Soul Bone

The morning mist of Star Dou Forest was like gauze, shrouding ancient trees that had stood for millennia and the lingering soul power. The low growls of soul beasts drifted faintly through the fog, while vines corrupted by Abyssal Erosion lay hidden beneath rotting leaves like lurking venomous snakes. Yang Jun carried the gravely wounded Bibi Dong on his back, racing through the dense forest under the guidance of Earth Vein Power. Every step landed upon earth vein nodes shimmering with Golden Patterns, as though the earth itself were paving his way. Yet the corruptive aura relentlessly eroded his Soul Power, leaving him short of breath. Bibi Dong's spider silk still coiled around his wrist, its violet glow as faint as a dying candle. The blood seeping from the wound beneath her left ribs had turned dark purple, and Corrupted Soul Erosion was spreading through her meridians. The spider silk wound around Yang Jun's waist grew weaker and weaker, as if it might vanish at any moment.

"There's a Soul Beast Barrier ahead." Yang Jun's Earth Vein Perception suddenly trembled. Golden Patterns spread across his palm, pointing deep into the forest. Ancient trees twisted into bizarre totems, vines interwove like chains, and a suffocating soul pressure filled the air. The corrupted Soul Power even caused a brief stabbing pain in Yang Jun's Earth Vein Perception. Bibi Dong forced open her Violet Eyes and sent out a strand of spider silk. The instant it touched the barrier, familiar Runes appeared upon its surface—marks identical to those on her Spirit Hall Steward's Secret Order. Yet the edges of the Runes had been gnawed away by Abyssal Black Qi, leaving them incomplete. "The Forbidden Zone Barrier... it was a restriction jointly established by Spirit Hall and the Ancient Soul Beasts, but traces of Abyssal Erosion have already seeped into the Runes." She coughed up blood as she whispered. Her spider silk slipped into a crack in the barrier, and violet light resonated with the Golden Patterns, slowly melting open an entrance. The moment it opened, corrupted Vines surged forth like living creatures. Yang Jun's Hoe and Sickle Spirit erupted with Blue-Gold Light, cleaving through them, but spider silk wrapped around his wrist and yanked him into the barrier, saving him from the poisonous thorn attack behind him.

The moment they stepped into the Forbidden Ground, a corrupted aura rushed over them. The roots of towering ancient trees coiled around Abyssal Black Qi, while Soul Beast Skeletons lay scattered in heaps. Every skeleton bore tears left by sharp claws, as though some massive beast had once rampaged here. A broken phantom of a soul beast wandered through the air, letting out a mournful cry. "The abyss... has corrupted the contract. The bones of the Ancient Soul Beasts were refined into Puppet Beasts. We became slaves of the abyss..." Yang Jun tightened his grip on the hoe-sickle as Earth Vein Power flowed beneath his feet. Golden Patterns spread like a spider web, attempting to purify the corrupted ground. Bibi Dong leaned against him, her spider silk wrapping around a skeleton. Violet light swept over it, revealing a broken Soul Bone within. Yang Jun's father's name was carved onto it—Yang Zhen. A trace of Golden Patterns still coiled around the edges of the writing, sharing the same origin as the Earth Vein Power in Yang Jun's palm.

"This is... Father's Soul Bone Shard?" Yang Jun's pupils constricted. His Hoe and Sickle Spirit burst forth with Blue-Gold Light. The instant it touched the Soul Bone Shard, a torrent of memories flooded his mind. His father held a hoe-sickle deep within Star Dou Forest, standing shoulder to shoulder with a soul beast covered in Golden Patterns as they fought an Abyssal Rift together. The light of the Soul Bone merged with Earth Vein Power, forming a golden barrier. Then the scene suddenly twisted. Abyssal Black Qi surged in like a tide, and his father's voice echoed, "Child of the Earth Veins, if the abyss returns, use the Ice Soul Heart to seal its source. Deep within the Forbidden Ground... lies my unfinished oath. Remember, some oaths weigh more than life itself." Bibi Dong suddenly pressed down on his trembling hand. Spider silk curled around the Soul Bone Shard, and a fragment of memory emerged in the violet glow. Twenty years ago, a Spirit Hall Emissary had entered the Forbidden Ground carrying an Abyssal Contract. Yang Zhen had fought desperately to stop them, but his Soul Bone was shattered. As a steward, she had been forced to take part in the sealing operation. In the memory fragment, Bibi Dong's spider silk quietly wrapped around a Soul Bone Shard and hid it within the Forbidden Zone Barrier. Struggle and guilt flashed through her Violet Eyes... The memory faded. Bibi Dong closed her eyes, and bloody marks seeped from her spider silk. "Back then... I failed to stop them. But your father used the last of his Earth Vein Power to seal the Abyssal Rift here. The Soul Bone Shards became part of the Forbidden Zone Barrier. The mark he left behind guided us here."

Without warning, violent tremors shook the ground. The corrupted Soul Beast Skeletons climbed to their feet one after another, transforming into Puppet Beasts as their claws tore through the air. Ghostly green soul flames burned in their eye sockets as they howled and pounced, corrupted Soul Power condensing into Poisonous Mist around their claws. Bibi Dong forcibly raised her Soul Power. Her Spider Emperor Spirit erupted, and the Eight Spider Lances pierced into the Puppet Beasts' bodies as violet light clashed fiercely against corrupted Soul Power. But her movements had already grown sluggish. Corrupted Soul Erosion from the wound beneath her left ribs spread like poisonous vines, and her spider silk gradually lost its luster. Yang Jun leaped to the edge of the rift and drove the hoe-sickle into the earth veins. The Ice Soul Heart blazed in his palm as Blue Crystal light merged with Earth Vein Power, trying to seal the rift. But more and more corrupted Puppet Beasts emerged. One seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, its claws striking toward Bibi Dong's back.

"Watch out!" Yang Jun roared as he spun around. His Hoe and Sickle Spirit erupted with unprecedented, blazing golden light. Earth Vein Power merged into the Ice Soul Heart, and Blue Crystal light formed a Frost Barrier that forcibly blocked the claw strike. But Poisonous Mist from the Puppet Beast seared his left arm, the pain as sharp as blades. Bibi Dong struggled to rise, but her Soul Power was exhausted. Her spider silk remained wrapped around Yang Jun's wrist, its violet light flickering faintly as if silently saying, Don't give up... at the Forbidden Ground altar lies your father's unfinished oath.

The Soul Claw attacks grew fiercer, and the Frost Barrier was on the verge of collapse. Yang Jun bit through his tongue and crushed his father's Soul Bone Shard into his palm. Pain and the torrent of memories swept over him again as he roared, "Father, help me protect her!" The Soul Bone Shard burst with golden light, merging with Earth Vein Power and the Ice Soul Heart to form a massive blue-gold scythe that slashed into the Puppet Beast horde. The Puppet Beasts exploded one after another beneath the giant scythe, and the corrupted Soul Power dissipated. But a savage Soul Claw suddenly reached out from the Abyssal Rift, clawing toward Bibi Dong's back. Abyssal Runes coiled around the claw, each one exuding a suffocatingly foul aura.

Yang Jun roared and pressed the Ice Soul Heart into Bibi Dong's wound. Blue Crystal light devoured the Corrupted Soul Erosion, but the meridians in his left arm burst from the excessive use of Earth Vein Power, and blood soaked through his clothes. Bibi Dong struggled in agony amid the Blue Crystal light, yet her spider silk only tightened. A moment of clarity appeared in her Violet Eyes. "No... don't waste the Ice Soul Heart. The altar..." Yang Jun gritted his teeth and withdrew the Ice Soul Heart, pressing the Soul Bone Shard against Bibi Dong's wound instead. Golden Patterns intertwined with violet light, temporarily suppressing the Corrupted Soul Erosion. But his own wounds began to corrupt as Abyssal Black Qi seeped into his meridians.

"Symbiotic Mark... resonate!" Bibi Dong suddenly transmitted hoarsely. Her spider silk wrapped around Yang Jun's wrist as she poured her blood essence into the Symbiotic Mark. Golden Patterns and violet light surged, and their Soul Power unexpectedly merged within the mark, forming a blazing Blue-Purple Light Pillar that shot straight into the Abyssal Rift. The Earth Vein Power within Yang Jun awakened like a giant dragon and resonated with the Ice Soul Heart. Blue Crystal light devoured the Abyssal Black Qi. Worms howled and burst apart within the light pillar, and the rift began to close. But Bibi Dong's wound suddenly split open, Corrupted Soul Erosion spreading like poisonous vines as her spider silk lost its luster. She staggered to her knees, her Violet Eyes dimming, yet she used the last wisp of her Soul Power to stuff a Soul Crystal engraved with Spider Markings into Yang Jun's palm. "Star Dou Forest... the Eastern Foothills. The Ancient Soul Beast Altar can purify Corrupted Soul Erosion... Go! Remember, the Symbiotic Mark... can save you..." Before she could finish, a savage Soul Claw suddenly extended from the Abyssal Rift and struck toward Bibi Dong's back.

Yang Jun roared as he turned. His Hoe and Sickle Spirit burst with unprecedented, blazing golden light. Earth Vein Power merged into the Ice Soul Heart, and Blue Crystal light transformed into a Frost Giant Scythe that cleaved toward the Soul Claw. The Soul Claw exploded, and the Abyssal Rift slammed shut. But the backlash forced Yang Jun down onto one knee, the corruption in his left arm worsening. Bibi Dong had completely fallen unconscious, her spider silk still wrapped around his wrist, her breath as faint as a candle flickering in the wind. The corrupted Puppet Beast horde turned to dust after the rift closed, but a long soul beast cry rose from deep within the Forbidden Ground—part mournful, part relieved.

The corrupted aura of the Forbidden Ground faded as the rift closed, and the black qi around the roots of the ancient trees gradually receded. A soul beast phantom covered in Golden Patterns rose from underground. It resembled a Kirin, with an ice crystal growing from its forehead. Looking toward the Ice Soul Heart and Soul Bone Shard in Yang Jun's palm, it released a long cry. "Child of the Earth Veins... your father used his Soul Bone as an oath to guard the Forbidden Ground for a thousand years. Back then, he made a contract with my clan, using his own Soul Bone as the key to seal the rift of the Abyssal Mother Nest. The altar lies in the Eastern Foothills, but only the resonance between the Ice Soul Heart and the Soul Bone can unlock its purifying power. Hurry... the tide of the Abyssal Mother Nest is about to arrive. The mark your father left behind will guide you." Before the soul beast phantom vanished, the ice crystal on its forehead flew toward Yang Jun and merged into the Ice Soul Heart. Blue Crystal light surged dramatically, temporarily suppressing the corruption in Yang Jun's left arm.

Yang Jun clenched his teeth, carried Bibi Dong onto his back, and raced in the direction indicated by the soul beast as Earth Vein Power flowed beneath his feet. The morning mist gradually dispersed, and the rising sun pierced through the forest, illuminating their entwined spider silk and Golden Patterns like a bridge spanning the abyss. Far off on the horizon, a strange Blood Cloud quietly gathered, like the abyss's gaze as it slowly closed in on Star Dou Forest. From deep within the Blood Cloud came the hoarse laughter of the Pope's Remnant Soul. "Yang Jun... Bibi Dong, you cannot escape. The day the Abyssal Mother Nest awakens will be the day Earth Vein Power completely becomes the servant of us all..."