While I was in Mondstadt, I never imagined becoming a god.

When he regained his footing, he was already in another underground space.

The surrounding rock walls were not much different from before, but the air was different.

Heavier, more suffocating, like something pressing on my chest.

In the distance, faint reddish lights could be seen, flickering and fading, like lamps about to go out.

"Hmm, it's a very peculiar feeling." Xu Chuan closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

His strong adaptability endowed him with extremely keen perception.

Once inside this secret realm, a power quietly began to exert itself upon him.

The energy expenditure is not high, but you must not stay there for an extended period of time.

It will gradually erode your consciousness, making you lower your guard without realizing it, until you are completely sunk into the depths of this space and never wake up again.

Xu Chuan opened his eyes, but instead of exploring, he took out the book on magical artifacts from his robes.

As the pages turned, a phantom figure floated out of the book.

The soul of the Abyss Priest took shape in mid-air, its dark purple form appearing particularly eerie under the pale blue light.

He had only recently died, and his soul was still able to retain the intelligence he had before he died, so he was not in a daze.

But those eyes no longer held the arrogance and hostility they once had; only obedience remained.

The power of binding spirits and commanding generals flowed within him, like an invisible thread, firmly binding him under Xu Chuan's control.

“Master.” The Abyss Priest lowered his head, his voice hoarse, “This space is very strange. I can sense that my soul is being consumed at an accelerated rate… and… there is also a feeling that it is being constantly assimilated and devoured.”

"Methods targeting the soul?"

Xu Chuan did not rush to act, but instead circled the Abyss Priest.

The edges of the soul were indeed slightly blurred, like the melting edge of a candle when licked by a flame.

It's happening slowly, but it's definitely happening.

He did not put the Abyss Priest back into the book, but let him float around him.

He wanted to see how this guy's soul would change over time.

This space is larger than expected.

The passageways are interconnected, like an underground spider web spread out in all directions.

During this time, he encountered many wandering ghosts and phantoms.

Those things were indistinct, only vague human-shaped outlines, their bodies dark red, like strips of cloth soaked in blood.

They emerge from the rock walls, sprout from the ground, and drift down from the darkness overhead.

They are numerous, but their combat strength is not high, yet they are quite annoying.

It can transform from an illusion into a physical form at any time, pounce to bite, and retreat after a successful attack, disappearing into the rocks and then reappearing elsewhere a while later.

One cannon cleaved one in two with a sword, and another immediately pounced from the side.

The Corruption Sword swept across, and the wind blades sliced ​​the creature in two, turning it into dark red mist that dissipated.

But even more wandering spirits surged in from all directions, like a tide.

"Cutting flesh with a dull knife, they're trying to wear me down little by little."

Xu Chuan waved his hand, and golden light surged from his palm, transforming into several light whips that lashed out at the nearest wandering soul.

The moment the golden light touched the souls, the wandering souls let out a piercing scream and retreated rapidly as if they were being burned.

The ability to restrain spirits and summon generals also has a restraining effect on these things.

The wandering spirits seemed to have encountered their natural enemy and scattered in all directions.

Xu Chuan did not pursue, but simply maintained the range of the golden light and continued to move forward.

As time went by, the Abyss Priest's soul condition did indeed deteriorate significantly.

It became visibly unreal, and its speech became incoherent, like a machine that had run out of power, with its voice coming out in fits and starts.

However, the connection between the spirits and the generals was not weakened as a result.

The illusory soul floated in mid-air, its lower half already changed, its color changing from dark purple to dark red, becoming more and more like those wandering spirits.

He spoke, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"I...I keep seeing...phantoms, they're...family..." He paused, his soul trembling slightly, "I want...I want...to be with them..."

Xu Chuan stopped and looked at the soul of the Abyss Priest.

The blurry face was expressionless, but there was something in those eyes that he had seen many times before.

Those wandering spirits were once people too, with families and places they longed to return to.

Now only their dark red outlines remain, having wandered in this underground space for countless years, forgetting even who they are.

The souls of the Abyss Priests are undergoing the same transformation.

If he stays any longer, he will become one of those wandering spirits.

Xu Chuan put the Abyss Priest back into the book, the pages closing with a soft sound.

He has obtained what he wanted to verify.

Xu Chuan stopped his circuitous exploration and began maneuvering the cannon to charge recklessly.

Everything that stood in the way within the secret realm was blasted to dust by the cannons powered by the Wind God's Heart.

After passing through another space, a huge disc appeared in Xu Chuan's sight.

"We've finally arrived here."

Upon seeing the Taiwei Instrument Plate, Xu Chuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

A knight who does not die unarmed and is not bound by the restriction of one person and one immortal can use the Taiwei Instrument.

To be honest, he was never worried about those wandering spirits; he was just afraid that they wouldn't be able to find this thing and would eventually be trapped and die in the secret realm.

"Yura!"

Xu Chuan suddenly noticed a familiar blue figure appearing not far away.

After a moment of impulsiveness, Xu Chuan calmed down and muttered a curse under his breath.

"Damn phantom."

I thought I was careful enough, but I still almost fell victim to it.

Xu Chuan searched every corner and explored every explorable area. He found the letters left by Bo Yang and Qian Yanjun, as well as the Taiwei Instrument Plate.

There was no sign of either Kezibai or Fushe.

"The soul of Fushe must be among those wandering spirits, but where exactly is the three corpse souls of Zibai?"

"Could it be that there are still hidden places in the abyss of layered rocks that I haven't found yet?"

Xu Chuan pondered for a moment; the soul of the Abyss Priest had already begun to transform.

Staying any longer will only increase the risks.

"Alright, let's stop here for now."

Xu Chuan made a decisive move, urging the knight to survive unarmed.

The Taiwei Instrument Plate emitted a buzzing sound, and the patterns engraved on its surface were lit up one by one.

As power continuously flows into the instrument panel.

The space began to tremble, and cracks appeared in the surrounding rock walls, like a mirror being shattered, revealing the nothingness behind it.

A magic array formed beneath his feet, lifting Xu Chuan upwards.

The cannon followed closely behind, while the Corrupt Sword was held horizontally in front of him, alert to any potential threats around him.

Looking around, everything turned dark red.

Countless wandering souls gathered below, densely packed, like a pot of boiling blood.

They tilted their heads back, staring at him with their empty eye sockets, their mouths opening and closing as if they were saying something, but no sound came out.

A dark red light emanated from them, staining the entire space blood-red.

"It really looks creepy."

Despite saying this, Xu Chuan was in no hurry to control the Taiwei Instrument Disc to leave.

He let the crimson tide of wandering souls engulf him.

A glint of light flashed in his eyes. Xu Chuan handed the Taiyi Plate to the cannon and activated the Spirit Binding and Commanding Technique to its maximum.

"Let me see where you're hiding, Fushe."

Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Floating Soul

The world was a sea of ​​dark red blood.

Countless wandering souls were squeezed together, filling this space without leaving a single gap.

Their outlines have long been erased, their facial features have merged into hollows, their limbs have turned into mist, leaving only the most primitive instincts.

Xu Chuan stood on the Taiwei Instrument Plate.

Golden light emanated from his body, creating a three-foot square cavity.

Outside the cavity, the dark red soul tide writhed wildly against the golden light wall, like countless skinned snakes.

Mutterings poured in from all directions.

It's not something you hear with your ears; it seeps directly into your consciousness.

Some people are crying, some are laughing, and some have been calling out a name for hundreds of years, until their vocal cords are worn out and only breath sounds remain.

A thousand murmurs piled up together, indistinguishable as to whose they were or to whom they were addressed.

Xu Chuan's pupils dilated for a moment.

In an instant, the Golden Light Mantra activated automatically, and pale golden light surged up from the depths of the meridians.

His pupils refocused, and were even brighter than before.

He spread his hands, and two celestial nail crystals lay in his palms.

It's time to take a gamble.

Xu Chuan gripped both crystals tightly at the same time.

The sharp edges of the crystal pierced his palm, and the power surging into his body turned his pupils an icy blue.

The icy blue light collided with the pale gold of the Golden Light Mantra.

They captured the spirits and dispatched the generals.

A shockwave exploded from his body, a vibration that directly impacted his soul.

An invisible wave emanated from him and spread in all directions.

The surrounding surge of souls ceased.

The wandering souls, caught in the impact, froze in the same instant.

The dark red, misty torsos froze in mid-air before separating.

Starting from in front of Xu Chuan, the dark red soul tide retreated to both sides, leaving a passage.

The wandering spirits on both sides of the passage floated quietly, neither rushing, biting, nor uttering any murmurs.

They faced Xu Chuan, like subjects facing their king.

Xu Chuan closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the sensory network of binding spirits and commanding generals.

Every wandering soul under his control manifests itself in this net.

Their remaining memories, and their last obsessions before death, all flowed back along the veins of golden light.

"No."

A wisp of a wandering soul was repelled.