Batian Martial Soul

Ling Xiao paused, then his tone suddenly became more forceful, each word like a hammer blow striking the air:
"But in less than an hour, they returned to Lin Yuan City, claiming that the Black Soul King had vanished into thin air, and insisting that he was still with us! You have been venturing into the Silent Realm for many years, don't you find the strangeness of this situation ridiculously obvious?"

The mysterious man frowned deeply and said in a deep voice, "You mean, the Holy Temple has already made a move against the Black Soul King? Impossible! Even if the two lords join forces, they may not be able to defeat such a demonic giant from a thousand years ago!"

"What if it wasn't just two?" Ling Xiao's eyes were sharp as knives as he retorted, hitting the nail on the head. "Three? Four? Or even the entire Holy Temple coming out, using their trump cards?"

The mysterious man's pupils shrank to pinpoints, his blood and qi suddenly stagnated, and he involuntarily took a half-step back!

“That’s the Demon Lord’s Black Heaven Sword.” Ling Xiao’s lips curled into a meaningful smile, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

"A legendary treasure that can help people break free from the prison of the Realm of Annihilation and reach beyond the realm. As a fellow practitioner, you should know better than I how much power the Holy Temple is willing to expend for such a divine object that can rewrite destiny, right?"

A deathly silence spread through the perilous void rift, with only the howling of the void storm growing ever closer, its violent suction nearly tearing the two men's robes apart.

Ling Xiao, dressed in a blue robe that fluttered in the wind, stood on the edge of the storm, his expression calm as if the impending catastrophe had nothing to do with him.

After a long silence, the mysterious man finally spoke, his voice tinged with a hint of gravity and unease: "You mean... the Holy Temple has already succeeded, but deliberately framed you, so that all the forces in the world would target you, and they could reap the benefits?"

Ling Xiao smiled but remained silent, neither admitting nor denying, leaving the suspense to the other party... Sometimes, vague guesses are far more persuasive than straightforward answers.

At this moment, the void storm had approached within fifty feet, and the terrifying tearing force made Ling Xiao's bones creak, and his robes were already covered with fine cracks.

He knew in his heart that this was by no means a naturally formed void rift, but a law scar left over from an ancient war, which would be completely annihilated if he was not careful.

"What do you think, senior?" Ling Xiao looked calmly at the shadow before him. "I have said everything I need to say. Whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you. However... if you insist on killing me, you should ask the powerful figures behind me if they are willing to agree."

The shadow writhed in the void turbulence for a long time before slowly dissipating... Although it did not entirely believe Ling Xiao's words, it dared not take any more risks.

After all, compared to the uncertain treasure hunt, being hunted down by the unfathomable forces behind Ling Xiao is the real catastrophe. It's better to withdraw first, investigate the truth, and then make further plans.

Once the shadows had completely vanished, Ling Xiao put away the Annihilation Emperor Banner and turned to retreat rapidly towards the outer edge of the rift. The void storm behind him had already approached within twenty feet, and the violent suction force almost ripped his soul out of his body.

After three hours of desperate fleeing, Ling Xiao had exhausted more than half of his spiritual energy, and his robes were torn to shreds by spatial fragments. Finally, he broke through the rift in the laws and returned to solid land.

He glanced back at the dark rift that devoured everything, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and black mist surged around him before he vanished into the vast earth.

……

Above another continent, Chi Ling, dressed in red, glided through the air, her movements as swift as a swallow.

After letting go of her obsession with killing Ling Xiao, she felt completely relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Even the bottleneck in her sword intent, which had been stagnant for a hundred years, showed signs of loosening.

It turns out that only by letting go of one's obsessions can one make the sword's intent sharper.

"Oh, isn't this Lord Crimson Bell from our Holy Temple Border City?"

Ripples spread across the void ahead, and a woman dressed in a flowing, starry dress slowly stepped out.

She walked barefoot in the void, each step creating pale purple lotus-shaped ripples. A cinnabar mole between her brows made her skin appear even whiter than snow, and her star-studded gauze skirt fluttered in the wind, outlining breathtaking curves.

Chi Ling frowned slightly: "Mu Qianxue? What are you doing here?"

Mu Qianxue covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes sparkling like stars, her tone slightly teasing: "What, you're not welcoming me?"

"That's quite unexpected." Chi Ling glanced at her, her tone slightly teasing. "Dressed like this and parading around the city, are you here to carry out a mission for the Holy Temple, or to participate in a beauty pageant in the Realm of Annihilation?"

"Jealous?" Mu Qianxue deliberately straightened her body, her curves faintly visible beneath the starry veil. "Sister Chiling, is it because you can't have Ling Xiao that you can't stand others getting close to you?"

Chi Ling chuckled, but her tone became more serious:
"Mu Qianxue, for the sake of our years as fellow disciples, I'll give you a word of advice. Ling Xiao may seem gentle and refined, but he's actually as cunning as a fox and has a very deep mind. Don't end up getting yourself killed instead of completing the mission."

"Put yourself in?" Mu Qianxue laughed even harder, her eyes filled with amusement. "Sister Chiling, does this mean you've already... fallen for him?"

"I'm going to Breaking Boundary Mountain." Chi Ling interrupted her teasing, looking into the depths of the sky, her tone resolute, "The affairs of the Holy Temple will have nothing to do with me from now on."

Mu Qianxue's smile vanished instantly, and her expression turned serious: "Why give up? This is not like your style, Chi Ling."

Chi Ling sighed softly, her eyes filled with relief: "Some things, you only realize in the end that the pursuit itself was a mistake. That's all I have to say. I wish you... having fun."

Before the words were finished, the woman in red suddenly transformed into a dazzling blade of light, forcefully cleaving through the void. Her figure vanished instantly into the depths of the sky, leaving only a faint lingering trace of her sword intent.

Mu Qianxue stood in the void, gazing thoughtfully in the direction where Chi Ling had disappeared, and murmured, "Chi Ling, Chi Ling, do you really not understand the rules of the Holy Temple? How can you leave just because you want to?"

A glint of greed flashed in her eyes: "Ling Xiao... the true number one among the younger generation in the Silent Realm, possessing a secret treasure that seems to allow him to escape the Silent Realm, with a complex web of forces behind him, so much so that even the Holy Temple's intelligence network cannot figure him out."

“However, the more mysterious it is, the more alluring it is.” Mu Qianxue chuckled, her figure fading away like ink in a painting. “It seems I’ll have to find a different way to approach her.”

……

At the border of the Overlord Empire, when Ling Xiao burst out from the seventh void rift, his sleeves were already mostly torn apart, and his body was covered with shallow scratches from the spatial fragments.

After traversing more than a dozen ancient battlefields and the resulting rifts in the laws of the land, he became acutely aware of the vastness and danger of the Realm of Annihilation. Behind each rift might lie an unknown space, and the White Ze Continent above this Realm of Annihilation must be incredibly vast and terrifying.
Just as they stepped into the territory of the Overlord Empire, a beautiful figure suddenly blocked their way.

Starry gauze, barefoot on lotus blossoms—it was Mu Qianxue.

A hint of surprise flashed in Ling Xiao's eyes, and he became wary without showing any emotion: "Who is this young lady?"

"Mu Qianxue of the Holy Temple." The woman smiled sweetly, her voice charming and melodious. "Young Master Ling, if you don't mind, please call me Xiaoxue." (End of Chapter)