Wei Yuan's Death

The moment the woman seized the book, she sensed that the surrounding space had all been affected by Wei Yuan's palm force. The collapsing trend had sealed off every possible path of retreat, and her expression changed drastically.

Seeing the layers of shattered, collapsing space about to engulf her, the woman hurriedly swung the Enforcement Staff in her hand, controlling the green lamp before her to erupt once more with a dazzling, brilliant radiance.

The next moment, the enormous phoenix that had been suspended in the distance, unable to return to her aid due to the collapsed space blocking its path, forcibly charged into that chaotic, shattered expanse. It seemed to transform into a sharp sword and plunged into the woman's body.

As the phantom phoenix entered her body, the woman's aura abruptly turned savage and violent. Vast Beast Qi spread from around her, Cyan-Red Flames flared across her skin, and behind her manifested a pair of bewitching Phoenix Wings, as though condensed from burning fire.

Drawing upon the power of the phantom phoenix entering her body, the woman tore open a gap in midair and soared into the sky at a speed akin to teleportation.

Wei Yuan stared at the scene before him, one so far beyond his expectations that he stood rooted to the spot in stunned disbelief. Though his attack had primarily focused on surrounding the woman and cutting off her escape routes, a terrifying suppression had also been present overhead.

Even if an ordinary person had the ability to break open an escape route, they would have found it exceedingly difficult to escape the pull of that shattered space.

Yet he had never imagined that the woman possessed such means. Not only had she forcibly torn through his palm force and broken through that chaotic, shattered space, she had even manifested a pair of phantom wings and displayed an astonishing speed of flight.

It was precisely because of that extreme speed that she had managed to tear herself free from the terrifying attraction caused by the shattered space.

Lu Feng, watching from afar, was likewise frozen in shock. From his angle, he could see that after using such a technique, the woman's face had clearly grown much paler, faint pain showing through her expression. She must have been under considerable strain as well.

After soaring into the air, the woman did not leave immediately. Instead, she turned back and charged once more toward Wei Yuan.

From the instant she had grabbed that Weapon Forging Insights book, she had sensed tear marks on it and understood that Wei Yuan had already split it in two before throwing it out.

Seeing the woman dive down with Killing Intent surging around her, a fierce glint appeared in Wei Yuan's eyes.

Just as he was about to spare no cost and use the spiritual qi around his body to bind the woman, dragging them both into the shattered, collapsing space...

A cold gleam suddenly shot forth from behind him and pierced through his body.

It was that longsword bearing the phantom!

Wei Yuan's cloudy pupils abruptly widened to their limit, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

Before this, he had noticed a longsword lying across the distant ground. But this was the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins, where treasured swords could be found everywhere, so he had not paid it any mind.

Yet he had never expected that, at this moment, that longsword would move on its own and launch a sneak attack that pierced his body.

Wei Yuan was horrified because he had been sensing the woman's every movement throughout the entire battle. He could also be certain that there were absolutely no other living creatures within several yards, nor was there any Array Weapon or the like.

Thus, the sudden sneak attack from the longsword was something he had never anticipated, something he could not have imagined in the slightest. He had been pierced through before he could put up even the tiniest defense.

Even after that sword pierced his body, Wei Yuan's first reaction was not pain or the decline of his life force. It was astonishment and confusion. He could not understand what the woman had done, nor how she had evaded his senses to control that longsword.

"Tell me! Where is the other half of the insights?"

The woman's cold, proud voice reached Wei Yuan, but the only response she received was his weak, blood-filled coughing and his furious, murderous gaze.

He was clearly unwilling to accept defeat like this.

If this had been outside, he believed he would never have fallen into such a situation. He would have killed that woman thousands upon thousands of times already.

But now, he no longer had the strength to resist.

That single sword strike had nearly severed several of the most crucial heart meridians throughout his body.

An ordinary person would already have been thoroughly dead by now.

"Even if this old man dies, I will never let you harm Young Miss!"

Wei Yuan let out a sinister, frenzied roar. The spiritual qi throughout his body surged wildly, wisps of white mist rising from his skin. His aura climbed to its peak as he lunged at the woman like a maddened, ferocious tiger, determined to drag her with him into the shattered space behind him.

Watching from afar, Lu Feng understood that Wei Yuan must have used some secret art akin to burning Origin Spiritual Qi. He was determined to perish together with the woman.

Though Lu Feng could not bear to watch, he also understood that given the situation, his strength was still insufficient to interfere. Nor could he stop such a resolute act.

From Wei Yuan's words during his final counterattack, Lu Feng also understood that the remaining half of the insights should still be in Ji Lanxin's hands.

Judging from Wei Yuan's underestimation of the woman's strength, splitting the book in two might not have been because he feared she would snatch it away. Rather, Ji Lanxin had likely feared that Wei Yuan would keep it for himself. It was an act born of vigilance.

Thinking about it, it was rather heartbreaking.

The woman had clearly not expected Wei Yuan to be driven to such lengths, willing to sacrifice his life over nothing more than a book of Weapon Forging Insights.

Crack~

The woman desperately struggled against the suppressive force of Wei Yuan's forward charge. During the struggle, several of her ribs were jolted apart, and blood spilled from both her mouth and nose.

But fortunately, at the instant Wei Yuan closed in and tried to embrace her as he charged toward the shattered space, she finally broke free from his terrifying aura's suppression.

The woman leapt backward through the air, landing behind Wei Yuan. Seeing him stop at the edge of the shattered space and resist the pull trying to sweep him in, she gave a cold, contemptuous snort.

Then she raised a hand and removed the strip of black gauze covering her eyes, revealing a pair of eyes identical to those of the longsword's phantom.

The instant those eerie eyes were exposed, the Soul Consciousness fluctuations spreading around the woman rose to an incomparably terrifying level. Clusters of radiance successively gathered around her body. When the seventh cluster appeared, a terrifying force suddenly surged forward, wrapping around Wei Yuan, whose body had already been sucked more than halfway into the shattered space.

She was actually competing with that terrifying attraction for Wei Yuan.

Watching from afar, Lu Feng was once again stunned where he stood. To achieve such a feat through Soul Power alone, the woman's strength had to be at least at the Heaven Soul Realm Eight Breaths level. At such an age and with such cultivation, the Soul Control Clan's cultivation along the path of the life soul was truly terrifying.

Just as Lu Feng thought the woman intended to pull Wei Yuan out, a great cloud of blood suddenly erupted from the point where the forces met.

The next moment, Wei Yuan's body was torn cleanly into two halves at the waist.

At the same time, the seven clusters of radiance suspended around the woman condensed into seven radiant arrows, exuding a dense, holy aura as they shot straight toward Wei Yuan.

Vaguely, Lu Feng seemed to see a phantom emerge from Wei Yuan's body, much fainter than the longsword's phantom. Before it could struggle at all, the seven radiant arrows fired by the woman pierced through its entire body.

More accurately, they did not pierce through it.

After the seven arrows entered Wei Yuan's phantom, they did not emerge from the other side.

As Lu Feng stared in astonishment, the woman suddenly coughed up a mouthful of bloody froth, which fell onto the green lamp floating back toward her.

The next moment, the green lamp's light flared brilliantly once more, drawing Wei Yuan's phantom into the lamp.

"This is..." Lu Feng watched the scene with terror written across his face. From the cultivation experience he had encountered concerning the path of the soul, he understood that this was likely the legendary Soul Separation art. Wei Yuan's life soul had probably been forcibly extracted by that terrifying woman and poured into that miraculous green lamp.

Thinking of Qiao Xue'er's current state, Lu Feng could not help but wonder why the woman had captured Wei Yuan's life soul in this manner. Could it be that she intended to refine him into a Soul Spirit like Qiao Xue'er?

If that were true, how terrifying would the woman's strength become in the future?

After all, the main reason Wei Yuan had fallen here was the instability of the space in this place, which had restricted his strength and forced him to hold back at every turn. Once he returned to the original world, his strength would rank among the best in the entire soul master world!

Such an existence would not be much weaker than that phantom phoenix from before. If he became part of the woman's fighting strength...

Lu Feng found it difficult to imagine how powerful the woman would become. Thinking of her identity as a member of the Soul Control Clan, he could not help feeling worried.

To save Leng Huaping, he would inevitably have to face people like her in the future. If it were an ordinary conflict, perhaps Qiao Xue'er's connection might prevent matters from becoming too hostile. But if he intended to seize the Soul Control Clan's clan-protecting treasure, they likely would not show him any mercy.

Cough~

Another blood-choked cough rang out.

Lu Feng saw that the distant woman's face was deathly pale. The phoenix phantom attached to her body had already receded, and her entire aura had severely diminished. She clearly looked as though she had suffered grave injuries from the strain.

As Lu Feng hesitated, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. He wondered whether he should take this opportunity to eliminate her once and for all. But then Qiao Xue'er's phantom suddenly appeared, streams of holy light cascading over the woman's body.

She was actually helping the woman recover!

Lu Feng was certain that Qiao Xue'er had never possessed such profound and unusual methods while she was alive. She had undoubtedly learned these abilities from the Soul Control Clan after becoming a phantom.

Seeing this, Lu Feng could not help abandoning the thought.

It was not because the woman was recovering, but because if he made a move, he did not know whether Qiao Xue'er could still be kept safe.

For Tang Yuan's sake, he could not take that risk.

At that moment, several figures suddenly appeared from the far side of the distance.

They were ordinary soul masters drawn over by the sounds of battle.

At once, Lu Feng turned his gaze toward the distant woman.

The woman had clearly noticed those people approaching as well. After raising a hand to call Qiao Xue'er back, she supported her weakened body and concealed herself to one side. Then, with another lift of her hand, she actually summoned down a pillar of light.

This scene startled Lu Feng for a moment. He had never expected the woman to be so decisive, intending to leave this Domain Realm just like that.

She no longer wanted the remaining half of the Weapon Forging Insights?

She no longer wanted to look for the other treasures in this Domain Realm?

And besides... that phantom longsword belonged to the Hundred Valleys Sword Ruins. How could she take it out with her?