Hearing Jiang Shengyu's shout, Huo Yuhao glanced at the two evil soul masters, who were just about to dodge the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus. He instantly understood Jiang Shengyu's intent and immediately unleashed a Spiritual Shock.
With Tianmeng Iceworm and the others within his spiritual sea, Huo Yuhao feared no one when it came to clashes of spiritual power.
The powerful mental impact struck directly at the souls of the two cultists, sending tidal waves crashing through their spiritual seas—like a meteor slamming into the ocean, earth-shattering and sky-rending.
Both evil soul masters froze in place, their movements halted for a brief moment.
But a moment was all it took—by then, the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus was already upon them.
From above, Jiang Shengyu also brought down a brilliant arc of ice-forged sword light.
When the blade of Ultimate Ice met the raging force of the Ultimate Fire lotus, the two opposing extremes composed a deadly "Song of Ice and Fire." The resulting energy storm devoured the bodies of the two cultists whole.
The massive explosion shook the entire underground chamber, threatening to bring it down. Behind them, Soul Hall members scrambled to reinforce the structure to prevent it from collapsing and burying them all.
The two Soul Emperor–level evil soul masters were utterly annihilated—nothing, not even ash, remained.
Looking at the vast crater the blast had left, Xiao Hongchen turned toward the descending Jiang Shengyu in astonishment. "Wow… When did you learn that trick? Ice and fire together!"
"Isn't it common knowledge that opposing attributes cause instability?" Jiang Shengyu replied, sheathing the Tanhua Sword before raising his hand once again to summon the Pure Lotus Demon Flame.
The pure cleansing power of the flame steadily dissolved the lingering foul miasma in the air.
Inside Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, Electrolux remarked in surprise, "This flame… besides what your world calls the Ultimate Fire attribute, it even contains the power to purify energy! Is that one of his soul skills? How peculiar!"
"Purification?"
Hearing Electrolux's words, Huo Yuhao gave Jiang Shengyu's flame a longer look.
He had only known Jiang Shengyu to possess both Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire. He hadn't expected the flame to also have purifying properties. Ultimate Fire combined with purification—pure yang to the extreme—was essentially the perfect counter to evil soul masters.
No wonder the two cultists had been so terrified of it.
Holding the Pure Lotus Demon Flame aloft, Jiang Shengyu asked Nana, "Where are your parents' souls being kept?"
She pointed down a passageway. "Inside the sanctum. All the souls they capture are kept there… But that sanctum isn't something just anyone can approach—it's shrouded in an incredibly strong aura of evil. I once tried to approach in my ghost form, but even then it didn't work."
Whenever she wanted to see her parents, those two cultists had to personally open a special passage for her. It was one of the ways they controlled people.
Jiang Shengyu toyed with the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, the milky-white fire dancing between his fingers like a school of fish.
With a flick, the flame shot down the corridor, expanding midair to burn away and purify all the foul energy within.
With Jiang Shengyu clearing the path, those behind no longer had to fear being corrupted by the miasma.
The sanctum itself was an eerily sinister structure. Dim gray and purple-black fog swirled everywhere, and within it, countless faint figures could be seen—souls imprisoned by the cult.
Nana frantically searched for her parents among them.
Jiang Shengyu, holding the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, turned to Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, I'll handle the foul aura here. Purifying the souls themselves—I'll leave that to you. Can you do it?"
Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao nodded. "Yes!"
Hearing his answer, Jiang Shengyu flung out his hand. Milky-white radiance lit up the entire sanctum. The imprisoned souls, bathed in the pure yang might of the Ultimate Fire, all showed expressions of pain.
The Pure Lotus Demon Flame might have cleansing power, but it was still a fierce, destructive fire. Purifying mindless filth was one thing, but touching it to a soul—any soul—was nothing short of torment.
Huo Yuhao opened the Eye of Life, a brilliant golden-green light blooming from the third eye on his forehead and enveloping every soul in the sanctum.
Bathed in this warm light of life, Nana spotted her parents.
"Father! Mother!" she cried in joy, running toward them. They saw her too, but in their spiritual state they could not touch her.
"Don't cry, daughter… Knowing you're safe is enough for us," her father said gently.
Her parents reached out to wipe her tears from afar, comforting her as the family exchanged soft words of longing.
From Huo Yuhao's Eye of Life, strands of gray light drifted forth, precisely landing upon each imprisoned soul. Under the combined influence of Electrolux's power and the Eye of Life, the resentment and hatred clinging to them slowly faded, leaving their spirits clear and pure.
Once purified, the souls began to turn transparent and gradually dissipate.
Tears welled at Nana's eyes as she watched her parents fade away before her. Yet she did not feel overwhelming grief—though she would never see them again, at least they were free now, no longer tormented by the cult.
Jiang Shengyu split portions of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, handing them to the Soul Hall members who had come with him. "Take these. If you encounter any evil-tainted items or soul tools, burn them immediately. We don't want any remnants left behind."
"Yes!"
The team nodded, taking the flames and setting off.
Xiao Hongchen called out, "Give me one too!"
"With your abilities, you still need my flame? Isn't your Three-legged Golden Toad also a fire attribute?" Jiang Shengyu teased.
Xiao Hongchen pouted. "Stingy! It's not like I'd steal your flame."
Their banter lightened the somber mood. Jiang Shengyu smiled, handing him a lotus of flame. "Here—so you can't go around telling people I'm miserly."
Grinning, Xiao Hongchen accepted it. "Watch me blow every last one of the cult's things sky-high!"
Jiang Shengyu: "…"
It took some time to sweep the underground clean of the cult's remnants. When they finally emerged, they found a large crowd of civilians gathered around the ruined residential district, and even the Mingdu garrison forces were approaching.
Elder Hong was already speaking with their commander. Spotting the group, he waved. "What took you so long? Come here!"
They exchanged glances before jogging over to his side.
"This is Captain Jia of the Mingdu Garrison," Elder Hong introduced. "Get acquainted."
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