Chapter 247: The Price of Playing with Souls

Spellcasters are a profession that requires great wisdom.

Their strength depends on the accumulation of knowledge and spells, as well as the stacking of metamagic feats.

From basic metamagic feats such as spell control, combat casting, spell empowerment, spell maximization, spell penetration, silent casting, still casting, instant casting, and so on, all the way up to the 9th-level epic metamagic feats!

Powerful spellcasters almost all possess these same basic metamagic feats, or rather, possessing these is what makes one a powerful spellcaster.

Sometimes, spellcasters compete solely on metamagic feats.

Let's not even mention the most terrifying instant-cast spells.

In any situation, they can have a hundred percent countermeasure, and if used to scheme against others, it is absolutely invincible.

There is not the slightest sign when casting a spell!

No verbal components are needed, nor any special spell focus; the enemy might only notice when the spell is completed.

Indeed, the longer a spellcaster lives, the more terrifying they become; even if their professional level doesn't rise, the metamagic feats mastered over a long time can be chilling!

Finally, Lilyanna completed her metamagic spell; she raised her staff, pointing at the desperately struggling He Luo Shen who tried to rush over to interrupt her casting.

Immediately, she leaned weakly against Mu Yi's shoulder.

Both of them were now quite weak.

Hum!

The entire imperial city seemed to tremble.

Mu Yi felt somewhat doubtful; Lilyanna's spell seemed to have failed, and no terrifying attack fell.

The maid Ailianna, who was directly blocking He Luo Shen, had been severely wounded by him and could not rise again; the soldiers who took turns risking their lives could only slow his advance by a third.

Hum!

The imperial city trembled again.

The half-plane trembled again.

This time, Mu Yi saw the cause of the tremor.

A faint light appeared in the sky, and a huge comet streaked across the horizon, hurtling at astonishing speed toward He Luo Shen.

—— "Comet Technique! 【Legendary Spell (Fake)】"

Derived from the Silver Moon Princess Lilyanna's understanding of legendary spells, she learned many powerful bits of knowledge from the archmage's legacy.

Among them was a method of weakening spell effects to lower the threshold for using spells.

Compared to the true Comet Technique, this weakened, disguised version's effect can almost be said to be worlds apart.

Know that the Comet Technique is one of the few legendary spells capable of directly destroying a plane.

And this artificially weakened spell is also the most powerful magical attack Lilyanna can unleash now, with the aid of artifacts and a series of advance preparations.

A comet roughly fifty meters in diameter struck He Luo Shen's body, and immediately, terrifying energy exploded like a shockwave, its tremendous impact blasting everything nearby away.

Almost all the soldiers blocking He Luo Shen were sent by the aftermath into the Six Paths of Reincarnation; even La Ge Na could not save his life, helplessly disappearing in the dungeon, returning to his own world to suffer the pain of soul weakness.

Mu Yi and Lilyanna rather embarrassingly dug themselves out from under the ground.

Lilyanna's protective spell was indeed effective, helping them directly avoid the aftermath of a super attack.

The rising dust clouds seemed to blot out the sky, the blinding light almost unbearable even to the soul; where the flames spread, the scorching heat made one unable to advance.

It was as if a terrifying atomic bomb had been detonated!

Everything was mercilessly destroyed in the aftermath of the comet impact,

Under the comet's impact, everything in the imperial city was instantly crushed like tofu blocks, and even the very fabric of heaven and earth showed a trace of shattering collapse.

Legendary spell!

This was the first time Mu Yi had seen such a thing, leaving him speechless from shock.

Before reaching legendary status, spellcasters can grasp many legendary spells, but the Comet Technique remains forever the most shocking and oppressive of them!

For any enemy, a wizard who masters the Comet Technique is a tremendously fearsome presence.

Machinery, flesh, and energy cannot withstand the Comet Technique; extremely few creatures can survive its attack.

Under normal circumstances, any defensive spell on the same plane would shatter instantly!

Even a saint incarnated as a divine spirit could possibly be killed outright; the only way to deal with a fully formed Comet Technique is to evade across planes.

The palace of the Da Qing Court was destroyed by the impact of the Comet Technique; this constructed architectural complex was instantly shattered into fragments by the comet's impact. The terrifying heat melted everything; the impact was merely the beginning of the energy explosion, and the ensuing chain reaction will affect things for a long time.

"It looks like it succeeded!"

Lilyanna forced herself to sit up straight, breaking free from Mu Yi's embrace.

She and Mu Yi's method of avoiding the Comet Technique was to dodge through an extradimensional space; the effect was not bad, the direct impact was completely avoided, and the remaining aftermath wanted to take them down……

"Roar!"

He Luo Shen's painful low growl came from the ground,

The effect of the Comet Technique is indeed invincible, but that refers to the complete legendary spell.

But the effect of the spell that Lilyanna personally weakened in order to master the Comet Technique now is far inferior to the original.

"Now we're in trouble!"

Lilyanna didn't say anything more; she immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, drank a bottle of potion, and began meditating to recover her strength.

Mu Yi made the same move; they must recover their strength before He Luo Shen crawls out again, for only then can they send him to reincarnation.

He Luo Shen is the same; its head has already risen from the deep pit, and it begins to slowly move toward Mu Yi and them.

With all ten of its tails broken, it can now only crawl out of the pit by this wriggling motion.

Both sides seem to have fallen into a race against death, each exerting every effort to recover, awaiting the arrival of the final showdown.

"Heroes, it looks like you might need help!"

In the near-silence where not even a wind sound could be heard, dense footsteps sounded.

Mu Yi opened his eyes to discover that the long-missing Qingting Emperor, accompanied by a squad of imperial guards, had appeared nearby.

"Heroes, do you need help?" the eunuch beside the emperor called out to Mu Yi and the others in a sharp voice.

"Of course..."

Mu Yi narrowed his eyes; this strange tone, this mocking voice—no matter how you look at it, the Qingting Emperor could not possibly be here to help them.

"It seems you don't intend to let us go!"

Mu Yi's face looked a bit grim; they had indeed overlooked a potential force all along—the emperor and his Qing Court Army under his command.

Guarding the imperial city—do they really need that many soldiers?

But now, Mu Yi saw the answer—at least there was still time to draw out eighteen hundred elite troops.

"Hmph, I never expected you rebels and traitors to possess such power!" the Qingting Emperor snorted coldly.

He too was actually frightened by the power of the Comet Technique, even though Mu Yi's Reincarnation Extinction Slash, judging by its effect, was stronger than the Comet Technique.

But the Comet Technique's overt display of damage still raised the Qingting Emperor's wariness of it to the highest level.

"However, thank you—when the time comes, let me have a chance to embrace immortality!"

The Qingting Emperor wore a strange smile on his face as he walked toward the direction where He Luo Shen was.

"Just consider this a reward for your accomplishments—let you see my most perfect form!"

The Qingting Emperor said, bringing his guards closer to the direction of He Luo Shen.

Although he spoke righteously on the surface, in truth he was still wary of Mu Yi and the others.

The Qingting Emperor was unsure whether Mu Yi and the others possessed any ability akin to a reserve hidden energy source, so he chose what he deemed the safest approach.

"Return, return to the fields!"

The Qingting Emperor stood at the edge of the deep pit, gently summoning the power of the dragon veins—how could he, as the emperor, not know that the dragon veins had been devoured by He Luo Shen?

From the beginning, this was what it had prepared in pursuit of longevity.

Using the dragon veins as a catalyst and the lives of all people as nourishment to feed He Luo Shen, it drove the Jia Xian, Buddhist Sect, Rebellion Army, and He Luo Shen to fight desperately.

Originally the plans had already completely fallen through; He Luo Shen's miraculous power exceeded his imagination, coming from an ancient mountain-sea strange beast that in antiquity was a little karami, but given the opportunity, it could also transform from a He Luo fish into He Luo Shen.

The Qingting Emperor himself had already begun to drift into a drunken, dreamlike state, after all, seeing the world about to be destroyed, he too would absolutely not escape.

However, fate took a turn—an unfolding the Qingting Emperor never anticipated occurred: the five Jia Xian died unjustly, and the Buddhist Sect actually volunteered to request the imperial sword to slay He Luo Shen.

His apparent reluctance was actually, at that time, him being ten thousand times more anxious than the old monk.

He used a righteous pretext to rebuff the Buddhist Sect's request for troops, then left the palace early, hid in a safe place, and quietly waited for both sides to suffer mutual destruction.

Originally assuming Mu Yi and the others would surely lose, he had planned to personally lead the army into battle, but the successive eruptions of Mu Yi and company forcibly shifted the situation to exactly what the emperor most wanted to see—mutual destruction.

His long-held wish could finally be fulfilled at this moment.

The dragon vein power severed by La Ge Na began to reaggregate under the Qingting Emperor's summons—after all, it was the Qing Court's dragon vein, and as the Qingting Emperor he possessed absolute control over it.

He also wanted to use this method to dig a pit for He Luo Shen, to restrain him, preventing events from exceeding his own capabilities.

The dragon vein power lifted the emperor to stand before He Luo Shen.

"You are mine! You are mine!" the emperor trembled as he reached out to stroke He Luo Shen's massive head.

Longevity was right before his eyes—indeed, immortality was right before his eyes—how could he not be excited?

The power of the dragon veins burst forth in brilliant light under the emperor's touch.

"Give everything for my great cause! Everyone, commit suicide!"

The emperor's icy order was issued, and the obscure power echoed in the air; all followers, the emperor's guards and eunuchs, at the moment the command was given, simultaneously raised their weapons and committed suicide.

Occupation—Tyrant, core occupational ability—Word Spirit!

It is precisely because of this ability that the Qingting Emperor can maintain supreme imperial authority and military power amidst worldwide chaos and the apocalypse.

Because everyone inside the imperial city is a puppet of the Qingting Emperor, an object under his control.

Among the guards who died by suicide, there were indeed those not fully controlled; they tried to resist the order, but their bodies were not under their own command.

Flowing blood began, under the effect of the dragon vein power, to cover He Luo Shen's head, and the wildly flowing blood painted a massive diagram.

Light flowed within the blood, enveloping the Qingting Emperor, and began moving toward the center of He Luo Shen's head.

"Damned insects!"

He Luo Shen roared unwillingly, yet weakened, it had no ability to resist this force; it could only watch helplessly as it lost control of its body, watching the Qingting Emperor replace it as the master of this form.

"Hahaha! This is power!"

"Hahahaha!"

"This is true power!"

The manic laughter echoed in the deep pit; hearing it obviously turn into the Qingting Emperor's voice, Mu Yi finally understood what the other party was plotting.

From the start, the other party's plot had been He Luo Shen; the Qingting Emperor wanted to replace He Luo Shen, become the master of this world, ascend directly to legend and enter the realm of spirits.

With the aid of the Thousand-mile Eye, Mu Yi could see that in the depths of He Luo Shen's consciousness sea, layers of iron chains entwined around his soul, tightly binding it to a corner of consciousness.

And above He Luo Shen's head, a silhouette of the Qingting Emperor appeared on his skull, having completely fused with He Luo Shen.

It abandoned its human identity, stealing He Luo Shen's power and also his existence.

Once he gradually wore down He Luo Shen's soul, everything He Luo Shen once had would become his nourishment.

"Hehe!" Mu Yi laughed instead.

"The biggest mistake you made… was playing with souls right in front of me!"

Mu Yi's face showed a vague smile.

To be honest, if the Qingting Emperor had just let the guards rush forward and hack him and Lily to death, he truly would have had no other recourse—at most he could have taken a few guards along as burial companions.

Although he had regained a bit of strength, that emptiness was not feigned; he had completely exhausted himself, otherwise how could he have accomplished that heaven-defying feat of chopping He Luo Shen's authority to pieces?

And now, his body remains empty.

But in the realm of souls, he is the Lord of Reincarnation!

Pry open the divine seat of the Yin Marshal, Mu Yi communicated with the power of the netherworld.

The Qingting Emperor is not the He Luo Shen; even though he has occupied He Luo Shen's body, he still hasn't fully mastered everything of He Luo Shen.

The souls that he ordered to commit suicide were not devoured by He Luo Shen like the souls that had died before; instead, they wandered between heaven and earth.

And at this moment, Mu Yi gave them a push, letting them recall their own grudges, and also pointed out the target of their hatred for them.

Purifying a wronged soul is difficult, but turning a soul into a vengeful ghost is quite simple.

Hideous wronged souls, filled with rage, surged forward; hundreds or thousands of wronged souls drilled into He Luo Shen's body, beginning to tear at the Qingting Emperor's soul.

The imprisoned He Luo Shen's soul also took advantage of the chaos to break out, and the two sides fell into a mad mutual devouring and tearing.

In reality, He Luo Shen's body twisted wildly, as if someone were controlling his left and right hands to fight each other—utterly absurd.