Zhao Feng took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the agony as he focused his attention on his own soul frequency. He slowly adjusted it, making it softer and more agile, drawing it closer to the frequencies of Lin Mo and Qian Renxue. Lin Mo also made adjustments; his frequency became steadier and more profound, reaching out toward Zhao Feng and Qian Renxue. Qian Renxue did the same; her frequency grew sharper and more resolute, aligning with Zhao Feng and Lin Mo.
The three frequencies slowly drew closer amidst the torment. Finally, in a single fleeting instant, they perfectly overlapped.
"Hum—!"
With a clear, resonant chime, the souls of the three simultaneously erupted with dazzling light. The radiance intertwined, forming a massive pillar of golden light. Their souls began to fuse—Zhao Feng's steadfastness, Lin Mo's sharp agility, and Qian Renxue's noble gentleness perfectly merging into a brand-new soul form.
It was a colossal golden phantom, a hundred yards tall, with six pairs of gigantic golden wings spread behind it. Eighteen golden soul rings orbited its body, radiating a suffocating, supreme pressure. The phantom's face was blurred, yet one could faintly make out the combined contours of Qian Renxue, Zhao Feng, and Lin Mo. In its right hand, the phantom gripped a massive golden battleaxe inscribed with runes that emanated the power of conviction; its left hand cradled a golden tome, with the light of purification flowing across its pages; suspended behind it was a golden holy sword, ablaze with divine flames.
"Is this... the power of Soul Fusion?" Zhao Feng's voice echoed from within the phantom, tinged with shock.
"It's too powerful..." Lin Mo's voice also rang out. "I feel as if I possess infinite strength."
"Focus, do not let your attention wander," Qian Renxue's voice commanded, calm and resolute. "The Soul Fusion state cannot be maintained for long. We must destroy the Seed of the Void in a short amount of time."
The golden phantom slowly raised its right hand, lifting the colossal golden battleaxe high. Condensed upon the axe blade was the entirety of the trio's power—the power of conviction, the power of purification, and divine might. The three forces flawlessly fused on the blade, transforming into a blinding golden radiance.
"Power of Conviction and Faith, purify the Void!" Qian Renxue's voice reverberated throughout the entire soul origin space.
The golden battleaxe cleaved down fiercely. A colossal golden axe-glow shot from the blade, blasting straight toward the Seed of the Void. Wherever the axe-glow passed, space itself was torn asunder, leaving trails of golden rifts in its wake. Sensing a lethal threat, the Seed of the Void trembled violently. The black veins on its surface flashed frantically as countless black tentacles extended from the seed, attempting to block the golden axe-glow.
But the power of the golden axe-glow was simply too overwhelming. The instant the black tentacles made contact with the glow, they were purified into nothingness. The axe-glow's momentum remained undiminished, slamming squarely onto the Seed of the Void's protective layer.
Boom—!
With an ear-shattering explosion, the Seed of the Void's protective layer trembled violently, and countless tiny cracks appeared across its surface. However, the protective layer did not shatter; instead, it began to rapidly repair itself, the cracks healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"Again!" Qian Renxue shouted.
The golden phantom raised the battleaxe once more and slashed down. The second axe-glow bombarded the protective layer; cracks appeared again, this time deeper and denser than before.
The third axe, the fourth axe, the fifth axe...
The golden phantom consecutively unleashed nine strikes, each more ferocious than the last. When the ninth axe fell, the Seed of the Void's protective layer finally couldn't endure. With a crisp "crack," it shattered completely. The fragments of the protective layer dissolved into countless black motes of light, dissipating into the air.
The core node of the Seed of the Void was exposed right before the trio. It was a black orb the size of a fingernail. Bizarre black runes flowed across its surface, exuding a heart-palpitating power of the Void. The orb was rapidly absorbing the surrounding Void power, attempting to condense a new protective layer.
"Now!" Qian Renxue barked. "Pour all our power into the core node!"
The golden phantom held up the golden tome with its left hand. The book flipped open, and countless golden runes flew from its pages, transforming into a pillar of golden light that shot straight toward the core node. Its right hand gripped the golden battleaxe tightly, condensing one final golden axe-glow on the blade, which followed closely behind the light pillar. The suspended golden holy sword behind it also shot forth; blazing with divine flames, it morphed into a streak of golden flowing light.
The three attacks struck the core node simultaneously.
BOOM—!
An earth-shattering roar erupted. The core node trembled violently as the black runes on its surface began to collapse. Wisps of black mist seeped from the node, but they were swiftly purified by the golden radiance. The cracks on the node multiplied and widened; the entire node was crumbling.
"We did it!" Lin Mo shouted excitedly.
But at that very moment, a sudden change occurred.
The collapsing core node suddenly erupted with blinding black light. A terrifyingly absolute power of the Void surged from the node, morphing into countless black tentacles that tightly bound the golden phantom. Bizarre black runes flowed along the tentacles, exuding an overwhelming power of devouring. The golden phantom's divine power was being rapidly consumed by the tentacles.
"This is... the will of the Source of the Void!" Disbelief laced Qian Renxue's voice. "It wasn't destroyed at all! It has been hiding deep within the core node all along, waiting for us to take the bait!"
"Hahaha!" The voice of the Source of the Void resonated from the black light, ancient and hoarse, carrying an aura of decay and destruction. "Foolish Angel God, did you think I would be so easily sealed by the likes of you? A century ago, I intentionally allowed my will projection to be sealed, just to wait for this very day! Your Soul Fusion has given me the perfect opportunity to devour you! Three powerful souls, combined with the soul origin of the Angel God, is more than enough to restore me to my prime!"
The golden phantom struggled violently, but the black tentacles coiled tighter and tighter, their devouring force growing stronger and stronger. The phantom's radiance began to dim, and the consciousness of the three started to blur.
"No... impossible..." Zhao Feng's voice was laced with unyielding grief. "We've sacrificed so much... are we really going to fail like this?"
"I refuse to accept this!" Lin Mo's voice was filled with anger and resentment. "We still have so much left to do, so many people to protect. How can we fall here!"
Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking, her voice calm and unwavering: "Zhao Feng, Lin Mo, listen to me."
"Lord Qian Renxue..."
"I have a way to completely destroy the will of the Source of the Void," Qian Renxue's voice held a trace of absolute resolve. "But it requires your cooperation."
"What way?"
"Soul Self-Detonation." Qian Renxue spoke these four words, her voice terrifyingly calm. "Simultaneously detonating the soul origins of the three of us will generate enough energy to completely obliterate the will of the Source of the Void. But the price is that our souls will dissipate entirely, without even a chance at reincarnation."
Zhao Feng and Lin Mo fell silent. They knew this was the final method, and the only method.
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