Chapter 115: Soulwither Elm

The loud commotion caused Jiang Feng and Zhan Huito to pause in their tracks, their eyes widening in shock. Jiang Feng had never seen Ji Moran act with such ferocity before. Her movements were swift and decisive, her spirit projection radiating an aura of icy dominance. This was the first time he had witnessed her Deepfrost ability, and it was far more formidable than he had imagined. Though newly formed, the concept of Deepfrost showed staggering potential, rivaling even his own Skyforge Flame in its raw power and destructive capability.

The battle between Ji Moran and her opponent escalated rapidly, each clash of their abilities sending shockwaves through the air. The sound of ice shattering and energy colliding filled the battlefield, a symphony of chaos and destruction. Jiang Feng's heart clenched as he watched Ji Moran take a brutal hit, her body recoiling as blood splattered across the ground.

Her face paled, and for a moment, it seemed as though she might falter. Jiang Feng's vision blurred, a deafening explosion ringing in his ears as his expression darkened. The sight of her injury struck him like a physical blow, and a surge of panic threatened to overwhelm him.

The ice domain around Ji Moran flared to life, its frigid energy intensifying as Gao Zhenlei's furious face twisted in rage. Blood spilled from his lips, his injuries mounting as the battle grew more savage. The fight was nothing short of brutal, a relentless exchange of blows that left both combatants battered and bloodied. Jiang Feng's relief was palpable as he realized Ji Moran was holding her own, her strength allowing her to fight above her level. But his relief was short-lived.

"Die!"

The shout tore through the air, snapping Jiang Feng back to reality. He barely had time to react before Zhan Huito's saber slammed into his chest, the force of the impact sending him hurtling through the air. He crashed into a wall of flame, the searing heat scorching his skin and shattering the protective scales on his back. Blood spilled from his lips as he landed heavily, his body aching from the blow. Even the black scales covering his skin seemed to char under the intense heat, their once-gleaming surface now dull and cracked.

"You little piece of shit!" Jiang Feng gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand despite the pain coursing through his body. His mind raced as he assessed the situation. Ji Moran was on the verge of reaching the Golden Core stage, while he had only recently entered the fourth stage of the Essence Condensation Stage. Though he could fight above his level, facing a Golden Core cultivator at his current stage was a daunting task. The odds were stacked against him, and the stakes were higher than ever.

"If I don't do something soon, Ji Moran might actually die along with me here" Jiang Feng thought, his eyes darting to the sky where the ice phoenix clashed with a field of lightning. The phoenix's glow was dimming rapidly, its energy waning under the relentless assault. Time was running out.

"Great Waves!" Zhan Huito's voice boomed as his saber came crashing down once more. Jiang Feng barely managed to dodge, the blade slicing through the air with terrifying speed. Zhan Huito's expression was one of grim determination, his attacks relentless and brutal. He was impressed by Jiang Feng's resilience—the young cultivator's body was far stronger than he had anticipated, and the scales covering his skin felt like an impenetrable barrier. But Zhan Huito was not one to be deterred.

"Silent Reaper!" Jiang Feng countered, his celestial dagger flashing as he twisted his body in a fluid motion. The dagger pulled him forward, his movements almost too fast to follow. He reappeared in front of Zhan Huito like a ghost, the blade of his dagger glowing with runic energy as it stabbed toward his opponent's chest.

BOOM!!

The clash of their energies sent shockwaves rippling through the air, the force of the impact throwing Jiang Feng backward like a ragdoll. His surprise attack had failed, and frustration burned in his chest. He looked up to see a massive tree materializing above Zhan Huito, its branches swaying ominously. One of the branches had intercepted his dagger, its sheer strength forcing him back.

"Senior Aetherion, can you come back out?" Jiang Feng asked inwardly, desperation creeping into his voice.

"No," the Aetherion Dragon replied, its deep voice resonating within Jiang Feng's mind. "I've already wasted fifty percent of the tribulation lightning the last time I emerged. The Codex cursed me for squandering its efforts. Besides, with how much stronger I've become, your body wouldn't be able to handle the strain. If I were to manifest now, you'd be severely injured, and that would only make things worse."

The dragon's massive form coiled within Jiang Feng's mental space, its eyes glowing with an ancient hue. Above it, the Eternal Codex shimmered silently, its pages filled with untold secrets and power. The Aetherion Dragon possessed abilities far beyond Jiang Feng's current comprehension, but his human body was still too weak to fully harness its potential. The dragon's blood, coursing through Jiang Feng's veins, was slowly transforming his constitution, aligning it with that of the dragon race. But the process was far from complete.

"I don't think any of my abilities can match this guy. I'm still too weak," Jiang Feng admitted, his voice tinged with frustration.

The celestial dagger pulled him away just as a thick cloud of poison gas filled the air. The massive tree shook violently, releasing a deadly miasma that spread rapidly. Zhan Huito's eyes gleamed with a sinister light, his true personality emerging as his spirit projection grew in size and power. The once-controlled cultivator now resembled a predator stalking its prey.

"Haha, run, run, you little mouse!" Zhan Huito taunted, his voice dripping with malice. "Soon, you'll pay for your insolence. No one kills those of Mists Ridge and lives to tell the tale. I'll kill you, that girl, and everyone else from Northern Moon!"

Jiang Feng's head throbbed as the environment around him shifted. The battlefield transformed into a swamp, its murky waters teeming with poisonous insects and bubbling gas. Thick fog obscured his vision, and Zhan Huito's figure vanished into the haze. The swamp seemed alive, its oppressive atmosphere closing in on Jiang Feng like a suffocating blanket.

"What going on?" Jiang Feng muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. He shot backward, trying to escape the swamp's grasp, but no matter how far he moved, the environment remained the same. He was trapped.

"This is an illusion created by that kid's spirit projection," the Eternal Flame Codex explained, its voice calm. "The poison is real, but the swamp is not. If I'm not mistaken, this is a soul attack. His spirit projection is an assist class, and a powerful one at that."

Jiang Feng's knowledge of the cultivation world was limited, but the Eternal Codex was a repository of ancient wisdom. It filled in the gaps where Jiang Feng's understanding fell short. "This should be the Soulwither Elm, a soul-type spirit projection with crowd control capabilities. It's designed to disorient and weaken its targets, trapping them in a mental prison."

"Senior, how do I get out of it? And why did the celestial dagger return to my body?" Jiang Feng asked urgently, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of the situation.

A cold killing intent locked onto him, sending a shiver down his spine. This was the first time he had encountered a soul attack and it was of such magnitude at that, and the experience was both terrifying and disorienting.

"You do have the means to resolve it," the Eternal Flame Codex replied. "Do you remember the illusions in the cave back then? The original formation lines on the cave wall?"

"Yes, senior, I remember them, reality is bull a shell," Jiang Feng said, his voice steady despite the unease gnawing at him.

Bang!!

A branch slammed into Jiang Feng's arms as he used them to protect his front, the force of the impact sending him sprawling. Pain shot through his arms as the bones cracked under the pressure. The poison seeped into his body, its insidious effects taking hold. His vision blurred, and his movements grew sluggish.

"Skyforge Zone!" Jiang Feng raised his hand, summoning a flaming vortex that materialized in the air above him. The blue flames roared to life, their heat intense enough to push back the swamp's oppressive atmosphere. He held the orb of fire in his hand, its energy pulsating with raw power, before hurling it into the distance.

Sssshhhhhh!!!

The flames exploded outward, forming a dome of blue fire that engulfed the area. The swamp hissed and steamed as the flames consumed the poisonous gas, their light cutting through the fog. Jiang Feng stood at the center of the inferno, his hand raised as a next vortex above him grew larger and larger, its eerie hum filling the air.

"Here he comes," Jiang Feng muttered, his senses on high alert. He couldn't see Zhan Huito, but he could feel the bone-deep killing intent closing in.

"Crushing Waves!" Zhan Huito's voice echoed through the swamp as his saber broke through the flames, its blade cutting through the fire like a furious beast. Behind the saber, a massive wave of energy descended in the form of surging wave of water like a tide, accompanied by sharp, deadly branches that seemed to materialize out of thin air.

"Explode!" Jiang Feng shouted, his voice filled with grim determination. The vortex above him detonated, sending a shockwave of blue flames rippling through the swamp. The explosion was breathtaking, the flames roaring like a living entity as they consumed everything in their path. The massive wave of energy collided with the large wave of raging tide, the force of the impact shaking the ground beneath Jiang Feng's feet.

Jiang Feng watched as the two opposing energies raged against each other, fire and water locked in a furious dance of destruction. The flames roared with unrelenting fury, while the water surged with an unyielding force, neither willing to concede. Over time, however, Jiang Feng noticed his flames beginning to wane, their brilliance dimming under the relentless assault. Suddenly, the fiery barrier was split apart by ten massive, twisting branches, and through the gap emerged Zhan Huito, his saber descending like a bolt of lightning aimed straight for Jiang Feng's heart.

"Not good!" Jiang Feng's instincts screamed at him to retreat. He shot backward with every ounce of speed he could muster, his spiritual energy draining rapidly from the sheer exhaustion of the battle. But it wasn't enough. The blade of Zhan Huito's saber came down with terrifying precision, slicing into Jiang Feng's left shoulder. The draconian scales that once protected him shattered like glass under the force of the blow, and Jiang Feng felt the cold bite of steel dig deep into his flesh.

The pain was immediate and overwhelming, but it wasn't just the physical injury that threatened to bring him to his knees. Jiang Feng could feel the poison seeping into his bloodstream, a vile, insidious force spreading through his body like a creeping shadow. It was a triple assault—his mind throbbed from the soul attack, his shoulder screamed from the saber's brutal strike, and the poison gnawed at his vitality, threatening to consume him from within.

"Damn it," Jiang Feng muttered through gritted teeth, his voice strained as he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. "If I didn't have a strong physical body, I'd be dead already. This guy... he's on a completely different level compared to Gao Zhenlei."

Zhan Huito's twisted smile filled Jiang Feng's vision, a cruel mockery of his current predicament. The man's eyes gleamed with malice as he raised his saber once more, preparing to deliver the final blow. "You are no match for me," Zhan Huito sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "Now, die!"

Jiang Feng's mind raced, desperation clawing at the edges of his thoughts. He couldn't rely on the Skyforge Flame, the Celestial Dagger, or even his bloodlines. He was out of options—or so he thought.

"Hurry up!" The voice of the Eternal Flame Codex thundered in his mind, sharp and commanding. Its pages fluttered open, and golden words cascaded from them like a tidal wave, flooding Jiang Feng's consciousness. "You don't need to rely on external tools or inherited powers. The true strength of the Eternal Clan lies in our ability to comprehend, to understand the very fabric of the universe. If our comprehension wasn't unparalleled, do you think we could have mastered both forging and cultivation for hundreds of thousands of years and still remained at the pinnacle of existence?"

Jiang Feng's head felt like it was splitting open, the influx of knowledge and insight overwhelming his senses. His eyes grew bloodshot, and his vision blurred, but amidst the pain, a spark of clarity emerged. The Codex was right. His greatest strength wasn't his flame, his weapon, or even his bloodlines—it was his mind, his ability to comprehend and adapt.

"Focus your mind," the Codex urged, its voice steady and unwavering. "Have you forgotten? The Concept of Darkness thrives in situations like this. Now is the time to focus on the Original Meaning of the three formation lines you came across and the Concept of Darkness. Use them!"

Jiang Feng clenched his fists, his breathing ragged. The pain in his body was still there, sharp and unrelenting, but it no longer dominated his thoughts. Instead, his mind began to race, he was doing his best to absorb the mental energy the Codex had imparted to him. The formation lines, the Concept of Darkness—they were the keys to turning the tide.

"Senior... you're right," Jiang Feng whispered, his voice steady despite the chaos around him. "My strongest ability has always been my comprehension speed. I've been relying too much on my external powers. It's time to trust in my own mind."

As the words left his lips, Jiang Feng's eyes narrowed, his focus sharpening like a blade. The world around him seemed to slow, the chaos of the battle fading into the background as he delved deep into the mysteries of the formation lines and the Concept of Darkness. The pain, the poison, the threat of death—they were all still there, but they no longer controlled him, in death the power of darkness lives.

Embrace your fears, loneliness, let it fuel you, let the abyss consume everything.