The little creature looked suspiciously at its master, not understanding what he was saying. Meanwhile, Lady Raksha had already returned to Stonevoid World, entered a secret chamber, and began communicating with the higher-ups.
"What's the situation now?" the voice asked.
Lady Raksha replied, "Dark Hand has gone in and hasn't returned yet. But I went to Soul Ghost to confirm whether he's still alive; for now, he's not in any immediate danger."
"That's good. Remember to investigate thoroughly. This place might be useful to us in the future," said the voice.
Lady Raksha answered, "Yes."
"By the way, you said you went to Soul Ghost? He didn't give you trouble?" the voice asked curiously.
"No," Lady Raksha said. The voice laughed, "Good, that old ghost finally got sensible for once."
"Master, actually, there's another piece of news I'm not sure I should mention," Lady Raksha said after thinking for a moment.
The voice asked curiously, "Oh? What is it?"
"When Dark Hand and I went to investigate, the people outside told us there was a huge formation there, and Evan Yang could freely enter and exit. As for us, we had to use the Traversal Array to get inside," Lady Raksha said.
"Evan Yang? He can freely enter and exit?" the voice asked curiously.
Lady Raksha nodded, "Yes, that's what they said."
"That's really strange. By the way, how is Evan Yang now?" the voice asked.
Lady Raksha said, "He's still inside Stonevoid Trials."
"Got it. You keep doing your work, and stay alert for any contact with Dark Hand," the voice instructed. Lady Raksha nodded, "Understood."
Inside Stonevoid Trials, Evan Yang was utterly exhausted, locked in a drawn-out battle with his opponent. Yet even in the midst of combat, Evan Yang was improving.
The owner of the clouds also admired Evan Yang—after so many days, he still kept attacking, nearly breaking through several times.
Evan Yang looked at the clouds and asked, "How many times have you condensed your cloud form now? Doesn't it take energy to do that?"
"Of course it does. But as long as I condense within a certain timeframe, it's fine. So if you want to defeat me, you'd have to break me twice in a row between condensations, not giving me a chance to reform. If you can do that, you might succeed—but you don't have that much power, so you're destined to be trapped here forever," the cloud laughed.
Evan Yang laughed, "Nothing is absolute. Sometimes, luck is on my side."
"Oh? Then I'll be watching," the cloud replied with a laugh.
Knowing his opponent's weakness, Evan Yang planned to launch two attacks in the shortest possible time, leaving no opportunity for the cloud to reform. He closed his eyes and began to rest and recover.
Seeing Evan Yang close his eyes, the cloud laughed, "You even know how to rest? Well, after so many days of struggle, you deserve a break."
To the cloud, Evan Yang's rest seemed normal, but it had no idea what Evan Yang was really planning.
As Evan Yang rested, he was also calculating his opponent's moves.
Time passed bit by bit. Until the fifth day, when even the cloud didn't expect Evan Yang to recover so quickly, a surge of powerful zither music and Colorless Flame erupted, enveloping all the clouds.
The clouds tried to reform, but Evan Yang launched another powerful attack, dispersing them again. The cloud, furious, shouted, "Damn you!"
"Didn't you say if I break you twice in a row, you can't reform? Let's see," Evan Yang laughed.
Sure enough, the cloud dissipated completely, the surroundings became especially bright and empty, but the voice remained, "Kid, you're infuriating."
Evan Yang asked curiously, "I want to know, who are you really?"
"Want to know? Dream on. You'll never see my true form," the man laughed loudly.
"Don't be so absolute. You just lost to me—be careful you don't lose again," Evan Yang replied with a smile.
"Your words have fired me up. Fine, I'll tell you: my true body is somewhere in this space. Take your time and look for it," the man snorted.
Evan Yang smiled, "Thanks for the tip. I won't let it go to waste." With that, he released countless Phantom Spirit Birds and extended his Divine Sense. In such a small space, Evan Yang was sure he'd find it.
Seeing Evan Yang lost in thought, the voice laughed, "What? Spacing out? You think that'll solve the problem?"
Evan Yang ignored him, kept his eyes closed, and continued searching.
Time passed—half an hour went by. The owner of the voice couldn't figure out what Evan Yang was doing, until Evan Yang slowly opened his eyes, smiled, and walked to a spot, then struck with both fists at a specific point.
Boom! Sparks flew, and a formation node was broken, revealing a small vortex.
Evan Yang stepped inside and saw a stone cellar. He smiled, "Stop hiding. I know you're here."
A figure appeared inside—a soul, not a physical body. He looked at Evan Yang and clapped, "Impressive. You actually found my hiding place."
"Why are you just a soul?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
The man smiled, "I am a soul, that's all. What, disappointed?"
"A soul has this much power?" Evan Yang found it hard to believe—a soul had kept him fighting for so many days.
"Why? You think souls aren't capable?" the man laughed.
"So who are you? Did you create this place? And what about Stonevoid Trials?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
The man shook his head, "Stonevoid Trials exists naturally. I just happened to discover this spot by chance and claimed it for myself."
"Then why can you freely control the exit?" Evan Yang asked, confused.
The man smiled, "Because I control a core place here. To be precise, this is a small space, controlled by a certain spot. My physical body is trapped there, and it has become the key to controlling this area."
"So you mean you can control this place, but your body can never leave?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
"Yes, that's right. I blocked you because your power exceeded this space's control, and I didn't know what would happen. I was worried my body would be affected, so I tried to stop you. But I didn't expect you to break free so quickly and even find my soul's location," the man said with a bitter smile.
Evan Yang finally understood and asked respectfully, "Senior, may I ask your name?"
"I am Linghu Tian," the man replied with a smile.
"Senior Linghu, don't you want to leave?" Evan Yang asked, seeing his body trapped and soul hiding here.
"Leave? Of course I do," Linghu Tian sighed.
Evan Yang asked curiously, "Senior, do you regret it?"
"Yes, of course I regret it. Whoever wants this place can have it, but my body is trapped there, and I have no idea how to get out," Linghu Tian sighed.
Evan Yang smiled, "If you know where it is, maybe I can help?"
Linghu Tian sighed, "It's right behind that stone wall. Ever since I entered, only my soul can move in and out—my body can't budge at all."
Evan Yang looked at the stone wall and muttered, "Let me try."
With that, Yang Han closed his eyes and let his soul emerge. The moment his soul appeared, Linghu Tian could sense it was different from others'.
"Your soul?" Linghu Tian asked curiously.
"My soul is naturally different from others," Evan Yang smiled, then walked into the stone wall and instantly entered its interior.
Inside was a stone seat, where Linghu Tian's body sat motionless, eyes closed.
Linghu Tian's soul said to Evan Yang, "Just like this, I can't move at all."
"Alright, let me see," Evan Yang said, then walked over to try moving Linghu Tian's body, but found it was firmly fixed in place, as if some invisible force was holding it.
Evan Yang asked, "How did you get trapped here back then?"
"Back then, I was curious about this spot, so I sat down. But once I did, I could never get up again," Linghu Tian sighed.
Evan Yang thought for a moment and said, "I understand. Try merging your soul with your body and see what happens."
Linghu Tian nodded, then entered his body. He opened his eyes and said, "This is all I can do."
"Try struggling a bit," Evan Yang suggested, curious.
Linghu Tian responded and began to struggle, but no matter what he did, he couldn't move at all. Evan Yang studied the source of the force, until he noticed the stones beneath the seat and under his own feet, muttering, "Maybe this force comes from these stones."
"You mean these stones?" the man asked curiously.
"Yes. These stones are similar to those in Stonevoid Trials, but each one here contains much greater energy, concentrating it on the seat. Since you can't refine them, you're trapped," Evan Yang explained.
Linghu Tian asked suspiciously, "So if we destroy these stones, that's it?"
"That's right," Evan Yang replied.
Linghu Tian muttered, "But destroying them is easier said than done. Especially since a soul outside the body is very weak and can't do much."
"Maybe others can't, but I can," Evan Yang said with a smile.
"You can?" Linghu Tian asked, puzzled.
Evan Yang smiled, "My soul is different. Watch." With that, his soul gathered immense power and attacked the stones beneath the seat, trying to change their patterns.
Linghu Tian was shocked by the power Yang Han's soul released, "Your soul!"
Evan Yang had no time to explain. He continued his fierce assault on the stones, altering their patterns.