Chapter 3714: Depths of the Soul Realm
The void around the Soul Realm was filled with spatial cracks everywhere, saturated with an undissipating storm of divine power, all remnants of the earlier battle.
The corpse water that had flooded the Soul Realm was receding, the sea shrinking. Some flowed into the Santu River, some was swallowed by spatial cracks into the Void World, and some spilled over into Lihentian.
Strangely enough, despite the fierce battle involving multiple Great Unbound Infinite realm powerhouses that had torn apart even the starry sky, the Soul Realm itself remained unbroken.
...
Three hundred and sixty formation flags, each as tall as a mountain peak and as thick as a sky-piercing divine pillar, floated on the surface of the corpse water sea.
Various energy fluctuations poured outward, stirring up waves that reached the heavens.
The time rules and space rules of heaven and earth surged wildly into the formation.
Just by approaching the formation, Zhang Ruochen could already detect distorted space and chaotic time.
Outside, the fierce battle had already lasted half a day.
Inside the formation, it seemed not much time had passed at all.
Blade Venerable landed beside Zhang Ruochen, holding a short blade, having concealed the Death God's Blade. Gazing at the formation before him, he said, "Yan Wuque's combat power is mediocre, but he's quite skilled at setting up formations. If I were trapped in this formation, it would be extremely troublesome for me to break it. Who broke the formation back then? Zhao Gongming? Or did the three of you join forces?"
"Yan Wuque couldn't control the formation's spirit, which was the World Spirit of Fengyue Realm, so the formation's power wasn't as strong as it is now," Zhang Ruochen replied.
Blade Venerable's eyes darted around, and he spoke earnestly, "Since ancient times, beauties have often been the source of calamity. Grand Minister of Works must be cautious."
Afraid his point wasn't clear enough, he added, "This A Fuya was once an Ancestor who dominated an era. Her schemes must be profound. Her formation mastery surpasses Yan Wuque's, and now that she has obtained the Space Esoterica from the Space Divine Temple, with this formation, even I would have to be wary of her."
Dragon Lord also felt something was amiss, saying, "One cannot be too careful. A Fuya's strength has exceeded what you can control. After this battle, you must reclaim the Space Esoterica and the Fengxue Continent Divine Formation. If she doesn't return them, she must have ulterior motives, and we can join forces to suppress her together."
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly.
At that moment, the three hundred and sixty formation flags ceased their operation.
The fluctuations of the formation gradually weakened.
Zhang Ruochen was the first to pass through the formation flags and enter Fengxue Continent. Upon seeing the situation inside, a peculiar expression flashed in his eyes.
He saw A Fuya, clad in a rainbow skirt and moon cape, exuding natural spirituality, standing upright on a snow hill, her feet buried in the snow, channeling divine flames within her body to refine the Eternal Spear.
Not far away, the ground had sunk, and a divine mountain was suppressing Yu Dongxuan.
Within the divine mountain, countless space rules coiled.
Feng Yan and Sword Bone stood not far from the divine mountain.
"Clang!"
The Eternal Spear let out a piercing shriek, trembling violently in A Fuya's hand, causing strands of her long hair to flutter.
"What a formidable artifact spirit. No wonder it's the treasured artifact of the Time Divine Temple. It seems it cannot be refined in a short time."
A ball of blood appeared in A Fuya's palm. She dipped two fingers into the blood and drew dense, ancient runes on the spear shaft, temporarily sealing it.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fell on the blood in her palm. He was about to mobilize the power of the Heart of Truth to sense it, but she had already withdrawn the blood, hiding it without a trace.
Zhang Ruochen said, "What formidable blood."
A Fuya did not respond to Zhang Ruochen's words. Instead, she gently pushed her jade hand forward, causing space to ripple like layers of ripples crashing against Zhang Ruochen, returning the Space Esoterica to him. "I have already seized the Light Esoterica. The Space Esoterica is useless to me now."
How could so much Space Esoterica be useless?
She was clearly doing this because she had anticipated something.
A Fuya raised the Eternal Spear with one hand and said, "According to the initial agreement, all spoils belong to whoever seizes them. Grand Minister of Works, this statement should still hold, shouldn't it?"
What else could Zhang Ruochen say?
A Fuya definitely had hidden methods; otherwise, she couldn't have suppressed Yu Dongxuan so quickly on her own.
To monopolize the Light Esoterica and the Eternal Spear, she had revealed her true strength.
Blade Venerable landed beside the divine mountain, staring at Yu Dongxuan suppressed beneath it for a long time, then called out, "Why didn't he self-detonate his Divine Source? How did the First Queen manage that?"
A Fuya's gaze was distant and serene, like an unblemished white lotus atop a snowy peak. "There are two ways to prevent a cultivator from self-detonating their Divine Source. First, suppress their spiritual will or shake their resolve. Second, sever the connection between their spiritual will and their Divine Source."
"The former is difficult and requires the combined effort of multiple cultivators of the same realm."
"The latter is actually harder, but I happen to be proficient in a secret technique that can separate his spiritual will from his Divine Source, temporarily rendering him combat-incapable. Of course, this was only achieved by borrowing the Space Esoterica. However, given his cultivation level, he should be able to break free from the Space Lock Seal soon."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I wonder if the First Queen could teach me this secret technique of the Space Lock Seal?"
"Of course! I was able to seize the Light Esoterica and the Eternal Spear only because Grand Minister of Works lent me the Space Esoterica and the Fengxue Continent Divine Formation. Teaching this secret technique is my way of repaying that favor. However..." A Fuya hesitated.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Is this secret technique difficult to cultivate?"
A Fuya shook her head. "With Grand Minister of Works' talent and spatial mastery, cultivation would not be difficult. However, to execute the Space Lock Seal, one not only needs a large amount of Space Esoterica but also an absolute advantage in divine soul or spiritual power. Moreover, there is a certain risk of failure."
Zhang Ruochen suspected A Fuya was doing this on purpose.
If that were the case, this Space Lock Seal secret technique was far too impractical.
If one already had an absolute advantage in divine soul, Zhang Ruochen could suppress an opponent's self-detonation of their Divine Source using his Wuji Divine Dao. What was the point of learning this technique?
As for the so-called risk of failure, that was even more absurd.
If an opponent was about to self-detonate their Divine Source and the technique failed, wouldn't that mean certain death?
Intentional. Absolutely intentional.
Zhang Ruochen suppressed his frustration and said, "When we return to the Space Divine Temple, I will study and discuss this technique thoroughly with the Queen. Uncle Dragon, you seal Yu Dongxuan."
Zhang Ruochen was already suppressing Fengxian Sect Leader and Xun Yangzi. Adding another Great Unbound Infinite peak powerhouse would be too risky.
"Seal him? Why not join forces now to break his Dao and refine him to death? It shouldn't take much time."
Blade Venerable was very worried that news of his involvement in this battle would leak, so he intended to silence Yu Dongxuan and avoid any further complications.
As for the escaped Blood Talisman Evil Emperor and Xuanwu True Ancestor, those two ancient powerhouses... Hmph, who would believe their words? Blade Venerable could simply deny everything, claiming it was a conspiracy by the ancient powerhouses, a slander, a frame-up, ill-intentioned.
Besides, Blood Talisman Evil Emperor and Xuanwu True Ancestor wouldn't dare show themselves easily.
"I want to search his soul first to uncover some secrets," Zhang Ruochen said.
Dragon Lord nodded slightly, also wanting to search Yu Dongxuan's soul.
Many answers might be found within Yu Dongxuan's memories.
"Then what are we waiting for? Search him now! Even if those Heavenly Lords of the Heavenly Court sense the commotion here, they won't arrive that quickly." Blade Venerable thought for a moment, still feeling it wasn't safe, and added, "If it comes to it, let's take them to Blade God Realm. There, you can search his soul, seize his source, refine him to death—do whatever you want. In that star domain where Blade God Realm is located, I still have absolute control."
A Fuya said, "Make a decision quickly. Yu Dongxuan is breaking through the Space Lock Seal!"
The divine mountain suppressing Yu Dongxuan was shaking gently.
The space rules within the mountain were becoming unstable.
Zhang Ruochen and Dragon Lord teleported to the base of the divine mountain, each deploying their methods, preparing to severely wound Yu Dongxuan before sealing him.
"He can be sealed in the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Pagoda!"
The pagoda slowly rose from Dragon Lord's palm, growing larger, releasing Chaotic Yin-Yang Qi.
Just then, the four of them narrowed their eyes, simultaneously sensing an anomaly and a crisis, all looking down at their feet.
"Since you're all gathered, come on down."
A faint, barely audible voice came from the depths beneath the Soul Realm.
"Whoosh!"
A massive vortex appeared in the corpse water sea, crushing the formation formed by the three hundred and sixty formation flags, scattering them haphazardly.
Fengxue Continent collapsed. Zhang Ruochen and the others were pulled by a powerful divine force toward the bottom of the vortex, their bodies uncontrollable, heaven and earth spinning around them.
"There's another expert!"
Blade Venerable roared, raising his blade and slashing downward toward the vortex's bottom.
His slash could tear even the starry sky apart.
But when it entered the vortex's bottom, it stirred not a single ripple, like a stone sinking into the sea.
Everyone's expressions changed simultaneously.
Zhang Ruochen rescued the falling Feng Yan, regrouped with Sword Bone, and immediately struck out with the Pure Yang Divine Sword.
Dragon Lord exhaled dragon breath, channeling all his divine power into the Demon God Stone Pillar, hurling the mountain-sized pillar straight into the vortex's bottom.
A Fuya seemed lost in thought, not attacking, but attempting to spread her wings and escape the vortex.
But she failed.
Yu Dongxuan had already broken through the Space Lock Seal and was also being pulled downward by the divine force from the vortex's bottom, letting out a cold, low laugh. "It seems we've encountered a taboo existence. Worth it. Even if I can't escape death today, at least I'll have you all as company for my burial. Haha!"
At the bottom of the corpse water sea, the Soul Realm continent was collapsing inward, forming a yin-qi-filled, bottomless abyss.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen and the others fell to the bottom of the abyss.
Here, the earth was as hard as divine iron, the black soil capable of absorbing light, and the air was filled with deathly gray mist.
Zhang Ruochen collected the fallen formation flags one by one, checked the Earth Cauldron and the Immortal Gold Bright Sun Wheel to ensure Fengxian Sect Leader and Xun Yangzi hadn't escaped, then released the Heart of Truth to probe the surroundings.
Dragon Lord regrouped with Zhang Ruochen and said, "The heaven and earth rules here are extremely strange, assimilated by the Rule Divine Patterns cultivated by some existence, forming an orderly power. Such a powerful being is terrifying. It seems we've truly encountered a taboo."
Zhang Ruochen said, "The World Spirit of the Soul Realm is within this domain. I sensed this place before entering the Soul Realm, but I never expected such great danger to exist here."
Several hundred zhang away, there was a large crater formed by an impact, its traces fresh.
Based on the residual aura in the crater, it could be determined that it was caused by the Demon God Stone Pillar Dragon Lord had hurled earlier. But the Demon God Stone Pillar itself was nowhere to be found.
Blade Venerable was confronting Yu Dongxuan, preventing him from escaping.
A Fuya was unusually calm. She walked up to Zhang Ruochen and Dragon Lord and said, "This place... I have some vague impression of it in my memories, but it's very blurry."
(End of Chapter)