As Xiao Yan made up his mind, the struggle in his eyes quickly dissipated. He took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the jade bone wings floating in front of him. His fists clenched tightly, and a fierce expression appeared on his face. “I don’t believe I can’t even handle a pair of bone wings!” He gritted his teeth fiercely. With a wave of his hand, the jade bone wings slowly descended and came to a stop half a foot in front of him. Taking another look at the bone wings, Xiao Yan’s hands formed a seal, and his eyes slowly closed. A powerful surge of soul force gradually spread from his forehead, eventually converging into a single, cautious thread that wrapped around the bone wings.
“Boom!”
The moment Xiao Yan’s soul force touched the jade bone wings, a low rumble echoed in his mind. Suddenly, the world before him shifted and changed!
This was a dim and lifeless world. Xiao Yan’s soul hovered high in the sky, his brow furrowing as he scanned the desolate surroundings. “Is this inside the bone wings? Where is the lingering aura?”
As Xiao Yan looked around in confusion, the gray space began to ripple, and thick, material-like gray mist seeped out. As the gray mist condensed, a blood-red pillar of light suddenly formed, directed straight at Xiao Yan.
When the blood-red pillars appeared, Xiao Yan’s soul faintly sensed a strong, bloody smell. This stench was filled with barely concealed savagery and violence, and these negative emotions seemed to have a contagious effect. Just from this contact, Xiao Yan’s breathing had grown heavier.
“What a strange thing…” Noting the changes in his body, Xiao Yan’s expression shifted. He calmed his mind, pushing away the negative emotions suffusing the gray mist, so as not to be infected by them.
“Roar!”
As Xiao Yan steadied his mind, a thunderous roar erupted from the surrounding gray mist. The roar was filled with savage and violent fury, and as the roar sounded, the gray mist, like it was being guided, rushed towards Xiao Yan in a vast wave.
Seeing the change in the gray mist, Xiao Yan’s heart tightened. He immediately summoned his soul force to create a protective barrier around him, blocking the advancing gray mist.
Just as the soul barrier formed, the gray mist began to shift and, in a matter of moments, transformed into a massive beast composed of gray mist. Due to the mist’s density, Xiao Yan could not make out the creature’s exact shape, but the red pillar of light, charged with brutality, reappeared at the creature’s head, like a pair of terrifying eyes.
“Roar!”
The moment the beast took form, it turned its blood-red, furious gaze towards Xiao Yan. With another roar, the beast, like a charging rhino, crashed into the soul barrier with great force.
“Boom!”
Despite both being insubstantial, the force of the collision was solid, and the invisible soul barrier rippled and undulated under the impact. With such a fierce clash, Xiao Yan’s soul let out a low, stifled groan. In his current state, his external soul force was directly connected to his own. If the former were to suffer, so would the latter.
Drawing a deep breath, Xiao Yan stabilized the soul barrier with more soul force. However, he then noticed, with a sinking heart, that the gray mist, imbued with brutality, was seeping through the barrier like an invisible stream.
With a grave expression, Xiao Yan decisively dismissed the contaminated soul force, quickly drawing on new power to reinforce the barrier. No sooner had the barrier been restored than the gray mist, which had been repelled, reformed, and once again attacked the barrier with all its might.
“Boom!”
“Ugh!”
Another violent crash caused Xiao Yan to groan again. Without hesitation, he dismissed the barrier once more, and watched the gray mist with a dark look. He had not expected that even a faint trace of the creature’s aura would be so difficult to deal with. It was only because of his formidable soul force that he managed to resist. Any other strong fighter would have been overwhelmed by the savage emotions, becoming a killing machine.
Even so, just two collisions had already cost Xiao Yan some soul force. By contrast, the gray mist, which possessed a semblance of will, showed no signs of weakening. In a long fight, Xiao Yan would be the first to fall.
“This can’t go on…” Fixated on the roiling gray mist, Xiao Yan grew increasingly frustrated despite his usual composure. He knew it was the gray mist to blame.
As Xiao Yan pondered, the gray mist formed the beast once again, its hideous maw opening to let out a jeering roar in Xiao Yan’s direction. Like a rhino, it then rammed into the barrier.
Staring at the charging beast, Xiao Yan’s expression hardened. Abruptly, his hand seals changed.
“Swish!”
With the change in his hand seals, a transparent flame burst from his soul, enveloping him completely. The beast’s image struck the flame, and a plume of white smoke rose, followed by a piercing scream. The beast gradually faded until it was gone entirely.
Seeing this, the gray mist scattered in panic, keeping a safe distance from Xiao Yan. Taken aback for a moment, Xiao Yan then smiled. The Fall of Heart Flame could indeed harm ethereal entities, and it was clear that the gray mist was one such entity. With this, Xiao Yan might now have a way to retaliate.
“Heh, wasn’t it fun earlier? Let’s try this again!”
Watching the gray mist scatter, a cold smile appeared on Xiao Yan’s face. He intensified the Fall of Heart Flame, spreading a scorching heat across the desolate gray plane.
As the temperature rose, the gray plane began to shift. The gray mist moved restlessly, with anxious growls echoing through the air.
“No matter how mighty you were in life, you’re now just a fragmented, mindless aura!”
Gazing coldly at the restless gray mist, Xiao Yan waved his sleeve, and flames shot out from his body, targeting the gray mist. The outbreak of the Fall of Heart Flame caused the mist to stir, as if meeting its nemesis. The gray mist fled, but the flames, guided by Xiao Yan, pursued and devoured it.
Some of the flames returned to Xiao Yan’s body, and to his delight, his soul force had grown, albeit slightly. Enhancing soul force was usually extremely difficult. For it to strengthen, one had to either advance or consume precious treasures. Now, for no reason, his soul force had grown. The answer, naturally, lay with the gray mist.
The most significant part was that the savage emotions hidden within the gray mist were nullified by the Fall of Heart Flame. This mist, which once made Xiao Yan wary, had now become a nourishing tonic for his soul.
Tasting the benefits, Xiao Yan became more spirited. With a laugh, he conjured more flames, driving the gray mist to flee. The once proud mist now cowered, turning tail and fleeing.
As Xiao Yan hunted, more and more gray mist became fodder for the flames, and his soul force continued to grow. About half an hour later, the entire gray plane had been cleared of the destructive aura. Satisfied, he looked down at his more robust soul. Unexpectedly, purifying the aura had yielded such a rich harvest. Even better, the most troublesome part of crafting the Heavenly Goose Nine-Action Wings had been resolved. All that was left was to carry out the process.
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