CHAPTER 674: CHAPTER 104: BATTLE OF THE SOUL SEA

At that moment, Zhou Yan felt the blood fog figure suddenly freeze for a split second, then it stared at Zhou Yan with some shock and uncertainty, showing a clear sign of wariness.

"Eh—you... what is your origin? How can you have—"

The blood fog figure suddenly let out a cold and hoarse voice from deep within its throat, a voice so grating it pained the eardrums.

Zhou Yan’s constitution was immensely powerful, yet he felt his flesh suffer an impact from a mere sound, indicating just how formidable the other’s abilities were.

However, because of the impact, the palpitations of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man somehow got suppressed inexplicably.

But right now, Zhou Yan wasn’t preoccupied with his condition; he didn’t answer the blood fog figure. Instead, he suddenly glanced at the Netherworld Goddess Mu Qingyan and, with a solemn, direct interruption, said, "This evil object is extremely strong, and very skilled in Soul Shocks, inciting the boiling of one’s Demon Heart. Be careful."

No sooner had Zhou Yan finished speaking than the heavens and earth began to tremble. Soon after, an infinite Blood Light suddenly erupted, and endless Netherworld Energy swept across the heaven and earth.

"Don’t worry about me, take care of yourself. I might not be able to look after you anymore."

From beside him came Mu Qingyan’s crisp and pleasant voice. Immediately afterward, a force directly pushed Zhou Yan away, retreating him thousands of meters.

At that same moment, in the place where Zhou Yan had been, a Blood River suddenly appeared. It exploded fiercely, devouring everything in the four fields!

"Boom—"

A muffled explosion sounded, followed by a myriad of energies swirling up like a storm. Heaven and earth were intertwined with blood and dark lights, then unleashed an energy shock that could destroy heaven and earth.

Zhou Yan became transparent and vanished into the Void, as if he had completely dissipated.

He did not make a move but could only barely protect himself, as the battle between the two was simply too astonishing.

This was a battle on a completely different level; Zhou Yan simply couldn’t intervene.

As the two commenced their battle, Zhou Yan couldn’t even see clearly. He only felt countless afterimages colliding, smashing heaven and earth, withering the sun and moon, shattering the land, drying up lakes, and collapsing mountains.

This was an unimaginable battle; the two’s control over their energies was so precise it was frightening, yet even with such precise control, the slightest collision and leakage of energy could destroy the heaven and earth, shattering the Void.

Zhou Yan moved through the Void, impacted greatly as he observed the battle, like a small boat bobbing uncontrollably in giant waves, possibly being destroyed by the surroundings at any moment.

"These two, with every gesture, are so powerful, far stronger than all my trump cards combined. Is this what true powerhouses are?" Zhou Yan thought, watching carefully. He noticed that this battle was even more majestic and grandiose than when figures like the Evil King took action.

Zhou Yan analyzed carefully. Even without seeing specific details of the battle, he didn’t let down his guard. Meanwhile, as he observed, after realizing the true strength of the blood fog figure, Zhou Yan understood that its wariness was not likely because of the aura of Lei Yan King, but rather because of the preeminent sealing power left by the man in the Golden Battle Armor within the Xuanyuan Sword Fragment.

Perhaps, the Blood Shadow was skeptical because it felt something different from him, something of East Success and West Success.

Regardless, the situation was definitely not good.

If it had still been the previous situation, Zhou Yan knew he surely would have died from the surge of Blood Qi; but Mu Qingyan’s timely intervention had averted a catastrophe for him—of course, even if he was hit, Zhou Yan didn’t think he couldn’t escape or dodge.

The greatest ability of the Void Sword Body was facing and surviving dire crises.

In that moment, Zhou Yan had sensed the peril, and even if Mu Qingyan hadn’t acted, he wouldn’t have been killed in one blow, especially since Zhou Yan didn’t feel that the blood fog figure truly intended to slaughter him; it seemed to have significant hesitation.

Nevertheless, Zhou Yan’s feeling of favor towards Mu Qingyan had increased since she saved him that one time.

Although the woman was incredibly outstanding, Zhou Yan felt she was too perfect, and thus didn’t seem real, harboring not much fondness in his heart, only to say that he did not dislike her.

...

The atmosphere on the battlefield turned intensely hot, with Blood Qi filling the air. The Blood Shadow derived part of its true form—a blood-colored monster with long fur, bearing an extremely fierce and terrifying face.

The monster constantly roared, exhaling beams of Blood Light; each beam burst towards the sky, bolstering it with an added strength.

Just like that, nine successive boosts in strength instantly raised the Blood-furred Monster’s power by a whole Realm!

What was once a nearly even match swiftly became unbalanced, and Mu Qingyan immediately began to struggle.

"Puff—"

After another collision, Mu Qingyan’s tied hair suddenly came undone, her jet-black hair, silky as satin, flying wildly, making her appear exceptionally valiant.

Yet her body surged with an energy as tumultuous as the sea, and inexplicably, patches of ocean emerged from around her, materializing above her head.

This was a Soul Sea!

Above the Soul Sea was an ancient city, where it seemed like billions of lives were ceaselessly multiplying. There, the Tao was simple, yet it followed the law of the jungle, but its rules seemed indistinguishable from those of the outside world.

On the other side, the Blood-furred Monster also derived its own Soul Sea Space, above which was an indescribably beautiful world, like something out of a fairy tale.

Once this Soul Sea appeared, the entire Luo Shi Ancestor Star became endlessly An Ran, as if all of its vitality had been sapped by this beautiful world, leaving it withered.

"No, impossible, how could it be so perfect? Has the Demon Heart Evil Object actually derived a Heavenly Soul Sea?"

Mu Qingyan exclaimed in shock.

"A thought for good, and the flowers of Heaven bloom; a thought for evil, and Hell returns. Where the Tao exists, there are no other shores, no right or wrong."

The Blood-furred Monster roared but its voice was incredibly clear, conveying the energy of the Tao.

"Soul Sea... it’s actually a Soul Sea."

Zhou Yan watched in utter astonishment. These two grand worlds had emerged from the foreheads of two individuals, evolving into a universe where cycles of reincarnation and the passage of time existed—this was enough to scare any ordinary Sword Cultivator to death.

What Sword Void Sword Saint—faced with this Soul Sea... Zhou Yan dared to say, if this Soul Sea appeared, simply sending out a streak of Soul Power, any Sword Saint would be utterly obliterated.

Zhou Yan took a deep breath of cold air, his shock was unimaginable.

He couldn’t help but recall the Soul Sea he had encountered at Thunder Flame Breaking Path Mountain. That Soul Sea had been tumultuous with countless powerful souls contained within—an ocean formed from the energy of endless souls!

Zhou Yan remembered how insignificant he had felt before that Soul Sea, not even as considerable as an ant. And now, even though Zhou Yan felt his own soul was incredibly strong, compared to the vast Soul Seas of Mu Qingyan and the Blood-furred Monster, his powerful soul was truly insignificant.

Zhou Yan’s thoughts scattered, his heart a turmoil of mixed emotions, feeling the path ahead was ever so long.

And at present, the subtle battle between these two seemed to have just begun. Zhou Yan had thought both were already extremely strong, but now, their previous engagements appeared to be mere warm-ups.

The Soul Sea of the Blood-furred Monster was incredibly potent and desirable; it was like a layer of dross on the outside, yet encasing gold and jade within.

While Mu Qingyan’s Soul Sea did not possess the miraculous appearance she exuded on the outside. The world within her Soul Sea was like the Sword Burial Ancestor Star and similar worlds, where the natural law of survival of the fittest was revered, it was incredibly brutal.

Their Soul Seas formed a stark contrast to their outward appearances.

It was precisely because of this, Mu Qingyan was so shocked by the Blood-furred Monster’s Soul Sea.

But the Blood-furred Monster spoke with a clear voice of the Tao, informing Mu Qingyan that where the Tao exists, there are neither other shores nor distinctions of right or wrong.

"What do you know of the Tao? In the worlds beneath the Netherworld, who could understand the Heavenly Dao better than I, the Netherworld Goddess?"

The Netherworld Goddess Mu Qingyan seemed to have received an inexplicable provocation and thus spoke coldly in rebuke.

"Heaven and Earth decay while the sun and moon turn to ashes, the Heavenly Dao rots away as the cosmos ceases to be. I am merely the form of a Demon Soul of my fallen king, and even through myriad ages, there will be a guardian Inheritor to return."

"On that day, Heaven and Earth will show compassion, on that day, the sun and moon will also be immortal."

"Netherworld Goddess, you have wasted the affection that the king had for you but still believe—never mind, some things are ultimately beyond my control as a mere wisp of a Demon Soul."

This Blood-furred Monster uttered these enigmatic words, then suddenly derived a Blood Sea, sweeping away the endlessly perfect Soul Sea Space, staining the beautiful Soul Sea with a tinge of blood.

It seemed to prove that beneath the bloodshed, there was tenderness. What one sees is always just a facade.

But Mu Qingyan did not respond to him; instead, she deployed the Heavenly Sword Dao of the Heavenly Heart Sword Body, deriving endless rivers, mountains, and the Divine Swords of the cosmos, slashing towards the Blood-furred Monster.

Suddenly, the Blood-furred Monster fiercely turned its gaze towards Zhou Yan; its eyes, like bronze bells, shone with twin sun-like Blood Lights, nearly blinding Zhou Yan.

The blood within Zhou Yan’s body immediately surged again, roaring crazily as if it was about to burst forth, and the suppressed Heavenly Trial of the Five Decays in his body began to ripple anew.

But just as the blood in his body surged like it was going to explode, an inexplicable Strength stabilized Zhou Yan’s mind. This Strength came quickly and left even faster. The constraints set by the Golden Battle Armor man were incredibly formidable; no force seemed able to shake them.

This finally brought some reassurance to Zhou Yan, who was still a bit worried.

This was the second time such an incident had occurred, but this time, Zhou Yan noticed those eyes shining like Divine Light suddenly held a wisp of inexplicable kinship. Then Heaven and Earth turned into a Blood Sea, the Blood Sea like a fog, enveloping Zhou Yan.

"Hum—"

Suddenly, it seemed as if Heaven and Earth had undergone a change.

...

This was a very plain house.

Inside the room, there was only a simple bed, a lame stool, and a battered desk.

Zhou Yan found himself lying on the floor of this room, his body nearly soaked through with blood, covered with wounds, and feeling extremely weak.

He did not remember what had happened, but everything from the past seemed to no longer exist, as if a blank slate.

On the wooden bed in the room lay a beautiful woman dressed in a purple gauze dress. She had taken off the mysterious veil, yet she still looked like a Fairy who had descended to the mortal realm, possessing an incredibly dreamlike beauty.

Zhou Yan just glanced at her and found he had completely lost the ability to resist.

It was as if something had been drawn out of him, or as if he had lost something. The room was filled with an indescribable sense of unreality.