Anomaly!

For all these years, Ling You had been tormented by his old injuries, and with the constant drain of his Dou Qi, his strength had long since dwindled to less than a tenth of its peak.

But he was still an Eighth-grade Alchemist, and his Soul Power was outstanding even among the Ling Clan.

Abandoning his now burdensome physical body, Ling You's somewhat ethereal soul form pressed both Hands against the soul barrier set up by Ling Huan Tian.

Crack!

A faint sound of breaking echoed from the blood-colored soul barrier, and cracks began spreading across it at an alarming speed.

"Young whelp, how dare you!"

Ling Huan Tian's spectral face shifted slightly.

He hadn't expected this obviously gravely wounded junior to still unleash such formidable Soul Power.

Nor had he anticipated that the other would discard his flesh and confront him in soul form as well.

"Hmph!"

Ling You snorted coldly, channeling a steady stream of Soul Power from his palms into the blood-colored soul barrier.

"Let me lend you a hand!"

Ling Yang formed hand seals, and his surging Dou Qi slammed heavily into the soul barrier Ling Huan Tian had set up.

Though Ling Huan Tian had once been a Dou Saint, he was now merely a soul body dwelling within a Bloodline Power.

Over the long millennia, even his soul had become incomplete due to power loss.

Meanwhile, Ling You was an Eighth-grade Alchemist, and Ling Yang was a standout among Dou Venerate experts.

With the two joining forces, Ling Huan Tian had no sure chance of victory.

"Damn it, I celebrated too early!"

Ling Huan Tian cursed inwardly. Trapped for so long, his craving for freedom had gotten the better of him, prompting him to reveal himself too soon.

He never expected that a Descendant Citizen with mere first-grade Bloodline Power would have two Dou Venerate protectors by his side.

Seeing the growing cracks in his soul barrier, his eyes darted to Ling Xi inside the cauldron.

"Heh, This Seat won't play with you anymore!"

Ling Huan Tian snorted coldly. The Bloodline Power in the cauldron suddenly roiled, and strands of strange blood-colored liquid poured into Ling Xi's body through his pores.

With the infusion of this peculiar blood-colored energy, the pallor on Ling Xi's face quickly faded, and his withered frame began to fill out.

"This boy's body is mine now."

Seeing this, Ling Huan Tian didn't hesitate. His spectral blood-colored soul form transformed into a streak of blood-colored energy and plunged straight into Ling Xi's forehead.

Without Ling Huan Tian's soul power sustaining it, the soul barrier around the cauldron shattered instantly.

"This..."

Ling You's expression shifted as he saw the blood-colored clan mark appear on Ling Xi's forehead.

"A soul battle?"

Ling Yang hesitated for a moment.

A soul battle required Soul Power to reach a certain level before it could be waged.

But such battles were extremely perilous—one misstep could cause irreparable damage to the soul.

Even the victor would suffer a period of weakened Soul Power.

Thus, even those with strong Soul Power rarely dared to engage in soul battles lightly.

In the moment they froze, the liquid energy formed from the melted Spirit Jade in the cauldron quickly enveloped Ling Xi entirely.

It looked like a milky-white giant cocoon.

"No, he wants to..."

Ling Yang's expression changed drastically. Before he could even say the word "run," the milky-white energy around Ling Xi blazed with light.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Ling Yang and Ling You had no time to react.

The next moment, the energy cocoon containing Ling Xi vanished before their eyes.

In the cave, Ling Yang and Ling You exchanged grim looks.

"Damn it!"

After a long silence, Ling Yang couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"That Ling Huan Tian was hunted down by the clan back then and disappeared without a trace. I never thought he'd sealed his soul in the Bloodline Power using the Spirit Jade method."

"If he manages to seize Ling Xi's body, who knows what kind of chaos he'll cause!"

Ling Yang paced back and forth in the cave, his anxiety plain to see.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Seeing Ling You silent, the muttering Ling Yang stopped in his tracks.

"Say what?"

"Are you saying that the disciple I painstakingly raised is about to be possessed by some old monster at the Dou Saint level?"

Ling You stomped his foot hard on the ground, shaking the entire cave violently.

"I'll go to the Pill Tower, you go to the clan. Either way, we need to find traces of Ling Xi first."

Ling You let out a turbid breath, his face dark and terrifying.

"Ling Xi's soul power has already reached the Late Spirit Realm, and his soul power is protected by an Exotic Flame. If it really comes to a soul battle, he might not necessarily lose."

Even as he said this, Ling You knew he was only comforting himself.

A remnant soul of a Dou Saint was far beyond what Ling Xi, a mere Nine-Star Dou Grandmaster, could match.

The gap between them was despairingly vast.

"This matter... should we report it to the clan?"

Ling Yang's expression shifted as he asked uncertainly.

Performing the Blood Exchange Method on a clan member without authorization was an extremely grave crime in any Ancient Race.

Even someone of Ling Yang's status couldn't help but feel a trace of fear.

"Then don't go to the clan. Come with me to the Pill Tower instead."

Ling You understood Ling Yang's concerns. If this came to light, both he and Ling Yang would be immediately arrested and severely punished by the clan.

He wasn't afraid of that himself, but he didn't want to drag Ling Yang down with him.

"The Pill Tower has enormous influence across the continent. Let them help me search for Ling Xi."

At this point, Ling You paused abruptly, silent for a moment before continuing.

"If Ling Xi really is... possessed by Ling Huan Tian, then we'll report it to the clan."

"I suppose that's the only way."

Ling Yang pressed his lips together and let out a bitter laugh.

Inside the strange spatial passage, everything was eerily quiet.

Silver spatial turbulence swirled through every corner of this space.

A milky-white cocoon, about the size of an ordinary person, floated silently in this space, only moving when it occasionally brushed against the spatial turbulence.

These spatial currents, which even ordinary Dou Zong experts would avoid at all costs, could not harm the milky-white cocoon in the slightest.

"This junior is cultivating the Ling Clan's Myriad Spirits Returning to Origin Art?"

Within Ling Xi's sea of consciousness, Ling Huan Tian looked around at this remarkably stable space, faintly wreathed in strands of Spiritual Qi, and couldn't help but marvel.

"Although this junior's bloodline rank is only first-grade, being able to cultivate the Myriad Spirits Returning to Origin Art to this level—even a thousand years ago, there were few who could match it."

Glancing around, Ling Huan Tian's gaze settled on the young man sitting cross-legged at the center of the sea of consciousness.