67: Soul Pollution 2

Xiao Yan?!" Xiao Bing stopped in mid-air, incredulous.

The light figure seemed to sense something and turned its 'head' to 'look'. Although it had no facial features, Xiao Bing truly felt his brother's gaze. The light figure waved a hand, creating a wall of fire that temporarily blocked the shadow monsters, then flew to stand before Xiao Bing.

"Brother... how did you become..." Xiao Bing's voice trembled as he reached out to touch the light figure, but his hand passed directly through it.

The light figure—Xiao Yan—could not speak, but a thought directly entered Xiao Bing's mind: "My body dissipated in the explosion, and my Soul was drawn by the Heart of Chaos's resonance. I temporarily exist in this form."

Only then did Xiao Bing notice that within the azure flames at Xiao Yan's Heart of Chaos, a faint red glow circulated—that was the power of the Heart of Chaos!

"I brought the complete Heart of Chaos!" Xiao Bing said urgently, pointing to the ice crystal on his back, "But Ling Xiao has been corrupted by the Chaos Devourer, and we need..."

His words cut off abruptly. Ling Xiao in the ice crystal suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils completely black, and cracks on the ice spread like a spiderweb!

"Be careful!" Xiao Yan's light figure abruptly pushed Xiao Bing away.

"Boom!"

The ice crystal burst, and Ling Xiao broke free, his silver hair wildly dancing, his five fingers like hooks darting straight for Xiao Yan's Heart of Chaos! Xiao Yan did not dodge, allowing the hand to pass through his energy body, while the azure flames spread up Ling Xiao's arm.

"Ah!!!" Ling Xiao—or rather, the Chaos Devourer—let out a piercing shriek, pulling his arm back and retreating repeatedly, "Damn it... an energy body..."

Xiao Bing seized the opportunity to circle behind him, the power of the Heart of Chaos condensing in his palm: "Ling Xiao, wake up! It's us!"

"It's useless... brother..." "Ling Xiao" turned his head, black mist pouring from his mouth, "His Soul... is already mine..." Suddenly, his expression twisted, and his voice became weak, "Brother... kill me... please..."

Xiao Bing's hand froze in mid-air, the red light of the Heart of Chaos flickering. In that moment of hesitation, "Ling Xiao" was again controlled by the Chaos Devourer, and a hand blade struck towards Xiao Bing's throat!

Xiao Yan's light figure flashed like lightning, inserting himself between the two, taking the blow head-on. His energy body vibrated violently, seemingly on the verge of collapsing at any moment, but he still firmly grasped "Ling Xiao's" wrist, azure flames and blue ice simultaneously surging into his body.

"Ling Xiao" let out an inhuman roar, his body convulsing violently. Black mist and three-colored lights of azure, red, and blue intertwined and battled on his body, his silver hair sometimes turning black, sometimes returning to its original color, the scene bizarre and tragic.

The allied forces noticed the anomaly and several Heavenly Supremes tried to come to their aid but were entangled by the suddenly increased number of shadow monsters. Old Yao's voice came from afar: "Be careful! That monster is absorbing the negative emotions on the battlefield!"

Indeed, as the battle intensified, the soldiers' fear, the wounded's pain, and the dead's resentment all transformed into wisps of black Qi, converging on "Ling Xiao." His aura surged, and Xiao Yan's light figure began to falter, gradually being suppressed.

Xiao Bing watched his two younger brothers, one corrupted and one on the verge of dissipating, his Heart of Chaos aching. He took a deep breath and made a decision.

"Since the Heart of Chaos can sustain Xiao Yan's Soul, then it should also be able to..." he murmured to himself, suddenly plunging his hand into his own chest!

There was no blood splattering, only dazzling red light spilling from between his fingers. Xiao Bing's face was contorted, yet he steadfastly extracted the Heart of Chaos from his body bit by bit. With each inch he pulled out, his face grew paler, but his eyes became clearer.

"Brothers... catch!" Xiao Bing used all his strength to throw the Heart of Chaos towards Xiao Yan and Ling Xiao, who were locked in a stalemate.

The red light streaked across the sky like a small sun. Xiao Yan's light figure immediately understood his intention, sending out a wisp of azure flame to receive it; and the Chaos Devourer within "Ling Xiao" also sensed its importance, controlling Ling Xiao's body to snatch it.

Just at this critical moment, Ling Xiao's own consciousness suddenly erupted, forcefully stopping the snatching motion: "No... can't... give it to you!"

The Heart of Chaos successfully landed in Xiao Yan's hand, and in an instant, the azure light surged! Xiao Yan's energy body instantly solidified much more, and within the flames at his Heart of Chaos, red light and azure light perfectly fused.

"Ling Xiao" saw that the situation was unfavorable and turned to flee. How could Xiao Yan give him a chance? He flashed to block his path, and the palm burning with the Heart of Chaos gently pressed on Ling Xiao's forehead.

"Purify."

These two simple words seemed to contain the ultimate truth of Heaven and Earth. Red light surged into Ling Xiao's body like a tide, and wherever it passed, black mist melted away like snow meeting the scorching sun. Ling Xiao let out a Heart of Chaos-wrenching scream, his body convulsing violently, and black blood oozed from all seven orifices.

Xiao Bing dragged his weakened body closer: "Don't hurt his Soul!"

Xiao Yan nodded slightly, and the red light on his hand became softer. Ling Xiao's struggles gradually weakened, and he finally closed his eyes, falling softly. Xiao Bing caught him, nervously checking his pulse—weak but steady, and most surprisingly, the black threads under his skin were gone!

"It worked?" Xiao Bing looked at Xiao Yan in disbelief.

Xiao Yan's light figure, however, suddenly swayed, seemingly over-expended. He pointed at Ling Xiao, then at Xiao Bing's chest, conveying a thought: "It's only temporarily suppressed... the corruption has deeply penetrated his Soul... it requires... a Trinity..."

"Trinity?" Xiao Bing frowned, "You mean, the three of us..."

Before he finished speaking, Ling Xiao in his arms suddenly coughed and slowly opened his eyes. This time, his pupils had returned to their pure silver-white, though much dimmer.

"Brothers..." Ling Xiao smiled weakly, "I'm sorry... I've caused you... trouble again..."

Xiao Bing hugged his brother tightly, his eyes welling up: "Nonsense! We failed to protect you."

Xiao Yan's light figure gently 'stroked' his two brothers' heads; although there was no physical form, the warm feeling was undeniably real. Just then, an unexpected change occurred—a black rune suddenly appeared on Ling Xiao's chest, while the Heart of Chaos at Xiao Yan's Heart of Chaos and Xiao Bing's empty chest simultaneously lit up with red light!

Three beams of light intertwined in the air, forming a peculiar triangular energy field. The three of them simultaneously trembled, and the same image appeared in their minds—a mysterious ritual they had never seen before, requiring the combined effort of a Trinity, using the Heart of Chaos as a medium, to transfer the corruption to...

The image suddenly cut off as a gasp came from the allied forces' direction. For some reason, the shadow monsters collectively went berserk, charging towards them like madmen!

"They sensed the power of the Heart of Chaos!" Old Yao's voice came, "Be careful!"

Xiao Yan's light figure immediately turned to face the enemy, azure flames forming a barrier; Xiao Bing shielded Ling Xiao behind him, his Extreme Ice Power ready to be unleashed; although Ling Xiao was weak, he still managed to raise his hand, and colorful streams of light condensed at his fingertips.

The three brothers stood back to back, facing the surging tide of enemies. At this critical moment, they did not notice that the energy triangle formed by the three beams of light had not disappeared, but was quietly suspended above their heads, slowly rotating...