"My physical body is still the most reliable!" Stone grinned, patting his arm. "When we encounter spirits later, I'll be the vanguard!"
Xiao Chen nodded, and was about to speak when he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from ahead.
Several semi-transparent figures slowly rose from the pile of corpses, surrounded by a faint black mist, their scarlet eyes staring intently at the crowd—they were souls!
"Be careful! It's a soul body at the peak of the Dao Inquiry stage!" Lin Jingxing shouted, and golden dragon flames instantly condensed into a sword, slashing towards the foremost soul body!
The spirit reacted extremely quickly, dodging the Dragon Flame Sword by sidestepping and extending its jet-black claws to grab at Lin Jingxing's face.
Souls have no physical form, and ordinary attacks are unlikely to damage them. Only attacks containing spiritual power or divine soul power can be effective.
"Flowing clouds shatter the sky!"
Luo Qingyang also made his move at the same time, waving his white jade whisk. White threads, wrapped with spatial power, pierced towards the core of the soul like sharp blades.
That is the most vulnerable part of the soul.
Xiao Chen and the other prodigies also made their moves: Xiao Chen's rusty iron spear, imbued with spear intent, precisely pierced the core of a soul entity.
Stone charged forward, his fist enveloped in pale golden spiritual energy, and slammed it fiercely into the soul body.
Although physical cultivation is less damaging to the soul than spiritual attacks, the power of the stone is strong enough that a single punch can cause the soul to twist.
Although these souls possessed the strength of the peak of the Dao Seeking realm, they lacked independent consciousness and could only attack based on instinct. Under the combined attack of the group, they were utterly vulnerable.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
In just one round, all five soul bodies were completely defeated, their translucent bodies turning into specks of black mist and dissipating into the air.
Where each soul dissipated, a gray crystal the size of a pigeon egg was left behind, with faint fluctuations of soul power swirling around its surface.
"This is the Soul Crystal."
Lin Jingxing picked up a soul crystal and handed it to everyone to see. "It contains pure soul power. After a cultivator absorbs it, it can replenish the soul power consumed and stabilize the soul, which is very helpful for cultivation."
Especially in this forbidden area, soul power is consumed faster than usual, making soul crystals crucial for survival.
Everyone picked up the soul crystals on the ground and distributed them briefly. Xiao Chen and Shi Tou each took one, and the other prodigies also received their own.
"It seems there are more opportunities in this forbidden area than we thought."
A prodigy from Burning Flame Valley held a Soul Crystal, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. "If we can find more Soul Crystals, we'll have more confidence even if we encounter danger."
Lin Jingxing nodded, his gaze fixed on the depths of the forbidden area, where the eerie atmosphere was even stronger, and the faint, mournful howls of ghosts could be heard, indicating that even more powerful spirits awaited them.
"Let's go, let's keep going." Lin Jingxing took the lead. "Remember, it gets more dangerous the further we go in, so everyone must be careful!"
The group followed him deeper into the forbidden area. The corpses beneath their feet grew denser, the eerie atmosphere in the air intensified, and the distant wails of ghosts became clearer.
The group followed the path paved with corpses and defeated three more waves of Soul Bodies at the Dao Inquiry Realm, obtaining seven or eight Soul Crystals in the process.
The further they went, the heavier the eerie atmosphere became, and even breathing carried a bone-chilling cold, until a dark purple barrier, even thicker than before, appeared before them.
A faint mist of souls lingered around the screen, within which a human figure vaguely appeared, both real and illusory, like a reflection in water. Without careful observation, one might mistake it for a phantom of the screen itself.
"This partition...something's not right."
Luo Qingyang stopped in his tracks, the threads on the white jade whisk taut and straight. "It seems there's a very strong soul hidden in the soul mist on it."
Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes and cautiously probed the screen with his divine sense. The humanoid outline was indeed a soul entity, and its aura was far more condensed than the soul entities he had encountered before. However, for some reason, it remained still.
Just as everyone approached within three zhang of the screen, the ethereal soul suddenly moved!
It slowly raised its head, revealing a pair of dark golden eyes beneath its hood.
That gaze was no longer the muddled, instinctive ferocity of an ordinary soul; instead, it carried a scrutinizing and cold look, as if it had a clear consciousness, like that of a living person!
"A sentient soul?!"
Lin Jingxing's expression changed slightly, and his golden dragon flames surged several times involuntarily. "There is such a being deep within this forbidden area?"
Before anyone could react, the soul suddenly raised its hand, and a dozen faint soul shadows instantly appeared in the surrounding air. These were the fragments of the soul that had been defeated by everyone earlier and had not yet completely dissipated!
These soul shadows were attracted by a magnet, frantically converging towards its palm, and were sucked into its body in one gulp!
As the soul shadow merged with it, the aura of that soul body rose at a visible speed: from the early stage of Dao attainment, to the middle stage of Dao attainment, then to the late stage of Dao attainment, and finally settled steadily at the peak of Dao attainment!
Dark purple soul mist condensed around it, forming a complete set of soul armor. A soul sword also appeared in its hand, and the whole person exuded a suffocating pressure.
"Those who wish to pass through this realm must get past me."
The soul finally spoke, its voice hoarse yet clear, like the friction of rusty iron.
The message spread throughout the arena: "The rules are simple. I will send out souls of equal cultivation to fight you one-on-one. If you win, you can pass through the screen; if you lose, your soul will belong to me."
Upon hearing "one-on-one duel," Lin Jingxing's tense nerves relaxed slightly.
He had expected a fierce battle, but it turned out to be just a one-on-one fight between people of the same realm. With his strength, he had a good chance of winning against a soul body at the peak of the Dao Proving Realm.
But behind him, several prodigies from other forces instantly erupted in chaos!
"What?! A one-on-one duel?!" A cultivator in a blue robe turned pale.
Her voice trembled, "I...I was just following along with everyone before, I didn't really do anything!"
Another round-faced cultivator panicked as well: "That's right! Young Master Lin, Young Master Luo, and Brother Xiao dealt with the previous soul bodies. I only picked up a few soul crystals. How could I possibly fight a soul body of the same realm one-on-one!"
These people had followed us all the way here, relying on their numbers to avoid ever taking the initiative. They simply stood by and did nothing, enjoying the spoils of others' battles and smugly thinking they'd "won without lifting a finger."
Unexpectedly, they were suddenly faced with a one-on-one test, which was not a test for them at all, but a death sentence!
Xiao Chen stood at the back of the group, glancing at the group indifferently, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.
Judging from their behavior along the way, he knew these people were scoundrels, and their current panic was just the price they paid for their previous opportunistic behavior.
Shi Tou also sensed something was wrong and whispered in Xiao Chen's ear, "Senior brother, these people don't seem very capable. If we can't beat them later, should we help them?"
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