C131 Soul Devouring!

Yu Yuan's mind suddenly flashed with realization—the white paper fan had previously absorbed an array of chaotic emotions, memories, and legacies. These elements had been drawn into the four ancient black characters, as if cleansed and purified in the process. Ultimately, they emerged from the characters, coalescing into a figure of a boy dressed in white.

"Whoosh!"

In the deep recesses of the shattered palace ruins, invisible streaks of light darted through the decrepit walls and fragmented columns, each one merging with the white-clothed boy. Initially, the boy was as diminutive as an infant, but he swiftly grew in stature. Within the span of ten breaths, he had reached the same height and size as the boy in black, yet the essence they radiated was starkly distinct.

"Crack!"

Golden bolts of lightning arced from the Splitting Soul Staff, aiming straight for the boy in white. With a deft catch, he seized the golden light, which solidified into a luminous rainbow and coiled around his waist like a sash. The once radiant golden and silver staff now shimmered with only silver, as if the black-clothed boy's staff had lost half its power and mystique.

From the moment the white-clothed boy materialized, the boy in black paid no attention to anyone else—not to Lee Yuchan, not to Yu Yuan, and certainly not to Yan Lu. He was fixated solely on his other self.

The two children stood apart, their gazes locked in a prolonged, silent communion. Around them, the onlookers held their breath and concentrated, their eyes shifting back and forth between the two figures in a silent vigil.

A thought burgeoned within Yu Yuan. "Could this boy be a practitioner from the vanished Fourth Upper Sect? Only those from the Fourth Upper Sect who defend this sacred ground and cultivate with the Alien Soul Evil Spirit would not be targeted by the sword soul, right? After all, they were the original masters of this forbidden land. One clad in black, the other in white—two disparate souls, likely derived from a single practitioner's spirit. The white represents the original soul, while the black... Could it have been altered by the forbidden land's influence, or perhaps it turned this way after absorbing too many Alien Soul Evil Spirits, veering down a path of darkness?"

Regardless of black or white, both emanate the essence of practitioners from the Fourth Upper Sect. Does the sword soul recognize them as allies, hence its lack of hostility?

Yu Yuan, a swordsman by trade, was awash with thoughts, striving to unravel the mystery of the two children, one clad in black and the other in white, who stood before him. If the ruined palace was indeed the gateway to the Fourth Upper Sect, then the emergence of the child in black must surely be connected.

The child in white appeared as if purified by the white paper fan, which had consolidated the lingering soul power. It had also gathered fragments of consciousness and intellect, shaping its current form. Yet, to Yu Yuan, neither child seemed whole. Even a fusion of the two might not result in a complete soul.

With a whoosh, the white paper fan, rightfully Yu Yuan's, took flight. It settled before the white-clothed child. Four prominent, ancient black characters momentarily transformed into four deep, abyssal eyes, all fixated on the child in black. Throughout, the black-clothed child, who had maintained a cool composure, now wore a look of unmistakable fear.

Having absorbed Yan Lu's flesh and remnant soul, the child's body, which seemed so tangible, suddenly grew as light as dandelion fluff. Clutching the Splitting Soul Staff, he soared off into the distance. The white-clothed child cast a glance at Yu Yuan, as if to say, "I need to borrow this."

Yu Yuan stood, slightly bewildered.

Then, without warning, the white paper fan darted towards the black-clothed child. The four ancient black characters, "Wisdom's extreme brings harm," perceived by Lee Yuchan and Lee Yu, morphed into four black holes capable of swallowing all manner of Alien Soul Evil Spirits.

The black holes converged on the black-clothed child. He, who had thought himself escaped, looked back only to see four massive black holes that could engulf the cosmos, smothering him with a suffocating pressure that sealed off every avenue of escape and ounce of strength. Overcome by an eerie sense of helplessness, he was at a loss for what to do.

With a splutter, the black-clothed child was seemingly ripped into four streaks of black light by an unseen twisting force, helplessly spiraling into the four ancient black characters.

Only the short stick clattered to the ground, remaining outside the fan's influence.

Around it, a mist of blood and smoke materialized, remnants of the now-deceased Yan Tong.

The trialists from the great families, standing behind Yu Yuan, watched in awe as the white-clothed boy emerged from the fan. They saw him briefly communicate with Yu Yuan before wielding the white paper fan to obliterate the once domineering black-clothed boy, drawing him into the four ancient black characters.

Zhan Tianxiang, Han Hui, and the others were left reeling, their minds a blank slate.

The most disheartened and filled with regret was Su Yan.

That white paper fan...

Back in Darkmoon City, within the Zhao family's Spirit Treasure Building, she had sensed the fan's hidden intricacies and yearned to claim it, only to have Yu Yuan snatch it from her grasp.

Had she known the full extent of the fan's mysterious power and the profound secrets of the ancient black characters, she would never have let it go. The thought alone turned her insides with regret.

"Chi! Chi!"

The golden lightning that had coiled around the white-clothed boy's waist zipped back to the gold and silver short stick, reforming into the circular golden pattern upon it.

The intricate gold and silver designs remained intact as the stick reverted to its original form.

The white-clothed boy glanced over his shoulder, giving Yu Yuan a penetrating look before splitting into four and merging with the ancient black words, vanishing like the black-clothed boy before him.

It seemed his capture of the golden lightning was merely to weaken the black-clothed boy, allowing for his absorption by the white paper fan.

His appearance, it appeared, was solely to remove his other self, to prevent further harm to the world and its inhabitants.

"Thud."

The white paper fan dropped from the sky, landing at Yu Yuan's feet.

Yan Lu, fighting through the agony of his torn face, stumbled over to where the gold and silver short stick lay. Picking it up, he turned to Yu Yuan and asked, "Does it still belong to me?"

Yu Yuan nodded. "Keep it for now. I don't have an answer for you yet, but I will in time."

With that, he picked up the white paper fan and addressed the others, "Continue your exploration of these palace ruins. I need a moment to myself."

After finishing his words, he took the white paper fan and distanced himself from the palace ruins, finding solitude elsewhere.

He settled down, focusing his mind and consciousness on the four ancient black characters within the white paper fan.

Lee Yuchan watched him from a distance, her expression a complex tapestry of emotions, yet she remained silent.

Lee Yu clutched the soul sacrifice ball, an unusual bitterness and sense of defeat welling up inside him.

As the white paper fan, controlled by the boy in white, moved to engulf the boy in black, the soul sacrifice ball he held reacted instinctively with fear and unrest.

This led Lee Yu to an inevitable conclusion.

Should the white paper fan be considered an artifact, its rank was likely far superior to that of his soul sacrifice ball.

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