Chapter 861: Soul Devouring Source Scar Shows Power

The moment Zhou Yuan’s voice fell silent, Ye Bingling and Yi Qiushui, almost without hesitation, took out the jade slips Zhou Yuan had prepared for them earlier. Seeing this, the other members of Wind Pavilion also retrieved their jade slips one after another.

These jade slips had been previously hidden within their spirits.

Everyone then crushed their jade slips fiercely.

The instant the jade slips shattered, something seemed to coil around and adhere to everyone’s spirits.

However, they couldn't detect what it was, only casting questioning gazes at Zhou Yuan.

Only Yi Qiushui’s beautiful eyes flickered; she was familiar with this kind of fluctuation. It was this peculiar fluctuation that had allowed her to win against Ye Bingling in their spirit-clashing spar some time ago...

Recalling the outcome of that day, the tension in Yi Qiushui’s heart quietly eased. With the methods Zhou Yuan had prepared, they might just be able to contend with Fire Pavilion for victory.

Most others, however, still looked apprehensive. After all, they weren't sure if the jade slips Zhou Yuan had prepared could truly stand against Fire Pavilion. But at this moment, facing the powerful Fire Pavilion, they had no other choice but to fight.

Zhou Yuan remained calm. He looked up at the seven enormous Soul-Shattering Shuttles whistling down. Without further explanation, he simply commanded in a deep voice, "Everyone, heed my order: activate your spirits!"

Buzz! Buzz!

As his command ended, everyone activated their spirits, and spiritual power condensed before them, forming sharp, long spiritual needles.

Zhou Yuan’s gaze swept over them, and he keenly detected ancient markings faintly present on the spiritual needles—the Soul-Devouring Genesis Marks.

It seemed the jade slips he had prepared were effective.

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, and his spiritual power emanated. Thousands of spiritual needles converged, forming a torrent above his head, appearing like a colossal python coiling and writhing from a distance.

However, while this torrent of needles appeared magnificent, it seemed rather insignificant compared to the seven Soul-Shattering Shuttles whistling down.

In the distance, Zhu Lian watched this scene, a sneer curling on his lips. Did Zhou Yuan truly believe that Wind Pavilion's meager strength could withstand an attack of Fire Pavilion's caliber? It was truly foolish and arrogant.

No matter. This time, I will reclaim the humiliation from before!

The seven enormous shuttles descended with unmatched ferocity.

The next instant, the torrent formed by the spiritual needles surged forward, actively colliding with the foremost giant shuttle.

A crisp, colossal sound seemed to reverberate between heaven and earth.

"Shatter for me!" Zhu Lian burst out laughing.

However, the next moment, his laughter abruptly ceased, and his pupils suddenly constricted.

He saw that when the torrent of spiritual needles collided with the first giant shuttle, not only did it not shatter, but it erupted with brilliant light, and its spiritual fluctuations surged. The torrent, originally only a few hundred feet long, instantly expanded to a thousand feet in size.

In contrast, the first giant shuttle, for some unknown reason, rapidly dimmed its spiritual light and shrank by nearly half its size.

With this shift in power, the torrent of spiritual needles struck again, and the first Soul-Shattering Shuttle exploded with a bang.

"How is this possible?!"

This scene caused a clamor of astonishment among the thousands of Fire Pavilion members, who stared wide-eyed as if they had seen a ghost.

They couldn't believe that a Soul-Shattering Shuttle had been destroyed on its first contact!

Even Lu Xiao's expression couldn't help but change.

"Press down with all the Soul-Shattering Shuttles!" Lu Xiao snapped.

Zhu Lian snapped back to reality, gritted his teeth, and sent the remaining six Soul-Shattering Shuttles forward.

Clang! Clang!

The six Soul-Shattering Shuttles fiercely impacted the torrent of spiritual needles. The violent bombardment forced the needle torrent to retreat step by step, causing the void to tremble.

However, as they watched the retreating needle torrent, Lu Xiao and Zhu Lian's expressions grew increasingly grim. They discovered that with each collision, the needle torrent's scale became more astonishing, and the spiritual fluctuations it emitted grew progressively stronger.

On their side, in contrast, the six Soul-Shattering Shuttles were gradually shrinking, and their spiritual fluctuations were weakening.

"What's going on?!" Zhu Lian became somewhat panicked. This scene was simply too bizarre.

Wind Pavilion's torrent of spiritual needles seemed to be absorbing their spiritual power upon contact, growing stronger with each clash, while their own forces became progressively weaker.

The torrent of spiritual needles coiled and maneuvered like a colossal dragon in the void. The six Soul-Shattering Shuttles, originally holding an absolute advantage, now appeared like small snakes before it. In just a short skirmish, the tide of battle suddenly turned.

Faced with this scene, it wasn't just Zhu Lian and his companions who were shocked; even the members of Wind Pavilion were utterly dumbfounded.

They found it hard to believe why the torrent of spiritual needles grew stronger with each clash, even when facing the opponent's absolute suppression... The intensity of the spiritual fluctuations now emanating from the needle torrent was clearly beyond their own capabilities.

Therefore, all of this... was not because their own spirits were strong, but because of Zhou Yuan!

Gazes, almost fanatical, turned towards Zhou Yuan's spirit in mid-air. He had shown them what was truly incredible and miraculous...

In the distance, Mu Liu and Mu Qingyan's mouths slowly dropped open. This scene also surpassed their comprehension.

Amidst countless shocked gazes across heaven and earth, Zhou Yuan also looked up at the immense, dragon-like torrent of spiritual needles. He could feel the Soul-Devouring Genesis Marks on it dissipating completely at this moment. With every previous clash, the Soul-Devouring Genesis Marks had absorbed massive amounts of spiritual power from the six Soul-Shattering Shuttles.

"The effect is quite good," he murmured to himself, then his eyes sharpened.

"Go!"

Zhou Yuan flicked his finger, and the dragon-like torrent roared forth, colliding heavily with the six Soul-Shattering Shuttles.

The six Soul-Shattering Shuttles shattered almost instantly.

On Fire Pavilion's side, thousands of spirits wavered, eventually turning into fiery light and soaring skyward amidst screams of agony.

Lu Xiao and Zhu Lian's faces turned ashen. This confrontation had cost Fire Pavilion dearly.

"Damn it, how is this possible!" Zhu Lian couldn't help but roar in a low voice, his face contorted.

Lu Xiao took a deep breath, his eyes dark as he gazed at the dragon-like torrent of spiritual needles in the sky. "I've told you before," he said, "this kid is extremely devious; he cannot be underestimated."

"What do we do?" Zhu Lian asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

Lu Xiao's eyelids drooped slightly, his voice chilling, "What else can we do? Use the last resort. We absolutely cannot lose this Heavenly Flame Ritual!"

Zhu Lian was startled, and said with some hesitation, "But if we do that, there might be some side effects. At the very least, we won't be able to use spiritual power for half a month."

Lu Xiao cast a cold glance at him. "Can't you tell what's more important?"

A chill ran through Zhu Lian's heart, and he dared not say more. He activated his spirit, and a voice entered the minds of many Fire Pavilion members.

"Members of Fire Pavilion, heed my command: activate the Soul-Burning Marks!"

Upon hearing this, the Fire Pavilion members' hearts trembled slightly. They naturally knew about this last resort; however, doing so would cause their spirits to be injured for nearly a month, meaning they wouldn't be able to enter the Four Spirits Origin-Returning Pagoda for cultivation for that period.

Some hesitated, but when Lu Xiao's cold gaze fell upon them, they all shivered and no longer dared to delay. Their spirits sat cross-legged in the void, hands forming seals, and a faint crimson Genesis Rune appeared on the forehead of every spirit.

The Genesis Rune seemed to transform into flames, gradually burning and directly permeating into their spirits.

All their spirits' faces contorted at this moment, evidently enduring intense pain.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

However, even as their spirits transmitted excruciating pain, the spiritual fluctuations emanating from within them surged violently. The entire world was engulfed in furious winds and thunderous roars due to the rampant spiritual fluctuations.

Terrifying spiritual pressure spread overwhelmingly. Under this level of spiritual suppression, even practitioners with advanced spiritual cultivation felt as if they were sinking into a quagmire.

Faced with such a phenomenon, Han Yuan, Mu Liu, and Mu Qingyan all changed color simultaneously. In all the Heavenly Flame Rituals over the years, they had never witnessed one as fierce and intense as today's...

Such a powerful spiritual attack would likely be difficult for even a single practitioner at the advanced spiritual cultivation level to achieve.

Ye Bingling and Yi Qiushui's beautiful faces were also exceptionally solemn. Although Zhou Yuan had previously disrupted Fire Pavilion's plans, Fire Pavilion was, after all, Fire Pavilion; its foundation was far beyond what Wind Pavilion could compare to. This final resort was clearly a desperate gamble.

However, they weren't overly afraid. After all, this was within the Heavenly Flame Cauldron; no matter how perilous the battle, it wouldn't take lives, at most resulting in a loss. Moreover, being able to push Fire Pavilion to such an extent, even if they lost, Wind Pavilion would not be disgraced.

Zhou Yuan glanced at them, understanding their thoughts, but he had no intention of giving up.

Because if he lost here, he would have no share of the Heavenly Sun Flame from the Heavenly Flame Ritual... And he was still counting on acquiring a portion of the Heavenly Sun Flame to help him break through to the late Divine Dwelling stage. How could he easily let go of such an opportunity?

The battle for the Chief Pavilion Master, the most important event, was next month. If he couldn't reach the late Divine Dwelling stage, he wouldn't be confident enough to defeat Lu Xiao.

Therefore, he was unwilling to lose this Heavenly Flame Ritual.

A sharp glint flickered in Zhou Yuan's eyes. He glanced at the dragon-like torrent of spiritual needles, took a deep breath, and lowered his gaze slightly. His hands slowly came together, and his fingertips shifted, forming a hand seal.

Since Fire Pavilion wanted to fight to the bitter end, then let them have a fight...

As Zhou Yuan's hand seal changed, spiritual power rapidly condensed before him. A moment later, a slightly ethereal lantern faintly appeared, flickering in and out of existence.

Seven Arts of Cang Xuan, Soul Lantern Art!