367: Freeze Soul

Wind is seemingly there yet not there, invisible to the naked eye; you can only see and observe it by relying on the movement of objects as the wind blows past them, hence the origin of the idiom "the wind blows and the grass stirs."

The wind cannot be heard either; the sound of the wind you hear is actually the sound produced by the vibration of objects as air currents flow past them, not the sound of the wind itself. Therefore, when a cold wind howls, what you are actually hearing is the resonance of objects!

However, even though the naked eye cannot see it and the ears cannot hear it, the human body can tangibly feel the existence of the wind.

Only through the sense of touch can one truly feel what kind of existence the wind is!

The Bei Mang Mountain Ghost King was not weak in strength, but in front of Yang Jian, he was like a feeble infant, with almost no ability to fight back throughout the entire encounter.

Logically speaking, having comprehended a certain Law, his strength should not have been weak to this extent.

Yet, he was truly and effectively suppressed by Yang Jian for nearly an hour, eventually being beaten down into the dust. It was only at the very end that he revealed his trump card: the Law of Wind!

This gust of wind was very gentle; it caused no harm when it passed over Yang Jian's body, but it was bone-chillingly cold, seeping into his skin and flesh, into his bones, into his internal organs, and even into his Soul.

It was like the sinister wind from behind the Yin Mountain, making one feel a coldness emanating from the depths of the Soul. Even with the Eight Nine Arcane Art protecting his body, Yang Jian could not help but tremble all over.

This chill acted directly upon the Soul, leaving the Physical Body completely unable to defend against it.

"Is this your trump card? A wind that can blow into the Soul?"

Yang Jian's body trembled slightly, but a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "This cannot be considered a powerful attack; there must be more to it!"

As if to confirm Yang Jian's words, the scenery before his eyes changed in an instant. Everything around him vanished, replaced by a vast expanse of ice and snow. It was as if he had arrived at the North Pole; everywhere there were ice sheets and white snow, with not a single living creature to be seen.

A cold wind howled in his ears, and before him, the wind and snow raged. The sky was gloomy, without a single ray of sunlight, as if he had arrived in the freezing Hell.

"Hmm, this scene is so familiar; I seem to have seen it before!"

Yang Jian chuckled, suddenly recalling the scene when he and Tang Ku and the others entered the Hell of the Underworld and met Ksitigarbha; how similar it was to the scene before him.

Compelled by the cold, Yang Jian took a step forward, but discovered that he could not take a second step no matter what. Looking down, he found that his legs had already been encased in ice, and the ice was continuously spreading upward—from his waist to his chest, and then to his entire body. In the blink of an eye, Yang Jian had been frozen into an ice sculpture. Moreover, this ice began to thicken in the cold wind, sealing him inside a mountain composed entirely of ice. This mountain, as majestic as Kunlun and as precipitous as Mount Hua, stood between heaven and earth amidst the wind and snow, making it impossible for him to move even a fraction.

"Hmm, what is going on? Why has Erlang Shen stopped moving altogether?"

Outside, Pigsy watched as Erlang Shen stood in place, motionless, as if he had been fixed by some kind of spell. He could not help but be shocked internally, "Did the wind blow and damage his brain?"

Tang Ku frowned slightly: "Perhaps his brain really was damaged..."

Several Disciples looked at Tang Ku, feeling baffled but sensing something profound, waiting for his explanation.

"The opponent's Law of Wind belongs to the elemental category of Laws; it can blow through the Physical Body and reach deep into the Soul. In other words, this Law in his hands does not act upon the Physical Body, but directly upon the Soul. Although I do not know exactly what happened, I can guess that something must have gone wrong with Erlang Shen's Soul..."

"Then what should we do? Should we go up and save him?"

Wu Zhen said anxiously, "Although I am not familiar with the arts of Huaxia, damage to the Soul also exists in the West. If that happens, wouldn't he... wouldn't he... become an idiot?"

"Forget the West, there is one right in front of us!"

Ao Lie said with a wry smile, "When my Soul was damaged back then, wasn't I just about the same as an idiot?"

"Stop worrying needlessly!"

Pigsy glanced at Tang Ku and suddenly laughed, "Master isn't worried, so why the Hell are you lot worrying!"

Tang Ku smiled: "Bajie's point truly pleases me; he knows how to read the situation... Hehe, you few are indeed worrying needlessly. Don't forget, although the opponent is attacking with the power of a Law, Erlang Shen is also a powerful expert who has comprehended a Law. It is hard to say which of the two is stronger or weaker, and besides..."

"And besides what?"

The Disciples looked at Tang Ku, completely bewildered.

Tang Ku shook his head with a smile and waved his hand, saying: "Cannot say, cannot say... Hehehe... You just wait and watch the show!"

It was not that he did not want to explain, but even if he did, they would not understand. After all, among these few, the one closest to a Law was Shi Jingmo, but even he had not yet touched the threshold, let alone the others. Therefore, this could not be explained clearly.

However, he knew himself that if it truly came down to a duel of Laws, Erlang Shen would definitely win completely!

Because the Bei Mang Mountain Ghost King's Law was not something he had Cultivated and comprehended himself; it was more like a kind of Restriction that someone had placed upon him. Once he was unable to defeat someone, he could use this Law as a trump card.

In other words, this was not his own Law!

Erlang Shen had once told Tang Ku about entering the Myriad Paths Reincarnation. Having experienced two hundred lifetimes of Reincarnation, his Soul and Physical Body strength had been tempered to a certain Realm; he had genuinely mastered an Elementary Law of Time and Space. This was his own inherent ability, which was why he could suppress his opponent, leaving him with no ability to fight back.

To use an analogy, the Law wielded by the Bei Mang Mountain Ghost King was like a half-grown teenager who had never trained in anything, holding a machete, while Yang Jian was like a veteran special forces soldier with a lifetime of hard qigong training. Although, if pushed, the child with the machete might be able to cause some damage to the special forces soldier, once the soldier got serious, the little brat would only be on the receiving end of a beating, and would very likely not even be able to hold onto the machete in his hands!

A cold wind had blown into Yang Jian's Sea of Consciousness, turning his entire Sea of Consciousness into a world of ice and sealing his entire Soul inside a massive iceberg.

For an ordinary powerful expert who did not understand Laws, once their Soul was Sealed, they were basically finished.

In the real world, the Bei Mang Mountain Ghost King suddenly appeared, holding that long saber in his hand, and sneered at the dazed Yang Jian. He slowly raised the long saber in his hand and sternly shouted: "So much for the greatest War God of the Three Realms; aren't you going to die at my hands today! Yang Jian, resign yourself to your fate!"

A fierce Saber Qi was suddenly unleashed, aimed directly at the undefended neck of Yang Jian.

However, halfway through the strike, the Bei Mang Mountain Ghost King suddenly saw the corners of Yang Jian's mouth quirk up, and his heart was instantly filled with terror.

With a loud "clang," the Bei Mang Mountain Ghost King was sent flying back over a dozen meters. He turned over, looked at Yang Jian in a panic, and asked in shock: "You... how can your Soul be alright?"

Yang Jian stretched his limbs and chuckled: "I thought you had truly mastered the power of a Law; it turns out this is all you have!"