Chapter 460: Colorful Soul

"Kid, you've run out of strength, haven't you? Get ready to die."

The Black Dragon's aura grew increasingly powerful. Notably, its combat experience far surpassed that of the Darkfiend Dragon. It appeared this Ancestral Dragon had been in its mature phase for millions of years. Throughout every phase of its previous confrontation with Xu Yang, the Black Dragon had been continuously probing. Only after ensuring it had discerned all of Xu Yang's true capabilities did it begin to gather its strength for a lethal strike.

It remained still, but when it moved, it struck with devastating force. Such adversaries were always the most formidable.

The Black Dragon roared!

A furious roar erupted, and the Black Dragon swiftly locked onto Xu Yang's aura. The instant Xu Yang performed a teleportation, the dragon decisively immobilized him in a fixed position within the void. At that exact moment, Xu Yang realized he had lost all connection to the surrounding laws of the void. This meant he was utterly confined and unable to break free for the foreseeable future.

"Kid, your stamina is nearly depleted," the Nine-Colored Qiankun Bell's voice reappeared in his mind. "I estimate you won't be able to withstand the Black Dragon's power this time."

"Hmph, no one capable of threatening me exists yet," Xu Yang scoffed. "If I channel the power of the laws once more, I can certainly endure it."

"But what then?"

The Bell Spirit's voice was ancient and profound, imbued with an indescribable aura of an elder. It filled Xu Yang with a profound sense of reassurance. Indeed, that single sentence from the Bell Spirit rendered Xu Yang speechless.

Currently, only a single soul body of the Black Dragon was attacking Xu Yang. Even if Xu Yang could withstand its incomparably mighty power and even defeat it, there would be no force capable of resisting an assault of such intensity when all four dragon souls attacked simultaneously.

"Listen," the Bell Spirit instructed, "focus your mind immediately, use the power of nature to recover your energy. I will bear the brunt of this attack for you."

Xu Yang decisively refused. "Don't think I can't tell," he countered. "You are currently only in a state of recovery, or rather, since entering the Free and Easy Dao Sect all these years, you haven't fully returned to your peak condition."

The Bell Spirit seemed to glance at Xu Yang in surprise. "You discovered that?"

Xu Yang merely offered a helpless smile. "A complete Bell Spirit would never willingly shatter itself into fragments. Even if your goal was to conceal your aura, you wouldn't use such a method. In fact, the very first time my Heavenly Eye Power connected with your aura, I sensed the irreparable scars upon you. Otherwise, at your peak, you would have been a miraculous entity, towering above all beings on the continent!"

The Bell Spirit sighed helplessly. "There's no need to speak of what happened back then," it said. "Moreover, it wasn't the Dragon Race that reduced me to my current state; I hold no life-and-death animosity towards them. However, since I have become your companion, I will absolutely not permit them to harm you. What if my Bell Spirit shatters once more? At most, I'll simply fall into slumber for another half a year."

Xu Yang, however, shook his head. "Stop deceiving yourself. If you shatter again, you will never recover to your divine peak in this life or any other. Say no more; I won't let you sacrifice yourself for me. Believe me, I have the power to stop all of this!"

As Xu Yang finished speaking, he suddenly allowed his soul to detach from his physical body. Instantly, an incredibly intricate and complete soul outline materialized over Xu Yang's flesh. Simultaneously, the Asura Sword clenched in his hand glowed with an unprecedented, refined brilliance. Souls possessing color were the fundamental distinction between mortals and gods in this world.

When Xu Yang's distinctly colored soul body materialized before them, everyone was utterly stunned. Even the dragon souls before him had never imagined that an ordinary human could attain such a profound spiritual realm!

"Kid," the Black Dragon began, "I must say, you've surprised me once more. Your soul possesses color; this can't simply be the influence of the Asura heritage, can it?"

In truth, Xu Yang himself hadn't paid much attention to this change. He didn't understand why his soul possessed color, initially believing it was a result of the Asura heritage. However, after hearing the Black Dragon's observation, Xu Yang began to realize that Asura's power hadn't yet reached such a level.

"So what?" Xu Yang retorted. "This doesn't seem to concern you. If you believe yourselves strong enough, then destroy me. Otherwise, what difference does it make if you are dragons?"

Xu Yang's aura blazed to its absolute peak. His colorful, luminous soul seemed, at that very moment, to connect with unseen, special forces between heaven and earth. Unbeknownst to anyone, as Xu Yang's soul unleashed its immense radiance, deep within the earth's ley lines in the direction of Jingyun Valley, an aura that had slumbered for countless years began to stir. Even though the entire Northern Region was shrouded in the vast draconic might, the souls of all living beings within it began to awaken under the influence of Xu Yang's inherent soul aura. It was as if Xu Yang's colored soul body contained a miraculous light, pregnant with infinite possibilities!

"This aura is too bizarre; it defies human definition." Yun Shu instinctively let out an exclamation, her eyes shining with amazement.

"Oh, do you also find Xu Yang very special?" Suddenly, Murong Jian, who rarely initiated conversation with Yun Shu, spoke up, his gaze towards her tinged with an unusual gentleness. This sudden shift filled Yun Shu's heart with a sweet warmth.

"That's right," Yun Shu affirmed. "Initially, like everyone else, I simply thought he was powerful. But now, it seems there's more to him than mere strength. He creates miracles repeatedly, and perhaps it's not solely due to his power. His very soul is fundamentally different from those of billions of other beings."

Murong Jian nodded repeatedly, clearly impressed. "Souls with color have always been the defining characteristic of a god," Murong Jian explained. "If Xu Yang were a true deity with an independent divine essence, then all his actions would be unsurprising. However, he hasn't reached that level, yet his soul and spiritual realm already rival, or even surpass, those of a god! An ordinary person like him is, in himself, a miracle."

Murong Jian's summary was quite insightful, providing him with a more complete understanding of Xu Yang.

Meanwhile, as the colorful soul light continued to spread, the entire Northern Region began to undergo profound and subtle changes. Simultaneously, an even more powerful aura had begun to stir deep within the earth's ley lines of the Northern Frontier.