Shaoheng poured her magical power into the Soul-Sucking Bell. Although it was merely a second-grade magical tool, it was a treasure she had specifically collected, designed to suppress souls.
After three consecutive, crisp rings of the bell, the phantom of the old woman had dissipated, leaving behind nothing but a blurred human silhouette.
Even so, Danhua still reached out, intercepting the colored arrow that was about to pierce Jiang Yunjiang's heart and crushing it into pieces.
Shaoheng sensed carefully; the strength and aura of the old woman's remnant soul when she struck was only at the First Realm, failing to break the rules of this small heaven and earth.
Her ability to intercept the arrow, much like the phantom of Lu Tianxiang's grandmother earlier, relied on a level of control and application of rules that exceeded her cultivation realm.
With a thought, Shaoheng saw that the colored light from the shattered arrow did not dissipate, but instead burrowed into the remnant soul's body.
Shaoheng then tossed a pale purple formation disk into the air—the Golden Smoke Cloud-Locking Formation. Golden, sand-like smoke instantly erupted, weakening her opponent.
Simultaneously, Shaoheng drew her bow, aiming at the lotus jade hairpin tucked into Jiang Yunjiang's hair bun.
"This is it. That remnant soul just emerged from the lotus hairpin; this must be her dwelling. I've researched this—a soul without a physical body cannot exist independently unless it transforms into a ghost cultivator to practice again; its power will diminish day by day. Only rare materials like Soul-Dwelling Wood or Spirit-Communicating Jade can serve as a residence for a soul."
"Once I destroy this jade hairpin, I want to see how this filthy thing survives."
Another colored arrow flew out. Danhua attempted to intercept it again, only to find that speckles of colored light were appearing within her soul phantom. No matter how she exerted her power, she could not erase them; they were even continuously draining her very soul essence.
"Senior Danhua, return to the jade hairpin first!"
Jiang Yunjiang withdrew the heavily wounded Qingchi into her Demon-Controlling Bracelet and pulled out an ink-wash scroll to shield herself. Seeing Danhua's soul phantom dissipating, she grew anxious and called out urgently.
As Danhua's soul was being depleted, the lotus hairpin—carved from Spirit-Communicating Jade—responded to Jiang Yunjiang's cry, transforming into a wisp of white mist to enter the hairpin.
*Bang!*
As the ink-wash scroll unfurled, black and white energies drifted out. They were as light as clouds and smoke, yet felt as solid as rock, forming a set of armor that draped over her body.
However, the arrow was not aimed at her vitals, but at the jade hairpin.
Just as Danhua had entered halfway, the arrowhead pierced directly through the lotus on the hairpin. The arrow then exploded, turning into interlacing colored light that ground the body of the hairpin into dust, inch by inch.
"Ah!"
An old, piercing scream rang out, which sounded exquisitely pleasing to Shaoheng's ears.
"Since you've already died once before, then die properly for me now!"
Danhua's soul reappeared, looking even more dissipated and chaotic than before. Even though she did not bleed or show wounds like a living person, it was evident that her aura was dying and she had suffered heavy damage.
At the same time, a black-green bell flew out and landed above the remnant soul's head, ringing incessantly with a *ding-dang* sound.
"She is merely a mid-stage Qi-Induction Realm cultivator; how could she possibly shatter Spirit-Communicating Jade?" Danhua's voice was laced with unmistakable pain and immense confusion.
Jiang Yunjiang's heart also skipped a beat.
"I exerted so much effort and swallowed so many medicinal pills just to reach the mid-stage, and my magical power was even unstable right after my breakthrough. How could Shaoheng, who is in the outer sect, reach the mid-stage in just six or seven months and possess such strong combat strength?"
No one answered her question.
Shaoheng stepped upon the Seven Stars, moving with the aid of moonlight. In the blink of an eye, she appeared before Jiang Yunjiang, throwing punch after punch.
Having tempered her physique with dragon blood, she was a pure body cultivator; even at the same realm, one might not be able to defeat her.
The blood and qi within Shaoheng's body erupted, concentrating on her fists, striking the black-and-white armor with resounding thuds.
At the same time, her fists contained a brilliant, dazzling colored light, like crystal, which continuously eroded the black and white energies.
Although Jiang Yunjiang was panicked and worried about Danhua's condition, she was by no means mediocre.
As reason overcame her chaotic emotions and the medicinal power within her body began to circulate, she finally managed to muster enough strength to swing her sword in retaliation.
*Bang! Bang!*
Jade Bee Needles shot out from Shaoheng's sleeve like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, knocking the spiritual sword off course.
Shaoheng's previous arrows had already consumed too much magical power, and continuously driving the Soul-Sucking Bell to restrain Danhua's remnant soul had also taken a significant toll on her spiritual consciousness. However, Jiang Yunjiang's state was even worse.
Furthermore, before she began her cultivation, Shaoheng had read through countless martial classics and secret manuals; her mastery of every move and various subtle techniques was enough to allow her to suppress Jiang Yunjiang.
"So you sent those little brats like Yan Ning to spy on me, huh?"
Although Shaoheng could not break through the layer of armor, she possessed the subtle technique of "striking the ox through the mountain," allowing her to transmit force directly into Jiang Yunjiang's body, causing her blood and qi to churn uncontrollably and her bones to ache unbearably.
Jiang Yunjiang took the beating passively without a word, her face taut as she stared intently at Shaoheng. After a moment of hand-to-hand combat, a sudden light erupted from her purple pupils, containing a hexagram mark that could ensnare souls.
She had finally accumulated enough magical power and spiritual consciousness to force her divine ability.
[Heart-Confusing Pupil] · Chaos
Uncontrollably, a hexagram mark also surfaced in Shaoheng's eyes, causing her movements to freeze as she stood dazed on the spot.
Had she not been driving the Soul-Sucking Bell, she might have been able to resist, but her spiritual consciousness was currently too depleted to counter this divine ability.
A sharp look flashed in Jiang Yunjiang's eyes. She proactively released the black-and-white armor, channeling the two energies into her sword. The swirling, interlacing energies lunged toward Shaoheng's Dantian.
*Sshhh.*
The sharp blade sliced through flesh.
Jiang Yunjiang's pupils constricted. She saw the young girl reach out with her left hand and grasp the blade tightly. The spiritual sword, which should have cut through stone like tofu, failed to sever her fingers.
"What kind of immortal art is that black mist?"
Shaoheng's hand was shrouded in a layer of black mist, acting like a glove that protected her bones and tendons.
At this moment, Shaoheng looked at Jiang Yunjiang with an extremely bright smile, which, in the latter's eyes, looked like a demon coming to claim a life.
"I finally caught you."
Shaoheng's right palm was covered in colored light. Not much time had passed between her obtaining the [Golden Crow Embracing the Sun Visualization Method] and entering the secret realm, so she had not accumulated much solar radiance within her body.
This small amount of colored light had already exhausted the solar radiance in her body.
But using it on Jiang Yunjiang was well worth it!
However, just as her palm was about to strike Jiang Yunjiang's heart, Danhua—who was being restrained by the Soul-Sucking Bell—had been enduring the erosion of the colored light for some time and knew well the strangeness of this power.
"Command! Tremble!"
Danhua erupted suddenly. The power she released exceeded the First Realm, drawing the suppression of the secret realm's rules, but it also directly swept Shaoheng away.
Her strength was like a flash in the pan, instantly suppressed by the secret realm. She could only temporarily let go of Shaoheng, grabbing the shaken Jiang Yunjiang with her right hand and using a secret technique to flee.
When the one person and one soul fell into an unknown land, Jiang Yunjiang hurriedly asked, "Senior Danhua, how are you?"
(End of Chapter)