Chapter 197: Extinguishing the Soul

"Old wretch! Prepare to meet your death!"

Zhang Nuo had never been soft-hearted toward those who threatened his life; if Chunyangzi had not intervened this time, his physical body would have been successfully taken by Zhong Yan through Possession!

If that had happened, the one living in the world would only be his body, while the soul would belong to someone else! At the mere thought of this, Zhang Nuo's fury burned, and he wished he could grind the phantom before him into dust.

"You... what can you do to me?"

Even at this point, Zhong Yan's mouth remained unyielding, but his stuttering voice was enough to prove he was afraid! As a Remnant Soul without the support of a physical body, his power was naturally terrifyingly small; even though Zhang Nuo was only a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage, killing him was not a problem.

"What can I do? Just wait and see!"

Zhang Nuo gave a cold laugh, and even Chunyangzi, hovering above, felt a chill in his heart upon hearing it. He had never seen Zhang Nuo like this; it seemed that no matter who it was, when their life was threatened, they would reveal the murderous aura buried in the deepest depths of their soul.

At this moment, the gaze of Zhong Yan's phantom fell upon the 'Measuring Heaven Ruler' he had thrown onto the ground. Just as he started to rise to retrieve it, Zhang Nuo was a step faster. With a wave of his hand and a slight curl of his five fingers toward the 'Measuring Heaven Ruler', with a 'whoosh', the Magic Treasure was snatched into his hand.

"It is mine now!"

Zhang Nuo's expression was ferocious. Gripping the small ruler in one hand, he squeezed the words out through his teeth. Having lost the 'Measuring Heaven Ruler', a wave of panic surged within Zhong Yan; if he had the small ruler, he might still have been able to put up a fight against Zhang Nuo.

"You..."

His figure retreated slowly, as if trying to escape the Cave Abode. Zhong Yan was now in a position where heaven would not answer his pleas and the earth would not respond; he was a lonely Remnant Soul, like a flame flickering in the wind.

"Don't leave! Stay here!"

Zhang Nuo moved, quickly blocking the entrance to the Cave Abode. He casually placed the 'Measuring Heaven Ruler' into his Storage Bag, and with a shift of his Divine Sense, five Flying Swords flashed out from the Sword Box on his back, their tips all pointing at Zhong Yan's phantom.

At this moment, Chunyangzi cast a cold glance at Zhong Yan, shook his head slightly, and slowly sank back into the Sword Box.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! *

The Flying Swords cut through the air, emitting a piercing sound as they charged toward Zhong Yan. The phantom moved, dodging quickly, and simultaneously seized the opportunity to dash toward the side of Zhang Nuo's body. As long as he could rush past, the exit would be right in front of him; once he was out of the cave, he might still have a glimmer of survival!

Witnessing all this, Zhang Nuo merely sneered. The five Flying Swords that had missed their mark earlier blurred in the void and suddenly vanished. The next instant, these five Flying Swords appeared right before Zhong Yan's eyes.

"Ah!"

After a shrill, miserable scream, Zhong Yan's phantom was struck by all five swords. However, because he was a phantom existence, even being struck in vital points would not be fatal; it merely consumed more of his life essence.

Having long anticipated that Zhong Yan would pull such a trick, Zhang Nuo had activated the 'Instant Sword'. This strike was indeed effective; as the Flying Swords slashed through the phantom, streams of white gas emerged from its surface—this was precisely his life essence draining away.

The moment Zhong Yan let out his scream, Zhang Nuo moved, quickly arriving behind him. His palm flipped abruptly, his five fingers wrapped in crimson flames, and he grabbed downward fiercely.

Amidst screams like a slaughtered pig, Zhang Nuo lifted Zhong Yan's form into his hand. The red flames erupting from his fingertips were ruthlessly devouring the life essence on the phantom!

"You little brat! Even if I become a ghost, I will not let you off!"

Feeling his life essence draining away rapidly, Zhong Yan roared, his shrill cries echoing endlessly throughout the Cave Abode. However, Zhang Nuo did not soften his hand; the crimson flames surged, instantly enveloping the entire phantom within them.

For a time, Zhong Yan roared in even greater agony, emitting all sorts of miserable cries. As the flames burned, the phantom shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, until finally, only a thumb-sized ball of white light remained.

"Little friend, stop! I can tell you a secret!"

At the final moment, Zhong Yan was still begging for a chance to survive. A weak voice emanated from the white ball of light, as if he wanted to use this secret to trade for his last chance at life.

"A secret? Isn't this Cave Abode your biggest secret?"

Looking at the ball of white light in his palm, Zhang Nuo said coldly in a deep voice. Simultaneously, he closed his five fingers tightly. Amidst the explosion of sparks and Zhong Yan's shrill screams, everything came to an end.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Nuo, fearing that a long delay would lead to trouble, resolutely and thoroughly extinguished Zhong Yan's Remnant Soul. As for the secret the opponent mentioned before dying, he was indeed tempted, but when dealing with such a cunning old monster, Zhang Nuo would rather not know the secret than risk his own life.

"Little Zhang, you did the right thing!"

Seeing that Zhang Nuo had not been deceived by the opponent's words again, Chunyangzi said approvingly from within the Sword Box.

"I was fooled once! How could I be fooled a second time? Even if what he said was true, I wouldn't believe it!"

Zhang Nuo slowly opened his palm, revealing that it was empty, with only the Red Glow Fire still flickering incessantly.

"Senior, thank you for this time. If it weren't for you, I fear I would have already perished!"

Previously, Zhang Nuo had been at odds with Chunyangzi in his heart and had refused to speak to him.

"Hehe! Little one, I still need your help, so of course I wouldn't let you die in vain!"

Chunyangzi did not put on airs and stated his thoughts openly and honestly.

"Little Zhang, you might really be about to strike it rich this time! The things in this Cave Abode are enough to make even me covet them. Not to mention anything else, just those spirit pills and medicines are enough for you to charge toward the Golden Core stage in a short time! I think you should just stay here for now; you can't get past the grand formation outside anyway!"

"Does Senior mean to let me charge toward the Golden Core stage in this Cave Abode?"

Zhang Nuo's reaction was quick. With a turn of his thoughts, he guessed Chunyangzi's intentions. Having just entered the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, he had not even considered the Golden Core stage.

"Correct! The location where this Cave Abode was built is very particular. Don't you feel it? The Spiritual Qi here is a hundred times denser than in the outside world!"

Prompted by Chunyangzi, Zhang Nuo closed his eyes slightly and carefully sensed the surrounding environment. Sure enough, the Spiritual Qi throughout the entire Cave Abode was like surging ocean waves.

"Plus the Sword Box's ability to gather Qi! Wouldn't I be able to obtain even purer Spiritual Qi?"

Opening his eyes suddenly, Zhang Nuo's voice trembled with excitement.

"It seems the previous owner of this Cave Abode was no simple person. If we guess based on Zhong Yan's previous words, perhaps he was a cultivator from the Xianhuan Continent!"

"Xianhuan Continent?"

Zhang Nuo stood there in a daze. He had never heard the name 'Xianhuan Continent' before, but since the name came from Chunyangzi, it certainly could not be an ordinary continent.

"According to some information I learned in the Immortal World, this 'Xianhuan Continent' existed in the Mortal World a very long time ago. The density of the Spiritual Qi there was no less than that of the Immortal World!"

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Nuo could not imagine what it would be like to have the same Spiritual Qi density as the Immortal World.

"'Nascent Soul cultivators walk everywhere! Golden Core cultivators are as common as dogs!' This saying is not an exaggeration to describe the 'Xianhuan Continent'. The dense Spiritual Qi allowed cultivators' cultivation levels to rise rapidly. However, I heard long ago that the continent mysteriously disappeared. I didn't expect that there were descendants from that continent who escaped!"

Chunyangzi was also puzzled. The disappearance of the 'Xianhuan Continent' was hundreds of thousands of years ago, or perhaps even longer. How could there still be descendants from the 'Xianhuan Continent' coming here?

"Senior, you heard of the 'Xianhuan Continent' when you were in the Immortal World. Do you know why it disappeared?"

"I am not clear on that. After all, I wasn't born yet before the 'Xianhuan Continent' disappeared! Hehe, the things I know were also learned from ancient texts later on!"

With a light laugh, Chunyangzi did not take the matter too much to heart. The previous owner of the Cave Abode had already perished, and some things would remain a long-standing mystery!

Walking through the Cave Abode and feeling the surging Spiritual Qi around him, Zhang Nuo felt a sense of exhilaration. Every pore on his body opened, greedily absorbing this Spiritual Qi.

Inadvertently looking up, Zhang Nuo discovered that there were flashes of flowing light on the ceiling of the cave. These lights appeared and disappeared, which was extremely strange, but in some mysterious way, they seemed to be forming a pattern.

"Senior, look at the cave ceiling!"

Hearing Zhang Nuo's voice, Chunyangzi flew out directly from the Sword Box. After a flash of red shadow, he stood before Zhang Nuo's eyes.

"Senior, will you be alright coming out?"

Ever since he discovered the Remnant Soul of Chunyangzi inside the Sword Box, he had never come out; now that he was recklessly revealing his form, Zhang Nuo was deeply afraid that some accident might befall him.

"Rest assured, the Spiritual Qi here is about the same as inside the Sword Box, so it won't have much of an impact on me!"

As he spoke, Chunyangzi cast his gaze toward the ceiling of the Cave Abode, and after looking for a long time, he suddenly gasped in cold air!

"What a marvelous Array! I have never seen such a miraculous Array even in the Immortal World! If this old man is not mistaken, beneath this Cave Abode, there should be a Spirit Vein!"

"Are those flowing lights above emitted by the Array?"

Zhang Nuo carefully observed the light at the ceiling of the cave, but he could not see anything special about it.

Chunyangzi did not make a sound, his gaze looking toward the ground once more; at the same time, a flash of brilliance shone within his eyes, and after another moment, he spoke slowly.

"The design of this cave is too brilliant; even I am afraid I could not achieve this. Zhang, you truly have deep karmic fortune to have encountered such a blessed land!"

Chunyangzi's gaze fell upon Zhang Nuo, his eyes filled with envy; Zhang Nuo wore a look of bewilderment, and although he did not know where the mystery of this Cave Abode lay, it was not hard to see from Chunyangzi's expression that this was definitely a Cave Abode rarely seen in the world.

"You are not going anywhere else! You will cultivate right here, and you shall not go out until you reach the Golden Core stage!"

As if issuing an order, Chunyangzi said in a rare, stern voice. Zhang Nuo nodded, knowing that this was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!