Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1553: Chapter 641: Defiant Demon Soul

The annoying buzzing sound filled the perception of the Red Robe Guest, like countless mosquitoes and flies circling around the ears, extremely disturbing, waking him up.

The Red Robe Guest observed the surroundings.

There was no sky light or earth energy, only vast swaths of black and white soul patterns slowly surging.

These soul patterns layered upon each other, sometimes morphing into dense soul ropes, wrapping around his wrist bones, ankle bones, and spine. Other times, they dissipated into a damp and cold mist, snaking into his chest into his soul body.

"I must be sealed within a soul banner!" The Red Robe Guest was enraged.

He began to struggle, only to quickly and completely expose his own weakness.

The Red Robe Guest lowered his head to look at his body.

His soul body was already extremely faint, the scarlet outline incomplete, and there was a deep blue crack running through his chest, front to back. A cold gleam hid deep within the crack, flickering, causing a blade-like pain to climb through his soul.

"It is that Taoist Artifact..."

The mark left by the Heaven-reaching Hook was more troublesome than death.

At this moment, images of the Cloud Marsh Martial Arts Arena surfaced from the depths of his memory.

The Cloud Lake was scarlet, blood waves swept across the sky. The abdomen of the White Wave Sky Bat Fish exploded, the Eight-armed Cloud Moving Seal was torn into shreds, the Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane had its neck broken under his palm, the Dying Sun Blood-sucking Crow swallowed his blood, but was blown into a demon blood red rain by the Blood Pill in an instant.

The Cloud Pot Daoist slid against the array light curtain, his chest caved in, face full of bloodstains. At that moment, the Red Robe Guest was merely one step away from crushing this beast-raising Daoist into pieces.

But in the next instant, a line fell from the sky.

The hook’s edge was cold white, and a deep blue cold star nailed into the base of his soul, space was forcibly suppressed. Just as his Blood Transformation Escape Technique activated, it was forced back into his flesh by the mighty power of the Taoist Artifact. The blood sea roared, the Blood Demon Pill boiled, he reached out to grab that hook, but the blood shadow’s hand was lightly sliced open.

Then, life was cut off.

The Nascent Soul perished.

All of his cultivation level scattered into blood fog above the Cloud Marsh.

"I lost!"

The Red Robe Guest suddenly started laughing.

The laughter echoed inside the soul banner, hoarse and dry, like blood scabs scraping over rough stones.

"Living like such a remnant soul is truly an eyesore!"

He summoned his remaining soul power.

A wisp of soul power condensed from beside the hook mark on his chest, trembling as it emerged, bypassing the flashing deep blue cold light, rushing back towards the soul core inside his body. Once the soul core exploded, the soul body would scatter into shattered light. By that time, whether the Territorial Expansion Alliance or White Cloud Village, they would only grasp a handful of soul ashes.

However, just as the soul power charged halfway, the soul banner suddenly shook.

Seven or eight bell sounds came from the depths of the banner curtain, sharp and icy!

The Red Robe Guest’s soul body froze, the imminent self-destructive soul power was pressed back deep into the soul body.

The Red Robe Guest grew angrier, cursing fiercely.

Soon, the soul banner shook, and a pulling force reached in from outside, grabbed his soul body, and dragged him out from the depths of the black and white banner curtain.

The soul of the Red Robe Guest arrived in the outside world, seeing himself in a cave.

The cave walls were covered with white cloud patterns, the patterns floated like satin water waves. The ground was pressed with earth-yellow array lines, lines interlocking, solemn as mountain locks.

The array lines gathered and intersected, forming most of the appearance of the array. And in the heart of the array, the soul banner was suspended, under which black and white soul fire burned, a cold tongue of flame holding the remnants of the Red Robe Guest’s soul.

The cultivators of the Territorial Expansion Alliance and White Cloud Village had already sat in four corners.

Qiu Lei sat on the left side, his face a deep yellow, shoulders broad and heavy, his hand pressing on his knee.

You Yunshou sat on the right side, wide sleeves hanging down, white clouds slowly swirling within his sleeves.

The Cloud Pot Daoist leaned back a bit, with spirit cloth wrapped around his chest, his face pale with a hint of green, and the White Jade Heaven Cup behind him filled with cracks.

The Red Robe Guest’s demon soul scanned around, chuckled three times, then stared at the Cloud Pot Daoist: "Why are you keeping such a distance, Daoist? Afraid that I might kill you after all?"

The Cloud Pot Daoist’s expression darkened, his chest injury was stirred by the Qi mechanism, he coughed twice before speaking: "Red Robe Guest, you’ve fallen into the soul banner, and still acting with such venomous words?"

The Red Robe Guest’s eyes slightly raised: "You merely rely on the power of the Taoist Artifact, if you dare, come and finish me off!"

Qiu Lei spoke solemnly: "Red Robe Guest, it’s clearly stated in the Contract of Five Battles Martial Arts, life and death are not prohibited. You died in the arena, your soul was captured by the Heaven-reaching Hook. According to the rules of the Myriad Phenomena Sect, this soul can be considered a trophy obtained in battle. Thus, our interrogation, detention, and soul search are all according to regulations."

You Yunshou continued: "If you willingly confess, you can avoid the pain of soul search."

The Red Robe Guest’s soul eyes glowed with dim blood light: "Confess what? How I almost smashed the Cloud Pot’s head? How that old thing Chun Yangzi hunted me down back then? Or who in Nanming Village is most eager for my soul to scatter?"

"I’ve already failed, if you want to continue to deal with Nanming Village, go find Chun Yangzi, find Tan Zhu."

"Still hoping to find some breakthrough from me? Don’t they know I just joined Nanming Village? A bunch of idiots!"

You Yunshou slightly frowned.

A cultivator spoke, his tone calm: "You must understand the pain of soul search. Mild cases result in fragmented memories, damaged consciousness; severe cases may cause soul rupture, forever void of rebirth and reincarnation. Your Nascent Soul is already perished, your flesh body has been collected by Nanming Village. If the soul is further destroyed, not a trace of the Red Robe Guest will remain in this world."

The Red Robe Guest looked at him, noting that this person emitted a Nascent Soul aura, dressed in a simple gray robe, with a small blue-black soul pattern in the center of his eyebrows, holding an Ancient Bronze Mirror in his palm. The mirror surface was dim, reflecting no face.

Slowly, the Red Robe Guest said: "From Heart Inquiry Hall?"

The cultivator from Heart Inquiry Hall said: "I am Mirror Heart Daoist."

"Each cultivator relies on their own means in the cultivation world. If you speak, the pain can be lessened."

The Red Robe Guest’s soul body suddenly straightened over the black and white soul fire.