Chapter 246: Chapter 245: The Advancing Soulblade Specter

Chapter 245: The Advancing Soulblade Specter

Luo Wusheng blinked in confusion.

Before he could even begin to ponder the meaning behind the actions of the woman beside him, his thoughts suddenly came to a halt.

Once again, he felt a strange sensation from the tribulation lightning he had left inside the Soulblade Specter. This time, however, the sensation was even clearer than before.

Although he still couldn’t fully grasp the anomaly, his gaze instinctively shifted toward the sky hundreds of feet away.

The four Nascent Soul cultivators had already begun their battle with the Soulblade Specter.

Despite the confusion on their faces—clearly aware that something was off about the current situation—it was evident that none of them wanted to miss this opportunity.

A Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter unable to use a Soul Shattering Sword?

That realization instantly wiped away the hesitation that had held them back.

Previously, all four had been reluctant to make a move, fearing that using their full strength would only let someone else reap the rewards while they were caught in Soul Shattering Sword’s devastating blast. But now?

Now that the Soulblade Specter couldn’t use its ultimate technique, they were eager to fight.

As long as the Soul Shattering Sword was no longer a threat, each of them was confident in their ability to battle the Soulblade Specter—at worst, they would have to compete against each other for the final kill.

With Soul Shattering Sword out of the equation, none of them would be significantly weakened by its effects, so the final victor was still up in the air.

Even the most cautious among them, the white haired elderly Nascent Soul cultivator, couldn’t resist the temptation. While maintaining a wary stance, he sent out three treasured swords to launch a probing attack, keeping two more swords close to defend himself, though his expression occasionally twisted with visible reluctance as he glanced downward.

As for the Soulblade Specter, surrounded on all sides, it seemed to be caught in a mental loop—completely failing to activate Soul Shattering Sword over and over again. Its already twisted features became even more contorted, and it showed no reaction to the attacks raining down on it.

Golden cracks began to spread across its body under the assault of the Nascent Soul cultivators’ spells.

Watching this scene, Luo Wusheng was momentarily stunned.

’Did I just zap it into a glitch?’

Without the Soul Shattering Sword, was this Soulblade Specter really about to be taken down so easily?

Instinctively, Luo Wusheng glanced at the stunning woman beside him—who had also come for the Soulblade Specter—only to find that she showed no intention of joining the battle.

Instead, she simply frowned as she watched the fight unfold, as if she were sensing something.

“…That Soulblade Specter… it has an aura similar to sword intent gathering around it,” Ling Shuangxue murmured, her eyes flashing with thought.

’An aura similar to sword intent?’

Luo Wusheng was just about to consider what that might mean when a deep sense of unease surged in his heart.

The tribulation lightning inside the Soulblade Specter was transmitting an overwhelmingly clear sensation to him—clearer than ever before.

And at that very moment, the Soulblade Specter, now covered in countless dense golden cracks, finally moved.

Its withered, branch-like hand slowly extended from within the black mist.

Time seemed to slow.

The Nascent Soul cultivators’ spells appeared to freeze in midair. Meanwhile, the golden cracks on the Soulblade Specter’s body rapidly closed, replaced by an overwhelming surge of sinister black mist.

Then, in the span of a single breath, the withered hand plunged straight into the Soulblade Specter’s own chest, which was already enveloped in layers of black mist.

’If a Soulblade Specter performs a “self-kill” move, who gets the sword intent that drops afterward?’

Luo Wusheng couldn’t help but wonder as he witnessed the surreal scene before him.

But clearly, the Soulblade Specter had no intention of following his imagined script.

The withered hand, now shrouded in even denser black mist, slowly began to pull outward.

A terrifying aura gathered in an instant, sending shockwaves through the sky.

The four Nascent Soul cultivators, sensing the overwhelming pressure, turned pale. Acting on instinct, they unleashed even more powerful spells.

Yet this time, the golden cracks on the Soulblade Specter’s body healed in an instant, and the surging black mist around it grew even more intense.

Throughout this process, the black mist enveloping the Soulblade Specter’s form began to expand—morphing into an ever-growing, colossal figure.

And as the transformation continued, Luo Wusheng finally saw what the Soulblade Specter was pulling out of its own chest.

It was a massive, black-mist-shrouded sword hilt.

Luo Wusheng quickly recalled the scene of the Earth-grade Soulblade Specter he had once captured attacking him with a small black mist sword…

But the sheer energy gathering around this sword hilt was incomparable to that small black mist sword.

As the Soulblade Specter’s mist-shrouded body continued to expand, the four Nascent Soul cultivators surrounding it realized, after repeatedly casting their techniques, that their attacks were having less and less of an effect. At this point, it was practically written on their faces: their efforts were about as effective as a weak massage.

“This is impossible— this can’t be happening! This is nothing like the records describe a Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter! If all Heaven-grade Soulblade Specters are like this, are we Nascent Souls supposed to just wait for them to willingly use the Soul Shattering Sword before we have a chance to capture them—? And we can’t even force this one to use it?!”

One of the Nascent Soul sword cultivators swung his blade, sending countless leaf-like sword projections slashing toward the black mist. But all of them were instantly devoured, leaving his expression full of panic.

Due to the extreme rarity of Heaven-grade Soulblade Specters, this was the first time any of them had participated in a hunt like this. Yet their very first experience was met with such an anomaly…

Even if they had been naïve before, it was obvious now—this Heaven-grade Soulblade Specter was not normal.

“If that’s the case, then perhaps the Sword Sect’s peak master and that… unidentified Golden Core cultivator did not succeed after all.”

The elderly Nascent Soul cultivator, who had now retracted all five of his swords to hover protectively around him, muttered to himself with flickering eyes.

This Soulblade Specter… it was highly likely that it had survived Soul Shattering Sword without suffering any real harm.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain why it had used Soul Shattering Sword twice in a row just now.

That thought lingered in his mind, though he didn’t voice it aloud.

Because at that very moment, the Soulblade Specter—still in the process of drawing its sword, its black mist-covered body now towering nearly thirty feet tall—suddenly turned its blood-red gaze in his direction.

’Damn it! Why is it targeting me again? Does it have a personal grudge against me?’

The elderly cultivator hastily aligned his five swords in front of him in a defensive formation, bracing for an attack. Internally, he cursed, resolving to check the almanac carefully before setting out on any future excursions.

But the Soulblade Specter did not attack.

Instead, it simply pulled its sword hilt out another inch.

Its aura surged once more.

A terrifying power gathered around it, seemingly on the verge of erupting at any moment.

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“Its strength has already grown to nearly the mid-stage Nascent Soul.”

Ling Shuangxue tightened her grip on the young man’s hand beside her. “The area being suppressed by the world’s momentum is also expanding… and it seems to be…”

She trailed off, her worried gaze shifting toward him.

Luo Wusheng rubbed his face, letting out a wry chuckle.

This Soulblade Specter… was looking for the one who had zapped it with lightning.

And it was getting stronger and stronger. The usual methods didn’t seem viable for taking it down anymore…

An undead creature in the midst of an evolution—just the thought of it was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.

’If I use [Phantomless 2.0] at full power and combine it with the heavenly tribulation lightning I can currently summon, I should be able to temporarily seal its movements. So at least there’s a fallback plan.’

But if he wanted to truly deal with this Soulblade Specter…

To be honest, the roles of hunter and prey in this chase were starting to reverse.

Luo Wusheng’s eyes flickered as he silently considered his options.

Just then, the soft hand gripping his suddenly loosened, before lightly pressing down on the back of his hand.

“This is my fault for dragging you into this,” Ling Shuangxue murmured, biting her lip. “At this point, there’s no longer any chance of capturing that special Soulblade Specter…”

She tapped her storage bag, and a small box engraved with a sword pattern, along with two slender bamboo containers, appeared in her palm.

“This place is still too close to the Soulblade Specter. Once the concealment effect wears off, the others will notice us soon enough. And if the Soulblade Specter is looking for you… it might attack immediately. I will hold it off, and you should take these—”

Her words were cut short.

Because at that moment, Luo Wusheng let out a deep breath… and grasped her hand in return.

“There’s still… a chance.”

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Note: Link to the character Illustration:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep