Struck by the Soul Lightning, Venerable Solus let out a thunderous roar as countless streams of black mist poured from his body. The Soul Lightning’s power scattered them in an instant, and soon after, Solus’s form began to shrink rapidly before Evan’s eyes.
Evan Chu knew that the power of Soul Lightning wouldn’t last much longer. If he could strike Solus with another blast like this, he might finish him off completely, but the odds of Soul Lightning appearing again were almost zero—it was far more likely that the next bolt would be Fire Lightning or Metal Lightning instead.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Evan flashed in front of Solus and unleashed Soul Rend with the Frostbane Sword in his hand. He put everything he had into this strike, hoping to pile injury upon injury and deal a truly devastating blow. The instant Soul Rend landed, the power of Soul Lightning faded away.
Solus’s body grew even more indistinct, and Evan’s Soul Rend struck him again. This soul-killing martial art was nothing Solus could withstand in his current state—a howl of agony burst from his lips as his whole form wavered, nearly tumbling from the sky.
This was a situation Solus could never have imagined, even in his wildest dreams. He simply couldn’t understand how Soul Lightning—such a terrifying power—could appear out of nowhere. If Evan Chu had actually summoned it himself, Solus wouldn’t believe it; there was no way Evan’s current strength should be able to do such a thing.
He’d thought he could smoothly seize Evan Chu’s body and break open the void to ascend to the Immortal Realm, but this sudden turn left him utterly gutted. Worse, Evan also had Soul Rend—a soul-destroying technique no less devastating than the Soul Lightning itself.
Now, with his strength massively reduced, Solus realized he was no longer Evan’s match. His soul was gravely wounded, but he still had ways to escape. Yet at that moment, Luna—the Sword Spirit—suddenly spoke to Evan: “Quick, have Tom Chu and Jade Chu trap him! He’s about to run, and with his power, escape is no problem. If he gets away, the entire Azure Tide Ruins could face disaster.”
Evan’s face changed instantly. He released Jade Chu and Tom Chu from his storage ring and explained the situation. The two immediately reverted to their true forms—Tom summoned the Illusion Sprite’s domain, while Jade activated her Body-Freezing Art, locking Solus in midair.
Evan hadn’t expected Jade Chu to suddenly use the Body-Freezing Art, and his heart skipped a beat. He remembered her warning: once she cast this technique, it would take decades or even centuries for her to recover, and she’d be forced into deep sleep for the entire time.
Evan had grown used to having Jade Chu and Tom Chu by his side, so their coming absence left him unsettled and anxious. But at this point, as long as Solus was destroyed, Jade Chu’s sacrifice would be worth it.
By now, the entire space had transformed into a world of endless yellow sand. Even without Jade Chu’s Body-Freezing Art, escape for Solus would have been nearly impossible—now, it was utterly hopeless. He was completely at their mercy, forced into a defensive position. The power of innate spiritual treasures was so overwhelming that even an Immortal would be locked down here, let alone Solus, who was now gravely wounded and weakened.
Evan Chu looked at Solus’s blurred face and said, “Weren’t you trying to possess me? Go ahead, I’m right here—why aren’t you moving now? Surprised? Regretful? You want my body, but you’re just not qualified.”
Solus stared at Evan in terror and said, “What do you want? As long as you let me go today, I’ll do anything for you. My word is iron—I am Venerable Solus.”
Evan snorted, “I’m not interested in your promises. You think I’d raise a tiger only to be eaten later? Let you possess me or threaten my friends and family again? I have to kill this danger before it grows. I bet you have plenty of questions you want me to answer right now, don’t you?”
“Since you did help me open the Netherworld Gate, I’ll grudgingly answer a few of your questions. If you decide it’s not worth it, I’ll just kill you—my patience is limited, so make it quick.” Evan grinned, relishing this reversal of fortune.
“You’re a genius, and a lucky one at that. I never expected you’d have two innate spiritual treasures. I really underestimated you. But what I want to know is, what was up with that Soul Lightning in the sky? If it hadn’t appeared, you’d never have been my match—I could’ve possessed you easily.” Solus asked, still bewildered.
At this moment, Solus knew he was doomed. But what truly pained him was that his blood feud would never be avenged. That was why he’d gone to such lengths to break the void and return to the Immortal Realm; otherwise, with his power, becoming a king in this world would have been trivial.
Evan laughed, “You mean that lightning? Sorry, that was all me—surprised? I started gathering lightning element the moment I saw you. I was deliberately stalling for time, and you never noticed. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to turn out as Soul Lightning, the deadliest kind for soul bodies. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself—Heaven’s punishing you for all your evil. Now you get it.”
“Kid, you really are cunning. I can’t believe I got played by you today—man proposes, Heaven disposes. I don’t care about dying, but I want you to promise me one thing. If you do, I can die without regrets.” Solus said, despair creeping into his voice.
“I know what you want—a promise to avenge your blood feud in the Immortal Realm, right? Don’t worry, if I ever ascend, I’ll do it for you. But I’ve got a question of my own, and I want you to answer it. Let’s call it a fair trade.” Evan replied.
Evan glanced at the immobilized Solus and saw his body growing fainter, as if it could vanish at any moment. Anger surged in Evan’s heart, but Solus said, “You don’t need to look. My body won’t last much longer. That innate spiritual treasure of yours is burning my life essence to deal with me—the bond between you two must be deep. I think she’ll need at least a few centuries of sleep to recover. Killing me is worth it; if I escaped, your sect would’ve been destroyed.”
Evan sighed inwardly at his luck, but felt bitter for Jade Chu. “You said I have a Godblood Lineage—what exactly is that? If you want me to avenge you, you should at least let me in on this secret!”