Chapter 977: 裂

So powerful! This demoness's divine object is even stronger than my “Breathing Technique”!

Xu Xiaoshou instantly realized that his Level 1 Sovereign Breathing Technique alone was definitely no match for the opponent's “Marrow-Sucking Heart.” The moment that black-red heart was pulled out, the situation instantly reversed. For the first time, Xu Xiaoshou was defeated by an enemy in terms of absorption. However, he wasn't foolish enough to waste effort by trying to use his weakness against the enemy's strength.

“It seems you can use your abilities within the Forbidden Spell Barrier not because you've transcended its restrictions, but because of this 'Marrow-Sucking Heart'?” Xu Xiaoshou felt his spiritual essence and vital blood rapidly draining away, yet he calmly continued speaking: “I assume, apart from this item, your other abilities are unusable, right?”

Upon hearing this, Jin Zu's playful expression faltered slightly. It was her first time seeing someone so calm while under the influence of the “Marrow-Sucking Heart”! Xu Xiaoshou, on the opposite side, seemed anchored to space; despite the rapid drain of his life energy, the violent suction couldn't pull him an inch. And he could still speak freely? Is a Sovereign body truly this powerful? Doubt arose in Jin Zu's heart, but her expression remained serene as she chuckled, “Why would I need to use other abilities to deal with you in the Forbidden Spell Barrier? One move from me is enough!”

“I'm afraid this is the only thing you have left to use. As for 'moves,' if we're being honest, you can't even use one!” Xu Xiaoshou retorted mercilessly. Jin Zu's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, as if she understood Xu Xiaoshou's unspoken meaning. Regardless, she didn't believe that Xu Xiaoshou, forcibly controlled by the “Marrow-Sucking Heart” within the Forbidden Spell Barrier, could do anything else.

“Could it be, little brother, that you can transcend the Forbidden Spell Barrier?” Jin Zu tilted her head, smiling radiantly. “If that's true, would you teach me how? I can reward you.” She was happy to drag out the time with Xu Xiaoshou in the current situation, because the longer it went on, the more vibrant her life energy would become!

“Sorry, I can't teach you my ability...” Xu Xiaoshou shook his head, chuckling. Feeling his life energy rapidly depleting to its limit and confirming that Jin Zu truly had no other abilities to counterattack with, his eyes suddenly gleamed. “However, I can indeed transcend the Forbidden Spell Barrier!”

As his voice faded, Jin Zu's sense of crisis intensified. But the life energy flowing from the “Marrow-Sucking Heart” was too abundant! The power of his Sovereign body was also far beyond her imagination! —It was like a bottomless pit; she couldn't drain it completely. Caught between the dilemma of “continuing” and “retreating,” Jin Zu hesitated slightly, failing to choose the latter in time. The next second, she saw a mysterious brilliance blossoming in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes through the water sphere.

“You're too greedy...” Xu Xiaoshou said calmly, giving her no time to ponder, and directly activated his awakening ability, “Soul Read!” Through the water sphere, before Jin Zu could react, a thunderous boom seemed to explode in her mind, leaving only blankness. Her hand, gripping the “Marrow-Sucking Heart,” went limp and dropped, as if her consciousness had left her body in an instant. She didn't even notice the divine object falling from her grasp.

“How... how... is... this... possible...” Disbelief was still etched on Jin Zu's face the moment her consciousness was controlled. She couldn't believe that Xu Xiaoshou, controlled by the “Marrow-Sucking Heart,” could still break free! Within the Forbidden Spell Barrier, Xu Xiaoshou clearly hadn't produced a divine object like the “Marrow-Sucking Heart,” so how could he use spiritual abilities? —There was no answer!

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't foolish enough to explain to an enemy that the spiritual techniques he had learned amounted to only a handful, while his passive abilities filled his entire body. The Forbidden Spell Barrier could restrict a Spirit Cultivator's spiritual techniques, but it couldn't restrict the sword path of an ancient sword cultivator, nor could it restrict his own formidable passive abilities!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... The “Soul Read” ability unfolded. In a brief instant, a flurry of images appeared, and Xu Xiaoshou experienced Jin Zu's entire life as if it were his own. Having experience reading the souls of the bizarre, Xu Xiaoshou knew that at the Void Attendant level, there was a high probability of encountering Saints. He was extremely cautious, deciding to immediately skip any memory segment if he detected anything unusual.

Immersive experience began...Immersive experience ended...

“Three Incense Sticks, Gold-Rank Hunter Order, Assassin, Jin Zu...” In just a blink, Xu Xiaoshou extracted the identity of the demoness opposite him. Naturally, through Jin Zu's soul memories, he also recognized her as the first Void Attendant observer on Lone Sound Cliff who had fallen off the cliff after being pursued by Grandma Tianling.

Besides Jin Zu's identity information, a wealth of intelligence that Xu Xiaoshou yearned for also entered his mind through the “Soul Read” ability. For example, all the abilities Jin Zu learned during her growth, the numerous men and women whose marrow she had absorbed during her cultivation, and also the other assassins who came with Jin Zu, intending to hunt him down. Among them were the four Gold-Rank Hunter Order assassins: Shuang Dai, Elder Xie, Granny Gui, and Xiao Ren. Jin Zu, being cautious, had conducted almost perfect background checks on all four of them in advance. This included their abilities, achievements, whom they had hunted, and their approximate rank within the Void Attendant level. Without exception, all this information poured into Xu Xiaoshou's mind!

It's worth noting that a Void Attendant like Jin Zu, who grew up independently without the backing of a major force, truly hadn't seen much of the world. Xu Xiaoshou felt that the memory segments he had skipped out of caution could largely have been viewed without issue, because throughout Jin Zu's life, while she had indeed seen Half-Saints, it was always from a distance; she had never actually met or communicated with them.

“A weak woman with no background, fond of intimate affairs, yet somewhat lonely and pitiable, but truly someone who deserved to die for draining countless innocents for her desires...” Xu Xiaoshou finished reading Jin Zu's soul memories, delivered his judgment, and simultaneously ended the “Soul Read.”

“Ugh!” Jin Zu groaned, seemingly about to wake up. However, she wasn't a Bizarre, nor was she proficient in spiritual or soul arts. Her special “Charm” ability was merely a side effect of the “Book of Non-Existence.” Furthermore, with the Forbidden Spell Barrier in effect in the deep sea, Jin Zu couldn't use her spiritual essence at all. Naturally, this prevented her, a pure Spirit Cultivator, from recovering even slightly from her weakened state.

“Still not awake?” Xu Xiaoshou waited for a breath; Jin Zu remained disoriented. He smiled. Should he say the Forbidden Spell Barrier was too strong, or that Jin Zu, a Void Attendant, was too weak?

“Let's end this!” Having obtained all the information he wanted and knowing who was hunting him, Xu Xiaoshou had no desire to waste more time with this demoness. He didn't even entertain the thought of showing mercy, and his hands began to move. In the deep sea, subtle spatial fluctuations rippled outwards.

It seemed Jin Zu's keen spiritual perception detected something amiss, or perhaps the crisis of death brought her consciousness back to her body at the last possible moment. “This is...?!” Through the water sphere, the moment Jin Zu regained consciousness, she clearly saw spatial fluctuations emanating from Xu Xiaoshou! She was terrified. Weren't they in the Forbidden Spell Barrier? How could Xu Xiaoshou truly transcend it?

Amidst her shock, Jin Zu had no time to defend herself. Her “Marrow-Sucking Heart” had fallen onto the wall of the water sphere below. Normally, it would be within easy reach, but now, with her spiritual essence unusable due to the Forbidden Spell Barrier, retrieving the “Marrow-Sucking Heart” would require an additional action: bending down to pick it up. —There was no time at all! Jin Zu didn't even try, fearing her actions would hasten Xu Xiaoshou's execution. She cried out, wailing: “Spare me! Xu Xiaoshou, please, spare me... I'll give you anything, whatever you want, I can even be your slave...”

“Tempted, Passive Value, 1.” The information bar popped up again, and “Spiritual Awakening” was triggered once more. Xu Xiaoshou was utterly unaffected by the temptation. With a swipe of his palms through the air, he softly uttered a single word: “Rupture!”

With a ripping sound, a spatial rift suddenly opened in the space where the opposite water sphere's wall was located. The moment spatial attribute power appeared, the Forbidden Spell Barrier activated, nullifying all abilities. But the spatial rift had already formed. The water sphere wall where Jin Zu was located happened to be directly over this spatial rift, and was instantly sliced open by the intersecting space, creating a gaping hole. “No—” Jin Zu shrieked. But her hysterical cry lasted only for a brief moment. Boom!

A muffled thud echoed. The moment the water sphere shattered, the pressure differential propelled the deep-sea currents towards Jin Zu, and the terrifying water pressure instantly crushed her entire body into dust. She was gone... Swish. The sudden movement of the deep-sea currents brought a faint swishing sound, then carried away the remnants of crimson from where Jin Zu had been. Beneath the ocean, tranquility returned.

“Dead?” Xu Xiaoshou's “Perception” cautiously scanned the surroundings, to prevent Jin Zu from being like a Bizarre, where even if the body was shattered, the soul remained, and if the soul was fragmented, the spiritual will persisted. But he had worried needlessly. Not every Void Attendant was as difficult to kill as the ever-changing Bizarre. Moreover, they were now within the Forbidden Spell Barrier, where spiritual essence couldn't be used. Special abilities like limb regeneration or rebirth after destruction all became mere illusions.

Silence continued. Xu Xiaoshou remained silently within his water sphere. “Truly dead!” After a long while, carefully watching the information bar, Xu Xiaoshou saw no “Received Hatred” or “Being Remembered” notifications. He finally relaxed. Jin Zu was completely dead! If this demoness had any means of survival and was still nearby, she wouldn't be able to not be enraged by her body being crushed by water pressure after the water sphere was torn open. Naturally, she would also harbor resentment towards Xu Xiaoshou. But Xu Xiaoshou saw no reaction on the information bar. This inversely confirmed that a dignified Void Attendant, a Gold-Rank Hunter Order assassin, had indeed died so easily in this deep sea.

“Too bizarre...” Only then did Xu Xiaoshou finally relax completely, feeling as if everything that had happened was a dream. “I, personally, killed a Void Attendant? I've become stronger?” It wasn't that he had become stronger. It was this Forbidden Spell Barrier that was too terrifying! The extent to which the Forbidden Spell Barrier weakened Spirit Cultivators was almost a dimensionality reduction attack. Xu Xiaoshou himself was an ancient sword cultivator, also partially a body cultivator, so his previous experience with the Forbidden Spell Barrier hadn't been so direct. However, after performing “Soul Read” on Jin Zu and personally experiencing her emotions, he could fully comprehend the profound fear that even a Void Attendant felt for this deep sea. —Completely indefensible! If even the slightest accident occurred, and the water sphere shattered, the water pressure would crush them. Below the Half-Saint level, almost no one, except for body cultivators, could escape unscathed.

“This Forbidden Spell Barrier is a bit sickening...” Xu Xiaoshou suddenly thought of Elder Sang. That old man, if nothing unexpected happened, should still be in Holy Mountain Prison. According to Ye Xiaotian, Holy Mountain Prison was originally called “Dead Sea,” with a Forbidden Spell Barrier and the sea... wasn't this precisely his current predicament? Stronger individuals were imprisoned in the Dead Sea. Elder Sang's current situation was definitely more difficult than what he was experiencing now!

Whoosh. Forcing himself to calm down, not letting himself think about things beyond his capabilities, Xu Xiaoshou refocused on Jin Zu's death. The moment Jin Zu's water sphere shattered, her spatial ring was also crushed. Everything she carried turned to dust, yet under that water pressure, one item remained unbroken. —It was precisely the “Marrow-Sucking Heart” that Jin Zu had dropped!

Xu Xiaoshou didn't hesitate for a moment, using spatial displacement to retrieve the “Marrow-Sucking Heart.” With Jin Zu's memories, he naturally knew the origin of this item in his hand. Among the Ten Great Bizarre Weapons, there was an item named “Nine Marrow Corpse King.” Jin Zu hadn't seen it, but she speculated that the “Nine Marrow Corpse King” was likely something akin to a zombie, as understood in Xu Xiaoshou's memories. The “Nine Marrow Corpse King” bore nine “Marrow-Sucking Hearts,” and the one Jin Zu possessed was one of them. This was also the only item and ability she could use within the Forbidden Spell Barrier!

“Another one of the Ten Great Bizarre Weapons...” Xu Xiaoshou frowned slightly, holding the “Marrow-Sucking Heart,” feeling as if he had stumbled upon some secret. “If I remember correctly, Water Ghost can also use water-based abilities within the Forbidden Spell Barrier? Yes, he could even summon a sea, almost submerging the Yunlun Mountains. Both are Void Attendants, yet the gap between Water Ghost and Jin Zu is simply absurd! And he could do all this because he held the 'Sea-Controlling Divine Halberd,' also one of the Ten Great Bizarre Weapons...”

Thinking this, Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts froze, and he looked at the “Marrow-Sucking Heart” in his palm. “Jin Zu could also use some abilities, but the 'Marrow-Sucking Heart' has no specific attribute, so she could only use the 'Marrow Sucking Art' it came with. As for all her Spirit Cultivator abilities, including domains, Void Attendant worlds, etc., she couldn't use any of them, even before her death. Hmm, in her memories, apart from the 'Marrow-Sucking Heart,' her other abilities were indeed unusable...”

Xu Xiaoshou slapped his forehead, a smile gracing his lips. “So! The limitation of the Forbidden Spell Barrier is that it can only forbid the techniques of Spirit Cultivators, but not spiritual artifacts... No! Or rather, it can't forbid the techniques of spiritual artifacts at the level of the Ten Great Bizarre Weapons? That's it. The Forbidden Spell Barrier is ultimately just the final product of spiritual array formations, and the path of spiritual array formations only began to flourish in the Spirit Cultivation Era. The Ten Great Bizarre Weapons are almost on par with the Nine Supreme Divine Artifacts and the Five Chaos Divine Artifacts, even surpassing them in terms of strangeness. These are almost all ancient-era items. How could their power be restricted by an array formation product of the Spirit Cultivation Era? So the answer is clear...”

Xu Xiaoshou rubbed his chin, looked down at his hands, and finally got the answer to something that had puzzled him slightly before. “I can use spatial attributes because of the Imitator's power, too?”