C149 Heart Punishing Demon Word

The Bronze Monument led the way with Yu Yuan in tow, closely followed by the Earth Demon White Ghost. Qin Yun, Lee Yuchan, and Lee Yu remained where they were. And there was an additional presence—Yu Feifei.

Yu Feifei, having just descended from midair, was shivering with fear. The white, diamond-shaped mark on her forehead sprouted countless soul threads that intertwined with her three souls, binding them together. She was acutely aware of the Earth Demon White Ghost's presence at every moment.

She had the unsettling feeling that the White Ghost could peer into her every thought and observe each of her movements. As someone who had only reached the Spirit Accumulating Stage and still possessed the innocence of youth, having never weathered any serious storms in life, she was overwhelmed by terror—a terror that seeped into her bones and refused to be concealed.

With a whoosh, a figure abruptly appeared and, upon landing, extended a pale, luminous finger, aiming it directly at Yu Feifei. She instinctively tried to evade, but upon recognizing Lee Yuchan, she stood still, resigned.

With a pop, invisible soul threads burst forth, scattering tiny fragments of thought from the mark on Yu Feifei's forehead. Within the diamond-shaped mark, three delicate, translucent lines visible to Lee Yuchan briefly flared with light.

Then, a wave of consciousness from the Earth Demon White Ghost surged across the distance.

Lee Yuchan's finger, glowing white, suddenly cracked open, and blood surged forth like crimson lightning. She grimaced and reluctantly withdrew her finger, speaking in an icy tone, "Yu Feifei, I'm sorry, but I can't assist you. The mark the Earth Demon White Ghost has left is tightly bound to your three souls. With my current level of cultivation, attempting to remove the mark would shatter your soul first."

Yu Feifei nodded, her eyes brimming with sorrow. "I understand," she murmured, her face the picture of impending tears.

Qin Yun, of the Seven Divine Sect, approached with a weary spirit and stood before her and Lee Yuchan. He gazed intently at the chilling white mark on her forehead and remarked, "Should the Earth Demon White Ghost honor his word, this mark—forged from refined soul thoughts—will integrate with your three souls."

Yu Feifei's expression was one of despair. "He won't keep his promise. I know it—I'll die."

Qin Yun offered no false comfort, his voice matter-of-fact. "If your elder brother, Yu Yuan, can hold him to his word, then you stand to gain a lifetime's benefit. But if Yu Yuan lacks the strength, your soul will be scattered in an instant by the mere whim of the White Ghost."

At this juncture, the sect master of the Seven Divine Sect's eyes brimmed with a sorrow and helplessness that mirrored Yu Feifei's own. They were kindred spirits, both in dire straits.

After all, weren't his life-tied Azure Yang Arrows under Yu Yuan's control? Should Yu Yuan wish his death, a mere detonation of those arrows would seal his fate.

With his life in Yu Yuan's hands, how could he possibly concern himself with Yu Feifei's well-being?

"Aunt, Sect Master Qin, have you truly never heard of the Fourth Upper Sect—the Divine Soul Sect—mentioned by the White Ghost?" Lee Yu asked, his expression grave. "The White Ghost claimed that the souls of many Divine Soul Sect's experts were fused into the Soul Transformation Pool. This very soul energy has kept the Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation operational for years. Yet, it seems the Divine Soul Sect has vanished without a trace."

Qin Yun and Lee Yuchan fell into a heavy silence.

They gazed into the distance, toward the vanishing point of the bronze monument and the White Ghost, weighed down by a profound sense of unease.

They were acutely aware that if the Divine Soul Sect had indeed once existed and was now absent from the annals of history, only one grim possibility remained—eradication by a coalition.

The existing three great upper sects of the Heavenly Source Continent, along with the Demon Palace and the Devil Palace, might all be complicit, either as conspirators or as direct participants.

For a once-thriving upper sect to be silently obliterated, its very existence expunged, it must have been a concerted effort by multiple powers!

This thought cast a dark pall over both Qin Yun and Lee Yuchan.

"Will you head to the Soul Transformation Pool?" Qin Yun finally broke the silence, his energy restored by the Spirit Crystal.

Lee Yuchan was about to respond when he felt a sudden premonition.

Soon after, he saw Zhan Tianxiang, Su Yan, Han Hui, and a host of other younger members hurrying toward them.

"Yan Lu has been gravely wounded by Zhao Jian, who also took his Splitting Soul Staff!"

"Zhao Jian has even abducted Lim Zhuyun, along with Yu Yuan's sister."

"Oh, Fei Fei, you're here?"

The newcomers, filled with righteous indignation, fixed their stares on Qin Yun, who sat cultivating on the ground.

Qin Yun's eyes narrowed, her expression unyielding.

Lee Yuchan steeled himself and explained, "The elder from the Seven Divine Sect has been overtaken by an alien soul in this forbidden land. This entity, known as White Ghost, is an Earth Demon from the Boundless Land. And now?"

She calmly sought to clarify the situation, urging everyone to remain composed and not to give in to their agitation.

"Lim Zhuyun, threatened by that Earth Demon, the White Ghost?" Zhan Tianxiang's eyes held a peculiar glint. "It seems the esteemed White Ghost is not privy to the full story."

His tone betrayed a hint of schadenfreude.

"Lim Zhuyun might be..." Han Hui began, immediately regretting her words and silencing herself.

Yet the implication of her unfinished sentence hung in the air for all to discern: Lim Zhuyun was likely to be readily sacrificed by Yu Yuan.

...

Indeed, Lim Zhuyun, the esteemed daughter of the Silvermoon Empire, held captive by the White Ghost, harbored the same sentiment.

"You've got it all wrong. Using me as leverage against him is completely absurd." Lim Zhuyun, soaring amidst the tumultuous spiritual energy, gazed at the massive bronze monument in the distance, resembling a colossal ship cutting through the waves. Biting her lip, she declared, "He'd probably prefer it if his fiancée were dead already."

The White Ghost, residing within Zhao Jian's body, its eyes now a piercing silvery white, glanced at her and inquired, "Is that so?"

"Our Lim family has always regretted the engagement, constantly challenging the Yu family. The supposed marriage agreement between our families has been nothing but a farce," Lim Zhuyun confessed.

"Really?" The White Ghost's eyes flashed with a sinister light that seemed to delve into the soul.

A sharp pain struck Lim Zhuyun's brow as agonizing memories were forcibly dredged up and paraded through her mind.

These memories, filled with discomfort and a sense of helpless frustration, suddenly became vividly clear.

She realized in an instant that the White Ghost was employing mysterious secret arts to sift through her innermost recollections.

The entanglements and sorrows of her youth, along with her recent trials in Darkmoon City, were effortlessly laid bare by the entity.

Every detail was exposed, without any concealment.

She maintained an eerie calm, and once the chaotic images in her mind had faded, she spoke again, "I suppose a being like you has already seen through it all."

The White Ghost kept silent, its unsettling gaze still fixed on her face.

"I want to live," Lim Zhuyun hesitated before pleading, "You must see that my fate doesn't sway his decisions. Me being your captive will only impede your fighting, become a nuisance. Holding onto a worthless chip like me, Yu Yuan is probably mocking you internally."

"True, I inhabit Zhao Jian's body, but I am a female Earth Demon," the White Ghost said with a chuckle, amusement in its eyes. "My dear, attempting to outwit me is a mistake. Don't you realize your only value lies in being a potential threat to him?"

Lim Zhuyun's face went pale as a new realization struck her.

"If you can't even serve as a threat to him, what purpose does your existence serve here?" the White Ghost asked coldly. "You're too weak to harness my power; all you have is a somewhat pleasant human visage."

Her despair deepened at these words.

"You think you're clever, but you're not fit for him," the White Ghost said with a cold laugh, unapologetically cutting her down. "And you're mistaken about something else. He does care about whether you live or die. He doesn't want you dead because you truly don't understand him."

Lim Zhuyun's face contorted in shock. "Impossible! He couldn't possibly care for me. My life or death means nothing to him!"

On the brink of mental collapse from the looming threat of death, Lim Zhuyun clung to the White Ghost's words like a lifeline, suddenly unsure of her own identity.

"He certainly doesn't care for you, so stop deluding yourself," the White Ghost said cruelly. "He wants you alive to ensure that you and the Lim family realize the sheer folly of the shame you've inflicted upon the Yu family."

"The moment he steps out of the forbidden lands, his future will skyrocket within your Silvermoon Empire! If you were dead, he'd be deprived of the pleasure of your witness, and that would be a true regret for him."

"Just for that, he's willing to let you live, to witness it all with your own eyes."

"Watch as he humiliates the Lim family, humiliates you, and the Cold Yin Sect that stands behind you."

Each word from the White Ghost pierced Lim Zhuyun's heart like a blade of ice.

Overwhelmed, Lim Zhuyun collapsed, pleading, "Kill me, please, just kill me!"

"What a foolish woman you are, turning a strong hand into such a disaster," the White Ghost sneered with derision. "That first defeat in the Yu family's council hall should have been a lesson. If you had focused on mending fences instead of seeking revenge, there might have been a glimmer of hope for you."

"Knowing his exceptional nature, and that together you and your daughter stood no chance, you should have changed your approach instead of obsessing over his demise."

"But one mistake led to another, irreparable, turning him into an enemy. It's truly pitiful, laughable, and tragic."

The White Ghost, having glimpsed into Lim Zhuyun's memories, continued to mock and shake his head in disdain, relentlessly crushing her spirit.

Before even reaching the Soul Transformation Pool, this so-called New Moon of the Silvermoon Empire had utterly lost the will to fight. The aura he emitted was a pallid gray, reeking of a death wish.

"Boom! Thunderous rumbling!"

A deafening roar erupted from afar, with piercing shrieks that seemed to rip through the hearts of all within a hundred-mile radius.

Yu Yuan, seated on the bronze monument, abruptly rose, gazing into the distance.

"We're nearly there," he whispered to himself.

A presence from afar, so startling it even alarmed him, sent waves of discomfort through his body with the blazing sword light from his arms.

"Whoosh!"

The Earth Demon White Ghost, clutching Lim Zhuyun, suddenly drew near, coming into his field of vision. "You must act quickly. The battle between the Sky Shocking Emperor and the Green Incubus within the monument is nearing its end. If it concludes, the victor will claim the bronze monument. Then, the world's enchantments may not contain the monument or prevent it from sinking into the Soul Transformation Pool."

Yu Yuan nodded, his brow furrowing as he looked at Lim Zhuyun, and asked, "She's not dead, is she?"

At this moment, Lim Zhuyun's eyes exuded an aura of death, lifeless and desolate.

A persistent undercurrent of hatred was gradually taking shape around her, enveloping her in its grasp, which left Yu Yuan feeling both inexplicably repulsed and oddly unsettled.

"Don't worry, she's not going to die," the Earth Demon White Ghost said with a smile. "Her being alive only serves to highlight your stature. As long as she lives, the Lim family endures. And when you eventually stand at the pinnacle of the empire, it will be all the more satisfying, won't it?"

Yu Yuan couldn't help but laugh wryly. "You make a good point. It seems you're quite well-informed."

"In that case, once you've swiftly brought the bronze monument to its knees and I make my departure from this realm, I'll leave you with an extra parting gift," White Ghost said, gripping Lim Zhuyun firmly. "I'll establish a soul imprint, ensuring she falls deeply in love with you, the kind that's deeply rooted and incredibly difficult to break. That will be far more entertaining."

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