C596 Spiritbirthing!

Tap, tap!

The sound of footsteps conveyed the owner's light-hearted pleasure.

With the glimmer of hope for freedom from the Sword Prison in sight, how could one not feel uplifted?

"Hmm?"

Yu Yuan let out a soft gasp, his gaze fixed on a girl lifting the hem of her pink dress, looking as delicate as a porcelain doll. He was utterly bewildered.

The girl didn't exude any sense of danger, nor did she provoke any hostility from the Sword Prison's sword light or sword's will. Neither the sword spirit in his arm bone nor the artifact soul at his Zigong acupoint showed any reaction.

A soul spirit of a certain level would awaken when its master faced danger.

The calmness of both the sword spirit and the artifact soul eased Yu Yuan's guard.

He watched her intently.

The girl approached cheerfully, her pink dress clearly too large for her petite frame.

The garment on her youthful body gave the impression of a little girl playing dress-up with her mother's clothes while she was away.

Her yet-to-bloom figure was paired with eyes that seemed too mature for her age, enchanting and profound.

Those eyes were like the deepest "Maw of Oblivion" within the vast starry sea, seemingly capable of swallowing the souls of all beings, drawing in anyone who dared a single glance, never to find their way out again.

The girl's smile was not one of innocence but rather one that was captivating and alluring.

She walked forward, her dress swishing with each step.

Time appeared to accelerate, moving forward at an incredible pace.

The girl's delicate features subtly shifted, as if she was quietly transforming.

Most notably, she seemed to grow taller with each step, her previously flat chest now beginning to round out.

In a short while, she had blossomed into a stunning young woman, and the once overly long and loose rose-red dress now hugged her form more appropriately.

Her figure underwent a dramatic transformation, her chest now prominent, her waist slender, and her hips curvaceous.

Her beauty and physique had reached near perfection in an incredibly brief span of time.

Yu Yuan's mind stirred, sensing an imminent threat.

The young woman laughed softly, continuing her approach.

As time marched on, she seemed to rapidly transition beyond her teenage years, stepping into the allure of maturity with a figure that was even more sensual and bewitching, her every gesture brimming with an irresistible charm.

She moved with a light step, her gaze fixed on Yu Yuan, attentively tuning into his expressions, his state of mind, and the subtle fluctuations of his vitality. At twenty-five or twenty-six, her mature features betrayed her age, but it was Yu Yuan's internal movements that confirmed she had found him. Her appearance was now set in time.

She then pursed her lips and exhaled gently towards Yu Yuan, her smile blooming like a flower. A heady fragrance wafted through the air, completely enveloping Yu Yuan. The next moment, he noticed wisps of smoke appearing in his Mindscape, as if effortlessly bypassing his defenses and manifesting within his mud pellet acupoint—his Mindscape. As he became aware and attempted to counter it, the situation took another turn.

The smoke that had infiltrated his Mindscape transformed into dozens of beautiful women, all bearing the same face yet each with a distinct allure. There were youthful and lively ones, some fiery and untamed, others gentle and kind, a few shy and endearing, and some as cold as frost. These women outnumbered and outshone those he had encountered with Tan Yuan upon leaving the forest, captivating him even more.

In a flash, Yu Yuan realized that his Mindscape had been utterly overrun. The enchanting women, each with a different charm but all equally mesmerizing, had shrunk down a thousandfold. They each wore a coy smile as they entwined themselves around the strands of his spiritual sense.

Boom!

An ecstasy he had never known surged through each thread of spiritual sense, driving him to madness. The fire of desire deep within him was now fully ablaze, burning with fervor. More fragrances mingled with the women's spiritual energy, thoughts, and vitality, transforming into various forms and entering his body in the most seductive and exquisite ways.

Following the fall of his Mindscape, his Golden Sanctum acupoint, along with the little world of spiritual energy, succumbed to the invasion. But it didn't stop there. He could feel every fiber of his being, every cell, every drop of blood, permeated with the scent of the woman.

The woman laughed softly, her eyes on Yu Yuan as he gripped the sword sheath, his face turning as red as a boiled shrimp. "Young man, your vitality is quite impressive."

Yu Yuan, with his finely honed physique, was the first to exhibit an anomaly; his skin had become slightly dry.

A woman, intrigued, approached Yu Yuan and peered down at the sword sheath. "It's such a shame. The sword itself is gone, leaving behind only its will."

Whoosh!

Zhongli Dapan, engrossed in studying the Ancient Echoes of the Void, had returned and was the first to reach the cave.

Once somewhat lean, he had bulked up after several bouts of combat and body refinement. His sleeves bulged with formidable power, making the cave's space crackle.

"Witch!"

Upon entering, Zhongli Dapan's gaze fell on the enigmatic woman clad in a rose-red dress, and he accused, "You saw him with the sword sheath! He's crucial for our escape from Sword Prison. Why are you using Nightbane's mystique to harvest his vital energy?"

His accusation revealed that they were no strangers to one another.

Zhan Yun, the current leader of the Nightbane sect, smiled slyly. "Take another look. Am I really harvesting his vital energy?"

Zhongli Dapan paused, taken aback.

Zhan Yun was the one Zhao Jie and Zhang Miao had been waiting for. After clashing with the Devil Palace, she had fled to the extraterrestrial realms, only to be later captured and confined within Sword Prison.

As a sect master and a cultivator at the Unbound Stage, adept in the art of enchantment, Zhan Yun had transcended the more primitive forms of seduction.

With just a glance, she could strip a man of his lifeblood and assimilate it to enhance her own power.

Zhongli Dapan was well aware of the old sorceress's potency and the horrors of her enchantment. He feared that she might employ Nightbane's supernatural powers to completely drain Yu Yuan, jeopardizing their collective plan to exit Sword Prison.

The Nightbane sect's arcane techniques were particularly lethal against young, inexperienced men, virtually an unstoppable weapon.

The subtlety of such enchantments made them nearly impossible to detect. A practitioner of Zhan Yun's caliber could evade the detection of Yu Yuan's protective sword sheath, sword spirit, and even the Crucible of Evil.

Without detection, these artifacts would not activate to protect Yu Yuan from harm.

When Zhan Yun, a practitioner of the Nightbane Sect's most ancient enchantment, applied her arcane mystique to Yu Yuan, not even the residual sword light or sword's will within the Sword Prison stirred.

Her mastery of the enchantment was nearing perfection.

"It's Spirit-Birthing."

Upon closer inspection, Zhongli Dapan noticed the peculiar shift in Yu Yuan's aura and quietly breathed a sigh of relief, choosing not to intervene just yet.

"Old witch!"

Chen Qingyan, led back to the cave by Xi Quan, immediately became enraged upon witnessing Zhan Yun's actions and Yu Yuan's demeanor.

She reached for her sword.

Xi Quan gently touched the back of her hand and shook his head at the incensed Chen Qingyan, "Don't be hasty."

"Aunt, you're not scared of her, are you?" Chen Qingyan challenged, attempting to stir Xi Quan's combative spirit, hoping she would step in.

Xi Quan had been wielding the Withered Sword, slaying five demon magnates on their journey, swiftly regaining her lost powers.

Chen Qingyan was well aware that in her current state of cultivation, it would be nearly impossible to contend with the older generation of demons within the confines of the little world inside the Sword Prison. She thus hoped Xi Quan would intervene out of past affection to help save Yu Yuan.

"She's embedding her mark into Yu Yuan's Mindscape through Spirit-Birthing, aiming to make him her devoted servant and puppet, enamored and at her beck and call," Xi Quan explained, her brow furrowed. "If we interrupt her now, she can easily withdraw, but Yu Yuan would die."

"Spirit-Birthing!" Chen Qingyan exclaimed, taken aback.

As a prodigy of the Sword Sect, she had been briefed by her master on numerous bizarre and sinister techniques, among which the Nightbane's Spirit-Birthing stood out as particularly peculiar and unique.

The Nightbane's Spirit-Birthing involved branding one's phantom deep within another's soul.

Reportedly, those subjected to Spirit-Birthing would experience the most enthralling pleasure, surpassing even physical union, and would come to understand the ultimate sublime sensation.

Once Spirit-Birthing was complete, the recipient would become hopelessly devoted to the spellcaster.

A century ago, Zhao Jie, the "Whisperling" of the Nightbane Sect, wielded the arcane art of "Spirit-Birthing" to sow discord among the six great empires of Aetherius. With a coy smile and a graceful dance, she summoned a tempest of blood that swept across the continent.

Zhan Yun, as the current Sect Master of Nightbane, possesses an even greater proficiency in Spirit-Birthing.

Should she succeed, Yu Yuan would awaken to find her mark etched deep within his soul, compelling him to serve her willingly.

Spirit-Birthing would leave Yu Yuan's power and status untouched. Other than perceiving Zhan Yun as the woman he is destined to protect forever, his progress in cultivation, combat prowess, intellect, and character would remain unchanged.

Yet, should an external force disrupt the process, Zhan Yun risks losing merely an admirer.

For Yu Yuan, the consequences could be dire: at best, a fragmented soul rendering him senseless; at worst, immediate death.

Faced with such stakes, Chen Qingyan dared not make a careless move.

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