black light in the stone dragon's eyes suddenly burst out with ten times the brightness, enveloping Jian Wuchen's right arm along with it. Trapped, Jian Wuchen's expression changed drastically, clearly feeling the terrifying devouring power on his right arm, which easily dissolved his protective true qi and began to devour his arm.

With a shake of his heart, Jian Wuchen's whole body flashed with blood-red light, a circulating red light gathering on his right arm, pushing back the terrifying erosive force. Although the erosive force on his arm was repelled, the powerful suction on the Soul Sealing Talisman still firmly stuck to Jian Wuchen. Through the jade talisman, the terrifying erosive force directly entered his body, destroying his meridians.

With his lips tightly pressed together, Jian Wuchen's face was filled with purple energy, his true essence bursting out, fiercely resisting the evil erosive force. With the assistance of the Blood River Armor, Jian Wuchen temporarily halted the invasion of the evil aura, forming a stalemate between them, making it difficult to determine the outcome for a while. At this moment, with Jian Wuchen's intervention, the originally dim Soul Sealing Talisman slightly emitted a glimmer of light, showing signs of faint movement.

On the other hand, Lu Yun also arrived in a mysterious stone chamber, but what he saw was quite different from what Jian Wuchen saw. While there was also a stone dragon here, there was an additional boundary stone monument, with three red characters of Yin Yang Boundary floating on its front. Carefully observing, the stone monument was one zhang tall and six chi wide, emitting a flowing light all over, with a faint red light circulating. The three large characters of Yin Yang Boundary were about three inches away from the stone monument, floating miraculously in midair. Behind the stone monument, there was a faint glow of light, but unfortunately, Lu Yun was facing the front and couldn't see it.

After noticing the stone dragon, Lu Yun focused his attention on the Yin Yang Boundary monument. Sensing that his left hand was gradually becoming clearer, Lu Yun understood that it must be because of the Yin Yang Boundary monument. After carefully checking the surroundings and finding no movement, Lu Yun cautiously moved around the Yin Yang Boundary monument with his body.

As Lu Yun approached the Yin Yang Boundary monument, he suddenly noticed a crack on the ground. Perhaps due to the passage of time, the crack was no longer very obvious and could not be noticed without careful observation. The crack was very neat, dividing the stone chamber into two halves with the front of the stone monument as the boundary line.

Looking at the crack on the ground, Lu Yun suddenly realized that this must be the boundary between life and death. Once crossed, it was equivalent to entering the Yin Yang Boundary, and no one could say what would happen then. Standing in front of the Yin Yang Boundary, Lu Yun carefully felt the sensation in his heart, hoping to find the answer from within himself. At this moment, the palm of his left hand shimmered with silver light, a mysterious pulling force dragging Lu Yun's body forward.

Looking at the palm of his left hand carefully, Lu Yun whispered softly, "Countless times, you have saved me from the brink of life and death. My trust in you is as strong as trusting myself, without a shred of doubt. Now, since you have brought me here, I will follow your will and explore what is hidden here and why you have brought me here automatically." Raising his head, Lu Yun glanced around again, his true essence bursting out, forming a powerful shield enveloping him outside the Ghost King Battle Armor, protecting him firmly. Stepping lightly across the Yin Yang Boundary, Lu Yun cautiously guarded against the surroundings, but there was no movement. Turning back and looking at the boundary monument again, Lu Yun wanted to know if there was anything hidden behind it. But this glance shocked Lu Yun to the core; he saw a row of characters clearly appearing on the boundary monument.

"Don't look back, ghosts and gods are worried in the Yin Yang Boundary!" Everything around changed at this moment. The stone dragon that had been there was now completely invisible, and all that could be seen was a rolling gray mist, like an endless sea of fog with no end in sight. Turning back, Lu Yun once again faced forward and found that there were faint flashes of light ahead, but they disappeared in an instant.

With a leap, Lu Yun suddenly accelerated forward, wanting to catch the fleeting light, but there was nothing around. His gaze shifted, and Lu Yun found that he was now trapped in the sea of mist, unable to discern any direction, unsure of his whereabouts. Taking a deep breath, Lu Yun calmed his mind, his whole body floating in midair, surrounded by a golden light, like a golden Buddha. However, the battle armor he wore looked somewhat out of place, appearing awkward.

Opening his eyes, Lu Yun's eyes flashed with golden light, and the eyes of the Buddhist and demonic merged, emitting two beams of

 golden light. Carefully scanning the surroundings with his Buddhist eyes, Lu Yun found that everything had returned to normal, and not far behind him, the boundary monument stood quietly without any movement. Shifting his gaze back, Lu Yun looked ahead and found a very strange cave, with an entrance only three feet in size, emitting a faint red light inside.

With a thought, Lu Yun's body floated gently forward. Soon, he arrived at the entrance of the small cave, carefully exploring its secrets with his divine consciousness, but for some reason, there was no movement at all. Looking at the strange light, and feeling the pull of the Soul Sealing Talisman in his left hand, Lu Yun didn't hesitate at this moment, his body spinning and shooting into the cave.

As soon as he entered the cave, Lu Yun was stunned. He never expected to see such a strange scene, which was unbelievable. All around him, red light flickered, completely red, like a time and space passage. Lu Yun quickly shuttled through it, feeling a sense of unreality, never having seen such a situation before.

Just as Lu Yun was stunned in amazement, the red light dimmed, and Lu Yun's body had already passed through the passage, appearing in a spacious space. Fixing his eyes on the surroundings, Lu Yun's face was full of surprise. All around him was a vast expanse of blue waves, with no end in sight, only an endless expanse of water. Looking at himself, he was suspended in midair, with nothing under his feet.

Turning back, he glanced at his back, and the mysterious passage seemed like a dream, now gone without a trace. Too much surprise gradually calmed Lu Yun down, and he was now staring at the surroundings, calculating how to face this sudden situation. After searching carefully, Lu Yun found a faintly visible small island in the sea, sometimes appearing and disappearing.

With a clear goal in mind, Lu Yun began to act, flying directly towards the island. After a long period of time and countless moments of giving up and turning back, Lu Yun finally arrived at the island. Floating in midair, Lu Yun looked around the small island, which was only a few miles in size, but covered with strange flowers and plants emitting enticing fragrances. In the center of the island, a flashing object emitted a blood-red light, like a hovering red cloud.

Gently falling in the center of the island, Lu Yun looked at the glowing object, which turned out to be a blood-red translucent stele. The surface of the stele was covered with dense blood streaks, converging into a mysterious pattern that Lu Yun stared at for a long time, unable to decipher its meaning. Looking at the mysterious stele, Lu Yun's body emitted a silver light, and the soul-suppressing talisman within him automatically activated.

Feeling the abnormality in his body, Lu Yun understood that he had finally found what he was looking for. But what exactly was hidden on this stele, and why could it attract the soul-suppressing talisman? What kind of place was this, and why was it so strange? Lu Yun couldn't explain all of this, but he intended to unravel the mystery.

Approaching the stele, Lu Yun used his mental waves to analyze the aura on its surface. The information he perceived was extremely strange. From what Lu Yun gathered through his mental waves, the dense blood streaks on the stele were extraordinarily peculiar, forming a pattern more complex than the cloud patterns in the Shura Forest.

As he approached the stele, Lu Yun glanced at the palm of his left hand, where the silver characters of "Soul Suppressing" shimmered brightly, very active, seemingly conveying something, but Lu Yun couldn't decipher it. Circling around the stele carefully, Lu Yun found no clues, not understanding what was hidden within. After pondering for a while, Lu Yun suddenly extended his left hand, the characters "Soul Suppressing" shining silver, slowly pressing toward the stele.

In the instant the soul-suppressing talisman imprinted on the stele, a mass of blood-colored silk suddenly rose into the air, forming two blood-red lights outside the stele, intercepting the talisman. Startled, Lu Yun exerted more force, activating the soul-suppressing talisman to its fullest, trying to suppress the blood-red lights with its mysterious power. However, to Lu Yun's surprise, the soul-suppressing talisman, which had always been invincible, was unable to overpower the blood-red lights.

After a moment of intense confrontation, Lu Yun's body shook, pushed away by the powerful force. Stabilizing himself, Lu Yun looked at the stele in shock, feeling a strange sensation in his heart. He felt that the soul-suppressing talisman had brought him here for a reason, but he had not yet realized what it was. However, whether this reason would be beneficial or harmful to him, he couldn't say for sure.

After silently contemplating for a while, Lu Yun turned his gaze back to the stele, a hint of a peculiar smile appearing in his eyes. At this moment, Lu Yun recalled the situation when he encountered the Soul Suppressing Stele for the first time and couldn't help but think of trying the old method again, to see if he could tame the mysterious object hidden within this strange stele. Slowly extending his right hand, Lu Yun rapidly circulated his true energy throughout his body, beginning to perform the fifth layer of the Heaven and Earth Infinite Law, the Million Transformations Returning to One Technique. At this moment, Lu Yun's entire right hand shimmered, countless floating spiritual energies gathering around it, forming a strange brilliance.

When Lu Yun's right hand approached the stele, the expected situation did not occur. Instead of flowing into Lu Yun's right hand, the red light on the stele formed a blood-red light net, which suddenly enveloped Lu Yun's hand. With a slight shock, Lu Yun maintained his gaze outside his body while exerting more force with his right hand, fully absorbing the light.

Suddenly, Lu Yun's eyes changed as he felt the soul-devouring and soul-rending power emanating from the light net, fiercely devouring his body. Without much thought, Lu Yun's body glowed brightly, resisting the terrifying aura with all his might. At this moment, Lu Yun did not know that countless blood streaks on the light net were slowly forming two clear characters — "Soul Devouring"!

When "Soul Devouring" appeared, the radiance of the blood net surged, a terrifying blood light accompanied by a dreadful aura skyrocketing, forming a blood-colored column of light that pierced the sky. In the column of light, Lu Yun's expression changed drastically. He could sense the danger, activating the soul-suppressing talisman on his left hand while continuing to perform the Million Transformations Returning to One Technique with his right hand, intending to absorb the formidable aura into his right hand with the power of the talisman.

Time passed in Lu Yun's resistance. When the blood net contracted to a certain extent, it was repelled by Lu Yun's soul-suppressing talisman, unable to shrink further. However, Lu Yun was still trapped in the blood net. Seeing that he couldn't break free, Lu Yun knew that a head-on confrontation wouldn't work, so he forcefully activated the Heaven and Earth Infinite Law, transforming his pressure into suction. Since Lu Yun's right hand was in close contact with the stele, connected to its original body, the powerful suction seemed to have no effect on the surface, but it posed a great threat to the mysterious soul-devouring blood net.

Silent struggle, silent resistance, everything seemed quiet yet extremely dangerous. Sweat dripped down, true energy depleted. At this moment, Lu Yun's body began to tremble, his complexion pale, but his eyes still contained determination. Because he understood that he couldn't give up; once he did, it wouldn't just mean failure but also his life.

With a slight glance upwards, Lu Yun's eyes revealed an unyielding expression. Countless adventures had tempered his heart to be extremely resolute. At this moment, even in this extremely dangerous situation, his eyes still shimmered with calmness. With a thought, his whole being focused intensely, with only one idea in his mind — victory. At this moment, Lu Yun forgot everything, his mind empty, only holding onto that determination, bravely moving forward.

With a flash of red light, the blood-colored light net suddenly turned into a gas, returning to the stele. After struggling for a long time, the mysterious soul-devouring blood net finally gave up its intention to devour Lu Yun and returned to its original form. However, as it retreated, Lu Yun forcefully advanced, his right hand's true energy bursting forth, vigorously absorbing the red gas. The radiance circulating on the stele fluctuated violently, struggling for a while before gradually flowing towards Lu Yun's right hand.

Gradually, with Lu Yun's true energy continuously increasing, the blood-colored radiance began to flow into Lu Yun's right hand. In just a moment, the entire stele turned into powder, and the flowing mysterious gas was absorbed into Lu Yun's body. His body trembled, and Lu Yun took a few steps back to stabilize himself, looking surprised as he opened his eyes. Looking at the palm of his right hand, countless blood streaks formed two blood-red characters, which upon closer inspection turned out to be "Soul Devouring".

With a vacant stare, Lu Yun couldn't believe that these blood threads would actually transform into the Soul Dissolving Curse, which was truly unexpected. Looking around, Lu Yun's calm expression once again changed drastically as he realized he was now in a cave, with no trace of the island or the sea in sight. He shook his head in bewilderment, unable to comprehend how or why this had happened.

Taking a quick glance around, confirming it was indeed a cave with no signs of the sea or the island, Lu Yun took a deep breath and immediately adjusted his mindset before surveying his surroundings again. The cave was quiet, save for a stone table with nothing else in sight. Approaching the table, Lu Yun found a shallow blood pool about a foot deep. At the bottom of the pool lay a square jade talisman, with its face down, obscuring whatever was written on it.

"Soul Sealing Talisman!" Lu Yun murmured. At that moment, his first thought was of the Soul Sealing Talisman, as this mysterious place was highly likely to be a hiding place for it. As for who placed the talisman here, Lu Yun had no idea, nor did he have time to speculate. His goal was simple: retrieve the talisman and bring it back to the mortal realm.

Filled with excitement, Lu Yun instinctively reached out his right hand to grab it. However, as soon as his right hand plunged into the blood pool, a strange transformation occurred. The blood in the pool inexplicably turned into a red light, flowing from Lu Yun's palm into his body. Simultaneously, the talisman in his hand emitted a dazzling light, and two luminous characters appeared on its surface.

With no time to spare for the sudden change, Lu Yun tightly held onto the talisman, fearing to lose it. With a mix of surprise and shock, he flipped the talisman over to examine it closely. But to his astonishment, the characters written on it were not "Soul Sealing Talisman" but instead "Blood Red Soul Dissolving Talisman." His heart sank as he suddenly realized what was happening, and he instinctively tried to let go of the talisman. Yet, at that moment, the talisman turned into a streak of blood light, disappearing into the palm of his right hand.

With a wry smile, Lu Yun extended both hands and examined the palms carefully. On his left palm, the characters "Soul Sealing" appeared clearly, while on his right palm, there was a square jade talisman with the words "Soul Dissolving" clearly visible. Additionally, numerous blood threads surrounded the Soul Dissolving talisman, forming a strange pattern that seemed to be both a character and a painting, leaving Lu Yun puzzled about its meaning.

Trying to activate the Soul Dissolving talisman on his right hand, Lu Yun was pleasantly surprised to find that it was almost identical to the Soul Sealing talisman on his left hand, responding to his will effortlessly. It could appear or disappear at his command, truly mysterious and enigmatic. Looking at his hands, Lu Yun suddenly made an unexpected move. Activating both the Soul Sealing and Soul Dissolving talismans simultaneously, he then swiftly brought his hands together, causing the two opposing forces to collide violently. With a loud bang, accompanied by a cry of pain from Lu Yun, his hands were violently forced apart. The powerful destructive force wreaked havoc around him, swiftly demolishing the entire cave.

When Lu Yun regained his senses and staggered to his feet, he realized he was back at the bottom of the Soul Dissolving Pool, watching the three currents of water intersect and whirl. He couldn't help but slap his head and rub his eyes, feeling like he had just woken from a surreal dream. Lowering his head, he glanced at the characters on his right palm, the clear inscription reminding him that this was all too real, albeit incredibly surreal.

Lost in thought, a crimson figure flashed into the right cave. Glancing at Lu Yun, the figure quickly ascended into the sky, soon submerged by the ink-black liquid. Startled, Lu Yun watched the blurry figure, initially puzzled but quickly understanding that it was Jian Wuchen. Seeing Jian Wuchen leave in such haste without a word, Lu Yun suddenly realized much.

Glancing at the three caves, Lu Yun shook his head slightly, and with a forceful leap, he shot out of the cave. However, in the instant Lu Yun leaped, in the last cave where neither Jian Wuchen nor Lu Yun had entered, a mysterious shadow appeared.

Watching Lu Yun depart, the shadow muttered sinisterly, "Truly terrifying! I, Qian Huan, have consecutively conjured several spatial illusions, yet I failed to bewilder his resolve and ultimately lost both the Soul Sealing and Soul Dissolving talismans to him. It's unbelievable. When did such a terrifying cultivator appear in the mortal realm, one who has no reaction to my illusions as Qian Huan, the ghostly spirit of illusions? This is impossible! How could he maintain his composure without falling into my illusions? Could he be the legendary figure? But how is that possible? The Soul Sealing talisman has been taken by that lad, and the Soul Dissolving talisman has been taken by this supposed legendary figure. This place will soon be destroyed. I must hurry; there's no time to lose!" With those words, the shadow vanished in a flash.