Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 221 Stepping into the Realm in Three Breaths
Chu Ning said no more, tossing a scroll, already prepared and imbued with soul light, to the seal bearer of the Soul Map Pavilion, and loudly proclaimed that his voice reverberated through the tent, echoing in the wind and snow:

"Issue the order! Three months from now, at the summit of the Heavenly Mirror Platform, activate the Boundary Array!"

"The required Soul Stones, Boundary Iron, Sealing Bones, and Myriad-Patterned Secret Gold... will all be allocated by the Six Departments of Yunzhou and the Secret Treasury of the Soul Mirror Pavilion!"

"Soul Chart Pavilion - Array Drawing!"

"Soul Mirror Pavilion - Imprinted Seal to Suppress Souls!"

"Soul Formation Pavilion - Armed with weapons to protect the formation!"

"All those with five or more soul patterns, and those of the third rank or higher... must stand by!"

"Trial participants—volunteer registration! Life and death...at your own risk!"

He surveyed the crowd one last time, his gaze seemingly piercing through the tent walls to see the sealed-off sky. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a world-shaking weight, imprinted deep within the souls of everyone present:

"Once this formation is activated, it will no longer be under my, Chu Ning's, authority."

"It is for you—to break free from this cage! To open your own heaven! To expand the realm of your soul!"

"If you are cowardly, you will be imprisoned forever!"

"If you venture into this realm... a new world will surely be created!"

The wind and snow intensified, yet they seemed unable to extinguish the raging flames of "hope" and "determination" burning within the tent.

Countless long-dormant soul patterns, under the master's turbulent emotions, uncontrollably lit up with a faint light, like stars awakening in the dark night.

The three-month period passed in the blink of an eye.

Vast snowfields, Heavenly Mirror Terrace.

The once desolate ice field summit is now occupied by a magnificent creation that reaches to the heavens and the earth.

It was not a physical building, but a Tier 1 Critical Array Tower constructed from pure soul power, billions of runes, and the power of the Boundary Lock's origin.

The tower is thousands of feet tall, its entire body shimmering with a blend of dark gold and deep blue light.

Its base is deeply rooted in the frozen soil, inscribed with the most ancient soul-suppressing decrees of the Soul Mirror Pavilion. Countless thick soul lock phantoms, like the roots of a giant tree, are wrapped around it, drawing on the pulse of the earth.

The main body of the tower is composed of billions of array patterns drawn by the Soul Map Pavilion with all its resources, layer upon layer, so intricate and complex that it is dazzling and mesmerizing.

Each level of the tower is like an independent little world, some with stars turning, some with mountains and rivers collapsing, some with resentment growing, and some with emptiness and nothingness.

At the very top of the tower, a beam of light, formed from pure "boundary-locking power" and existing between reality and illusion, pierced the leaden-gray sky, as if silently questioning the sealed heavenly gate.

The cold wind was still biting, whipping up tiny ice crystals that lashed against the soul warriors standing solemnly around the tower base.

The elites of the Soul Mirror Pavilion, Soul Diagram Pavilion, and Soul Shape Pavilion all came out, with Soul Masters of five patterns or above and Martial Artists of the third rank or above, like silent sculptures, surrounding the giant tower to form a huge protective soul ring.

Their soul power intertwined to form an invisible force field, stabilizing this miraculous tower that connects life and death and challenges limits.

On the high platform, Chu Ning was still wearing a plain black robe with gold patterns, but his face was paler than three months ago, and his brows showed an undisguised weariness.

Forcibly presiding over the construction of such a heaven-defying formation was a huge burden on his already damaged soul source.

The five-patterned soul lock on his back dimmed, and although the cracks were temporarily suppressed, they were still shocking, like ice patterns on porcelain.

However, his eyes were brighter and sharper than ever before, like burning stars, fixed firmly on the slowly opening "door" at the bottom of the tower, made of pure energy.

"The time has come!"

Chu Ning's voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced through the howling wind and snow, resounding in the consciousness of every soul practitioner.

"Order-order critical matrix—Activate!"

"Om-!"

At his command, the entire thousand-foot-tall Soul Tower suddenly burst forth with dazzling light.

The countless runes on the tower seemed to come alive, rapidly circulating and recombining.

The soul-suppressing decree of the base roared, and the pillar of light of the boundary lock at the top of the tower suddenly blazed brightly.

A vast, majestic, yet oppressive aura, like an ancient beast awakening, instantly enveloped the entire Heavenly Mirror Platform.

"Ascensionists—enter the tower!" Li Jing'an's voice boomed like a bell. As the chief guardian of the formation, his voice carried an undeniable chilling authority.

Dozens of figures had already gathered before the portal at the bottom of the tower.

Leading the group was Mu Guishan, whose hair and beard were white but whose back was straight. Beside him was Li Muwan, who was full of fighting spirit and had a long sword in her hand. Behind them were Li Jing'an, Yu Xingshui, Xun Hao, Shen Ying, Yu Qianshui, and many other peak experts of the Soul Realm, some old and some young, with a deep and imposing aura.

They were the pioneers who volunteered to cross this threshold of life and death.

Mu Guishan turned around, his cloudy old eyes sweeping over everyone, and said only two words: "Take care."

Immediately, leaning on his seemingly ordinary wooden staff, he took a step forward, and his figure instantly disappeared into the flowing light gate.

"Haha! The old man is in a hurry!" Li Muwan's lips curled up, and she laughed heartily, but she subtly tightened her grip on the hilt of her knife the instant she took a step.

A subtle sense of pressure flashed in her eyes—not fear, but an instinctive tension born of fighting spirit.

She took a deep breath, brandished her sword, and charged into the portal without hesitation.

Yu Xingshui took a deep breath, and with a flash of light from the Soul Map at her fingertips, she resolutely stepped in.

One by one, figures, with a do-or-die determination, disappeared into the gate of light.

As the last person entered, the portal suddenly closed.

The soul warriors guarding the base of the tower shouted in unison, instantly boosting their soul power output to the maximum.

The light from the entire order-level critical array tower surged, and the humming sound of its operation suddenly rose, becoming sharp and oppressive.

Mu Guishan felt as if he had stepped into a viscous sea of ​​blood.

The ground beneath their feet was not solid, but rather "rotten soil" piled up from countless twisted, wailing remains of the dead.

The sky was a landscape of inverted, broken mountains, burning with eerie green phosphorescence.

The intense, overwhelming resentment, despair, and madness pierced his soul like a million cold, poisonous needles.

Illusions abound before his eyes, with countless familiar and unfamiliar faces emerging in the blood mist, their eyes filled with venomous resentment, uttering silent curses, pulling at his consciousness, trying to drag him into eternal damnation.

"Hmph! You mere remnant spirit dares to disturb my mind?!" Mu Guishan roared, slamming his wooden staff heavily onto the "rotten soil".

"Buzz!"

A soft yet incredibly resilient golden halo spread out from the base of the wooden staff, and wherever it passed, the wailing remains of the dead melted and were purified as quickly as snow exposed to sunlight.

A brilliant light, beyond his years, burst forth from his cloudy old eyes, and a tenacious will, weathered by time and unyielding, soared into the sky, carving out a pure land amidst the sea of ​​resentment and bloodshed.

In another space, Li Muwan found herself in a battlefield of bones burning with dark purple demonic flames.

Countless skeletal monsters, their eye sockets pulsating with infernal flames, wielding bone blades, surged toward her like a tidal wave.

The intense heat of the demonic flames scorched her protective soul light, and the fearless impact of the skeletal demons caused her blood and qi to churn.

“Good timing…” Li Muwan murmured softly, a suppressed hoarseness emanating from her throat.

Her left hand trembled slightly, yet she gripped the scabbard tightly. The next moment, she suddenly roared, and the longsword transformed into a silver streak that tore through space! "Breaking Army Slash!"

"boom!"

Wherever the blade flashed, the skeletal demons shattered into pieces, and the dark purple demonic flames were forcibly cleaved apart by the sharp blade intent.

Like a Valkyrie on the battlefield, she went against the tide of monsters, each strike carrying the determination to cut through all obstacles.

Neither the erosion of demonic flames nor the wailing of the dead could shake the burning fighting spirit in her eyes.

Yu Xingshui was faced with countless twisted and writhing spatial fissures.

Tentacles formed from resentment extended from the rift, emanating a nauseating corrosive stench. At the same time, countless terrifying future visions of the collapse of the boundary lock and the fall of the soul realm coiled around her soul like poisonous vines, attempting to erode her will.

"Illusory!" Yu Xing Shui Qing shouted, and the illusory image of the Soul Brush in his hand reappeared.

She was not a combat-type Soul Master, but at this moment she used the Soul Brush as a guide to rapidly sketch in the air.

"Stabilizing the Sky - Soul-Suppressing Diagram!"

Mysterious scrolls composed of pure soul power and containing the laws of spatial stability appeared and rotated around her.

Those resentful tentacles struck the scroll as if hitting a copper wall or iron barrier, making a hissing, corrosive sound but unable to make any progress.

Those terrifying illusions were forcibly dispelled and suppressed by the clear and bright Taoist energy contained within the scroll.

She used the legacy of the Soul Pavilion to build a fortress to protect her mind.

Just after Mu Guishan erected the Pure Land, the blood mist dissipated slightly.

He stared blankly at a piece of broken bone at his feet, his knuckles trembling slightly.

That is... the lingering spirit of a fellow traveler from years past?

A glint flashed in his eyes for a moment.

A deeper, more despairing aura, like icy seawater, silently spread and seeped into every trial space.

—At that very moment, the "aura of nothingness" quietly descended.

It is formless and intangible, yet more terrifying than any attack.

It does not burn the body, nor tear apart the soul; it acts directly on the "concept" of existence itself.

Being tainted by it, Mu Guishan felt his "sense of existence" rapidly fading away, as if he were about to merge into this void and become part of eternal silence.

Li Muwan's unparalleled fighting spirit seemed to be doused with ice water, and a sense of absurdity and nihilism that "all efforts are in vain" grew wildly.

The Soul Diagram Barrier constructed by Jade Star Water began to dim and blur under the erosion of the Boundless Aura, as if it were about to be assimilated by this ultimate "emptiness".

"Ugh—!" Shen Ying let out a painful groan. He felt his soul fire going out and his consciousness dissipating like a sandcastle.

He desperately tried to gather his soul power, but felt that the power was like sand slipping through his fingers, the more he tried to grasp it, the faster it slipped away.

"No... I can't..." Yu Qianshui's face was pale, his body trembled slightly, and the eternal loneliness brought by the aura of nothingness almost crushed his will.

The wooden staff in Mu Guishan's hand flashed intensely. He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and repeatedly chanted an ancient soul incantation to protect his mind, forcefully resisting the terrifying power that wanted to "erasure" him.

Li Muwan leaned on her long sword, knelt on one knee, and her chest heaved violently.

A bitter taste rose in her throat, but she suddenly grinned and smiled.

The smile was not cheerful; it even revealed a hint of ferocity and exhaustion, like a forced provocation when one is struggling to suppress nothingness.

"Get...out of my way!" she roared hoarsely, her voice as rough as tearing silk, yet filled with an unyielding stubbornness and madness.

Yu Xing Shui spat out a mouthful of soul blood, staining the soul diagram before him crimson. Using his essence blood as a catalyst, he forcefully rekindled the dying runes of law, his voice sharper than ever before:
"Freeze! Freeze for me!!"

On the Heavenly Mirror Platform, Chu Ning's pupils suddenly contracted.

As the array master, he clearly sensed the situation inside the tower. Especially at the moment when the aura of nothingness permeated the air, several soul fire imprints representing the trial participants flickered violently like candles in the wind. Among them, the soul fires of Shen Ying, Yu Qianshui, and several others dimmed at a visible speed, on the verge of being extinguished.

"This is bad!" Li Jing'an's expression changed drastically. "The corrosive aura of Wuwang is too strong! Shen Ying and Qian Shui can't hold on!"

Chu Ning's eyes sharpened, and he didn't hesitate at all.

He took a sudden step off the platform, and his figure instantly appeared directly in front of the giant tower.

He formed hand seals, the five lines between his brows flashing wildly, and disregarded the excruciating pain from the cracks in the Soul Lock, forcibly activating the core power of the Boundary Lock.

"By my decree—"

"Boundary Lock - Soul Protector!"

A beam of dark golden light, condensed to its fullest extent, split off from the pillar of light at the top of the tower. Ignoring the tower's obstruction, it precisely projected itself onto Shen Ying, Yu Qianshui, and several other endangered individuals inside the tower.

"laugh--!"

The dark golden pillar of light acted as a warm barrier, temporarily isolating it from most of the erosion caused by the undeserved aura.

The dying soul flame trembled violently, stabilizing its decline.

Shen Ying and the others clung to the lifeline like drowning people, greedily absorbing the protective power and desperately trying to focus their minds.

However, forcibly diverting his attention to protect her would be a huge burden on Chu Ning.

His face turned deathly pale, as if it were gold paper, and more pale gold soul blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. The soul locks around his body emitted a mournful cry of unbearable strain, and the cracks seemed to widen a little further.

"Sect Master!" Yu Xingshui sensed the protective power inside the tower, her mind stirred, and she seized this precious opportunity, rapidly wielding her Soul Brush to reinforce her own defense.

Li Muwan took the opportunity to take a deep breath, but when she raised her knife, she found that her arm was trembling.

She stared at the invisible nothingness before her, briefly closed her eyes, and murmured softly:

"I haven't... had enough yet."

Before he could finish speaking, a roar erupted, unleashing all his remaining fighting spirit and forcefully forcing back the aura of Wuwang.

Just as everyone had caught their breath and thought they had survived the most terrifying stage, the gravity inside the tower seemed to increase ten thousand times in an instant.

Invisible pressure squeezed in from all directions, not only affecting the physical body, but also directly oppressing the very essence of the soul.

His bones groaned, his soul power became incredibly sluggish, and even his thoughts seemed to be crushed by this terrifying pressure.

“The pressure of the limit of realm…” Mu Guishan groaned, his body hunched over, his wooden staff deeply embedded in the “ground” as he struggled to support himself.

This simulates the terrifying environmental pressures that may exist in the void.

Under this extreme pressure, in the center of the tower's interior space, a faint yet incredibly pure light slowly shone.

In the light, a blurry figure, yet imbued with ancient vicissitudes and supreme majesty, slowly coalesced.

That figure... wore a tall crown and a robe with the Hunyuan Star Chart on it. Its face was indistinct, but it exuded an aura that was of the same origin as Chu Ning, yet even more ancient and vast.

"Master Hunyuan?!"

All the ascendants inside the tower, including Chu Ning who was in charge of the grand formation outside the tower, were shaken to their core.

(End of this chapter)