361: Refining Void Divine Power

[The immortal slaying sword, which channels the Power of the Great Dao, should be impossible for an opponent to dodge once it locks onto its target. This is no longer an attack on the level of Spells, but one that touches upon the rules.]

[A thought of doubt flashes through your mind for an instant.]

[In that very moment, Yun Miao's illusory figure has silently appeared within three feet of your side.]

[She does not attack your Physical Body, nor does she even trigger much fluctuation in spiritual energy.]

[She simply raises a slender finger and, across the void, lightly taps toward the center of your brow.]

["Void Spirit Finger."]

[There is no brilliance, no sound.]

[Before the fingertip even arrives, a chill condensed to the extreme has already pierced into your Divine Soul, faster than any reaction!]

[You only feel your Divine Soul suddenly sink, as if cast into a boundless, lonely, and empty deep sea!]

[The majestic and vast yet cold and invisible Void Power does not act on the outside world; instead, it pours directly into your Sea of Consciousness, slamming violently against your Primordial Spirit!]

[At the same time—]

["Hum—!"]

[The golden protective sword astral surrounding your body suddenly blazes with light!]

[This was not actively triggered by you, but was the Great Dao Sword Intent spontaneously surging out because the immortal slaying sword (Metal) sensed an extreme threat!]

[Countless fine, dark-gold Dao Patterns erupt from the sword astral, weaving into a net that firmly protects you at its center.]

[Yun Miao's solidifying figure is head-on submerged by this suddenly erupting, magnificent Sword Intent.]

[There is no loud crash, only a tooth-aching "sizzle" of Laws being forcibly ground down and annihilated.]

[Under the flushing of the pure Great Dao sword astral, her Clone rapidly fades and becomes transparent.]

[A trace of imperceptible surprise flickers in her eyes, which then turns into a faint realization.]

[Before her figure completely dissipates, she gives you a deep look, and her cold voice rings out in your mind:]

["The sword is good, and the Dao charm is pure. A pity... your Divine Soul still lacks tempering."]

[As the words fall, her figure vanishes.]

[You take a sharp breath, forcibly suppressing the discomfort and waves of dull pain churning in your Sea of Consciousness; your back is already soaked in cold sweat.]

[You raise a hand to wipe away the blood seeping from the corner of your mouth due to the shock to your Divine Soul, your mind clear as a mirror—]

[She held back.]

[Instead, in a manner almost like "guidance," she revealed a harsher rule to you:]

[One of the greatest gaps between Soul Transformation and Void Refining is the strength of the Divine Soul.]

[If she had used the full power of that "Void Spirit Finger," your Divine Soul would have been completely destroyed by now.]

[Furthermore, you didn't actually miss your strike just now!]

[Because a Void Refining Cultivator's primordial spirit clone can split into two or even more; this is the innate Divine Ability of a Void Refining Cultivator.]

[She split her original Clone into two, each possessing over ten percent of her strength, and staged a sharp display of offense and defense:]

[One Clone went to its death to neutralize your strongest strike; the other Clone launched a surprise attack, pointing straight at the weakness of your Divine Soul.]

[When a Void Refining Cultivator kills a Soul Transformation Cultivator, they don't necessarily need to clash head-on with your sword. Crushing someone at the level of the Divine Soul is often more fatal.]

[And her final words were meant to wake you up—]

[No matter how strong external forces are, if one's own Divine Soul is not robust enough, it will ultimately be a hidden danger.]

[This woman... she seems cold and ethereal, yet her strikes are as precise as a surgical scalpel, and even her "guidance" carries the cruelty of the line between life and death.]

[But then again, the fact that you could achieve this much with a Soul Transformation cultivation can no longer be described as merely "terrifying."]

[After all, she is a top-tier powerhouse among Void Refining Cultivators.]

[And your "Two Principles Rotation" has only just reached the entry level; trying to completely block the life-sacrificing strike of a top-tier Void Refining Cultivator was indeed very forced.]

[However, if she used one Clone to trade for your life...]

[It would have been a very good deal.]

[Recalling the sensation of that strike hitting nothing earlier, the chill in your heart deepens.]

[Indeed, if she truly wanted to kill you, what would sacrificing a Clone with only twenty or thirty percent of her strength matter?]

[But there is no fear in your heart.]

[Because the third form of your Immortal Slaying Sword Art—“Three Talents Soul Slaughter”—goes straight to the Origin.]

[Once it hits a Clone, it can follow the invisible connection between it and the main body to reflect the damage directly back to the main body!]

[You have been enduring and not using it just to save this move...]

[For that final person—]

[Liu Xuanyin.]

[This duel between you and Yun Miao, from start to finish, lasted only a flash of lightning.]

[It wasn't until Yun Miao's figure completely dissipated that the countless Cultivators in the city seemed to wake from a great dream, slowly coming back to their senses.]

[The silence lasted for only a brief moment.]

[Then, low gasps and suppressed exclamations rose from all directions like a tide, quickly converging into an irrepressible wave of sound.]

["He... he actually used a Soul Transformation cultivation... to defeat two Void Refinement Mighty Ones in a row?"]

["A Soul Transformation slaying Void Refining... and it was one against two, a gauntlet battle at that... am I still in an illusion?"]

["I once didn't understand the meaning of an ant, but now I do... before him, I am deservedly an ant."]

[A white-haired Nascent Soul Cultivator looked dazed and muttered to himself: "Compared to him... I'm afraid these hundreds of years of my Dao cultivation have all gone to the dogs..."]

[The City Lord of Tailan Immortal City, Dugu Yan, stood on the highest eave of his residence, his black robes unmoving amidst the turbulent spiritual currents.]

[He had cultivated the Dao for a thousand years and, like you, was also at the Soul Transformation cultivation level.]

[He considered himself someone who had seen great storms and experienced the vicissitudes of life.]

[But at this moment, the light in his eyes was so complex it was almost shattered.]

[His lips moved slightly, his voice as dry as if it had been ground by sand, so low only he could hear it:]

["There is a difference between immortals and mortals, and even among Cultivators, there is a distinction between clouds and mud... I have heard these words for a thousand years."]

[He paused, looking at the lingering Great Dao lightning and Sword Intent remnants around your figure, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.]

["Until today, seeing him with my own eyes..."]

["Only then do I know what it means for the heavens to be beyond reach."]

["And I..."]

[He closed his eyes and opened them again; the last bit of majesty belonging to a City Lord finally peeled away, leaving only the naked sense of insignificance belonging to a seeker of the Dao at their most fundamental level:]

["Until this moment, seeing this person with my own eyes... only now do I know what the true heavens are..."]

[The Cultivators throughout the city, regardless of their cultivation level or background, had their minds and spirits firmly captured by your figure.]

[Admiration and envy were no longer enough to describe it.]

[It was a tremor and... reverence from the depths of the Soul, akin to witnessing a myth being forged before one's eyes.]

[The Golden Core Cultivators in the courtyard also felt as if their worldviews had been severely impacted.]

[Xia Zhiwei's fists were tightly clenched, her body trembling slightly, no one knowing what she was thinking.]

[Jiang He looked at Xuanyuan Yi beside her and said calmly, "I take back what I said before; you cannot be compared to him."]

[Xuanyuan Yi's expression was solemn; he remained silent for a moment before slowly nodding.]

[He looked up at the figure high in the sky, speaking each word with a low yet clear voice:]

["Having cultivated until today, only now do I know what a Mayfly is and what the clear sky is."]

[He paused, his eyes reflecting your solitary shadow, his voice carrying a deep sense of vastness:]

["Seeing him..."]

["Is like a Mayfly seeing the clear sky."]

[Lin Feng looked at the solitary figure standing with a sword high in the sky, a trace of approval flickering in his eyes.]

["Not bad."]

[Two words, spoken casually.]

[Yet they were the highest evaluation a person like him could give.]