Chapter 495: Secrets of the Past

"Could it be that this Strange Beast has something special about it?" the Great Elder asked.

"This Strange Beast was likely formed when someone who destroyed the Dark Holy Sword back then infused some broken souls into the sword, and it should have also had some commands or the like attached to it. Those broken souls condensed into one under the influence of Demon Qi, eventually forming this Strange Beast," Lingyun explained. "The instructions that person set within the broken souls back then should not have disappeared, which is what caused the Strange Beast to lead the Demon Qi within the sword into a riot. Now that the Strange Beast has been slain, the Demon Qi has become scattered like sand without its leader; purifying and suppressing it is no longer a difficult task!"

"So that's how it is," the Great Elder said, lost in thought. "Then what kind of person do you think could accomplish this?"

"Wanting to infuse broken souls into the Dark Holy Sword is no easy feat. Even with the Dark Holy Sword damaged, it is extremely difficult to achieve this. Most importantly, to accomplish this, the person who acted must be proficient in the Dao of the soul!" Lingyun said. "Does the Great Elder know of any genius figures who have been proficient in the Dao of the soul over these past thousand years?"

"Genius figures proficient in the Dao of the soul?" The Great Elder pondered for a while, then finally shook his head. "Over these past thousand years, it seems no one proficient in the Dao of the soul has appeared on the Continent."

"That's not right, Great Elder, have you forgotten that top-tier Undead Mage?" Xuanying, who was on the side, could not help but speak up.

"Undead Mage? Hmm, Undead Mages do indeed have some involvement with the Dao of the soul," the Great Elder muttered, finally unable to help but laugh. "That's right, how could I have forgotten him? But didn't he die long ago?"

"Could the Great Elder tell me about the situation regarding that Undead Mage?" Lingyun asked.

"Hmm, the rumors about that Undead Mage were widely spread across the Continent back then!" the Great Elder said. "It is said that when that Undead Mage was born, there were strange phenomena, and he was also a person of natural intelligence. Most importantly, when he first chose to study Magic, he chose Undead Magic."

"Undead Magic?" Lingyun pondered, not knowing what he was thinking.

"That's right, that senior indeed had terrifying talent in Undead Magic. He began learning Undead Magic at the age of seven, and it took him only ten years to step into the Saint Realm, becoming the youngest Saint Domain Powerhouse on the Continent at the time," Xuanying said.

"Then what happened later? A genius like that should have been able to leave a significant mark on the history of the Continent, but I haven't seen any records about him in the history of the Continent?" Lingyun asked.

"That is because an unbelievable thing happened later," the Great Elder said.

"An unbelievable thing? What kind of thing could you call unbelievable?" Lingyun asked.

"After that genius entered the Saint Realm, his strength increased even more terrifyingly. It took him only three years to rise from the Saint Realm to the Half-step Heaven Realm. However, when he wanted to break through to the Heavenly Domain, the heavens issued a warning, and endless Thunder descended from the sky, completely blasting that genius into fragments," the Great Elder said. "The scene of that Heavenly Punishment at the time could be seen even from thousands of miles away."

"Great Elder, you weren't there at the time, were you!" Hearing the Great Elder describe the scene so vividly, Xuanying suddenly asked.

"That's right, I was indeed there at the time. After all, when that genius was breaking through to the Heavenly Domain, he made it widely known and invited many people to come and observe the ceremony. I also wanted to see what was so extraordinary about that genius, so I went quietly. I never expected such a thing to happen," the Great Elder said with a sigh.

"Thousands of miles of thunder and light—I'm afraid that wasn't an ordinary tribulation, but a Heavenly Punishment!" Lingyun said. "Great Elder, you were there at the time; did you notice anything different about that person?"

"As for that, there was indeed something, but it was only for an instant. At the time, I thought it was my own illusion. A terrifying aura once surged from that genius. To be honest, I have never seen such a dark aura; it was as if he had been completely abandoned by the light," the Great Elder said.

"I think I understand a little now, but even so, it shouldn't have reached this point!" Lingyun nodded. "By the way, Great Elder, has anything major happened to the Spirit race?"

"The Spirit race?" the Great Elder said slowly. "The Spirit race did indeed have a major event happen."

"What major event?" Lingyun asked.

"Hundreds of years ago, the Spirit race faced a great catastrophe and was nearly wiped out," the Great Elder said.

"Wiped out?" Lingyun's pupils constricted slightly, feeling that the situation of the Natural Power within Andiya was definitely related to what the Great Elder of the Meiling Tribe had said. "With the strength of the Spirit race, how could anyone make them be wiped out?"

"But what if it wasn't a man-made disaster, but a natural one?"

"A natural disaster? Then I am even more curious. What kind of natural disaster could make the Spirit race face a crisis of extinction?"

"It seems that back then, the Mage Association made a mistake while experimenting with a super-large Magic Array, which attracted a star from the sky, and the landing point of that star was the Morning Light Forest," the Great Elder said.

"But I remember the Spirit race has an Elf Array protecting them, right?" Lingyun asked.

"Although the Elf Array is powerful, how could it withstand a star falling from the sky?" the Great Elder said. "In the end, it was the High Priest of the Spirit race who brought out the Elf Holy Bow left behind by the Goddess of the Spirits, absorbing the power of heaven and earth to shatter that star. And it was this arrow that established Andiya's status as the most powerful female powerhouse on the Continent."

"So that's how it is?" Lingyun responded, but a flash of killing intent crossed his eyes.

As one of the main personnel who set up the Elf Array, Lingyun was extremely aware of the power of the Elf Array. Could the Elf Array block a falling star? Lingyun's answer was: Yes! As for why the Elf Array could not withstand the falling star, the greatest possibility was that someone had tampered with it.

And now the reason why the Natural Power within Andiya was not pure also emerged: in order to draw the Elf Holy Bow, Andiya used a secret technique to increase her strength, causing the Natural Power within her to no longer be pure.

Moreover, according to the Great Elder of the Meiling Tribe, the time that genius fell was just a few years after the Spirit race faced the disaster of extinction. And that super-large Magic experiment back then seemed to have had this genius participating in it. And changing the trajectory of the stars in the heavens in this world seemed enough to invite Heavenly Punishment. Among those who jointly presided over the Magic Array back then, he was the only one who had this situation happen. If there was no connection between the two, Lingyun would not believe it.

"It seems there are still many secrets here!" Lingyun muttered in his heart. "However, there are still two doubts now: first, how did that genius have the ability to change a super-large Magic Array; second, what was the situation with the dark aura he revealed during the Heavenly Punishment?"

"Heh, things seem to have become interesting!" A grim smile curled the corners of Lingyun's mouth.