Chapter 157: Figure in the Ghostly Mist

Xia Jiuxuan spent some time cultivating to recover his strength.

Then, he channeled his intent into the soul bead, scanning the entirety of the Immortal Martial Kingdom under his awareness.

"Strange, where on earth has Duanmu Wan gone?"

No matter how thoroughly he searched, Xia Jiuxuan could not find the figures of either Duanmu Wan or Mufeng.

He continued his search for a while longer.

At that moment, Xia Jiuxuan detected a figure shrouded in murky mist inside the imperial palace.

"Hmm?"

Xia Jiuxuan raised an eyebrow.

"It seems Yu Guiyuan turning into a living corpse is connected to this person."

Having realized this, Xia Jiuxuan stepped out of the spiritual artifact residence and prepared to head to the imperial palace.

Swish!

Xia Jiuxuan soared into the air.

Before long, he arrived flying above the imperial palace.

The entire imperial city appeared eerily quiet, devoid even of guarding soldiers.

Xia Jiuxuan descended in front of a grand hall and pushed the door open.

" brat, you actually dare to deliver yourself to your death."

Ahead of Xia Jiuxuan, the misty figure emitted a dry, raspy voice.

"You're not a sorcerer after all!"

Gazing at the figure, Xia Jiuxuan felt somewhat surprised.

A dense aura of death emanated from this person.

Yet, he was not a sorcerer or cultivator as Xia Jiuxuan had anticipated.

" brat, you actually dared to destroy the corpse that my master had set his eyes on! I haven't even gone to kill you yet, and here you are walking right into a trap!"

The misty figure was in no rush to attack; in his view, obliterating this mortal realm brat would be effortless.

"What on earth are you?" Xia Jiuxuan asked coldly.

The chilling aura of death radiating from this being was unlike anything he had ever sensed before.

Clearly, this person was not a living creature birthed from Xia Jiuxuan's world.

"A corpse, what's the use in asking so much?" The misty figure replied with a sneer.

"Oh?" Xia Jiuxuan raised an eyebrow. "That's usually my line."

"Heh, heh, heh... I can tell, your murderous intent is heavy." The misty figure seated himself on a chair, speaking with extreme leisure. "Kid, you actually have some ability. I'll give you a chance to survive—as long as you offer your soul to our master as a sacrifice, you can attain immense power, and even eternal life!"

Xia Jiuxuan wore an indifferent expression. "In this world, no one is worthy of receiving my soul in sacrifice. I will ask you only this: where are the man and woman captured by Yu Guiyuan? Answer well, and I might leave your corpse intact; otherwise, I will scatter your ashes to the winds."

Unflustered and completely at ease, the misty figure waved his hand, projecting a light-and-shadow image before Xia Jiuxuan.

The people displayed in the image were none other than Duanmu Wan and Mufeng.

"Are you referring to these two?" The misty figure let out a dry laugh, stood up, and said, "Calculated by time, these two should have already been sent into the Soul-Melting Pagoda and turned into corpses by now!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Jiuxuan's gaze abruptly darkened.

"You can go die now."

In the next instant, Xia Jiuxuan raised his hand and slashed out with a sword.

A violent sword intent surged forward.

The misty figure neither dodged nor evaded, showing no intention of blocking the strike at all.

Swish!

The sword shadow sliced straight through his body.

He was cleaved in two, which then dissolved into two masses of murky mist.

"With just that sliver of strength, you delusions of killing me? Naive!"

Swish, swish!

The two masses of mist flickered as they flew forward, crashing into Xia Jiuxuan.

In truth, Xia Jiuxuan had long anticipated that a single sword strike would not kill this misty figure.

For this entity was neither a soul body nor a physical corpse, but rather a 'spirit'.

Such a mode of existence as a spirit body was something even Xia Jiuxuan had never witnessed before.

"Suppress!"

Xia Jiuxuan attempted to release his divine soul intent to suppress the two masses of mist.

However, his soul intent grasped at empty air, touching nothing at all.

Bang!

The two masses of mist merged and slammed directly into Xia Jiuxuan's body.

Employing his defenses, Xia Jiuxuan barely managed to withstand the massive impact, preventing his body from bursting apart.

Rather than continuing his attack, the misty figure flew backward and re-condensed into a human silhouette.

"Pitiful ant, do you know the might of this deity now?"

The misty figure spoke in an extremely mournful tone.

Yet Xia Jiuxuan showed not a shred of panic.

"You aren't afraid of ordinary attacks, but I wonder if you fear this Blood-Bone Sword?"

With that, Xia Jiuxuan summoned the dark-hilted, blood-red bone sword, which hovered before him.

"You seized this sword!"

The misty figure instantly grew agitated, his voice sharpening.

"Afraid?" Xia Jiuxuan raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph."

The misty figure let out a cold snort.

"This sword is indeed capable of inflicting injury upon this deity. It is merely a pity that this sword is not something you can wield, so you must still die, heh, heh, heh."

The misty figure laughed hideously.

"Is that so? Then I'll let you witness how I wield this sword!"

Xia Jiuxuan curled the corner of his lips into a cold smile.

Hum, hum, hum.

The blood-red sword spun before him.

Waves of ferocious, murderous intent surged from the blade.

"Slash!"

Xia Jiuxuan uttered a light command, and streaks of crimson sword shadows hurtled straight toward the misty figure.

"Trivial trick!"

With a broad wave of his arm, the misty figure violently struck out at the incoming sword shadows.

"Ah!"

The moment he made contact with those crimson sword shadows, he suddenly let out a heart-rending, agonizing scream.

Swish, swish, swish!

The crimson sword shadows sheared off both his arms!

Following that, the misty figure automatically dissipated, transforming into clusters of vapor to evade the remaining blood-red sword shadows.

"You wretch, you truly can control this sword!"

The misty figure was struck with extreme astonishment.

One must know that this sword was forged using bones, souls, and blood; unless one was a cultivator of the Yellow Springs Path, control was utterly impossible.

Otherwise, one would inevitably be devoured by ten thousand spirits and perish!

Yet this kid before him, a living mortal-martial cultivator, how on earth was he able to control this blood sword!

"How on earth did you pull this off!"

The misty figure asked in terror.

"A corpse, what is the use in asking so much?"

Xia Jiuxuan threw his own words right back at him.

"Damn it!"

The misty figure gnashed his teeth in hatred.

"It seems this deity has no choice but to obliterate your soul and destroy your body!"

With that, the clusters of murky mist converged once more, re-condensing into a human shape.

"Soul Annihilation!"

He shrieked aloud.

A thread of greenish light, barely visible to the naked eye, shot straight toward Xia Jiuxuan's mind.

This was his launched soul attack!

Once struck, the victim's soul would be torn apart by ten thousand spirits in excruciating agony.

Ultimately resulting in the doom of soul annihilation and physical death.

Xia Jiuxuan fixed a calm gaze upon the misty figure, allowing the greenish soul attack to surge unhindered into his sea of consciousness.

More than a dozen breaths of time passed.

Xia Jiuxuan remained safe and sound, showing not a single sign of pain.

"How is this possible!"

The misty figure roared in shock.

He found it utterly incomprehensible why this kid was even immune to soul attacks!

Could it be that within his mind resided a soul-defensive artifact?

Consequently, the misty figure released his own soul, intending to charge into Xia Jiuxuan's mind to investigate.

Still, Xia Jiuxuan erected no defenses whatsoever.

At last, the soul of the misty figure penetrated into a world of pure crimson.

He raised his head to gaze upward.

Ahead, suspended in the blood-red abyss of space, was a solitary figure.

Merely taking a single glance filled him with excruciating agony, causing his soul to curl into a ball and distort violently.

"No!"

The misty figure shrieked in terror.

What kind of peerless figure was that!

The crazed intent to kill made his soul hurt far more than if it had been ripped apart!

"Kneel!"

In the next moment, Xia Jiuxuan spoke coldly.

A voice of slaughter descended.