Chapter 1274 - Soul Battle

The Heavenly Dao Book burst into dazzling brilliance, naturally suppressing the ghost clan. No sinister being could withstand its radiance.

The strongest ghost face reacted at once, letting loose a razor-edged screech that sent chills skittering over the skin. A dense tide of black mist surged toward Liu Wuxie, straining to dam the golden light. That alone proved this ghost face was no ordinary foe.

At the very least, it had lived for countless years and somehow learned of the Ghost Pupils. In the astral domain, few knew of the Eight Divine Pupils; even in the Fleeting Cloud Celestial Realm, only a handful had heard of them. This strongest ghost face must have obtained an inheritance that revealed the Eight Divine Pupils.

Without the Heavenly Dao Book's suppression, the surrounding ghosts closed in rapidly. Ghostly energy rippled around Liu Wuxie like black waves. If that tide sealed him in place, he would lose the ability to resist, and the ghosts could combine their soul energy to forge chains that locked onto his primordial spirit.

Battles against the ghost clan stirred little spectacle, yet the danger was immeasurable. A single misstep meant death without burial.

Liu Wuxie waited, biding his time for an opening. The ghosts, wary, still did not dare draw too near. From afar, the strongest ghost face uttered incoherent sounds—nonsense to Liu Wuxie, but clear communication to the other ghosts.

When the ghosts drew near, an oppressive weight pressed down on Liu Wuxie's soul sea—the raw suppression of massed soul energy. He could withstand one or two ghosts, but the pressure mounted under so many.

Tidal waves of soul force ground against him, compressing his soul sea again and again. Even so, his soul energy already exceeded that of ordinary Origin Conversion cultivators; in anyone else's place, the ghosts would have devoured them by now.

Seeing only a fourth-level Origin Conversion Realm opponent, the ghosts loosened their guard. They soon realized their mistake. Liu Wuxie was nothing like he appeared: his soul energy far surpassed the norm, as a wisp of destiny wove into his soul and ancient laws baptized it. In sheer toughness, even many at the Primal Origin Realm could not compare.

"Soul Spear, die!" he roared. He meant to slaughter them; refining these ghosts would further empower his Ghost Eye. He did not know whether it could evolve into the Ghost Pupils, but he was confident that absorbing them would strengthen it.

The Soul Spear burst forth like a golden thunderbolt, streaking through the clustered ghosts and piercing them before they could react. Their proximity doomed them.

"ARGH!" Piercing shrieks ripped from the ghosts and spread through the darkness. Their cries were nothing like human screams—sharper and more grating.

Had Liu Wuxie used ordinary weapons, the ghosts would not have died even if he pierced them, for those 'faces' were only condensations of ghostly energy. But the Soul Spear was different: it formed from pure soul power.

In a heartbeat, he slew dozens. Phantom visages winked out, and the ghostly miasma around him thinned.

The giant ghost face looked genuinely surprised, realizing it had severely underestimated Liu Wuxie. "Human, I didn't expect your soul energy to be so powerful. You're truly extraordinary to be able to cultivate the Ghost Pupils."

The Soul Spear alone could not kill this entity; its soul force rivaled the seventh level of the Primal Origin Realm. As for the ghosts he had just destroyed, they were weaklings comparable to the Origin Conversion Realm, and they felt no pity for them. The ghost clan occupied a large planet in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain and had reproduced an uncertain number of descendants.

"If I were you, I would leave at once," Liu Wuxie said, never taking his eyes off the giant face. He would not strike rashly. If he attacked, it had to be a killing blow, and he could only unleash Soul Fire once. If it failed, he would be the one to die.

It was late into the night, and no humans would come here. Even if they did, they would not willingly provoke the ghost clan. Likewise, neither humans nor the demon clan wished to provoke the undead or faceless clans.

"You won't scare me away. Hand over the Ghost Pupils!" the giant ghost face said as it advanced. Boundless ghostly energy condensed into a visage that shifted between a human face and a blurred mask, and the air grew colder. As for its actual body, Liu Wuxie had no idea where it hid.

When it drew near, he withdrew the Soul Spear; it could not suppress the other party. Waves of ghostly energy crashed against Liu Wuxie's soul sea, and he raised the Soul Shield to hold them back.

He waited for it to come closer. Soul Fire would cause a huge commotion, and he worried the ghost face might flee. If it escaped, it would surely rally more ghosts to besiege him. Though he might be capable of killing cultivators at the Primal Origin Realm, he had little chance against a large encirclement, especially against a troublesome race like the ghost clan.

At three meters, the ghost face entered Soul Fire's range, yet Liu Wuxie still didn't hurry. He sensed fear in the entity; it dared not come too close, as though some instinct warned of danger. Even so, the temptation before it was immense. If it seized one of the Eight Divine Pupils—the Ghost Pupils, the Eye of Darkness—it could rule the night. The ghost clan lived in darkness; the lure was irresistible. It chose to take the risk.

After all, whatever Liu Wuxie might be, he was only at the Origin Conversion Realm. In its eyes, his soul energy was not enough to inflict serious harm.

The ghost face closed in until only two meters separated it from Liu Wuxie. Its ghostly energy surged and crashed against his soul sea.

The Soul Shield held like a wall, and with the Heavenly Dao Book in play, the book guaranteed his safety. The ghost face grew anxious and struck several times, but each assault failed to pry open his defenses. Rage flared. The nearer it came, the stronger the soul impact became. Physical techniques were useless here; the Dragon-Grasping Hand could not seize what had no form, and the claw would only rake empty air.

The battle settled into a silent duel in which a single misstep from either side could mean annihilation. A clash between souls was far more perilous than any physical combat. At one meter, they were practically face-to-face with each other. Ghostly energy poured into Liu Wuxie like rushing water.

The ghost face did not know that the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron absorbed that ghostly energy entirely and fed it to the desolate world. He believed that this world could encompass all things and one day become an actual universe. A ghost realm had already formed within—dark, and slowly strengthening with the influx.

"Let's see how long you can last! You might have a powerful soul sea, but it doesn't change the fact that you're only at the Origin Conversion Realm," the ghost face chuckled hideously.

Its ghostly energy transformed into ghost swords and stabbed toward his soul sea. The impacts rang within him, etching fine fissures across the Soul Shield. Liu Wuxie endured and waited for the opportunity to strike. A wisp of fire flickered on his right index finger; he had already summoned the Soul Fire from his soul sea to his body, ready to deliver a fatal strike once the ghost face drew close enough.

"I won't let you go!" he snarled, pretending to be in pain to numb the ghost face and loosen its guard. He could tell it had formed a barrier of ghostly energy around itself; even Soul Fire would struggle to pierce it if he mistimed the blow.

Seeing the agony on Liu Wuxie's face, the ghost face crackled and intensified its assault. With that, its defenses relaxed. A faint smile touched Liu Wuxie's lips. He continued to scream in agony, partly from the torment tearing through his soul sea, which made the act flawless.

The Soul Shield could last for another ten breaths at best; he would die if he failed to kill the ghost face by then. Time ticked, and the ghost sensed it as well. Feeling the fissures multiply across the defenses of Liu Wuxie's soul sea, it loosened its own protection further, confident of victory. It had not realized that a crisis had already loomed over it.

"Let me see how long you can last!" triumph gleamed in the ghost face's eyes. It would soon invade Liu Wuxie's soul sea, devour it, and seize the Ghost Pupils by force.

"Really?" Liu Wuxie wore a devilish smile, and the ghost face's heart dropped.

By the time it tried to react, it was too late. A terrifying wisp of flame had already appeared. The instant the Soul Fire flared, terror seized the ghost face. Everything had a nemesis in this world; the Spirit Clan was the Ghost Clan's. But Liu Wuxie had not encountered the spirit clan in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain.

The ghost face attempted to withdraw its ghostly energy to establish defenses and retreated as it sensed the threat from the tiny flame.

"Don't you think it's too late to run now?" Liu Wuxie asked, his voice devoid of emotion, as the Soul Fire shot out like a thunderbolt and bored into the ghost face. The scream that followed sliced through the sky and echoed even thousands of miles away.

The Soul Fire expanded rapidly, engulfing the entire ghost face. No matter how it thrashed, it could not shake the flame free. When Elder Long witnessed Liu Wuxie counter the ghost face with Soul Fire, he finally exhaled in relief.

"Human, you're despicable!" the ghost face howled, still struggling to cast off the flame.