Heaven Above, Clouds Soaring, Swallowing Three Gods

The light shone down, unaffected by the towering mountains in the sky or the chaotic Fortune within the city. It broke through the air and landed directly in the Military Governor's Residence.

It passed through the obstruction of the roof tiles and landed in the main hall of the ancestral hall.

Qiu Yan was bathed in light, and above his head floated Living Soul. The soul looked up and saw four bookshelves around him, each emanating a different aura.

Strands of information flowed from the light and were absorbed by the Living Soul, while the physical body also shimmered faintly under the light, and wisps of smoke rose from various parts of the body, swirling around the Living Soul.

The light from the sky gave Qiu Yan a beautiful, warm, and ethereal feeling, making his Living Soul want to soar to the Nine Heavens and roam freely Beyond Heaven, forever carefree.

The smoke below gave Qiu Yan a cold, heavy, and binding feeling, dragging his Living Soul downwards, as if he would be pulled into the Nine Netherworlds and never be able to escape.

One above, one below—two sensations, the upper part alluring, the lower part heavy, the Living Soul caught in the middle, feeling as if it has no control over its own destiny.

"This Heavenly Soul Path is the Celestial Person."

"Light comes from Beyond Heaven, representing an unpredictable fate and a reliance on Void; smoke rises from the heart, signifying a life of twists and turns and fleeting moments, a life of indulgence and debauchery."

"If one cannot resist temptation, one's soul will be Beyond Heaven; if one cannot overcome oneself, one will be deeply entangled in the mortal world. As a god, it is indeed difficult for me to comprehend such a contradiction."

With a change of heart, Qiu Yan's resolve hardened.

The Living Soul shuddered, swallowing all the information in the light, and then turned around, drawing in the surrounding smoke as well.

In an instant, a ray of light from Beyond Heaven returned to his soul, and a wisp of dust within his body also fell into his soul.

The soul-entertainer sat down cross-legged, while the Earthly Soul Bookshelf continued to spin. Suddenly, rosy light and mist rose from within the soul, drifting and swirling, condensing into a luminous cloud above the soul-entertainer and the Earthly Soul!

Heavenly Soul!

Taking advantage of the opportunity to settle all grudges and karmic Karma, Qiu Yan actually managed to condense Heavenly Soul in one fell swoop.

Once the Heavenly Soul emerged, the Three Souls of Heaven, Earth, and Man gathered together and condensed into a single entity. Three streams of energy surged out from the Three Souls and lingered within them. Qiu Yan suddenly understood the essence of these three streams of energy.

"Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity! Once the Heavenly Soul emerges, there is no longer any barrier between it and the Fortune, enabling it to discern blessings and misfortunes, and to understand gains and losses!"

In the blink of an eye, the enveloping light vanished, and the Living Soul fell straight down, disappearing into the crown of the head.

Qiu Yan's body immediately regained its vitality. Without lingering, he took two steps forward and arrived at the place where the Demon Core had been.

The Demon Core was gone, replaced by hundreds of tiny figures, each dressed differently.

These figures are not sentient beings, nor even souls. They are simply filled with resentment and injustice, incapable of rational thought, and driven only by hatred for the culprit.

A few days ago, Qiu Yan probed and learned the source of Shi Jianhui's medicinal herbs. It was from the clinic that Yama's Grudge. So he used his divine power to wrap the resentment and hide it in the clinic. Under his covert control, it slowly seeped into the medicinal herbs, which led to the resentment being satisfied.

As Qiu Yan approached, the group of small figures turned around in unison, bowed to him, and then slowly disappeared, revealing a bead they had surrounded.

This is a crystal-clear bead, with what appears to be flowing blood inside, and a remnant soul entwined around its edge.

With just one glance, Qiu Yan recognized the remnant soul's identity. He gently blew a breath, completely dispersing the remnant soul without a trace.

The True Spirit has vanished.

After doing all this, Qiu Yan felt a surge of emotion.

"A Demon King reigned supreme for hundreds of years, meticulously pursuing the Life Cultivation and Divine Path, was ultimately devoured by the lingering resentment of Living Soul. Even though I orchestrated this, the power of People's Wishes is still evident. Even gods should fear it."

The thought crossed his mind, and he reached out and grabbed the crystal-clear red bead, holding it in his hand.

At that moment, a low, hoarse voice came from the side—

"I never imagined that someone as great as the King would ultimately meet his end at the hands of a cultivator, and one who had just condensed his Heavenly Soul at that!"

The one speaking was the Black Marsh Patriarch.

This deity was in a sorry state, his black robes were torn, and his Divine Body was flickering between light and shadow, indicating that his divine power was severely depleted.

This is understandable. The Black Marsh Patriarch was suppressed by the Fortune-Transferring Power, suffered from the resentment of the people, and was also hit by an ominous divination. As a result, his Divine Body was corrupted by the Fortune-Transferring Power, Fortune was exhausted. For a god, this is the most fatal thing.

However, while Qiu Yan was condensing his Heavenly Soul, the Black Marsh Patriarch finally recovered.

At that moment, he struggled to his feet, holding a seal in his hand, which emitted a faint blue light.

"However, your time ends here," the Black Marsh Patriarch said as his Divine Body rapidly recovered. "Once I refine this talisman and master the Law Seals, I will be free from its shackles and remain untouched by eternal damnation."

Seeing this, Qiu Yan remained calm. With a wave of his hand, the other two orbs of light and the seal that had fallen to the ground flew up and were caught in his hand. Then, with a squeeze, Divine Radiance burst forth in his hand, emitting waves of energy.

"Two talismans, one for the position of the Great Mountain God of Nine Spirits Mountain, and the other for the position of the River Earl of the Great Snow River, both of which are Fifth Grade!"

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Qiu Yan flicked his hand, and the talisman and seal turned into specks of light, which he swallowed whole, entering his Living Soul and disappearing through the Black Hole.

"Hmm? You're quite skilled at controlling talismans and Law Seals. You have quite a few secrets. I'll have to interrogate you properly later." The Black Marsh Patriarch said, his hand flashing with Divine Radiance as he continuously invaded the blue Law Seals.

Qiu Yan shook his head and said, "You have something to ask me? Coincidentally, I also have something to ask you."

"You want to ask me? A mere cultivator, only Heavenly Soul cultivator, dares to question a deity? Don't even think about stalling for time. Even if you turn and run now, you won't escape my grasp."

Qiu Yan didn't take it to heart, and simply said, "What I want to ask is quite simple: Shi Jianhui is clearly a woman, so why do you all call her 'Great King' instead of 'Queen'?"

"What kind of question is this? Huh?" The Black Marsh Patriarch's expression suddenly changed. "What's going on? The Demon King's True Spirit has been destroyed, so how can there still be Divine Sense within this Law Seals? This is impossible!"

Qiu Yan said calmly, "The Demon King's True Spirit is gone, and his aura has dissipated. The Law Seals has naturally become ownerless. If another deity besides you were to infuse it with their Divine Sense, wouldn't they obtain the seal?"

"Impossible! This place is covered by the Fortune-Transferring Power. If the deity doesn't come in person, how can he control his Divine Sense? Even if he transmits his thoughts from afar, once he enters this place, he can't escape my perception. The Great King must still have a backup plan and not truly destroy the spirit!" As he spoke, this dignified Fourth Grade deity, the Black Marsh Patriarch, actually exuded extreme fear.

"Divine Sense is transmitted from afar, you will be able to perceive it, but if that thought is already attached to the Law Seals, how can you detect it?"

As he spoke, Qiu Yan raised his hand, and the Law Seals held in the hand of the Black Marsh Patriarch jumped. Then it burst forth with a vortex of divine power, dragging the Black Marsh's Divine Body into it, twisting and deforming it.

"You've taken control of this Law Seals? No! You have a deity behind you! Spare me! This attacker is no ordinary being; they've used Fortune-Shifting Art to suppress the entire city. You must leave me here to fight alongside you..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Black Marsh Patriarch's entire Divine Body was swallowed by the Law Seals, which flew out into the air and landed in Qiu Yan's hand.

"To unite against the enemy? Leaving behind a hidden threat with ulterior motives is more dangerous than facing the enemy directly."

He narrowed his eyes; without even realizing it, he had come to control the Law Seals!

"Oh? This Law Seals is indeed strange. It was originally Fourth Grade Divine Rank, but it suffered some kind of damage, so that when the Law Seals and the talisman are separated, they each drop in rank. It needs further study."

This blue Law Seals was infused with the divine Divine Sense of the deity himself by Qiu Yan. However, this Divine Sense was not released temporarily, but rather it was something he had hidden in the ancestral hall a few days earlier when he was probing through the smoke.

That day, instead of retreating to alert the enemy, Qiu Yan advanced, condensing his smoke and Divine Sense, and rushed into the ancestral hall. He quickly fell silent, not even bothering to investigate the ancestral hall's true state, remaining hidden to keep a trump card up his sleeve for a surprise attack.

Today, a great change has occurred. Shi Jianhui was suppressed by the Fortune-Transferring Power and lost his vigilance. Only then did this Divine Sense become active again, taking advantage of the situation to enter and attach itself to the Law Seals, catching the Black Marsh Patriarch off guard.

Holding the Law Seals, Qiu Yan pondered for a moment, then squeezed it hard again. With a "bang," the Law Seals turned into a ball of blue light, which he swallowed and passed through the Black Hole in his soul.

After doing all this, Qiu Yan calmly took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket, poured out a bright red pill, and put it in his mouth.

"To achieve victory against all odds, one must have the determination to burn one's bridges; otherwise, how can one turn the tide?"

After finishing these tasks, Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, took two steps forward, and pretended to investigate the woman on the platform. Just then, a cold light flashed from outside the door and pierced straight through his chest!

Qiu Yan's pupils contracted sharply, and he staggered two steps.

Swish!

A flash of cold light appeared, and a short sword, about half an arm's length long, hovered in front of him, its Sword-Ray scattering blood. It was this very short sword that had pierced through Qiu Yan's body.

With a thud, he fell to the ground, took a deep breath, and turned to look at the door.

"I never expected that you would actually kill this demon! This demon was my enemy! Yet you killed it!"

A deep, weathered voice drifted in, accompanied by a young man dressed in a Daoist robe with fiery red trim.

Qiu Yan was no stranger to this young man; he had met him once before, when he was the same Daoist priest who had given him his fortune.

The young Daoist priest, his face contorted with rage, glared at Qiu Yan, his eyes filled with resentment. "Fine! Fine! Fine! You dare ruin my plans! But it doesn't matter, even if you're alone, the Heart Demon you've nurtured is enough to serve as Outer Demon, helping me to sever myself with my sword!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the dagger that had been hovering turned and thrust towards Qiu Yan again!

Just as Qiu Yan was about to dodge, a powerful force surged down from above with a "boom," shattering the roof of the entire ancestral hall. The debris rained down, and Qiu Yan was directly immobilized by this force. His True Qi, strength, and even his Living Soul were suppressed, making it impossible for him to move an inch!

This power was completely different from any cultivator or demon Qiu Yan had ever seen before!

A flash of cold light!

Under Qiu Yan's cold, calm gaze, the short sword pierced through his skull and penetrated his Living Soul!

A thought flashed through Qiu Yan's mind--

"Just as I expected!" (To be continued)

ps: Thanks to "Flying Snow Fox", "floeberg", "t mix derz", "angry cotton", and "probably saw the tofu cube" for their monthly votes!

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