Bai Yunfei miscalculated. He only thought that Nether was an avatar with a limited amount of soulforce. Though he knew using five Chaotic Dual Dragon Burst was a long shot in stopping the avatar, he at least thought the avatar would think twice before continuing the fight. Bai Yunfei never thought that Nether would use the Soul Sealing Mandate of all things!
Nether miscalculated as well, though his miscalculations were much bigger than Bai Yunfei’s. Everything that had gone on so far in this battle was definitely beyond his calculations, but this last step in this battle was definitely his gravest one!
To his knowledge, Nether thought that no one would be able to fight off the Soul Sealing Mandate’s ability. But somehow…Bai Yunfei had done so!
……
The way how the Soul Sealing Mandate worked was that if the light were to surround a person, that person would find their soul ‘sealed’. The person wouldn’t be able to think, move, or do anything.
What Nether didn’t realize was that…Bai Yunfei simply hadn’t been caught by the Soul Sealing Mandate!
Bai Yunfei used the Core Stone’s +10 additional effect before the Soul Sealing Mandate could catch him to be transported to another dimension. Without being physically there in the real world, the Soul Sealing Mandate had no way of capturing Bai Yunfei!
Unless he found a way out from this mess, Bai Yunfei would be subjected to the Soul Sealing Mandate’s effect after the two-second duration wore off. The Core Stone’s ability was an amazing one, but it wasn’t something that allowed him invulnerability forever, and neither could he mount an attack from within it.
That left him with a sudden thought. A thought that could allow him to escape from this!
And…it was due to the way how this Core Stone’s effect worked!
When a target is whisked into another dimension, they aren’t physically standing in the same place as before for two seconds. There is a problem, however, when the target is brought back.
If there is something else standing in place of where the target used to be, what would happen to the target?
Once upon a time, Bai Yunfei experimented with the Core Stone to study the mechanics behind this effect. He noticed then that upon a s.p.a.ce having something else ‘occupy’ the target’s original position, the target would be moved elsewhere!
This was the property that Bai Yunfei was counting on to save his life!
He had to act fast. In one second, Bai Yunfei had the Fire-tipped Spear ‘stab’ straight into his body! It had to be done so that in the next second, the Core Stone’s effect would register that something was in Bai Yunfei’s original place and…have Bai Yunfei placed elsewhere!
With his place occupied and the Core Stone bringing him somewhere else, Bai Yunfei could escape the sphere of influence of the Soul Sealing Mandate and totally escape harm!
Bai Yunfei managed to pry open the jaws of death and escape it!
With him being so close to the Soul Sealing Mandate, Bai Yunfei already knew what else had to be done the moment he stepped back into the real world! Rotating his hips, he thrust his hand out to grab the Soul Sealing Mandate!
“No!!!!”
A loud cry of shocked fury echoed from the other side of the battlefield, but Bai Yunfei didn’t pay that any attention. His right hand clamped onto the Soul Sealing Mandate and secured it tightly in his fingers!
Then without a second thought, he threw it into the Core World!
……
“No…no! This can’t be happening!!”
Nether was at a complete loss on what to do. Shock, confusion, disbelief, and anger ran through his mind one at a time like a full-on marathon. He had no idea how this could even happen!
How did Bai Yunfei manage to escape from the Soul Sealing Mandate?!
The black light that flowed around Nether looked like it was on the verge of either exploding or dissipating with how furious he was. In a fit of anger, he threw his right hand up to point a finger at him!
“Die!!”
Waves of elemental darkness formed above his head to form into a column of black light. Looking like a giant finger, it rolled forward to Bai Yunfei as if trying to squish him! Nether no longer had any intentions of leaving Bai Yunfei ‘alive’ for information. He was full on committed to having Bai Yunfei die so he could reclaim the Soul Sealing Mandate!
“You’re the one that’s going to die!!”
Bai Yunfei was as equally angry as Nether. Eyes dyed practically red from the blood capillaries that popped, he roared out loud and pointed his right finger at Nether as well!
“Whoos.h.!.+”
A beam of red light shot forth from Bai Yunfei’s side. It was time for the Fire-tipped Spear to take flight!
“Bzz…”
A secondary beam of red light flew from Bai Yunfei’s side. This time, it was the Cataclysmic Seal. It flew up to expand into the size of a mountain before coming back down onto the giant ‘finger’!
“Boom!!”
The black finger slammed into the Cataclysmic Seal and collapsed immediately. But the power behind the attack was enough to send the Cataclysmic Seal flying backward towards Bai Yunfei!
There was a buzzing sound that sounded almost like a lament as the Cataclysmic Seal shrunk back down to its original size. It fell over Bai Yunfei’s head before an orange barrier formed around him!
Then Bai Yunfei’s figure was entirely obscured by a black light!
“Headmaster!!”
A cry rang out from Qin Bangjie when he saw the Fire-tipped Spear fly straight for Nether. Nether had expected to see the spear stopped by his barrier, but it didn’t happen!
He knew that the spear was strong, but he didn’t expect that the spear was that strong! It simply went through his barrier without a moment’s pause!
In all his anger and confidence, Nether never thought that he’d have to dodge the spear. But it was too late! The spear was already at his chest!
“Pcht…”
Without meeting any last resistance, the Fire-tipped Spear tore straight through Nether’s chest!
Since he had no flesh, there was no blood to be shed. There was, however, a hole in Nether’s body where the spear went through. Black light expelled forth from the hole in place of blood and led to the further destabilization of his body!
His death would’ve surely been a confirmed thing if he was a real body and not an avatar! But alas! An avatar had no heart nor flesh nor body. Having their figure pierced didn’t mean they would die!
“Swis.h.!.+”
A jet-black streak of light shot out from where Bai Yunfei was. The sheen of a sword exploded out from the light to fly like a bolt of lightning to Nether!
It tore through the translucent arm of Nether and caused yet another burst of black smoke to escape from Nether’s avatar!
“Ahh!!”
A startled cry escaped from Nether’s lips; this might not be his real body, but getting his arm lopped off was still a deep strike of pain into his very soul, and that was where it really hurt!
“High-heaven tier soul armament!”
A weapon that was strong enough to do this much damage to his body just had to be a high-heaven tier soul armament! As shocked as he was, Nether was sure of it!
The sword Bai Yunfei used was the one he got from Li Fenghai. After being upgraded the sword had practically six thousand points of attack and was more than enough to break through the enfeebled defenses of Nether. And it was evident how powerful it was when it managed to cut off Nether’s arm without resistance! If only Bai Yunfei had more control, he could’ve had the sword cut off Nether’s head instead of the arm. There was also the ‘nightmare’ effect the sword, but unfortunately, it didn’t activate…
But the fact that Bai Yunfei was able to unleash multiple attacks like that onto Nether meant that he was safe within the black light that surrounded him!
“Swis.h.!.+”
A figure cloaked entirely in red light shot out from the black light then. The spherical orange light around the figure was melted in multiple places, but the person inside was safe! Bai Yunfei was safe and able to charge straight at Nether without fail!
A flash of red light flew back to Bai Yunfei then. He grabbed hold of it—it was the Fire-tipped Spear!
Bai Yunfei was a ghastly sight with him being soaked entirely in his own blood. Spear in hand and eyes gleaming brightly with a crazed light, he streamed for Nether to strike him down!
The Fire-tipped Spear in his hand was burning brightly with fire. A sliver of violet lightning swam through the flames along with a speck of gray…chaotic energy!
This was the final move to decide it all!
……
“Impossible! Why aren’t you dead yet! Why!!”
Nether was looking close to going crazy himself. He was howling out to Bai Yunfei in anger, but his voice was practically that of a beast with how deranged he was!
“You have to die…! You must die!”
His rationality came back as quickly as it went. The light around him started to increase in intensity to form a new hand. With it, he started to go through a series of hand seals to prepare for a new attack!
“Samsara!!”
Nether’s roar was so loud that it shook the heavens. Then…his body exploded!
The Fire-tipped Spear hit nothing but a wisp of black smoke!
“What?!”
Bai Yunfei’s eyes flew open. He thought Nether self-destructed at first, but there was no sudden outflux of energy. Nether’s avatar hadn’t even an originseed to destroy in any point and could not self-destruct. But he could feel some kind of energy—one he couldn’t fight back against—enter his body!
“Ahhh!!!!”
He doubled up at the waist immediately. His eyes began to bulge out as if something within his head was trying to force them out.
Something in his body was causing him a great amount of pain!
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!”
The chaotic energy within the flames around Bai Yunfei started to go out of control. Fighting against the black smoke that was seemingly trying to break down Bai Yunfei’s body, the two forces began to distort the world and leave behind terrifying cracks in s.p.a.ce!
“Headmaster!!”
Only now was Qin Bangjie fully aware of what was going on. All blood was gone from his face as he stared wide-eyed at where Nether used to be.
“Samsara…the headmaster used his avatar as a price to use the Samsara technique!!”
It was an outcome he was having a hard time believing…this was far too crazy!
……
“Ah! Ah! Ahhhh!!!”
Scream after scream erupted from Bai Yunfei on the other side of the battlefield. The Fire-tipped Spear had long since fallen from his right hand so he could instead clutch at his head and howl at the top of his lungs!
Memories were streaming through his mind one by one; memories of his entire life!
The hundreds of people he killed from the Soul Refining School. The members of the Qin he fought outside Swallow City. His rescue of Tang Xinyun outside Mo City. The battle with Mo Ni in Crushed Stone River. The pursuit of the Extreme King Pill in the pocket. Teaching a cla.s.s in Tianhun Academy within the capital. His trip with Tang Xinyun. His training in Soulbeast Forest. Entering and being trained in the Crafting School. Traveling the Northern Plain Province alone. Chased in the Azure Cloud Province. The Jade Willow School. The Glacial School. The Zhang. Zhang Yang. Liu Meng…
All sorts of memories were pouring forth—even ones of when he wasn’t even a soul cultivator back in Talus City. Bai Yunfei could see how hard life had been then. How he had struggled without his mother and grandfather. Then how his life had been when all three of them lived together!
He even saw memories of when he was an infant incapable of speech. He couldn’t even move back then. Memories of when he was held by his mother!
Not only was he experiencing memories of long before, but his soul was also drawing out the memories of events he couldn’t possibly remember!
His screams were incessant. Each memory pulled into his mind was a pain that struck deeper into his soul like a chisel being hammered. One after another, these memories were pulled from his mind so he could remember in reverse sequence…
Soon, the pain bled away from his face. A strange smile replaced the look of agony from before. Frozen there as the last memory in his mind was of a beautiful woman stooping her head over to look down on him. A woman who looked all too familiar to him…
“Mother…”
This blissful memory brought a smile on his face. A smile that was more suited to an infant rather than an adult.
Then the memory disappeared and Bai Yunfei’s subconscious was…thrown into chaos!
Any last iota of elemental energy was sapped away from his body. By his side, the floating Fire-tipped Spear and Cataclysmic Seal lost all semblance of light and followed Bai Yunfei down to the ground!
“Yunfei! Yunfei!! What’s wrong!? What’s going on?! Yunfei!!!!”
Xiao Fang was shouting into Bai Yunfei’s mind, but no response could be heard.
He was falling into a deep crevice! If he were to hit the ground from this height and in such a state, Bai Yunfei would without a doubt die!
“d.a.m.n! Who cares anymore, in you go!!”
A loud cry erupted from Xiao Fang as a final remark to Bai Yunfei. A transparent bubble appeared around Bai Yunfei and his two soul armaments before the three disappeared!
“Ah! No!!”
A wail of despair erupted from the air above as Qin Bangjie realized Bai Yunfei was gone!
With Bai Yunfei gone, the only thing left of him was the Core Stone to fall further down the crevice and…into a tear in s.p.a.ce!