Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 177 Breaking Through the Mirror Prison (Seeking monthly votes and subscriptions)

In an instant, the soul lock tightened, and her consciousness was pulled back into the lightless soul mirror.

The iron chains bound the soul, the array sealed the consciousness, and the divine sense was dragged inch by inch into the abyss, like a drowning person being swallowed little by little by a frozen lake, with no room for struggle.

With his limbs bound and his consciousness frozen, even breathing felt like it wasn't his own.

She knew she couldn't die.

But at this moment, dying is easier than living.

But right now.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed from the sky.

That voice, emanating from the summit of the Ninefold Thunder Diagram, carrying a soul-shattering pressure, was like a celestial being descending to question, piercing through the golden palace of the imperial capital:

"What crime has Xie Chengjun committed?!"

Suddenly, the Mirror Prison trembled.

The soul jade in her heart suddenly became hot.

It was as if a beam of light, traversing thousands of mountains and thunder from the farthest place, struck the deepest part of the soul.

Cracks meandered and opened up in the frozen sea of ​​consciousness.

A beam of light, extremely thin yet extremely strong, pierced through the seal and illuminated the nearly extinguished spiritual platform.

A person stood in the light.

The young man arrived wielding a sword, his soul-bound robes fluttering, his eyes as steady as a mountain.

He reached out, his fingertips touching the bloodstain between her brows, his voice soft yet firm:
"Mingli, hold on, wait for me to break this cage."

She suddenly opened her eyes; before the tears could fall, blood gushed out.

The array patterns retaliated wildly, gnawing at her sea of ​​consciousness. In excruciating pain, she clenched her fingers, her nails digging into her palms, and blood seeped little by little into the crack in the soul jade she had guarded for three years.

She laughed in a trembling voice, with a chilling intensity bordering on madness:
"Draw it out... squeeze every last drop of blood and bone from this body into a vessel!"

"As long as I still cling to the name 'Chu Ning,' I can—crawl back from hell to the human world!"

In that instant, the entire Soul Mirror emitted a very faint "crack" sound.

It was as if her will had begun to shake this cage named after soul extinction.

Northeast of the capital, at the summit of Lei Tu.

Chu Ning was already standing high in the sky amidst the lightning trails, the thunderous energy overwhelming him, but his expression changed in an instant.

His chest trembled slightly.

The Soul Jade, hidden close to his body within his clothing, a cold and silent object, now seemed to emit an extremely subtle fluctuation. It was as if a wisp of light was struggling to rise from the depths of a dormant volcano.

His eyes suddenly narrowed, his five fingers pressed against his heart, and his soul consciousness penetrated deep into the Soul Jade.

“Mingli…”

He was startled, and the lightning wheel behind him trembled violently.

Within the Soul Diagram, the Five Elements Thunder Rings, which had been slowly rotating, suddenly stopped, and in the very center of the Soul Core, a faint aura of thunder quietly emerged.

It was not the sharpness of golden thunder, nor the scorching heat of fire thunder, nor the weight of earth thunder.

It is silent, yet extremely persistent.

It is unseen, yet it does not fade.

It is—Oath Thunder.

It does not belong to the Five Elements, nor is it listed in Heaven and Earth. It does not rely on techniques, nor does it adhere to principles. It is not born from killing, nor from anger, nor is it born from bloodlines or skills.

It all started with just one sentence.

"She's waiting for me."

At that moment, Chu Ning's heart was burning with anxiety, his five souls trembled in unison in his sea of ​​consciousness, and the Thunder Wheel hummed. Although he was clearly high in the Thunder Diagram, he felt as if he were in a soul prison, seeing the woman whose soul fire was fading and whose snow-white skin was stained with blood, still calling his name softly in her heart.

"She never asked for help."

"But I could tell—she couldn't hold on any longer."

This is not revenge.

It's a lifesaver.

If it had been a moment later, she would have... been gone.

All the noble families and dignitaries who had not yet recovered their senses looked up in shock. They saw that within the Soul Map, a thin line of lightning, like a blood oath pattern, descended from the clouds like a cross-section of a galaxy, falling straight towards the heart of the imperial capital.

Before him, the imperial city's triple defenses were sealed off, and soul locks were placed upon him.

The four guardian envoys, all at the peak of the fifth rank, hung high in the sky. Their soul power formed an array, and black and gold chains covered the void, surrounding Lei Tu's trajectory like cracks.

On the ground, five hundred imperial city guards stood in solemn formation, their black armor and iron boots clad in intertwined soul chains, their soul consciousness resonating, forming the foremost defensive formation in the capital:
—The Soul Locked in the Heavenly Prison.

This formation has never been broken since it was first deployed.

It was used to suppress all "disobedience" outside the capital.

It has always represented only one thing:

"No further progress is allowed here."

The wind stopped.

A sudden burst of lightning struck, and the world fell silent, as if all living things were holding their breath.

Chu Ning suddenly opened his eyes, the lightning no longer dancing in them, only a burning rage that penetrated to the bone.

He slowly raised his left hand, and suddenly a blue-green lightning flashed in his palm.

The lightning, like ink drops falling into water, rippled outwards and spun in a ring on his palm.

A soul wheel slowly unfolded in his palm.

The center of the wheel is like a mirror, reflecting the five elements of the soul meridians—metal breaks, wood generates, water submerges, fire burns, and earth suppresses; the five souls are intertwined like meridians, each soul line seemingly engraved with an unknown vow.

It takes the five souls as its body, the five elements as its order, the soul's thoughts as its guide, and the power of thunder as its method.

The soul wheel turned silently, the thunder did not move, yet it was like the first seed in the world, wriggling in silence to unleash an irreversible calamity.

—A transformation in response to calamity.

Soul Wheel Extreme Realm: The ultimate killing technique that leaves no way out.

In an instant, a dark blue swirling seal suddenly contracted and exploded under his palm, causing his soul wheel to shake the heavens.

"boom!!!"

That was the first time in the world that one heard the sound of being shattered.

On the ground, before the five hundred imperial city guards could even roar and form ranks, a crushing vortex of souls descended like a dragon swallowing the sky, roaring and stirring up waves of air that tore the entire Soul Lock Array Domain apart.

"Soul Devouring Thunder!"

Lightning surged like a tide, and the souls, energy, and will of five hundred people instantly detached from their bodies, transforming into streams of souls that flowed back into the center of Chu Ning's soul wheel.

They didn't even have time to let out a roar.

As the Soul Wheel rotates, those soul consciousnesses are refined into lightning and fire, devoured and eliminated inch by inch, as if they had never existed.

Even screaming is a superfluous luxury.

In that instant, the "Soul Lock Prison" was no longer a defensive formation, but rather like an ancient monument that had long been weathered, crushed into dust by a single palm strike.

High in the sky, the four envoys of the Soul Suppressing Division hung high in the air, overlooking the Great Qian National Defense Array.

But at the same moment his soul wheel trembled, his mind suddenly shook.

They are stronger than the guards, and their souls are more stable.

Therefore, they "sensed" the true terror of that palm strike.

That wasn't magic, nor was it murderous intent.

It's fate.

Someone used their own life force as a candle to unleash the power of heavenly tribulation and issue a final judgment upon them.

"Take your position—cast the spell—"

Before the order could be given, four soul-piercing lightning bolts, like the ropes of judgment, pierced through the clouds from the heart of the soul wheel vortex.

moment--

Breaking through perception;

stop thinking;

fissures;

Soul dissolving.

They were instantly pulled into the Soul Wheel.

The sea of ​​consciousness is like drowning, the sea of ​​thoughts is like being submerged; every struggle only leads to a deeper sinking.

All four fell together.

Their souls were ultimately refined without a trace by a bolt of azure lightning, making it impossible for them to even step onto the path of reincarnation again.

At that moment, the three layers of national defense array protecting the imperial city completely collapsed.

The entire capital city, from its formations and fortune to its order and soul path, trembled and shattered under that single palm strike.

He simply withdrew his hand.

In his palm, the azure soul wheel continued to spin, its eerie light lingering, as if the Heavenly Dao had not yet exhausted its power, and the next strike was imminent. Chu Ning, the Lord of Thunder Souls, sworn in thunder, shattered the Golden Palace Soul Lock with each step, aiming straight for the heart of the Imperial City.

Three lines of defense failed to stop their advance;
The laws and regulations of a thousand years are worthless.

Thunder patterns flowed like a river from beneath his feet, the soul map still lingering, the thunder wheel roaring, illuminating the entire Heavenly Palace steps as if he were in the Temple of Ten Thousand Thunder Gods.

Ninety-nine golden steps, each step higher than the last.

He neither bowed his head nor needed to look back.

At this moment, the entire capital city knelt down.

The emperor dared not leave.

He, however, had already entered the Mirror Prison.

—Entering is a vow.

—To break is destiny.

Mirror Prison, located north of the capital, is buried ten feet below the earth's veins. Thirty-nine layers of soul-sealing arrays press down like a water prison, and it has been used by emperors throughout history to suppress rebellious and serious criminals.

But now——

It couldn't stop a man whose obsession burned like fire and whose vows were as strong as thunder.

"Ming Li".

Before Chu Ning arrived, his divine sense had already gone ahead.

A bolt of lightning cleaved through the sky, and before it even touched the ground, the towering rock core cracked open like porcelain in an instant.

The lightning marks were like lifelines peeled from a crack in the sky, running from the dome to the earth's core. The entire underground palace was like a mountain range flooded with lightning and fire, trembling, collapsing, and exploding.

The Prison Soul Guards had just assembled when, before they could even utter a command, their souls were swallowed up by a "Celestial Retribution" attack. Their sea of ​​consciousness shattered, and they didn't even have time to let out a mournful cry.

It was a lightning vortex that devoured souls and consciousness. In an instant, the sea of ​​consciousness of the entire prison soul guards collapsed, their soul lamps went out, and before they could even utter a mournful cry, their souls and spirits were scattered.

Chu Ning transformed the Thunder Wheel in his palm into a blade, aiming directly at the core of the Mirror Prison.

That slash didn't strike the person, but instead severed the core of the Earth's soul pillar.

"boom!!"

The core of the entire Mirror Prison trembled violently, the nineteen layers of sealing seals tore apart, soul patterns danced wildly, and cold light flashed across the sky.

Countless azure souls escaped from the shattered array opening, like shadows that had been silent in hell for a thousand years, summoned back to the mortal world by a bolt of lightning.

Without slowing down, he gathered his energy and went to the most secluded place.

The nineteenth level, the Cold Soul Mirror.

It was an ancient, sealed mirror, formed by a soul array and bounded by silver patterns. Thirty-nine soul-suppressing seals were densely embedded, forming a cage to suppress the soul and lock away thoughts.

The mirror was like still water, dark and undisturbed, as if it swallowed all light into an abyss.

Chu Ning stood before the mirror, his reflection shimmering in it, like a belated vow hanging silently outside. The lightning remained still, yet it was as if time and space had stood still.

He saw her.

She lay there in the center of the shattered mirror, her snow-white skin trembling slightly, her hair as black as ink, her pulse faint.

Like a white plum blossom that has fallen into a deep well, its fragrance has faded, its petals have grown cold, but only that lingering obsession remains.

She couldn't see him, nor could she hear him.

But just as he approached, a tiny, minute wisp of soul energy in a certain part of the mirror trembled slightly.

It was like the wind passing over a precipice, a terrifying sight amidst the grass.

Chu Ning raised his left hand, the five souls swirling in his palm, and lightning bursting forth inch by inch deep within his palm veins, like five star cores intertwining into a net, pouring into the mirror surface.

The thunder roared like needles, its breath as fine as silk.

He stitched the seals into the gaps between the array, breaking the seals, piercing the forbidden spells, and tearing apart the bindings.

Suddenly, the black mirror vibrated and the array patterns fluctuated, as if it had been awakened by an external will. The Soul Mirror, which had been dead for a hundred years, suddenly let out a mournful cry, the silver patterns collapsed like snow, and the forbidden power poured back like a tide.

But Chu Ning only spoke softly, her words like a vow:
"Mingli, I'm here."

At that moment, her fingertips twitched slightly in the mirror.

It was that one tremor!
The suppressed thunderous aura in Chu Ning's eyes finally found an outlet.

His eyes sharpened, he clenched his fist, and his soul power surged into the Soul Mirror. In the next instant, thunder roared and the Soul Seal cracked.

Like morning thunder shattering snow, it falls silently to the ground.

But in an instant, it ignited her spirit of rebirth.

Xie Mingli trembled, and a bright red stain appeared between her lips and teeth.

She seemed to have drawn out her last breath from the depths of a drowning abyss.

Her eyelashes trembled, her ears were filled with confusion, yet she heard a voice.

Deep and familiar, like fire, like wind.

"I am coming."

Her lips moved slightly, her voice barely audible:
“…Brother Ning…”

Her voice was no longer able to form sentences; her lips and teeth trembled, but only broken breaths escaped.

But tears had already started flowing uncontrollably.

Three years.

Like a long, winding dream, she had called out this name countless times when her soul was about to dissipate, but she never dared to hope that he would actually come.

At this moment, she finally saw it clearly.

He really came.

It's him.

It's Chu Ning.

But the first thing she saw was not his smile, nor the way he called her name.

It was the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, the white hair at his temples, and the wisp of frost on his lips.

She was stunned for a long time.

Three years ago, he was a boy with eyes like flames.

Now, his brows are furrowed with desolation, like a lone boat that has traveled a thousand miles in a sea of ​​thunder, its sails already torn, only its stubbornness preventing it from capsizing.

Her heart felt as if it had been gently twisted.

But before the pain subsided, she suddenly noticed that his left eye was quiet and devoid of light.

It leaves no scars, yet is more terrifying than bloodshed.

It was an eye that could not see the light, as if he had given everything he had, and had gambled the world for her.

Her tears flowed uncontrollably.

She struggled to raise her hand, trying to touch the slight stubble on his pale chin, but could only lift it half an inch.

The lingering Soul-Binding Curse marks, like an invisible chain, still coiled around her weakened limbs and bones. The moment she tried to raise her hand, they tightened abruptly, constricting her already dwindling strength.
She let out a soft groan, her breath coming in short gasps. The old wound between her brows suddenly burst open, and a streak of bright red blood, like fine snowflakes, slid down from her hair, staining her temples.

In that instant, she lowered her eyes, as if she wanted to apologize, but she didn't even have time to say "Don't look."

Chu Ning's eyes finally moved.

No longer like a blade, but like fire—a fire that has been suppressed for too long.

He looked down at her, his eyes reflecting her pale face, bloodshot brow, broken fingertips... and her just now—that caress that didn't touch her at all.

His fingertips trembled slightly, but he did not speak.

But then, a loud "boom" rang out from his palm.

The Soul Wheel is enraged.

Lightning exploded from his wrist, and a bolt of lightning pierced through the mirror as it struck down.

In that instant, the Thirty-Nine Layers of Soul-Sealing Array seemed to be torn apart by a raging sea, and raging lightning pierced through the heavenly veins, directly entering the heart of the mirror.

The Soul Mirror shattered inch by inch, the silver patterns broke like shattered bones, and countless Soul Chains howled and wailed in the thunder and fire, burning away one after another, like an ancient cursed seal that had been ignited deep within the capital, finally facing its reckoning.

Her soul returned to its place the instant that lightning bolt swept across.

The sea of ​​consciousness is restarted like a lake, the five senses reunite, and the breath returns.

She emerged from the shattered Soul Mirror, and before she could stabilize her Qi Sea, she felt a pair of hands catch her very steadily.

She collapsed into his arms, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her soul trembling.

I heard him utter a whisper, barely restrained:
"Not afraid."

"I'm here."

He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against her cold forehead; in that instant, all thunder ceased.

She choked up, wanting to say, "You've gotten old," "You've lost weight," "What's wrong with your eyes?"

But before she could say anything, he hugged her a little tighter.

She doesn't need to ask anything anymore.

He arrived late because he had worked tirelessly all the way.

(End of this chapter)