C1612 The Rat
The Origin Gate, once shimmering with a kaleidoscope of colors, slowly settled into a single hue—a faint purple. This was the unmistakable color of the Soul-Igniting Mist!
Inside the enigmatic Origin Gate, it was as if purple lightning raced wildly, launching an unseen and unfelt assault on any living being with a soul.
The God-King Gui Xu, a gray figure, stood silently before the Origin Gate, his presence an alien soul. How he had escaped from the clutches of the Evil Statue and severed Pei Yuling's connection with the Origin Gate was a mystery to all. Yet, when he appeared before the Origin Gate, he swiftly took control of the situation.
He sent a gray phantom into the Origin Realm, seemingly employing an unusual method to initiate an invasion.
"Taishi!" exclaimed Rebecca, an enchantress of the evilkind, as she shifted forward on her hair-cushioned seat. Her emerald eyes were wide with horror. "I saw a purple mist, the kind I can never forget. If I'm not mistaken, that mist..."
Taishi remained unflappable, his voice as serene as a still pond. "Yes, it is the Soul-Igniting Mist."
"Soul-Igniting Mist!" The revelation echoed in disbelief.
Gazes from beyond the wall of Ionodios and atop the warships of the Sky Fiend Clan were fixed on the now open Origin Gate and upon Yu Yuan.
Some extraterrestrial Otherkin, familiar with the mystique and dread of the Soul-Igniting Mist, had previously tasted its bitter consequences. Yet, they were unaware that the creator of this nefarious mist was none other than Yu Yuan, now brandishing the Titanblade and unleashing torrents of crimson sword light, decimating butterflies across the realm.
Yu Yuan, during his time as Hong Qi, had never ventured from the Everlands and his existence was fleeting. Thus, the notoriety of the Soul-Igniting Mist surpassed that of Hong Qi himself.
The Otherkin warriors knew only that the Soul-Igniting Mist originated from the Order of Healing in the Everlands, the product of a malevolent herbalist's painstaking efforts. Later, the mist was taken by the Everlands' extremists to the extraterrestrial realms, where it was released into various Domains.
The tragedy unfolded just like that.
Those who wielded the Soul-Igniting Mist were marked for death by various races from the outside world. Even the cultivators from the Everlands' Five Great Powers and the righteous members of the Seven Lower Sects scorned the use of the Soul-Igniting Mist for massacre.
This was because the Soulblight, which developed from the weakest to the strongest, had previously unleashed a horrifying calamity upon the Everlands...
However, if the Soul-Igniting Mist were to be released in the Origin Realm, targeting the malevolent beings there, the situation would be entirely different.
"Yu Yuan, do your utmost to eliminate every butterfly."
Gui Xu stood vigilant at the Origin Gate. Whenever he spotted a dense purple mist emerging from the gate, he would gesture, pushing the purple mist back into the Origin Realm.
The dreadful toxicity of the Soul-Igniting Mist would first afflict the weaker souls, rapidly intensifying before spreading to the more powerful souls above.
The ultimate extent of the Soulblight remains a mystery, but should it fully erupt...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A series of dazzling Rift Cutters transformed into bright, slender blades, slashing at Gui Xu's phantom from all directions.
Gui Xu let out a dismissive chuckle. The Rift Cutters, conjured by Pei Yuling, shattered a hundred meters away from him.
In his pure spirited body form, he extended a hand and lightly pinched a space rift.
With a gentle squeeze, the bright rift burst into a shower of silver-white sparks.
Many of these sparks fell back through the Origin Gate, which he then used to decimate the life forms within.
"Young man, in the annals of my Boulderdawn, there was a God-King Jihui who was immeasurably more extraordinary than you. I see no issue with your faith in the Origin Deity, and I found your earlier words quite intriguing—I personally agree with them..."
Gui Xu nonchalantly slapped the purple mist of the Soul-Igniting Mist back into the Origin Realm.
He then continued, "However, the Origin Deity you worship seems rather insignificant to me. Why, during the reign of our sect's God-King Jihui, did not a single Origin Gate emerge in the Everlands? If the Origin Deity is truly formidable, would it dare to step out of the Origin Realm and make a true appearance in the Annihilation Nebula?"
"Do you dare?"
He taunted with a smile toward the Origin Gate.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
From within the gate, the sound of tumultuous explosions emerged, as if souls were frantically bursting apart.
"Typical of cowards."
Gui Xu's voice turned icy, disregarding Pei Yuling and instead gazing through the void toward Taishi in the direction of Ionodios.
"I can only faintly sense the state of the Origin Realm. Many souls from different races have been used by him to fend off the Soul-Igniting Mist. Relay to all parties that the recent sudden deaths are all followers of the Origin Deity, their souls now in the Origin Realm, subjected to the infusion of some malevolent will."
Taishi nodded and called out, "Did everyone catch that?"
Brie, Rebecca, and the envoys from the Starborn and Dawnbringers quickly grasped the implication and nodded urgently.
Reid spoke with gravity, "Mitts, spread the word to the various clans of the Sky Fiend. Inform the Blood Fiend as well. Anyone who hasn't been in combat yet suffers severe soul damage or sudden soul extinguishment must be thoroughly screened, including their relatives!"
"I'm on it!" Mitts cried out.
"Many will die, and I must admit... I hope the disturbance is substantial. After all, the brewing of the Soul-Igniting Mist also needs the fire of lost souls for fuel. I long to see deep purple flames wreaking havoc across the entire Origin Realm. Should I glimpse a spreading purple hue from the Abyssal Gate, my satisfaction will be complete."
Gui Xu, now purely a spirited body, spoke of his anticipation in a melodious voice.
The Sky Fiend, led by Reid, watched the murky phantom with an odd expression on their faces.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Yu Yuan, multitasking, brandished the Titanblade, sending out swathes of sword light.
Countless crimson sword lights pursued the escaping butterflies across the sky.
Pei Yuling, having harnessed the space magic of the Mirror of the Infinite, had created innumerable space rifts in the vicinity, forging a multitude of hidden pathways. He had, in fact, already forsaken his physical form.
Yu Yuan keenly detected that Pei Yuling's Mindscape had been emptied.
His soul now clung to the butterflies, flitting through the various fissures and secret channels on fluttering wings.
As Pei Yuling had mentioned, he was no longer purely human. His current actions closely resembled those of the Voidweaver, which had fled by separating its spirited body when it realized it was in danger.
The key difference was that the experienced Voidweaver had imparted a new arcane to Pei Yuling.
This arcane enabled Pei Yuling to divide himself into millions of vibrant butterflies, each carrying a residual soul. As long as a single butterfly managed to escape, his life force wouldn't be entirely extinguished.
With the Voidweaver, the Blightwood, and the Origin Deity on his side, he could be resurrected before long.
Hua! Hua! Hua!
The mighty ones from Ionodios and the Demon Gods under Reid's command sprang into action, having discerned Pei Yuling's strategy, and began a relentless pursuit of the butterflies.
"Spirit Destruction Slash!"
Three dazzling sword lights penetrated Pei Yuling's forehead, chest elixir field, and the Golden Sanctum of his lower abdomen.
Pei Yuling's body was suddenly riddled with three glaring holes, and his vital essence was severed in an instant.
Additional droplets of blood, untouched by the sword's will, seeped from his pores and transformed into myriad butterflies, scattering in all directions.
Yu Yuan kept swinging his sword, and with a mere flicker of thought, the sword light would pursue the butterflies.
In a flash, hundreds more butterflies were reduced to ash and dust under the sweep of his sword light.
A flash of snow-white lightning blinked through the void and vanished without a trace.
The Mirror of the Infinite had disappeared.
At that moment, witnessing the other champions joining the chase, Yu Yuan ceased his relentless assault with the Titanblade.
The sword spirit within the blade clamored, seemingly urging him to never cease his strikes.
"Enough," Yu Yuan murmured, his gaze shifting curiously to Gui Xu and then to the Origin Gate, now entirely suffused with purple.
The Soul-Igniting Mist, initially a pale purple, deepened in hue to indicate the increasing number of souls afflicted by the Soulblight.
Given that even the multicolored Origin Gate had turned purple, it signified that a significant number of souls had perished within the Origin Realm.
Gui Xu's strike might have dealt the Origin Deity the gravest wound since Bertain's time.
Yingye, the Sage of the Ethereal Void Sect, excelled in stealth and assassination, but when compared to Gui Xu of the Boulderdawn Sect, Yingye might not even qualify to carry his shoes.
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