Chapter 162 Encirclement and Slaughter of Remnant Souls

It was a success! Under Mu Changge's unique method of nearly "intimate" guidance, Yun Qingyao had finally comprehended the Sword Intent of this place.

She opened her eyes abruptly. A brilliance swirled within her pupils; they remained clear as before, yet appeared deeper and brighter, like stars that had been thoroughly cleansed.

A surge of immense joy and enlightenment flooded her heart, but immediately afterward, she became aware of their currently extremely intimate posture.

"Ah!" she let out a low cry. Like a startled young deer, she sprang away from Mu Changge, instantly putting distance between them. Her cheeks were so red they seemed ready to drip blood. Where Mu Changge had just touched her, the scorching sensation and a tingling, strange feeling seemed to still linger.

Subconsciously, she raised a hand to cover her chest, cast a flustered glance at Mu Changge, then quickly looked away, not daring to meet his eyes.

Mu Changge also gave a light cough and slowly withdrew his hand. His fingertips seemed to still retain that delicate, warm, and soft sensation, and a lingering cold fragrance still wafted around the tip of his nose.

He rubbed his nose, revealing a rare and faint trace of embarrassment, but quickly returned to his usual lazy smile, though a hint of unnaturalness flickered deep in his eyes.

"Senior Sister... as expected of your natural talent, you've grasped it so quickly!" He changed the subject, his gaze falling on the Sword Intent brilliance that had not yet fully receded from Yun Qingyao's body, and praised her sincerely, "Congratulations, Senior Sister, your Dao of the sword has advanced once more."

Yun Qingyao took a few deep breaths, forcing down the tumultuous waves in her heart and the searing heat on her face, trying hard to restore calm to her voice. However, the slightly trembling end of her sentence betrayed her inner unrest: "Th-thank you for your guidance, Junior Brother."

This expression of gratitude seemed far more complex than the previous ones. It contained both gratitude for the guidance in the Dao of the sword, and the shyness, as well as an indescribable sense of fluster and palpitation, from their recent intimate contact.

"It was just a small effort..." Mu Changge waved his hand, just about to say something to ease the lingering, awkward atmosphere and perhaps take another moment to admire this rare, shy appearance of the Saintess before him.

However, at this very moment, a sudden change occurred—

A pale green sword ray, condensed to the extreme and appearing as if it could slice through space and light, shot out without warning from the depths of the dark stone forest in the far distance!

Wherever the sword ray passed, even the ubiquitous "Sword Qi pressure field" was forcibly pushed aside and disrupted, leaving behind a brief vacuum trail. Its speed was astonishing; one moment it was at the horizon, and the next, it had already torn through the sky, carrying with it a bone-chilling, deathly silence that made one's Soul tremble, along with monstrous Sword Intent, striking directly at where Mu Changge and Yun Qingyao were located!

Before the sword ray arrived, that incomparably fierce Sword Intent, which seemed capable of freezing and tearing apart the Soul, had already locked onto the two of them, causing Yun Qingyao and Mu Changge's hair to stand on end as they felt a fatal threat!

"Danger!" The two reacted almost simultaneously. They exchanged a look, instantly waking from the subtle atmosphere just a moment ago, and retreated rapidly!

"Boom—!" The pale green sword ray struck hard where they had just been standing. The ground, harder than refined iron, was sliced open like tofu, creating a deep, narrow sword mark. The edges were as smooth as a mirror, and the remaining Sword Qi hissed, emitting a chilling Aura that seemed to extinguish everything. Had they not dodged in time, they would likely have been dead or crippled by this single strike!

Amidst the dust and fragments of Sword Qi, a phantom figure slowly sped toward them from the horizon where the sword ray had originated.

It was a blurry, nearly transparent male figure, wearing ancient, tattered, and strangely styled clothing. His face was shrouded in a layer of gray mist, and only where his eyes should have been did two cold, lifeless, pale flames flicker.

In his hand, he held a similarly illusory longsword, formed from cyan-blue light. His form flickered between solid and dissipated; clearly, he was not a physical entity, but a Remnant Soul, and an incomplete one at that.

Yet, this Remnant Soul emitted an Aura that made Mu Changge and Yun Qingyao's hearts heavy. It was a pressure far exceeding the Nascent Soul Stage. Although it was somewhat unstable and carried a heavy sense of being worn down by time and incompleteness, its essential level was extremely high, reaching the realm of the Soul Transformation Stage!

Judging by the state of its Soul and the remaining Dao rhymes, its cultivation while alive was likely at least that of a Void Refining expert. However, after death, its Soul was incomplete, and having been worn down by endless years in this Secret Realm, less than one percent of its power remained. The strength it could currently exert was roughly at the Mid Spirit Severing stage.

Even so, the Mid Spirit Severing stage was a terrifying existence that Mu Changge and Yun Qingyao, currently only at the Nascent Soul Stage, could hardly contend with! Furthermore, the deathly silence and terrifying Sword Intent emitted by this Remnant Soul were pure and extreme, incomparably horrifying.

"Is this... a Soul of an ancient Cultivator remaining in the Secret Realm? Or an ancient remnant thought eroded and assimilated by the Sword Intent of this place?" Yun Qingyao's beautiful face turned pale. The joy of having just comprehended the Sword Intent and her delicate thoughts were instantly replaced by a cold sense of crisis. She had never heard in the Sect's records that there were such powerful, actively aggressive Remnant Souls within the Sword Burial Abyss.

Mu Changge's gaze was grave as he stared at the illusory figure that appeared slow but was actually astonishingly fast. His brain worked rapidly. Was the appearance of this Remnant Soul a coincidence, or was it related to Jian Wushuang? Or had they touched some taboo of this place, triggering a guardian? Regardless of which it was, this was currently a huge crisis! He knew he was unwilling to casually reveal his trump cards in front of others. As a villain, one must always keep a hidden hand in any situation; that was the stable way!

The Remnant Soul seemed to have no intelligence, only the instinct to kill. It slowly raised the illusory light sword in its hand, its "eyes," like pale flames, locked straight onto Mu Changge; it was clearly coming for him.

The next moment, its figure flickered slightly, and as if teleporting, it crossed several dozen zhang, and a pale green sword ray, more condensed and deathly silent than the previous one, had already struck toward Mu Changge's face! Its speed was far beyond that of an ordinary Soul Transformation Cultivator!

"Junior Brother, be careful!" Yun Qingyao cried out in alarm. Almost without thinking, she flipped her hand, and a longsword with an ancient design, its blade displaying a strange black and white color as if Yin and Yang were merging and flowing, appeared in her hand. As soon as the sword appeared, it emitted an ethereal yet incomparably profound and mysterious fluctuation; it was clearly no ordinary item. Subconsciously, she wanted to raise her sword and step forward to fight alongside Mu Changge.

However, Mu Changge's reaction was faster. The moment the Remnant Soul raised its sword, he had already moved. He did not retreat, but instead stepped forward. The Aura around him suddenly became ethereal and unpredictable, as if he had merged with the surrounding environment, yet also seemed independent of it, distorting the lock of the pale green sword ray in a mysterious way.

At the same time, he shouted without looking back: "Senior Sister, step back! You just comprehended the Sword Intent; your mental energy is depleted, and your Aura is unstable. Forcing yourself to fight could damage your foundation! Leave this ghost thing to me!" His voice was steady and powerful, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness and dominance.

Upon hearing this, Yun Qingyao's delicate body trembled slightly, and her forward momentum inevitably faltered. She did indeed feel somewhat mentally exhausted, and the newly comprehended Sword Intent also needed time to stabilize. Watching Mu Changge's tall but slightly thin (relative to the Soul Transformation Remnant Soul) back resolutely blocking the front, her heart tightened, and worry instantly overwhelmed all other emotions.

"But he..." Yun Qingyao looked at the aggressive Remnant Soul emitting the Divine Might of the Soul Transformation Stage, and the deep, bottomless sword mark on the ground. Her beautiful face was full of anxiety. How could she watch idly as her Junior Brother faced such a powerful enemy alone, while she, a Senior Sister and the Sect's Saintess, could only obediently hide behind?

Just at the moment she hesitated, the Remnant Soul's second sword strike had already descended, carrying an even more ferocious Aura of death! Wherever the sword light reached, even space itself groaned under the unbearable burden.

Mu Changge's eyes turned sharp. Knowing he could not let Yun Qingyao be distracted any longer, and unable to care about anything else, his tone suddenly intensified, carrying an unprecedented dominance and hardness as he shouted: "Senior Sister! Be obedient! Retreat to the back to regulate your breath, and protect yourself! Don't let me get distracted!"

The words "be obedient" exploded in Yun Qingyao's ears like a thunderclap.

She was stunned for a moment, and then, a flush of seductive red rapidly spread across her fair, jade-like face at a speed visible to the naked eye, quickly extending to her delicate earlobes and neck. She looked like a shrimp that had instantly cooked through. Her clear, beautiful eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief and an indescribable shyness.

'Be... obedient?'

'He... he actually used that tone... that kind of commanding and... irresistible language to speak to me?'

'I am a Senior Sister! I am the Sect Saintess! My cultivation is also... also a bit higher than his! I think! You have to know, usually it's my turn to make others listen...'

Yun Qingyao's mind was a mess, her heartbeat skipped several beats instantly, and then it began to beat violently like a drum, thumping against her chest until it felt stifled.

A strange, numbing sensation, mixed with a bit of panic and a hint of strange sweetness, coursed through her whole body like an electric current.

'He... how dare he... why has he suddenly become so overbearing?'

'And... the way he acts so overbearing... it looks... like... it's a bit...'

Yun Qingyao subconsciously raised her hand and gently touched her burning cheeks, the scorching temperature from her fingertips startling her.

She bit her lower lip slightly, her long eyelashes trembling, her eyes wandering, completely forgetting the powerful enemy before her, and forgetting her own "dignity" as a Senior Sister and Sect Saintess.

"You..." She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, wanting to put on the airs of a Senior Sister or even a Saintess, to scold him with a few words like "disrespectful" or "who would listen to you," but when the words reached her lips, seeing Mu Changge facing the terrifying pale green sword light without hesitation, his Aura rising, though not yet at the Soul Transformation Stage, he possessed a composed and mountain-like demeanor, and those words could no longer be spoken.

Instead, a feeling of being protected and strongly "arranged" by him, mixed with the ambiguous throbbing from when he passed on the Cultivation Technique earlier, surged into her heart like a tide, making her heart tremble and her legs go weak.

"Hmph... bastard... I'll settle the score with you later..." In the end, she just muttered a sentence in a voice as low as a mosquito, audible only to herself, carrying a hint of coquettishness she didn't even notice.

Then, surprisingly "obediently," she drifted back several feet, found a relatively sturdy boulder, sat cross-legged, quickly took out a Medicinal Pill, swallowed it, and began to regulate her breath quietly.

But those beautiful eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the figure fighting the terrifying remnant Soul in front, and deep in her eyes, worry, nervousness, and a trace of feelings she herself had not yet understood, intertwined and swirled.

At this moment, Mu Changge had no time to worry about anything else.

"Clang!" A loud sound like metal clashing! The long sword Mu Changge had just taken out collided violently with that pale green sword light!

The violent air waves, mixed with Sword Intent of death and freezing, exploded, causing his protective spiritual light to flicker, and he himself slid back several steps, his arm holding the sword feeling slightly numb, and his blood surged.

"Mid Spirit Severing stage... truly troublesome! However... it should still be manageable." Mu Changge's eyes were calm, but he showed no fear.

He had appeared to take the hit head-on, but in reality, he had used clever force to deflect most of the power, while secretly observing his surroundings and analyzing the situation, striving to resolve it without using his trump cards.

The remnant Soul seemed somewhat surprised that this mere Nascent Soul Middle Stage brat in front of it could take its sword strike without being severely injured.

The pale flames in its eyes flickered, it let out a silent roar, its illusory figure became a bit more solid again, the pale green light of the light sword in its hand shone brightly, and even more terrifying Sword Intent began to condense, clearly intending to launch a more powerful attack.

And meanwhile, on the other side, Jian Wushuang was still browsing that mysterious Cultivation Technique, with a small nine-story tower only an inch high, flowing with golden light and mysterious runes, appearing beside him. On the tower, the three ancient characters "soul suppressing tower" emitted a majestic divine light, making one feel compelled to submit. At this moment, the tower shone with green light, floating in the air, with invisible threads connecting to many directions, apparently linking to something. If someone followed the threads, they would find that they connected to remnant Souls of ancient Cultivators. Just as Jian Wushuang was browsing the mysterious Cultivation Technique, the floating tower flashed red. One of the connected invisible threads suddenly turned red. Jian Wushuang raised his head slightly to look in the direction the thread extended, stunned at first, then his face filled with wild joy and even more venomous malice.

And meanwhile, on the other side.

Jian Wushuang remained within the golden light barrier filled with the Aura of blood and despair. He had already cleaned himself up, but his face was as pale as paper, and the severe pain in his lower body surged like a tide, making his scalp tingle even now.

However, in those bloodshot eyes burned a near-manic obsession as he stared fixedly at the fake Jade Slip in his hand that exuded a "Divine Grade" Aura, muttering to himself, attempting to comprehend even a shred of the so-called "Supreme Dao" from those obscure and twisted words, to numb the dual pain of his body and Soul.

Just as his mind sank into that false Cultivation Technique, almost falling into a state of self-hypnotic paranoia—Hum!

Beside him, a small tower only an inch high, with its body flowing with a strange gilded luster, floated slowly.

The small tower had an ancient and peculiar shape, neither gold nor jade. On its body, countless dense, twisted, and mysterious runes that seemed to squirm like living creatures flickered, emitting an extremely ancient, sacred, and unquestionable Aura of majesty.

At the base of the tower, three ancient seal characters — "soul suppressing tower" — were emitting a heart-palpitating dark golden light. Merely glancing at them made one feel their Soul swaying, as if it were about to leave the body and bow down before it.

At this moment, this strange soul suppressing tower floated silently about a foot in front of Jian Wushuang. Golden light flowed over the tower body; it was not bright, yet it seemed to be able to suck away all the light and heat around it.

What was even more hair-raising was that threads, nearly transparent and only perceptible to those with extremely keen senses, were spreading out from every corner of the tower, like tentacles with a life of their own, winding into the Void Realm, extending in many directions within the Secret Realm, their ends unknown.

If someone were to follow these invisible threads, they would be shocked to discover that the end of each thread was deeply "rooted" in the center of the eyebrows of remnant Souls of ancient Cultivators wandering everywhere in the Secret Realm, their forms indistinct, exuding an Aura of decay and power! These threads were like the most vicious parasites, or like strings controlling a Puppet, manipulating their every move in a strange way.

Just as Jian Wushuang was enduring inhuman pain, forcing himself to immerse in the "Divine Grade" Cultivation Technique—the floating soul suppressing tower, somewhere on its body, a thread that had been nearly invisible, without warning, suddenly turned a piercing blood red! The red light was eerie, as if suddenly soaked in fresh blood, appearing exceptionally eye-catching in this dim world!

"Hmm!" This sudden change instantly startled Jian Wushuang from his comprehension. He raised his head abruptly, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at the thread that was still trembling and emitting red light, looking in the direction it extended—it was exactly the direction of Mu Changge and Yun Qingyao!

A twisted look of wild joy mixed with monstrous hatred erupted like a volcano, rushing onto his somewhat out-of-control and agonizing face!

"Hahaha! Found him so quickly? Ancient Cultivator battle Soul! Kill him! Kill Mu Changge!" He frantically activated the small tower in his hand, driving the nearby ancient Cultivator remnant Souls to go and surround and kill them. They faintly formed a perimeter, sealing off all possible escape routes for Mu Changge and Yun Qingyao.

"Mu Changge! Let's see how you die today! Under the siege of these countless Soul Transformation battle Souls, even if you have some trump cards, you will definitely die! After you die, I will 'take care' of that bitch Yun Qingyao! Hahaha!" Jian Wushuang's hoarse, manic laughter faintly echoed.