Chapter 457

Chapter 457: Soul Fixing Mirror

This left no room for them to remain calm.

At this moment, the group exerted all their abilities, trying to escape from their current predicament.

However, with their primordial spirits restrained, despite having various means at their disposal, they could not find a useful method. After all, whether activating magical treasures or casting spells required directives from the cultivators’ primordial spirits.

"At least we can’t move, but there’s no other danger," one cultivator said, feeling relieved.

Hearing this, Zhong Lou and the others were taken aback.

Since the copper mirror mechanism had restricted everyone’s primordial spirits, could it be that the master of this hall had not set up any other means?

Not long after this person spoke, strange sounds began to echo in everyone’s ears.

The humanoid stone sculptures holding weapons in the hall now seemed to be responding to the noise.

"It’s over! It’s over!"

"Curse it!"

"Who has the worst luck!"

…

Angry shouts erupted from the crowd, and the cultivator who had spoken up earlier quickly silenced himself.

As several humanoid stone sculptures stood upright completely, a faint red glow radiated from their eyes.

Then, these stone figures turned their gazes towards the numerous cultivators lying on the ground, each holding various weapons as they approached.

"Stay back! Don’t come over!"

A Void Refinement stage cultivator at the edge cried out in terror as he watched the stone sculpture striding toward him.

But the next moment, his pleas turned into a shriek.

The stone sculpture wielding a sharp axe raised its weapon high and then brought it down fiercely towards the cultivator.

"Bang!"

A crisp sound echoed in the quiet hall.

The cultivator’s head shattered like a broken watermelon, splattering blood around.

The blood sprayed onto the faces of the other cultivators nearby.

Seeing the stone sculpture move towards him after dispatching one cultivator, fear filled the man’s face. Yet, at this moment, he could not utter a single word because the forms of everyone in the copper mirror had completely solidified. Even speaking was now beyond their capabilities.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

In the silent room, more sharp sounds rang out. These stone sculptures seemed to have locked onto the heads of the cultivators, each strike accurate and swift.

After dispatching one cultivator, they would immediately turn to the next target without hesitation.

In just a moment, several more had met a tragic fate.

Most cultivators present were unable to speak; only Ji Yang and others who wielded the essence of the Way could still talk.

But even they chose silence, fearing that speaking might draw the attention of these stone sculptures toward them.

Without spells or abilities, they were just ordinary people at the Void Refinement stage. Although their physical strength might be slightly higher, after each level-up, a cultivator’s body would indeed receive a corresponding enhancement.

However, they did not believe their Void Refinement stage bodies could withstand the weapons of these stone sculptures. Hadn’t they seen other Void Refinement stage cultivators easily taken down by seemingly ordinary weapons?

For a moment, everyone felt insecure and only wished for the stone sculptures to slow their approach.

Below the copper mirror, Ji Yang observed the ancient copper mirror on the stone platform, his gaze calm and untroubled.

Upon seeing this mirror, Ji Yang had already formed a guess in his heart, and the display of the mirror’s power further confirmed his suspicions.

This was indeed the Soul Fixing Mirror that Huang Tian had mentioned before.

It shared the same origin as the immobilizing mirror he possessed.

"If the two were combined, they could be compared to a Heavenly Communication Artifact, fixing all things in the world and halting the river of time."

This was how Huang Tian had described it back then.

However, Ji Yang could only trust half of his words, as the situation had been different. To survive, he would naturally exaggerate.

If this item truly possessed such great power, Ji Yang did not believe Huang Tian would abandon it.

Of course, there was another possible reason: Huang Tian might not know the location of the Soul Fixing Mirror, hence his decision to give up.

But regardless, Ji Yang had witnessed the power of the immobilizing mirror, and although it might not possess the overwhelming abilities Huang Tian boasted about, it was indeed an extraordinary item.

If this mirror could be used alongside the immobilizing mirror, it would leave cultivators utterly defenseless.

At this urgent moment, Ji Yang felt his priority should be finding a way to escape, not how to seize treasures.

With their primordial spirits restrained, even if his primordial spirit energy was strong, it would be challenging to break free from this item’s hold.

Moreover, compared to the immobilizing mirror, the Soul Fixing Mirror remained in better condition, undamaged and more powerful.

However, harnessing the Essence of War, Ji Yang believed he still had a glimmer of hope.

In the next moment, Ji Yang silently activated the Huang Ting Dao Jing and discreetly summoned the Wandering Spirit Commanding Energy, aiming to detach a sliver of his powerful primordial spirit energy to control his body!

Though it was quite challenging, under the boost of the essence of the Way and the operation of the golden skill, a ripple soon emerged within his primordial spirit.

It was useful!

A glimmer of joy flashed in Ji Yang’s eyes but quickly faded.

It was indeed helpful, but it would take some time.

However, once he extracted a sliver of his primordial spirit, he could break free from his current predicament.

At this time, a few people not far from Ji Yang were also silently exerting themselves, trying to use the power of the essence of the Way to break the restrictions of the Soul Fixing Mirror on their primordial spirits.

For a while, everyone remained silent, secretly employing their techniques.

Now that the situation was clear, whoever could escape first would seize control and become the ultimate victor.

Fortunately, they were relatively far from the stone sculptures, with many other cultivators in between. Even if the sculptures acted swiftly, it would still take some time before they reached Ji Yang and the others, allowing them a brief respite.

As for the matters of seniority or junior disciples, such concerns were set aside, for with their own safety at stake, how could they worry about others?

But as the group made their efforts to break free from control, a bright flash once again surged from the Soul Fixing Mirror above the stone platform.

With this flash, the images of the few in the mirror became significantly clearer, intensifying the restrictions between their primordial spirits.

The action of the Soul Fixing Mirror rendered their recent efforts futile.

This made the faces of the few grow a shade paler, but they still did not give up.

As the Soul Fixing Mirror shone brightly, Ji Yang frowned slightly, feeling the pressure emanating from the copper mirror.

However, this was not enough to completely restrain him. The Light points he had absorbed in the past were now the key to his escape. Even if the mirror’s power was fully unleashed, he could still find a glimmer of hope within it.

Sensing that his pressure did not affect Ji Yang, the Soul Fixing Mirror flashed again with bright light.

As the light flashed, the stone sculptures that had been somewhat distant from Ji Yang suddenly paused, then turned their gazes toward his position, lifting their weapons and slowly approaching him.

Clearly, the Soul Fixing Mirror was preparing to control these stone sculptures to eliminate Ji Yang, this great threat.

Realizing the Soul Fixing Mirror’s intentions, Ji Yang’s expression darkened.

At this moment, the other cultivators beside Ji Yang were also taken aback.

"What’s happening? Why are these stone sculptures ignoring the other cultivators and coming toward us?"

As they stood directly in front of Ji Yang, they were unaware of the sculptures’ actual target. However, seeing them approach, panic spread through the group like wildfire.

They speculated that perhaps their previous actions had taken effect, changing the stones’ target.

For a moment, their faces grew extremely grim. The key issue was that they could not escape the control of the Soul Fixing Mirror; they were like fish on a chopping block, ready to be slaughtered.

As the stone sculptures drew nearer, the group exerted all their strength, trying to make some effort in the meantime.

But under the complete control of the Soul Fixing Mirror, the remaining profound essence within them quickly faded away.

Devoid of the essence of the Way’s help, they had no means to fight back and could only watch in despair as the stone sculptures closed in.

“Tap, tap, tap…”

The sound of the stone sculptures approaching felt like a death knell, each step weighing heavily on everyone’s hearts.

The first to fall was a cultivator from the Blood Separation Sect, who grasped the essence of delay.

Seeing the stone sculpture come within a step and raise its stone axe, the Blood Separation cultivator hopelessly closed his eyes, internally crying out, “My life is over!”

But as he braced for death, the anticipated attack did not come.

When he opened his eyes again, he found the stone sculpture had passed over him, moving toward the people behind him.

“Not me?”

Realizing the sculptures were not targeting him, the Blood Separation cultivator was soon enveloped in relief.

Behind him, the cultivators Zhong Lou and Jin Yu sighed upon witnessing this; it was indeed not a doubt that those two were the main targets.

However, as the stone sculptures continued past them, Zhong Lou and Jin Yu were struck with surprise. If they were not the targets, they would surely be the next ones.

Meanwhile, behind them stood Senior Brother Li from the Taiyi Sect, alongside a cultivator from the Heaven Demon Sect.

Seeing the stone sculptures bypassing the three in front, both of them wore heavy expressions. If not those three, then it could only be themselves, right?

But as the stone sculptures walked by them, their feelings mirrored those of Zhong Lou and Jin Yu.

Since it wasn’t them, there was only one possible target left.

In an instant, they thought of Ji Yang, who lay behind them.

Yet, they did not find joy in this thought, for they knew that after dealing with Ji Yang, the next target would inevitably be them.

With this realization, their earlier relief vanished instantly, and they sought to use this brief moment to plot their escape.

As for Ji Yang, he appeared to them as a dead man, hoping that blood would not splash onto them.

Watching the stone sculptures approach, Ji Yang remained calm, silently urging his techniques.

The powers he could once summon in an instant now came slowly, but fortunately, he could still use them—that was the best news at the moment.

As the stone sculptures reached Ji Yang, they raised their weapons.

There were stone axes, stone hammers, and stone knives.

Though the weapons varied, their purpose was unified: to shatter Ji Yang’s head.