Hu Dan and his companions, who were pursuing from the mountaintop, all witnessed the scene of the sword light piercing the sky.
In that instant, no one knew where Red Yin had emerged from. It seemed as if she had suddenly appeared in the void behind the "Golden Stone Fluid". Then the mountains and forests turned frigid, the heat wave smoothed out, and several Golden Elixir cultivators felt their minds sink, as if a tremendous force was pressing down on them from above, forcing them to bow their heads.
The pressure was fleeting, followed by the sword light that materialized from the void. Holding the sword light, Red Yin's delicate body almost brushed against Jin Huan as she flew past. The high temperature of the "Golden Stone Fluid" was not to be underestimated; when Red Yin skimmed past, her outer cloak couldn't withstand the heat and turned into flying ash with a "swoosh". Underneath her cloak, she was wearing a plain luoyi with large sleeves and a skirt of billowing green smoke, dressed in splendid attire, floating like a fairy, illuminating the shady slope of the mountain.
However, what truly captivated everyone was the sword light that materialized from the void, cutting through the "Golden Stone Fluid".
As the sword light swept past, Jin Huan seemed to be stunned, frozen in mid-air, neither advancing nor retreating. Red Yin, who had landed, didn't even look at him. She still held the sword light in her hand, but she was silently chanting something. In her low voice, the glowing "Golden Stone Fluid" dimmed, but this time, it was not due to the inward gathering of True Sha firelight, but because all its power had been drained away, leaving no chance for the light to gather again. On the contrary, the sword light in Red Yin's hand shone brighter, taking on the red color of the "Golden Stone Fluid".
The low, subtle voice became clearer, like the tide in the night, ebbing and flowing. People like Hu Dan, who had a high level of cultivation, could vaguely feel the aura on the other side becoming intricate and complex. As the voice and aura changed, the red color on the sword light quickly faded, and then, even the sword light itself returned to nothingness.
"Is this the Blade Sacrifice Ritual?"
Among those present, the most knowledgeable was Zhou Youde, the steward of the Random Heart Pavilion. When he was a merchant in the north, he had heard that some people in large sects could temporarily borrow the power of the God Lord they worshipped, transform the divine might into a blade to kill strong enemies, and then sacrifice their blood and divine soul to please the God Lord.
Undoubtedly, this was the method Red Yin was using.
In fact, few people understood what he meant by "Blade Sacrifice Ritual". Hu Dan and the others were still flying downward due to inertia, getting closer and closer to Red Yin, but it seemed as if some invisible force was choking their throats, leaving them speechless.
It wasn't until a gust of mountain wind blew strongly, drowning out Red Yin's chant, that everyone woke up as if from a dream. By then, Jin Huan's "Golden Stone Fluid" had lost all its light, even its form. The mountain wind blew, and it vaporized on the spot, leaving no trace. Only a fist-sized bead, layered with rosy clouds, fell from mid-air without support.
That was the Ten Thousand Rays Piercing the Clouds Bead.
This was an excellent magical tool, refined by Jin Huan over many years, with at least nearly fifty layers of talisman overlaid. Red Yin was the closest, she wouldn't be modest, she extended her sleeve and took it into her hand, but her face showed no joy.
She was somewhat displeased.
The swift and decisive killing of Jin Huan was indeed a clean job. However, her original plan was to concurrently imprison the soul of Yu Ci. As the might of the God Lord descended, she could have done it unnoticed - even if Xie Yan returned, he would not have found a trace. Yet, that fool had the audacity to resist the onslaught of the "Golden Stone Fluid" with his Yin Spirit Manipulation. By now, his soul was likely scattered to the winds, leaving many of her questions forever unanswered.
Nevertheless, she was now certain about the origin of that mirror. Despite her repeated studies over the years yielding no results, it seemed to possess some divine power in the hands of that fool. She was determined to obtain it.
At this moment, Hu Dan rushed past her to check on Yu Ci. Red Yin smirked coldly in her heart, her sleeves already rolled up to reveal the object she was holding. As her fingertips barely touched the warmth of the orb, a cold snort echoed in her ear:
"Rakshasa Sect, what great audacity!"
Feeling the change behind him, Hu Dan was aware of it, but as the top expert of the Thousands Spirits Sect, his cultivation level and cunning were commendable. He knew the urgency of the situation, that the current priority was Yu Ci's condition.
"Yu, my Daoist friend,"
Hu Dan called out tentatively. Yu Ci was lying motionless in the slushy snow on the slope.
Jin Huan had selflessly unleashed the "Goldstone Flow", destroying Shi Song's arm with a single strike. Hu Dan had witnessed it firsthand. Although he was unsure how Yu Ci had managed to withstand the direct impact of the "Golden Stone Fluid", the subsequent shock was not to be underestimated. How could a mere Nature-Connecting Cultivator endure it?
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Heavy breathing sounded in his ear. Shi Song had rushed down with his injury, "How is he?"
Hu Dan shook his head, unwilling to jump to conclusions. After a brief examination, he confirmed that there were no obvious internal injuries, and the pulse was still beating. However, when he lifted Yu Ci's eyelid, he found the pupils dilated and consciousness absent. Sending out a thread of aura to probe, he found the Primordial Qi scattered, and there was no sign of the expected physical response.
"Is this... Soul Separation Syndrome?"
Both Shi Song and Hu Dan were experienced individuals, immediately recognizing that Yu Ci's Divine Soul had separated from his flesh body. There were two scenarios to this: one was that the cultivator's level was profound, allowing the Yin Spirit to leave the body and return when ready. However, this was unlikely given the recent circumstances, and considering that Yu Ci was only at the Nature-Connecting Middle Stage, he did not have the cultivation level for his Yin Spirit to leave the body. The other scenario...
For a moment, the two men exchanged glances, both seeing the unease on each other's faces:
Could it be that Yu Ci's soul was shattered by that blow just now?
If so, how would they explain this to the Lichen Sect?
Just as they feared, a chilling voice rang out:
"What is going on here?"
The hillside was cold and forbidding. Both men turned around to see Xie Yan, his face darkened, striding towards them.
"What a bitter pill to swallow!" Both Shi Song and Hu Dan felt as if they were tasting the bitterness of defeat.
At that moment, no one noticed the Divine Bronze Mirror. It had been knocked more than ten yards away by the "Golden Stone Fluid", and had slid even further. The mirror, buried in the snowy mud, reflected a faint glimmer of light.
*******
Yu Ci was certainly not scared out of his wits, but he found himself in a very peculiar situation. It seemed dire, yet inexplicably so.
When Jin Huan's "Golden Stone Fluid" rushed towards him, Yu Ci had no energy left to dodge. Feeling the molten heat of the "Golden Stone Fluid", Yu Ci certainly couldn't risk his flesh body. In desperation, he used the Divine Bronze Mirror, the only object at hand. He soon realized that his Yin Spirit was still connected to the mirror. This was a direct confrontation of Yin Spirit Manipulation and the "Golden Stone Fluid".
How was this any different from a head-on collision with Jin Huan?
In fact, it was somewhat different.
When Yu Ci used his Yin Spirit to control the Treasure Mirror, he not only felt the surging power within but also some other markings. These were left behind when he used the "Mysterious Celestial Star Major Refining Technique", mixing his vital blood with the Talisman Power, and dotting the mirror with blood, which served as a guide to reflect the power of the stars.
Previously, when using the Talisman, the Divine Bronze Mirror was not the central magic tool. It was used as a tool to collect and reflect star power projections. This function could be achieved by any good quality mirror. However, a regular mirror would not have the complex structure and surging power of the Divine Bronze Mirror. So, when the marks left by the Talisman and star power came into contact with the power stimulated by Yu Ci's Yin Spirit, things changed.
In that instant, Yu Ci felt as though he had fallen into a boundless void. Everywhere he looked, there were specks of starlight, either converging into a sea or scattered across the edge of the sky. His physical body seemed to have become ethereal, and only his pure consciousness was wandering in the starry sky. This was similar to his "Inner Void of the Heart", but the vast and magnificent feeling was something he had never experienced in the "Inner Void of the Heart".
This sensation flashed by in an instant.
The next moment, Yu Ci was snapped back to reality. It was the exact moment when Jin Huan's "Golden Stone Fluid" hit the Treasure Mirror. He did not know about the changes in the mirror, but at the moment of impact, the force of the "Golden Stone Fluid" was evidently somewhat dissolved. Simultaneously, the enormous power in the Treasure Mirror started to circulate at an unprecedented speed, revolving around the central meridian point, forming a deep-sea vortex. An irresistible suction force emanated from it.
In a moment of disorientation, Yu Ci came to his senses, only to find his physical body had vanished.
This sensation was absurd, to say the least. If he were to describe it, it would be akin to the state of half-asleep and half-awake, where all thoughts flow naturally, yet the sense of self remains intact. The perceptions of space and time were relatively clear, but there was no tangible feeling. Only the peripheral vibrations, like tidal waves, were transmitted, causing his thoughts to be in constant flux.
After a long pause, he suddenly realized what was happening: he was no longer in a state where his physical body and divine soul were harmoniously united. Instead, he was in a Yin Spirit State, astrally projected into the central meridian point of the Divine Bronze Mirror.
Astral projection? What a joke!
Yu Ci had imagined a thousand, ten thousand times the experience of astral projection, but he never thought that his first astral projection would result in such a predicament.
This was not a natural progression, but a forceful pull from the powerful energy within the Treasure Mirror!
This situation had actually occurred before, on the Sky Wing Tower, when he first successfully achieved Yin Spirit Manipulation. But back then, his control was impeccable, and his Yin Spirit was not pulled out of balance. But now, exhausted from the long battle, he could no longer withstand it.
Yu Ci attempted to control his Yin Spirit, to escape this eerie place and return to his body, but he quickly realized the futility of his efforts.
The external environment was in utter chaos!
The external forces were in a frenzied rotation, like a whirlpool, like a storm. Only the central meridian point of the Treasure Mirror, the eye of the storm, could be considered the calmest place in the mirror. But even so, the overwhelming suction still penetrated, intending to pull Yu Ci's Yin Spirit into the ceaseless whirlpool of external forces.
At this point, Yu Ci thought of the day on the mountain path outside the Still Heart Temple, where the Yin Demons that had devoured Nan Songzi were in turn devoured by the Treasure Mirror.
Yu Ci's Yin Spirit had yet to truly stabilize. Under the pulling forces from all directions, he felt his Yin Spirit becoming a cloud of smoke, tumbling and twisting. Some edges were already being pulled into the whirlpool storm on the periphery, torn and shredded. After several rotations, they dissipated towards the edge of the Divine Bronze Mirror.
The feeling of weakness was becoming clearer. Then came
Fireworks!
Indeed, Yu Ci could clearly feel it, just like the scene in the Sky Wing Tower, where thousands of starlights were scattered. Over a hundred starlights transformed from his divine soul power were cast in all directions by the Treasure Mirror, or penetrated through the snow and soil, illuminating the world outside.
********
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