Chapter 53: Infinite Momentum

Standing on the side of the mountain, Dong Yunpo suddenly felt that something was amiss. He pressed his palm against his chest—the faint chill had completely vanished!

The [Ink Key] had been taken.

Two kilometers away, blood spilled from Tianchong's mouth once more. He wiped a hand across the corner of his lips, turned, and waved his arm in the air. By this moment, Li Jingxian had accomplished his goal.

As long as the [Ink Key] was delivered into the hands of the Soul Lord, it would all be over!

Right now, what Li Jingxian needed to do was break through the Zhoukou Barrier and sneak into the valley.

"In the name of [Tianchong]!"

Li Jingxian formed seals with both hands, repeating the earth seal and the wind seal endlessly before speaking:

"Chaos, collapse, earth, stone, blast."

Sensing the powerful aura in the distance of the peak, Dong Yunpo reached out. A soul spirit landed on his fingertip, then vanished into invisibility.

Holding his long spear, he walked forward step by step.

Stamping fiercely on the ground, a wave of shockwaves rippled outward, causing all the rocks on the ground to tremble. Yet, the range remained within Dong Yunpo's barrier, and the Zhoukou Barrier itself still needed to be broken.

Stamping again, Li Jingxian channeled the momentum back into the ground. The fracturing earth expanded further and further, until it finally burst apart!

The entire mountainside, the entire ground, burst into pieces!

Countless rocks and clumps of dirt, imbued with explosive force, shot up into the sky. Tianchong himself continued to maintain his hand seals, transforming all the soil and rocks into cannonballs that violently bombarded the Zhoukou Barrier, sending ripples of impact spreading outward.

Behind him, however, Dong Yunpo holding the Soul-Lost Spear was drawing closer and closer. Li Jingxian had to break through this layer of barrier!

Because this was the only and weakest point.

Countless projectiles bombarded a single point in a violent collision. Yet, it was clearly visible that the barrier's strength was beginning to wane; this single point might not hold out much longer.

Li Jingxian began to grit his teeth. "Damn it, tougher than I thought."

Dong Yunpo had already arrived behind Li Jingxian. On the Soul-Lost Spear, the soul spirit's telekinetic power continued to condense, wisps of radiance wrapping around it as a powerful strike was about to be unleashed.

"Jingxian," Dong Yunpo called out in a low voice, "return the Ink Key to me."

However, Li Jingxian continued to employ his infinite momentum, turning all the surrounding rocks and soil into weapons that slammed relentlessly into the barrier.

No response came. Tianchong was giving it his all to force open just this single point—just a single point was enough. Once broken through, he would be able to send the Ink Key inside!

Knowing there was no point in further words, Dong Yunpo spun the long spear in his grip, its formidable aura shaking the ghosts of the four directions.

With a sudden twist of both hands and a spin of his body, he kicked the other end of the spear, unleashing a devastating blow.

Soul-Shocking Breach!

A strike as if startling the gods shot straight toward Tianchong, while Tianchong continued to unleash his infinite momentum.

The long spear ultimately pierced straight through Tianchong's body!

Then, it punched through the barrier. The sky-covering barrier shattered abruptly, finally revealing the Zhoukou Valley to the world.

Beneath the vault of heaven and upon the earth, a colossal, six-sided black tower of unfathomable height pierced the firmament—the Soul Tower!

At that very moment, Tianchong curled his fingers. An ink-colored stone twirled at his fingertips before he flicked it gently. It transformed into a whistling sound, a streak of flowing light shooting toward the apex of the Soul Tower!

Thus, the Ink Key and the Soul-Spirit Heart Lamp both fell into the hands of the Soul Lord.

Tianchong's abdomen was slashed open, yet Dong Yunpo had not dealt a fatal blow; he wanted to see what Tianchong was risking his life for. In his view, Tianchong was the one who drew the clearest line between right and wrong in the Soul Suppression Hall.

Suddenly, blue-purple spiritual flames consumed countless rocks, and finally, Tianchong fell beneath the edge of a blade!

Amy's final strike marked Tianchong's exit. As he departed, Tianchong curved his lips into a faint smile, the reason known to none, leaving behind only a sigh from Dong Yunpo.

"Brother!"

Li Fengyin cried out, "Are you alright?"

Just a moment ago, a soul spirit had suddenly awakened Li Fengyin and guided him here. Li Fengyin already knew the fact that Tianchong was an enemy, which was why he delivered the final blow.

Dong Yunpo turned around and said, "I'm fine, Fengyin. You did the right thing."

Even so, Dong Yunpo had also sustained injuries, though fortunately, they were only superficial.

The two descended from the mountainside. However, the commotion of the barrier's disappearance had already alerted the resting [Ethereal Soul] Li Jingshen. Yet, the greatest disturbance was not the vanishing barrier; far more terrifying was a roar that subsequently shook the entire Zhoukou Valley.

Every living soul felt a shudder of dread in their hearts—the pressure of the Lord of Souls. The Soul Lord had been released!

At that moment, a short-haired youth carrying a rustic, broken saber had also arrived at the scene. Duan Hen gazed up at the cloud-piercing black tower and praised, "It has finally manifested after all!"

"Bastard!" Li Jingshen's roar echoed. "Dong Yunpo isn't here, and that kid isn't either. The Ink Key has been delivered into the hands of the Soul Lord!"

"Calm down a bit," said the [Corporeal Soul] Shen Ling. "It's also possible they simply failed to stop Tianchong. Dong Yunpo isn't someone who breaks his word."

Yet the problem now was that the path ahead was nearly impassable. The Soul Lord's objective might have been achieved, and he might well emerge as the ultimate victor.

Before that, however, there was still a road to walk.

Even if the Soul Lord's shackles were broken, it still had to endure the burning of the Soul-Spirit Heart Lamp beforehand; otherwise, the Soul Lord could not recover from its injuries. After all, having endured for two or three years, the Soul Lord was currently extremely weak.

Could it be, then, that the Lord of Anima had not been released at all?

Could it be that he was merely suffering the torment of the Soul-Spirit Heart Lamp?

Yet this was also the guess closest to the truth at present. Therefore, there were two paths: one leading to the Anima Tower, and the other leading to the Soul Tower. Their destinations differed, but both had to be walked.

Dong Yunpo understood the reality of the situation as well. Yet now, a desperate predicament had emerged; the twin towers of Soul and Anima were not so easily breached.

Soul spirits now served as a means of communication. With Tianchong's fall and Duan Hen's arrival, the two sides divided their directions. Li Fengyin, Li Jingshen, and Tu Bao, who would arrive later, would penetrate deep into the Anima Tower.

Shen Xian, Dong Yunpo, Luoyu Duan Hen, and the yet-to-arrive Shen Yin would form the main force advancing toward the Soul Tower, with the objective of stopping the Soul Lord!

To be honest, the person Li Fengyin guarded against most was this seven- or eight-year-old child, [Ethereal Soul] Li Jingshen, who possessed the Daoist Qi-sect bracelet [All-Creation].

Yet now, the two of them were forced to walk together. The journey to the Anima Tower was not far, but truthfully, Li Fengyin would rather have headed toward the towering Soul Tower. Helpless, however, Li Ziye's journey into the Anima Tower officially began!

Duan Hen was also left speechless. He had not expected Tianchong to be brought down by the joint efforts of Dong Yunpo and Li Ziye, a feat not to be underestimated.

Duan Hen slung the rustic broken saber over his shoulder, standing behind Dong Yunpo. At the very rear was Shen Yin, wearing pigtails and looking lively, along with the [Vital Soul] Shen Xian and [Physical Soul] Tu Bao, who were slowly catching up from outside Zhoukou.

The target:

The Twin Towers of Soul and Anima!