C352 The Soul Bridge
Inside the Jade Tower, Yan Qiling manipulated space with his mystique, turning it inside out. Shen Feiqing's punches, each one deft and precise, seemed to carry an otherworldly effect that slowed time and negated the constraints of distance, much to Tong Laoqian's dismay. However, once Yan Qiling entered the fray, the influence of the "Ancient Echoes of the Void" mantra on space was significantly weakened.
Within the confines of the Jade Tower, copper coins shone with a resplendent golden light, orbiting Shen Feiqing. The coins, engraved with ancient characters like "Qian," "Bao," "Tong," "Yuan," "Wi," "Yue," and "Zhen," fluttered around her like a swarm of golden butterflies, exerting immense pressure. Shen Feiqing stood firm as if rooted to the jade-stone floor, her forearms bared as she punched in all directions. Each strike sent golden light scattering and copper coins flying chaotically.
The remnants of imperial fortune and the imprints of wealth on the coins were dispersed by her blows. Yet, Yan Qiling's presence constrained her extraordinary power to pierce through space, preventing her from unleashing the full finesse of the "Ancient Echoes of the Void." Without spatial constraints, her punches could have penetrated the very core of the coins.
She quickly surmised that the enigmatic figure before her, with his peculiar physique and obscure origins, was highly adept in the nuances of spatial magic. It was his mastery of space that allowed him to suppress her fighting technique, hindering her ability to fight at her best.
But Shen Feiqing remained unfazed. She understood that the true linchpin of her long-conceived plan lay with the Silvermoon Queen. Initially, Shen Feiqing's role was to exert her strength, drawing powerful figures from afar. She had to devise ways to disrupt the Ethereal Void Sect's teleportation circle and to restrain certain individuals.
Ultimately, the success of their scheme hinged on the Silvermoon Queen's Soul Chart and Soul Orb. They needed to channel the accumulated resentment spirits and residual souls from various sources into the Shura Eye within the Dark Realm. To this end, the queen incited wars far and wide. Shen Feiqing, commanding the Blackfang Legion under the Sunblessed Empire, also played her part, quelling rebellions among the great families to secure the empire's rise to prominence.
The two monarchs and generals were drenched in blood within the realms of Silvermoon and the Sunblessed Empire.
Their grim task was to gather as many residual souls and vengeful spirits as possible for this very moment.
When the Silvermoon Queen exclaimed Yu Yuan's name, the usually composed commander couldn't help but frown. She wondered, 'Has something unforeseen occurred now?'
A sense of urgency gripped her heart.
It was then that she observed Yan Qiling, levitating above the Jade Tower, his form shrouded in bizarre spatial ripples, his expression a mix of solemnity and surprise.
This enigmatic figure, whose origins were unknown, had mastered space magic to the extent that he could halt the operations of the Ethereal Void's rune circle.
The power that Yan Qiling had exerted over her, which had heavily constrained her Ancient Echoes of the Void, now seemed to vanish without a trace.
She peered intently and noticed dense, shimmering lines converging beneath Yan Qiling's feet, as if he were crafting a magic diagram capable of invoking profound spatial transformations.
Unbeknownst to her, Yan Qiling had already discreetly shifted his focus from her duel with Tong Laoqian to another location—the pit where Yu Yuan was situated.
Yan Qiling had detected an extraordinary spatial disturbance emanating from beneath Yu Yuan's pit, suggesting the emergence of an entirely different space forming deep below.
Abruptly, the sword sheath lodged in the massive platinum skull began to hum vibrantly.
The radiance swirling around the mouth of the sheath was so intense it was almost blinding.
Bursts of Soul Power, enough to stir the heart and sway the soul, erupted from the pit beneath Yu Yuan's feet.
The sheer magnitude of the Soul Power was both awe-inspiring and boundless.
Strikingly, this Soul Power was imbued with a melancholic essence, distinct yet resonating subtly with the sword's will within Yu Yuan's arm bone and the sword spell within the sheath, as if they were in harmony yet untouched by one another.
Yan Qiling, originally a soul from Boulderdawn, had been infused into the Soul Splitting Staff by the bronze coffin.
Though he was not fully acquainted with all the mystique and secrets of Boulderdawn, the emergence of this desolate ambiance around Yu Yuan's pit, transforming it into a different realm, jolted Yan Qiling back to awareness after a moment of stunned silence.
Yan Qiling's eyes sparkled, his tension eased, and a smile crept across his lips. Simultaneously, the Fallen Star Eyes, concealed within the cosmos, picked up on a resonance. Liu Ying, momentarily taken aback, suddenly let out a cry of astonishment, "There's an unusual soul disturbance emanating from Yu Yuan's pit that's not from the Soul Chart or the Soul Orb!"
The Fallen Star Eyes, a heavenly artifact, allowed her to perceive the subtle waves of remnant souls, even without having reached the Lunar Spirit level. Besides her, only Qin Yun, who had attained the Lunar Spirit state, could faintly detect the anomaly.
"What? What did you say?" Zhan Tianxiang urgently inquired.
Taking a deep breath, Liu Ying explained earnestly, "There appears to be a source of Soul Power now connecting to Yu Yuan. Through Yu Yuan, this source is exerting pressure on the Shura Eye in the Dark Realm, as well as on the empress, complicating the release of the Soul Orb within the internal cosmos."
Her explanation was somewhat esoteric, and those who hadn't achieved the Lunar Spirit level or had a limited understanding of Soul Power might not grasp it immediately.
Yuan Lianyao, having previously accompanied Yu Yuan at the bottom of the Soulforge Pool within the Moonfall Sanctuary, found it easier to comprehend and could roughly deduce the sequence of events.
In the sky, the Silvermoon Queen swept her sleeves, sending more silver rings toward Qi Hongyi. Clutching the Soul Chart, now rolled into a staff, she paused briefly before making her way toward the pit, her thoughts trailing behind her.
The Terra Fiend, Bai Shang, the white-haired crone banished from Shadow's Keep, darted toward the pit with even greater speed.
Le Baixiong of the Blackfang Legion, along with the remaining legionnaires, had also been instructed. The Blackfang Beasts, with their blood-red eyes full of savagery and madness, panted heavily as they charged toward the pit with their warriors.
Many sensed that something was amiss and recognized that Yu Yuan was pivotal. Yu Yuan had unmistakably tapped into an alien source of Soul Power, unrelated to himself or the sword spell, intending to influence the Shura Eye in the Dark Realm through him.
He was determined to turn the tide once again!
"Swish! Swish!"
Streams of sword's will, swirling around the mouth of the sheath, coalesced in an instant and burst forth.
Like lightning flashing suddenly in the dark night, the sword's will streaked towards the Blackfang Legion.
Each strand of sword's will held a fierce power that sent shivers down one's soul.
The intricate swordsmanship within seemed to communicate with the divine, morphing into the sturdiness of mountains, the enduring flow of rivers, the marvel of the changing seasons, the dazzling brilliance of extraterrestrial stars, and even the profound mysteries between life and death...
With the birth of the universe, the cosmic order emerged. The cycle of the sun and moon, the succession of the seasons, the rise and fall of nations, and the waxing and waning of lakes and mountains all followed their inherent logic and patterns.
The sword's will emanating from the scabbard seemed to encapsulate the most fundamental threads and truths of the Way of Heaven.
It bore an unimaginable, profound power that delved into the depths of the rules.
This was a force not within the grasp of low-level cultivators, a power of an "extreme" level that was far beyond their reach.
The sword's will, like lightning, shot forth in rapid succession.
Members of the Blackfang Legion, astride their Blackfang Beasts, clad in heavy armor, wielding spears and halberds, and exuding a strong scent of blood, exploded upon contact with the sword's will.
Even the Blackfang Beasts they rode were reduced to a cloud of blood mist in the blink of an eye.
Around the pit, bursts of crimson mist bloomed like blood-red fireworks.
All of the Blackfang Legion soldiers who had defected from the Sunblessed Empire with Shen Feiqing, along with their mounts, were instantly transformed into mist.
In a mere moment, they met their gruesome end on the spot.
Only their blood mist, carried by the force of the blast, scattered into the pit.
Le Baixiong let out a roar like a cornered beast, looking at his own body that had also become a blood mist. His Lunar Spirit emerged, abandoning the Blackfang Beast, and he swiftly backpedaled several dozen meters.
His Lunar Spirit stood forlornly, gazing at the lingering blood mist.
Bai Shang, the Earth Fiend, and the white-haired crone with the White Bone Crutch, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight, came to a trembling halt some distance from the pit.
Even the strongest among them felt a shiver of intimidation when the soldiers of the Blackfang Legion and the Blackfang Beasts burst into a bloody mist.
