Chapter 096: The Power of the Broken Soul Manifests

That faint, reddish aura of terror rose from every ounce of essence, energy, and blood within Xu Xuan’s body, burning through the Reading Pavilion. He seemed to transform into an ancient, flaming dragon, erupting in a roar of fury, poised to unleash a thunderous, annihilating strike.

Clang!

The battered ancient sword, undefeatable until now, was suddenly gripped by a fear it had never known; trembling and fleeing, it even abandoned the ancient well’s spiritual spring that sustained its existence.

Kill! Kill!

Xu Xuan and Nie Han charged forward one after another, their powerful spiritual attacks penetrating the ancient well—yet they struck only emptiness. This scene left Yue Feng and Senior Brother Jiang, standing a yard away, utterly stunned: these two were simply monstrous, defeating the sword’s intent on the level of the soul.

But most astonishing was Xu Xuan’s performance—the furious, unyielding momentum he displayed at the final moment was simply overwhelming. Of course, from their perspective, the victory over the sword’s intent was mostly due to the pair’s combined efforts, unaware that the true force belonged to Xu Xuan, who had stepped into the threshold of the tenth realm.

Half-step into the tenth realm!

He was called half-step because, at this moment, Xu Xuan’s strength, spurred by his immense spiritual fury, forcefully pushed him into the tenth level. In other words, his power had surpassed the limits of body refinement, reaching the very threshold of the tenth transformation. Yet he had not fully comprehended the mysteries of the “tenth transformation,” nor attained its spiritual mastery.

Even so, the boundless fury that drove his spirit was like the terrifying, primal aura of an ancient dragon, frightening away the battered sword.

Splash!

Their attacks missed, and the spiritual spring in the ancient well erupted, shooting forth a column of spiritual liquid a yard high, splashing in all directions.

Xu Xuan’s strike was one of desperation; propelled by raging fury, he crashed into the spiritual well, plunging half his body into the spring with a resounding splash.

Boom—

In that instant, the entire hall shook; with the spring at its center, the spiritual energy of the secret realm quivered and surged.

Xu Xuan felt a strange, ethereal comfort suffuse his body, as if he were immersed in a tangible space of pure spiritual energy.

“Ah!” He suddenly felt clear-headed, realizing his entire body was submerged in the spiritual well.

Gurgle, gurgle...

Surrounded by bubbling spiritual liquid, his half-step tenth realm state endowed him with an absorption force, causing him to draw in the energy of the spring almost instinctively.

“Hahaha, what incredible luck! The spring’s spiritual liquid is a treasure rarely seen in this world. You, a mere mortal, are bathing in its power!” The remnant soul from his previous life laughed heartily.

The spring’s spiritual liquid was the very essence of the spiritual veins in this secret realm—a concentrated source of spiritual energy, the purest and highest quality in the entire space.

Of course, the quality of the spring’s spiritual liquid was also linked to the grade and scale of the secret realm.

Xu Xuan discovered that soaking in this spiritual liquid dramatically enhanced his body; even his wounds healed almost completely.

He drank a few mouthfuls, feeling his spirit invigorated and his strength inexhaustible.

The effects of the spring’s spiritual liquid were truly astonishing!

But as he drank, a cooling, soothing sensation spread throughout him, calming his raging fury. The reddish aura on his skin gradually receded, returning to his blood, flesh, and bones.

“Hurry! Your half-step tenth realm strength is fading,” urged the remnant soul of his past life.

At that moment, Senior Brother Jiang and Yue Feng seized the opportunity to rush toward the stone platform and the skeletal remains.

Xu Xuan’s heart tightened; he could ignore other treasures, but the purple soul jade on the stone platform could not be allowed to fall into their hands.

“You youngsters, don’t even think about claiming a single thing here!” The ancient sword, now ten yards away, shuddered inexplicably and turned back to attack.

Perhaps it sensed that Xu Xuan’s spiritual fury was no longer a threat, or detected that his aura was waning.

Clang—whoosh—

The battered ancient sword sped toward Yue Feng and Senior Brother Jiang, its obsession incomprehensible—it would not allow any descendant of the Starfeather Sect to take anything from this place.

“Not good!” Senior Brother Jiang and Yue Feng had just reached the stone platform when the sword struck. They hurriedly activated their magical tools to defend themselves, or scrambled to dodge.

“Don’t run! This sword belongs to me!” Nie Han shouted coldly, brandishing the broken sword fragment, his fierce sword intent flooding the hall.

One chased, one fled!

In the corner of the hall, disciples from both factions, having recovered some strength, watched with shining eyes, excitement surging.

“Charge! Grab the treasures!” Four or five disciples, led by the burly red-haired man, Senior Brother Fei, and Senior Brother Jia, surged forward for a final, chaotic contest.

The final struggle—utter chaos!

Xu Xuan was momentarily stunned, then shot out of the spiritual well with a burst, like a great bird diving from the air.

Target: the stone platform!

“Excellent! If we seize the purple soul jade, victory is ours!” The remnant soul in his mind was beyond excited, even more so than Xu Xuan himself.

As he swooped down, the purple crystal jade in his sight grew larger and clearer...

Whoosh—bang!

A powerful, primal aura like raging flames descended from above, crashing onto the stone platform.

Xu Xuan, head down and feet up, slammed his palm onto the platform.

More precisely, onto the precious purple soul jade.

Boom!

The wild, turbulent energy scattered those near the platform, and even the battered ancient sword shuddered at the aura, recoiling instinctively.

Xu Xuan’s half-step tenth realm spiritual fury made the sword wary, as if by instinct.

Huh!

As his palm touched the purple soul jade, Xu Xuan found it vanished.

Vanished!

It disappeared into thin air from his grasp, startling him, while no one else noticed.

What was happening?

“Hahaha... We finally have it!” The remnant soul from his past life exulted in his mind.

Swish!

In the next instant, the Memory Star Sea inexplicably appeared in Xu Xuan’s mind as he remained conscious.

Normally, the Memory Star Sea only appeared in dreams, except for the time it revealed the forbidden “Celestial River.”

Within the star sea, the remnant soul held the brick-sized purple soul jade, overwhelmed with excitement.

Suddenly, the jade’s surface shimmered with translucent, purple light, trembling like tadpole-shaped flames.

The entire Memory Star Sea quivered; the remnant soul’s once vague, dim form grew clearer and more substantial, even expanding Xu Xuan’s star sea territory.

Meanwhile, the purple soul jade was being steadily consumed, empowering the remnant soul further.

“How did the purple soul jade get absorbed into here?” Xu Xuan wondered in disbelief.

He thought the Memory Star Sea was merely a space of consciousness, unable to interact with reality, let alone absorb external treasures.

“Hmph! With the abilities of my former life, the sealed Memory Star Sea before my fall is no ordinary consciousness space,” the remnant soul smiled with pride, then urged, “Don’t dawdle! While your soul power is full, seize more treasures!”

Xu Xuan snapped back to reality; not even a tenth of a second had passed in the real world.

He flicked his arm, snatching up the nearby small cauldron and an ancient book amid the chaos.

The items he touched vanished, instantly entering the Memory Star Sea, unnoticed by anyone.

“Wonderful!” Xu Xuan rejoiced, shifting his weight and landing, his gaze fixed on several storage bags left by the corpse nearby.

Those storage bags were the legacy of a Core Formation stage powerhouse.

Just as he prepared to move, Xu Xuan realized his half-step tenth realm power, maintained only by spiritual fury, had completely faded.

At that moment, four or five disciples from both factions rushed in, fighting and fleeing around the ancient sword in a chaotic struggle.

Not good!

He felt uneasy; with the strength of a peak ninth realm body refiner, he was no match for a fourth realm spirit cultivator—how could he compete further?

Whoosh—

Meanwhile, pursued by Nie Han, the ancient sword flashed like thunder, slashing into the crowd.

Pfft!

Senior Brother Fei’s throat was pierced by the sword’s light; his body stiffened, and he fell dead.

The sword light swept toward the others, eliciting screams and groans, carving wounds deep into their bones.

Xu Xuan barely dodged the sword’s range, shivering with fear.

“Where do you think you’re going!” Nie Han pursued from behind, his sword intent and energy flooding his hands as he seized the sword’s hilt.

The sword burst with dazzling light, almost breaking free, ready to strike the weakened Xu Xuan.

Rage flared in Xu Xuan’s eyes, and the remnant soul from his previous life laughed in his mind, “Hahaha... Let me lend you some power and destroy this remnant soul!”

Immediately, Xu Xuan felt a vast, mysterious soul force surge into his mind and fuse with his flesh.

Snap!

His hand moved instinctively, swiftly and fiercely, grabbing the battered sword’s blade.

What!

Nie Han, holding the hilt, was stunned. He hadn’t expected Xu Xuan to be even more ruthless—he held the hilt, while Xu Xuan gripped the blade.

Was Xu Xuan’s hatred for the sword so deep he’d risk mutual destruction?

In the next moment, the remnant soul within the battered sword let out a sudden, terrified scream, abruptly cut off.

Whoosh—

A vast, mysterious soul force instantly penetrated the sword, seizing the human-shaped remnant soul within.

“What! Who are you?” The sword’s remnant soul was terrified to the extreme; in life, it had been a renowned sword master, yet had never encountered such fearful soul power.

From grabbing the sword to imprisoning its remnant soul, all happened in a flash.

Xu Xuan moved as if by instinct, while in the Memory Star Sea, the purple soul jade crackled, shrinking in size. Xu Xuan was overjoyed, as the remnant soul from his previous life laughed loudly in his mind, “Didn’t I tell you? Once you have the purple soul jade... victory is ours!”

(Two chapters today—please recommend~~~)