Chapter 122

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Chapter 122: A Step Late

Ye Yun’s brow twitched. Suddenly, the light and shadow in his palm erupted, black and white radiance surging like floodwaters to instantly blanket the entire Light Tower.

The brilliance solidified as though turning tangible, encasing the Soul Turning Tower in a distant web of interwoven black and white.

"Rise!" Ye Yun roared, heaving the Soul Turning Tower upward.

The black and white light flooded beneath the tower’s base as it settled onto the ground.

In that instant, Hualun felt the Soul Turning Tower being sealed by an incomprehensible force, severing all contact with the outside world.

No spiritual power flowed anymore from Ye Yun’s palm pressed against the tower’s surface.

"Impossible!" Hualun gasped. She’d calculated every detail—Ye Yun’s renewed vulnerability should’ve let her drain his spiritual power and essence to seize his body.

Yet now she couldn’t sense Ye Yun at all, her soul utterly contained by the black and white light’s barrier.

Ye Yun lifted his right palm, triumph flashing across his face.

Moments earlier, he’d been horrified by his own mercy—letting Hualun stall to arrange her spatial magical array while luring him with strange flowers and fruits. He’d believed himself doomed.

Then an inexplicable pulse from the Heart of Immortals and Demons surged through him. In that heartbeat, he’d grasped perfect control over the black and white light, instinctively knowing it could seal the Soul Turning Tower.

No time for questions. Survival and reclaiming control mattered.

The black and white light cocooned the tower, trapping Hualun within.

Her hastily-cast spatial magical array couldn’t hold long against the invading light—she’d only meant to delay until seizing Ye Yun’s body.

Yet the light exploded outward instead, sealing her spatial array completely.

Half an incense stick’s time saw the tower’s outer spatial array devoured by light. The radiance poured inward, honing in on Hualun.

"Stop! Take all my treasures—just stop!" Hualun’s desperate wail echoed.

"Senior Hualun, such pleas are beneath you," Ye Yun mocked.

"You swore by heaven not to kill me!" she cried. "Break that oath, and celestial punishment will leave you stagnant forever!"

"Death isn’t required." Ye Yun’s voice frosted. "I’ll feast on your soul until scraps remain—just enough to linger in this tower. Maybe in a thousand years, you’ll regain some wits."

The light flooded the tower under Ye Yun’s command. Amidst swirling chaos, a tiny glowing figure danced frantically on a central platform.

"Erase me, and you’ll never escape Hualun Hall! Only I know the exit!" Hualun shrieked as the light’s faint halo around her flickered.

Ye Yun hesitated. If true, this complicated matters.

The light stilled at his thought, pinning Hualun to the platform.

"Surrender your treasures and open the path. Live." Ice edged his words. Defiance meant obliterating her despite celestial backlash.

A storage ring clattered before him from the platform.

"Everything’s there. Withdraw the light so my soul can reach outward, and I’ll open the passage." Despair hollowed her voice.

Ye Yun willed the light to retreat like ebbing tides.

"The spatial array requires my soul to leave the tower," Hualun’s voice drifted out.

"Then emerge." Ye Yun didn’t fear tricks. While controlling the light, she was helpless as butchered meat.

Hualun hesitated for a moment and said, “I only have a wisp of soul left; I can’t leave the Soul Turning Tower. If I step out, my soul will shatter completely.”

Ye Yun froze, then sneered, “Senior Hualun, are you still trying to trick me at this stage?”

Hualun quickly replied, “I wouldn’t dare! Every word is true. If my soul could leave the tower easily, I wouldn’t have built this great tomb back then—I’d have just seized a talented disciple’s body instead.”

Ye Yun raised an eyebrow. “What do we do now?”

“Find someone for me to seize. Only with a flesh-and-blood body can I channel spiritual power and true qi to activate the spatial magical array and escape this tomb.” Hualun’s voice dropped, as though even she doubted Ye Yun would agree.

Ye Yun laughed mockingly. “Where would I find someone for you to seize?”

After a long silence—nearly half an incense stick’s time—Hualun suddenly said, “There seems to be a young fellow trapped between the seventh and sixth levels.”

“Who?” Ye Yun tensed.

His ability to suppress Hualun relied entirely on the Heart of Immortals and Demons. If someone stronger than the mid Qi refining stage appeared now, he’d be helpless.

“Not sure. But his cultivation feels weak—easy to seize,” Hualun answered.

Ye Yun’s mind raced until a figure solidified in his thoughts. The chaotic space between the sixth and seventh levels—could it be Hua Yicheng?

Hua Yicheng’s cultivation was only at the fourth level of Qi refining. If it were him, there’d be little risk. But Hualun had tricked him before. What if she regained power after seizing the body?

As if reading his thoughts, Hualun spoke again. “My remaining soul is too feeble. The seized body would be nearly mortal, retaining only a wisp of true qi. All cultivation would restart from nothing. You’re clearly an elite disciple of some major force—you know how this works.”

Hualun naturally assumed Ye Yun’s low cultivation yet possession of treasures like the Heart of Immortals and Demons meant he came from a powerful background. Such elite disciples were warned about body-seizing risks.

Ye Yun’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. I’ll take the risk. Seize him.”

“Excellent! I’ll guide him through the spatial chaos!” Hualun’s voice brightened with unexpected delight.

Ignoring her, Ye Yun examined the storage ring she’d tossed him. His spiritual power flowed in unhindered, revealing its contents.

True to her word, there were no spiritual weapons—only unusual flowers and herbs for body refinement, spirit herbs for soul nourishment, and not a single cultivation technique.

But one item stood out: a pure white jade gourd.

It materialized in his palm with a flash of light. Removing the stopper released a refreshing aroma.

“Senior Hualun, what pills are these? Ten of them, smelling divine.”

“Haoran Soul Nourishing Pills? Foundation Establishment stage cultivators use those to strengthen their souls. They’re useless to you now.” Hualun’s voice carried reluctant bitterness.

Ye Yun’s eyes glinted. Soul-nourishing pills for Foundation Establishment cultivators—incredibly valuable.

“Explain their effects. I’ve got time.”

“Gathered from heaven’s pure energy and refined with heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Each pill’s priceless. The Foundation Establishment stage’s seven layers grow brutally difficult due to soul cultivation. These pills greatly nourish and refine the soul—especially when breaking through to the Sixth-layer Foundation Establishment celestial realm, boosting success chances by thirty percent.” Hualun’s voice dripped with pained reluctance.

“Impressive. No wonder a Golden Core expert like you spent centuries preparing these.” Ye Yun chuckled, stashing the gourd back.

A faint spatial ripple trembled through the air.

“He’s out,” Hualun whispered.

Ye Yun darted into shadows, Purple Shadow Sword flashing into his grip.

Space before the Soul Turning Tower warped like disturbed water, ripples coalescing into a twisted portal. A figure emerged—Hua Yicheng, who’d entered the spatial gate with Ye Yun but got lost between levels.

“The seventh level? This is really it?!” Hua Yicheng gaped at the glowing tower before bursting into wild laughter. The Soul Turning Tower—crown jewel of the Hualun Secret Vault!

He envisioned treasures accelerating his cultivation, propelling him to Golden Core greatness—oblivious to the shadow behind him.

As Hua Yicheng rejoiced, Ye Yun struck like a coiled panther.

“You’re late!”

Ye Yun’s voice echoed as purple lightning arced. Thunder boomed; electric snakes ravaged the seventh level.

Thundercloud Lightning Sword’s second form: Thunderous Strike!