The sky was torn apart, and space itself became a swirling, chaotic vortex!
Qian Jie's thin, withered figure slowly floated into the air. A vertical crack between his brows suddenly opened, and a Soul Seal emitting a ghostly red light was instantly released. Runes wriggled in the void like maggots, and a low groan came from his throat:
"Come forth... my Innate Martial Soul skill—[Soul-Stealing Dream-Lust Seal]!"
--boom!!!
The heavens and earth trembled instantly, and an endless crimson Soul Seal, like a scarlet demonic sun, slowly emerged in the sky. Nine layers of lewd patterns formed a locking array around it, each pattern resembling the howling soul left behind by a woman in her struggle. Crimson ripples surged down like waves, actually corrupting the void and turning it into a strange pool of ghostly light.
The void was instantly tinged with a hazy red, as if the whole world had fallen into a nightmare!
"[Emotion-Seizing Thousand Torrents]--"
With a soft whistle, Qian Jie opened his hand, and a purplish-red slender sword formed from the condensed souls of billions of women emerged from his palm. The sword's blade groaned and creaked, emitting an alluring sound that could confuse the mind.
He swung it suddenly!
The "Emotion-Seizing Sword" instantly cleaved through space, creating a hundred slashes. In each slash, a woman's desperate face appeared, as if a thousand souls were wailing, cursing, and being forcibly refined by him!
At the same time, the three Soul Devourers also unleashed their Fate Soul skills.
The black-robed figure on the left suddenly unleashed a stark white skull bead, and with a cold laugh, roared, "[Life-Devouring Soul-Locking Array]—Activate!"
Boom!!!
Countless soul chains burst forth from the skull bead, the black and white chains resembling fragments of time and cause and effect, sealing the heavens and earth into an Annihilation prison, attempting to forcibly seal Qin Yu and Hong Xiuxiang's soul consciousness space!
The person in the middle tossed out a scarlet soul core, upon which countless blood souls roared:
"[Reincarnation - Soul Devouring Sacrifice Array]! I offer the souls of mortals as sacrifices to ensure the immortality of my divine soul—Arise!!"
The heavens and earth trembled, and the faint wails of millions of mortals echoed from the earth's energy throughout the entire Gloomshadow Source Village. Their remnants of souls were forcibly gathered, transforming into a massive spell array that enveloped the void. Crimson blood patterns rose, forming a colossal Soul-Burning Array.
"Qin Yu!" Hong Xiuxiang's expression was solemn.
Just then, the last person on the right shouted out, lifted his black robe to reveal an evil eye covered in runes, and pointed a finger out!
"[Soul Curse: Reversal of Fate]!"
A swirling ball of purplish-black causal light burst forth from his palm, like a lock of time and space reversing destiny, forcibly sealing Qin Yu's attack trajectory in a "not yet launched" state, as if to turn all future attacks into Emptiness!
The battlefield has completely erupted!
Qin Yu's face was cold and stern at this moment. He raised his left hand, and the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword released a light that could sever heavens and divide realms!
"[Sever the Main Narrative]!"
Buzz!!!
Where the sword points, cause and effect are overturned, and history is disrupted!
With a single sword strike, he tore open a long narrative, erasing the "extended paragraphs" of all the skill trajectories constructed by the three Soul Devouring cultivators. The skills collapsed like fragments in a book!
He then stepped into the void, pointed a finger, and the Fate Cause Master Seal exploded with golden light!
"[Starry Sky - Mirror of Return]!"
A magnificent Mirror of Fate appeared before Qin Yu, reflecting the origins of the three Soul Eaters and all their Qian Jie skills, thus reconstructing the logical starting point!
Skill self-destruction!
Hong Xiuxiang has now unleashed her Innate Martial Soul!
"The Spirit Brocade Book Realm - Begins!"
Thousands of scrolls of spiritual books unfurled behind her, instantly creating a magical sea of books that filled the world. Each page was imprinted with runes that conveyed shifting emotions. With a flick of her wrist, she gently wrote:
"--The souls of three, disordered, torn, and lost."
In an instant, [Soul Book Cuts Off Breath] was activated!
The soul skill chains of the three Soul Devouring cultivators immediately began to malfunction, with the rules becoming disordered, like missing words and bursts of emotional backlash, and their soul power even began to devour itself!
The Hong Xiuxiang sword gestured as it fell. "[The Sole Book Ultimate Style: The Soul-Forgetting Brocade Words Record] --"
As the myriad books resounded, a massive book-like seal descended from the sky, directly sealing the three people's soul consciousness and logic into the "Sea of Soul-Forgetfulness," and their soul power information began to be slowly rewritten!
Qin Yu shouted coldly:
"Qian Jie! You think your Depraved Lust Art techniques will work on me?"
The [Silent Beginning - Ring Master Soul Diagram - Final Form of Realm Construction] instantly unfolded behind him!
Nine rings of energy covered the void, and the "Pupil of Silent Origin" slowly opened at its center, locking onto Qian Jie soul core!
"[Annihilation Star Soul Restriction]!"
The light of the Annihilation Origin Prohibition descended instantly, freezing the Qian Jie Innate Martial Soul into a "pseudo-soul state"! All soul consciousness structures shattered, Emotion-Seizing Sword instantly transformed into a shattered dream!
"Aaaaaah!!!"
The Qian Jie roared, attempting to retaliate, but Qin Yu had already raised the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword:
"[Beginning of the Realm, The Sole Silent Name] -- Slay!"
At that moment, the starry sky exploded, and countless rules of extinction surged like a waterfall. The sword's edge pierced through the core of the Qian Jie soul consciousness, causing him to be annihilated in silence and without light, erased from the world's setting.
The other three Soul Devouring cultivators were terrified and turned to flee!
But at this moment
Hong Xiuxiang wrote with a flourish, "Imprison its soul in a long, enchanting night."
Lingqi's Sea of Books swept across the sky, directly locking onto the three people's soul cores, and unfolded [Realm Words Book Seal Script], using her sea of consciousness as a boundary to construct Sole Book Array Domain that sealed off logic!
Qin Yu stepped inside and unleashed his final sword strike:
"[Silent Path - Extinction of Consciousness and Transmigration]!"
Wherever the sword struck, the three people's souls collapsed, and their memories were stripped away inch by inch into the void!
The three wisps of soul energy shattered silently...
All four enemies were annihilated!
Thus, the chaos in Gloomshadow Source Village finally came to an end.
Just after the three Soul Devouring traitors were completely wiped out in silence and flames, a strange fluctuation suddenly rippled through the desolate air of Gloomshadow Source Village.
"--boom!"
The void twisted, and a blinding black light quietly emerged. The light was neither dazzling nor fierce, yet it seemed to crush all logic and order around it. An ancient book slowly rose from the black light, hovering in mid-air. Its tattered cover trembled slightly in the night, like a curse that had been dormant for a thousand years awakening.
That wasn't a book; it was more like a lurking evil spirit.
This object was entirely blood-black, its surface covered with incoherent, distorted language and inverted causal sentences, as if written with death and despair. On the cover, a emblem resembling a soul's eye slowly opened, within which wisps of mortal souls struggled and cried out, as if pleading for salvation. The entire book was entwined with countless "soul threads," writhing like living parasites, softly chanting:
"The soul-devouring is eternal, all spirits return to silence... You offer my soul, I grant you power..."
It was the [Soul Devouring: Recognition-Burning Covenant Codex] that was traded with the Soul-Devouring Demon Sect!
Hong Xiuxiang's gaze sharpened, a cold killing intent appearing in her beautiful eyes. She raised her jade hand, and the Spirit Brocade Book Realm quietly unfolded, a pure white scroll slowly unfurling and igniting golden flames.
She spoke softly, "This book contains the path of reversing souls, the art of slaughtering the world... It is unacceptable to the Source of Epochless."
A light tap of the finger—"Burn."
In that instant, the golden spiritual fire transformed into countless raging flames of emotion, manifesting the anger, sorrow, resentment, and righteous will contained within the myriad books, as if billions of book souls were crying out for the victimized mortals. The flames swept across, and the tattered "Recognition-Burning Covenant Codex" struggled, emitting sharp screams of agony. Its soul threads shattered, its pupil patterns collapsed, and fragments of paper turned to ashes in the raging fire. In the end, even the beam of annihilating black light was completely extinguished.
Silently and without a trace, the Soul-Devouring Secret Manual ultimately returns to the Silent Abyss.
Her Hong Xiuxiang fluttered gently as she slowly turned around. The cold glint in her eyes, once burning in the flames of war, gradually faded, leaving only Wenwan and composed demeanor. She gazed at Qin Yu, her voice carrying a hint of earnestness and tenderness:
"Young Master Qin, without your help, I fear I would have been unable to resolve this battle alone... Thank you."
She nodded slightly and took out an item.
It was an ancient, fragmented map sealed within a spirit crystal. It was made entirely of animal hide, with charred and broken edges, as if it had been consumed by a raging fire. The routes drawn on it were winding and ancient, with runes embedded in the texture, flowing with a faint golden light. The entire fragmented map only showed less than a third of its area, and the very center of the map was sealed by a mark resembling a chaotic vortex, as if it wanted to devour the viewer's mind.
Hong Xiuxiang stared at the fragment of the map and whispered:
"This is the only clue my master left behind before she departed... She said that this fragment of the map was obtained from an ancient ruin in the 'Pre-Star Annihilation Epoch' of the Source of Epochless. Originally, there were three parts to the map, but now only this one remains. The other two parts are lost somewhere; perhaps they have been hidden by powerful figures, or perhaps they have long been sealed away in the forbidden domain of an ancient palace."
She paused, her voice slightly lowered:
"My master also said that only when the three maps are pieced together can the true nature of the place indicated by the maps be revealed... That place is called the 'Realm of Primordial Echoes,' and perhaps it hides some truths about the ancient annihilation era."
She carefully put the map away, her gaze returning to Qin Yu:
"If one day, Young Master Qin, discovers similar map fragments during your travels, I hope you will remember what I said today."
At this moment, the moonlight shines obliquely, illuminating the beautiful face of the Hong Xiuxiang. A gentle breeze stirs her clothes, and her figure is like a flower of the soul that has stepped out of the book, standing under the starlight, quiet and solemn.
Qin Yu's gaze sharpened slightly, and he replied in a low voice, "If I encounter it, I will certainly inform you."
Hong Xiuxiang gently lifted the incomplete map sealed in the spirit crystal. With a flick of her spirit finger, a clear, moon- Sole Book seal of the Book of Wisdom appeared on the map. It was her unique mark of soul consciousness, which could be read by others and traced back to its source.
She gazed at Qin Yu and said slowly:
"If Young Master Qin doesn't mind having this incomplete map, you may have it engraved in your mind's eye. If you happen to obtain the other two incomplete maps by chance in the future, you may come to my Dawn Cloud First Hall to find me at any time."
At this point, her eyes flickered slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips:
"At that time, I am willing to step into that unknown land with you—whatever the map points to, whether it brings fortune or misfortune, we will go together."
As she finished speaking, she lightly touched the map's spirit crystal with her fingertips. Instantly, spiritual light transformed into lines, drawing an image of the entire map fragment in her mind's eye, which slowly floated in front of Qin Yu. The map resembled ancient world patterns, woven with chaotic gray-gold patterns. Its structure was complex, and between the lines, there seemed to be traces of obliterated logical components flowing slowly, reflecting some ancient echo forgotten by the world.
Qin Yu stared intently, and with a sweep of his thoughts, ripples of logic spread through his sea of consciousness. The map was instantly and perfectly engraved into the depths of the [Recognition Annihilation Spirit Domain] within his sea of consciousness.
He nodded slowly, his gaze no longer probing as it had been at their first meeting, but instead revealing composure and trust.
"If the opportunity arises one day, I will surely come to find you. At that time, whether that Realm of Primordial Echoes is the Abyss of Annihilation or the Source of Fate Soul, we will travel together."
Hong Xiuxiang smiled and nodded, a faint fragrance drifting in the night breeze. The moonlight painted a dreamlike, serene beauty between her brows, while the ancient image etched into her consciousness seemed to be silently sketching an untold chapter of destiny for the two of them.
Qin Yu stared at the map for a moment, then scanned it with his divine sense, instantly engraving every line and crack into the depths of his Soul Sea.
"Good."
He withdrew his gaze, nodded slightly, and solemnly accepted.
The two stared at each other for a moment, standing silently in the still air. After a long while, Hong Xiuxiang smiled and said softly:
"Well... until we meet again."
Having said that, she turned and stepped into the night. She did not use any escape light or boundary power, but simply walked away. Her back view was calm and elegant, like a scroll of red silk splashed with ink, gradually disappearing into the wild grass at the end of the village.