Chapter 1273: Corpse Soul Severance

Following Weeping Soul's departure, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to transfer his Earthly Deity Avatar into the innermost layer of the array, which resembled a yin yang diagram.

He then sat down across from his avatar on the yang side of the diagram, while the avatar occupied the yin half.

After that, he began to temper his own aura, and his aura gradually completely subsided, as if he were using his Myriad Acupoint Tranquility Technique.

Shortly thereafter, Jin Tong and Weeping Soul returned to guard the northernmost and southernmost points of the island, as instructed by Han Li.

Meanwhile, Han Li began to chant an incantation, and a burst of golden light appeared over the outermost layer of the altar, forming a hemispherical light barrier that encompassed the entire altar.

Countless runes could be seen swimming over the surface of the light barrier, giving off rays of dazzling, golden light.

After that, the middle layer of the array also lit up alongside all of the treasures that had been placed in it. Pillars of light rose up from these treasures, with their colors reflecting the different attributes of said treasures.

These pillars of light transformed into a series of translucent chains, each of which pierced into a major acupoint in the Earthly Deity Avatar's body.

All of these acupoints were going to be important obstacles for the wicked corpse soul to bypass while modifying the avatar's body, so Han Li had to seize control of these acupoints in advance as a safety precaution.

Only after countless chains had emerged from the second layer of the array before piercing into the Earthly Deity Avatar's body did the innermost layer of the array finally begin to glow with black and white light.

In contrast with the previous two layers, only a thin light barrier emerged from the third layer of the array.

Han Li cast his gaze out of the altar to discover that countless pillars of light had also arisen across the entire island, forming a radiant, golden pagoda that loomed over the entirety of Frostless Island.

With the Treasured Pagoda Demon Subduing Array already activated by Jin Tong and Weeping Soul, Han Li was able to fully focus on the task at hand, and he immersed his spiritual sense fully into his own consciousness.

At this moment, half of his consciousness was enshrouded under a suffocating blanket of dark clouds, while the other was filled by a vast sea of blood.

Ever since half of the Origin Separation Law Chains were unraveled last time, the wicked corpse soul had been gaining power at a rapid rate, and even though Han Li had already subdued it several more times since then, the outcome had been far from encouraging.

Generally speaking, once a wicked corpse soul took shape, it had to be severed as soon as possible, and it was considered a grave mistake for one to allow their wicked corpse soul to linger in their body for as long as Han Li had.

Not only was the wicked corpse soul growing rapidly in power, it had corroded Han Li's consciousness to a very concerning degree, to the point that it was now almost on equal footing with him.

If he delayed his corpse soul severance for much longer, then it would be able to struggle free from the Origin Separation Law Chains to force a showdown.

Han Li's soul flew through the air while the two halves of his consciousness clashed violently against one another.

The wicked corpse soul was suspended in mid-air by the Origin Separation Law Chains, and it looked up at Han Li with a sinister grin as it chuckled, "You sure kept me waiting..."

"It sounds like you've been waiting for me this entire time," Han Li remarked with a smile.

"You know that you can't keep me trapped here forever, so it was only ever a matter of time before you were forced to release me," the wicked corpse soul said.

"You're right. Now that you're already a separate entity from me, I'm unable to stop you from continuing to grow in power by the day. Hence, I'm going to sever you here and now," Han Li declared.

"And what makes you think you won't be the one to be severed?" the wicked corpse soul sneered.

"Right now, you do indeed possess the power to pose a significant threat to me, but a clash between us would be sure to leave this body in ruins, and that won't benefit either of us," Han Li said.

"Even if I come into possession of a ruined body, that would still put me in a far better position than the one that I'm in now, so that's only something that you have to worry about," the wicked corpse soul replied in a cold and nonchalant manner.

"In that case, what if you manage to defeat me, but I detonate this body of mine in my final moments to take you down with me?" Han Li threatened.

The wicked corpse soul's expression finally stiffened slightly upon hearing this, but it then smiled as it said, "I don't believe you'd go that far. I am you, so even if your body is taken over by me, that's still better than to suffer a fate of mutual destruction. Besides, you don't have the spine to do something like that anyway! "

"Is that right? I didn't think that my wicked corpse soul would be such a terrible judge of my character. If you don't believe me, then feel free to test me," Han Li said as he clasped his hands behind his back, and the wicked corpse soul fell silent upon hearing this.

Despite what it had just said, it knew that Han Li was indeed capable of doing what he had threatened.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Now that you believe me, how about we discuss an alternate solution that'll benefit both of us?" Han Li suggested with a smile.

"What do you have in mind?" the wicked corpse soul asked.

"I've already prepared an avatar of an extremely high caliber for you in advance. Once you possess the avatar and refine it, you'll have a body of your own just the same," Han Li said.

The wicked corpse soul burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Even a three-year-old wouldn't believe such a ridiculous lie! I am your wicked corpse soul, and I'll be constantly plotting your downfall! How could you possibly be willing to grant me a body and set me free?"

"Right now, I'm only focused on severing you from my soul. As for the consequences, I'll deal with those as they come. That's the solution that I propose, it's up to you whether you believe me or not," Han Li said.

"Are you really not lying to me?" the wicked corpse soul asked in a hesitant manner.

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" Han Li said with a smile, then opened up his soul slightly to allow the wicked corpse soul to sense the Earthly Deity Avatar.

After examining the avatar for a moment, the wicked corpse soul said, "Its aura is quite compatible with mine. Looks like you really did prepare it for me. In that case, I'll trust you just this once."

A pleased smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and all of the remaining Origin Separation Law Chains unraveled on their own at his behest before dissipating into a cloud of black mist.

The wicked corpse soul slowly rose to its feet, then began stretching its body, and a string of cracks and pops rang out from all of its joints.

"I'm truly touched that you went out of your way to create an avatar for me, but I still prefer this original body of yours. If one of us has to leave, then why not let it be you?" it said with a sinister smile as it cocked its head to the side.

"I knew you would do this. Looks like I'll have to take a more forceful route," Han Li sighed, then flipped a hand over to summon a lightning longsword that was identical in style to his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.

"I'd gladly oblige with your arrangements if you can defeat me," the wicked corpse soul grinned, and it also conjured up a longsword in the same style as the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, but as opposed to Han Li's sword of golden lightning, its sword was formed by crimson lightning.

Han Li sprang forward, seizing the initiative as he lashed out with his sword, but the wicked corpse soul made no effort to defend itself as it thrust its sword directly at Han Li in retaliation.

A rumbling thunderclap rang out as a bolt of crimson lightning sprang out of the tip of its sword before hurtling toward Han Li like a crimson spear.

In response, Han Li rose up higher into the air to evade the oncoming attack while simultaneously arriving directly above the wicked corpse soul.

Arcs of golden lightning sprang out of his sword before descending upon the wicked corpse soul to surround it like a lightning vortex, and before the wicked corpse soul had a chance to react, an array suddenly lit up beneath its feet.

Numerous lightning chains then sprang out of the surrounding area without any warning before linking together with the lightning descending from above, forming a golden cage around the wicked corpse soul.

A mocking sneer appeared on Han Li's face as he looked down upon the trapped wicked corpse soul.

"When did you prepare this lightning array?" the wicked corpse soul yelled with a furious expression.

"Of course it was while I was talking to you just now. Otherwise, why do you think I wasted so much time when I knew you were just going to pull off this stunt anyway?" Han Li sneered.

All of a sudden, the wicked corpse soul burst into laughter as it chortled, "As expected of you, or should I say, myself?"

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and a sense of foreboding welled up in his heart at the sight of the wicked corpse soul's deranged expression.

Right at this moment, his entire consciousness began to tremble violently, and the crimson half began to bubble and churn like a pot of boiling water.

Huge bubbles appeared over the surface of the vast sea of blood, and plumes of bloody vapor rose up into the air to join the crimson clouds above.

A turbulent wave of blood rose up from down below to completely inundate the wicked corpse soul alongside the entire lightning cage around him, and by the time the wave of blood receded, it had already broken free.

A grim look appeared on Han Li's face as he immediately made a hand seal, and a deafening thunderclap rang out as countless arcs of golden lightning began to intertwine within his half of his consciousness.