Chapter 1115: Soul Engraving

The Demon Dragon King dared not delay, as the intensity of Xu Yang's sword strike had already surpassed his predictions. He wasn't even sure if his physical strength would be enough to withstand it.

However, since the sword strike was unavoidable, there was no point in resisting or fleeing. The Demon Dragon King's true priority at that moment was to fully prepare himself for the incoming attack.

The Demon Dragon King then stepped up into the air. Incredibly powerful seven-colored dragon light swiftly gathered around his body, quickly forming a vibrant halo that pushed his defensive capabilities to their absolute peak.

"Heh," chuckled Gu Gulas, "this guy truly lives up to his title as the emperor of the Demon Dragon race. Even when faced with such destructive power from the Boss, he showed no fear and actively met the attack. His courage alone deserves all our respect."

Gu Gulas uttered these words with heartfelt admiration, and every other member of the Glory Team nodded in agreement. Frankly speaking, if they were the ones facing Xu Yang's tenfold-amplified killing sword at that moment, they would have had no certainty of surviving.

However, the Demon Dragon King's subsequent actions once again astonished everyone. Not only was he unharmed, but the moment he made contact with the tenfold-amplified sword light, he released an incredibly unique energy fluctuation, limitlessly weakening the sword's power.

In that very instant, Xu Yang's keen perception detected something unusual. There was no doubt that the power the Demon Dragon King used at that moment was not his own. Instead, it originated from a special ability released by another soul essence within him, which helped him weaken the power of the killing blow.

"Heh," Xu Yang scoffed, "it seems I truly underestimated your power. There isn't another person on the entire Yingzhou Continent who could nullify my last sword strike. Now I'm truly curious about the identity of the entity slumbering within you. You don't originally belong to the Yingzhou Continent, so who does this life essence you've absorbed into your body truly belong to?"

Xu Yang blurted out his thoughts without hesitation. However, the Demon Dragon King's only reply was a cold smile. "You will never uncover the true secret," he said. "In fact, I am one hundred percent confident of victory against someone with your fighting style, because I can neutralize any single-target burst skill, regardless of its power limit."

Xu Yang could tell that the Demon Dragon King was not exaggerating.

"There has never been a secret I, Xu Yang, couldn't uncover," Xu Yang retorted. "Since you've made such a claim, it would be remiss of me not to display some even more powerful methods."

Xu Yang sneered. Then, he completely vanished into the void, reappearing directly behind the Demon Dragon King.

The Demon Dragon King clearly sensed Xu Yang's immensely powerful aura behind him, but just as he was about to turn, he realized he had lost all sense of direction within the surrounding space-time.

There was only one explanation for this phenomenon: he had silently fallen into an illusion. Indeed, in that very instant, Xu Yang had unleashed the profound techniques of his Ghost Valley Qimen method, integrated with illusion arts. Every member of the Glory Team cheered excitedly.

Xu Yang had previously used this very attack to eliminate the Two-Headed Giant Crab, one of the three overlords of the Endless Sea. Now, with the Demon Dragon King as the target of the same trick, they wondered if it would achieve the same effect.

Within the dream, the Demon Dragon King remained unperturbed, calmly gazing at Xu Yang, who appeared as a dominator within the illusion. "Do you think a mere illusion can suppress me?" he asked.

Xu Yang smiled and shook his head. "No, I've never entertained such a delusion. If you could be suppressed so easily, you wouldn't be worthy of the title 'Demon Dragon King', nor would you be qualified to be my opponent. The reason for this is to expose your deepest, most authentic state through the dream, allowing me to determine the identity of that other soul slumbering within you."

As Xu Yang finished speaking, he wasted no more words. He began to focus his powerful spiritual energy to alter the very fabric of the dream space. Before long, a soul body identical to the Demon Dragon King appeared before him. The only difference was that the eyes of this soul body, crafted by Xu Yang's spiritual energy, remained an empty, hollow gray.

For some reason, upon seeing the outline of his own soul form, the Demon Dragon King's emotions grew significantly more agitated, as if the other slumbering soul deep within him had, for no apparent reason, begun to fluctuate at that moment.

"Just as I suspected," Xu Yang mused, "the owner of the other soul residing in your body must be my friend, and someone very important to me."

Xu Yang's eyes gradually turned cold, revealing a murderous intent, and an intensely chilling black aura coalesced around him. This sight utterly shocked every member of the Glory Team.

"My goodness," exclaimed a teammate, "this is the first time I've seen the Boss with such an expression. He's as terrifying as a god of slaughter from hell. What happened to him? Could he have seen some unknown secret within this guy's body?"

Every member of the Glory Team looked utterly bewildered. Everyone instinctively looked towards Ling Yao, understanding that in such a situation, only she could reveal the truth.

Unbeknownst to them, Ling Yao's expression had also become very solemn. "Based on my experience," she stated, "the Boss must have sensed information about an acquaintance within the Demon Dragon King. It's likely one of our former teammates or brothers. And judging by the aura released from the Demon Dragon King's body, a woman must be slumbering within."

As expected, Ling Yao, who knew Xu Yang intimately, was not wrong in her judgment. In fact, the soul body Xu Yang had meticulously crafted with his spiritual energy had nothing to do with the Demon Dragon King himself. Instead, it was a test to see if the other slumbering soul within him could collide and resonate with the soul he had conjured.

The owner of the soul aura Xu Yang had manifested was the girl, Xiao Hua.

Why did Xu Yang come to this conclusion? It was because Xu Yang, comparing the Demon Dragon King's response to the moment his destructive sword edge descended, had carefully considered everyone who had followed him. Among those with the strength and exclusive means to neutralize the power he had unleashed, there was likely no one else besides Xiao Hua. This was because, apart from Xu Yang himself, Xiao Hua was the only member of the team who possessed the inheritance of the Angelic lineage. Only the unique cultivation methods of the Angelic lineage possessed the specialized divine ability to neutralize the power of swordsmanship.