525: Give me back my child

Murong Gu tightened his grip on the flowing cloud sword at his waist. The flowing cloud patterns on the scabbard seemed to sense something, emitting a faint warmth, as if Murong Xuan's lingering aura was soothing his mind.

Murong Gu took a deep breath and circulated the Azure Origin Art, condensing the thick True Essence within his body around him to form a thin barrier of golden spiritual power. This shielded him from the pervasive cold within the fog before he stepped into the mist shrouded by death.

As soon as his foot touched the soil at the forest's edge, the surrounding atmosphere changed abruptly.

The sounds of the wind and falling snow from the outside world vanished instantly. Only a deathly silence remained between heaven and earth—a silence so profound he could clearly hear his own heartbeat. Then, a faint, intermittent crying sound drifted slowly from the depths of the mist.

The crying was extremely soft. At first, it sounded like a distant echo, intermittent and broken by the heavy fog.

Suddenly, it turned into a woman's suppressed sobbing, mournful and long-drawn, as if expressing endless grievances and sorrow. It wormed its way into his ears and coiled around his heart, making him feel inexplicably anxious.

Then, it transformed into the tender wailing of a child, filled with pure terror. It was sharp yet weak, as if someone were covering the child's mouth as they struggled in the mist.

Occasionally, it was interspersed with the hoarse wails of the elderly and the indignant roars of men. Countless voices intertwined, creating not a clamor, but a despair that reached his very marrow. It seeped into the cracks of his Divine Soul, making his hair stand on end and his soul tremble.

"Who's there?" Murong Gu barked. His voice, wrapped in True Essence, sent a ripple through the mist.

The power of his Divine Soul spread out like a tide. He pushed the Divine Illumination Seamless Record to its limit, attempting to capture any hidden figures within the fog.

However, the mist seemed to be a vortex specifically designed to devour the power of the Divine Soul. His perception had only extended five feet before it was blocked by a cold, viscous force. It was like hitting a reinforced bronze wall; not only could he not penetrate it, but he was also violently repelled, leaving his Sea of Consciousness slightly numb from the shock.

Just then, with a soft "swoosh," a white figure suddenly lunged out of the mist. The figure was as thin as paper, floating in the air without touching the ground. Carrying a bone-chilling cold, it lunged straight for Murong Gu's face.

The figure was incredibly fast, leaving a faint afterimage in the thick white fog. Like a ghost, it didn't even disturb the air.

Murong Gu's pupils constricted. He instinctively focused his gaze—it was the soul of a young woman. Her clothes were tattered, her once plain-colored dress torn to shreds and stained with dark red spots that looked like dried blood.

A faint white mist swirled around her. This mist wasn't pure soul power but was mixed with a grayish-black Aura of Resentment. Her face was as pale as paper, devoid of color, and her lips were cracked and blackened. Most terrifying were her eyes—no pupils, no whites, only a hollow grayish-white that radiated a soul-freezing malice.

There was a deep wound on her neck, the flesh turned outward. The soul power at the wound was chaotic, as if she had died from having her neck severed by a Sharp Weapon, leaving behind the extreme agony of her final moments.

"Give me back my child..." the female soul opened her mouth and spoke in a raspy, dry voice. The sound didn't come from her throat but echoed directly within Murong Gu's Sea of Consciousness, filled with endless grief and madness. "Give me back my child..."

Before her voice faded, the female soul's body suddenly contorted. Her originally slender arms instantly lengthened, and her withered fingers turned into sharp claws. The tips of her claws were wreathed in pitch-black cold air, like poisoned ice blades, as she lunged for Murong Gu's throat.

Her movements were bizarre in the extreme. Her body could pass through the mist at will. As her claws sliced through the air, they made no sound, leaving only a cold trail. In the next second, she would pierce his throat and tear out his heart.

Murong Gu's hair stood on end. With a tap of his foot, he dodged to the side like a ghost. Simultaneously, the flowing cloud sword unsheathed at his waist, and a golden Sword Qi carrying powerful True Essence slashed toward the female soul's head.

This strike was both fast and fierce, carrying the faint Dragon Might of the Nine Heavens Dragon Body. Ordinary souls would crumble upon contact.

But the Sword Qi passed through the female soul's body like a stone sinking into the ocean, leaving no trace. It only stirred a faint ripple before dissipating into the mist.

"Jie..." The female soul let out a piercing shriek. The sound was incredibly harsh, like nails scraping against iron, making Murong Gu's eardrums ache and his Sea of Consciousness ring.

Not only was she unharmed, but she was also enraged by the Sword Qi. Her Aura of Resentment grew even thicker. Her figure flickered within the mist, appearing left and right as her claws continuously struck at Murong Gu's vital points.

Her attacks were chaotic but possessed a relentless madness. Each time her claws swept past, they left behind a trail of freezing air. Even when blocked by the spiritual power barrier, the impact made Murong Gu's blood and Qi surge.

Murong Gu was forced to retreat continuously, weaving through the thick mist while keeping his eyes locked on the female soul.

But her form was too strange; she could merge into the mist at will, appearing on the left or ambushing from behind, making her impossible to guard against.

Suddenly, the female soul vanished. Murong Gu's heart tightened. Just as he was about to use his Divine Soul power to investigate, he felt a chill on his shoulder—the claws had grazed him. His robes were instantly torn, and three shallow bloody gashes appeared on his shoulder, the flesh turned out and oozing faint beads of blood.

The icy cold air flooded into his body through the wound like a maggot in his bones, spreading rapidly through his Meridians. Everywhere it passed, his True Essence was frozen, and its circulation instantly became sluggish.

Murong Gu immediately circulated the Golden Spirit Art. A golden light instantly enveloped his body like a Scorching Sun, forcibly dispelling the cold air that had invaded him. The wound on his shoulder also began to heal slowly under the nourishment of the golden light.

"Damn it, why aren't my attacks working?!"

He no longer hesitated. Turning his body, he stabbed backward with the flowing cloud sword. The golden Sword Qi condensed into a point and pierced toward the wound on the female soul's neck—that was where her soul power was most chaotic, perhaps her only weakness.

The Sword Qi hit its mark accurately. The female soul let out a shrill scream, her body trembling violently. The Aura of Resentment surrounding her dimmed instantly, and the wound on her neck slightly dissipated.

A flash of joy appeared in Murong Gu's eyes. Pursuing the advantage, he swung the flowing cloud sword like the wind, with golden Sword Qi crisscrossing as he slashed repeatedly at the female soul.

Every strike accurately hit her wound. The female soul's screams became increasingly shrill, and her body gradually became transparent, as if she were about to dissipate.

Murong Gu thought he had dealt with the female ghost, but in the next second, a bizarre scene unfolded—

The female soul, which was about to dissipate, suddenly reconsolidated within the mist. The wound on her neck healed rapidly, and her Aura of Resentment, instead of vanishing, became even more intense than before. Her hollow eyes stared fixedly at Murong Gu, and that raspy roar echoed in his Sea of Consciousness once more: "Give me back my child... You can't kill me... Give me back my child..."