O Wandering Soul

After a long while, the Mystic Spirit Fire filling the sky gradually dissipated, leaving the Azure King alone high in the air, her pretty face ice-cold as she gazed into the distance.

The Azure King Manor was deathly silent, everyone as quiet as cicadas in winter. Madam Wang, too, was stunned by what she had seen. Then she thought of what had happened at her own manor some time ago.

"It seems the Azure King Manor has been targeted too!"

Madam Wang was suddenly filled with urgency.

"Madam, I won't see you out. Her Highness has given me a task, so I must take my leave."

With that, the elder hurried away.

Madam Wang knew this was no time to linger. She too left the Azure King Manor in haste, returning with the Ice Essence Grass.

Dozens of li away, wisps of white mist suddenly appeared in the sky. They collided and condensed into a white silhouette that headed toward a towering seven-story building.

It was the Heavenly Treasure Tower of Myriad Phenomena City!

The Heavenly Treasure Tower had seven floors in all. The seventh floor was said to be where its tower master held the fort, and where the tower's confidence lay.

"Wooo-"

An eerie wail sounded from the seventh floor of the Heavenly Treasure Tower. A white silhouette slowly materialized into a woman with an illusory body. Her face was deathly pale, as if smeared with a thick layer of powder.

Her lips, however, were as red as if painted with blood, while her eyes were entirely deathly white, terrifying to behold.

"Wooo-"

The strange woman opened her mouth wide and let out another chilling howl.

Only after a long while did the monstrous woman slowly stop her ghostly wailing.

Her body became solid, her skin grew rosy, and as her eyes shifted, black pupils slowly formed in those white eyes.

"That damned woman was so strong. I nearly died at her hands..." the woman cursed, now that she looked human again.

"Spirit fire! To think she possessed such terrifying spirit fire. I was completely suppressed. I thought the youngest king would be the easiest to deal with, but she turned out to be so troublesome!"

Her face still bore the shock of her narrow escape.

"The Evil Nether Envoy died without the slightest warning, dying in the Spirit King's Manor for no clear reason. I never expected that I, cautious as I've always been, would nearly be blasted to death on the spot too."

"Each of the four royal manors is more terrifying than the last. How are we Nether Envoys supposed to complete our mission?"

"I don't know why that damned Evil Nether Envoy volunteered before the masters to seize the Ling Clan's Forbidden Heart, either. Look what happened: he lost his life and dragged me down with him."

The woman muttered to herself as she paced slowly across the seventh floor and went behind a fine gauze screen.

The screen was translucent, and the woman's slender figure could be clearly seen lying on her side on a chaise, half asleep.

"Luckily, I absorbed the souls of two vengeful women some time ago."

Relief filled the woman's voice.

Just then, a wisp of red smoke and a wisp of white smoke suddenly rose from the woman behind the screen, eventually transforming into two women with graceful figures.

Their legs were made of mist, and only their upper bodies were intact. Like wisps of smoke and clouds of mist, they were clearly no longer living beings.

"Wooo-"

A mournful howl rang out again. This time, however, it was not the woman wailing, but the red and white soul shadows beside her.

"Stop crying. From now on, we'll be one. Although you no longer have thoughts of your own, since you serve me, I'll naturally treat you well."

"Let me guess. Who do you most want to kill first?"

"The Spirit King, I suppose. But that fellow is going to die without you having to kill him."

"Since one of them is dying and you can't deal with him yourselves, vent your rage on his branch of the clan instead."

As she spoke, the two graceful red and white figures stopped crying.

"Of course, there's also the Azure King, and the other two kings..."

"After all, they were the ones who joined forces to kill you that day..."

"Hehehehe..."

The deranged muttering continued for a long time before gradually dying away.

Behind the screen, the two ghostly souls slowly slipped back into the woman's body. Everything returned to the way it had been, as though nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, in the Azure King Manor, the Azure King had given everyone an absolute order: from this day forward, the manor would be on alert, and anyone who did not belong to it was forbidden to enter or leave.

A long while later, in the deepest part of the Azure King Manor, the Azure King stood on a training ground made entirely of bluestone, gazing solemnly at the manor's Royal Mausoleum on the mountain behind it.

A terrifying sealing formation had slowly activated around the Royal Mausoleum. Countless formation patterns made the entire mausoleum as impregnable as a fortress.

"In times like these, no matter how many spirit stones it costs, the sealing formation must be kept running at all times."

The Azure King spoke to herself. In her cool eyes, a cyan spirit sparrow seemed to soar skyward, shaking the heavens as it stirred up an unprecedented storm.

After a long while, the Azure King withdrew her gaze. A shimmering water mirror formed before her, and soon a somewhat indistinct figure in a qilin robe appeared in its depths.

"It can now be confirmed that the evil cultivators are about to emerge."

The Azure King was silent for a moment before speaking.

The figure in the water mirror slowly rose, thick mist swirling around him. It billowed upward and transformed into a lifelike white qilin beast.

"Have those fellows set their crooked schemes on you as well?" the figure in the qilin robe asked.

The Azure King nodded slightly. "Ever since the trouble at the Spirit King's place, all manner of demons and monsters have been unable to resist showing themselves. A 'Soul Nether Envoy' came this time. I nearly killed her, so she probably won't dare show her face again for a while."

"Hmm."

"However, her identity seems to have been exposed."

The voice in the water mirror grew somewhat dangerous.

"Can she be killed?"

The Azure King could not help asking.

"Kill her. I simply didn't expect an evil cultivator to have infiltrated the Heavenly Treasure Tower..."

"And a tower master in a high position at that. Presumably, she has some say within the Heavenly Treasure Sect as well."

The figure in the qilin robe spoke coldly, his killing intent chilling.

"Aren't you afraid of the Heavenly Treasure Sect?" the Azure King asked, somewhat hesitant.

"Evil cultivators are the Ling Clan's mortal enemies. Now that we know who she is, there's no need for restraint. Otherwise, the trouble she leaves behind will be endless."

"Before killing her, force her to reveal her true form. Let the world, and the Heavenly Treasure Sect, know that she is an evil cultivator. Then we'll have a truly just cause and stand in the right."

"You needn't worry. A thousand years ago, our ancestor made an agreement with the five great forces that we would have no dealings with them. But if they dare offend our Ling Clan, there's no need to stand on ceremony with them either."

"After all, you killed those two things from the Moon-Gazing Sect, and the Moon-Gazing Sect said nothing."

The Azure King felt somewhat helpless when she heard this. She had always liked to consider the consequences of her actions, but the Ling Emperor put slaying evil cultivators first.

As if seeing her dilemma, the Ling Emperor said at once, "We no longer have time to fret over all these outside factors. Before they come sweeping back, we must purge Myriad Phenomena City, this central hub, completely."

"This is the final battle. Whatever the outcome, the Ling Kingdom will become history, and everyone who stands in the way of our extermination of the evil cultivators will surely be imprisoned forever in this corner of wasteland, ultimately sinking down to become dust in the world..."

The Azure King shuddered. In that moment, a spark from her very soul seemed to ignite completely.

"The thousand-year oath our ancestor spoke of is coming to an end..."

That day, something happened that sent shockwaves through all of Myriad Phenomena City.

The Azure King, the Mystic King, the Light King, and the imperial family's grand elder arrived together at the Heavenly Treasure Tower.

The presence of four great Primordial Spirit Realm cultivators made the entire district feel as though a massive earthquake had struck.

Without warning, the grand elder's face turned icy. He summoned a war halberd and hurled it fiercely at the seventh floor of the Heavenly Treasure Tower.

"Boom-"

A violent explosion rang out. Before the horrified eyes of countless onlookers, the Heavenly Treasure Tower, once hailed as the foremost tower in Myriad Phenomena City, lost its seventh floor.

The most luxurious and awe-inspiring seventh floor was obliterated, even though it had housed the Heavenly Treasure Tower's proudest source of confidence-a Primordial Spirit Realm tower master from the Heavenly Treasure Sect!

"Heavens! Seniors, why are you attacking our Heavenly Treasure Tower?" Many of the tower's upper echelons fled in terror.

The four great Primordial Spirit Realm cultivators paid no heed to their reactions. Their gazes flashed like lightning, catching sight at once of a figure trying to escape.

"You think you can leave before my eyes?"

The Azure King was the most furious. Surging Mystic Spirit Fire transformed into a thousand-zhang cyan bird that cried out as it charged at the Heavenly Treasure Tower's master.

"Ah-why? You dare attack me? You all deserve to die!" the tower master shrieked in rage, her voice piercing.

Her whole body turned into white mist, forming a hideous, terrifying white ghost face. It opened its mouth and spewed out countless vengeful souls, packed together like a river of souls.

At the sight of this horrifying scene, no one could keep their expression unchanged.

Yet this was exactly what the grand elder and the others had hoped to see.

"The Heavenly Treasure Tower's master is one of the evil cultivators of legend! Her hands are stained with countless lives, and she has refined countless souls of those who died unjustly to serve her. Today, our Ling Kingdom will rid the people of this scourge, with all of you as witnesses!"

The grand elder spoke with authority, his voice like a thunderclap that shook the deaf and enlightened the blind.

Now that they had a just cause, the four held nothing back. Each used every means at their disposal, unleashing one terrifying divine ability and spell after another. Like a net spread across heaven and earth, they cut off every avenue of escape for the Heavenly Treasure Tower's master.

"Wooo-"

A sorrowful howl rang out as two soul shadows, one red and one white, appeared beside the Heavenly Treasure Tower's master. Their faces were twisted, and bloody tears streamed from their empty eyes.

"Hiss-"

At the sight, the three kings and the grand elder all sucked in a breath of cold air.

"As expected of an evil cultivator. Her methods are so devious that she snatched two dead souls from beneath our combined attack and made them serve her!"

"Fortunately, we acted early. Otherwise, given more time, that cur's strength would surely have grown enormously, and the trouble she left behind would have been endless."

At the thought, the chill in their eyes deepened, and the divine abilities they had unleashed came crashing down.

Rumble-

Under the violent shock waves, many buildings were reduced to rubble. Even the once-bustling Heavenly Treasure Tower was left riddled with damage.

By the time everything fell quiet, the Heavenly Treasure Tower's master had been reduced to ash.

This time, she truly had died without a place to be buried. The soul shadows of Leng Yue and Xue Yue dispersed between heaven and earth along with her.