Chapter 59: Frosty Sky, Frozen Moon Illuminates the Cold River

A spirit emerged from the talisman paper, nearly identical to the two attacking ahead, only slightly darker.

Previously, Lu Xingzhou had sealed this spirit into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, erasing its original master's imprint; after simple consecration, it was barely under his control. The drawback was obvious—it was far weaker than the original, and it had lost all trace of its original master's aura, no longer even a "comrade," having become Little Black.

The two spirits paused, then burst into rage at being deceived, charging furiously at Little Black.

Lu Xingzhou, banner in hand, shook it lightly again; the two spirits, affected by the Soul-Calling, grew sluggish and dazed, just like the first one.

Little Black punched one square in the face, while Du Gu Miss Qingli slashed the other with her sword; both spirits' hues began to dim.

It seemed Lu Xingzhou was assisting and controlling the whole thing—this group was easy to handle, his Ten Thousand Souls Banner being a perfect counter to such spectral entities.

Yet Lu Xingzhou made no further move, letting Little Black and Du Gu Miss Qingli wrestle with the spirits, his eyes fixed on the Spirit Water Crystal, as if deep in thought.

Given the strength of this place's original owner, aren't the guards too weak?

Suppose I were a Supreme-grade cultivator setting up a temporary cave dwelling. One spirit guarding the entrance? Acceptable—it's merely for greeting and warning, no need for strength. But the escape route behind, where the ultimate treasure lies, is guarded by only one more spirit? Is that plausible?

If it were me, I'd stack layered strange arrays and add terrifying prohibitions.

Yet there was no trace of any array here beside the pool.

Realizing this, Lu Xingzhou broke into a cold sweat: "The spirit cannot die—its death causes the talisman paper to shatter, likely triggering the place's self-destructive prohibitions! The Soul-Calling and defection was the only solution."

Du Gu Miss Qingli sharply sheathed her sword and stepped back; Lu Xingzhou swiftly activated the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, black winds swirling, swiftly drawing both spirits back into the banner.

He then shook out Liu Qingcang's vacant, vacant soul-body, directing it to drift into the pool and retrieve the Spirit Water Crystal.

The moment Liu Qingcang's soul-body entered the pool, the water erupted violently, a wave flipping over and instantly scattering his soul into oblivion.

Lu Xingzhou wasn't surprised—he moved the banner again, and the soul-bodies of Hu Yu's guards drifted out, entering the pool once more.

"Ssssh! Ssssh! Ssssh!" Thick vines, as thick as a child's arm, snaked in from all directions, wrapping the soul-bodies in an instant, reducing them to ash in the blink of an eye.

Bai Chi's soul-body flashed through, weaving precisely through the waves and vines, seizing the Spirit Water Crystal.

The instant he touched it, the Spirit Water Crystal erupted in blinding radiance; Bai Chi's soul-body screamed and vanished in a wisp of blue smoke.

Du Gu Miss Qingli looked like a humble servant, doing nothing, staring dumbfounded as Lu Xingzhou single-handedly commanded an army.

Indeed, the surface calm was merely a ploy to lower the guard of intruders—once true treasure was seized, lethal traps would erupt with ruthless ferocity.

Du Gu Miss Qingli had encountered many such places—seemingly peaceful, yet deadly upon core contact—and she wasn't surprised. But Lu Xingzhou shouldn't have such experience; this was pure cautious reasoning, and this "turning enemies into allies to trigger traps" tactic—he'd never seen it in his life.

Indeed, evil cultivators had it easy—if I'd had to break through this alone with just my sword, it'd be nearly impossible… I'd say, almost certainly unsolvable.

After all this, was Lu Xingzhou, once thought the weakest, actually the main force of this expedition?

Lost in thought, Bai Jingtian's soul-body seized the Spirit Water Crystal and scurried back to Lu Xingzhou's side. Lu Xingzhou pursed his lips, watching cautiously, not reaching out to take it.

Du Gu Miss Qingli whispered: "What are you wary of?"

"These are soul-bodies, not flesh. Something might not trigger for them—but might still trigger for us."

Du Gu Miss Qingli said: "Then let me try?"

"No. The original owner was too powerful—if there truly is a potent prohibition, you and I are no different…" Lu Xingzhou hesitated, then said: "Let's first open the exit, and discuss with Shen Tang after we meet."

He threw out Jin Mingxiu's soul-body, commanding it to dive into the pool's depths to activate the mechanism: "The switch isn't triggered by pulling the crystal—it's the motion of pulling that activates the nearby mechanism. Jin Mingxiu's strength is high, his soul-body solid—he should have enough force to trigger it."

Du Gu Miss Qingli: "…"

Soon after, a rumbling echoed from the pool's depths, as if the door on the other side of the passage had just clicked loose.

"Go." Lu Xingzhou retracted Jin Mingxiu's soul, still needing to question it.

He turned his wheelchair; Du Gu Miss Qingli naturally stepped behind to push, while Bai Jingtian's soul-body floated beside them, cradling the Spirit Water Crystal.

Neither seemed to notice—the soul-body's eyes were growing redder, more monstrous.

At the passage entrance, as they entered the darkness, Bai Jingtian's soul-body, crystal in hand, stabbed like a sword toward Du Gu Miss Qingli's neck.

Du Gu Miss Qingli, as if expecting it, leaned back sharply; the Spirit Water Crystal swept past her face, and her Frost Heaven Sword pierced out from under her ribs, severing the soul-body's arm.

Lu Xingzhou shook his banner; Bai Jingtian's soul-body slithered back inside, and the Spirit Water Crystal fell to the ground.

An extremely chilling will spread from the crystal, a soul-voice echoing directly in both their minds: "Two younglings—so alert and perceptive… you dismantled every trap and prohibition, yet still refrained from touching the treasure. You're not ordinary."

"So the final safeguard is a lingering will…" Lu Xingzhou exhaled: "Good—it's not a residual soul."

If it were a residual soul, Bai Mao and I would have zero chance against such a great master's remnant—we haven't even reached the soul-cultivation stage, far too far behind.

Just a will imprint—that can't possess, only influence the mind, which is relatively manageable. Even if we might still lose, at least there's a chance; otherwise, it wouldn't have resorted to ambush.

As long as we don't touch it.

Lu Xingzhou swiftly consecrated the Ten Thousand Souls Banner; the next instant, a chorus of ghostly wails erupted, a thousand black mists surging forth toward the Spirit Water Crystal on the ground.

Lu Xingzhou's own cultivation was only seventh grade, but the banner's power had little to do with his level—it depended entirely on how many souls it had absorbed. Once it gathered a thousand, it crossed into middle three grades, capable of countering fourth-grade soul entities, hence why handling the spirit talismans was perfect.

The will imprint was essentially a form of soul-force.

Yet this mere fragment of will was stronger than a fourth-grade spirit talisman.

A thousand vengeful souls surged and tore at it; the banner trembled violently. Lu Xingzhou, horrified, noticed the Bai Fan was faintly cracking—and through his control, it began vibrating his own soul sea.

A crushing pressure pressed down, splitting his head, threatening to shatter his soul sea; unconsciously, blood trickled from all seven orifices.

Even with the most specialized artifact to absorb the impact, the residual shock was already causing him to bleed… If anyone else tried—Shen Tang included—they'd likely be reduced to a vegetable. Du Gu Miss Qingli's cultivation was even weaker than Shen Tang's; she could never withstand it—contact would mean disaster.

Fortunately, the opponent was limited—clearly, the will was also wavering, growing weaker.

This was a battle of endurance—who held out longest.

For the hope of healing his legs, Lu Xingzhou was willing to sacrifice everything. He braced wave after wave of pressure, his thoughts gradually blurring, vision swimming with indistinct shapes—"Ssshh!"—the banner finally cracked.

A crack in his soul artifact meant his soul sea was severely injured.

It seemed to last a long time, but to Du Gu Miss Qingli's eyes, it was merely Lu Xingzhou's thousand souls roaring and clashing twice with the Spirit Water Crystal—first round, seven orifices bleeding; second round, banner cracked.

Just the blink of an eye…

She reacted instantly, shoving Lu Xingzhou's wheelchair aside, breaking their connection, and thrusting her sword straight into the Spirit Water Crystal.

Now it was Du Gu Miss Qingli facing the will's assault; Lu Xingzhou was freed, his heart jolted—he cried out: "Don't—"

Before he finished, Du Gu Miss Qingli's blue eyes blazed—her entire soul sea transformed into a vast, frozen wasteland, empty and still. The soul-force surge crashed against it like a hurricane over ice—meaningless. The ice stood unmoved; the hurricane faded fast.

Far easier than Lu Xingzhou had managed… though admittedly, he'd already weakened it considerably.

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

Damn, the direct disciple of a Sacred Land, the number one treasure's disciple—truly, one cannot judge by appearances.

"Frosty sky, frozen moon reflecting the cold river, you are..." That soul voice held a trace of shock, then immediately turned vicious again: "Good, good, good! Even if my will perishes, you must die here!"

With the final spread of that will, the vines by the pool that had once guarded Huo Yu, which had whipped souls to scattered dust, shot forward with a "whoosh," striking straight at the stunned and motionless Du Gu Miss Qingli.

A small twisted expression of pain appeared on Du Gu Miss Qingli's face; clearly, the opponent had used their last strength to entangle her, pulling at her soul sea, rendering her unable to move!

Lu Xingzhou slapped his wheelchair rapidly, leaped into the air, and tackled Du Gu Miss Qingli to the ground.

Those vines swept past overhead, adjusted with extreme speed, and slammed down heavily.

Lu Xingzhou lay atop Du Gu Miss Qingli; his own legs and feet could exert no force at all, unable to kick forward like a normal person, so he could only use his entire body to shield Du Gu Miss Qingli tightly beneath him.

With a "crash," the vines struck his left lower leg, shattering the leg bone completely.

That will's final struggle with Du Gu Miss Qingli also exhausted its strength; the vines moved no more, and a voice of final regret and unwillingness drifted through the air: "You dog man and dog woman... sooner or later... I will take your dog lives..."

The chill and the pressure gradually dispersed, and the voice vanished completely.

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PS: Begging for monthly votes~

(End of this chapter)