"I wonder what the senior would have me do? This junior's cultivation is low — I may not be able to help you." Though Yang Kai pitied the being's plight, he didn't dare make any firm promises. He had already crossed paths with Black Crow Divine Lord once, and these ancient monsters who had lived for countless eons were not to be trifled with. One wrong step and you could easily fall into their trap.
The soul spoke: "Don't worry. I won't ask you to do anything difficult. I simply want you to kill me."
Yang Kai fell silent.
Having witnessed the man's soul extracted and refined into soul fire — a fate worse than death — he was hardly surprised by the request. In this state, death would indeed be a mercy.
"Young friend, are you still there?" The soul saw that Yang Kai had not responded for some time and probed cautiously.
"I'm here." Yang Kai exhaled softly. "How would the senior have me do it?"
The soul replied: "My soul has long since fused completely with this soul fire. As long as the soul fire burns, my soul cannot perish. So to kill me, you must utterly destroy this flame. You possess condensed water-element power, don't you? Channel your water-element power and that will be enough."
Yang Kai nodded. "Then please wait a moment, senior. I'll see you on your way!"
The soul, which had endured endless torment and knew nothing but agony with every passing instant, suddenly grew calm: "I'm grateful to you, young friend. Thank you."
Yang Kai wasted no more words. He circulated the water-element power within his Dao Seal and reached a hand toward the soul fire.
His water-element power was of the Seventh Grade, condensed from the Moon Essence he had obtained in the Great Ruins Boundary. Though it was water in nature, it leaned heavily toward freezing cold, and the moment he activated it, a bone-piercing chill erupted outward.
More than that, Yang Kai's palm seemed to grasp a hazy moonlight…
Of the Five Elements, water overcomes fire. Using water-element power to destroy the soul fire was the perfect counter. Anyone else who came here would likely fail even if they knew the method, because the soul fire was of considerable grade. But Yang Kai's water-element power was Seventh Grade — more than sufficient to deal with this masterless flame.
The cold spread outward, enveloping the soul fire. Before their very eyes, the flame began to shrink.
The soul fused with it sensed the change at once, its tone impossibly complex: "Finally… freedom at last!"
As he worked, Yang Kai asked, "Does the senior have any remaining wishes unfulfilled?"
The soul sat cross-legged within the soul fire, calmly awaiting its end. At Yang Kai's words, it let out a bitter laugh: "I can't even remember who I was anymore. What wish could I possibly have left… Oh, come to think of it — I believe I once had a sect. What was its name again…"
It thought for a long while but could not recall, and could only sigh: "Forget it. After so many years, that sect has surely crumbled to dust. There's no need for me to worry about it."
In the brief span of this exchange, Yang Kai's water-element power had already worn the soul fire down until it flickered weakly, and the soul fused within it had turned hazy, on the verge of vanishing entirely.
A short while later, both the soul fire and the soul that had merged with it were nothing more than faint shadows.
With a crisp sound that echoed from the depths of the heart, the soul fire shattered and the soul dissipated. The soul's final words reached Yang Kai's ears: "This place is a Void Formation laid by that old Blood Demon Dog, embodying the principle of mutual generation among the Five Elements. If you wish to find a way out, you must reverse the principle — work against the flow instead. That may yet offer a thread of hope!"
Yang Kai gazed at the spot where the soul and the soul fire had vanished, a wistful sigh escaping him. What was certain was that this soul had once been a being of no lesser stature than Black Crow Divine Lord. How it had offended Blood Demon Divine Lord to suffer soul extraction and refinement — tormented for so many years without dying — remained a mystery.
And this went to show that Blood Demon Divine Lord had been no saint in life either. A man so ruthless, cruel, and cold-blooded as that would hardly leave his legacies behind out of the goodness of his heart.
Without Black Crow Divine Lord, no one would ever have found this Blood Demon Divine Palace.
But the soul's parting words had given Yang Kai tremendous inspiration. The being had likely returned the favor — Yang Kai had granted him release, and in gratitude, he had pointed the way.
It truly was a case of reaching the end of the road only to find a new path through willow shadows and bright flowers.
Yang Kai immediately sat cross-legged. The Void Formation embodied the principle of mutual generation among the Five Elements. Reversed, that meant mutual overcoming.
He focused his perception, and before long, he detected pure Five-Element power within this vast white expanse. He hadn't sensed it before — partly because he hadn't been calm enough to probe carefully, and partly because he'd been too desperate to find an exit. Now, guided by the soul's final hint, he discovered it.
Of the Five Elements, he had already condensed four: wood, fire, earth, and water. He had never found suitable resources for the metal element. But he held the Proton Magnetic Gourd, which contained Sixth-Grade Proton Magnetic Light sealed within. That should serve well enough.
Having made his decision, Yang Kai hesitated no longer. No matter what, trying cost nothing. If he found a way out, all the better. If not, he could always think of something else.
He produced the Proton Magnetic Gourd and opened its mouth. Gathering his focus, he silently circulated the four powers within his Dao Seal while drawing out the Proton Magnetic Light, activating them in the sequence of Five-Element mutual overcoming.
In an instant, energy surged violently around him, and a series of hissing, crackling sounds rang out one after another.