Chapter 820
Soul Treasure
Under the tense gaze of the high-ranking Venerable Sallit of the Shadow Temple, the three-headed, ten-armed giant ape suddenly raised its thick arms, comparable to ancient trees, and with just a slight wave, the surrounding space rippled almost imperceptibly.
next moment.
A palm-sized doll slowly emerged from the giant ape's broad chest.
Its fabric has a worn look, with faint signs of wear at the edges and slightly loose stitching, yet it still maintains its complete shape.
What is most unsettling are its eyes—two crystal-clear, black gemstone-like eyes, sparkling with an indescribable, strange light, as if they held the secrets of the entire starry sky, or were like a bottomless abyss.
Sallit's already tense nerves crumbled the moment he caught sight of those eyes.
As if drawn by invisible threads, its gaze was fixed on the doll, and everything around it instantly faded and fell silent, including the giant ape's breathing, its own heartbeat, and even the faint sound of space flowing, all of which disappeared.
The concept of time becomes blurred and ethereal; it may be just a fleeting moment, or it may span thousands of years.
Its consciousness was completely immersed in that black gem-like light, forgetting where it was and why it was uneasy.
I don't know how much time passed.
A voice as loud as a bell suddenly rang out, causing Sallit's soul to tremble slightly.
"This is a priceless treasure."
Sallit felt as if he had been bitten by a venomous snake, and he abruptly turned his head away, his gaze shifting from the doll as if it were being burned.
It took it several breaths to break free from that dazed state, its pupils shrinking as it stared incredulously at the giant ape: "What? This is a supreme treasure?"
The moment the words left his mouth, an indescribable chill crept up his spine and spread throughout his body, making his hair stand on end.
This doll, though seemingly old and harmless, instinctively instilled fear in this high-ranking Venerable, as if it were not an inanimate object, but some kind of lurking, terrifying being.
Yang Fan, however, completely disregarded its shock and spoke to himself, his deep voice surprisingly carrying an unusually respectful address for the first time:
“Your Majesty Sallit, after our friendly negotiations, I believe you will be willing to tell me where the fragments of the clone’s soul are.”
"Negotiation?"
Sallit was startled, his vertical pupils filled with absurdity and anger.
It swept its gaze over Yang Fan as if he were a madman, its disbelief almost overflowing.
When did I consult with you?
How could I possibly tell you the location of the soul fragments?
Never!
Just then, something unexpected happened.
This palm-sized doll began to slowly inflate, like an inflating balloon.
There were no illusory lights or shadows, no chaotic energy fluctuations; its body remained a solid entity, with the texture of the fabric and the marks of wear clearly visible.
As the body grows larger, you can even see the fine lines on the fabric slowly unfolding, each inch of expansion accompanied by a slight "rustling" sound, eerily unsettling.
In the blink of an eye, the doll had grown to half the height of a person.
Its black crystal-like eyes then magnified, releasing a faint, eerie light, like two dancing clusters of dark flames.
Its eyes had no trace of pupils, yet they gave Sallit, a high-ranking Venerable who had seen many storms, a strange feeling that he was being tightly locked onto by some terrifying being.
That gaze seemed to penetrate everything, reaching the depths of the soul, seeing through all its thoughts.
Sallit froze, a sudden flash of inspiration striking its mind, and it exclaimed, "This is a soul treasure!"
Every civilized world has a few supreme treasures, and almost every Venerable-level expert possesses one, so they are not considered rare.
But the treasures of the soul type are completely different.
Among a thousand supreme treasures, one might not find even one that is a soul-type entity. Such treasures can directly affect the essence of the soul, making them far more dangerous than ordinary supreme treasures.
The aura emanating from the doll before him sent shivers down Sallit's spine.
Even among rare soul treasures, such a powerful and bizarre existence is extremely rare.
It could clearly feel that its soul defenses were as fragile as paper under the gaze of that eerie light, as if the other party could extract and crush its soul at any time if it so desired.
Sallit finally developed an emotion it had never felt before—a "fear" that clung to its very being like a bone-deep infection, clinging to its very being like cold vines, causing its proud composure to crumble in an instant.
Its face, formed from black mist, twisted violently, and its voice trembled uncontrollably: "Azure Ghost, what exactly do you want?"
The giant ape remained silent, its golden eyes devoid of any emotion, its gaze fixed intently on the doll-like clone.
The doll's steps were slow yet firm, each step seeming to land on an invisible drumbeat, and an invisible pressure surged toward the Arbitrator of the Shadowy Secret Palace like a tide.
Sallit's soul had already been seized by this oppressive feeling, and he could no longer maintain his emotions. The roar beneath his black mist face exploded out of control: "Don't come any closer! Get away! Get away from me!"
But this is nothing more than the futile barking of a defeated dog.
Ignoring its clamor, the clone doll slowly moved to Sallit's side, raising a hand to gently touch its face, which was covered in black mist.
"what--!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream suddenly shattered the tranquility of the Star Gazing Pavilion.
Sallit's black mist face writhed violently, and countless tiny black mist threads thrashed wildly, as if trying to break free from some invisible restraint.
It felt as if hundreds of needles, as thin as cow hair yet carrying a chilling aura, had unexpectedly pierced the core of its soul.
Each "needle" was stirring wildly, tearing apart its very soul, and excruciating pain swept over its senses like a tsunami.
It used all its strength to unleash its soul power, trying to drive these intruders out.
But those "needles" seemed to exist in another independent dimension. Their spiritual power was like hitting a wall of nothingness, unable to even stir up a ripple.
It could only watch helplessly as its soul was torn apart, without even the right to resist.
A moment later.
A bizarre scene suddenly unfolded.
The doll's body suddenly became ethereal and transparent, as if shrouded in morning mist.
Immediately afterwards, its shape began to writhe violently, as if countless energies were surging and reorganizing within it.
In the blink of an eye, the doll shed its illusory shell and transformed into a living figure—it was "Sallit".
However, this is not its current appearance shrouded in black mist, but rather its most authentic form before its death.
This body is almost humanoid, but it is covered with a layer of fine black scales.
Each scale is engraved with intricate spiral patterns, which subtly reveal a dark luster as they flow.
Its eyes were tightly closed, and its head had a peculiar shape, resembling an onion with its outer skin peeled off.
Above his head, a cluster of short but tough black tentacles was dancing incessantly, with an eerie rhythm.
Even more astonishingly, a milky-white filament slowly emerged from the tip of each tentacle, like garlic sprouts growing garlic scapes in early spring.
These milky white filaments are not physical objects, but rather manifestations of the purest spiritual energy, yet they possess a real texture.
This was the first time Yang Fan had seen Sallit's true appearance so clearly.
He glanced at it curiously for a few moments, his gaze lingering on the milky white hair on the other person's head for a while, and he couldn't help but feel a little amazed.
Judging from these unique physical characteristics alone, it is enough to imagine that the race to which Sallit belongs must possess an enviable talent for super strong mental power.
This arbitrator's ability to rise through the ranks to become a high-level Venerable was undoubtedly due in no small part to his innate talent.
A glint of light flashed in Yang Fan's eyes, and a thought popped into his mind: "The 'Divine Condensation Silk' of the Demon Spirit Clan has considerable research value. If we capture a batch of Demon Spirit Clan members and study them, we might be able to produce some results."
In the blink of an eye.
Sallit's face, formed from black mist, suddenly trembled violently a few times, instantly disintegrating into countless tiny black mist particles. After swirling in the air for a moment, they completely vanished without a trace.
Almost simultaneously, "Sallit," formed from the doll's clone, slowly opened its eyelids, revealing a pair of narrow, dark red vertical pupils.
A hint of bewilderment flashed in his vertical pupils, as if he were confused about his current situation, as if he had just woken up from a long slumber and had not yet fully adapted to everything around him.
But this bewilderment lasted only a moment before being replaced by overwhelming terror, like a calm lake suddenly being churned with raging waves.
"Sallit" suddenly lowered its head, its gaze falling on its hands, which had only four sharp claws. The claws gleamed with a cold, eerie light, the very form it was most familiar with in its previous life.
It immediately roared in panic, its voice filled with unbelievable terror: "Damn Azure Ghost! What have you done to me? How did I become like this?"
Anyone could see that this high-ranking venerable one felt no joy at the "gift" of "restoring his complete body," but rather was filled with resistance and fear.
Clearly, it preferred to maintain its previous form with only a black mist head rather than this complete body that made it uneasy.
It subconsciously sensed the soul, its expression becoming increasingly panicked. Its dark red vertical pupils contracted sharply, and the black scales all over its body stood up slightly due to extreme fear.
"Damn it! How could this be? I can clearly sense the locations of the other clones! This is impossible!"
Generally speaking, when a soul is divided into fragments to create a clone, once the clone moves away from the main soul and exceeds a certain range, the main soul can no longer sense the clone's presence.
Even for high-level Venerables, the limit of their soul perception is unlikely to exceed 200,000 kilometers.
As for Sallit's clones, they were all placed in extremely distant areas, separated by millions of miles. Logically speaking, it would be impossible for them to sense each other in the slightest.
But at this moment, something abnormal happened.
The positions of the six clones were clearly imprinted on its soul, like a brand.
The aura and state of each clone were immediately apparent, as if they were right next to each other.
This bizarre situation, beyond our comprehension, brought Sallit's fear to its peak.
It could even sense that its soul and those clones were bound together by some invisible force, making them inseparable.
Yang Fan let out a loud "hehe" laugh, his voice like thunder rolling over bluestone, each word carrying an undeniable sense of oppression: "Mr. Sallit, please summon your clone soul."
Sallit froze, his voice filled with shock, anger, and resistance: "Azure Ghost, you're dreaming!"
It paused, its chest heaving, a barely perceptible hint of panic in its voice: "Besides, I simply don't have the ability to do that!"
The giant ape's three heads shook in unison, its golden pupils flashing with a cold light: "No, you can do it."
The most powerful ability of the Supreme Treasure Doll is to ignore spatial barriers and distances of thousands of miles, allowing soul fragments to descend into any doll.
He had just activated his treasure, forcefully penetrating the depths of the Arbitrator's soul in an unparalleled and domineering manner, and using a secret technique similar to 'puppetry' to grant the other party temporary permission for soul leap.
"Sallit" seemed to have been doused with ice water and instantly woke up.
It subconsciously looked inward into its soul and indeed sensed a strange yet incredibly powerful force residing within it.
This force is drawing upon its very soul, making it clearly perceive that it truly possesses the ability to summon clone souls!
It instantly understood that all of this was inextricably linked to the series of bizarre behaviors of the giant ape in front of it.
A tremendous shock swept over the arbitrator like a tsunami, making him stutter: "You... your treasure can actually force a soul to undergo a long-distance jump?"
Yang Fan ignored the obviously idiotic question and waved his hand dismissively: "Hurry up, don't waste time."
As soon as he finished speaking, a blinding golden light burst forth from the giant ape's body. The golden light surged outward like boiling molten lava, rapidly swirling and condensing in the air, finally transforming into a golden scepter engraved with intricate dreamlike patterns.
This is precisely the object that carries the authority of the laws of dreams—the throne and scepter.
next moment.
Countless illusory yet authoritative rebukes flooded into "Sallit's" mind like a burst dam.
These voices, aged and cold, carrying the implication of judging all living beings, resounded repeatedly in its consciousness:
"sinner!"
"You are guilty!"
"Your sin cannot be forgiven!"
The sound waves surged and churned wildly deep within its soul, as if countless sharp knives were recklessly cutting through it.
Sallit's vertical pupils bulged out, his muscles twitched uncontrollably, and his soul seemed about to explode at any moment.
It could no longer control its own soul. Under extreme fear and the pressure of the law, it could only obey Yang Fan's orders, trembling as it mobilized its remaining soul power to condense a strange mark the size of a palm, shaped like a doll.
This is the mark of a doll.
The core essence of the mark is none other than the law of the soul.
Six slender yet resilient threads of light instantly extended from the chest of the doll's mark, like six invisible chains, stretching towards a distant, unknown land.
The giant ape's three heads nodded in unison, a satisfied smile flashing in its golden pupils: "That's more like it. A wise person knows when to yield."
Sallit's face was contorted beyond recognition, and he roared in despair, "No—!"
At this moment.
It finally realized that it had fallen into a preordained trap and was about to face eternal destruction.
Even with a demigod backing it up, there is absolutely no way to revive it after its soul has been scattered.
Yang Fan's gaze flickered slightly as the eyes of all three heads simultaneously locked onto the doll's seal, and the three pairs of golden pupils flashed at the same time.
"Sallit," on the other hand, was like a puppet controlled by invisible threads, stiffly and mechanically raising its hands slowly.
As it moved, the six light threads extending into the distance suddenly lit up, outlining clear trajectories in the void.
A moment later.
Six orbs of light, shrouded in a pale purple halo, sped along the light threads, like birds returning to their nests, and instantly converged in front of "Sallit".
This is precisely how it secretly separated the soul fragments hidden in various places in order to save its own life.
Sallit's face was ashen, and the last glimmer of light in his eyes was completely extinguished.
It never imagined that the soul fragments it had hidden so well, which it thought would never be found, would be so easily extracted by the enemy.
Yang Fan sensed the surroundings briefly, then his gaze locked onto one of the clusters of light. The three heads grinned in unison, revealing sharp fangs: "Found it!"
With its soul perception, which was in no way inferior to that of a high-level Venerable, it had already clearly sensed that the coveted Law Key was slowly floating and sinking in that ball of light.
His intuition told him that although cracking the Law Key was difficult, he would eventually find a way to make the key his own.
Faced with this situation, "Sallit" had completely lost the will to live, and his voice was filled with endless despair: "Azure Ghost, give me a quick death."
Yang Fan did not immediately grant its request, but instead slowly revealed a piece of information that sent chills down its spine: "By the way, I almost forgot to tell you something."
"The Twilight Heavenly Gate technique I used earlier, which was the secret technique to kill the three of you Venerables in one strike, was not actually a method prepared for you."
"Sallit" was stunned for a moment, his eyes flashing with shock and confusion. His voice trembled as he asked, "What...what do you mean by that?!"
Yang Fan said calmly, "You sent at least four arbitrators to Meijia Civilization, right?"
Sallit shuddered, his lips moved, and he instinctively wanted to say something.
Yang Fan didn't give it a chance to speak, his smile vanished abruptly, and he simply waved casually at the person.
"Oh!"
After a dull thud.
"Sallit's" body exploded instantly, turning into a cloud of black mist, like snow under the scorching sun, quickly disappearing into the void without leaving even a trace of its soul.
This high-ranking Venerable One has completely perished.
The remaining six soul fragments had already been forcibly ripped from the body by the clone doll. Having lost their physical form, their demise was only a matter of time. (End of Chapter)