Chapter 648: Soul Sword Path

"Don't pressure her anymore. If I'm not mistaken, this Angel Soul Pillar has her own purpose for going there."

This single statement from Isis immediately dispelled Xu Yang's stubbornness, making him realize the truth. A century ago, the Angel Soul Pillar had embarked on a special mission to the Glacial Nation. Xu Yang's team had no idea what her true purpose was then, and now, with this turn of events, Xu Yang finally understood that the Soul Pillar's mission might be far more complex than anyone had imagined. Often, when a situation reaches this point, letting go is the best outcome, as it allows more clues to surface.

"Remember, if you encounter danger on this journey, just send me a soul message. I can sense your spiritual fluctuations, and everyone here will fight their way into the Cloud Peak to bring you back." The Soul Pillar girl gazed deeply at Xu Yang, her eyes seemingly filled with so many complex emotions that even Xu Yang, with his firm resolve, couldn't help but tremble for a moment.

"Brother Xu Yang, until we meet again!"

***

The two angels ascended into the sky in an instant. Though Delia had been severely wounded by Xu Yang, she was not fatally injured, merely having lost her combat ability for a period. After activating the light of the three major divine artifacts, the two women tore through the air and vanished from everyone's sight.

"Sigh... it seems the waters of Nightchill Mountain run deep. Boss, I'm a bit confused now. What exactly did we come here for? The Soul Pillar was just taken by the Divine Prince. Where do we go next?"

Xu Yang shook his head with a helpless smile. "Now that we're trapped in this mountain, let's first find a way out."

Ling Yao quickly moved closer to Xu Yang, her eyes filled with reverence and earnestness. "Boss, can you tell me what kind of power inheritance that sword strike you just unleashed was? I've never seen a sword glow that exists on the threshold of a soul entity, yet can erupt with power that crushes a deity-level being!" Hearing Ling Yao's question, the others also grew curious. Without that decisive sword strike, Xu Yang might not have had any other way to counter-kill the powerful maid while burdened by the God-Sealing Order.

"Actually, I just had a sudden epiphany. It felt like a voice from the depths of the unknown was guiding me. However, my consciousness is a bit hazy now, and I can't replicate that momentary state of enlightenment, so I can't demonstrate it for you." Upon hearing this, Isis instinctively linked it all back to Sword Immortal Yun Wangji.

"Sigh, no matter what, we've survived a great disaster. This mountain itself is very peculiar. The Divine Prince's voice only appeared after we were sealed within it. If I'm not mistaken, we must have inadvertently triggered some sealing mechanism within the mountain, accidentally lifting the Divine Prince's suppression." As Isis spoke, everyone around her immediately agreed.

"But then again, that was the Divine Prince! Besides your brother Fenghuo Wuji, who else could suppress the God-King's successor by themselves?"

"Could it be Yun Wangji again? Does that mean this was his dojo? But why are there no traces of cultivation? A sword immortal's dojo, not even a single sword or sword mark?" Long Kun was utterly bewildered, his mind filled with questions. Such an explanation seemed a bit too far-fetched.

"You're right, this place must be connected to Senior Sword Immortal Yun. However, it might not have been his actual dojo. Do you remember how he severed his own arm to enter the Moonless Heaven?" Everyone was astonished, and Isis grew even more excited.

"Could it be that this mountain was formed from Wangji's severed arm, used to suppress the Divine Prince's soul and prevent him from using divine methods to aid the God-King of that era?"

"Oh my goodness, if that's true, then Yun Wangji is terrifying! Severing an arm to enter Moonless Heaven, then using one hand to suppress the Divine Prince for hundreds of thousands of years—such achievements are truly the pinnacle of humanity!" Thinking of this, Long Kun and the others instinctively bowed towards the internal landscape of the mountain before them, expressing their respect for Sword Immortal Yun Wangji.

"Alright, let's calm our minds here and cultivate for half a month. We've all gained a lot on this journey, fighting continuously since entering the Glacial Nation's underground palace. We need a period of rest and refinement. The Angel Soul Pillar should be safe for a while, so let's use this opportunity to adjust and see if we can achieve even greater breakthroughs." Xu Yang's suggestion immediately garnered support from everyone else, except for Zi Kuang, who seemed quite helpless and went off to sleep alone in a corner.

As for Empress Isis, she joined the grey-haired elder, discussing major events that had occurred in the God's Punishment Grounds of Nightchill Mountain over the past hundreds of thousands of years. Xu Yang, however, became the most unique one. He sat cross-legged in the void, precisely where his five senses had completely vanished, attempting to find the soul space outlined by golden light once more. Unfortunately, this time, no voice guided him.

"The voice from the depths of the soul... Since the Sword Soul can merge with my mind and spirit, creating the Soul Sword—this most direct offensive method—I wonder if the Soul Sword can resonate with all the myriad paths of the heavens simultaneously? If so, I would possess the ability to control the laws of any battlefield at will, unleashing unparalleled combat power without prior preparation!"

Previously, although Xu Yang could barely control a small portion of the myriad laws with the help of his Dharma Heaven and Earth divine ability, that combat method wasn't a permanent mastery. It was merely a temporary technique, sustaining only a single attack for one round, consuming a vast amount of his soul power, and could only be barely used in critical life-or-death situations. Now, with the Soul Sword as a medium, Xu Yang could, in the posture of "Path-Slaying," continuously conquer more and more traces of the Heavenly Dao, thereby infinitely amplifying the strength of his own Soul Sword.

One of the greatest benefits of cultivating the Soul Sword was the ability to completely detach oneself from the energy system rules controlled by deities, becoming an observer outside the heavens, while also avoiding the need to condense a divine personality and being constrained by the divine advancement model.

Of course, this cultivation method also had its greatest drawback: its danger far exceeded any other form of cultivation. Even if one failed to cultivate a divine personality, the worst outcome was merely being unable to achieve godhood for life, or at most, having one's physical body destroyed. However, for someone like Xu Yang, cultivating the Soul Sword was equivalent to a path of direct soul refinement, where the slightest misstep could lead to death and the dissipation of one's essence.