Chapter 1704
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Chapter 1704 Hidden Soul
“Soul Concealment…”
After listening to Yan Zhong’s words, Huo Qubing’s eyes gradually brightened in the pool of blood.
Not only could he preserve his soul from death, but he could also imbue his lifetime of power into a weapon. The only flaw was that the process was too painful… If he couldn’t endure it, his soul would scatter completely, and even if Hu Jia arrived in time, he couldn’t save his spirit.
But pain meant nothing to Huo Qubing. As long as he could preserve his power as much as possible, it would be worth any suffering.
“Use this method,” Huo Qubing said firmly.
“My lord, that involves skinning, extracting bones, cutting out the heart, and draining blood!” Zhan Yuwu’s hands trembled uncontrollably, seemingly unable to bear it.
“Skinning and bone extraction, what is there to fear?” Huo Qubing spoke hoarsely. “My bones are already shattered, my heart likewise… You only need to skin me and take my blood. This level of pain, I can endure.”
Zhan Yuwu, Yan Zhong, and Chloe exchanged glances, all seeing the reluctance in each other’s eyes… This was Huo Qubing! The Champion Marquis beloved by all people… Skinning, bone extraction, heart removal, blood draining… Who could bear to do this?
“I’ll do it.”
At that moment, a voice came from behind. Gongyang Wan was walking calmly toward them in a traditional robe.
“You?”
“None of you can bring yourselves to do it, so naturally I must,” Gongyang Wan said flatly. “I’ve tortured so many people, I have experience with skinning and bone extraction. If your hands shake, you’ll only make him suffer more… Don’t worry, I’ll be quick.”
Seeing Gongyang Wan appear, Huo Qubing’s expression actually relaxed. As if remembering something, his right hand slowly rose from the pool of blood.
“Gongyang Wan… take this.”
“What is this?” Gongyang Wan frowned, looking at the heart in Huo Qubing’s hand.
“That willow monster can replicate any living being, perfectly creating corresponding physical bodies out of nothing… Don’t you need a body that can both carry your brother’s soul and has no master? This should help you.”
Looking at the hand extended from the blood pool, Gongyang Wan stood frozen in place, as if struck by lightning.
He… is helping me?
He fought through Kusuen’s main body, penetrating deep into the core of the trunk with just himself and a spear, just to retrieve this heart for Gongyang Zhuo??
“Why!?” Gongyang Wan asked in confusion. “I’m just a man-eating female demon. Why do you help me time and again? What benefit does this bring you??”
“In this world, if one always calculates gains and losses before acting, it would be too heartless,” Huo Qubing slowly said. “However, I do hope that you will take over the Demon Suppression Bureau for me in the future… I’ve always believed that you’re not evil by nature, just too full of resentment. If that could be properly resolved, with your decisiveness and courage, you should be able to keep the Bureau strong for a thousand years.
As it turns out, I wasn’t wrong about you.”
Gongyang Wan’s pupils contracted slightly. She stared at Huo Qubing for a long time, her expression incredibly complex.
Finally, she extended her trembling hands and accepted the blood-covered heart… then bent her knees and knelt in the pool of blood.
“I, Gongyang Wan, along with my brother Gongyang Zhuo, kneel to thank the Marquis for saving our lives!”
Her forehead struck the bloody ground with a dull thud. This time, she called him “Marquis” with genuine sincerity and complete submission.
“Do it now,” Huo Qubing said hoarsely. “After my death, the Heart-Returning Insect will lose its effect, and from now on, no one will constrain you anymore…
Also, take my face away. Try to delay letting the world know about my death in battle…”
Gongyang Wan slowly stood up. Her green robe was now stained crimson with blood. She picked up a broken spear nearby, walked to Huo Qubing, and her pale knuckles tightened.
“My lord, please endure this…”
She raised the spear tip and thrust it violently into the body lying in the blood pool!
…
Bang—!
A hand broke through the tree trunk, easily tearing open a gap, and Lin Qiye’s figure flashed out.
He turned to look behind him. In his vision, the enormous willow tree was now wrapped in countless threads of cause and effect, standing motionless on the earth like an ancient specimen.
Lin Qiye rubbed his temples as a wave of dizziness washed over him, nearly causing him to fall from the air.
Creating so many “Causeless Causes” at once had almost exhausted all his mental energy. If Huo Qubing hadn’t severely wounded Kusuen beforehand, trying to seal it this way would have been nearly impossible.
But now, Kusuen had completely lost its mobility. When the gods of the Celestial Court returned, they could easily kill it.
Lin Qiye scanned the surroundings, looking for the others. Finally, his gaze fell on a certain spot, and his body suddenly trembled.
“That is…”
Lin Qiye’s pupils contracted as he quickly leaped from Kusuen’s surface and rushed toward a particular direction.
“Brother Qiye?!” Seeing Lin Qiye descend from the sky, Zhan Yuwu, with a deathly pale face, gritted his teeth and said, “The Marquis, he…”
Lin Qiye passed through Zhan Yuwu and Yan Zhong, stopping at the pool of blood. Seeing the bloody scene before him, his expression showed a hint of emotion.
“Brother Qiye, the Marquis couldn’t wait for the ‘Heart-Wandering Technique,’ so…” Yan Zhong stood with his back to Huo Qubing, his voice trembling. Even though he knew Huo Qubing wouldn’t truly die but would conceal his soul in a weapon, he still didn’t have the courage to watch the young general he had followed for years being flayed alive like an execution.
Lin Qiye slowly closed his eyes and sighed helplessly…
Indeed, it had all happened as foretold.
Lin Qiye had seen Huo Qubing transformed into a heroic spirit in the future and had heard about the painful process of converting a dying person into a heroic spirit. He knew this day would come eventually, but he didn’t expect it to come so soon…
“…The Marquis won’t die,” Lin Qiye softly consoled them. “He will become the strongest heroic spirit on this land, guarding our national fortune. One day, he will return.”
As Gongyang Wan followed Yan Zhong’s instructions to melt bone and blood into the weapon, Huo Qubing’s form completely disappeared from this world. The dim sunset light filtered through the rising dust, leaving only a broken spear standing in the blood-soaked earth.
Clang—!!
Gongyang Wan pulled out the spear, and a resonant hum emanated from the weapon, as if containing an indomitable fighting spirit roaring in the wind.
“Next, the melted weapon must be placed in the flow of fortune for two years of nurturing, after which the soul can be revived…” Yan Zhong hoarsely recited the final words from the “Soul Concealment Technique.”
“In this era, where is the place with the most abundant fortune?” Lin Qiye asked.
Yan Zhong and Zhan Yuwu exchanged glances and said simultaneously:
“Chang’an!”
