At this moment, the soul of Long Zhizheng, captured by the Soul-Binding Tower, was already tattered and broken.
His soul body was like shattered porcelain, missing parts and covered in cracks.
It was so damaged that even Long Zhizheng’s original consciousness had almost dissipated.
Without the Soul-Binding Tower, it wouldn’t have been long before Long Zhizheng’s soul fell into the cycle of reincarnation.
‘It’s a remnant soul…’ A hint of disappointment flashed in Yun Lian’s eyes.
But she quickly reconciled herself to it.
A remnant soul was still a remnant soul; it was something found for free, anyway.
No matter what, even a starved camel was bigger than a horse.
Long Zhizheng was, after all, a Mahayana Realm cultivator.
Even if only a remnant soul remained, the power contained within it was far beyond what an ordinary cultivator could compare to.
Being able to gain a powerful soul to command for nothing—whether for refining a puppet or attempting to extract information from it—was not a bad thing.
Yun Lian pinched a gesture with her fingertips, and more spiritual power was injected into the Soul-Binding Tower.
Crimson runes flowed on the tower, transforming into chains that dragged Long Zhizheng’s shattered soul inside, binding it completely.
Having bound Long Zhizheng’s remnant soul, Yun Lian turned her gaze toward the center of the battlefield once more.
‘The Soul-Binding Tower didn’t collect Bu Lingxuan’s soul… That should mean she is likely still alive, right?’
Thinking this, Yun Lian took a deep breath.
She intended to approach the massive crater blasted out by the Heavenly Tribulation to investigate the situation up close and see if she could find any trace of Bu Lingxuan or anything else.
Deploying her protective spiritual power, Yun Lian cautiously moved inward.
However, as soon as she reached the edge of the crater, what appeared before her eyes made her body stiffen, and she dared not proceed any further.
At the edge of the crater floated a set of tattered flags.
The flags were covered in scorch marks, and the fabric was torn, appearing exceptionally dim.
Yet, even in such a state, faint spiritual light still flowed across the flags, echoing each other to form an inconspicuous array.
Within it, a vague aura of slaughter constantly emanated.
It was the killing array that had trapped and killed Long Zhizheng.
Yun Lian’s pupils constricted slightly, her heart pounding wildly as her entire body tensed up.
She had seen it clearly from the sidelines earlier; it was this set of flags that had laid down the terrifying killing array to trap Long Zhizheng.
‘This array… is still functioning?’
Yun Lian secretly sucked in a breath of cold air, her eyes full of wariness.
Although this set of array flags was tattered and its power was likely not even one in ten of its peak, it was still a powerful Dharma treasure capable of killing a Mahayana Realm cultivator!
Even if only 10% or 20% of its power remained, it was absolutely lethal to someone like her, who was only at the Nascent Soul Realm.
If she approached, heaven only knew if it would suddenly activate and tear her to pieces.
‘Forget it…’ Yun Lian forcibly suppressed her curiosity and stopped her approach.
Her reason told her she could not go there.
To risk her life entering a remnant array that could kill a Mahayana Realm master just to check on Bu Lingxuan’s condition was simply not worth the cost.
Gaining a Mahayana Realm remnant soul like Long Zhizheng’s for free was already an unexpected windfall.
The consequence of insatiable greed would be losing everything.
Yun Lian retreated to a safe distance, frowning in deep thought.
‘It’s fine if Tai Lingxuan is alive. The Qiankun Sect lost a Mahayana cultivator like Long Zhizheng; they definitely won’t let this matter rest.’
At that time, with a bit of guidance and the Qiankun Sect’s overbearing nature, they would surely seek revenge against the Hehuan Sect.
With Tai Lingxuan’s strength, she would definitely make the Qiankun Sect pay a significant price.
‘Then, my Saint Church will only need to reap the rewards of the bystander, perhaps even striking at a critical moment to deal the Qiankun Sect a heavy blow…’
‘However, if that’s the case…’ Yun Lian’s brow furrowed slightly.
‘Yun Xiu’s situation will be very dangerous. Maybe I should notify her in advance so she can evacuate?’
“But there’s no need to rush this,” Yun Lian said, shaking her head as she temporarily suppressed the thought.
“The priority is to return to the Saint Church and report the matter regarding Long Zhizheng.”
Yun Lian’s figure vanished into the horizon, leaving no trace behind.
…
The land, ravaged by battle and lightning tribulations, fell into a lull.
Winds and rain flowed, and the sun and moon alternated.
Upon the broken earth, a hint of green reappeared.
Small plant sprouts pushed through the shattered soil and gravel, growing tenaciously.
More than 10 days passed in a flash.
The sound of faint panting broke the silence of the land.
A young girl dressed in a green dress appeared.
Anxious urgency flickered in her eyes.
“The place I saw with my Clairvoyance is right here.”
Murmuring, Gu Qiushui stopped walking and looked around, finally locking her gaze on the massive crater at the center of the battlefield.
“The copper plate I saw is down there. Master and Junior Sister are both inside.”
Having confirmed the direction, Gu Qiushui no longer hesitated and quickly headed toward the crater.
Around the crater, the tattered flags that had once trapped Long Zhizheng still stood in place, though they had completely exhausted their spiritual power and were slumped over.
Gu Qiushui didn’t care; she didn’t even notice the flags’ presence.
Her hurried footsteps didn’t stop as she walked straight through the range of the array flags and headed down into the crater.
At the bottom of the crater, a layer of muddy rainwater had accumulated, reaching past her ankles.
Gu Qiushui ignored the filth, stepping directly into the mud and bending over to search.
It didn’t take long.
Soon, Gu Qiushui felt her fingertips touch a cold, hard object.
The girl felt a surge of joy and hastily fished it out of the muddy water.
It was a square copper plate about 6 inches wide, with a magnetic spoon on top.
The surface of the plate was carved with patterns that Gu Qiushui couldn’t understand but could sense the profound mystery of.
The plate was stained with mud, but Gu Qiushui quickly tucked it into her robes and headed back to the surface.
Once on the ground, Gu Qiushui examined the copper plate over and over, her brow furrowed.
Now, a problem had arisen.
How was she supposed to get in?
Or rather, how could she get her Master to come out?
After thinking for a moment, Gu Qiushui decided to try extending her divine sense into it to see if she could find a way.
And while projecting her divine sense inside, Gu Qiushui tentatively called out, ‘Master?’
‘Master? Can you hear me?’
At that moment, inside the plate, at the center of the shattered small world…
Ling Xi was sitting cross-legged in front of the still-unconscious Tai Lingxuan, eyes closed in cultivation.
She had been trapped here for more than 10 days.
Her Master, Tai Lingxuan, had remained unconscious during this time.
In the interim, Ling Xi had tried every method she knew—whether it was infusing spiritual power into her Master, feeding her healing pills, or constantly calling out in her ear—but Tai Lingxuan showed no signs of waking up.
Fortunately, although Tai Lingxuan’s aura was weak, it had been stabilizing.
So, Ling Sha also felt a little more at ease, guarding her Master while passing the time through cultivation.
On the other hand, she also hoped to increase her strength to find a way to leave this place.
Just then, a familiar voice suddenly echoed within the small world.
Ling Xi’s eyes snapped open, her face filled with disbelief.
Had she over-cultivated and started hallucinating?
Why did it feel like she heard Senior Sister Qiushui’s voice?
‘Master?’
‘Master?’
‘Junior Sister?’
The calls continued to ring out.
This was no hallucination!
Ling Xi suddenly stood up.
“Who… who is it?”
“Ling Xi!” Recognizing the voice, Gu Qiushui also became excited.
“It’s me! It’s your Senior Sister, Gu Qiushui!”
“Senior Sister Qiushui!”
Ling Xi was also overjoyed.
“Senior Sister! It really is you! How did you find this place?”
“That’s not important. Junior Sister, how is Master? How is her condition now?” Gu Qiushui hurriedly asked.
“Master… she has been unconscious for more than 10 days. But… her condition seems to be steadily improving. There shouldn’t be any problems in the short term.”
Hearing this, Gu Qiushui let out a small sigh of relief.
“Then, what exactly happened here? Why did things turn out like this?”
“It was the Qiankun Sect! It was the Qiankun Sect’s Great Elder, Long Zhizheng, who attacked us!”
Ling Xi said immediately.
Gu Qiushui was startled, her fingers tightening around the copper plate.
“The Qiankun Sect? Why would they attack us? Our Hehuan Sect has no past grudges or recent enmity with the Qiankun Sect…”
Ling Xi shook her head, her voice equally bewildered.
“I’m not sure about the specific reason either.”
Gu Qiushui nodded.
She had wanted to ask more, such as about Yuyang’s situation.
But before she could ask, she felt a fluctuation of spiritual power above her.
She jerked her head up and saw three cultivators dressed in red Qiankun robes flying over.
The Taiji Qiankun pattern was embroidered on their robes.
Gu Qiushui recognized them at a glance.
‘Those are… the clothes of the Qiankun Sect!’
The girl’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately became alert.
In the team of three, the leader was a middle-aged Deacon with a slightly thin face.
At this moment, the Deacon was also frowning slightly, his gaze sweeping over the ruins of the battlefield below, feeling a sense of helplessness.
They were ordered by the sect to secretly investigate the fall of Great Elder Long Zhizheng.
According to the results of the sect’s secret techniques and the clues tracked along the way, they were certain that the last place Long Zhizheng appeared was near this area.
They had naturally discovered the traces of battle here, so they had just searched the vicinity carefully.
But other than the violent traces of fighting left on the ground and the wreckage of a flying ship in a far corner, they hadn’t found any valuable clues.
“There’s someone!”
Suddenly, a sharp-eyed Qiankun Sect disciple pointed at Gu Qiushui below and whispered to the Deacon.
“She is covered in mud; could she have come out of that pit?”
Another disciple narrowed his eyes, staring at the object in Gu Qiushui’s hand.
“What is she holding? It looks like a copper plate? We didn’t notice that thing before.”
The leading middle-aged Deacon’s eyes narrowed, and he immediately said in a deep voice, “This girl’s tracks are suspicious; her appearance here is no coincidence. Go bring her here and question her!”
“Yes!”
The other two Qiankun Sect disciples answered in unison.
Then, with a shift in their bodies and a sharp aura about them, they dove down from the sky, rapidly approaching Gu Qiushui.