Underworld Bone, Ming He Falls!

After a brief moment of shock, Jiang Che lowered his gaze to the Holy Sword of Light still flowing with gilded luster in his hand. The hexagram crossguard on the blade flickered slightly; the "Aurora World-Purifying Wheel" he had just unleashed had consumed less than a tenth of his total soul power, yet its destructive force far exceeded his expectations.

The restraint the Ultimate Light exerted over dark, evil forces was even more absolute than he had imagined.

The Martial Soul Fusion Skill that Gu Qianye and Ming He had exhausted themselves to unleash was as fragile as paper before the Holy Sword of Light; it hadn't even managed to stabilize its domain core before being disintegrated at the root by the holy radiance.

This restraint was not a simple matter of elemental opposition, but an absolute suppression from the top of the food chain—like flames to ice, or daylight to shadows. It was a fundamental crushing, leaving no room for even a shred of luck.

"As expected of the Ultimate Light." Jiang Che whispered to himself. The runes glowed faintly the moment he touched them, sending back a warm resonance as if responding to his praise.

In the past, relying on his Ice Dragon King Martial Soul and Ultimate Ice attribute, he could fight opponents above his rank, but when facing the bizarre and venomous soul skills of Evil Soul Masters, he could only rely on brute force to break their techniques, resulting in exhausting, head-on attrition.

But now, with the Holy Sword of Light, everything was different.

The soul erosion, vengeful spirit curses, and corrosive miasma that Evil Soul Masters prided themselves on didn't even have the qualifications to get close to him in the face of the Ultimate Light.

This sense of satisfaction—the feeling of "I haven't even exerted myself yet, and you've already fallen"—made Jiang Che feel an unprecedented sense of ease.

On the ground, Gu Qianye was still attempting to struggle. He braced himself against the icy surface and staggered to his feet; the fabric at his knees had been shredded by shards of ice, revealing the bruised, purplish-black skin beneath.

Ming He lay collapsed in an ice crater. He lifted his head with great difficulty, his lips twitching several times, but he could only emit a hoarse, garbled, breathy sound.

The Soul Saints and Contra-level masters who had previously been too terrified by the aftermath of the battle and the Dragon Might to intervene now looked ashen-faced.

Some attempted to sneak toward the depths of the Ice Valley amidst the chaos, while others stared blankly at the Holy Sword of Light in Jiang Che's hand, their pupils reflecting the silhouette of the golden longsword, their very thoughts of escape paralyzed by fear.

Jiang Che's silver-blue gaze shifted away from Gu Qianye and swept over the shivering Evil Soul Masters; there was no pity in his eyes, only indifference.

He suddenly recalled a few things. He remembered that in the original work, the Holy Spirit Cult only began to truly grow in power during the years Huo Yuhao enrolled in Shrek, eventually becoming a grave threat to the continent.

The rise of the Holy Spirit Cult in the original story was linked to the surge in the number of Evil Soul Masters, the internal corruption of various royal families, and the repeated failures of the Shrek Inspectorate in their suppression campaigns.

The fact that this group of Evil Soul Masters had appeared in the Far North, accompanied by two Title Douluo and dozens of high-level soul masters, indicated that the foundation of the Holy Spirit Cult was even deeper than he had anticipated.

"Forget it, why dwell on such things." Jiang Che shook his head, no longer fixating on those extraneous matters.

He flicked his wrist, and the golden runes on the Holy Sword of Light lit up once more. This time, it wasn't a soul skill, but a simple infusion of soul power.

The holy light from the blade spread out like a tide, washing over the Ice Valley. Wherever it passed, the ice surface that had been polluted by the Evil Soul Masters hissed, the grey-black stains rapidly fading under the scorching holy light to reveal the crystal-clear appearance beneath.

The foul stench in the air was also dispelled bit by bit, replaced by a crisp, clean scent.

"You shouldn't have appeared before me." Jiang Che's voice was not loud, yet it reached every Evil Soul Master clearly, calm as if he were stating a fact rather than delivering a verdict.

The Evil Soul Masters slumped on the ground shuddered. Some finally snapped out of their stupor, lunging up from the ice and sprinting madly toward the exit of the Ice Valley.

Their Avatar of Martial Soul had long since dissipated; now, they moved with the speed of ordinary soul masters, appearing as slow as if they were struggling through a quagmire before a Title Douluo.

Jiang Che did not pursue. He simply raised the Holy Sword of Light and gave it a gentle wave.

A golden, crescent-shaped sword qi shot out from the blade, silent and soundless, yet moving with astonishing speed.

Along the trajectory of the sword qi, the air twisted slightly, and even the light seemed to be severed. The sprinting Evil Soul Masters didn't even have time to scream before the sword qi overtook them.

The golden holy light pierced through their bodies, scorching and purifying the flesh, meridians, and bones that had been corrupted by the techniques of the Evil Soul Masters. Each of them dissolved into a flurry of fine golden light particles, dissipating into the cold winds of the Far North.

There was no blood, no severed limbs, not even a single wail left behind.

The purification of the Ultimate Light was total, an erasure that left no trace, as if they had never existed at all.

More than a dozen Soul Saints and Contra-level masters were reduced to nothingness under Jiang Che's single strike.

Jiang Che stood with his sword sheathed, the gilded luster on the Holy Sword of Light slowly receding. The runes on the blade dimmed, returning to the appearance of a simple, ancient golden longsword.

He turned to look in the direction of the Ice Empress and Huo Yuhao, a gentle smile reappearing in his silver-blue eyes, as if the one-sided slaughter that had just occurred had never happened.

Jiang Che walked slowly toward the two. The Holy Sword of Light had been retracted into his body, and his Ice Dragon King Martial Soul had also dissipated. He had returned to the appearance of a refined and gentle young man, his silver-blue pupils looking down at the two utterly wretched Title Douluo at his feet.

"What was the purpose of the Holy Spirit Cult sending you to the Far North?"

Gu Qianye lifted his head with difficulty, a trace of mockery flashing in his clouded eyes. He pulled his mouth into an ugly smile, revealing teeth stained red with blood: "You guess?"

Jiang Che did not grow angry, merely watching him calmly.

Gu Qianye spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, which instantly froze into a dark red bead upon hitting the ice.

His voice was hoarse and shrill, like a broken bellows leaking air: "Kid, I, Gu Qianye, have lived for nearly a hundred years. What haven't I seen? Do you think that just because you're from Shrek and put on an interrogator's pose, I'll tell you about the Holy Cult?"

Ming He struggled to roll over in the ice crater, lying face up, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for air.

His voice was even weaker than Gu Qianye's, yet it carried the same stubbornness: "Big Brother is right. Kill me or carve me up as you please, but if you think you'll pry even half a word out of our mouths, keep dreaming."

Jiang Che looked at these two old men who refused to yield even in death, his brows knitting slightly.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered using his spiritual power to forcibly probe them, but the Sea of Consciousness of a Title Douluo-level soul master was already as solid as a fortress. If he were to force his way in, he feared that before he could break through their defenses, their Sea of Consciousness would self-destruct first.

Moreover, he didn't have much interest in the specific operational plans of the Holy Spirit Cult.

In the face of absolute strength, all schemes and plots were paper tigers. As long as he continued to grow, once he broke through to the realm of a Super Douluo or even a Limit Douluo, no matter how many of those skulking Evil Soul Masters the Holy Spirit Cult sent, they would only be delivering themselves to the slaughter.

"One last time." Jiang Che withdrew his thoughts, his silver-blue pupils calmly fixed on Gu Qianye. "What exactly did you come to the Far North to do?"

Gu Qianye closed his eyes, no longer looking at him. The expression on his face was calm and composed, even carrying a hint of relief.

Ming He did not speak either, but with his one remaining functional hand, he struggled to reach out and grasp Gu Qianye's hand hanging at his side. The two aged hands gripped each other tightly, as if in a silent farewell.

Jiang Che remained silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"Since you are unwilling to speak, then so be it."

He slowly raised his right hand, a sphere of pure golden holy light coalescing in his palm; the light was warm rather than blinding, yet it contained the primal power to purify all things.

Gu Qianye and Ming He felt the aura of that light and their bodies trembled involuntarily—it was the instinctual reaction of Evil Soul Masters, a fear of their natural predator etched into their bones and fused into their bloodlines; no matter how tough they talked, their bodies would not lie.

"The purification of Ultimate Light brings no pain," Jiang Che said. "Your souls will be thoroughly cleansed, leaving nothing behind, and you need not worry about being seized by other Evil Soul Masters to be refined into vengeful spirits after death."

Gu Qianye opened his eyes, a complex look flashing through his murky pupils; his lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

Ming He, on the other hand, laughed—the smile was twisted and ugly, yet it carried a rare sense of relief: "Kid, you are... far more humane than those bastards in the Holy Cult."

Jiang Che did not speak again, and the holy light in his palm suddenly bloomed.

The golden radiance enveloped the two, like the rising sun dispelling the gloom of a long night; there were no screams, no struggles, as the bodies of Gu Qianye and Ming He dissolved bit by bit in the holy light, completely disintegrated at the source by the Ultimate Light until they vanished between heaven and earth.

Two Title Douluo had thus vanished from this world entirely, leaving not even a trace behind.

Ice Valley returned to silence, with only the cold wind swirling fine snow, gently brushing against the hem of Jiang Che's robes.