Chapter 651: Strange Encounter

"Senior, it's your turn to help us. Where should we head next?"

The gray-haired old man didn't hesitate. Thanks to Xu Yang's assistance and the nourishment from the Soul Spring, his soul power had significantly increased. With a thought, the old man immediately switched to the corpse puppet's perspective to scan the area.

"The previous batch of desolate spirits have indeed returned. We can now head towards the inner path, hoping to find a way to Nameless Moon Heaven. That place is, after all, the essential route to lift the Moon Seal and enter Cloud City."

Xu Yang nodded readily, "Then let's do as you say. Let's go!"

Once the route was decided, the group proceeded without obstruction. The few desolate spirits they encountered sporadically were no match for Xu Yang, and he easily eliminated them all.

"Oh my god, Boss, this Jade Bone Sword of yours seems to have no power on its own, but combined with your swordsmanship, it can unleash earth-shattering power. It's truly incredible!"

Long Kun tried several times to take the sword and examine it, but he found that it seemed to have recognized Xu Yang as its master. It only remained docile in Xu Yang's palm; if anyone else tried to hold it, the sword would sense it and spontaneously unleash an intensely sharp sword aura, making it impossible to wield forcefully.

"Cultivating the sword path means cultivating the heart's realm. The journey is long and arduous; I am still very far from true mastery." After experiencing Sword Immortal Yun Wangji's sword-controlling realm, Xu Yang now seemed to possess even more reverence than before. The realm he aimed for in his heart was also more distant and lofty. The so-called "God-level domain" was merely a stepping stone on Xu Yang's cultivation path, by no means his ultimate destination.

Boom!

As they proceeded, an unparalleled sword pressure suddenly erupted. It was a purple-red sword light that slammed out from the end of the dense forest ahead. Xu Yang instinctively raised his hand to respond. With a thought, several sword lights simultaneously shot out from the void, just barely forcing the purple-red longsword to fly backward.

"Who dares to enter the Soul Cleansing Marsh? Are you tired of living?"

Upon hearing this, Long Kun and the others were all startled, instinctively looking towards the gray-haired old man beside them.

"Old man, what is this Soul Cleansing Marsh? I've never heard that name before."

Before the old man could speak, Empress Isis, standing nearby, said with a solemn expression, "It's a place where a group of desperadoes reside. These people are different from the banished divine race criminals; they are not from the divine race, but rather intruders from other parallel dimensions, realms equivalent to the Human Continent."

Isis's words truly startled Ling Yao and the others, as they had never before heard of civilizations from other continents. It genuinely broadened everyone's horizons!

"People from other worlds? Then I want to see what these monsters and demons look like!"

Without another word, Long Kun soared into the sky, Phoenix power burning fiercely. He scanned below and found that the several heads hidden deep within the dense forest were exactly like human heads, not at all like monsters.

"Hah, I thought I'd see some surprise. Turns out they just look like regular people, like us!"

No sooner had Long Kun spoken than the little loli's head in front of him stuck out her tongue at him. Simultaneously, two purple lights shot out from the loli's pupils without warning, causing Long Kun's mind to cloud over as if he had fallen into a dream. When he regained consciousness, he found himself inexplicably lying on the ground.

"Heh, not much to see, really. I thought we might get some strong opponents to play with, but it turns out they're just a bunch of weaklings."

The little loli had a lollipop dangling from her mouth, and her innocent, childlike expression was very cute. Yet, the words that came out of her mouth were sharp and cutting, showing no mercy to Xu Yang and the others.

"Little child, you probably haven't even been weaned, have you? How dare some ignorant braggart from the outside world spout such nonsense in front of us?"

Long Kun continued to employ his most proficient combat strategy: it was acceptable to be defeated, but he couldn't lose his momentum, and his verbal attacks couldn't stop!

"Silence Spell!"

The little loli suddenly pointed a finger, instantly sealing Long Kun's mouth. It must be said that such a method was something even Xu Yang and the others had never witnessed before.

"Is this... magic from a parallel dimension? Using demonic energy extracted from the myriad paths of the heavens to cultivate various miraculous spells? It seems this rumor is true!"

Xu Yang seemed very curious about this little girl from another dimension and couldn't help but step closer to observe her carefully.

"Hey, don't look at me so directly, okay? I know I'm cute, but when you look at me like that, I get shy, hehehe..."

Everyone: (speechless)

"Apra, don't waste time talking to these guys. Just kill them. Let me experience the thrill of the hunt. These people are simply prey in our eyes!"

The speaker was a yellow-haired muscular youth, whose attire and appearance were vastly different from Xu Yang and his group. Just by their appearance, one could tell they didn't belong to this world's system.

"People from other dimensions, to trespass upon our plane, it is indeed a crime punishable by death. However, rather than simply eliminating you, I am more interested in letting you go."

As soon as Xu Yang uttered these words, all three intruders, including the loli Apra, were greatly astonished.

"Heh, are you out of your mind? Let us go? Not to mention your motives, I doubt you even have the ability to do so, do you? Otherwise, why would you still be stuck in here?"

Xu Yang pointed upwards, "The reason we are all trapped here is ultimately due to the God-Sealing Edict, which suppresses our strength. If we unite to shatter the God-Sealing Edict, all souls imprisoned in this wretched place will gain salvation and release. Wouldn't that be better than continuing to slaughter each other here?"

Xu Yang's words indeed offered great inspiration to the loli Apra and her two companions.

"You make it sound easy. If the God-Sealing Edict were truly that easy to destroy, there wouldn't be so many prisoners here." Apra rolled her eyes, unable to resist a sarcastic remark.

"Miracles are always created by us. As the saying goes, 'where there is oppression, there is resistance.' If everyone thought like you, Night-Cold Mountain would continue to imprison countless prisoners. We have been oppressed for too long; it's time to confront the gods and assert our rightful place!"

Watching Xu Yang's determined spirit, the loli Apra was swayed by his words for the first time.

"Hmph, fine then. I'll give you a chance to prove your strength. If you can break free from the sealing power unleashed by the three of us combined, then we'll join your team and accompany you to the end of this Night-Cold Mountain journey!"