Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 226: Eye of Guixu
Thousands of miles away, deep in a cold forest.

"puff--!"

Chu Ning's body convulsed violently again, like a broken bellows, and a large mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed out, staining a large area of ​​snow in front of him red and emitting a strong, pungent, and rotten smell.

His face was no longer pale, but a deathly ashen. The soul pattern between his brows had completely faded and disappeared, leaving only a few hideous, seemingly still writhing, pitch-black cracks.

Dong'er knelt before him, her hands pressed tightly against his chest and brow. The pure soul power of the Fox Ancestor, mixed with the last glimmer of light from the Sequence Stone, frantically mended the greedily expanding soul cracks like the finest silver needles.

But her face was even more somber than the night in the cold forest.

"Soul Bridge... How dare you..." Dong'er's voice was filled with suppressed rage, and a barely perceptible tremor, "That's a forbidden technique that can only be activated by burning one's life essence! Your soul core... is already showing signs of disintegration!"

Chu Ning's consciousness sank and floated in boundless pain and icy darkness. Dong'er's voice seemed to come through a thick layer of ice, indistinct and unclear.

His only clear perception was the intense throbbing of Qing Li's soul frequency emanating from the soul-guiding stone in his heart, and... the strange, gradually stabilizing tranquility that followed the throbbing.

She is safe.

She... seemed to understand something.

That's enough.

A faint, almost illusory smile struggled to rise from the corners of his ashen lips, only to be swallowed up by the surging blood.

"Still laughing?!" Dong'er roared, her soul power output becoming even more ferocious, attempting to forcibly freeze the disintegration of his soul core. "You sensed that she has realized it? So you're willing to risk your life?! Chu Ning! Your life isn't just your own!"

Chu Ning's unfocused pupils focused for a moment, looking into Dong'er's withered eyes burning with anger. His lips moved silently, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end it only turned into a faint, almost inaudible gasp.

His body suddenly went limp, the last bit of strength supporting him completely disappeared, and he fell backward like a puppet with its strings cut, crashing into a dead tree trunk and remaining motionless.

Only the extremely faint, intermittent rise and fall of the chest proved that the body was not yet completely cold.

Dong'er withdrew her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly from the excessive output of soul power.

She watched as Chu Ning completely lost consciousness, his life force fading like a candle in the wind. Then she looked down at the dim fragments of the Sequence Stone in her palm, her eyes churning with complex emotions—anger, helplessness, and sorrow—which ultimately turned into a frozen, lifeless stillness.

“Foolish child…” she uttered two words in a low voice, like a sigh, or a judgment.

The wind and snow in the cold forest seemed to grow even heavier, howling as if bidding farewell to the dying embers of the soul.

Qingli climbed the cold stone steps of the Coffin Well, the cold wind swirling with fine snow lashing against her face, bringing a bone-chilling cold.

She disregarded all that and eagerly scanned the stone base at the wellhead.

Soul-inducing stone!
The warm, pale gold stone that had once throbbed quietly in her palm now lay on the cold stone seat, radiating a soft yet exceptionally bright light.

The light was no longer faint, but flickered rhythmically like breathing, each flicker pointing in a clear direction—northeast, deep into the harsher, more ancient snowfields of the north.

What shocked her even more was that the shattered lightning seal on her palm resonated strongly with the light of the Soul-Guiding Stone.

Strands of purple lightning spilled uncontrollably from the mark, coiling around her fingertips, as if urging her urgently, or as if struggling to echo some extremely faint existence in the distance.

“Northeast…” Qingli murmured to herself, gazing at the snow-covered northeast that seemed to devour everything. The last trace of hesitation in her eyes vanished completely, replaced by a resolute determination.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the Soul-Guiding Stone.

The stone felt warm and smooth to the touch, and its intense pulsation seemed to strike directly at her soul core, guiding her on an unambiguous path forward.

She pressed it tightly against the palm where the lightning mark was, and the contact between the cold stone and the burning mark brought a strange sense of comfort and strength.

She took a deep breath of the cold air, turned around, and was about to step into the unknown snowstorm.

"Leaving now?"

Dong'er's cool voice came from behind her.

She appeared silently at the wellhead, her plain blue fox fur coat motionless in the wind and snow, her gaze calmly fixed on Qingli.

Qingli stopped in her tracks, without turning around. She simply gripped the Soul-Guiding Stone and the Thunder Seal in her palm, her voice clear and firm: "He's waiting for me. He... can't hold on much longer."

Dong'er remained silent for a moment, as the wind and snow swirled around her.

She slowly stepped forward, walked to Qingli's side, and turned her gaze to the vast snow-covered landscape to the northeast.

"The Soul-Guiding Stone points in the direction of the 'Ancient Soul Clan' ruins." Dong'er's voice was devoid of emotion. "That land is older and more desolate than the Fox Ancestor's fiefdom. The boundary power is chaotic, and soul fire is hard to preserve. It is a true 'forbidden zone of life.' The Fox Clan's records call it the 'Eye of the Ruins.'"

Ancient Soul Clan? Eye of the Ruins? Qing Li felt a chill in her heart, but the guidance in her palm and the scorching heat of the lightning seal prevented her from backing down in the slightest.

“I know it’s dangerous.” She turned her head to look at Dong’er, her nascent soul eyes burning with an undeniable light. “But he’s there, or… he’s guiding me there to find a way to save him. I have to go.”

Looking into the familiar, stubborn light in her eyes that belonged to "Qingli," Dong'er seemed to see the shadow of that girl who fought to the death before the barrier back then.

She sighed almost imperceptibly.

"This journey is extremely dangerous. Your newly formed soul may not be able to withstand the erosion of the boundary force." As Dong'er spoke, she took something out of her sleeve.

It was a pale blue feather, thin as a cicada's wing and almost transparent, with ancient fox ancestor runes flowing along its edges, exuding a warm yet resilient protective aura.

"This is the 'Mysterious Soul Feather,' condensed with my original soul power. It can help you temporarily resist some of the boundary power erosion of the 'Eye of Return to the Void,' stabilizing your soul. However, its effect is limited, so use it with caution."

She handed the feather to Qingli.

Qingli looked at the feather that contained powerful protective energy, and then at Dong'er's withered yet still deep eyes.

She understood the weight of this gift.

Without refusing, she solemnly accepted it with both hands: "Thank you, Sister Dong'er."

"No need to thank me." Dong'er withdrew her hand, her gaze returning to the depths of the snowstorm, her voice ethereal, "Remember, the Ancient Soul Clan ruins are no ordinary place. Besides the chaotic boundary energy, some... forgotten, ominous things slumber there. If you sense any insurmountable danger, immediately activate the Mysterious Soul Feather; it will give you a chance to escape."

She paused, then finally left only one sentence:
"Come back alive."

Before she finished speaking, her figure vanished into the snow like smoke, as if she had never appeared.

Qingli gripped the Xuanpo Feather tightly, feeling the warm power flowing within it, and carefully put it into her bosom, pressing it close to the Soul-Guiding Stone.

She glanced one last time in the direction of the coffin well, where her forgotten past was buried, and where it connected to the future she had to journey towards.

Without further hesitation, she turned around and stepped into the howling wind and snow. Her slender yet upright figure was quickly swallowed up by the boundless white snow.

Only the Soul-Guiding Stone in his palm stubbornly shone in the wind and snow, like an inextinguishable star in the dark night, firmly pointing to the northeast—the ancient Soul Clan ruins known as the "Eye of the Ruins".

The wind and snow howled, and the road ahead seemed endless.

Her journey home begins with her first steps, leading to both the unknown abyss and hope. All for the one who, at the edge of the abyss, burned their soul's flame for her.

The faint blue light of the coffin well had long been shut out by the relentless wind and snow.

Qingli's figure trudged across the vast snowfield, as small as a mustard seed.

Only the howling of wind and snow remained between heaven and earth, like the roar of billions of giant ice beasts, the swirling snowflakes sharp as knives, cutting into every inch of exposed skin.

The cold was no longer a sensation on the skin; it seeped into her bones, froze her blood, as if to freeze her nascent soul in this eternal white purgatory.

Only the Soul-Guiding Stone in the palm of one's hand is the only source of light and warmth in this desolate world.

It clung tightly to the scorching, shattered lightning mark, each beat steady and powerful, like Chu Ning's heartbeat still beating for her even as her soul teetered on the brink of collapse.

Pale golden light pierced through the heavy fur coat, stubbornly marking the direction amidst the pure white sky—northeast, deep into that unknown realm where even the wind and snow seemed to carry ancient malice.

Dong'er's words echoed in my mind:
"The Eye of the Ruins... the Forbidden Zone of Life... an ominous creature slumbering..."

Every word carried a chilling aura.

But the burning heat in her palm, the pulsation of the Soul-Guiding Stone, and the gentle, broken voice from the depths of her soul sea, "Don't be afraid... I've always been here," were like three tightly twisted ropes, pulling her forward relentlessly.

One step, another step.

The boots sank deep into the knee-deep snow, and each time they were pulled out, it took a tremendous amount of effort.

The nascent soul felt weak and dizzy under the pressure of the extreme environment, as if it were being repeatedly pulled by an invisible hand.

She could only grit her teeth and grip the Xuanpo Feather even tighter, feeling the protective warmth flowing from Dong'er's very being through the thin, cicada-wing-like feather, struggling to maintain the balance between her soul and body.

I don't know how long I walked, maybe a day, maybe several days.

Time lost its meaning in this monotonous and cruel white expanse.

Just as the warmth emanating from the Xuanpo Ling began to weaken, like a candle flickering in the wind, the scene ahead suddenly changed dramatically.

The howling wind and snow seemed to have crashed into an invisible giant wall, churning and roaring in vain outside a certain boundary, yet unable to penetrate any further.

A massive, suffocating circular basin suddenly appeared before our eyes, as if it had been slammed onto the snowfield by the giant fist of an ancient god.

Within the basin, there was a deathly silence.

There was no wind, no snow. Only a pure, thick, impenetrable darkness.

That darkness was not the deep stillness of night, but a kind of living nothingness that devoured all light.

Gazing into it is like falling into a bottomless abyss, as if even one's consciousness is being sucked away and stripped away.

At the edge of the basin, jagged black boulders, like the fangs of a giant beast, point toward the gloomy and oppressive sky, exuding an ancient and ominous aura that sends chills down your spine.

The air was filled with an indescribable scent—dust that had decayed for millions of years.
Or is it the almost tangible remnant of soul energy that has dissipated from some enormous being that has been dormant for too long?

Heavy, viscous, and carrying a sense of oppression on a spiritual level.

Eye of the Ruins!

The light from the Soul-Guiding Stone suddenly intensified.

It was no longer just a gentle guidance, but like a red-hot branding iron, frantically scorching Qingli's palm, leaping towards the center of that all-consuming dark basin.

The shattered lightning seal in his palm also erupted with an unprecedented stinging sensation. Fine purple electric sparks shot out uncontrollably, emitting a faint crackling sound, resonating intensely with the light of the Soul-Guiding Stone, pointing in the same desperate and singular direction.

Chu Ning's aura!
Right here in the deepest part of darkness!

As faint as a candle flickering in the wind, yet it was imprinted with unparalleled clarity in the resonance between the Soul-Guiding Stone and the Thunder Seal.

That wasn't just a location; it was the final cry for help from his crumbling soul core.

"Chu Ning!" Qing Li's heart clenched suddenly, and she could hardly breathe.

Without the slightest hesitation, she gripped the Xuanpo Feather tightly to her chest, feeling the last remaining warmth within it. She took a deep breath of the cold air, which carried the scent of decay and death, and stepped into that invisible boundary.

- Om!

It felt as if I had passed through a thick, cold film of water.

The howling wind and snow outside were instantly shut out, and a deathly silence surged in like a tangible tide, completely engulfing her.

The light was completely swallowed up, and absolute darkness enveloped our vision.

An indescribable, heavy pressure pressed in from all directions. It wasn't just the stagnation of the air; it felt as if countless cold hands were tearing at her soul, trying to crush her nascent consciousness and drag her into eternal nothingness.

"Ugh!" Qingli groaned, her soul trembled violently, and her vision went black.

The Xuanpo Ling instantly burst forth with a supple azure light, like a thin cocoon of light that barely enveloped her, resisting the all-pervasive erosion of the boundary force.

But the cocoon of light flickered under the pressure of darkness, groaning under its unbearable burden.

The light from the Soul-Guiding Stone became the only source of light in the darkness, faint yet resolute, piercing through the thick darkness ahead and illuminating the rugged, black ground beneath her feet.

The ground wasn't soil; it was more like some kind of solidified, rough metal vein, icy cold.

Guided by the light, she trudged along, her steps uneven, towards the center of the basin.

Each step felt incredibly heavy, as if treading on frozen time.

In the deathly silence, only the sound of my own heavy breathing and heartbeat amplified infinitely in my ears, like the beating of a drum.

After an unknown amount of time, the darkness seemed to have reached its peak.

The light from the Soul-Guiding Stone was almost compressed to the area closest to the body.

Just then, at the edge illuminated by the light of the Soul-Guiding Stone, darkness churned like ink.

A distorted silhouette slowly emerged.

The outline had no fixed shape, as if it were formed from the purest darkness, its edges constantly writhing and deforming, exuding a greedy, cold, and all-consuming malice.

It had no eyes, but Qingli clearly felt a hungry gaze firmly locked onto her.

“Soul…devour…” A hoarse, overlapping voice, as if whispering countless souls, resounded directly in Qing Li’s sea of ​​consciousness.

(End of this chapter)