C352 Soul Bridge
Within the Jade Tower, Yan Qiling employed a secret technique to invert the space around them.
Each time Shen Feiqing threw a punch with her diminutive fist, it carried the extraordinary effect of slowing time and transcending spatial distances, much to Old Cash's dismay.
However, once Yan Qiling entered the fray, the influence of the Army Head's Ancient Desolate Realm True Spell on space was significantly weakened.
Amidst the Jade Tower's splendor, the copper coins shone with a resplendent golden hue, encircling Shen Feiqing.
The coins, engraved with archaic characters such as Qian, Bao, Tong, Yuan, Wei, Yue, Zhen, fluttered like golden butterflies around Shen Feiqing, exerting immense pressure on her.
Rooted to the ground as if part of the jade itself, Shen Feiqing bared her forearms and struck out in all directions.
Her fists, upon impact, sent showers of golden light and copper coins scattering in disarray.
The remnants of the dynasty's fortunes, along with the imprints of fate and wealth, were dispersed by her blows.
Yet, her enigmatic power to pierce through space found itself constrained by Yan Qiling's presence, preventing her from unleashing the full finesse of the Desolate True Spell.
Without the spatial checks, her fist's intent could infiltrate the very core of the copper coins, causing them true harm.
She quickly deduced that the enigmatic figure before her, with an obscure origin and peculiar physique, was undoubtedly a master of spatial intricacies.
It was this mastery over spatial profundities that curtailed her boxing technique, hindering her from performing at her peak.
But this did not concern her.
She was aware that the true linchpin of the long-conceived strategy lay with the Silvermoon Queen.
Initially, it was her role to exert her strength, drawing in mighty warriors from afar. She had to devise ways to disrupt the operation of the Spirit Void Sect's space teleportation array and to restrain certain individuals.
Yet, in the final phase, the success hinged primarily on the Soul Sacrifice Diagram and the soul sacrifice ball of the Queen.
The task was to channel the accumulated vengeful spirits and disembodied souls, harvested from the Dark Domain over the years, into the Asura's eyeball.
To this end, the Queen had instigated wars across the lands. Shen Feiqing, commanding the Tusk Troops within the Divine Might Empire, also relentlessly purged the rebellious elements of major clans, aiding the Empire's Emperor in his ascension.
The emperors and generals of both the Silver Moon and Divine Might Empires were steeped in bloodshed.
Their grim task was to amass as many tormented souls and vengeful spirits as possible for this very moment.
The mention of Yu Yuan by the empress herself caused the usually composed general to furrow his brow in concern. Could an unforeseen event have transpired?
Anxiety gripped her heart.
It was then that she observed Yan Qiling, levitating above the Jade Tower, his form shrouded in bizarre spatial fluctuations, his expression one of solemn surprise.
This enigmatic figure, whose origins were unknown, had mastered the arcane secrets of space, bringing even the Spirit Void Sect's formation to a halt.
The influence of Yan Qiling seemed to have nullified the formidable power of her Void True Spell in an instant.
Her gaze sharpened, and she saw intricate lines of shimmering light converging beneath Yan Qiling's feet, as if he were crafting a Matrix Diagram capable of invoking a monumental spatial upheaval.
Unbeknownst to her, Yan Qiling's focus had already shifted from her clash with Old Cash to another location—the pit where Yu Yuan was.
Yan Qiling had detected an extraordinary spatial disturbance emanating from beneath Yu Yuan's pit, suggesting the emergence of an alternate space below.
Abruptly, the sword sheath lodged in the platinum skeleton began to hum with vibration.
The brilliance swirling around the mouth of the sheath was so intense it was painful to behold.
Bursts of soul energy, powerful enough to unsettle the heart, erupted from the pit beneath Yu Yuan's feet.
This boundless surge of soul energy was filled with a poignant sorrow, yet it seemed to harmoniously resonate with the sword intent within Yu Yuan's arm bone and the sword spell within the sheath.
Yan Qiling, originally a spirit being from the Divine Soul Sect, had been infused into the Splitting Soul Staff by a bronze coffin.
Though he had not witnessed all the sect's secret arts, he had certainly heard of them.
Thus, when the "melancholic" aura manifested, transforming Yu Yuan's pit into what seemed like another realm, Yan Qiling, after a moment of stunned silence, had an epiphany.
His eyes sparkled with realization, and a relaxed smile spread across his face.
Simultaneously, the observers gathered around the mirror-like table above the Fallen Star Eyes, hidden within the stars, also began to sense the unfolding events.
Lau Ying was momentarily stunned before she let out a shocked cry, "There's an abnormal soul fluctuation in Yu Yuan's pit that isn't from the Soul Sacrifice Diagram or the soul sacrifice ball!"
The Fallen Star Eyes, a Heaven Level artifact, allowed her to perceive these soul fluctuations, despite not having reached the Yin God Stage.
Apart from her, only Qin Yun, who was at the Yin God Stage, could sense a hint of the anomaly.
"What? What are you talking about?" Zhan Tianxiang pressed urgently.
Taking a deep breath, Lau Ying spoke with gravity, "It appears that a source of soul energy has just connected with Yu Yuan. Using him as a conduit, this source is exerting pressure on the Asura's brown eyeball in the Dark Domain, and it's also pressuring the empress to release the soul sacrifice ball within the internal Heaven and Earth, causing complications."
Her explanation was complex, and those not versed in soul energy or who hadn't reached the Yin God Stage might not grasp it immediately.
Yuan Lianyao, however, who had been with Yu Yuan at the bottom of the Soul Transformation Pool in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, found it easier to comprehend and could roughly piece together the sequence of events.
In midair, the Silvermoon Queen swept her sleeves, sending more silver rings toward Chi Hongyi.
Clutching the Soul Sacrifice Diagram rolled into a staff, she hesitated only a moment before making her way to the pit, her thoughts trailing behind her.
The Earth Demon, Bai Shang, the white-haired crone cast out by the Demon Palace, was even quicker to the pit.
The Demon Palace had also given orders to the remnants of the Tusk Troops, including Lih Baixiong and the Tusk Beast.
With blood-red eyes full of savagery and madness, the Tusk Beast roared and gasped for breath as it and its soldiers charged toward the pit.
Many sensed the unease, realizing something was amiss and that Yu Yuan was pivotal.
Yu Yuan had once again acquired an enigmatic soul force that was neither his own nor from the sword spell, using it as a medium to influence the Asura's eyes in the Dark Domain.
He was poised to turn the tide once more!
"Swish! Swish!"
From the glowing sword sheath, strands of sword intent coalesced and shot out in rapid succession.
Like lightning bolts piercing the dark night, the sword intent targeted the Tusk Troops with precision.
The piercing force within each strand of sword intent sent shivers down the spine.
The intricate mastery of the sword dao within seemed to commune with the divine, capable of manifesting the grandeur of mountains, the enduring flow of rivers, the wonder of the changing seasons, the dazzling brilliance of the Outland Starry Sky, and even the enigmatic secrets between life and death...
With the birth of the heavens and the earth, the Great Dao and its rules came into existence. The cycle of the sun and moon, the succession of seasons, the rise and fall of nations, the flourishing and fading of mountains and lakes—all followed their own logic and left behind patterns of their workings.
The sword intents emerging from the scabbard appeared to hold the most essential threads and ultimate truths of the Great Dao.
They bore an unfathomable depth of power and profoundness, tied to the rules.
Such power was beyond the grasp of low-level cultivators, too elevated for them to perceive, understand, or fully penetrate—a force of an exceedingly higher "extreme."
The sword intents streaked forth like bolts of lightning.
One after another, the Tusk Troops, astride their Tusk Beasts and clad in heavy armor, wielding lances, spears, and halberds, reeking of blood, burst apart upon contact with the sword intents.
Even the Tusk Beasts they rode disintegrated into a cloud of blood mist in the blink of an eye.
The vicinity of the pit erupted in bursts of crimson, like fireworks of blood mist.
All the Tusk Troops who had defected from the Divine Might Empire alongside Shen Feiqing, as well as their mounts, were instantly reduced to mist, except for Lih Baixiong.
In that moment, they met their gruesome end.
Only their blood mist, propelled by force, scattered into the pit.
Lih Baixiong let out a roar like a cornered beast, watching his own body transform into a cloud of blood mist. His Yin God escaped, abandoning the Tusk Beasts, and he swiftly backpedaled dozens of meters.
His Yin God stood forlornly, gazing at the lingering blood mist.
Bai Shang and the crone with the White Bone Crutch, as if seeing a ghost in broad daylight, halted in their tracks, still some distance from the pit, their figures shaking.
Even beings as formidable as they were shaken by the sight of the Tusk Troops and the multitude of Tusk Beasts bursting into blood mist.
