188: Chapter 188 How could someone at the Qi Refining stage be so powerful? Because he wasn't cultivating an ordinary technique.

Crack! Crack!

Fine, complex silver patterns began to emerge on the surface of Xu Ruyu's body.

Those patterns were not scars; instead, they emitted a cold metallic luster and a precise geometric beauty. They spread and intertwined along his Meridians and Acupoints, finally converging at the Tanzhong point on his chest to form an incredibly complex, three-dimensional silver runic Formation!

The moment the runic Formation took shape—

Hum—!!!

A low resonance that pierced straight through the Soul echoed in all directions!

Xu Ruyu abruptly snapped his eyes open!

Deep within his eyes, five-colored radiance rapidly circulated and fused, eventually settling into a silver-white color that could reflect the fundamental energy essence of all things!

Twenty-fifth level of Qi Refining!

Breaking through two levels in a row!

Not only that, but with this Breakthrough achieved in a desperate situation by relying on the jade pendant's Fusion and new insights, his understanding of the second volume of the "True Explanation of Taixu Source Energy," the "Five Elements Evolution Chapter," instantly leaped across several stages!

He had jumped from only being able to crudely trigger chemical bond energy to being able to perform preliminary fine manipulation of the breaking and reorganization of specific molecules, and could even simulate some simple exothermic or endothermic reactions!

"Whew..."

Xu Ruyu exhaled a long breath of turbid Qi. The moment the breath left his mouth, a small burst of bright flame erupted because the trace amounts of hydrogen and oxygen molecules within were precisely excited and reorganized, before quickly extinguishing.

He slowly stood up. The silver runic Formation on his body gradually faded beneath his skin, with only the silver-white color in his eyes yet to fully recede.

He looked up at Xiao Nianyin in the sky, whose face had already become extremely unsightly. Feeling the new power within his body—which, while still far inferior in total volume to hers, was far more condensed in quality—the corners of his mouth curled into a cold, mocking arc:

"Sect Leader Xiao, it seems I must 'thank' you for this Spirit-Locking Great Array and your intent to kill.

Without the pressure of such a desperate situation, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to poke through this paper window so quickly and see the true path beneath my feet."

"You...!"

On Xiao Nianyin's exquisite face, frost was almost ready to materialize and drip off.

A meticulously planned killing trap had not only failed to take effect immediately but had instead become a catalyst for the opponent's Breakthrough?

This was undoubtedly a heavy slap to her face in front of the entire sect's upper management!

Shame and rage instantly drowned out that trace of alarm and doubt from before.

"Sharp-tongued brat! No matter how strange your Cultivation Technique or how peculiar your Breakthrough, Qi Refining is still Qi Refining!

This seat wants to see how many breaths your newly realized 'wild path' can last under the Law of my Saint Realm!"

"Grand Elder! Activate the ultimate variation of the Spirit-Locking Great Array—the dual suppression of 'Soul-Suppressing' and 'Bone-Eroding'!

I want his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, with not a trace remaining!"

Xiao Nianyin's voice now carried a chilling killing intent, leaving no room for turning back.

The Grand Elder's withered body shook, his face showing reluctance and struggle, but it eventually turned into a long sigh as he gritted his teeth and thrust the blood-colored token in his hand high!

"Spirit-Locking Great Array, Second Variation—Soul-Suppressing and Bone-Eroding, open!"

Hum—!!!

Thirty-six blood-colored light pillars erupted with a blinding crimson glow. The hideous ghost face patterns on the surface of the pillars seemed to come alive, flying out and turning into a cloud of ghost faces covering the entire sky above the Law Execution Platform!

The dark clouds rolled, and countless pairs of hollow, resentful eyes stared fixedly at Xu Ruyu. Silent shrieks that acted directly on the Soul Origin erupted from their wide-open maws—the power of Soul-Suppressing broke out in full force!

At the same time, the blood-colored chains became darker in color, with countless fine barbs and corrosive dark green runes appearing on their surfaces. As the chains danced, they brought bursts of foul-smelling yin winds; everywhere they passed, even the ground frozen by profound ice emitted 'sizzling' corrosive sounds—the power of Bone-Eroding, melting flesh and dissolving forms!

The dual killing blow truly demonstrated the terrifying power of the simplified version of the Hehuan Sect's Mountain Protection Array!

This was no longer just targeting Xu Ruyu; the aftershocks of the Formation caused many Disciples below the stage to scream, clutching their heads as they collapsed, black blood seeping from their seven orifices. Even the six Golden Core Senior Brothers, including Lin Feng, groaned repeatedly, their Divine Souls feeling like they were struck by heavy hammers, their protective spiritual light flickering violently, and their Physical Bodies feeling bursts of corrosive pain!

However, Xu Ruyu, who was at the very center of the storm—

The moment the "Soul-Suppressing" ghost shrieks hit him, the silver-white light in his eyes flashed, and the "Sword Intent Seed" in his Sea of Consciousness trembled slightly, emitting a circle of cool and resilient intent to protect his Divine Soul core.

Simultaneously, the "True Explanation of Taixu Source Energy's" control over the essence of energy allowed him to clearly "parse" the vibration frequency and energy composition of this Soul attack. Although he couldn't completely neutralize it, he could guide and disperse most of the damage into the active "ground-state spiritons" and microscopic particle movements around him. His Divine Soul was like a reef in a torrent; though it bore the impact, it remained immovable.

As for the "Bone-Eroding" power? When those dark green runes and corrosive energy coiled around him, the silver patterns faintly visible on Xu Ruyu's skin lit up automatically, forming an extremely thin energy film.

This film didn't resist through brute force; instead, it used high-frequency vibration to constantly "shake off" and "flick away" the corrosive energy it contacted, even utilizing part of that energy to intensify the thermal motion of certain harmless molecules within himself, converting it into heat to be dissipated.

It looked like a narrow escape, but in reality, he managed to maintain a fragile balance for a short time!

He remained standing. Although his face was pale and blood overflowed from his mouth again, his body trembling slightly under the double terror of the pressure, those silver-white eyes were startlingly bright, staring fixedly at Xiao Nianyin without a hint of fear.

"How is this possible..." The Grand Elder's hand holding the token was trembling, his old eyes full of horror. "Under the dual suppression of Soul-Suppressing and Bone-Eroding, even a Mid-Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator would suffer Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering and have their Physical Body dissolved in an instant... He's just a Qi Refinement Stage kid who just broke through..."

"Because what he Cultivates is not a traditional Cultivation Technique at all."

A lazy and charming voice suddenly rang out from the western side of the spectator seats.

Everyone looked toward the sound.

They saw that Madame Qingli had stood up at some point, still holding that white fox in her arms.

Her moon-white palace dress fluttered gently in the wind, and her exquisite face carried a faint, indiscernible smile.

Even more shocking was that in her arms, the white fox that had been feigning sleep with its eyes closed had opened them at some point.

In those amber eyes, a flash of human-like light passed through.

"Madame Qingli?" Xiao Nianyin frowned. "You intend to interfere?"

"It's not that I want to interfere," Madame Qingli chuckled, "it's that the Old Ancestor wants to interfere."

As the words fell, the white fox in her arms suddenly raised its head and lightly spat toward the Void Realm—

A nine-colored radiance billowed out from its mouth, spreading like ripples and instantly seeping into the ground!