C882 Cold Current

As the Illusion Pearl shattered, a cascade of crimson light, brimming with intelligence, emerged.

Amidst the tower's rubble, Qi Yunhong wandered in a stupor, drawn by an inexplicable summons. His expression blank, he began to pace within a confined area, almost instinctively.

This was where the red light fell like rain.

Qi Yunhong's dull, unenlightened eyes, devoid of any sparkle, began to transform subtly as the light seeped into him.

Qin Yun stood before Qi Yunhong, shielding Chu Jing and Huang Ming, on high alert.

"Quite the character, this Qi Yunhong..."

Yu Yuan, employing a covert technique, activated his Wisdom Eye and saw clearly: each speck of red light was a miniature reflection of Qi Yunhong's soul.

Upon reflection, he understood that these radiant specks, rich with intelligent essence, were in fact fragments of Qi Yunhong's Heavenly Soul.

A regression from his Yang God form had caused the Heavenly Soul to manifest.

The Yang God's body served as armor for the soul, whose true core was the soul refined by the Heavenly Soul.

Qi Yunhong had willingly shattered his soul, allowing the "Heavenly Soul Burning Lightning," his painstaking creation, to detonate with the fragments of the Yang God, all to obliterate the Illusion Pearl and scatter the Artifact Soul to the winds.

His mad scheme appeared to have succeeded.

Reduced to cosmic dust, the Illusion Pearl's young girl-shaped Artifact Soul had likely perished.

Yet, the brilliance of Qi Yunhong's Heavenly Soul had scattered, finding refuge within his true form.

A single spark can ignite a prairie fire; the threads of scarlet light, carrying the wisdom of the Heavenly Soul, could take root and sprout within Qi Yunhong's Consciousness Little World.

Given time, Qi Yunhong's Heavenly Soul would be restored, preserving his potential to once again forge a Yang God.

The Earth Soul bore memories; the Heavenly Soul was the crystallization of wisdom.

Thus, as the red light, like droplets of rain, descended into his Consciousness Little World, the man once deemed insane by Huang Ming began to regain his senses.

Qi Yunhong's true form shifted from agitation to tranquility.

He offered a respectful bow to Yu Yuan and addressed him, "Master."

With that single word, Yu Yuan knew that with the return of the Heavenly Soul, the wild figure before him had been transformed back into Qi Yunhong.

With a light cough, Yu Yuan held the Soul Wood Puppet, his gaze fixed on one of its fingers, where the image of Qi Yunhong emerged. He pondered over Qi Yunhong's Yin God, still trapped within.

"I trapped your Yin God to harness its power against the lethal 'Soul Thunder' and to shatter the Illusion Pearl. What I didn't anticipate was..."

Yu Yuan began to explain but abruptly stopped. He discovered that his thoughts could be instantaneously conveyed through the Soul Wood Puppet, transmitted in the span of a breath.

He decided to test this revelation.

Qi Yunhong, whose Yin God was also bound within the Soul Wood Puppet, understood Yu Yuan's intentions as soon as he revealed them. He realized that Yu Yuan's actions were solely to escape the Illusion Pearl, not to permanently imprison his Yin God or enslave him.

Nevertheless...

"You are free to go, to reunite your Yin God with your true form," Yu Yuan murmured, his eyes lowered to the Soul Wood Puppet.

As if by command, his thoughts and intentions resonated with the Yin God within the puppet. He watched as the Yin God's shadow lifted a hand from the tabletop and pointed towards the puppet representing Qi Yunhong.

Whoosh!

Qi Yunhong's Yin God began to drift slowly from the Soul Wood Puppet. He noticed viscous threads clinging to his soul-shaped Yin God, weakening it as it ascended. It felt as though a layer of skin was being stripped away from the Yin God.

Looking down, Qi Yunhong recognized the sticky threads as the soul thoughts of his Yin God. As the Yin God separated from the puppet, these threads were tugged from within, leaving behind a soul imprint that would remain forever inside the Soul Wood Puppet.

At last, Qi Yunhong's Yin God broke free from the puppet. In the presence of Yu Yuan, Qin Yun, Chu Jing, Huang Ming, and several other practitioners from the Seven Divine Sect, it soared into the acupoint between his eyebrows, merging with his true body.

Qi Yunhong trembled, his eyes blazing with a sudden brightness. His demeanor was serene yet tinged with frenzy, like a volcano brimming with suppressed malice beneath a tranquil surface.

"From the consciousness of my Yin God, a soul imprint was formed. This imprint, now within the puppet, can still constrain me and monitor my every move..."

Qi Yunhong, gazing at the "Soul Wood Puppet," had a good idea of what had transpired.

"Yet, I was already dead. It was because of him that the fragments of my Yin God, shattered in my demise, were gathered once more. It was because of him, and that peculiar puppet, that I was resurrected."

"And then, there's him..."

Involuntarily, Qi Yunhong's thoughts drifted to the immense void soul within the puppet, reminiscent of an ancient Divine King.

The kind of awe-inspiring presence that demanded reverence and incited fear with every recollection.

He swiftly reached a conclusion.

With the return of his Heavenly Soul and the integration of the Yin God fragment, Qi Yunhong, now demoted from the Yang God Stage to the Soul Wandering Stage, offered another respectful bow to Yu Yuan. "As your faithful and humble servant, I, Qi Yunhong, pledge my undying loyalty to you!"

Yu Yuan paused, then burst into laughter, nodding in approval. "Excellent!"

"We've arrived at the Seven Divine Sect, our intended destination." His laughter subsiding, he surveyed the perplexed cultivators of the Seven Divine Sect who had rushed to the scene. He commanded, "Work with him. His name is Qin Yun, and he will execute those whom he deems must perish!"

Qi Yunhong acknowledged with a nod.

Qin Yun was invigorated.

Conversely, Huang Ming and the onlooking cultivators of the Seven Divine Sect were visibly shaken.

Equally disturbed was Chu Jing from the Spirit Void Sect.

"You belong to me."

Yu Yuan leaped from the cauldron, sending a telepathic message to Yu Yiyi as the dark cauldron soared skyward.

Subsequently, the cauldron swelled rapidly, morphing into a colossal black mass that eclipsed the sun over the Seven Divine Sect.

An icy chill, emanating from the emergence of the Ice Concubine, began to creep across the land, sending shivers down the spines of all present.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Several low-level cultivators of the Seven Divine Sect chattered their teeth, clutching their garments tighter, only to realize that no amount of layering could fend off the biting cold.

Swoosh!

A crimson sword beam, brimming with a fierce intent to cleave the heavens and obliterate galaxies, burst forth from Yu Yuan's scabbard.

Chu Jing, ever vigilant, caught the glimpse of the scarlet streak and, clutching his large black umbrella, promptly turned and made his exit.

He held the large black umbrella aloft, its canopy shielding his back as it faced Yu Yuan.

Then came Yu Yuan's Fallen Moon Slash.

Scarlet beams of sword light, one after the other, relentlessly pursued Chu Jing and the large black umbrella.

Chu Jing, with his back to his pursuer, appeared to move slowly but was actually incredibly swift. Employing secret arts akin to shrinking the earth beneath his feet, he covered five kilometers in mere moments.

The crimson sword light doggedly followed, piercing the fabric of the black umbrella.

Above, the Ice Concubine, akin to a frigid deity, extended her pale arm toward the fleeing Chu Jing. Her lips parted slightly, uttering indistinct syllables that carried the weight of divine retribution.

Utilizing the Spectral Umbrella's wondrous properties, Chu Jing weaved through the dense forest.

Trees of lesser height transformed into replicas of Chu Jing as he passed, complete with the essence of flesh and the pulse of a soul, as if they truly existed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Seven Chu Jing replicas burst open, their bodies erupting with scarlet sword light. Before they hit the ground, they morphed into bark and roots.

Chu Jing had somehow redirected the crimson sword light of each Fallen Moon Slash to these phantom trees, mitigating the blows.

Yu Yuan, persistently executing the Fallen Moon Slash, had his soul consciousness sharply focused on Chu Jing. Streaks of dark rainbow light, laden with sword intent, also struck the Spectral Umbrella.

Yet, as the sword light was absorbed by the umbrella, Yu Yuan felt as though it had vanished into the abyss.

Subsequently, the figures of Chu Jing appeared to shatter under the sword light, but upon their true disintegration, they reverted to trees and flora.

Chu Jing, still beneath his umbrella, showed no urgency to extricate himself from the woods. Instead, he meandered, his back to Yu Yuan, transforming even more trees into his own likeness.

The essence of the Fallen Moon Slash lay in its continuity, each strike leading seamlessly into the next, with the subsequent sword light's potency incrementally intensifying.

However, if the force of each blow, no matter how much it compounded, struck nothing but air, it was ultimately futile.

Unless...

This thought barely formed when Yu Yuan suddenly noticed the forest, where Chu Jing concealed himself, the trees, grass, and very soil began to frost over at an alarming rate.

A ghostly blue fog, like a veil, shrouded the forest.

The intense chill emanating from the Nether Abyss abruptly escalated.

Crack! Crack!

Every tree and flower, influenced by the Spectral Umbrella and Chu Jing's secret arts, were frozen and shattered. They became temporary "dummies" for his advancement, snapping and clattering to the ground as chunks of ice.

Chu Jing, umbrella in hand, found himself standing amidst the fragments, suddenly struggling to take a step.

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