Perfect Duet
Across the immeasurable landmass of the subcontinent, Chen Wentian received the fourth immortal soul within his soul realm. As Qin Shui'er sat down to cultivate and refine the vital water she extracted from four Spirit Lords, so did he with the four souls. These two were connected by the mysterious power of the soul realm which transcended the physical world, one human and one demon, two beings striving for the Spirit King Realm at the same time.
Chen Wentian held no thoughts like pity or sadness toward the four human souls he was about to refine. If anything, he felt a tinge of irony toward Immortal Desolate Sword Peng Yuefeng. He had no idea why that old sword immortal had antagonized him at the beginning of the Immortal Sect Competition. Perhaps Peng Yufeng had wanted to bully a newbie immortal. But now, their soul was about to be utterly destroyed by his hand.
The floating figure of Chen Wentian appeared in front of the four hazy souls. Trapped by unknown powers, they could not move nor could they fight back. They made a variety of noises akin to crying and angry yells but it didn't matter. There was no escape.
He extended his hands and summoned the power of his souls. A bright blue star flashed, sending a beam of blazing fire which lanced through all four souls at the same time. As they screamed in pain, another star glowed a brilliant purple. Rays of sword flared across the vast emptiness, slicing through the souls one by one.
What followed was a succession of immortal powers. There was mighty strength and crushing force of the Golden Serpent. There was the unescapable darkness of Chen Mo, the shadow fox. The Insightful Swallow added its saber might. The Comet Lynx added chaotic wind attacks. After them came the Fire Wolf and the Ice Wolf siblings and the might of Summer and Winter's Eternal Sutra. And then there were the void lances of the Queen Void Bee, the heavy punches of the Steel-Furred Gorilla, and finally, the mountain-crushing might of the Jade Tusk Elephant.
All of Chen Wentian's immortal souls added their strength and refined the four souls together. At this moment, there weren't separate avatars but a single soul, working towards a common goal.
The four souls were turned into nothingness, leaving behind an enormous surge of soul energy that spread out in all directions. Almost instantaneously, all the soul stars which had displayed their unique abilities hid away. The soul realm became dark once more, darker than night, than the void.
The only one that remained was Chen Wentian only his foggy figure was no longer there. He had already become one with the soul realm. This space was his domain, not a star but the whole realm. It was him, the manifestation of his soul.
He absorbed all of the soul energy for himself, leaving nothing for the subordinate souls. With this boost, his soul realm rapidly expanded toward the limit. It felt like a bubble was expanding with unstoppable force.
He soon met an invisible barrier that stopped the expansion. But he still had plenty of strength left. Unlike the last two times, he was fueled by the souls of four Spirit Lords. It was inevitable, it was only a matter of time.
At the exact same time, inside an undersea cave below the Gulf of Giant Tortoises, Qin Shui'er was concentrating on her breakthrough. She was still refining the vital water and had about half left. Her process was slower but she was also feeding the water-attribute and life-attribute spiritual energy that was produced into her spiritual sea.
To a casual observer, her light-blue body made of water was swirling and chaotic as if it was suffering under a great storm. Amidst it all, a small blue ball located where her heart should have been glowed brightly and pulsed with waves of power.
This was the manifestation of her spiritual sea. Compared to her body, it was deep blue and unfathomable. It wasn't a physical object but an illusion, a representation of her formless body.
The small prison cell filled with profound energy. Qin Shui'er knelt on the ground, wrapped up in a cocoon-like deep blue aura. There was only one audience member, the naked Su Tan who was still chained to the cold stone floor by glowing white bands of energy.
She was staring at the shuimu with astonishment and dread. Her bare chest heaved up and down as she breathed heavily under the suppressive aura. Without the ability to call upon her own spiritual energy, her body was lashed by energy over and over.
She was witnessing the rise of a Spirit King demon. She didn't know if she would be able to survive this, this enemy that was so crafty and yet so powerful. She didn't dare to look away, she wanted to remember every moment. If she somehow lived through this, she would remember this day for the rest of her life. She would strive for the Spirit King Realm herself so that she could personally slay this foe.
Qin Shui'er had no care for her last prisoner. She was solely focused on the moment. All of the vital water was finally gone. Her spiritual sea was filled to the brim and about to overflow. She felt unbearably full as if she had eaten a hundred meals at once.
She summoned the power of the shuimu and controlled the water all around her. All the moisture in the room listened to her will. The drops of condensation on the walls flew into the air. The puddles of water in the tunnels started to splash.
The whole underground cave system soon started to tremble. Then it started to shake as if an earthquake had struck. The intensity of spiritual energy rose and rose until it was as if was about to explode.
The deep water outside the cave started to tumble and turn over. Undersea creatures of all sizes fled in panic. Even the surface of the ocean far above became turbulent, creating waves fifty meters tall akin to an almighty storm.
Accompanying this phenomenon, another one was also taking place. Within the Northern Wasteland, on a particularly barren plain where there were no living things nor a drop of water, the ground trembled as if a god was going to descend from the heavens.
Spiritual energy pulsed in great waves, creating circular undulations in the dirty and loose stones. High above, these same pulses ripped the clouds apart, creating concentric circles that led the sunlight through upon a particular spot which was the epicenter.
Suddenly, there was a great surge of immortal might followed by a flash of blinding white light. A beam of heavenly energy shot down like a divine lance and pierced the earth. It was a gift from heaven, signifying one's achievement.
Simultaneously, the skies above the Gulf of Giant Tortoises opened up. Another beam of heavenly light shot down, piercing the untold depths and disappearing into the endless waves.
Chen Wentian and Qin Shui'er, one human and one demon, both of them achieved a breakthrough at the same time. Like a perfect duet, they reached the Spirit King Realm in unison. These two who were entirely dissimilar, enemies even on the best of days, their fates would be forever intertwined by this event.
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