Chapter 1517: Soul Shattered

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Wind Rises in Kyushu

Wind Rises in Kyushu

The light beam struck, but Xue Hao held the mirror with both hands, blocking it in front of him.

The fiercely powerful light beam slammed onto the mirror's surface, yet made no sound. The mirror's smooth surface seemed to flow, completely devouring the light beam.

Lu Ye piloted the Ghost Ship, firing several light beams in succession, all of which were swallowed by the peculiar mirror soul artifact. He immediately understood that the mirror was of extremely high quality.

Under the suppression of the sacred aura, Xue Hao's soul-spirit body was currently only at the early Moon-Illumination stage. However, this mirror soul artifact had been nurtured in his Sea of Consciousness for countless years. Even with the Ghost Ship's power, Lu Ye couldn't harm him for the time being.

He wasn't in a hurry. After all, in this kind of offense and defense, he held the absolute initiative and advantage. Although the mirror soul artifact was excellent, it ultimately had a limit to its endurance and couldn't be maintained indefinitely.

Xue Hao temporarily fended off the Ghost Ship's attacks with the mirror soul artifact, but he knew this wasn't a long-term solution, so he was also looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

Waves surged in the Sea of Consciousness. From the sea of blood, water columns continuously rose, like blood-red dragons, baring their fangs and claws as they lunged at the Ghost Ship with astonishing momentum.

However, the Ghost Ship was both offensive and defensive. Once its protective formation was activated, even though the blood dragons were numerous, they couldn't break through the defenses and were unable to harm the Ghost Ship for the time being.

The situation thus reached a stalemate. Lu Ye had no way to deal with Xue Hao, and Xue Hao similarly had no good way to deal with Lu Ye.

Li Shang, who had been standing quietly beside Lu Ye, suddenly spoke: "I'll help you!"

As she spoke, her figure flickered, and like a wisp of green smoke, she merged into the Ghost Ship.

The next moment, Lu Ye's eyebrows rose in surprise, as he distinctly felt that with Li Shang's integration, the Ghost Ship's already formidable power became even more ferocious.

Li Shang possessed such an ability?

He knew that the Soul Race's soul-attachment secret technique wasn't limited to living beings' physical bodies; some soul cultivators could even attach their souls to a cultivator's weapon to enhance its lethality. However, the Ghost Ship wasn't a weapon; strictly speaking, it was a soul artifact.

Lu Ye truly hadn't known that the Soul Race could attach their souls to soul artifacts. But thinking about it, it wasn't strange; the Soul Race was named after souls, and soul artifacts inherently required soul power to be activated.

He had originally intended to slowly wear down the power of Xue Hao's mirror soul artifact, but with Li Shang's soul-attachment assistance, he immediately intensified his offensive.

The light beams fired from the Ghost Ship became increasingly bright and thick. Any blood dragons obstructing their path were utterly vulnerable, exploding one after another.

Each light beam struck the mirror soul artifact, causing Xue Hao's expression to change drastically. He clearly felt that this soul artifact, which had been with him for many years, was rapidly reaching its limit.

Yet, he couldn't allow the light beams to wreak havoc in his Sea of Consciousness. Instead, he had to actively draw each beam into the mirror, knowing the dire consequences but having no choice. This was akin to being slowly tortured, filling his heart with torment.

In his fury, he could only intensify his attacks on the Ghost Ship, frantically urging the power of his Sea of Consciousness.

The sea of blood became even more turbulent.

However, the Ghost Ship had a protective formation. Although Xue Hao's demonstrated strength was much greater than Lu Ye's, he still couldn't break through the defensive formation or cause any damage to Lu Ye's soul-spirit body.

Moments later, under Xue Hao's desperate gaze, cracks appeared on the mirror soul artifact in his hands. From these fissures, faint bright light began to emanate, and an extremely terrifying aura started to spread.

Xue Hao's expression turned fearful, but quickly morphed into determination. Holding the rapidly shattering mirror before him, he swiftly lunged towards the Ghost Ship, shouting, "Let's die together!"

Lu Ye had sensed something was wrong as soon as the mirror began to crack.

The mirror soul artifact had previously absorbed too many of the Ghost Ship's attacks. That absorption seemed not to be dissipation, but rather temporary storage inside the mirror. Now, with the mirror about to shatter, all those stored attacks might just explode simultaneously!

Such a fierce onslaught, not to mention Xue Hao, even the Ghost Ship itself might not be able to withstand it.

Seeing Xue Hao lunging with the mirror, he immediately realized his assumption was correct: this Blood Clan Moon-Illumination stage cultivator actually intended to take him down with him.

"Li Shang, quickly, go!" Lu Ye shouted. Although he wanted to pilot the Ghost Ship out of Xue Hao's Sea of Consciousness, under Xue Hao's deliberate blockade, this vast Sea of Consciousness was not a place he could easily leave. Now, he could only rely on Li Shang's abilities.

As Lu Ye's words fell, Li Shang reappeared, grabbed Lu Ye's hand, and leaped upward. This leap seemed to carry them into the ethereal void.

In the last corner of his vision, Lu Ye saw a violent burst of light, as if a great sun had exploded. Xue Hao roared unwillingly, followed by terrifying power sweeping in all directions. Even the Ghost Ship, enveloped by its protective formation, was torn to shreds by such force.

Lu Ye's mind throbbed with pain, and he couldn't help but let out a muffled groan. Then he felt intense pain all over his body, especially in his chest.

When he regained his senses, he was back on the previous battlefield. Xue Hao was in front of him, still with one hand extended, plunged into his chest, that large hand still gripping his heart, maintaining the same posture as before the soul battle.

But now, Xue Hao had no trace of life. His wide, staring eyes were empty and lifeless.

His soul-spirit body was shattered. Although his physical body was intact, he couldn't survive.

Lu Ye raised the Panshant Blade in his hand and slashed diagonally. The blade light flashed.

Without life force, Xue Hao's physical body was no longer as formidable. The arm plunged into Lu Ye's chest was severed. Lu Ye staggered back a few steps, leaning against a soft body; it was Li Shang who had caught him.

Mustering his last bit of strength, Lu Ye raised his hand and unleashed a fierce blaze, engulfing Xue Hao's corpse in flames. Only then did he say to Li Shang, "Quick, let's go!"

He didn't know how many Moon-Illumination stage cultivators the Blood Clan had sent in pursuit this time. Although the current situation seemed to indicate only Xue Hao, who knew if there were more behind him? He was now not only severely injured and physically weak, but his soul power was also greatly depleted.

If another Moon-Illumination stage cultivator were to attack, he would have no choice but to use the Red Talisman.

Li Shang reached out and grabbed the blood crystal left behind by Xue Hao after his death. Only then did she take Lu Ye and fly towards the spore cloud.

On the way, she spoke: "That Blood Clan Moon-Illumination stage cultivator's cultivation far surpassed ours, so I could only initiate the soul battle the moment his mind relaxed."

She was undoubtedly explaining to Lu Ye why she hadn't initiated the soul battle from the start. She had been waiting for the opportunity, and when Xue Hao plunged his hand into Lu Ye's chest, believing the situation was settled, that was precisely when his mind relaxed.

Lu Ye nodded silently, raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and softly said, "Thank you!"

This time, it was thanks to Li Shang. If she hadn't initiated the soul battle, he would have had to use the Red Talisman to stand a chance against that Blood Clan Moon-Illumination stage cultivator, and even then, it would have only been a chance. If the Red Talisman hadn't successfully dealt with Xue Hao, a terrible fate would have awaited him.

During the soul battle, he had a significant advantage with the Ghost Ship. This artifact was both offensive and defensive; even those with superior soul power couldn't gain an advantage against it. Xue Hao's fate proved this: despite being suppressed by the sacred aura, he could still exhibit early Moon-Illumination stage strength, yet he ultimately met a fate of shattered soul and dispersed spirit.

Since acquiring the Ghost Ship, Lu Ye had always regarded it as the greatest barrier protecting his Sea of Consciousness because he couldn't actively attack, only passively defend with it.

But if he possessed an ability like Li Shang's, then in the future, when encountering opponents stronger than himself, he could initiate soul battles and defeat them with soul power.

Not long after they proceeded, several tall figures were seen approaching in the distance. It was Mu He and Black Umbrella.

Previously, they had left while piloting the spore cloud, but ultimately, they were uneasy about Lu Ye's situation. After some discussion, they decided to return and lend Lu Ye a hand. After all, this was a matter concerning the Treant and Spore races, and they couldn't stand idly by.

The two parties met. Seeing Lu Ye's condition, both Mu He and Black Umbrella were greatly astonished. However, they were even more shocked to learn that the pursuing Blood Clan Moon-Illumination stage cultivator had actually been killed.

That was a Moon-Illumination stage cultivator. Although Mu He and Black Umbrella didn't know the exact cultivation level of the opponent, they should have at least been at the mid-Moon-Illumination stage. To be killed in such a short time, what kind of world-shaking, ghost-frightening power did the two Constellations sent by the Cycle Tree possess?

Returning to the spore cloud, the Constellations of both races continued to pilot it forward. Lu Ye had previously intentionally stayed ahead of the spore cloud, firstly to guide the two races, and secondly to guard against any dangers ahead and resolve them promptly.

But this time, Mu He and Black Umbrella placed him in the center of the spore cloud, having him stay with a group of recently born Treant and Spore children.

This was undoubtedly the safest position within the spore cloud.

Lu Ye didn't decline. In his current state, he truly couldn't engage in any more combat.

Li Shang stayed by his side. He sat cross-legged, simultaneously recovering his physical body and examining his Sea of Consciousness.

Neither the Ghost Ship nor the fierce attacks launched from it were created out of thin air. They originated from Lu Ye's own soul power, and his soul power had been greatly depleted by the previous battle.

The Ghost Ship's imprint remained. So, although the Ghost Ship in his Sea of Consciousness was destroyed when Xue Hao's mirror soul artifact shattered, as long as the imprint existed, Lu Ye could always condense a new Ghost Ship.

The destroyed Ghost Ship was merely a materialized condensation of Lu Ye's soul power.

Physical injuries could be healed by consuming spiritual pills. Moreover, with Lu Ye's current late Constellation stage cultivation and his practice of Blood Clan secret techniques, recovery wasn't difficult, just time-consuming.

Replenishing soul power wasn't as convenient. If soul power wasn't sufficiently abundant, even if the physical body recovered, the person would remain in a dispirited state.

He had some spiritual pills for restoring soul power, all purchased as reserves from the Myriad Phenomena Merchant Association. However, after consuming them, the effect wasn't particularly good.

(End of this chapter)

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