Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 267 The Final Battle (1)

This unquestionable command instantly pierced the depths of Xia Ling Shuang's soul.

"what--!"

Xia Ling Shuang let out a scream of extreme pain, clutching her head as her petite body convulsed violently, as if two completely opposing forces were tearing her apart inside her.

On one side was her almost religious devotion to Chen Ye, and on the other side was the inviolable iron law imposed by the sect leader of the Wrathful Soul Sect, the master who had imprinted an absolute mark of obedience on her soul.

The conflict between these two forces directly affected the very essence of her soul, causing pain far exceeding any physical torment.

Her face turned deathly pale in an instant, dark red blood slowly seeped from her seven orifices, and her bright eyes began to glaze over, sometimes clear, sometimes crazed.

"No... I don't want to... I don't want to hurt my brother..."

She used all her strength to let out a weak groan, her nails digging deep into her palms, trying to use physical pain to fight against the tearing of her soul.

Inside the carriage, Bai Yingluo looked at Xia Lingshuang's miserable appearance, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.

There was shock, fear, and a hint of barely perceptible sympathy.

But there was nothing she could do; she could only watch helplessly.

Above, the enormous demonic face watched this scene with great interest, as if observing a captivating drama.

"Struggle... Cry out... My poor holy messenger."

His hoarse voice was filled with both pleasure and cruelty.

"Your pain and despair will become the most beautiful embellishment to this drama. Let me see how long your pitiful emotions can withstand my soul imprint."

As he spoke, the restriction imprinted deep within Xia Ling's soul began to unleash even greater power.

Xia Lingshuang's body stiffened abruptly, the clarity and struggle in her eyes quickly fading, replaced by a lifeless, puppet-like numbness.

She slowly raised her hand, and her fingernails instantly turned as black as ink, growing wildly at a visible speed, transforming in the blink of an eye into five sharp, ghostly claws, each half a foot long and gleaming with an eerie light.

A chilling and brutal killing intent emanated from her small body.

"kill……."

A dry, hoarse syllable was squeezed out of her throat.

Upon seeing this, Bai Yingluo's heart leaped into her throat. She instinctively wanted to intervene, but her body was locked in place by an invisible aura, rendering her unable to move.

That was the oppressive aura emanating from the sky; the sect leader of the Wrathful Soul Sect clearly did not want anyone to disturb his game.

Bai Yingluo's heart sank to the bottom.

However, just as the ghostly claw, gleaming with an eerie light, was about to pierce Chen Ye's chest, a hand gently grasped Xia Ling Shuang's wrist.

It's Chen Ye.

"elder brother……"

Xia Lingshuang's ghostly claw stopped less than an inch from Chen Ye's chest, unable to advance any further.

At the same time, her body trembled violently, and a trace of painful struggle reappeared in her unfocused eyes.

"Kill me quickly... quickly..."

She could feel her will being rapidly devoured by that evil power, and she would soon become a puppet that could only carry out killing orders.

"Don't be afraid."

Chen Ye's voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable sense of calm and stability.

As he spoke, he raised his other hand and placed his index finger directly on her forehead.

To outsiders, this scene appears to be just a simple action.

But in Chen Ye's vision of the Throne of Desire, deep within Xia Ling Shuang's ocean of filial piety and loyalty lies a mark composed of countless black runes.

This mark is like a black vortex, constantly emitting cold commands, attempting to corrupt and distort Xia Ling Shuang's soul.

It was the soul imprint planted by the sect leader of the Wrathful Soul Sect.

This is an extremely sophisticated soul restriction, not forcibly implanted, but rather like a parasite, entangled with the host's own desires.

Ordinary methods simply cannot eradicate it.

If you forcibly attack this soul imprint, it would be the same as attacking Xia Ling Shuang's own soul, which would only cause her soul to be scattered.

Unfortunately, he was facing Chen Ye, who possessed the profession of Lord of Lust!
"Trying to control people with desire is really... like showing off one's limited skills before an expert."

With a thought, Chen Ye activated the talent of the Throne of Desire!
Om-!
An invisible wave, centered on Chen Ye's finger, instantly surged into Xia Ling Shuang's sea of ​​souls.

The flame representing anger, upon contact with this fluctuation, was not suppressed but instead surged as if a bucket of kerosene had been poured on it!

Extreme anger overwhelmed Xia Ling Shuang's mind in an instant!
Above the sky, a satisfied expression appeared on the enormous demonic face of the Sect Master of the Wrathful Soul Sect.

"Finally giving up? Good, that's how you should be..."

However, his satisfaction froze abruptly before it could last even a moment.

Because he realized that Xia Lingshuang's anger was not directed at Chen Ye in front of her, but... himself!

Chen Ye actually changed the direction of his anger in an instant!
This is not over yet!

While distorting the direction of emotions, Chen Ye's will, like all-pervasive mercury, instantly enveloped the black soul imprint and began to analyze and decompose it.

"you……."

The demon's eerie green eyes suddenly contracted, emitting a sound filled with shock and anger.

He felt the connection between his soul and Xia Ling's was being forcibly severed and covered by a force he couldn't understand!
How can this be? !
This Soul Imprint Technique is one of his proudest masterpieces.

This is not a simple mind control, but a deep binding with the host's emotions and desires, drawing nourishment from those emotions, silently taking root and sprouting, and eventually merging with the host's soul, becoming one with it.

Unless the caster actively removes the spell, there is absolutely no way to break it; forcibly separating it will only cause the host's soul to be scattered.

But now, right under his nose, this masterpiece he is so proud of is being altered and covered up by someone he sees as an ant, in a way he can't understand at all.

He could clearly feel that the soul imprint he had left deep within Xia Lingshuang's soul was gradually slipping out of his control.

It felt like an unreasonable guy had suddenly barged into your carefully cultivated, private garden.

He not only changed the locks on the garden, but also planted his own flag in the garden, declaring that the land belonged to him from this day forward.

This is no longer a provocation, but a blatant humiliation!

"How dare you, you brat!"

A roar filled with boundless rage erupted from the enormous demonic face in the sky.

Boom!

The entire county was shaken, and countless buildings made of resentment collapsed with a roar.

However, faced with this thunderous wrath that could change the very landscape and terrify even the gods and spirits, Chen Ye's actions did not falter in the slightest.

His finger remained on Xia Lingshuang's brow, his eyes calm as still water.

The Throne of Desire talent is operating at an unprecedented speed under his will. Analyze! Copy! Rewrite!

In Chen Ye's vision, the black soul imprint was broken down into countless basic desire runes, each representing a primal emotional command.

Fear, obedience, pain, longing...

It took the sect leader of the Wrathful Soul Sect decades to skillfully weave these runes together to form this exquisite soul imprint.

Now, Chen Ye had completely understood it in less than three breaths.

Then he began his own creative work.

He preserved the overall structure of the Soul Imprint, because the structure itself was indeed very ingenious, but he replaced the most core instructions.

One by one, the runes were replaced, and a brand new soul imprint, belonging only to Chen Ye, quietly took shape deep within Xia Ling Shuang's soul.

The nourishment for this new soul imprint was no longer fear and awe, but Xia Ling Shuang's own pure and unadulterated affection for Chen Ye.

The stronger the emotion, the more firmly the soul imprint will be sealed.

This is no longer a simple cracking, but... possession!
Om-!
When the last rune was rewritten, Xia Ling Shuang's body trembled violently.

Then all the numbness, pain, and struggle in her eyes vanished without a trace, replaced by an unprecedented clarity and determination.

She slowly raised her head and coldly said to the demonic face in the sky, "You are not worthy to be my master."

"My master is only my brother."

At the same time, the enormous demonic face in the sky trembled violently, emitting a muffled sound.

The sect leader of the Wrathful Soul Sect felt as if his soul had been struck by an invisible hammer. His vision went black, and the soul link he had maintained with Xia Lingshuang for decades was forcibly severed by an irresistible force!

The soul imprint was stolen, and the soul suffered a backlash!
Even with his extraordinary cultivation, he couldn't help but feel his soul shaken at this moment.

"Who exactly are you?!"

The sect leader's eyes, burning with eerie green flames, were fixed on Chen Ye inside the carriage. For the first time, his voice carried an undisguised shock and... a hint of fear.

Because he can't understand.

He couldn't understand Chen Ye's methods at all.

It was not the righteous spirit of Confucianism, nor the tranquility and inaction of Taoism, nor the compassionate power of Buddhism, but a power he had never seen before, pointing directly to the origin of the soul and manipulating the seven emotions and six desires.

Chen Ye slowly withdrew his finger from between Xia Ling's eyebrows, then raised his eyelids and glanced at the angry and horrified demonic face in the sky.

"You don't deserve to know."

The words were calm, yet they carried a contempt that was more hurtful than any sarcasm.

"Good! What an arrogant brat!"

The sect leader of the Wrathful Soul Sect laughed in extreme anger, his laughter filled with chilling killing intent.

"I admit I underestimated you a bit earlier! But do you think you can survive my Blood Soul Sacrifice Array with such paltry tricks?"

"Today I will show you with your own eyes what true power is!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the sky-covering demonic face suddenly opened its massive maw!
call--!
A powerful, suffocating suction force emanated from the dark vortex.

On the street, the thousands upon thousands of soul puppets had no time to react before they were swept into the sky like dust in a whirlwind, and swallowed up by the giant maw!
In the blink of an eye, the entire street became empty again, leaving only Chen Ye and his group of living people.

After devouring tens of thousands of souls, the demonic face's aura became even more terrifying, and its size swelled several times over, almost filling the entire sky of the county city.

"Hehehe... The appetizer is over..."

The demonic face let out a satisfied and cruel laugh, its eyes, like the dark moon, fixed intently on Chen Ye.

"Next, it's your turn!"

Just then, a clear and sharp sword cry, seemingly capable of cleaving through all the gloom in the world, rang out from outside the city without warning!

"Monster! Die!"

As the words were spoken, an extremely dazzling white sword light, like a shooting star shooting against the sky, pierced through the dark sky shrouded in black mist and slashed fiercely at the layer of resentment barrier that covered the entire county city!

Clang——!
A deafening roar, seemingly capable of tearing apart metal and shattering souls, exploded in the sky.

The moment the sword light touched the barrier, time seemed to stand still for a split second.

Immediately afterwards, a shock wave visible to the naked eye spread outward from the point of impact!
Rumble!
The black and red barrier, composed of endless resentment and death energy, twisted and churned violently under this sword strike, with countless spiderweb-like cracks appearing on its surface, as if it would shatter completely in the next second.

Above the barrier, countless faces of souls wailing in agony appeared, emitting shrill screams under the impact of the righteous energy, melting and purifying rapidly like ice and snow exposed to sunlight.

"Such powerful sword intent! Such pure and righteous energy! Junior Sister Jing's Yangwu Sword has improved again."

Outside the barrier, in mid-air, an elderly man with white hair and beard watched this scene and couldn't help but stroke his beard in admiration.

Around him, dozens of Confucian scholars and masters from various schools of thought within the academy floated.

Their expressions were solemn, and their bodies were filled with righteous energy, forming pillars of light that pushed away the gray-black mist that was trying to erode them.

In front of everyone, Jing Zhaoning, dressed in a moon-white scholar's robe, held a three-foot-long sword and floated silently in the air.

Her once clear and snow-white face was now completely devoid of color, clearly indicating that the earth-shattering sword strike had taken a tremendous toll on her.

At the same time, Jing Zhaoning could sense that although his sword strike had severely damaged the barrier and purified the countless vengeful spirits attached to it, it had failed to harm its core.

At the core of that barrier was a deeper, purer form of evil, which was inextricably linked to the veins of the entire South River County and the resentment of the dead on this land, forming a unified whole.

Unless the resentment in the entire Nanhe County can be purified all at once, this barrier will be able to continuously draw power and repair itself.

Sure enough, in just a few breaths, the dense cracks on the barrier began to heal at a visible speed, replenished by the surging black and red resentment.

"no!"

Jing Zhaoning gritted her teeth, a resolute glint flashing in her cold eyes. "I can't let it recover! Fellow senior brothers, lend me a hand!"

"it is good!"

"Junior sister, please proceed with confidence!"

Dozens of renowned scholars behind him echoed in unison.

The next moment, streams of righteous energy of various colors, all filled with boundless power, surged from their bodies and flowed into Jing Zhaoning's body like rivers flowing into the sea.

With the strong support of dozens of fellow disciples, Jing Zhaoning's aura surged instantly!

She held her long sword high, her clothes fluttering without wind, her black hair dancing wildly. She seemed to transform into a divine sword about to be drawn from its sheath, its sharpness fully revealed, its aura soaring to the heavens!

"The heaven and earth have righteousness, and are mixed and endowed with manifolds!"

The clear and majestic voice, like the imperial decree, resounded through the heavens.

As Jing Zhaoning chanted, the longsword in her hand burst forth with light ten times more dazzling than before. The light was no longer simply white, but carried a hint of brilliant gold, as if it were a punishment from heaven!

The entire dark world was illuminated by the light of this sword at that moment!

(End of this chapter)