Mirror and Ice

"Your reaction time is not bad."

The figure in the black robe let out a hoarse, grating sound, his gaze fixed directly on Ling Luochen.

"Ling Luochen, our Cult Master invites you. Give up this pointless resistance and come back to the sect with us obediently."

"You are from the Holy Spirit Cult!"

Ling Luochen's delicate body shuddered as she instantly realized the man's origins.

So, it really was a trap!

The black-robed man seemed to relish the fear on her face.

He let out a cackling laugh, his gaze shifting toward the terrified mercenaries of the caravan nearby.

"As for you ants... perfect, it has been a long time since I've had a feast!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand, and a dense mass of black energy began to condense in his palm!

"Stop!"

Ling Luochen let out an angry shout.

She forcibly channeled the little remaining soul power in her body.

Two yellow, two purple, and one black soul ring rose up instantly!

"First Soul Skill: Ice Staff!"

A two-meter-long staff, formed entirely of crystalline ice, appeared in her hands.

"Go!"

Extreme cold surged into the sky, and the moisture in the air instantly condensed into countless sharp ice cones, raining down upon the black-robed man like a torrential storm!

"A mere firefly daring to compete with the moon?"

The black-robed man let out a disdainful snort.

He didn't even use a soul skill, merely waving his hand casually.

A surging wave of black soul power crashed out, easily shattering all the ice cones into dust!

Immediately after, his figure flickered, appearing before Ling Luochen as if he had teleported.

A hand, withered like a ghost's claw, reached straight for her throat!

Too fast!

Between a Soul King and a Soul Saint lay an insurmountable chasm!

Ling Luochen only had time to manifest an ice shield in front of her.

"Crack!"

The ice shield shattered instantly, and Ling Luochen let out a muffled groan as she was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string.

She skidded over a dozen meters across the ground, a mouthful of blood staining the dust before her.

With just one move, she was already severely wounded!

It's over...

Despair washed over her like a tide, threatening to drown her completely.

Standing in the distance, Ji Xuan felt a chill run through his entire body.

Run?

Facing a Soul Saint, how could he possibly run?

The opponent's speed was so fast that even his afterimages were invisible; any thought of escape was nothing but a joke.

Wait for death?

He didn't have that habit!

Since he was going to die either way, he might as well... take a gamble!

In a flash of lightning, Ji Xuan made his decision!

"Ling Luochen!"

He lunged out from his hiding spot, letting out a roar toward Ling Luochen, who was struggling to get back up.

"I need mirrors! As many as possible! Anything that can reflect light!"

This inexplicable shout caused the black-robed man, who was about to finish off Ling Luochen, to pause, casting a puzzled glance in his direction.

Ling Luochen, who had been plunged into despair, felt a sudden spark of brilliance ignite in her unfocused eyes the moment she heard those words!

Mirrors!

She instantly thought of that mysterious soul skill of Ji Xuan's that had forcibly pulled her back from the brink of losing control!

Although she didn't know what he intended to do, at this moment, Ji Xuan was her only hope!

"Okay!"

She gritted her teeth, ignoring the blood at the corner of her mouth, and frantically drove the last of the soul power within her body!

"Fifth Soul Skill: Ice Radiance Ring!"

A brilliant ring of ice crystals was released, expanding continuously in the air as it slammed toward the black-robed figure!

"A deathbed struggle!"

A flash of impatience crossed the black-robed figure's eyes. He threw a punch, and a surge of overwhelming black energy instantly swallowed the ice ring.

But that brief obstruction bought Ling Luochen precious time!

"Third Soul Skill: Ice Cage!"

She slammed both hands onto the ground!

Centered on the black-robed figure, the water elements in the earth and air condensed frantically.

A massive circular cage composed of countless hexagonal ice crystals rose from the ground, instantly enveloping the black-robed figure!

Unlike an ordinary cage, every ice crystal that made up this structure was as smooth as a mirror!

The ice crystal panels reflected the black-robed figure's silhouette thousands upon thousands of times!

"Foolish! Do you think something like this can trap me?"

The black-robed figure let out a disdainful cold snort, raising his hand to shatter this flashy but impractical prison.

However, at that very moment.

Outside the prison, Ji Xuan raised his right hand high!

The primitive Mirror Martial Soul in his palm was aimed at one of the ice crystals!

An inconceivable scene unfolded!

The surface of the mirror was projected onto one of the ice crystals.

Then, that ice crystal reflected it onto the opposite, side, and top panels—all of the ice crystals!

One became two, two became four, and four became thousands!

In an instant, every ice surface inside the entire Ice Cage became an extension of Ji Xuan's mirror surface!

Watching the black-robed figure surrounded by countless mirrors.

Ji Xuan's eyes were bloodshot as he squeezed out the very last drop of his mental power!

Beneath his feet, that deep ten-thousand-year soul ring shone with extreme brilliance!

"First Soul Skill—"

"Kyōka Suigetsu!"

Hum—

The entire world seemed to go still.

Countless illusions of [Kyōka Suigetsu], through reflection, stacked layer upon layer!

The black-robed figure, just about to strike, felt his vision blur as the surrounding scene suddenly changed!

He was no longer in the ice prison, but standing in an infinite space composed of countless mirrors!

Above, below, left, right, and in every direction, there were only his own reflections!

Thousands of versions of himself stepped out from the mirrors.

Bearing the exact same aura as him, they looked at him with the same eerie smiles!

Then, all of them launched an attack simultaneously!

Thousands of attacks, overwhelming and inescapable!

However.

The black-robed figure was stunned for less than half a second.

"Petty tricks, daring to show off before an expert?"

The black-robed figure let out a disdainful cold snort, not even bothering to distinguish the true from the false in the illusion.

In the face of absolute power, all these flashy displays were nothing but paper tigers!

"Seventh Soul Skill—Avatar of Martial Soul!"

Boom!

An unprecedented, massive surge of soul power erupted from his body like a volcanic explosion!

He transformed into a giant, constantly twisting and writhing shadow, with countless faces of people wailing in agony appearing and disappearing within it, emitting a terrifying aura capable of corrupting the soul!

Crack—

In an instant, the Ice Cage that Ling Luochen had built with all her might was shattered from the inside by this violent force as if it were made of paper!

Countless ice crystal fragments shot out in all directions!

"Pfft!"

Ling Luochen was struck as if by a heavy blow, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

On the other side, Ji Xuan, the mastermind behind the illusion, suffered an even more miserable fate!

The moment the ice crystal prison shattered, he felt as if his brain had been pierced through by ten thousand red-hot steel needles!

Because Kyōka Suigetsu had been forcibly broken in such a brutal manner, the backlash of mental energy threatened to tear his soul into shreds!

He couldn't even manage a scream; blood gushed from his nose and mouth like a fountain, his vision went black, and he collapsed limply, losing consciousness in an instant.