Chapter 35: Spirit Soul Dominion

The words had barely left his lips

The Li clan youth suddenly raised his hand and struck the tattoo on half his face—three punches, each heavier and crueler than the last

“Puff”

The youth’s mouth slightly parted, and from his seven orifices—mouth, nose, and eyes—streamed thin threads of white flame, converging into a fist-sized fireball

The fireball spun once, emitting a clear, melodious chime, then surged violently in the wind, transforming into a white firebird a foot long, circling the youth in flight, its eyes alive with spirit

The youth himself stood motionless, one hand holding his spear horizontally, eyes tightly shut, as still as a corpse—the firebird tattoo on his cheek had vanished mysteriously

“Spirit Soul Dominion! Impossible!”

The dwarf, witnessing this, leapt up like a startled wildcat, his face filled with disbelief and a thread of fear

He suddenly screamed, flinging the leather sack he held high into the air; thick black mist gushed forth, forming layers of shields before him, while his other hand gestured sharply

The golden ring, previously knocked away by the spear, hummed loudly and shot back, hurtling toward the motionless youth

At the same moment, Wang Yu’s golden ring blazed with sudden radiance, its spirit patterns swelling violently, unleashing a colossal force that shattered his grip and sent it flying toward the Li clan youth

“Swoosh”

Without hesitation, Wang Yu swung his arm and hurled his long knife with all his strength, turning it into a streak of cold light

“Clang”

The cold light struck the flying golden ring with lightning speed, producing a crisp, resonant sound

As their glows intertwined, both fell from the sky—the ring dimmed to near darkness, the knife’s blade now riddled with cracks

The dwarf, who had been chanting incantations, suddenly grimaced, pain flashing across his face

In Wang Yu’s mind, a mechanical, lifeless voice suddenly sounded

“Spiritual energy consumption nearing safety threshold. System will forcibly exit overdrive sync mode in ten seconds… ten, nine, eight…”

“No! Exiting overdrive mode!”

Wang Yu’s face paled; he froze in place

At that moment, the white firebird circled once and dove toward the incoming golden ring, sweeping its long tail feathers across it

“Boom”

The instant the white feathers struck the ring, roaring white flames erupted, engulfing it completely

The seemingly indestructible golden ring softened and melted within two breaths, collapsing into a pool of molten gold

The dwarf, witnessing this, nearly dropped his eyes in shock; without hesitation, he pulled a white horn from his robe, placed it to his lips, and blew a mournful “Woo-woo”

The six-legged giant filth-bone fish, which had been motionless, shuddered violently, hurling the Yin Lady off its back, then blurred its six limbs and charged toward the youth

The dwarf swiftly formed hand seals, pointing repeatedly at the black sack in the air; the black mist before him surged back, wrapping him up and rocketing into the void behind him

He had decisively turned and fled

The black sack, humming, reversed direction and chased after him

“Too late to run”

The white firebird circled in midair, watching the dwarf’s actions, then spoke in human voice—clearly the Li clan youth’s

The firebird flapped its wings fiercely; a gale swept the area, and it vanished from sight

The next instant, a deafening sonic boom echoed

Above the charging giant filth-bone fish, the white firebird appeared, its talons lashing down—white flames erupted from the fish’s body, a few shrieks rang out, then it turned to ash

Another thunderous boom!

At the black mist, now dozens of zhang away, a massive column of white fire shot skyward, turning the surrounding void white-hot

The black mist ignited like gasoline under the white flames, and the dwarf’s screams emerged—then vanished within moments as the white fire rolled over him

“Thud”

The black sack lost all momentum and fell from midair, but the sudden appearance of the white firebird snatched it up

The firebird flapped its wings and flew straight back

Wang Yu finally recovered slightly from the agony of depleted spiritual energy, watching the distant scene, his eyelid twitching

The Four Fiends of Lanshan, a late Qi Refinement dwarf, was dead

He died so easily, it felt unreal

What kind of monster was this Spirit Soul Dominion master?

Moments later, the white firebird flashed several times and returned to the Li clan youth’s side, dropping the black sack on the ground before dissolving with a roar—its white flames re-entering the youth’s seven orifices

The firebird tattoo reappeared on the youth’s cheek

He slowly opened his eyes, calmly slung his spear over his back, stepped forward to pick up the black sack, then turned his chilling gaze toward Wang Yu

Wang Yu forced down the discomfort of depleted spiritual energy and his inner unease, gripping the silver thin-sword belt at his waist, meeting the Li clan youth’s stare without yielding

“Don’t you fear I’ll use the same technique to kill you?” the youth said coldly

“How much spiritual energy do you have left? How much did that attack consume? If you can perform it again, why should I fear you?” Wang Yu replied flatly, his heart pounding in his throat

The youth, hearing this, frowned sharply, his eyes flashing cold light—but then he chuckled

“Heh. Bold. Remember my name: Li Fengquan. Since you’ve seen my Spirit Soul Dominion technique, the next time we meet will be your death”

No sooner had he spoken than he turned and walked away, leaping several times before vanishing into the forest

Wang Yu stared at the direction the youth had disappeared, his expression cold and unmoved—for a full cup of tea’s time—then collapsed onto the ground

“That scared the hell out of me. That freak must really be gone,” he patted his chest repeatedly, face twisted in “scared the baby” expression

The next instant, Wang Yu remembered something and rushed to retrieve the iron-essence long knife nearby—but seeing its cracked blade, he frowned, then sheathed it anyway

He then sprinted to the Yin Lady, still face-down and unconscious, and carefully flipped her over to examine her injuries

But when he saw her face, he froze, speechless

Her clothing was still the Yin Lady’s flowered green dress

The wooden hairpin in her gray-white bun was still her black wooden hairpin

The withered yellow skin on her neck was still her aged skin

But her face—now a jade-like visage of celestial beauty

An oval face, eyes softly closed, long lashes, a delicate nose and small mouth—features so exquisite they seemed not of this world