Spirit Connection Realm

Kill.

Rather than pursuing the four fleeing men, the Mongol Yuan Thousand-Man Commander sheathed his curved saber and revealed a savage grin.

With a wave of his right hand, the soldiers behind him drew their bows.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Careful.

Zhang Jie's eyes nearly split apart at the sight of arrows raining down like a storm. He stopped running, turned, and swung his saber to block them.

Mongol Yuan soldiers had practically grown up on horseback. Their conquests across Asia and Europe had relied on peerless mounted archery. How could mere flesh and blood withstand hundreds of arrows?

Thud~

With a dull sound, one arrow passed through the saber's defense and buried itself in Zhang Jie's right chest. His movements faltered, his saber went limp, and he closed his eyes to await death.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Second brother! Zhang Xing cried out miserably.

Zhang Qing, whom he had been protecting, was also overcome with grief. The longsword slipped from his hand as he cried sorrowfully, "Second Uncle!"

Zhang Jie forced himself to hold on to his last breath and said weakly, "Go. Hurry."

One slow step led to slow steps all the way.

During that brief pause, large numbers of Mongol Yuan soldiers surrounded them. The Thousand-Man Commander on horseback looked down at the three of them and said coldly, "Kill them."

I'll fight you to the death!

Zhang Xing roared, brandished his longsword, and leaped into the air, stabbing toward the Thousand-Man Commander.

"Heh heh, cowardly Song men," the Thousand-Man Commander said disdainfully.

The curved saber flashed with cold light. The next moment, Zhang Xing's head was severed and rolled aside, while the hatred-filled eyes gradually lost their light.

The head rolled to Zhang Qing's feet. The little girl in his arms rolled her eyes back and fainted on the spot.

Third Uncle! Zhang Qing was heartbroken.

As he watched the Mongol Yuan barbarians continually close in around him, he saw Zhang Family Fortress, where he had grown up, shrouded in smoke in the distance. The screams were gradually dying away, while the thick stench of blood rushed into his nose and mouth.

"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Uncle Jie, Third Uncle, Second Uncle..."

His eyes burned with hatred as he stared at the Mongol Yuan soldiers before him, wishing he could devour their flesh and drink their blood.

Holding his unconscious younger sister tightly in his arms, he threw back his head and roared, "The Hu barbarians are cruel, the ruler is unjust, and the people are trampled like swine beneath their feet. I hate this! I hate it!"

"How deeply do you hate them?"

"I hate them enough to devour their flesh and drink their blood."

"What price are you willing to pay?"

"I am willing to give everything."

"Good."

Clop, clop, clop~

Fang Xuan, dressed in feathered robes, stepped forward over mud stained red with blood. His pace was neither hurried nor slow, as though he had emerged from the void.

"Who are you?"

"The one who will kill you."

With a thought, the Pale Skull appeared before him, surrounded by black mist and roiling demonic clouds.

"Go."

The Pale Skull let out a shrill cry, like the wails of ten thousand ghosts and the howls of vicious spirits. Ghostly faces emerged one after another from the black mist swirling around it.

It darted swiftly through the Mongol Yuan soldiers. Anyone touched by it instantly became a desiccated corpse, their blood essence devoured completely.

The Pale Skull was a demonic artifact. Anyone enveloped by its poisonous smoke would instantly dissolve into blood and pus. It was also filled with boundless resentment and loved nothing more than consuming human blood essence.

Demonic artifacts were generally refined by sacrificing human souls, making them incomparably cruel. Living people, infants, fierce tigers, spirit serpents, and other living creatures were often used to temper them. At this moment, however, it could fully display its usefulness.

Screams and terrified cries rang out without end. Seeing this scene, the Mongol Yuan Thousand-Man Commander let out an angry roar and swung his curved saber at Fang Xuan.

Hmph!

Fang Xuan snorted coldly. With a thought, the black smoke spewed by the Pale Skeleton instantly wrapped around him. Before he could even scream, he dissolved into pus.

"Demons! Demons! Run!"

"Is this Eternal Heaven's punishment?"

"Don't eat me! Don't eat me!"

"Help!"

In an instant, several thousand Mongol Yuan soldiers were reduced to desiccated corpses, and the Pale Skeleton returned to Fang Xuan's palm.

Its originally pale surface was now tinged with a faint red glow, making it resemble a piece of blood jade. The black smoke continuously swirling around it also seemed far denser.

Sure enough, the demonic path was the demonic path. The more blood it drank and souls it devoured, the greater its power became.

Zhang Qing stared at the scene in horror, then suddenly burst into wild laughter. He laughed hysterically as tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.

After a long while, he rose to his feet, straightened his clothes and disheveled topknot, gently touched his still-unconscious younger sister, then walked to Fang Xuan and cupped his hands in salute.

"Zhang Qing greets my other self."

Fang Xuan frowned slightly, turned over his right hand, and put away the Pale Skeleton. "You know my identity?"

"The moment I saw your face, I knew everything," Zhang Qing said.

Fang Xuan's pupils contracted.

This was troublesome.

Zhang Qing was Fang Xuan's other-self incarnation, and Fang Xuan was Zhang Qing's other-self incarnation. The two were connected to each other.

That also meant Zhang Qing could kill him and inherit everything as well.

If he encountered an other self stronger than himself one day, then with a single mistake, attacker and defender would switch places.

Just like in the film "The One," everything the main villain did in the early stages ultimately became the protagonist's wedding dress.

Fortunately, when he killed an other-self incarnation, the energy was not divided equally. Otherwise, he would simply be strengthening his enemy.

"I'm sorry," Fang Xuan said in a low voice.

Zhang Qing smiled freely. "I should be the one thanking you. Can you help me one last time?"

"Speak."

"Let Jing Er live." Zhang Qing looked at the sleeping Zhang Jing beside him with boundless affection.

"Alright."

"Thank you."

With a flick of his finger, Fang Xuan sent his inner force outward and instantly shattered Zhang Qing's heart.

As Zhang Qing died, an invisible stream of energy drifted from his body and merged into Fang Xuan's.

As that energy entered him, Fang Xuan vaguely felt the flesh and blood throughout his body turn into clusters of flames. Intense fire blazed and surged upward into his brain. At once, the Heavenly Gate in his mind was illuminated once more by the flames of blood essence, and his mind became clearer than ever before.

At that moment, Fang Xuan seemed to see the bones atop his head become transparent like crystal. His entire spirit had risen to a new level.

His mind was clearer than ever, his entire body more transparent than ever. He underwent another rebirth, like a dragon or serpent shedding its skin, renewed from head to toe.

Heaven and earth were all within his mind!

His mind expanded without limit!

At that moment, Fang Xuan felt as though he possessed a spiritual will that no one could destroy. The Gate of Mystic Divine in his mind seemed to have silently opened a crack.

The Spirit Connection Realm had been achieved!

His senses increased dramatically. Within several thousand paces around him, every rustle of wind and grass, even the faint crawling of centipedes and spiders, was reflected in his mind.

No movement could escape his eyes and ears.

Looking inward, Fang Xuan could see every bone and internal organ in his body clearly and transparently whenever he activated his spirit.

At the Spirit Communication Realm, one could look inward.

His bones were distinct, like crystal.

The fifth level of the physical body, Divine Power, was a watershed. The ninth level, Spirit Communication, was an even more crucial watershed, for it marked an important stage in the transition from body to spirit. Only by entering the Spirit Communication Realm could one hope to step into the Mystic Divine Realm.