Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Soul Collector

Xu Zhong acted swiftly.

The longsword pierced through Shi Yue’s body, but Xu Zhong knocked it aside, narrowly preventing it from striking her heart.

He looked toward Li Feiyu.

The Taixuan Flowing Essence shielded his soul and immortal radiance. In an instant, his flesh outside the soul visibly regenerated, his body's magical power began to return, his state rose back to its peak. Within him, he cradled a flawless golden core, shining with radiant golden light, dazzling and resplendent.

Having died and come back to life, his cultivation advanced further, hinting at the verge of breaking through the True Existence realm.

He even freed a hand to sever his own inner demon.

Thus, his mind became clear as a mirror, and his sword heart shone bright.

His flying sword, cleansed of all dust, radiated a sacred brilliance.

“I've already slain my inner demon.” Li Feiyu seemed reborn as he looked at Shi Yue. “You killed me once. Isn’t that vengeance enough?”

Li Feiyu, revived from death, now stood between life and death, yin and yang cycling within him, a mysterious power growing in his body, constantly honing the strength of flesh and soul.

Vaguely, Xu Zhong saw the Samadhi Fires on Li Feiyu’s shoulders and head, plucked and refined into True Samadhi Fire.

The True Samadhi Fire purified the filth within his head.

Once the filth in the first aperture was expelled entirely, he became a True Existence realm cultivator.

All this happened in the blink of an eye.

“Perhaps he was waiting for someone to kill him, so he could complete his transformation.”

The Samadhi Fire not only purified the apertures, but also fully refined Shi Yue’s companion’s soul and immortal radiance.

His body was undergoing myriad transformations.

Li Feiyu felt the changes within himself, most astonished by the alterations in his niwan (mud-pellet) palace.

In that moment, his thoughts could manifest into reality.

When he imagined a sword before him, his soul transmitted power through the purified aperture, and the sword materialized.

A thought could kill.

This concept was best embodied now that he had become a True Existence cultivator.

“You haven’t died, how can you call it revenge?” Shi Yue’s anger flared, intent on killing him.

She did not choose to pull Li Feiyu into her star chart.

Li Feiyu had opened his niwan, his consciousness could externalize, his magical power transformed—even if she dragged him in, he could escape.

Xu Zhong’s heart raced; he tossed out the Dragon Turtle and murmured, “Senior, please, seal this space from the heavens and earth.”

The Dragon Turtle glanced at Shi Yue and Li Feiyu, then flung its shell forward. The shell transformed into a sealed domain, cutting off the flow of qi and isolating Yun Yong and the others outside.

Behind Shi Yue, azure luan battle flags flew out, transforming into countless blue luans.

Meanwhile, her hands formed continuous seals, lightning surged from her palms, wind and thunder followed her fists, every technique was thunder magic, every move endless lightning.

Li Feiyu’s magical power had changed—after entering the True Existence realm, he fought Shi Yue with ease.

With a flick of his wrist, countless sword energies poured forth, forming sacred mountains to suppress all the blue luans. The sword hilt spun, the blade rotated, its light cold as moonlight, sword qi like wind; the blue luans were repeatedly worn away and reborn by sword qi, and the spiritual light on the flags gradually faded.

Once the flags' light was completely dispersed, the entire formation lost its function.

Li Feiyu circulated his internal power, both yin and yang, raising his aura to a certain threshold in an instant.

He pressed his palm forward, sending out a surge of magical force that seemed like a miniature star emitting light.

He then pressed downward, and the tiny star collided with Shi Yue’s thundercloud.

A deafening boom sounded as Shi Yue was sent flying, a deep depression appearing on her body's surface, blood pouring out.

Before Shi Yue could rise, Li Feiyu extended his hand; Shi Yue’s body hung suspended in midair, magical energy swirling around her, forming a pattern like a six-pointed star, converging as he grasped forward.

In that moment, Shi Yue’s body was like a sieve, leaking everywhere, her silver-gray immortal radiance dispersing in the air.

Li Feiyu’s apertures released light, beginning to devour the scattered immortal radiance.

“How did this happen?” Xu Zhong barely saw how Li Feiyu achieved victory.

“It’s the soul!” The Azure Dragon coiled on his shoulder, eyes drooping, looking listless.

“Shi Yue’s soul lacks its root. Even after opening her niwan, she cannot wield the soul’s power.”

Xu Zhong understood instantly.

Shi Yue had not cultivated her yin aspect, so her human soul lacked it; despite reaching the True Existence realm, she could not utilize its power unless she advanced to the Union With Objects stage.

After that, the soul could exist independently of the body, as a separate entity with its own complete powers.

At the True Existence realm, the cultivators of Yu Nation were innately weaker than those from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, which explained why Li Feiyu, newly advanced, could match Shi Yue, who had long been in that realm.

“That boy just used a secret soul technique—nearly shattered Shi Yue’s soul.” Azure Dragon clicked its tongue. “Ruthless.”

To eliminate a threat, sever the root; with no room for reconciliation, the best path was to decide life and death.

Xu Zhong was lamenting, but in the next instant, Shi Yue was suppressed, Li Feiyu wielded his flying sword, intent on striking directly at Shi Yue’s soul.

Xu Zhong was about to ask Dragon Turtle to intervene, when Shi Yue launched her counterattack.

She manipulated her star chart; chains shot out from it, breaking through Li Feiyu’s protective divine light and pouring into his niwan.

As the chains touched Li Feiyu, they seemed to gain life, transforming into giant pythons, unleashing inexhaustible power.

The chains quickly bound Li Feiyu’s three souls—heaven, earth, and human—while in his sea of consciousness, a portal opened, leading to another realm, filled with endless lava, a bridge reaching the sky, clusters of other shore flowers blooming for thousands of miles, burning like a sea of fire.

There stood a divine city, gods and demons wandered within; he saw sacred eyes gazing through the portal at him.

“Fengdu!” Li Feiyu was terrified—the portal led to the Underworld.

He peered inside, and the gods and demons of Fengdu peered out, even attempting to break through.

But the vision flickered away, replaced by Shi Yue.

“A soul harvester? No, how could you be one…”

Only Fengdu soul harvesters could wield such power.

Shi Yue ignored him, clutching the chains and pulling outward, trying to drag his soul free. The terror radiating from the star chart revealed Li Feiyu’s form clearly.

“A copy of the Book of Life and Death?” Dragon Turtle muttered.

Xu Zhong jumped at its words.

The star chart Shi Yue always held was in fact the legendary Book of Life and Death.

That book records every creature’s past and lifespan across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, the foundation for Fengdu’s dominion over death.

Every soul harvester had a copy of it.

But Xu Zhong had never heard of a living person becoming a soul harvester.

“Fool, my life isn’t over yet, how can you pull my soul!” His lifespan was not exhausted; soul harvesters could not draw out the soul of the living.

Steadying himself, he struck at Shi Yue with his palm.

Thunderclouds rolled overhead, filled with countless bolts of lightning, surging like a sea. Several bolts struck Shi Yue, her body sizzling, wounded and retreating, but she continued to pull at the soul-binding chains.

She pulled the chains tight with brute force, they grew narrower and more constricting.

Li Feiyu’s expression darkened. “Damn!”

Though the chains couldn’t rip out his soul, the constant tugging would eventually shatter it.

Shi Yue knew this—she never intended to extract his soul, but to grind him down with the chains.

“Where did this woman get soul-binding chains?” he cursed inwardly. These belonged to Fengdu; how could they be in her hands and activated?

Apparently, a soul harvester had died and Shi Yue seized the chains.

If she could use them, perhaps he could as well.

Li Feiyu grew excited at the thought. He bit his tongue, spat forward, formed seals with his fingers, and used a teleportation technique to close the distance.

He summoned all the power of his human soul.

He aimed to flatten Shi Yue’s niwan before the chains crushed his soul.

Just as he was about to strike, Dragon Turtle sneezed.

A gust of wind suddenly swept through, blowing him far away.

The wind entered his apertures, dispersing his gathered magical power, making his golden core tremble, invading his niwan, blowing the heavenly soul from his crown, sending his earth soul skyward.

Yin and yang reversed in an instant, power lost control.

He hastily protected himself and stabilized his soul.

Then he looked coldly at Xu Zhong.

“I saved you, just so you could stab me in the back at this moment?” He was furious.

“I saved you too!” Xu Zhong replied without concealment. “In that marsh, I saved your life. I said that would settle the debt between us.”

“And the time with the innate elixir!” Li Feiyu added.

“You didn’t do it to save me,” Xu Zhong laughed. “You acted only for the elixir. Still, I am grateful, so today I merely watch, not join her in attacking.”

“If I intervene, it’s only to ask Senior Dragon Turtle to separate you, not to kill you.” Xu Zhong remained composed. “That’s as much as I can do. I’ve done my utmost for you.”

Dragon Turtle ignored him, for its actions were of its own accord; it now moved toward Shi Yue.

Xu Zhong was a scholar, guided by his own moral compass, with a chivalrous spirit.

He knew right from wrong.

In this moment, Shi Yue was right, Li Feiyu was wrong.

He may devour, but should not eat the living.

That was his moral standard.

“Well said, utmost compassion,” Li Feiyu glanced at Xu Zhong, then at Shi Yue.

Shi Yue still gripped the soul-binding chains tightly.

Dragon Turtle’s palm descended upon her.

“As a soul harvester walking among mortals, do you know what punishment Fengdu will inflict for using soul-binding chains to kill the living?”

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Chapter Ninety-Seven: Soul Harvester – Free to Read.