162: Sword Breaks the Heart Barrier and Origin Echo

A distance of one inch felt like the boundary between life and death.

Lin Qingxue could feel the suffocating sensation brought by the giant black palm; the palm wind whipped against her cheeks, causing pain, and her hair danced wildly in the gale.

But her gaze did not waver in the slightest, her hand gripping the soft sword as steady as a rock. The Light and Darkness Power at the sword's tip pulsed in synchronization with the glow of the mark on her forehead, like two stars about to collide.

"Give up!" The Blood Masters Lingering Soul's voice carried a manic tone, "You cannot defeat me! Liu Shan is already dead, no one can help you!"

These words struck Lin Qingxue's heart like a heavy hammer, and a trace of hesitation quietly emerged. That's right, Liu Shan was gone, the power of this mark would eventually be exhausted; could she really hold on alone?

In this moment of hesitation, the giant black palm suddenly accelerated, leaving less than three feet from the top of her head!

"Qingxue!"

The startled cries of Liu Zhi and Shi Yan came from behind; they were currently entangled by giant snakes and were completely unable to provide support.

Elder Xuan Jin let out a mournful, angry hiss, putting all his strength into ramming the giant snake, only to be ruthlessly flung aside and slammed heavily onto the ground.

The shadow of death had never been so clear.

In a trance, Lin Qingxue seemed to see Liu Shan's face. He was standing by the Spiritual Vein fields in Luoxia Valley, smiling as he said to her, "Spiritual Veins are just like the human heart; the more they waver, the easier they wither."

"Waver... waver..."

She snapped back to her senses, the confusion in her eyes instantly dissipating, replaced by unprecedented clarity.

No matter how strong the Blood Masters Lingering Soul was, it could not be stronger than her conviction! What Liu Shan left behind was not merely power, but the courage to keep going!

"Who says he is not here?"

Lin Qingxue's voice was clear and bright, carrying a power that pierced through everything: "He is right here! In the Spiritual Vein of Luoxia Valley, in every inch of this land, and in my heart!"

The moment her words fell, the Lingmai Power within her erupted completely, creating an unprecedented resonance with the Light and Darkness Power of the mark on her forehead! This time, it was not Liu Shan's power that dominated, but her own will that took the upper hand; the resilient and warm aura belonging to Luoxia Valley was infused into the Light and Darkness Power!

The soft sword's brilliance surged, no longer purely black and white, but stained with a layer of soft cyan-gold, very much like the luster of the Spiritual Vein in Luoxia Valley!

"Break!"

She let out a low shout, her wrist flipping, and the soft sword bypassed the giant black palm at an incredible angle. The tip of the sword, carrying four colors—cyan, gold, black, and white—stabbed fiercely toward that one-inch distance at the core of the black mist!

"No—!"

The Blood Masters Lingering Soul let out a scream of extreme terror; he could feel the power contained in this sword strike—it was the power of Fusion, combining protection, destruction, Spiritual Vein, and will; it was the true power of the same source that he feared the most!

He wanted to retreat, but discovered that the black mist was locked by an invisible force and could not move at all. That was the power of the Luoxia Valley earth veins, the will that Liu Shan had left behind in the earth veins, and now, under Lin Qingxue's activation, it had formed an indestructible cage!

The sword tip finally pierced into the core of the black mist.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a faint "pop" sound.

The black mist, like a punctured balloon, began to dissipate rapidly. The Blood Masters Lingering Soul's ferocious face twisted and faded in the light, ultimately turning into a sigh filled with unwillingness and relief before disappearing completely into the air.

The giant black palm collapsed with a bang, turning into specks of black Qi that were purified by the soft sword's light.

The bodies of the three giant snakes that had been besieging them stiffened, the scarlet in their eyes rapidly fading, restoring the clarity that a Xuan Jin Snake should have. They looked around at everything in a daze, saw the corpses of their companions on the ground, let out a mournful hiss, and lowered their heads.

The plaza became completely silent.

Lin Qingxue leaned on her soft sword, gasping for breath, her whole body drained of strength, almost collapsing to the ground. The spiral mark on her forehead dimmed, clearly indicating that Liu Shan's power had been exhausted to the limit, but the outline of the mark was clearer than before, as if it had truly merged into her body.

"Sister Qingxue!" Liu Zhi and Shi Yan broke free from their restraints and hurried over to support her.

Elder Xuan Jin also struggled to stand up, his gaze toward Lin Qingxue filled with awe: "Thank you... thank you, young lady, for saving our clan."

Lin Qingxue shook her head, and just as she was about to speak, the ground beneath her feet suddenly shook violently.

The broken stone tablet in the center of the plaza erupted with blinding light, the blurred runes on it beginning to become clear, creating a strong resonance with the stone tablet at the bottom of Chenyuan Lake and the runes of the Xuan Jin Snake altar!

A breath of Origin, richer than at any time before, surged from the stone tablet, filling the entire plaza and even spreading along the earth veins to every corner of Luoxia Valley.

Lin Qingxue could feel that this aura contained the scent of Liu Shan.

At the top of the stone tablet, at the spot that had just been pierced by the soft sword, a point of light intertwined with light and darkness suddenly lit up. In the point of light, a blurred figure could vaguely be seen slowly condensing.

It was Liu Shan!

"He... he is coming back?" Liu Zhi's voice trembled, his eyes filled with incredible surprise.

Lin Qingxue's heart pounded wildly, staring fixedly at the blurred figure, her breathing almost stopping.

The point of light became brighter and brighter, and the figure became clearer and clearer; his outline, his clothing, and even his familiar aura could already be felt.

But just at the moment when the figure was about to fully condense, a sudden change occurred!

The runes on the stone tablet suddenly flickered violently, and a trace of eerie blood-red color mixed into the light; that was the last trace of power that the Blood Masters Lingering Soul had secretly seeped into the stone tablet before dissipating!

Although this trace of power was weak, it happened to strike the core of the light and dark figure!

The figure shuddered violently, the speed of its condensation instantly stalled, and it even began to become transparent, as if it would dissipate again at any moment!

"No!" Lin Qingxue let out a startled cry, subconsciously reaching out her hand, wanting to grasp that figure.

But her hand passed through the light intertwined with light and darkness, catching nothing.

The blood-red color on the stone tablet became thicker and thicker, the figure became more and more transparent, and Liu Shan's aura was rapidly weakening.

Lin Qingxue could feel that he was putting all his strength into resisting that trace of blood-red power, wanting to fully condense, wanting to respond to her call.

But his power was also about to be exhausted.

She looked at the flickering figure, watching him seemingly smiling at her, watching his hand seemingly also reaching out toward her.

The distance was only a step away.

Yet it felt as if it were separated by eternity.

Lin Qingxue's tears finally could not be held back and fell.

She walked toward that figure, step by step.

Every step felt like treading on the tip of a blade.

Every step was accompanied by the mournful cry of the earth veins.

The blood-red color on the stone tablet became thicker and thicker.

The figure became fainter and fainter.