Crossing the Cultivation Realm: Two Souls Coexist

Under the impact of the viscous, icy, and bone-chilling black energy, Gu Yang's body appeared extremely small and weak, like a small boat in a storm.

The black aura not only eroded the body but also directly impacted the soul, bringing a terrifying chill that almost froze the mind and shattered the will.

His soul trembled in his sea of ​​consciousness, and his awareness began to become hazy and detached.

In that moment of confusion, he vaguely "saw"—near the source of the churning black mist, near the "hole" where the Demon King's little finger had been inserted.

Twisted, blurry figures, as if emerging from ink, slowly appeared!

They wore large, tattered, black cloaks of an antique style, with hoods hanging low, completely obscuring their faces in shadow.

Only two faint, blood-red lights could be seen, gleaming with greed and cruelty in the darkness of the hood.

Their bodies did not seem to be solid; the outline of their legs was not visible under their wide cloaks, only a continuous stream of increasingly condensed black energy.

The fluid surging and filling the inside of their cloaks from bottom to top formed their elusive shapes.

These dark figures silently "flowed" out of the cave entrance, their numbers increasing.

Soon they dispersed in the dark, misty sky, like a flock of carrion vultures that had caught the scent of blood, slowly circling and gathering around the area below.

After circling several times, these dark figures seemed to receive some silent command, their movements becoming perfectly synchronized—

From behind their "bodies" made of black mist, each of them "drawn" a huge scythe with a ferocious shape and an ominous, cold light!

The scythe was curved like a crescent moon, its entire body jet black, yet faintly shimmering with a dark red glow.

It seemed to be formed from countless wronged souls and vengeful spirits; just looking at it was enough to pierce one's soul, as if one's very soul was about to be stolen away.

They descended like the legendary Grim Reapers who reap lives!

Soon, the crimson gazes of these shadowy undead locked onto Gu Yang, who was still able to move and exuding a "fresh" spiritual aura.

In those bloodshot eyes, an uncontrollable excitement and desire, like that of a hungry wolf seeing flesh and blood, instantly erupted!

“Jeh——!!”

The piercing, sharp roar, which seemed to tear at the eardrums, did not travel through the air but struck directly at the soul!

Dozens of dark figures shot out like arrows, wielding their chilling scythes and transforming into streaks of black death light, rushing towards the lone Gu Yang from all directions!

The scythe cleaved through the black mist, accompanied by a mournful wail, and the aura of death instantly enveloped Gu Yang completely!

Gu Yang felt a chill run down his spine. He wanted to dodge, but his body was slowed down by the black energy. He wanted to resist, but he didn't know how to deal with these strange spirits.

The dozens of soul-reaping scythes were about to touch his body—

"Om-!"

At the critical moment, the remaining golden holy light that had been working its best to heal Hu Qing, who was unconscious beside him, seemed to be completely enraged by the dense death energy and malicious attacks, and suddenly burst out with intense light again!

The Holy Light temporarily abandoned the meticulous treatment and, as if possessing a self-defense mechanism, transformed into a warm and resilient golden light shield, which instantly expanded to protect Gu Yang and Hu Qing within it!

"Chichichichi——!"

The black mist and the undead collided with the suddenly appearing holy light shield, and instantly it was like boiling oil being poured onto snow, producing a violent corrosive sound!

The few dark figures at the forefront even let out painful screams. The dark aura on their bodies quickly melted away under the holy light, and their movements were momentarily halted.

Gu Yang felt the pressure around him ease, and the extreme cold that had almost frozen his soul was mostly dispelled, replaced by a long-lost warmth with a sacred aura.

He shook his still somewhat dizzy head violently, forcing himself to concentrate.

With this focused attention, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the invisible binding force from the holy light on his body seemed to have... disappeared!

He was able to freely control his body and circulate spiritual energy!

It seems that the Holy Light, in order to fight against the surging black energy and the undead, withdrew most of its power for defense and exorcism, and had no time to "lift" and control them.

He immediately turned to look at Hu Qing beside him, gently nudged him, and called his name.

Hu Qing's eyes remained closed, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he were trapped in some deep pain or dream, and had not yet woken up.

However, his previous terrible injuries, especially his bleeding eyes, have been visibly healed under the healing of the holy light.

Only faint traces remained, and his breathing was steady and long, which made Gu Yang breathe a slight sigh of relief.

But... looking at Hu Qing's peaceful sleeping face, Gu Yang inexplicably recalled the fleeting glimpse he had seen in that mysterious consciousness space—

Two bodies, bound by layers of chains, lay at the bottom of the water, seemingly asleep for eternity. A strange chill ran through my heart.

However, the crisis has not been resolved; in fact, it has become even more severe!

Just as Gu Yang was feeling a little relieved to have regained his freedom, the situation in the sky took another sharp turn for the worse!

The overwhelming black energy emanating from the Demon King's little finger seemed endless, while the remaining holy light was, after all, water without roots.

The last remaining glimmers of golden holy light on the horizon, like candles flickering in the wind, quickly dimmed and went out one by one under the impact of the increasingly dense black energy!

In just a few breaths, the last trace of gold was completely swallowed by darkness!

The entire sky was plunged into a pure, despairing darkness!

All that remained was that terrifying little finger that was still slowly descending, and the hideous undead flying everywhere with their crimson eyes flashing!

Without the support of the Holy Light, gravity once again took effect on his body.

Gu Yang suddenly felt his feet sink and his body began to fall!

Fortunately, he reacted quickly, instantly calmed his mind, and the spiritual power that had just resumed circulating in his body surged out. He stepped into the void and forcibly stabilized his downward momentum!

At the same time, he used his arms to hold Hu Qing, who was still unconscious, firmly, and brought him steady in mid-air.

However, before he could even catch his breath, an even more chilling scene unfolded—

Those undead who were temporarily driven back by the Holy Light became even more frenzied after the Holy Light completely dissipated!

Their scarlet eyes were filled with only the purest, greedy desire for the spiritual power and souls of living beings, as if Gu Yang and Hu Qing were the only delicious delicacies in this dark universe!

They let out even more excited and piercing screechs, gathering again from all directions, brandishing their scythes, like a black tide of death, surging towards the two once more!

Gu Yang looked around and saw that the dense black shadows almost blocked all his escape routes. The overwhelming death aura made his spiritual energy circulation feel sluggish.

He swallowed hard, suppressing his fear, and his mind raced as he tried to find a relatively weak point to break through.

Right in this desperate situation—

A deep, aged voice, yet containing unparalleled authority and fury.

Like a thunderclap from a clear sky, it exploded from the distant, dust-like "ground" below, piercing through layers of black mist and clearly reaching Gu Yang's ears:

"How dare you!!! You mere undead filth, how dare you run wild on your grandpa's territory?! Do you really think I'm just a decoration?!"

It's an old turtle!

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Gu Yang's extremely tense nerves suddenly relaxed, as if he had found the most solid support, and his body, which had been holding on, almost went limp.

The biggest piece of information has arrived! There's hope!

However, to his surprise and anger, the undead shadows that were frantically rushing towards him seemed to have completely ignored the old tortoise's angry shout, or rather, they didn't care at all!

Their scarlet eyes were fixed only on the "food" so close at hand, and they still rushed towards Gu Yang and Hu Qing with great urgency.

The spiritual energy emanating from Gu Yang's subconscious use of spiritual power to stabilize himself excited them even more, causing them to tighten their encirclement!

"This is outrageous!" Gu Yang was also enraged. Being suppressed and chased like prey was bad enough, but now that their backer had spoken up, how dare these bastards ignore it?

Wouldn't that old turtle have shouted it for nothing? Where would he put his face?

Fueled by rage and fueled by his recent breakthrough and surging power, Gu Yang gripped Hu Qing tightly with one hand, clenched his fist with the other, and frantically gathered his spiritual energy, unleashing a powerful punch at the densest group of black shadows rushing towards him!

The fist whistled, and the solidified spiritual energy transformed into a blazing pillar of light, its momentum extraordinary!

However, what happened next left Gu Yang speechless.

Instead of dodging or avoiding his punch, the shadowy figures took the initiative to meet it, allowing the pillar of spiritual energy to penetrate their illusory bodies made of black energy!

The anticipated explosion and collapse did not occur.

That powerful spiritual attack, after piercing through the shadowy figure's body, vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea!

On the contrary, the crimson eyes of the few black shadows that were "hit" brightened noticeably, even curving into crescent shapes.

As if enjoying an unparalleled delicacy, it let out a satisfied "hiss," and the black aura around its body seemed to thicken slightly!

"This...?!" Gu Yang was completely dumbfounded.

Just then, the old tortoise's voice, tinged with realization and seriousness, came again from afar, speaking rapidly:

"Foolish boy! Don't use ordinary spiritual power to attack! These are 'undead'! They are born only in desolate places where death energy and resentment converge to the extreme."

They have no physical form and feed on pure energy, especially the spiritual and soul power of living beings!

Ordinary spiritual energy attacks have little effect on them; in fact, they are often absorbed and used to strengthen them! No wonder... how come so many of these things have appeared here?!

The old tortoise's voice also carried a hint of confusion; clearly, the unusually large number of undead appearing made him realize how troublesome the situation was.

But then, the anger and determination in that voice intensified:

"However, since you're here... then leave them all to this old man!"