Loss of Control

A few hours later.

The carriage arrived at the next city, and the convoy stopped to take a short break.

The swaying carriage finally fell silent.

Ji Xuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear and sharp.

He stretched his body, causing his bones to emit a few soft cracking sounds.

Ling Luochen had been watching him closely, and seeing him wake up, her heart couldn't help but stir.

She thought that Ji Xuan would finally speak to her now.

However.

Ji Xuan merely glanced at her casually.

Then, he slowly extended his hand, palm upward, the meaning couldn't be more obvious.

"That card."

The three simple words left Ling Luochen completely stunned.

She stared blankly at Ji Xuan, unable to react for a moment.

"You wouldn't happen to be... planning on not paying, would you?"

Ji Xuan raised an eyebrow, a faint, mocking smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

His voice was not loud, yet it hit Ling Luochen like a bolt of lightning.

She trembled with rage, abruptly standing up, her chest heaving violently.

"I am a dignified..."

She almost blurted out her identity, but swallowed the words back just in time.

"What kind of person do you take me for!"

She took the Purple Crystal Card out of her storage Soul Tool and threw it at Ji Xuan, almost as if she were smashing it into him.

"Take it! The password is six sixes!"

Ji Xuan caught the Purple Crystal Card steadily, turning a blind eye to her fury.

He nodded, then jumped out of the carriage and turned to walk toward the bank in town.

Watching his back as he walked away without a hint of hesitation, Ling Luochen felt a surge of blood rush to her head, and she nearly ground her teeth to dust.

This bastard!

Holding the Purple Crystal Card, Ji Xuan found the bank with practiced ease.

He withdrew the carriage fare for both of them.

After finishing this, he tucked the money bag away and found the leader of the convoy, who was busy boasting to his subordinates.

"Big brother, you've worked hard."

Ji Xuan walked over with a smile and handed him a jug of fine wine he had just bought.

"Oh, little brother, you're too kind!"

The leader took the wine, his face instantly beaming with joy.

While chatting with him about the journey, Ji Xuan quietly activated Kyōka Suigetsu.

A flicker of light, almost impossible to detect, flashed by as he "accidentally" bumped into the leader.

In that very instant, the fake money bag made of illusions at the leader's waist was swapped by Ji Xuan for the real one filled with Gold Soul Coins.

At the same time, Ji Xuan tucked the empty fake money bag into his own pocket.

The entire process was smooth as flowing water, fast as lightning.

The leader noticed nothing.

"Little brother, you're a straightforward man! If you ever travel this route again, come find me anytime!"

"Certainly, certainly."

Ji Xuan smiled and exchanged a few more pleasantries before turning back to the convoy.

He returned to the carriage and tossed the Purple Crystal Card back to Ling Luochen.

Then, he lay back down on the cargo, hands behind his head, eyes slightly narrowed.

Ling Luochen took the card, and seeing his impenetrable, indifferent demeanor, she couldn't help but grind her teeth in secret.

She took a deep breath, just about to demand to know who he was and what his purpose was.

Ji Xuan's lazy voice, however, exploded in her ears like a thunderclap on a clear day.

"You are that so-called 'Ice Princess' from the inner court, Ling Luochen, aren't you?"

Ling Luochen's entire body stiffened.

She stared fixedly at Ji Xuan, her heart giving a violent jolt.

"Who are you?!"

She lowered her voice, each word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth.

The soul power in her body began to fluctuate uncontrollably.

Ji Xuan did not even open his eyes, his voice remaining calm and unruffled.

"I am just a work-study student at Shrek."

"I saw you from afar a few times back when I was cleaning the courtyards."

Ji Xuan's voice remained flat, yet it carried a trace of faint, imperceptible mockery.

He paused for a moment before slowly spitting out the second half of his sentence.

"It would be one thing if the others fled, but you, a proud daughter of heaven and one of the Shrek Seven Devils."

"To flee Shrek just like this, do you take the school leaders for fools?"

BOOM!

This sentence exploded in Ling Luochen's ears like a thunderclap.

She shuddered violently, all the color draining from her face.

That's right!

Who was she?

She was one of the Shrek Seven Devils, a core disciple whom the academy had spent countless resources to cultivate!

She had only thought about escaping as quickly as possible, never stopping to consider the consequences.

Her disappearance would absolutely cause a sensation among the academy's upper echelons!

When the time came for the school's top brass to personally investigate...

Where could she possibly run to?

Once caught and dragged back, what awaited her would likely not just be severe punishment, but a stain that could never be washed away!

Fear, regret, confusion, unwillingness...

Countless negative emotions surged like a breached dam, instantly crushing her psychological defenses.

"No... that can't be..."

She subconsciously hugged her arms tight, her body trembling beneath her black robe.

And at this very moment, as her mind lost its guard.

A sinister and icy power hidden deep within her body suddenly erupted!

"Crack—"

With a crisp sound, the crystal-clear ice beneath her actually split open with a fissure at its center.

Immediately following, strands of eerie blood-red silk spread out from the crack like venomous snakes, instantly staining the entire block of ice red!

An evil aura, mixed with extreme cold and violence, erupted and spread!

The originally pure ice began to transform into a heart-stopping blood-red color at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Ugh!"

Ling Luochen let out a pained groan!

"Hm?!"

Ji Xuan sat up abruptly from the cargo.

His gaze was like lightning, fixed intently on the blood-colored ice crystals beneath Ling Luochen.

A flash of realization crossed his eyes.

He quickly moved away from Ling Luochen, retreating to the other corner of the carriage.

"Were you 'guided' by Wang Yan?"

Ji Xuan's voice carried a hint of gravity, yet his tone remained calm.

Ling Luochen clutched her head in agony, unable to answer at all.

Blood-colored cold air surged madly from her body, and the temperature in the entire carriage plummeted; a thin layer of blood-red frost covered the wooden planks and the cargo!

She was about to lose control!

Once the power of a Soul King level went completely out of control.

This entire caravan would face total annihilation!

Seeing that Ling Luochen's eyes were beginning to glow with an ominous red light.

Ji Xuan knew he could wait no longer!

"Ling Luochen! Look here!"

He suddenly let out a loud shout.

Ling Luochen raised her head in a daze, her beautiful eyes filled with pain and despair, meeting the ancient bronze mirror in Ji Xuan's hand.

The mirror's surface reflected her pale face, her eyes blood-red.

At this very moment.

A deep, black soul ring rose abruptly from beneath Ji Xuan's feet, radiating a terrifying aura that made one's heart tremble!

A ten-thousand-year soul ring!

No, the depth of its light even surpassed that of an ordinary ten-thousand-year ring!

"First Soul Skill—Kyōka Suigetsu!"

Ji Xuan let out a low roar, pouring all his soul power and mental strength into his martial soul!

Hum—

The mirror shone brilliantly, and Ling Luochen felt her vision blur as the entire world spun dizzily!

She was no longer in the carriage, but had fallen into an endless abyss composed of countless shattered mirror fragments.

Every fragment reflected her own face, twisted in agony.

Countless versions of herself shrieked silently at her from every direction!

"Ahhhhh!"

Ling Luochen clutched her head and screamed in unbearable pain.

Meanwhile, in reality.

Ji Xuan's face had turned as pale as paper.

Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

For a level 20 soul master to forcibly drag a level 50-plus soul king into an illusion—

Even with the opponent's mind unguarded, it was an unimaginably heavy burden for him!

His brain felt as if it were being torn apart; every second felt like dancing on the edge of a blade!

"Hold on... just hold on!"

Ji Xuan gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, desperately maintaining the operation of the illusion.

Fortunately, as a soul skill produced by the system, the power of Kyōka Suigetsu was beyond imagination.

Luckily, Ling Luochen was no mediocre soul master.

The intense external stimulation from the illusion allowed her to forcibly break free from her corrupted state for a fleeting moment.

It was this moment of clarity that allowed her to seize the opportunity!

She violently channeled her soul power, beginning to suppress the rampaging, evil energy within her body!

Time ticked by, second by second.

A mere few minutes felt as long as several centuries.

The blood-colored ice inside the carriage stopped spreading, and those eerie blood threads began to slowly recede.

When the last trace of crimson faded from Ling Luochen's eyes, she spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, withered and weak.

But the out-of-control, violent aura had finally been suppressed by her once more.

At almost the same time, Ji Xuan could no longer hold on.

The illusion of Kyōka Suigetsu shattered instantly.

He felt as if all his strength had been drained, collapsing onto the floor and gasping for air.

Veins bulged on his forehead, his face was deathly pale, and his mental energy was nearly exhausted.

While a ten-thousand-year soul skill was powerful, using only level 20 soul power to trap a soul king in an illusion was nothing short of a pipe dream!

If not for Ling Luochen's mental collapse creating an opening for him, He never could have succeeded!

Fortunately, he had managed to stabilize the situation!

Ling Luochen was still clutching her head, but her body had stopped trembling, and her breathing was gradually steadying.

She raised her head blankly, her eyes filled with confusion, as if she had just woken up from a long and terrifying nightmare.

"I... what happened to me?"

Ji Xuan did not answer her question.

He leaned against the carriage wall, eyes closed, calming the roiling soul power within his body.

At this moment, he had developed a profound interest in the hidden trap left behind by Wang Yan.

This kind of evil power, capable of eroding the origin of a martial soul and even causing it to mutate—

Could it really be achieved solely by the evil arts of the Holy Spirit Cult?