Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 371: Expanding the domain

Lucas and Henrietta could only stand there and watch, their minds struggling to grasp what their eyes had just witnessed, because the ice belle had not merely defeated the shadow dragon but had utterly broken its will, forcing a ruler of the abyss to its knees. The ice belle hovered forward, her aura flaring one final time as she screamed at the dragon with a voice sharp enough to pierce the soul, ordering it to scurry away while it still had the chance to live, warning that if she so much as sensed its presence again she would tear it apart without hesitation or mercy.

The shadow dragon did not dare respond, and with a broken roar filled with humiliation and pain, it beat its tattered wings clumsily and fled into the distant darkness, vanishing beyond the reach of her domain as fast as its battered body would allow.

Silence followed, heavy and unreal, until Henrietta finally moved, rushing to Lucas’s side and gripping his arm tightly as she helped him back onto his feet, her hands trembling despite her strength. "You idiot," she said hoarsely, her voice thick with emotion as she looked at his ruined face, "why do you always do this, why do you always throw yourself in front of death like it means nothing."

Lucas tried to smile but failed, the pain flaring sharply across his burned scalp and peeled skin as he inhaled slowly to steady himself. "I could not let either of you die," he replied quietly, his voice rough yet resolute, as if the answer had always been that simple to him.

Before Henrietta could respond, a soft rush of air passed beside them and the ice belle descended gently, floating back to their side as her domain slowly receded, allowing the abyss to breathe again though it no longer dared to press too close. Her eyes immediately fell on Lucas, and the moment she saw the burns on his scalp and the raw damage to his face, her expression crumpled. Tears welled up and spilled over as she reached out with trembling hands, touching his cheek with a gentleness that seemed almost fragile compared to the power she had just displayed.

"I am sorry," she whispered, her voice shaking as her tears fell onto his damaged skin, instantly soothing some of the pain with her pure frost essence. "I should not have let it reach you, I thought I could end it quickly."

Lucas lifted his hand despite the pain and rested it lightly on her head, his touch slow and careful. "You saved us all," he said softly, meeting her eyes without blame or fear. "If not for you, there would be nothing left of us here."

Lucas swayed where he stood, the last of his strength finally abandoning him now that the danger had passed, and if not for Henrietta’s firm grip around his arm he would have collapsed face first onto the ground. His breathing was shallow and uneven, every inhale scraping painfully through his chest as though his lungs themselves had been scorched by the inferno, and when he tried to gather his spatial qi out of instinct, nothing answered him at all. There was no resistance or blockage, only an empty stillness that told him just how thoroughly he had exhausted himself.

"I cannot move," he admitted quietly, his voice stripped of pride as he leaned more heavily against Henrietta, the admission carrying more weight than any wound he had suffered. "Not even a step, and teleportation is completely out of reach right now."

Henrietta tightened her hold without hesitation, shifting his arm over her shoulders so his weight rested against her more securely, her expression stern but her eyes betraying deep concern. "Then you will not move," she said firmly, as if daring his body to defy her words. "You have already done more than anyone could ask of you, and you will rest whether you want to or not."

The ice belle hovered closer, her small hands glowing faintly as she placed them against Lucas’s chest and forehead, sending gentle waves of frost and light into him, though she quickly frowned when she realized how little it helped compared to before. "You burned everything," she said softly, her voice heavy with guilt as she looked up at him. "Your qi, your soul strength, even your spatial core is empty, you pushed yourself too far for us."

Lucas closed his eyes briefly, forcing a weak smile despite the pain as he listened to her. "I am still here," he replied, his tone calm even as his body trembled. "That is enough for now."

Henrietta glanced around at the cleared expanse of the abyss, at the lingering traces of frost and light that still marked the ice belle’s domain, then back at Lucas’s battered state, and she exhaled slowly as a decision settled in her mind. "We will stay here until you recover enough to move," she said with quiet authority. "No one will dare approach this place while her domain still lingers, and if anything does, it will answer to me."

Lucas wanted to argue, wanted to insist that the army needed him and that time was precious, but his body refused to obey even the urge to speak further, and instead he allowed himself to sink down carefully as Henrietta helped him sit against a slab of frozen stone. The ice belle floated down beside him and curled close, her presence cool and soothing, her eyes never leaving his damaged face as she continued to feed him small, steady streams of gentle essence.

For the first time since the battle began, Lucas let his eyes close fully, surrendering to the exhaustion that weighed down every part of him, knowing that he would need time, patience, and silence to recover what he had lost, and trusting completely that the two beside him would guard that fragile moment of rest with their lives.

After Lucas finally drifted into a deep and heavy sleep, his breathing slow and uneven but steady, the ice belle lingered beside him for a long while, watching every rise and fall of his chest as if committing the sight to memory. Only when she was certain that his consciousness had truly sunk beyond pain and exhaustion did she slowly lift herself into the air, her small form glowing softly against the frozen and purified expanse of the abyss. Henrietta noticed the change immediately and looked up at her, understanding dawning without a single word needing to be spoken.

"You are going to open the way," Henrietta said quietly, her voice low so as not to disturb Lucas, though she knew the sound alone could not wake him now.

The ice belle nodded, her expression solemn and focused in a way that made her seem far older than her appearance suggested.

She closed her eyes once more, but unlike before, there was no struggle or hesitation in her posture. The light around her began to expand in smooth, steady waves, not exploding outward violently but flowing like an endless tide of frost and radiance. The domain that had already claimed thousands of miles around them responded instantly, the purified air shimmering as it stretched further and further, carving a clear and safe passage through the heart of the boundary abyss.

From one end of the abyss to the other, the oppressive darkness recoiled, unable to encroach upon the sovereign presence of her domain. The ground crystallized into stable paths of ice and light, the corrupt miasma dissolving into nothing as if it had never existed, and the suffocating pressure that had crushed countless souls over the ages was reduced to a distant and powerless murmur.

Henrietta watched in awe as the passage completed itself, her hand unconsciously tightening around the arm of Lucas as she felt the immense authority embedded within the domain. "They can pass freely now," she murmured, half to herself and half in reverence. "Even an army will walk through unscathed."

The ice belle opened her eyes and looked back at Lucas, her gaze softening instantly as the domain stabilized under her will. "Good," she whispered, drifting back down to his side. "When he wakes up, he should not worry about the abyss anymore."

Far in the distance, the first movements of soldiers and cultivators could already be felt as they stepped into the newly formed passage, their fear and tension fading with every step they took beneath the gentle protection of frost and light. And there, at the heart of it all, Lucas slept on, unaware that even in his unconsciousness, the path forward for an entire army was being secured in his name.