The night was as dark as ink, and the moon hung high in the sky.
Lin Chen staggered to his feet.
The reason he had fallen was that his heart was pounding wildly in his chest, and his soul power was almost exhausted in his meridians.
Just as he leaned against the back of an ancient tree and tried to circulate his cultivation technique to catch his breath, a sharp pain that seemed to tear his soul apart suddenly exploded from the depths of his mind!
It's not a soul skill attack, nor is it a soul power backlash; it's pure, soul-level torture!
Lin Chen groaned, his vision suddenly went black, and his consciousness uncontrollably plunged into his own mental world.
His mental world was originally a clear void, with the phantom of the storage ring left behind by the system floating in the center. The vortex of the Northern Darkness Divine Art slowly circulated, the golden light of the Eye of Truth shone brightly in the corner, and the golden light patterns of the Vajra Indestructible Body covered the void barrier. But at this moment, this peaceful mental world was forcibly occupied by a corner of a gentle yet melancholic pale blue halo.
The halo slowly condensed, transforming into a slender and graceful female figure, which clearly appeared in the protagonist's mental vision.
That was Ah Yin's remnant soul.
She wore a pale blue long dress that seemed to be woven from blue silver grass, with delicate blue silver petals swirling around the hem. Her long hair, the color of the purest deep-sea sapphire, was loosely tied back, with a few strands falling beside her fair, jade-like cheeks. Her skin was as white as snow, her eyebrows and eyes gentle and kind, her eyes a clear blue-green, with a hint of natural compassion at the corners. She exuded the warm vitality unique to plants and trees, and even as a remnant soul, she still radiated the nobility and gentleness of a ten-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Emperor.
At this moment, her soul's phantom was slightly transparent, her aura weak, as if it would dissipate at any moment. Beneath that gentle demeanor lay an imperceptible panic and apprehension.
Lin Chen stood in the center of his spiritual world, his Divine Eye of Truth automatically activated at the soul level, its golden light piercing through all illusions as he coldly stared at the blue-silver remnant soul before him.
A-Yin noticed the protagonist's gaze, her frail body trembled slightly, and she lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering, a look of bewilderment on her face. Her voice was as soft as blue silver grass swaying in the wind, carrying a timid, amnesiac air:
"Where is this...? Who am I? Who are you? I...I don't remember anything..." She tilted her head slightly, her eyes were empty, and her hands gently gripped the hem of her skirt. She looked like she had completely lost her memory and was weak and helpless. She tried to use this disguise to gain the protagonist's pity, take the opportunity to take root in his mental world, and even wait for the opportunity to turn against him.
But she didn't know that Lin Chen possessed the Divine Eyes of Truth that the system had kept. Even if she was just pretending to have amnesia, or even if she were to use the ultimate disguise of a soul beast in human form or deceive at the level of the soul, in front of these eyes that could see through all illusions and understand the essence of the soul, she would be as blank as a sheet of paper, with no possibility of concealment.
Lin Chen's lips curled into a cold smile, and the golden light of his Eye of Truth suddenly solidified, shooting straight into Ah Yin's remnant soul and instantly piercing through all her disguises.
His tone was indifferent, carrying undisguised sarcasm and coldness, each word piercing through Ah Yin's little scheme:
"Ah Yin, stop pretending. Your amnesia is utterly laughable in the face of my Eye of Truth."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ah Yin's blank expression shattered instantly, and a look of panic washed over her gentle face. Even her remnant soul couldn't help but tremble slightly—she never expected that her carefully disguised amnesia would be seen through at a glance by the human who had taken her life and turned her into a soul ring!
Within the realm of the mind, the moment Ah Yin's remnant soul was exposed from her disguise, her mask of fragility and helplessness shattered.
She suddenly looked up, her once gentle blue-green eyes now churning with resentment and ruthlessness. The soul pressure of the 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Emperor erupted without reservation, and the power of the plant origin frantically tore at the protagonist's mental barrier, attempting to devour his consciousness directly.
"You dare to kill me, seize my essence, and refine me into a soul ring... Today, I will annihilate your soul and spirit!"
Ah Yin's remnant soul shrieked sharply, and the roots of the Blue Silver Emperor spread wildly in the spiritual void, each one carrying a terrifying power to strangle souls. She was certain that Lin Chen was just a junior who had only recently entered the world of soul masters, and even if he had extraordinary talent, his soul power could never compare to her, a 100,000-year-old soul beast.
In her eyes, Lin Chen was already hers.
But the next second, the ferocity on her face suddenly froze.
Lin Chen's mental world trembled violently, and his vast mental power, as boundless as the sea of stars, erupted with a thunderous roar. Like a celestial sea collapsing from the heavens, the golden torrent of mental power, carrying unparalleled majesty, instantly crushed all of Ah Yin's attacks to dust!
The system legacy already contained methods for cultivating mental power, and with the amplification of the soul by the Eye of Truth, Lin Chen's mental power had already far surpassed that of his peers, and was even comparable to a Title Douluo who was not a mental attribute!
"You think you can control me?"
Lin Chen let out a cold shout, and with a clench of his hand in the void of his mind, countless golden chains formed from spiritual power appeared out of thin air. Like a cage, they instantly bound Ah Yin's remnant soul, suppressing her fiercely in the center of the void, making her unable to move!
Ah Yin's face turned deathly pale, her remnant soul trembled violently, and her eyes were filled with extreme terror and disbelief.
She wanted to struggle and scream, but she couldn't even muster a shred of soul power. She was like a bird with its neck being squeezed, completely reduced to a prisoner.
Lin Chen's gaze was icy, but he did not choose to directly obliterate this remnant soul.
At that very moment, outside—
His running figure suddenly stopped.
A terrifying pressure that made heaven and earth suffocate slowly pressed down from the end of the dense forest ahead.
Tang Hao stopped.
He held a jet-black Haotian Hammer, his body surrounded by a mixture of blood-red and golden soul power. His violent killing intent almost tore the entire forest apart. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the figure of the boy with blue wings on his back.
The pursuit came to an abrupt end.
The two stood facing each other across a hundred-meter-long grove of trees.
The air was deathly still, the murderous intent frozen in place.
If Tang Hao were to swing his hammer, Lin Chen, even with his indestructible body, would surely be shattered to pieces.
This is the best possible trap, but also a certain death trap.
But Tang Hao didn't move.
His all-seeing eyes were fixed on the protagonist, his brows furrowed deeply.
Just now, he clearly sensed a familiar aura from Lin Chen's body and from that newly born, evolving soul ring—an aura so familiar it made his heart stop.
It's Ah Yin.
It was his wife's scent.
Real, faint, yet incredibly clear.
Tang Hao's hand holding the Clear Sky Hammer trembled violently, and his overwhelming killing intent froze in mid-air.
He could kill the enemy who had taken everything from him.
But once Lin Chen dies, that trace of Ah Yin's aura will also completely dissipate.
That was his last thought of her in this world.
Tang Hao's eyes were extremely complex, filled with hatred, anger, pain, and even a hint of struggle that he himself was unwilling to admit.
Lin Chen stood still, his clothes soaked with cold sweat, but he still kept his back straight and silently stared at the Haotian Douluo.
He knew he had been given a second chance at life.
He also knew that the wisp of Ah Yin's remnant soul that had been suppressed within him had become his only talisman at this moment.
The twilight in the dense forest was as dark as ink, the sky had long since darkened to the point where one could not see their own hand in front of their face, and the towering ancient trees blocked out the sun, so that not even a sliver of starlight could penetrate.
The two faced each other from a distance, their auras frozen as iron.
With his back against the giant tree, Lin Chen's indestructible body tensed secretly, and the Northern Darkness Divine Art lay dormant within his meridians, ready to unleash its fastest speed to escape at any moment. He knew very well that in a head-on confrontation, he wouldn't even be able to withstand a single blow from Tang Hao.
Tang Hao stood in the shadows, the Clear Sky Hammer hovering in his palm, his crimson soul power surging, yet he hesitated to strike. He was afraid! Afraid that a single blow would kill the person before him, and with it, the last wisp of Ah Yin's life force remaining within the other's body would also vanish.
Even more deadly is—
The environment was too dark and the trees too dense, so neither of them could see each other's faces clearly.
Tang Hao wanted to unleash his mental power to sweep across the area and uncover the other party's identity and background, but he dared not. The other party's mental power far surpassed that of ordinary people. If he forcibly probed with his mental power, it would inevitably cause a collision of souls, and if he was not careful, he would shatter that fragile remnant soul of Ah Yin.
The dilemma of being afraid to act rashly has left this Haotian Douluo in a complete predicament.
Lin Chen keenly noticed this, and his Divine Eye of Truth gleamed slightly in the darkness, instantly discerning all of Tang Hao's concerns.
The opportunity has arrived.
Without making a sound, he deliberately let out a low, threatening groan from his throat. The sound wasn't loud, but it was just enough to reach Tang Hao's ears.
Immediately afterwards, he slightly raised his right hand, made a clenching motion in the air in front of him, and his fingertips made a subtle pinching and crushing motion. The movement was extremely small, but Tang Hao could clearly see it in the dim light and shadow.
The meaning of this action couldn't be clearer—
I have hostages; I can kill them at any time.
Tang Hao's pupils suddenly contracted.
The first person he thought of was his son, Tang San, who was currently in the outside world, growing and experiencing life!
The person in front of me dared to attack Ah Yin and dared to be his enemy, Haotian Douluo. He must have some ulterior motive. It is perfectly reasonable for him to kidnap Tang San to hold him hostage!
"You dare touch him!"
Tang Hao let out a low roar, his soul power suddenly becoming violent, his tone filled with undisguised panic and rage.
He was completely fooled by Lin Chen's act of using someone else's power to intimidate him.
Lin Chen remained silent, but tightened his grip slightly, and another deliberately suppressed groan, seemingly coming from someone else, "came" from the shadows beside him.
That was it.
Tang Hao no longer cared about chasing down his enemy.
Tang San was his only Achilles' heel in this life, and the only hope for him and Ah Yin. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance of danger, he would never gamble on it.
You'd better pray he's alright!
Tang Hao slammed his Clear Sky Hammer down hard, and the ground cracked open into a huge crater. He turned around and took a step forward, his figure instantly disappearing into the depths of the dense forest, his aura rushing outwards at an astonishing speed.
They're gone.
Tang Hao was really scared away.
Only when the suffocating pressure completely disappeared did Lin Chen breathe a long sigh of relief. His legs went slightly weak, and he leaned against the tree trunk, panting heavily.
Extremely dangerous.
In his mental world, Ah Yin's remnant soul, tightly bound by golden chains, stared in disbelief, her blue-green eyes filled with astonishment.
She never expected that this person would not only possess bizarre strength and terrifying mental power, but also be so ruthless in his scheming!
Lin Chen glanced indifferently at Ah Yin's struggling, futile remnant soul, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"Now, it's time to settle our scores."
(End of Chapter)