Curse!

Whoosh!

A wild howl surged out from the depths of the inner residence, aimed straight at where Qiu Yan's Living Soul was!

Sharp and ear-piercing.

The moment the howl arose, it threw Qiu Yan's mind into disarray. He nearly lost himself, and his Living Soul fluctuated between gathering and scattering. Had it not been strengthened by talismans, that single sound would have been enough to disperse his soul!

Merely a sound could shake my Living Soul so fiercely! This must be some kind of sonic attack technique. The attacker surely possesses considerable attainment in Nature Cultivation and Soul Dao, far beyond a beginner like me!

The thought flashed through his mind. Qiu Yan did not hesitate. His Living Soul stirred, shifting from stillness to motion; like it had been fitted with a spring, it shot forward toward the walls of the Pan Household!

Leave!

Qiu Yan had decided to flee in an instant, without the slightest hesitation!

"Trying to run? Do you think you can?"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A long laugh rang out, and in an instant, seven or eight streaks of radiance flashed into view. Like shooting stars, they flew at Qiu Yan's Living Soul with astonishing speed, arriving in the blink of an eye!

"So fast!"

Qiu Yan was caught up to in an instant. The meteor-like radiance carried an aura of confinement and solidification, clearly intending to hold his Living Soul captive. Yet Qiu Yan did not panic. His thoughts whirled, and his Living Soul swayed up, down, left, and right like willow fluff in the wind, slipping through the gaps between the streaks of light at the very edge of danger.

"Oh? Your state of mind is quite good. You can remain calm even before Light-Binding Talismans, unaffected by the intent within them. Interesting. But do not dream of escaping. Elder Zhan, make your move."

From afar, a thought was transmitted. The rippling thought formed sound, clearly entering Qiu Yan's Living Soul perception.

As expected, the Pan Household hides an expert in soul cultivation. Rongniang's soul must have fallen into his hands. That voice sounds young; it was likely Tang Yi. Both these words and that howl earlier were transmitted through thought, without alerting anyone else. Only Living Souls and ghost souls can hear them! What a pity. He sent a subordinate to pursue me, yet refuses to act himself. What a pity, what a pity.

Qiu Yan had used his Living Soul to spy upon the Pan father and sons when he was suddenly attacked. Streaks of meteor-like radiance pursued him, and voices reached him, yet from beginning to end, neither the Pan father and sons in the room nor any servants or maids in the household noticed a thing.

Such was the nature of battles in Soul Dao. There might be light and sound, but those who had not undergone Aperture Opening, with mortal eyes and flesh, found them difficult to perceive. That was why the world did not see so many wielders of Divine Ability. When those with Divine Ability exerted their arts and fought, ordinary people simply could not see them. How could word of them spread?

As Qiu Yan considered this, his Living Soul flashed past several streaks of radiance and reached the top of the high wall. Just as he was about to leave the Pan Household, a violent wind suddenly surged from behind.

Even ordinary people could clearly sense the hurried current of air sweeping in from beside the wall.

"Hm? The wind has risen?"

Pan Yuanwai in the room also felt the fierce wind outside the window.

"Enough. Go back now. It is late. Rest well, and tomorrow take Tang Yi around the city a couple of times."

"Yes, Father. Your son takes his leave."

Just as Third Young Master Pan bowed and withdrew, gently closing the door, Qiu Yan's Living Soul above the Pan Household's high wall was seized by an unseen force and could no longer move!

Behind him, a faint phantom drifted over. It was also a Living Soul.

That Living Soul seemed to move with the wind, yet traveled swiftly. When it first appeared, it was still deep within the Pan Household, but in the turn of a thought, it had arrived behind Qiu Yan's Living Soul!

Within that Living Soul, a tiny figure could vaguely be seen.

"A figure born within the soul! This person has already condensed a Human Soul. He has entered the second realm of soul refinement, the Soul-Congealing Realm!" A Living Soul's perception was not limited to what lay ahead. Wherever his senses reached in all Eight Directions was as clear as sight. Qiu Yan immediately discovered the soul phantom behind him and recalled the Lying God Inner Art's description of the Soul-Congealing Realm, the second realm of Nature Cultivation.

The first time I fight someone with my Living Soul, I encounter someone a full realm above me. It seems I must use my trump card at once. What a pity the true master has not appeared; this is only one of his subordinates. Once I use this trump card, I will have no more cards left...

Though he thought this, Qiu Yan did not hesitate. He was about to act when the Living Soul behind him shuddered. With a snap, a piece actually broke off from one corner!

Tiny and slight.

A Living Soul fragment!

At the sight, Qiu Yan could not help but freeze.

"He actually shattered his own Living Soul? He split off a fragment!"

A Living Soul was a fusion of a person's thoughts, memories, emotions, and the like. Even the slightest injury could cause memories to go missing. A serious injury could even damage one's spirit and intellect; once it returned to the body, the harm would gradually manifest upon the physical form. Why would anyone voluntarily shatter it?

Yet in the blink of an eye, the figure within the Living Soul behind him raised a hand and traced through the air, as if writing characters in empty space. The Living Soul fragment swiftly changed like kneaded clay, becoming intricate character patterns.

The instant the characters appeared, Qiu Yan's heart jolted. Then radiance flashed, and the rune appeared before his Living Soul, its meaning piercing forth—

Seize!

The Seizing-Character Curse!

The curse text collapsed, scattering into specks of starlight that fell upon Qiu Yan's Living Soul.

"Not good!"

The next moment, Qiu Yan felt his soul body twist. A pitch-black vortex appeared ahead, releasing a shocking force of suction that dragged and distorted his soul body.

Soul Seizing!

"They are trying to forcibly seize my Living Soul!"

Realizing this, Qiu Yan knew the crisis had arrived. With one misstep, this fragment of his Living Soul would be captured. His life and death would fall into another's hands. Even if his true body remained free, his incarnation would be enslaved—or perhaps not even granted the chance for slavery, its soul directly swallowed as nourishment.

Suddenly, white radiance flashed beneath the high wall. A slender, razor-sharp streak of white light shot upward!

The light was solid, its edges sharp and its tip incomparably pointed. It was like a Longsword made of radiance, arriving in an instant without allowing even the slightest time to react, piercing straight through the Living Soul containing the figure!

"Divine Power? A deity? A deity was hiding nearby? Could it be this man's accomplice?"

The figure within the soul was stunned, shocked, and terrified. Its emotional fluctuations spread clearly in all directions. The light had come too quickly; he had not even had time to react!

The light twisted, shredding the Living Soul and the figure within it into fragments that drifted apart.

The light came from underground, connected to the right hand of a glowing figure. Gray robes and a fire-patterned headscarf—it was the newly ascended Kitchen God, Qiu Yan's divine true body.

Qiu Yan had sent his Living Soul wandering at night to investigate the Pan Household. Naturally, he could not have failed to prepare a backup plan and a trump card. His true body glowed all over and could not accompany him, but it could hide underground and wait for its chance.

This backup plan had originally been intended for when he found Pan Rongniang's soul. Yet because someone had tried to seize his soul, it erupted ahead of time.

Divine Power could transform between existence and nonexistence. To make it as sharp as a sword required only a thought. Though the expenditure was considerable, it had at least pierced the enemy.

However, although the Living Soul containing the figure had been shattered by one sword stroke, the soul-seizing vortex did not stop. Instead, it became even more chaotic. Clearly, it had lost control and erupted completely!

Suck! Drag! Tear!

A powerful tearing force suddenly struck, and Qiu Yan's soul body felt as though it would be ripped apart!

My understanding of Soul Dao is still insufficient. I thought I would escape danger after destroying the enemy, never expecting to instead fall into such circumstances. Soul Seizing is bizarre; even my divine true body may not be able to suppress it. In that case, either I lose this incarnation's Living Soul, or I must risk everything!

At this point, Qiu Yan made his decision in an instant.

"Shatter!"

Underground, the divine true body moved with a thought and suddenly clenched its right hand into a fist. The slender white light connected to that hand promptly collapsed into a wave of radiance, sweeping up the shattered Living Soul of the figure and surging toward Qiu Yan's Living Soul!