Ling Chen's fingers trembled as they brushed against the relic's icy surface. Suddenly, his vision filled with glowing crimson characters that swirled like blood in water, revealing the artifact's terrifying truth
Netherworld Soul-Severing Crucible(Treasures)
Origin: Abyss of Netherworld
Creator: Unknown
Age: Approximately 60 million years
Function: Extracts Martial Soul from cultivator's body
Transplants extracted soul to designated vessel
Time Limit: Transplant must occur within 120 hours
Usage: Single activation only
The blood-red text pulsed with ominous energy as it revealed the artifact's true purpose - not to measure, but to steal. This ancient device could forcibly separate a Martial Soul from its owner and implant it into another body, though the process had to be completed within five days or the soul would dissipate.
Ling Chen's breath caught as the realization struck - this was no test, but a sophisticated soul-theft device. The jagged edges of the crucible bit into his palm as Xue Mo increased the pressure, his smiling face masking deadly intentions. The Family Lord continued urging compliance, oblivious to the true danger resting in Ling Chen's hand.
Ling Chen's hand snapped back from the artifact with sudden violence. Xue Mo, now standing on the ground before him, blinked - his crimson eyes widening momentarily in genuine surprise. The Scarlet Enchantress hovering above tilted her head slightly, her cat's ears flattening against its skull.
"What's wrong, boy?" Xue Mo asked, his voice dripping with false concern as he extended the pulsating artifact again. "Having difficulties? Come, place your hand back. This treasure is our sect's most prized possession - it measures Martial Soul grades with perfect accuracy."
Ling Chen's lips curled into a faint, knowing smile as he met Xue Mo's gaze. "Oh? So your sect would waste a single-use treasure," he emphasized the words deliberately, "just to measure my soul grade?"
The effect was instantaneous. The Scarlet Enchantress's fingers froze mid-stroke on her cat's back. Xue Mo's carefully constructed mask of amusement slipped for a heartbeat - his pupils contracting to pinpricks.
"What did you say, boy?" Xue Mo's voice dropped an octave, the artifact trembling slightly in his grip. Inside, his mind raced - How does this backwater brat know about the usage limit? Impossible. No one in this wretched kingdom should recognize.Soul-Severing Crucible.
The Scarlet Enchantress drifted lower, her midnight-blue robes fluttering as she exchanged a glance with Xue Mo. His jaw tightened before forcing another smile. "I don't appreciate jokes, little dragon. Explain yourself - are you insulting our Blood Moon Sect?
The Family Lord's face purpled with rage. "What nonsense are you spouting?" he thundered, veins bulging at his temples. Ling Chen turned slowly to face the clan elders, his voice cutting through the tense air. "Are you all truly this blind? These two didn't come to recruit." His father grabbed his arm urgently, "Son, explain yourself!" Ling Chen's gaze never left Xue Mo as he spoke, "They're not here to select disciples. This artifact they brought..." He pointed at the pulsating relic, "...doesn't measure souls. Ask them yourself, elders - what does this thing truly do?"
Xue Mo suddenly threw back his head and laughed - a deep, booming sound that echoed unnaturally across the courtyard. "Hahaha! I can't believe it!" He wiped mock tears from his crimson eyes. "I thought you'd just stumbled upon this Martial Arts Soul by accident... but seeing your sharp mind now?" His grin turned razor-sharp as he floated slightly off the ground, level with the Scarlet Enchantress. "Heaven truly isn't blind! To gift you such power Martial Arts Soul and matching intelligence!"
The Family Lord and elders paled, stammering, "S-Senior? What do you mean?
A crushing gravitational pressure suddenly flattened the elders to their knees. Xue Mo's voice turned icy. "The boy's right. This isn't a measuring treasure." He held up the pulsating artifact, its dragon-turtle carvings now writhing visibly. "This extracts Master Souls from bodies." The Scarlet Enchantress floated down beside him, stroking her cat as she purred, "What use does your pathetic clan have for such power Martial Arts Soul ? At best, you'd raise him to Saint-level. But with us?" Her nails lengthened into claws. "This soul could birth a True God Immortal."
The Family Lord's face turned ashen. "W-what are you saying, Seniors?" His voice trembled as he struggled against the crushing gravity. "Souls... separated from bodies? That's impossible! We've never heard of such a thing! Souls may dissipate, but they can't be extracted intact!" His eyes darted between Xue Mo and the writhing artifact in horror. "This goes against all cultivation laws!"
Xue Mo's laughter cut through the air like a blade. "Oh, you backward fools." He twirled the artifact, its three dragon-turtle heads now snapping at the air hungrily. "What do ants know of celestial Treasures?" The Scarlet Enchantress floated closer, her cat's eyes glowing as she added, "The Blood Moon Sect has perfected what your primitive clan couldn't even imagine."
The oldest clan elder coughed blood under the pressure but managed to gasp, "Then...
elder spat blood but raised his head defiantly, his voice a rasping growl that carried centuries of clan pride. "You think to steal our Ling Chen's soul from his very body?"
he continued, "This... this violates the Heavenly Dao itself!" His gnarled hands trembled not from fear, but from righteous fury as he locked eyes with Xue Mo. "For generations untold, our clan has waited - endured - for Heaven to bless our bloodline with such power soul." Behind him, the other elders formed a protective circle around Ling Chen, their aged bodies radiating stubborn defiance. "Now that destiny has finally smiled upon us," the elder continued, his voice gaining strength, "do you truly believe we'd let you take it?"
The cat in the Scarlet Enchantress's arms suddenly dissolved into wisps of shadow, merging with her body in a swirl of dark light. As the fusion completed, the gravitational pressure on the Ling clan elders doubled instantly - bones creaked and tiles cracked beneath their knees. "This will happen," the Enchantress declared coldly, "whether you will it or not." She turned to Xue Mo with a glare. "Enough delays. Activate the artifact now. My Spirit Gravity will hold them, but you must extract that soul quickly!"
Xue Mo's fingers danced across the artifact's surface, injecting streams of crimson spiritual energy into its pulsating core. The dragon-turtle carvings came alive, their obsidian eyes glowing blood-red as the relic activated with a sinister hum. An invisible force yanked Ling Chen forward like a puppet on strings, his boots scraping against the stone as he fought against the pull.
In that moment of desperation, a lifetime of lessons crystallized in Ling Chen's mind - both from this existence and whatever came before. The strong make the rules, he realized as his muscles strained against the artifact's pull. The weak only get to choose how they die. His eyes found his father, who - against all odds - was rising through the crushing gravity, veins bulging as he summoned every ounce of his cultivation.
"FATHER, NO-!"
The warning came too late. Ling Zhan launched himself at Xue Mo with a roar, only for Xue Mo to flick a single finger dismissively. A razor-thin blade of condensed spiritual energy shot forth, slicing through Ling Zhan's torso with a sickening hiss. For a heartbeat, time froze - then his body separated into two perfect halves that thudded wetly onto the courtyard stones.
A collective scream tore from the Ling clan's throats. Ling Chen's knees hit the ground as the artifact's pull momentarily ceased, his vision tunneling on his father's still-twitching remains. The Scarlet Enchantress's laughter rang like shattering glass above the chaos.
Ling Chen's scream tore through the courtyard like a wounded beast's howl, raw and primal. Blood dripped from his clenched fists where nails had pierced flesh, his entire body trembling not from fear, but from the volcanic rage erupting within him.
When he spoke, his voice resonated with dual tones - his own layered with something ancient and wrathful: "You... will... BURN."
Ling Chen's voice was a blade forged in the depths of hell as he locked eyes with Xue Mo and the Scarlet Enchantress. "Kill me now if you can." Blood-tears streaked down his face, crimson rivulets cutting through the dust on his skin. "But if fate spares me—whether you hide in heaven or hell—I will hunt you down. Not to kill you." His jaw clenched so violently that blood oozed from his lips, teeth grinding against bone. "I'll make you beg for death. Your sect will be erased from history—not even a footnote in the annals of the immortal world. Your names? Forgotten. Your deaths? Legendary.
The sound was no longer human—a primordial fusion of dragon's fury and man's anguish that shattered nearby windows. The ground cracked beneath his feet as the sheer force of his voice sent tremors through the courtyard. Blood sprayed from his mouth with the intensity of his cry, splattering the stones like macabre paint. The Scarlet Enchantress's smirk vanished.
Xue Mo staggered back, the artifact in his hands screaming in dissonant harmony with Ling Chen's wrath, its runes flickering erratically as if recoiling from his promise.
Above them, the sky darkened—not with clouds, but with a swirling void that mirrored the abyss in Ling Chen's left eye.
The Scarlet Enchantress's eyes flashed with panic as she hissed at Xue Mo, "What are you waiting for? Pour your spiritual energy into the artifact now! Don't let him break free!" Her manicured nails dug into her palms, drawing blood. "If this extraction process is interrupted, his soul will be destroyed but won't be stored in the artifact! You know we can only use this treasure once!"
Xue Mo's face twisted in grim determination as he channeled his own soul energy into the pulsating relic. The dragon-turtle artifact glowed with an eerie black light, its center warping into a swirling void that lifted Ling Chen's body off the ground. Tendrils of dark energy coiled around him like serpents, forcibly extracting his screaming dragon soul from his body.
A horrific sight unfolded - while Ling Chen's physical body remained eerily still, his eyes blank with shock from his father's death, his dragon soul thrashed violently in the air above him, its agonized roars shaking the courtyard. The soul's draconic form contorted in visible pain as it was slowly torn away.
"Yes! Yes!" the Enchantress crowed, her voice shrill with excitement. "We're 80% done! Now extract his bloodline essence too - both Dragon blood and Primordial Dragon soul heritage! When we inject this into our Young Master, even his bloodline will become peerless!" She licked her lips, watching the process with hungry eyes. "Besides, once a cultivator loses their soul, they're worthless. And we're certainly not leaving an intelligent enemy like this alive - no chances taken!"
As she spoke, the artifact's dark tendrils began burrowing into Ling Chen's chest, seeking to drain not just his soul but his very bloodline essence - the genetic legacy of his ancestors. The elders screamed in helpless fury, still pinned under the Enchantress's gravity pressure, forced to watch their clan's hope being dismantled piece by piece.
" His threat isn't just words—it's a prophecy"
BY NORNAG