As Zhang Lexuan rushed into the explosion, she saw Lin Xiao lying on the ground, with the badger beast just a step away from him.
Lin Xiao's exposed skin was covered in scratches, with faint traces of blood seeping out. His chest rose and fell slightly, his breathing still present but erratic, clearly indicating severe injuries.
"Shen Hao?"
Zhang Lexuan called out softly. Seeing no response from Lin Xiao, she moved to step forward but noticed something emitting a faint emerald glow near her feet.
Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a soul engineer's carving knife.
Zhang Lexuan bent down to pick it up, took two steps forward, and placed it in Lin Xiao's hand, calling his name softly twice more.
When Lin Xiao still didn't respond, she hurriedly rummaged through her storage soul tool, pulled out a pill, and administered it to him.
"Huff—"
Before Zhang Lexuan could continue checking Lin Xiao's injuries, a heavy sound, like breathing, startled her. She turned to look, only to realize it wasn't breathing at all.
The badger beast's swollen body was deflating, and the air within it was being forced out through the wound on its neck, producing a sound akin to breathing. A stench of internal organs filled the air.
Then, a blood-red soul ring slowly rose.
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring.
Zhang Lexuan's expression shifted slightly. Even she had initially only hoped to stall for time until Elder Xuan arrived, never imagining they could actually kill this hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
As she stood there, momentarily stunned, the soul ring suddenly seemed drawn by something and rapidly flew toward Lin Xiao.
Not good!
Zhang Lexuan's face changed drastically. Even a hundred-thousand-year soul ring wasn't always a blessing. In her perception, Lin Xiao was only at the seventy-level cultivation, and now, heavily injured and unconscious, how could he withstand the power of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring?
Moreover, with Lin Xiao unconscious, why was the soul ring actively moving toward him? Could it be that the lingering consciousness within the soul ring still harbored thoughts of revenge?
Zhang Lexuan wanted to intervene, but in the blink of an eye, the blood-red soul ring had already merged into Lin Xiao's body. His face turned deathly pale, and a large mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth before his complexion suddenly flushed red.
Lin Xiao was unaware of what was happening outside, as he had already arrived in a place both familiar and unfamiliar.
Looking around, he found himself in a sea of flowers, with a faint path weaving through it. Ethereal figures passed by his side.
"You promised to spare my family…"
"My mission… assassination…"
"You've come here too. You refused my inheritance—this is the retribution you deserve…"
Whispered voices, like murmurs, echoed in Lin Xiao's ears. But he didn't pause, continuing to walk forward.
This wasn't his first time here. He had experienced this place before during the Spirit Ascension Ceremony, when he was in agony, his consciousness nearly dissipating, and he ended up in this place where life and death intertwined.
Was this another moment where he teetered on the edge of life and death?
Lin Xiao let out a soft chuckle. Having lived so long in the Holy Spirit Cult, "self-preservation" had almost become his guiding principle. Yet, when he saw Zhang Lexuan risking her life to block the hundred-thousand-year soul beast's attack, he had acted without hesitation…
Fortunately, the outcome was good, wasn't it?
Lin Xiao slightly raised his head to look ahead. If he remembered correctly, his sea of consciousness should be just up ahead.
Without stopping, the sound of flowing water soon reached his ears. A small river appeared before him, its source unknown and its end unseen, though it seemed wider than the last time he was here.
And on the other side of the river…
When Lin Xiao's gaze landed on the opposite bank, his expression froze.
Whether it was unique to everyone's sea of consciousness or something special about him, ever since his consciousness could enter his sea of consciousness, he had always seen a river representing his mental power dividing it into two similar parts.
But now, the opposite bank of the river had undergone an earth-shattering change.
Both banks were filled with Higanbana flowers symbolizing death, but as a living person, when Lin Xiao walked through the flowerbeds, he inevitably left traces of life. At this moment, however, the opposite bank was shrouded in absolute stillness.
A layer of gray mist enveloped the countless flowers, and the river didn't just separate his sea of consciousness—it was as if it had split it into two entirely independent parts.
This shore, though blooming with Higanbana flowers, was still connected to the living world. But the other shore had truly become a world of "death," with no trace of life beneath that gray mist.
Lin Xiao's body trembled, an inexplicable sensation spreading through him. He didn't know what change had occurred within him, but he knew the "death" attribute of his martial soul had become far deeper and purer than before.
In his sea of consciousness, Lin Xiao's manifested form slightly raised its head, looking at a gray orb of light in the air.
Was this change brought about by that person who had nearly become a Death God?
Yes, Lin Xiao had succeeded.
Perhaps because he was unbound by this world's "fate," or perhaps because the figure before him was too powerful, existing outside of "fate," or maybe both—whatever the reason, at that moment when the heavens and earth changed, the gray orb of light had fallen into his sea of consciousness.
As thoughts flashed through his mind, the gray mist before him began to flow slowly, forming a vague silhouette that faced him across the river.
"I never expected a fragment of my soul could still linger."
An aged voice sounded in Lin Xiao's ears. He remained silent, only staring quietly at the figure across the river.
"The ability to manipulate souls can be righteous or evil. I was once worried this power might be used by the wicked, but now it seems I've encountered a kind-hearted person."
"To aid another in danger, regardless of the reason, proves you're not a villain. Very well, I'll assist you this once, as thanks for providing me a place to reside."
The aged voice initially sounded close to Lin Xiao's ears but soon echoed throughout his sea of consciousness. The river representing his mental power surged uncontrollably, and Lin Xiao seemed to catch a glimpse of the outside world—a blood-red force rushing straight toward him.
In the next instant, a soothing sensation spread from his right arm, then through his entire body.
"Grasping the sun and moon, plucking the stars—none in this world are like me. Watch closely, for this is the moment to break and then rise."
The aged voice reverberated in his sea of consciousness. As if enlightened, Lin Xiao sat cross-legged on the riverbank, closing his eyes. The flowers symbolizing death bloomed even more vividly around him.
Streams of emerald airflow, like blood, flowed through his meridians, spreading to his entire body and his sea of consciousness, silently bringing about a transformation.
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