Translator: CinderTL
The Toxic Flood Dragon shifted its massive head and glanced at Song Wen.
This insignificant human had repeatedly forced it into submission, causing it immense suffering.
It harbored deep hatred for this human, but its inferior strength left it no choice but to submit and live in humiliation.
"Don't act rashly, I'll go now."
The Toxic Flood Dragon swayed its body and floated toward the depths of the grand hall.
Soon, it arrived before the stone platform and saw the wooden box.
Like the Nether Fox, it felt no sense of unease from the box.
In its eyes, the box was no different from an ordinary one, except for its unique material.
However, from Song Wen's cautious demeanor, it knew that the box must contain something extremely dangerous.
After a moment of hesitation, the Toxic Flood Dragon opened its mouth and exhaled a burst of energy.
The energy swept toward the box, lifting it from the stone platform and bringing it before the dragon's eyes.
Then, a flash of ruthlessness appeared in its eyes as it abruptly flicked the energy, sending the box hurtling toward Song Wen.
The box soared through the air, speeding toward Song Wen's location.
The dense Ghost Qi in the area severely suppressed Divine Sense, and the Toxic Flood Dragon believed Song Wen couldn't detect its actions. This gave the dragon a glimmer of hope for escape.
Even if it failed, death would be a form of liberation.
However, Song Wen, who had been using the Breaking Dark Technique to monitor the dragon's every move, knew of its scheme the moment the box was flung.
With a slight movement of his finger, a strand of Spiritual Power shot from his fingertip.
This strand of Spiritual Power was as swift as a shooting star, far outpacing the box.
Just as the box flew two zhang away, still near the dragon's neck, the Spiritual Power arrived.
The Spiritual Power didn't target the dragon but instead struck the box.
A crisp "bang" echoed.
To the Toxic Flood Dragon, this soft sound was like a thunderclap.
Its lantern-like eyes filled with terror.
The human who had enslaved it not only discovered its actions but had also opened the box!
The dragon's eyes fixed on the box.
A short blade was flung out from within.
The blade was one chi and three cun long, with the hilt taking up more than half its length, leaving the blade itself less than six cun.
The entire blade was bone-white, as if carved from some kind of skeleton.
Yet, it exuded an extremely sharp metallic aura.
This aura was so intense that it materialized into visible trails in the air.
The Toxic Flood Dragon felt a bone-chilling cold.
It was horrified to find that its body was utterly fragile against this metallic aura.
Its hard scales were easily pierced, the cuts smooth and clean.
The sharp aura penetrated its body.
The dragon swung its long tail, and its massive body darted away, trying to distance itself from the blade.
However, its scales began to peel off, and its flesh started to fall.
After flying just a few dozen zhang, a dull "thud" sounded as the dragon crashed heavily to the ground.
Half of its body's flesh had been scraped away by the omnipresent metallic aura, revealing stark white bones.
The Toxic Flood Dragon's breath was faint as it lay on the ground, struggling.
Song Wen, a li away, was both shocked and horrified. The power of this blade seemed to surpass that of an ordinary Mystic Treasure.
Even though he was far from the blade, the sharp aura it emitted still caused him pain.
The more terrifying aspect of the dagger lay in the fact that the moment it appeared, the sense of foreboding in Song Wen's heart grew even stronger. It was as if the sharp, metallic aura emanating from the dagger could pierce straight into the depths of his soul.
"This blade can harm the soul. And it must have severed countless souls in the past," Song Wen thought to himself.
Connecting this to the fact that this place was called the 'Soul Hall,' Song Wen instantly understood.
Perhaps this blade was once a weapon specifically designed to sever souls.
Before the dagger could hit the ground, Song Wen shot a strand of spiritual power towards it, attempting to catch it.
However, the moment his spiritual power touched the dagger, it was split in two and dissipated.
Song Wen narrowed his eyes and shot another strand of spiritual power, this time lifting the wooden box.
The box moved towards the dagger, catching it securely.
With a soft "click," the box closed and was then carried by the spiritual power to Song Wen's side.
Song Wen looked at the box floating before him, hesitated for a moment, and then opened it again.
The moment the dagger came into view, Song Wen felt a sharp pain in his consciousness, as if the blade's sharpness had pierced his soul.
Song Wen reached out to grab the dagger.
Before he could even touch it, the skin and flesh on his hand began to split, blood flowing freely.
Song Wen quickly activated his cultivation method, transforming into a desiccated corpse, greatly increasing his physical defense, and barely managed to withstand the blade's sharp aura.
The moment the dagger was in his hand, the sense of foreboding he had felt since entering the hall became even more intense.
It was a deep, instinctual fear of something dangerous, emanating from the very core of his soul.
Song Wen felt as if he were a toddler learning to walk, holding a sharp knife in his hand. The slightest misstep could result in self-harm.
"This blade seems to only harm the souls of humans; it appears to have no effect on demonic beasts."
Song Wen glanced at the Toxic Flood Dragon on the ground, which was on the brink of death. However, its injuries were all physical; its soul remained unharmed.
In contrast, Song Wen's soul was far stronger than that of the Toxic Flood Dragon, yet holding the dagger still caused a constant, piercing pain in his consciousness.
Perhaps this was why there were no ghosts in the hall.
Ghosts are also soul entities and would fear this blade.
After observing it carefully for a moment, Song Wen noticed two characters engraved on the dagger's hilt.
Soul Cleaving Blade!
The name of this blade was the same as that of a dagger Song Wen had once obtained from the Beastmaster Sect.
However, this blade truly deserved the name.
It could harm the soul without even making physical contact.
Song Wen placed the dagger back into the wooden box and closed it. As he stored it in his storage ring, the sense of foreboding he had been feeling vanished.
He walked over to the Toxic Flood Dragon, gave it a swift end, and then cleaned up the blood and flesh remnants on the ground. After that, Song Wen began to thoroughly investigate the entire hall.
He first headed towards the corner deep in the right side of the hall.
This corner was the southwest corner of the hall that Gou Jun had mentioned, where the teleportation array was supposed to be.
However, Song Wen did not see the teleportation array; instead, he saw a pile of rubble.
The floor of the hall was made of specially crafted stone tiles, extremely hard and not easily damaged.
From the remnants, it was clear that the array had been destroyed many years ago.
Recalling that Gou Jun had said he used this teleportation array to escape the pursuit of numerous ghosts, it was highly likely that after Gou Jun fled, the ghosts, in their rage, destroyed the array.
Song Wen turned and walked towards another corner deep within the hall.
Before he had gone far, he discovered a three-zhang-tall blood-red stone a hundred zhang behind the platform where the Soul Cleaving Blade was placed. This stone marked the exit from the Divine Blood Hall.
He continued forward.
In another corner deep within the hall, Song Wen found a Teleportation Array. The array was intact and appeared to be fully functional.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (RDC) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c950. [+2]
🔑Early Access at $5.
✍Translated (6) Series, (3.5K+) Chapters, (4.9M+) Words.