269: Powerful soul

Through the face covered in blood, Xiao Shi could vaguely recognize that this person was one of the Prison Guards who had reached the Soul Consciousness Stage earlier.

However, his expression had completely changed.

His gaze was manic and vicious.

He resembled a savage beast choosing its prey.

"He's been possessed!"

Xiao Shi's heart sank.

Previously, Xiang Zizhen had left a layer of protective power on every Prison Guard, enveloping their physical bodies in it.

This protective power was primarily meant to prevent them from being possessed.

Yet, this layer of protective power on the opponent had now been broken.

Coupled with the corpse of the Elderly Prisoner Xiao Shi had seen earlier... he knew without needing to think too hard.

The Prison Guard before him had already been possessed by the Soul from inside the Elderly Prisoner!

Furthermore.

Xiao Shi clearly saw.

In front of this possessed Prison Guard, there was another corpse.

This corpse belonged to another Prison Guard.

However, only a small portion of this Prison Guard's corpse remained, having been gnawed away.

It seemed that after possessing the body, the Soul from inside the Elderly Prisoner needed to consume others' physical bodies to achieve some kind of recovery.

Now, as his gaze focused on Xiao Shi.

The fierce light in his eyes instantly surged.

*Swoosh!*

His figure flashed where he stood.

He transformed into a terrifying streak of blood-red light, rapidly charging toward Xiao Shi.

While charging forward, his Soul Consciousness swept in from all directions.

His Soul Consciousness was vastly different from that of an ordinary person.

It was as if countless Malevolent Souls were letting out shrill screams, attacking at an alarming speed.

Under these screams.

Xiao Shi felt every piece of flesh and blood across his body violently writhing. These pieces of flesh seemed to have gained sentience, no longer belonging to him, each struggling to break free from his body.

Waves of immense tearing pain immediately spread throughout Xiao Shi's entire Physical Body.

Xiao Shi knew well.

Generally, the Soul Consciousness attacks of powerful experts who Cultivate potent Soul Consciousness Methods are much stronger than those of ordinary people.

It was just that Soul Consciousness Methods were too rare.

Not many people understood Soul Consciousness Methods.

Especially powerful Soul Consciousness Methods, which were even rarer.

Previously, all the Soul Consciousness Experts Xiao Shi had encountered were merely the most common type.

But now, after this Prison Guard was possessed, the Soul Consciousness attack he unleashed had already reached a level comparable to those powerful Soul Consciousness Methods.

Xiao Shi knew that if this continued, the opponent's Soul Consciousness attack alone would cause the flesh and blood all over his body to separate from his Physical Body.

At this critical juncture.

He utilized the Soul-Corroding Poison without hesitation.

After attaching the Soul-Corroding Poison to his Soul Power.

He immediately spread his Soul Power, which quickly diffused and violently collided with the attacking Malevolent Soul Consciousness.

With Xiao Shi's original Soul Power, even if his Soul Power carried the Crimson Tigers Roar, it definitely couldn't contend with the opponent's Soul Consciousness.

But after attaching the Soul-Corroding Poison... although his spreading Soul Power quickly collapsed under the screams of these Malevolent Souls, the poison of the Soul-Corroding Poison also caused these Malevolent Soul Consciousnesses to suffer extremely terrifying corrosion!

Immediately, the screams emitted by these Malevolent Soul Consciousnesses turned into miserable shrieks.

The change in cries successfully stabilized the continuously writhing flesh and blood of Xiao Shi's body, preventing it from moving further.

However, Xiao Shi knew that the crisis was not yet resolved.

Even though the screaming of the Malevolent Soul Consciousnesses had stopped, and they were beginning to dissipate under the corrosion of the Soul-Corroding Poison, the possessed Prison Guard had already reached him, lunging at Xiao Shi with a tsunami-like, bizarre power.

*Shing!*

A flash of blade light.

A Blood-Red Battle Blade appeared in Xiao Shi's hand, and with a whistle, the blade light struck directly onto the possessed Prison Guard.

But it only caused a shower of sparks.

It did not cause any substantial damage.

After the Prison Guard was possessed, his Physical Body became extremely tough, giving off a feeling of invulnerability to blades and spears.

Even when Xiao Shi used Martial Soul Realm Blade Technique, he couldn't cut through his Physical Body.

"The power of the Evil Blade... is still a bit too weak."

Xiao Shi sighed inwardly.

He knew that the Evil Blade's strength lay mainly in the Evil Qi Impact.

But he dared not rashly use the Evil Qi Impact now.

Evil Qi Impact is effective against ordinary people, but for Souls that are utterly evil and wicked, it would not only fail to work but might even boost them.

Just like when Xiao Shi previously used the Evil Qi Impact, only to have it absorbed by the flesh and blood of the Demon in the Furnace.

Fortunately, Xiao Shi's move this time was not solely the Evil Blade's attack.

The Evil Blade's attack was merely a superficial move he displayed to deceive the opponent.

His true attack... was the Soul Seal condensed within the opponent's mind!

Unlike the previous Soul Seals.

The one he condensed this time was a Soul Seal possessing powerful lethality.

"Explode!!"

Xiao Shi roared internally.

He immediately detonated the Soul Seal in its mind.

This instantly caused a huge impact on its Soul.

He knew well that the opponent was different from ordinary people; even if its head was chopped off or its Physical Body destroyed, it would not die.

Only by destroying the Soul inside him... could he be completely dealt with!

The detonation of the Soul Seal caused the opponent's charging body to pause slightly; its brow furrowed, seemingly having felt pain.

At the same time, it felt surprised by this method used by Xiao Shi.

As a Soul Body... it hadn't even noticed when the opponent had condensed a Soul Seal upon its Soul Body.

However, the power of its Soul Body meant that even when subjected to the detonation of the Soul Seal, it only caused a momentary halt in its actions, without inflicting any serious damage.

However... this momentary halt allowed him to instantly lose the initiative.

Xiao Shi discarded the Evil Blade, and his fist shot out as fast as lightning.

He punched directly into the opponent's chest.

Clutched between the fingers of his fist was a nail—it was the Soul Sealing Nail!

*Splat!*

Despite the toughness of the opponent's Physical Body.

Under the penetration of the Soul Sealing Nail, it effortlessly pierced into his Physical Body.

*Buzz!*

Instantly.

All of the opponent's Soul Power was firmly locked inside his body, unable to escape.

This... was Xiao Shi's true Killing Move!

To prevent the opponent from evading it using other methods.

He did not throw the Soul Sealing Nail from a distance.

Instead, he chose to grip it between his fingers and drive the Soul Sealing Nail into the opponent's body through close-quarters combat.

Once the opponent lost his Soul Power... his combat strength would drop significantly.

Xiao Shi clearly saw that the opponent's manic gaze immediately became unfocused the moment the Soul Sealing Nail was driven in.

He lowered his head in shock, looking at the black nail embedded in his chest.

His originally tough Physical Body instantly reverted to its original state.

The entire person clutched his chest, stumbling backward, his aura plummeting like a waterfall.

Xiao Shi knew well.

The Soul Body inside the opponent was the dominant force.

The external body was merely a shell.

Even if this shell was shattered, it wouldn't cause much damage to the Soul Body inside.

From the moment the two sides began fighting.

What he was considering was how to strike the opponent's Soul Body!

And to deal with this type of Soul Body, the Soul Sealing Nail was undoubtedly the best Sharp Weapon!

*Splat!*

Seizing this opportunity.

Xiao Shi moved quickly.

The Evil Blade slashed out beams of blade light, forcing the possessed Prison Guard to continuously retreat.

Without the support of Soul Power.

His body was no longer tough, and wounds were directly cut into him.

At the same time, Xiao Shi's fists and feet whistled, transforming into the sharpest weapons, causing the opponent multiple bone fractures and splattering flesh and blood.

The Soul Body inside the Prison Guard was filled with shock and fury.

It had never expected that this person possessed such bizarre methods!

It had thought that killing the opponent.

Would be as easy as crushing an ant.

But it never expected... this person to be so terrifying!

Although the Soul Sealing Nail only locked the Soul Power, its Soul Consciousness could still spread out, but Soul Consciousness without Soul Power had no lethality whatsoever.

It posed absolutely no threat to Xiao Shi.

It could only passively endure the beating.

While continuously retreating, he reached out and grabbed the nail in his chest, wanting to pull it out, but he was completely unable to do so.

This nail seemed impossible to forcefully extract with brute strength.

It could only be forced out using one's own Soul Power.

But as a Soul Body... it clearly perceived.

If it forcefully pulled out this nail using Soul Power, its Soul Body would suffer unbelievably severe damage!

Such a price was too huge for it to bear.

It had exceeded its tolerance limit.

After all, the Soul Body was its foundation.

No matter how the Physical Body was injured, as long as the Soul Body was fine, the impact on it would not be too great.

It certainly wouldn't do something so counterproductive.

"It's just a matter of changing bodies..."

"Although a body in the Soul Awakening Stage is a bit inferior, it can still be used for now!"

Thinking of this.

The entire Soul Body didn't hesitate, immediately separating from the body and floating directly out of the Prison Guard's Physical Body.

Xiao Shi then saw.

The opponent's Soul Body was entirely blood-red, looking somewhat like a ball of flame, but it was a special Soul Body with a pair of wicked, manic pupils!

After abandoning the Prison Guard's Physical Body.

Its Soul Power was immediately no longer affected by the Soul Sealing Nail.

It charged directly at Xiao Shi at the fastest speed, intending to rush into his body, possess him, and seize his Physical Body!

Before it even reached Xiao Shi.

The protective power Xiang Zizhen had previously left on Xiao Shi already began to emit a series of cracking sounds under the Soul Consciousness pressure unleashed by the opponent.

Cracks rapidly spread out like a spiderweb.

And as the Soul Body approached.

With a *crack*.

The entire protective power instantly failed, shattering and bursting open!

It was completely unable to stop the Soul Body's charge.

However, Xiao Shi showed no panic regarding this.

His expression was normal.

The instant the Soul Body floated out of the Prison Guard's body.

A Medicinal Pill had already appeared in his hand, and he swiftly swallowed it.

In that instant.

Xiao Shi's Soul experienced violent tremors.

The Soul Power in his mind immediately began to condense, undergoing a transformation as it continuously gathered!

Thus directly forming... Soul Consciousness!

This was precisely the effect of the Soul Gathering and Consciousness Forming Pill!

This Medicinal Pill could condense one's own Soul Power, gathering all Soul Power into a single stream of Soul Consciousness.

Furthermore, the moment the Soul Consciousness was formed.

Xiao Shi also activated the Soul Plate integrated into his Soul.

This caused the pointer on the entire Soul Plate to rotate clockwise under the Soul Plate's operation, finally pointing toward the Soul Plate's Attack Zone.

Granting his Soul Consciousness attack an extra one-time amplification!

At the same time, the entire Soul Plate did not stop rotating.

The pointer on it continued to rotate clockwise, pointing to another zone on the Soul Plate... Amplification!

The previous Attack Zone was not the key.

The current Amplification Zone was what Xiao Shi valued.

He knew very well... even if he formed Soul Consciousness using the Soul Gathering and Consciousness Forming Pill, the power of this single stream of Soul Consciousness, even with the one-time amplification from the Attack Zone, would not be enough to pose a threat to the Soul Body.

The true key.

Lay in the Soul Plate's Amplification Zone.

Because every direction the pointer on the Soul Plate points is fixed—it must point to the Attack Zone first before continuing to the Amplification Zone.

Therefore, the Soul Plate needed to be activated twice consecutively.

Now that the Soul Plate pointed to the Amplification Zone.

The numerous powers emitted by the Soul Body instantly transformed into power that provided amplification for Xiao Shi.

This caused Xiao Shi's Soul Consciousness to rapidly expand and grow stronger.

And with the one-time amplification from the Attack Zone... *Boom!!*

An indescribably astonishing Soul Consciousness immediately erupted from Xiao Shi.

Like a surging, roaring giant wave.

It directly struck the approaching Soul Body.

The Soul Body, which had originally been confident of victory and without any worry, felt its pupils violently tremble upon sensing this oncoming Soul Consciousness!

This was clearly just an ant in the Soul Awakening Stage... it was already unbelievable that it could unleash a Soul Consciousness attack.

And this Soul Consciousness attack was actually... powerful to such an extent!!

In an instant.

The entirely blood-red Soul Body was submerged by the monstrous Soul Consciousness unleashed by Xiao Shi.

Its entire Soul Body became dull and lusterless under the impact of the Soul Consciousness.

This indicated that it had suffered unimaginably massive damage.

"It didn't die from that!"

Xiao Shi frowned instead.

He was very clear about how powerful the Soul Consciousness he unleashed was.

It was enough to annihilate all Soul Consciousness Martial Artists!

He had thought he could instantly kill the opponent.

But he never expected this Soul Body to survive!

*Whoosh!*

After being struck, the entire Soul Body swayed.

It fled immediately without hesitation.

"Damn it!!"

Its heart was filled with resentment.

It had only just consumed a Prison Guard's body and managed to recover a little, only to suffer severe damage and instantly be beaten back to its original state.

"Just you wait!"

"Once I consume the physical bodies of the other Prison Guards and fully recover, I will definitely tear you into ten thousand pieces and grind your bones to dust!!"

Although it couldn't speak aloud.

It transmitted its voice through the Soul.

Xiao Shi watched with a frown.

He had no way to pursue it.

Firstly, the Soul Consciousness he formed only possessed the power for a single strike.

Secondly, he mainly relied on the amplification provided by the opponent's attack to severely injure it.

Once the opponent ran away.

He had no ability to pursue.

This Soul Body had a very high Status.

It was already this difficult to kill before fully recovering.

Once it consumed the other Prison Guards and recovered its strength, it would certainly be even harder to deal with.

"I can't stay here any longer. I must find Xiang Zizhen quickly and take him away!"

Xiao Shi felt a surge of urgency in his heart.