Chapter 1624: Flaw

“Heh heh. You were distracted! Even that brief moment was enough for me to find the answer in your soul world.”

As Xu Yang spoke, the alluring woman before him, the true master of the Third Forbidden Zone, instantly paled. She knew very well how serious Xu Yang was; he was certainly not joking.

As expected, an intensely chilling aura of slaughter suddenly erupted without warning within the woman's powerful soul world. The moment this endless red light of slaughter enveloped her soul, a trace of Xu Yang's soul essence had already fully manifested within her.

“Are you familiar with this method? It’s just like when your soul essence appeared in my soul world after I swallowed that candy. I must admit, your trick of having those two children bring me candy was quite clever.

If I hadn't swallowed that candy, I wouldn't have found the entrance to the Third Forbidden Zone. By the same token, if I had refused that sweet child, I naturally wouldn't have entered the environment you wove, along with my brothers.

I suppose I'm right; this was a seamless trap from the start. The moment that candy entered my body, I was forced to accept all the illusions you poured into my soul world.

What you called 'the time it takes for an incense stick to burn' was, in fact, the maximum duration intended to paralyze me.

After that incense stick's time, all illusions before me would be completely shattered by my powerful spiritual force. However, once that time passed, even though I could control the illusions, my subordinates—the beast army who also experienced this entire dreamscape with me—would be forever lost in your dream.”

Xu Yang revealed the true trap laid by the master of the Third Forbidden Zone.

The opponent finally burst into laughter, the sound possessing a captivating charm that could bewilder the soul.

“As expected, you are indeed the human prodigy capable of ascending the Heavenly Path of Kunlun Mountain on your own. I underestimated your abilities. But even if you can discern my complete plan, what then?

You see those eighteen playing children above, don't you? Each Golden Child is the culmination of ten thousand years of nurturing with my most powerful soul energy. As long as these eighteen Golden Children are present, your army of hundreds of thousands of demon beasts will never escape my dream.

You are out of time, Esteemed Xu Yang. I will trap you for half an incense stick's time, no matter the cost.

Until you fully break free from my illusory dream, before those eighteen Golden Children dissipate, they will permanently freeze the souls of these hundreds of thousands of demon beasts, preventing them from ever awakening within it.”

After speaking, the stunning and alluring woman before him threw herself at Xu Yang without hesitation.

This time, it wasn't a soul illusion woven from her dreamscape but her true physical body, the actual form of the Third Forbidden Zone's master.

Xu Yang had to admit that the woman's physique was almost perfect. The moment her soft form recklessly threw itself into his embrace, even he, with his immense self-control, felt a brief flicker of bewilderment.

But Xu Yang was still Xu Yang; he had long since transcended the limiting effects of bodily desires.

In that very instant, he allowed his physical body to remain within the dream created by the alluring woman, but his soul essence silently broke free from his body, and thus, from the dream itself.

Then, allowing his soul essence to unleash immense spiritual power, Xu Yang's soul essence directly ascended above the void of the Third Forbidden Zone's true space, free from the dream's entanglement.

He arrived personally at the very center of the void array surrounded by the eighteen Golden Children. These eighteen Golden Children represented nearly two hundred thousand years of spiritual cultivation. Although I had now consolidated my complete soul essence here, I wasn't entirely confident I could shatter this powerful spiritual array.

Xu Yang muttered these thoughts to himself, and they were true. Without his physical body to assist him, he couldn't employ his powerful techniques or his personal supreme artifacts. All he could rely on was his pure spiritual power.

If there was no way to dismantle the array formed by these eighteen Golden Children, then in just half an incense stick's time, the souls of his brothers would utterly perish within this woman's trap, never to awaken again.

Even if Xu Yang were to forcefully tear through the surrounding void after half an incense stick's time and, with immense power, slay this alluring woman, the master of the Third Forbidden Zone, he still wouldn't be able to awaken his comrades and brothers whose souls were lost. All he would retrieve were their soulless husks.

This was the true, terrifying power of the Third Forbidden Zone: the opponent was using a desperate, self-destructive tactic against Xu Yang and his demon beast army.

“Big brother, was the candy I gave you tasty?”

Just as Xu Yang's soul essence entered the center of the formation surrounded by the eighteen Golden Children, the first to speak to him were the two cutest children, a boy and a girl.

As they attempted to approach the center of the formation where Xu Yang's soul essence resided, a powerful spiritual light emanated from Xu Yang's soul essence itself, completely enveloping the void space within a hundred-meter radius.

This light served to isolate his soul essence from the Golden Children's attempted soul attacks. Each of these small figures appeared incredibly cute, instinctively evoking a desire for closeness.

However, Xu Yang knew well that if each surrounding Golden Child launched a concentrated attack, even his powerful soul essence would likely suffer a fatal blow. He absolutely could not be misled by their cute, innocent appearances.

“Stop trying to bewitch me with these tricks. I already know that even though you eighteen children enchant everyone with your adorable appearances, you are, in fact, all soul imprints hatched by that alluring woman.

Living like this, you are merely letting yourselves slumber in a perfect dream. Even if you experience joy and spiritual pleasure, it's all based in a false world. You have no right to this happiness.”

Xu Yang's words seemed to instantly ignite the most sensitive and vulnerable depths within the souls of the eighteen Golden Children in the void.

They were undoubtedly reveling in this intimate joy, content to roam freely in childlike innocence within this dream, living each day without a care.