Desperate Turnaround

The Soul Emperor's perception was like an invisible net, enveloping him completely.

Lu Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The planned escape route had become a dead end. His mind raced, and almost the instant he stopped, he twisted and rushed towards the dense, jagged stone pillars to his left. "This way!"

Lin Xiao followed closely behind, the burning pain in his left arm causing his lips to twitch.

The two had just plunged into the edge of the stone pillar area when that mountain-like Soul Power swept over their previous location. The perception paused briefly, then relentlessly pursued them.

The distance is getting closer.

Lu Yuan reached into his leather pouch with his right hand and pulled out three dark spheres—"Soul Power Interference Ball" that Mo Chen had been working on. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the spheres backward.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three pale beams of light exploded in succession, accompanied by chaotic ripples of Soul Power.

The senses of those closely following behind paused noticeably for less than a moment.

That's enough.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the two of them burrowed deep into the area of stone pillars. The light suddenly dimmed, and the chaotic flow of Soul Power became even more violent here, stinging their faces.

"This way!" Lin Xiao took a half-step forward, his amber vertical pupils gleaming slightly in the dim light. He licked his canine teeth with the tip of his tongue, his gaze sweeping rapidly.

There were no roads. Or rather, roads were everywhere. Stone pillars, thick and thin, pressed against each other, creating countless gaps and holes.

Lin Xiao was relying entirely on his memory and animalistic intuition to guide him. The terrain outline he had glimpsed from afar during reconnaissance three days ago was now rapidly piecing together in his mind.

The Soul Emperor's perception enveloped them once more. It became even more aggressive, brutally sweeping across the stone pillars.

The other party was enraged.

Lu Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

The next second, a beam of pale blue Soul Power burst forth from the high ground behind, tearing through the air and slamming into a thick stone pillar three zhang away to the side!

Boom!!!

Debris rained down like a storm! The upper half of the stone pillar shattered, and nearby thinner stone pillars snapped and collapsed, filling the air with dust.

The blast wave made the two of them stumble.

"Go!" Lin Xiao coughed, his voice hoarse. The numbness in his left arm became clearer, but he didn't stop. Instead, he burrowed towards the side where the smoke and dust were thicker and the stone pillars were denser.

Lu Yuan followed closely behind.

The two traversed through the collapsed stone pillars and dust. The Soul Emperor lost his clear visual orientation, his senses became agitated, and he frequently swept across large areas.

The pressure is mounting.

Lin Xiao's breathing became heavy. As he turned another corner, he squeezed through a crevice, his injured left arm scraping against a sharp rock edge. He groaned and his movements faltered slightly.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the sense behind them suddenly focused and concentrated!

Locked!

Lu Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. He pulled out the last two Interference Ball from his pouch, threw them behind him, and roared, "Duck! Charge!"

The explosion's light shone brightly once more.

Almost simultaneously, another pale blue Soul Power attack struck! This time, it transformed into a fan-shaped, sharp blade of energy, sweeping across the ground with a clear objective—to cut off the path.

Before the blade even arrived, its sharpness already caused a painful cut to the skin.

Lin Xiao's pupils constricted, his Soul Power erupted, and he forcibly increased his speed, dragging Lu Yuan forward in a fierce lunge!

Boom--!

The air blade grazed past their heels, severing a cluster of stalagmites behind them at the root. The shards of rock and the aftershocks of Soul Power slammed into the Soul Power shield on Lu Yuan's back.

Puff!

Lu Yuan felt a sweet taste in his throat, blood welled up but he swallowed it back down. The protective shield flickered. Lin Xiao's injured arm trembled violently, almost causing him to drop his dagger.

Using the momentum of their attack, the two rolled behind a natural barrier formed by the collapse and interlocking of massive stone pillars. The space here was cramped, with sloping boulders overhead and only an inconspicuous crack leading to a deeper area.

It's safe for now.

Lu Yuan leaned against the cold stone wall, breathing heavily, his vision blurring. His Soul Power was exhausted. He groped for a small jade box, opened it, and put a piece of Soul Marrow Essence into his mouth.

The gentle Soul Power dissipated, nourishing the parched meridians.

He looked at Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao leaned back opposite him, his face pale, pressing his right hand tightly against the wound on his left arm. He shook his head, indicating that he could still hold on.

Outside, the Soul Emperor's senses lingered, like an enraged beast circling the bushes. Several attempts by his Soul Power struck the surrounding boulders, producing muffled thuds and sending stone dust flying.

The other side is closing in.

We cannot stay here long.

Lu Yuan quickly assessed the situation. The recovery from the Soul Marrow Essence was limited. Lin Xiao's injuries had worsened. The Soul Emperor... didn't seem to be in a hurry to launch a strong attack.

A chill ran through him.

The other party might be waiting for reinforcements, or making some arrangements.

"We have to leave," Lu Yuan said in a low voice, speaking very quickly. "He might be taking a detour to ambush us. This barrier won't hold us off for long."

Lin Xiao nodded and tried to stand up, supporting himself against the stone wall.

Just then--

Without warning, a surge of Soul Power far more solid and terrifying than before erupted from a great height diagonally above! Like a giant net of Soul Power, it descended upon the area, covering the region and its surrounding dozens of feet!

Wherever the Soul Power passed, the air became viscous, and the violent turbulence was forcibly smoothed and imprisoned.

It's Soul Skill! A control-type Soul Skill!

"Scatter!" Lu Yuan only managed to shout those two words.

Boom!!!

Almost at the same moment the Soul Power Net was deployed, a beam of light blue light, condensed to its extreme, struck precisely the top of the boulder barrier where the two were hiding!

A long-planned, decisive blow.

The already barely holding on boulder shattered like paper under the Soul Emperor's attack! Larger boulders, mixed with countless fragments, were "compressed" by the Soul Power Net and "propelled" by the explosion, crashing down like a mountain collapsing into the narrow space below!

The sky collapsed and the earth caved in.

Lu Yuan felt an irresistible force surging from all directions. His body was thrown into the air and crashed heavily into something. Everything went black before his eyes, and all he could hear was the roar of collapse and the shrieking of Soul Power.

In the chaos, he glimpsed Lin Xiao's figure being thrown into the air by the shockwave and debris on the other side, instantly disappearing behind the billowing dust and tangled rocks.

It's over.

The thought had barely formed when he was struck in the side by a rolling rock. A sharp pain shot through him, and his body tumbled uncontrollably into a dark, sloping crevice.

It tumbled, collided, and finally landed heavily.

All sounds became distant and indistinct. Smoke and dust were shut out. The light overhead was completely blocked, plunging us into near-absolute darkness.

Lu Yuan lay on the cold, rough ground, his whole body aching, possibly with a broken rib in his side. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay awake, remaining motionless, even suppressing his breathing to the barely perceptible level.

The oppressive feeling of the Soul Power Net was still there, but it didn't seem to directly envelop this corner. The Soul Emperor's senses swept around outside repeatedly, and angry shouts could be faintly heard.

"... Two mice... Search! Search every inch of the place! They can't have gone far!"

Footsteps, shouts, fluctuations in Soul Power detection... There was more than just the Soul Emperor outside; Cloud Mist Sect disciples had been summoned and a search had begun.

Lu Yuan lay in the darkness, his right hand tightly gripping the last remaining Soul Power Interference Ball —surprisingly, he hadn't lost it in the chaos. In his left palm was the Soul Marrow Essence he had just tasted, still mostly intact, its warm glow illuminating his dust- and blood-stained fingers in the absolute darkness.

Where is Lin Xiao?

The direction he disappeared in... seemed to be closer to where the Soul Emperor's attack landed.

Lu Yuan listened intently, holding his breath. Amidst the commotion outside, there were short, sharp sounds of clashing weapons, and a muffled groan from Lin Xiao.

The sound came from the right front, extremely faint and fleeting, separated by thick stone walls and ruins.

Immediately following was a slightly surprised cold snort from the Soul Emperor, followed by a sudden, intense, yet abruptly diminishing, roar of colliding Soul Power, as if the battle had erupted in a very short time and then quickly receded or... ended.

Then came an even more oppressive, searching silence.

In the dark crevice of the rocks, Lu Yuan lay there, his heart pounding heavily in the stillness of death. Each beat tugged at his ribs with excruciating pain.

Should he lie in wait alone, hoping for an opportunity that may never come? Or should he risk venturing out to find Lin Xiao, whose fate remains unknown?

The Soul Marrow Essence in my palm was slightly warm.