Soul Slave

The ancient demon's split soul was not to be underestimated either. With Fairy Nangui moving the Demon-Suppressing Stele away, the Demon Lord was instantly plunged into mortal peril. Even though the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle rushed over in time to assist him, the pair was still thoroughly suppressed and battered by the split soul. The other battlefield was even more perilous. Four great cultivators besieged Demonic Qingzhu, yet their situation was only marginally better than before—they were merely less vulnerable to being picked off one by one. Demonic Qingzhu's demonic might surged immensely, pressing down with overwhelming force and forcing them into a steady retreat. In the blink of an eye, the signs of their impending defeat were already clear. Yet at that critical juncture, a scene that brought wild joy to everyone played out once more. Qingzhu possessed an unyielding will. Even when facing such a terrifying adversary, he had never abandoned hope. Concealed within the spirit sword fragments, he proved impossible for the demonic soul to fully purge in short order. After all, this physical body originally belonged to Qingzhu. No matter how vast the disparity in power, his desperate struggle could still impede the demonic soul's actions. Demonic Qingzhu's aura fluctuated. Though far from violent—scarcely more than a faint tremor—in a high-stakes battle like this, it was enough of a flaw for Lingzhuzi and the others to exploit. The situation improved slightly. The elder wore a solemn expression, acutely aware of the dire stakes as he raced against time to refine the Heavenly Phoenix Plume. Meanwhile, Qin Sang cowered backward, clutching the lotus seed in one hand and the ghost seal Su Nü had given him in the other. Before the clash erupted, the elder had erected a protective barrier around the youth and maiden to keep them from being obliterated by the shockwaves. By creeping closer, Qin Sang had also benefited from the shielding. However, the battle raged with such fury that whether the barrier could withstand the cascading shockwaves remained uncertain. Tension was written all over the young pair's faces as they fretted over the two Patriarchs' peril. Catching sight of Qin Sang's movements, they cast a sidelong glance at him but had no inclination to pay him any mind. They were certainly curious as to how he had ended up here, but now was clearly not the time to pry. Hugging the edge of the space, Qin Sang opened his left hand to reveal the ghost seal. Upon discovering that the body possessed by the ancient demon's split soul was indeed Su Nü, Qin Sang had thought of this token she had entrusted to him. Suspecting the Eastern Pole Alliance harbored ill intentions toward her and wary of being used as a vessel for possession, Su Nü had given the ghost seal to Qin Sang. Yet she never could have anticipated that the one coveting her body was an ancient demon of such terrifying might. Could a mere ghost seal still have any effect? Treating it as a desperate, last-ditch effort, Qin Sang began activating the ghost seal according to the method she had taught him. Unexpectedly, the situation had shifted too rapidly. Before the secret art was fully executed, the Heavenly Phoenix Plume changed hands, and all-out battle erupted in a flash. Both battlefields were hanging by a thread. Qin Sang's lips moved silently. As the secret art neared completion, a startling phenomenon occurred: a wisp of black qi drifted out from the ghost seal and coalesced into a humanoid figure bearing an uncanny resemblance to Su Nü! This "Su Nü" was contorted in agony, letting out a soundless wail. *This...* Qin Sang was taken aback. Before he could inspect it closely, his whole body seized up as an intense gaze locked onto him. Startled, he looked up and found that the Demon Lord was staring straight at him. At the exact moment Qin Sang activated the ghost seal, a faint layer of ghostly patterns had surfaced across the face of the ancient demon's split soul, emitting an unfamiliar fluctuation that did not belong to the demon. Compared to the split soul's aura, the fluctuation of the ghostly patterns was exceedingly faint, completely dwarfed by comparison. Yet the moment the Demon Lord saw those patterns, his eyes flashed brilliantly, and he instantly traced their source back to the ghost seal in Qin Sang's hand. "Hand it over!" The Demon Lord's thunderous bark rang in Qin Sang's ears. Qin Sang froze, and the next moment, his hand lightened as the ghost seal was drawn into the Demon Lord's grasp. "Oh? A soul seed or a slave seal? How intriguing!" As though stumbling upon a priceless treasure, the Demon Lord burst into laughter. *Whoosh!* Yellow light flared from the Demon Lord's palm as he furiously poured Lunar Heavenly Ghost Divine Light into the ghost seal. At that moment, the ancient demon's split soul looked down at its arm, intending to shatter the ghostly patterns. Yet with the Demon Lord's intervention, the seemingly fragile patterns suddenly surged with ghostly qi, actually withstanding the power of the ancient demon's split soul. In an instant, they engulfed half of the demon's face and rapidly spread down the body. Across that face, which originally belonged to Su Nü: One half was overrun by eerie, sinister ghostly patterns. The other half flared with arrogant, bloodthirsty demonic flame. *If it truly is a soul seed or a slave seal, as the Demon Lord said, could Su Nü have proactively refined herself into a soul slave to counter the soul attempting to possess her? That way, she could combine her strength with her master's to turn the tables and swallow the possessor instead?* Qin Sang vaguely pieced together Su Nü's scheme and was thoroughly stunned by the woman's audacity. To survive the calamity of possession, she had turned herself into a soul slave, surrendered the ghost seal, and sought out a master. It was sheer madness. And Qin Sang had been the master she selected. Even if she succeeded, she would be reduced to another person's slave. Of course, the difference between being a slave and being possessed was that she would still be alive. In the cultivation world, as long as one lived, there was hope! Had her adversary not been an ancient demon of such terrifying might, but merely an ordinary remnant soul, Su Nü's gambit might very well have succeeded. *Is it because the ancient demon hasn't fully devoured Su Nü yet? Or did her soul hide inside the ghostly patterns, and the split soul was too busy fighting battle after battle since breaking the seal to thoroughly examine its new vessel? Who could have imagined that someone so weak the ancient demon could completely disregard her would manage to ensnare it...* Qin Sang muttered to himself, secretly marveling at their sheer luck. He had never expected Su Nü's arrangements to play such a pivotal role at this moment. *If I make it out alive this time, I really owe her my deepest gratitude,* he thought. He just didn't know whether Su Nü was still alive. This bizarre turn of events shocked not only Qin Sang, but caught the ancient demon's split soul completely off guard, sending it into a towering fury. Having mastered the Lunar Heavenly Ghost Divine Light, the Demon Lord was exceptionally proficient in the ghostly arts. Now that the ghost seal was in his hands, shattering the ghostly patterns would be far from easy for the ancient demon's split soul. Qin Sang looked toward the ghost seal enveloped in the Lunar Heavenly Ghost Divine Light. Its form had shifted drastically, surrounded by countless wraiths—a world apart from how it had appeared before. Meanwhile, the fluctuations within the ghostly patterns grew stronger and stronger. Even pressing with all its might, the split soul could only compress the patterns down toward the cheek; yet even when reduced to a mere black dot, they could not be thoroughly erased. Unexpected variables had arisen on both battlefields: two individuals had been possessed, and both were resisting through their own means. With the patterns anchored by the Demon Lord, he naturally would not let slip this hard-won opportunity. Channeling his Lunar Heavenly Ghost Divine Light, he analyzed the ghost seal and began refining it on the fly. Infuriated, the split soul glared intently at the ghost seal in the Demon Lord's hand and charged forward in a frenzy. The Demon Lord exchanged a glance with the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle. Relying on the turtle shell's defense, they shielded the ghost seal with everything they had and maneuvered against the split soul. The perilous situation had, against all odds, managed to stabilize for the moment. Yet everyone knew this stalemate could not last long. Right at that moment, the elder finally finished casting his secret art to refine the Heavenly Phoenix Plume. Silently sweeping his gaze across both battlefields, he did not hesitate for a second, slashing backhanded toward the blood-colored crystal wall. The Heavenly Phoenix Plume combusted without kindling. However, the flames this time were faint, their momentum falling far short of when the Flood Dragon King had invoked it with phoenix secret arts. Fortunately, this was enough! Scorched by the phoenix flames, the blood-colored crystal wall began to show signs of melting. Ethereal and translucent, the Heavenly Phoenix Plume clove a fissure into the blood-colored crystal wall. Wrapped in phoenix flames, the elder stepped forward!