Chapter 863 - Severing the Past
In the Past path, the four Bone Dragons split, with two leading the way and two guarding the rear, while Han Wu and Jing Jing walked in the center.
Jing Jing released an orb of soul light that illuminated their surroundings. Han Wu noticed murals covering both walls. They depicted various scenes, and after studying all of them, he placed together their general meaning.
Long ago, a powerful ruler had governed this land. He had a strange appearance but possessed immense power. He could manipulate people’s emotions and trigger physical transformations. Eventually, war erupted. A powerful warrior fought the ruler in a fierce battle, and both perished. This ruin had been built as a tomb for the two of them.
That was all the murals conveyed. Han Wu didn’t have much expertise in interpreting murals, so he transmitted everything through his consciousness to the other avatars, leaving the detailed analysis to V.
“Emotional power capable of transforming human bodies. That’s interesting.” As Han Wu considered this, he thought of the triangle-heads. Turning people into monsters to achieve a power boost resembled the Origin of Mutation’s Gene Recombination ability, though the underlying principles were completely different.
Jing Jing listened patiently and offered her own insight. “My Lord, I believe this falls under the application of souls.”
As her mastery of the Soul Jurisdiction deepened, Jing Jing’s understanding of souls had grown significantly. She was certain that emotions originated from the soul.
In her understanding, Soul Energy had no inherent attribute. However, when combined with emotions, it could produce various attributes. If she could merge emotion and soul together, Jing Jing believed her Soul Jurisdiction would undergo a massive leap in development. It could even reach completion.
The idea surprised Han Wu, but the more he considered it, the more reasonable it seemed. During the day, the residents outside were ordinary humans with no significant power. At night, they became true undead and gained varying degrees of strength based on their emotions. That alone proved there was a connection between emotions and souls.
As he mulled this over, they reached the end of the Past path. A prismatic coffin sat before them. Han Wu took a deep breath. If his guess was correct, this coffin contained the emotion-controlling ruler’s corpse.
Han Wu slowly approached it, but a wave of pressure suddenly descended. A prismatic humanoid shadow appeared atop the coffin. Though black in color, it somehow radiated a kaleidoscope of colors. It was a prismatic black that resembled iridescence. It was contradictory, yet perfectly fitting.
The prismatic shadow made a series of strange sounds.
Jing Jing translated them. “Get out of my tomb!”
“No!” Han Wu demonstrated the fearless spirit of someone from the Divine Civilization, refusing without hesitation. He even had Jing Jing translate his answer.
As expected, the prismatic shadow turned angry. It shifted form and turned entirely red as scarlet energy blazed around it. It clearly intended to fight.
Fighting was the one thing Han Wu never feared. Although the Slaughter Avatar wasn’t particularly suited for battling soul entities, he still had Jing Jing.
As a Crystal Skeleton, Jing Jing belonged to a royal bloodline among skeletons and could dominate soul entities. Under her command, the four Bone Dragons began changing. Massive amounts of shattered bone fused together, forming a four-headed Bone Dragon. Its power reached the Heavenrender rank.
The prismatic shadow immediately clashed with the four-headed Bone Dragon and scattered it within seconds. However, Jing Jing’s techniques were never simple. With a wave, the Bone Dragon’s fragments congregated around her and assembled into an exquisite suit of Bone Dragon armor.
Clad in the armor, Jing Jing fought the prismatic shadow once more. She was already a Heavenrender life form, and with the four Bone Dragons strengthening her, she had temporarily broken through to World rank.
The two fought to a stalemate against the prismatic shadow. Han Wu seized the opportunity to sneak around to the side of the coffin. The shadow’s entire purpose was to guard this coffin.
Han Wu raised his Divine Authority greatsword and brought it down using Heaven-Earth Severance. The coffin shattered, exposing the corpse inside.
No one knew how long it had rested there. Upon contact with air, the flesh and bones rapidly crumbled into dust. All that remained was a prismatic crystal.
The prismatic shadow tried to save the coffin, but it was too late. As the corpse disintegrated, the shadow crumbled with it.
With her opponent gone, Jing Jing hurried over to Han Wu’s side.
“Jing Jing, I think this would suit you,” Han Wu said as he tossed the prismatic crystal to her.
Jing Jing caught it, sensed the pure Soul Energy contained within, and nodded excitedly. “This is very useful to me. Thank you, my Lord.”
The moment she finished speaking, the entire chamber trembled violently. Massive stones crashed from the ceiling, and the entrance sealed shut.
“Run! There must be a trap. Destroying the corpse triggered a self-destruction sequence!” Han Wu shouted.
Swinging his greatsword, he smashed apart every stone in his path and carved a way out.
***
On the Future path, things were different.
Han Wu’s avatar advanced cautiously with the Mirror Shield in hand. Infused with the light attribute of his Divine Authority, the shield emitted a glow that illuminated the path ahead as brightly as daylight. Nothing could escape his notice.
Steely and the Origin of Mutation accompanied him, each a powerful fighter with distinct strengths.
“The Past path has collapsed. They’re fighting their way out,” Han Wu said out of the blue.
The Origin of Mutation replied, “It isn’t shaking on our end. The two paths must be completely separate.”
Steely spoke up. “My Lord, the wind tells me there is a massive open space ahead.”
“Let’s go check it out, then.” Han Wu led the way with the Mirror Shield. If they ran into enemies, he would blind them with a high-beam blast first and establish dominance.[1]
Soon, the three reached a vast chamber at the end of the Future path. Inside, Han Wu heard a rhythmic clicking sound. It was steady and precise, like clockwork.
The Origin of Mutation’s genetically enhanced senses quickly identified the source. It was coming from underground.
Han Wu aimed the Mirror Shield at the floor. They soon discovered that the ground beneath them wasn’t ordinary stone, but an enormous clock face.
Beneath the glass surface, the hour, minute, and second hands ticked steadily. At the center, anchoring all three hands, stood an upright crystal coffin.
Han Wu could faintly make out a figure inside. This had to be the warrior described in the murals, the one who had fought the emotion-controlling ruler until both of them died.
As Han Wu moved closer to investigate, a nearly transparent shadow materialized above the coffin. The three immediately prepared for combat.
1. Flashbang! ☜
