Soul's Parting

Everyone heard the "clinking" sound of stabbing coming from the fifth floor of the White Tower.

The crowd did not know if he had succeeded, nor did they understand why he would suddenly leap out of the White Tower and return to Luo Hongyan at such speed.

"Did you fail?"

Seeing his displeasure, Luo Hongyan blinked and asked in surprise, "With your innate divine strength, you couldn't even destroy the array on the fifth floor?"

"The stones used to build the skull array are harder than iron and gold; I couldn't crack them even with the Dragon-Patterned Spear."

Displeased as he was, Pang Jian was not discouraged. He said candidly, "Perhaps my method was wrong. Does prying that thing open require some special trick?"

He explained the skull's design, the numerous souls and ghosts inside, and the spirit turtle that surrounded them.

He also mentioned what he had seen on the first floor: the meander patterns laid out with crystals, noting that the spirit arrays arranged in those meander patterns generated an exceptionally dense concentration of spiritual energy.

After listening to him intently, Luo Hongyan frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "The array laid out by numerous crystals at the base of the White Tower is the source of power that drives the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda."

"The meander patterns you saw are called the Primitive Cloud-Thunder Pattern, and those crystals brimming with spiritual energy are... Spirit Jade."

Pang Jian was stunned: "Spirit Jade?"

Greed suddenly flared in the eyes of Su Yuntian and He Rong.

"Spirit Jade is simply spirit stone of higher quality and purity. Above Spirit Jade, there is an even higher grade of exotic stone called Spirit Crystal." After a casual explanation, Luo Hongyan added, "As for the hollowed-out skulls, they are likely soul-locking and soul-absorbing arrays. The reason you couldn't break them, aside from using the wrong method, is that your cultivation realm is too low."

"The method to shatter a soul array involves spiritual consciousness and the soul—a realm you are completely unfamiliar with. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

She explained the situation, specifically pointing out that Pang Jian's lack of cultivation realm was the reason he could not destroy the soul array.

Pang Jian understood that he had only just entered the path of cultivation; he had yet to break through the Qi Refining Realm and had not experienced the qualitative change that Zhou Qingchen had spoken of.

Without ascending to the Pulse-Opening Realm, spiritual energy could not flow through the meridians of his entire body, and naturally, it could not be released externally, leaving him little different from an ordinary person.

Only by reaching the Pulse-Opening Realm and being able to utilize the spiritual energy he had accumulated would he experience a qualitative leap.

As Pang Jian felt troubled, Luo Hongyan's gaze fell upon his dantian, and she suddenly asked, "How much longer until you break through?"

Pang Jian narrowed his eyes to focus and feel, then said with some uncertainty, "It shouldn't be far. If I cultivate at that array with all the Spirit Jade, my speed will exceed that of any other place."

"That fellow in the pit beside Shangguan Qin hasn't come out yet either; you still have time for now."

Glancing toward the foot of the mountain and then at the sky, Luo Hongyan said, "Go to the base of the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, gather spiritual energy using those Spirit Jades, and attempt to break through to the Pulse-Opening Realm."

"As long as you complete the first layer of the Pulse-Opening Realm and can channel spiritual energy into that Dragon-Patterned Spear, you will have a chance to destroy the soul array."

She offered a path to resolve their predicament.

Seeing that she intended for Pang Jian to break through on the spot to resolve the crisis, Su Yuntian, He Rong, and the others all felt her suggestion was childish.

Based on their shallow experience, no one who had just ascended to the Pulse-Opening Realm could open the meridians in their arms and project spiritual energy from their palms in such a short time.

"Alright!"

Pang Jian turned and left.

"Is he really only in the Qi Refining Realm?"

Su Yuntian's expression was strange.

"Sister Ning, is he truly a hunter from the outside?"

Su Meng could not help but ask.

Glancing at her, Luo Hongyan maintained her usual coldness, but she nodded nonetheless.

When she had previously feigned being unable to hold on and anxiously begged Pang Jian for help, only Su Meng had shown any inclination to assist.

—Though she had been held back by Su Yuntian and accomplished nothing.

"He is just in the Qi Refining Realm?"

Su Meng asked again.

This time, Luo Hongyan ignored her, and the Pang Jian in her line of sight had already disappeared back into the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda.

Su Yuntian and He Rong watched Luo Hongyan from afar; harboring their own secret agendas, they did not interject but spoke in hushed tones.

"That Ning girl knows a lot about the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda, even knowing about the Primitive Cloud-Thunder Pattern. I didn't even know those things."

He Rong whispered.

Su Yuntian also muttered, "That brat is actually just in the Qi Refining Realm! With such cultivation, he was able to resist the evil spiritual power released by the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda—it's simply incredible."

"Those Spirit Jades..." He Rong murmured.

Just then, Luo Hongyan's meaningful gaze shifted from the White Tower and lingered on his face, her lips curling into a cold sneer.

He Rong, who had designs on the Spirit Jade, immediately felt uncomfortable everywhere and hummed with a dark expression.

He knew that the Ning girl was only at the first layer of the Pulse-Opening Realm, so he naturally did not fear her.

He had grown increasingly disgusted with this girl, who had once been betrothed to his nephew, which was why he had chosen to retreat the moment Luo Hongyan fell into danger.

Deep down, he actually hoped that Luo Hongyan would have her soul extracted by the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda; he wanted to see her die before his eyes.

It seemed that this would wash away the humiliation she had brought upon him and the He Family.

The base of the White Tower.

Pang Jian returned and, without delay, sat cross-legged atop the Primitive Cloud-Thunder Patterns. Clearing his mind of all distractions, he instantly entered the meditative state of the Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art.

With the refinement of his cultivation, he could now enter this state in the blink of an eye whenever he focused his mind.

As his concentration solidified, the "Spirit Pot" he visualized manifested, and wisps of spiritual energy from the Spirit Jade beneath him were drawn in.

The spiritual energy flowing through the array of Primitive Cloud-Thunder Patterns resembled streams converging toward a vast, deep ocean.

In Pang Jian's perception, his spirit sea was that very ocean, absorbing the myriad streams of spiritual energy through the Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art!

The efficiency of this cultivation was something he had never experienced before; its swiftness moved him deeply.

The streams of spiritual energy, transformed into flowing light, entered his dantian above and followed the funnel-shaped vortex, reaching the ocean of spiritual energy below.

He could clearly feel the spiritual energy within his spirit sea being filled, bit by bit.

Initially, the refined and gathered spiritual energy was merely a small pool, but it gradually grew into a pond, then a lake, and finally, an ocean!

Spirit sea, spirit sea—only when spiritual energy gathers into an ocean is it the mark of reaching the pinnacle of the Qi Refining Realm.

It was the grandeur that the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm ought to possess!

Feeling the marvelous changes within his spirit sea, Pang Jian understood that he was not far from breaking through to the next realm, nor from charging toward the Pulse-Opening Realm.

Time slipped away, and Pang Jian, immersed in his cultivation, did not notice that night had fallen once more.

Under the cover of darkness that night, the Su and He families did not light a fire; they gathered together, waiting in trepidation.

They did not know when the person Shangguan Qin feared would suddenly emerge, nor did they believe that Pang Jian could advance to the Pulse-Opening Realm in such a short time to shatter the soul array at the top of the White Tower.

"Tomorrow, once the sky is fully bright, we will first harvest the rare flowers and herbs on the island."

He Rong had made up his mind. He immediately discussed it with Su Yuntian, saying, "Regardless of whether that girl Ning and that brat can break the soul array inside the White Tower, we must attend to our own affairs first."

The rare flowers and herbs on the island were worth a fortune. As long as they knew how to harvest them, obtaining some spirit herbs would surely allow them to trade for plenty of spiritual materials.

"The gestures Shangguan Qin made were telling us to leave this island as soon as possible and inform the experts of our clans about its existence," Su Yuntian said, frowning in agitation. "The fact that she feels we cannot save her means the danger surrounding her is capable of killing us all with ease."

Su Yuntian added, "You are right, Brother He. We must not pin our hopes on that girl Ning and Pang Jian. It is simply unrealistic for them to try and sharpen their spears at the last minute to break this deadlock!"

"Indeed, even with that girl Ning, we are likely no match for the person in the well," He Rong said timidly.

The two quickly reached an agreement: they would harvest some rare flowers and herbs after dawn and then depart on a bamboo raft.

They also planned to take a different route, avoiding the one Pang Jian had pointed out, hoping to bypass the "Spirit Sha" they had encountered. They would rather spend more time than risk their lives to safely exit the Cenji Mountains.

In the pitch-black night, the "Spirit Sha" lurking in the grass on the outskirts of the island moved stealthily under the cover of darkness.

Except for the area where the White Tower stood, which the "Spirit Sha" avoided, the rest of the island had been thoroughly searched by them.

The "Spirit Sha" found a pile of bones on the grass behind Shangguan Qin. The four missing servants from the Su and He families, along with the corpses of several Galaxy Alliance and Blood Moon practitioners, were all piled there.

One of the "Spirit Sha" floated in mid-air in the darkness, gazing at Shangguan Qin and the pit created by the Phoenix Bone.

It had been condensed from the soul of Luo Meng.

This "Spirit Sha" transformed from Luo Meng did not attempt to investigate the pit during the critical moment when Pang Jian was charging toward the Pulse-Opening Realm.

—It was terrified of disturbing the unknown existence within.

It observed quietly and saw a slender white rope tied around Shangguan Qin's ankle.

The other end of the white rope trailed down into the pit, seemingly connected to the person she feared inside.

Whenever Shangguan Qin moved too far from the pit, it seemed as though the white rope would be tugged, alerting the person below.

And she, it seemed, had no ability to untie the white rope, so she remained trapped beside the pit.

At the top of the mountain, Luo Hongyan, hidden in the shadows, watched Shangguan Qin at the foot of the mountain.

In the dead of night in this Fourth Realm, and separated by such a great distance, Shangguan Qin could no longer see her.

Yet, through the "Spirit Sha," she could see every move Shangguan Qin made, including the thin white rope.

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

The "Spirit Sha" Luo Meng, under her control, slowly descended from mid-air and landed before the distraught Shangguan Qin.

Shangguan Qin, who had long since given up struggling, saw Luo Meng suddenly appear. She first rubbed her eyes, but when she discovered Luo Meng was still there, she could not believe what she was seeing.

She laughed silently in a neurotic manner, waved at Luo Meng, and then sobbed, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Her weeping was soundless.

With her face covered in tear tracks, she looked at the "Spirit Sha" Luo Meng, still believing it to be a hallucination.

She recalled many things she had experienced with Luo Meng, thinking of how this man had stayed by her side in silence, even knowing her heart was as venomous as a scorpion's, knowing she had caused the deaths of her two previous husbands, and knowing she was enamored with Ouyang Duanhai.

In the end, it was this man who had resolutely gone to his death to save her.

She shook her head miserably, filled with guilt, not knowing how to face Luo Meng after death.

Gradually, she dared not look up, dared not look at the Luo Meng she assumed to be a hallucination.

And the controlled "Luo Meng" had long since lost his own spiritual consciousness, staring at her with empty, wooden eyes.

"Spirit Sha" Luo Meng did not know who she was, nor did he understand why she was weeping.

"A heartless and ungrateful woman; you only know regret now, but it is a pity that it is too late."

On a low hill in the distance, Luo Hongyan let out a soft scoff. Seeing that Shangguan Qin had not revealed any useful information, she signaled for "Spirit Sha" to leave.

"Spirit Sha" Luo Meng vanished in an instant.