A thunderous roar ripped through the air, and a small sphere of raw power descended upon the dark-clad figure. In an instant, his garments disintegrated, his flesh crumbled into ash, and his bones shattered into nothingness. Within the blink of an eye, all that remained of the man was his escaping spirit.

The Soul-Beast, cheated of its prize, unleashed a frustrated bellow. It yearned to pursue the fleeing essence, but the constraints of the Divine-Arrow Chariot held it back, causing it to rage against its confinement.

With a swift gesture, Wang Lin summoned the Chariot to his hand. He moved like the wind, embarking on a desperate chase. Seeing its opportunity, the Soul-Beast surged through Wang Lin’s form, racing ahead to continue its hunt.

For the first time, man and beast worked in tenuous harmony. Wang Lin, wielding the Chariot, granted the monstrous瑰尊 a far greater reach.

Yet, after a time, the Soul-Beast grew restless. It swiveled its massive head, glared at Wang Lin, and emitted a guttural growl. Then, with a surge of its powerful frame, it lunged toward him.

Wang Lin’s expression remained calm, but his pupils narrowed.

The beast closed in with terrifying speed. A frigid light flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes as he fixed the creature with a stern gaze. Should it advance further, he would not hesitate to deliver punishment.

The Soul-Beast faltered, a flicker of dejection in its eyes.

Wang Lin’s heart stirred. The coldness in his gaze softened, and he gave the beast a slight nod. The Soul-Beast, after a hesitant glance, surged forward once more. But this time, it did not attack. Instead, it deftly scooped Wang Lin up, launching him into the air before settling beneath him. With Wang Lin now perched upon its back, the beast shot forward, a bolt of untamed energy tearing through the landscape.

Wang Lin suppressed a surge of elation. This was the first time the Soul-Beast had willingly carried him. The ancient texts of the chariot’s creator spoke of this: The Divine-Arrow Chariot, though potent, could only reach its true potential when its wielder earned the Soul-Beast’s genuine respect.

Wang Lin inhaled deeply, glancing down at the creature beneath him.

“It does not respect me yet,” he mused. “It merely hungers for the escaping spirit and deems me too slow. But even so, this is a vast improvement.”

The Soul-Beast’s speed was astonishing, rivaling Wang Lin’s own swift travel through the stars with the Silver Dragon Compass.

Amidst crackling energy and echoing thunder, the Soul-Beast blurred forward, a phantom flitting across the land.

Meanwhile, the dark-clad man’s spirit fled desperately. Within its core, a small crystalline fragment pulsed with faint demonic energy, slowly spreading.

As he raced away, his heart seethed with hatred for Wang Lin. He swore that once he found a new vessel and reclaimed his power, he would inflict upon Wang Lin a slow and agonizing death.

Suddenly, his expression twisted in alarm. He whipped around to see the Soul-Beast hurtling towards him, a spectral predator ripping through the void.

Fear gripped him. He desperately tried to change course, but a deafening roar erupted from the Soul-Beast. The sound was a weapon, piercing through the very fabric of reality.

The spirit faltered. For a fraction of a moment, it hesitated, and the Soul-Beast was upon it. A glint of ravenous hunger shone in the beast’s eyes. It knew that consuming this soul would grant it strength, bringing it closer to the day it could break free of its prison and roam the world without restraint.

Driven by this desire, the Soul-Beast snapped its jaws, drawing in a putrid wind that chilled the spirit to its core. A lesser soul would have been instantly paralyzed, but this was no mere nascent spirit. It was the essence of an Infant Soul cultivator at the pinnacle of his power, poised to ascend to the Ascendant realm.

While the wind had some effect, it could not completely freeze him. Desperation fueled him. With a desperate surge, the spirit contorted and burst free of the beast’s gaping maw. He prepared to sacrifice a portion of his essence in a desperate, irreparable escape.

But at that moment, Wang Lin struck. Not with his body, but with the Kunji Lash!

The lash moved like a phantom, snaking around the spirit and dragging it back into Wang Lin’s grasp. He imprisoned it within a Soul Banner.

The Soul-Beast erupted in furious rage. Its body shuddered, and it whipped around to snap at Wang Lin. To have its hard-won prize snatched away ignited a fury rivaling that it had felt when it was first imprisoned and turned into a treasure.

Wang Lin sighed inwardly. His gaze turned steely, and he uttered a single word:

“Silence.”

The Soul-Beast’s eyes blazed red as it unleashed a final, furious roar. Then, with a venomous glare at Wang Lin, it retreated back to the Divine-Arrow Chariot.

The instant the beast settled into place, the Chariot transformed back into its form as a beast-driving circle, snapping shut around Wang Lin’s feet. An immense, rapacious force surged from the circle, devouring the surrounding spiritual energy.

Wang Lin grimaced. The Soul-Beast’s temper was proving to be a significant challenge. He sat cross-legged, summoning Immortal Jades to his hand to resist the circle’s voracious pull.

The circle was draining more power than usual, a testament to the beast’s boundless rage.

While the consumption of spiritual energy was merely a side effect of using the circle’s power, the Soul-Beast had, over time, gained some limited control over it, enough to amplify the energy drain according to its mood.

After a long while, Wang Lin inhaled deeply. The circle’s pull slowly faded, as the Soul-Beast, unable to maintain its fury, was forced to concede.
With a sigh, Wang Lin dispelled the swirling vortex of summoned power, a bitter smile gracing his lips. He settled once more into a meditative pose, patiently replenishing his depleted celestial energies until they surged anew. Only then did his eyes snap open.

“That accursed Soul Lord…” he muttered, rubbing his temples. The sky beyond had begun to lighten, the unsettling surge of demonic spirit energy that had plagued the night slowly receding.

Wang Lin rose, his hand flashing to his storage pouch. From within, he retrieved the soul banner imprisoning the black-clad man’s spirit. In an instant, the ethereal form was wrenched free. With lightning reflexes, Wang Lin seized the struggling soul in his grasp.

Celestial energy, now flowing like silken threads, streamed from Wang Lin’s hand, piercing into the core of the captive soul. There, it wove a binding sigil, a safeguard against the desperate act of self-destruction.

Though the limitations of Wang Lin’s cultivation prevented a complete nullification of such a blast, the sigil would alert him, allowing him to imprison the soul within the banner before it could unleash its destructive force.

“I cannot accept this fate! Had you not possessed that damnable beastial artifact, had you not lured the Sky Fiend with those stolen souls, you would be no match for me! You would lie dead at my feet, you cur!” The captive soul of the black-clad man, now identified as Luo Yun, roared with impotent rage, his eyes burning with venom.

He knew his capture sealed his doom. The binding sigil within him betrayed the futility of self-destruction. All that remained was the bitter satisfaction of venting his fury.

“What is the Demon Crystal?” Wang Lin demanded, cutting through the man’s tirade.

Luo Yun’s soul twisted with a sneer. “A craven act, this! You provoked me into battle, then, as I poured forth my strength, you unleashed your foul devices, forcing my soul from my body. Is this the honor of the Heavenly Fortune Sect?”

Wang Lin’s brow furrowed. He tightened his grip, and Luo Yun’s soul contorted in agony, issuing a choked cry as its power diminished. Yet the malice in its spectral eyes only intensified.

“I, Luo Yun of the Sky Fiend Path, am protected by guardian spirits! Should you dare to slay me, my Master, the Fiend Realist, will know! He will avenge me! Even Heavenly Fortune Child himself treats with my Master as an equal! Consider well your actions, Wang Lin!” The soul’s voice dripped with cold menace.

Wang Lin, patience wearing thin, met the soul’s gaze with a chilling stare. With a swift strike of his left hand, he slammed against the weakened form. The soulless husk nearly dissipated, becoming frighteningly fragile.

“My Master will not let you escape his wrath!” Luo Yun’s venomous gaze was filled with boundless anger.

A flicker of cold determination sparked in Wang Lin’s eyes. He pressed his left hand to the crown of the soul’s head, and whispered the forbidden words: “Soul Search!”

The Soul Search technique was a forbidden art, fraught with peril. Yet, empowered by his celestial energies, Wang Lin found its execution surprisingly manageable, especially against such a weakened soul.

A chorus of agonizing screams erupted from Luo Yun’s soul, a symphony of torment. The Soul Search was a brutal and invasive art, a transgression against the natural order. While bearable with a physical body, its application to a soul magnified the pain tenfold.

The screams gradually faded, dwindling into pathetic whimpers. After the span of an incense stick, the soul was almost silent, its spectral form becoming nearly transparent.

Wang Lin raised his left hand, piercing through Luo Yun’s soul, plunging into the space where its core once resided. When he withdrew, a crystalline shard lay clutched in his palm.

A pensive expression settled upon Wang Lin’s face. He captured the ravaged remains of Luo Yun’s soul and imprisoned it within the soul banner. This spectral essence, he knew, held a twisted value. He would corrupt Luo Yun’s spirit and weave it into the soul banner’s very essence.

With the soul banner safely stored, Wang Lin moved with the speed of lightning, transforming into a bolt of pure energy as he streaked across the land. He traveled toward the last known location of the primary soul chasing the Sky Fiend.

“This Demonic Spirit Land holds deeper mysteries than I first realized. No wonder Ouyang Hua spoke of the bloodshed that inevitably follows outsiders into this place.”

“Though Luo Yun, of the Sky Fiend Path, exaggerated his claims, there was truth in his words. But that is a threat for years to come, not for this moment. The Sky Fiend Path’s techniques… they hold a certain morbid fascination. And those demonic binding incantations within Luo Yun’s memory… perhaps I shall explore their potential.”