Shadow Returns to Holy Soul: A Promise Across the Myriad Worlds
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The morning mist outside Holy Soul Village had not yet dissipated. Nan Feng walked back to the official road from the edge of the Blue Silver Grass Field, the silver-white Soul Power patterns on the new red hairband on his left wrist shining in the morning light.
The celestial light that Shrinking the Ground to an Inch spread out beneath my feet, and I took a hundred steps at a time, heading towards Holy Soul Village.
The dew on the official road was crushed underfoot, and the soles of his shoes were covered in wet mud. He passed the crooked Old Huai at the village entrance. His divine sense spread across a ten-mile radius of Holy Soul Village, and a dark aura rose from the abandoned threshing ground to the east of the village.
The aura was very faint, so faint that it could not be detected unless one's divine sense covered ten miles. The shadow carried fluctuations of alternating reality and illusion, and the essence of the Hell Spirit Cat flowed between reality and illusion, originating from the same source as the Nether Shadow on the Jialing Pass battlefield.
Nan Feng stopped on the official road. The pagoda spun in his palm, its azure-gold Immortal Mark reflecting the light of the morning mist. He glanced sideways at the east of the village.
The straw on the haystack had pressed into a dent.
"Come out."
There was a moment of silence behind the haystack. A dark shadow emerged from the shadows, moving from indistinct to solid, from transparent to tangible, as Zhu Zhuqing's figure coalesced in the morning mist.
She wore a short, dark purple outfit. Her long, jet-black hair was tied back with a silver ribbon. The Nether Shadow Martial Soul unfolded behind her, and the phantom of a black cat flickered between reality and illusion.
She held a short blade in her arms, its blade imbued with dark Soul Power, the tip pointing downwards, ready to be drawn at any moment. Upon seeing Nan Feng, she flicked her wrist, and the short blade slid into her sleeve.
"Good perception," Zhu Zhuqing said. She straightened her cuffs, and the outline of the short blade disappeared inside her sleeves.
Nan Feng collected the tower into his palm. "Your shadow aura is ten times more solid than it was at Jialing Pass. The speed at which you switch between reality and illusion is more than three times faster."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded. She stepped out of the shadow of the haystack, landing almost silently. The source of the Nether Shadow laid a layer of shadow beneath her feet, with a gap between her feet and the ground.
She stopped three steps away. The morning mist slid down her shoulders and into the shadowy cushions at her feet.
"I've traveled all over mainland China," Zhu Zhuqing said.
Nan Feng looked at her. Her shoulders and back were thinner than when Jialing Pass, and there were two white marks on the soles of her boots. The Nether Shadow essence in her soul was much more complete than that at Jialing Pass.
From the moment the Primordial World Immortal Power was injected by the Nan Feng, the limits of the Hell Spirit Cat's Martial Soul were broken. She cultivated between the real and the illusory, pushing the power of shadow to new heights.
His Soul Power rose from the peak of Titled Douluo to the threshold of God Level. A Immortal Mark condensed in the core of the Nether Shadow Martial Soul Core, which was of the same origin as the Immortal Power left by Nan Feng at Jialing Pass.
"Starting from the Star Luo Empire." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was calm, each word carrying the weight of her past experiences.
"Traversing the entire territory of the Heaven Dou Empire, crossing the far Far North edge, and circling the coastline. The Nether Shadow could travel between reality and illusion, saving a lot of time and allowing me to see many things."
She paused for a moment.
"The Star Luo Imperial Family is still suppressing my family. In the Heaven Dou realm, the situation has stabilized after Xue Beng's Xue Beng to the throne, but the aftershocks of the Spirit Hall are still lingering. The Abyssal Rift on the Far North edge is widening, but the Ice Empress Snow Empress have temporarily suppressed it."
Nan Feng nodded. As she spoke these words, a ripple stirred within her soul. That ripple had been present since the year the Star Luo Imperial Family suppressed her family, and over the years she had traveled across the continent, it had transformed from anger into something else.
"What do you plan to do?" Nan Feng asked.
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head. Nether Shadow flickered behind her, and the azure -Golden Immortal light of the tower was reflected in the pupils of the black cat phantom. She pressed her finger on her sleeve.
"I'll handle things with the Star Luo Empire when I get back. The power of the Nether Shadow is enough to make the royal family withdraw their grip on suppressing the family." Her voice was calm. "But that's a matter for later."
She looked up at Nan Feng. His dark pupils reflected the azure -Golden Immortal light emanating from the tower. His gaze was pure, just as pure as when they first met in the alleys of Suotuo City, but with something more.
From the girl surrounded by the Spirit Hall lackeys in the alleys of Suotuo City, to the Nether Shadow traversing the battlefield of Jialing Pass, and finally to the God Level powerhouse who returned from traveling across the continent.
That gaze held the weight of a journey.
"The Nether Shadow can now traverse between reality and illusion," Zhu Zhuqing said.
She raised her hand, and a ball of dark Soul Power gathered in her palm. The Soul Power switched between reality and illusion, from solid to phantom, and from phantom to solid, repeating this several times.
She withdrew her Soul Power back into her Martial Soul Core. A slight coolness lingered between her fingers.
"But beyond reality and illusion, there are even farther places." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was soft, each word carrying the conclusion drawn from her travels across the continent.
"I've stood on the southernmost coastline of the Star Luo Empire, with the endless sea to the south. I've stood on the northernmost ice plains of the Heaven Dou Empire, with the void beyond the Far North to the north. I've stood on the cliffs at the eastern edge of the continent, with the horizon stretching to the east."
She looked at the Nan Feng.
"I've traveled the entire continent. I can now traverse between the Nether Shadow. Next, I want to go to even farther places, including beyond the Divine Realm."
The Nan Feng lifted the pagoda to its chest. The nine-story bronze pagoda spun in the morning mist, its body adorned with lapis Immortal Mark that shimmered with golden light, while the Nine Heavens Treasure Pearl atop the pagoda emitted a tri-colored radiance. The spire pointed eastward into the village.
He saw the full extent of the obsession in her soul.
From the day she sensed the nascent form of the Divine Slaughter's Domain in the alleys of Suotuo City; from the day she received that Primordial World Immortal Power at Jialing Pass and evolved into the Nether Shadow; from the moment she returned from traveling across the continent and spoke of "even farther places."
That obsession has been growing in her soul ever since.
She didn't want to be just a shadowy figure traversing between reality and illusion. She wanted to see the myriad worlds beyond reality.
"Beyond the Immortal Dao, there are countless realms," Nan Feng said.
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head to the side.
"If you want to go, I'll show you the way," Nan Feng said.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at him. She was silent for a moment. The corners of her mouth curved slightly, a very faint smile.
Nan Feng sensed that the obsession in her soul had solidified, transforming from the vague "wanting to go to farther places" into the clear "then let's go."
"Then it's a deal," Zhu Zhuqing said.
Nan Feng gathered the tower into his palm. The obsession settled after the words "it was a promise," an obsession that began in the alleys of Suotuo City and found its direction after traversing the continent.
The source of the Nether Shadow trembled. The Immortal Mark within the Martial Soul Core lit up slightly, as if in response to her decision.
Zhu Zhuqing took a step back. The Nether Shadow was fully deployed, and the black cat's phantom rapidly switched between reality and illusion, while the shadow Soul Power spread out an interlaced layer beneath her feet.
Her figure began to become transparent, transforming from a solid form into an ethereal silhouette. The ends of her long, jet-black hair grew fainter and fainter in the morning mist, until the silver ribbon in her hair finally disappeared from sight.
"Zhu Zhuqing," Nan Feng said.
Her figure stopped in its illusory form.
"The matters concerning the Star Luo Empire are settled. Come find me at the Immortal Dao Alliance."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at him. Even in his phantom form, his pupils remained clear, their inky black light shining through the morning mist. She didn't speak, but nodded.
His figure completely transformed into a shadow, merging into the shadows of the threshing floor, disappearing cleanly from reality to nothingness.
Nan Feng stood on the official road. The morning mist had mostly dissipated, and smoke from the chimneys of the houses in Holy Soul Village rose.
In the distance, the sound of children reciting the new chapter of the Mysterious Heaven Skill could be heard, one line after another, carried across the entire field of Blue Silver Grass.
He looked down at the new red hairband on his left wrist, its silvery-white Soul Power patterns shining in the morning light. The tower floated before his chest, the nine-story bronze pagoda spinning in the morning light, its top radiating a steady azure -Golden Immortal light from the Nine Heavens Treasure Pearl.
He turned and walked towards Holy Soul Village. The celestial light that Shrinking the Ground to an Inch spread out beneath his feet, making each step a hundred steps.
From the shadow of the abandoned threshing ground behind her, Zhu Zhuqing emerged from another shadow. She stood at the edge of the haystack's shadow, watching Nan Feng's figure disappear into the morning light of Holy Soul Village.
The Nether Shadow was absorbed into her Martial Soul Core, and the black cat's phantom disappeared into her body. She looked down at her palm, the shadowy Soul Power shifting between reality and illusion, the Immortal Mark within the Soul Power shining in the morning light. She clenched her fingers into a fist.
"Beyond the Immortal Dao, there are countless realms." Zhu Zhuqing repeated this sentence.
She looked up in the direction of Holy Soul Village. The morning light bathed the rooftops of the village houses in gold, and the turquoise glow of the Blue Silver Grass Fields stretched to the horizon, with dewdrops on the blades of grass gleaming in the light.
The shadow Soul Power in his palm returned to his Martial Soul Core, and the Nether Shadow flashed behind him.
"Then it's a deal," Zhu Zhuqing said.
Her figure shifted from solid to ethereal, merging into the shadows in the morning light.
The threshing ground fell silent. The lingering shadowy Soul Power on the haystacks dissipated in the morning breeze. The sound of children chanting drifted from the direction of Holy Soul Village, and smoke rose from chimneys, the azure-gold light of the Blue Silver Grass Fields shining in the morning light.
Zhu Zhuqing left. Her shadowy Soul Power left a trace between reality and illusion, extending from the threshing ground to the official road outside the village, and from the official road to even more distant places.
Within that mark was a Immortal Mark. It was connected to the silver-white Soul Power pattern on Nan Feng's left wrist red hairband, and to the Primordial World Seed within Xiao Wu's Asura Jade Rabbit Martial Soul.
It was also connected to the cyan-gold light emanating from Ah Yin's remnant soul in the center of the Blue Silver Grass Field.
Within a ten-mile radius of Holy Soul Village, these different kinds of light resonated between heaven and earth.