Xie Zhaolin carefully wrapped her Primordial Soul around those azure fragments. The shards gleamed with a strange luster, and after taking a deep breath, she slowly sent her awareness into them.
In an instant, countless broken images exploded in her mind:
In the endless void, a pitch-black rift tore open without a sound. A dark-silver skeleton fell from within, its surface covered in eerie blood-red patterns…
In the depths of the Blackwater Abyss, the yinsha spring surged violently, swallowing the fallen bones. The entire pool instantly boiled…
At the bottom of the spring, the skeleton slowly fused with the pitch-black yinsha core. The blood-red lines spread like living things across the core's surface…
During the fusion, a lingering shred of consciousness within the bones suddenly awakened, instinctively devouring the surrounding wandering souls to strengthen itself…
"So that's it!"
Xie Zhaolin's eyes snapped open, fine sweat dripping down her forehead. Those memory fragments revealed the truth: the skeleton wasn't placed here by anyone. It had accidentally fallen from some unknown spatial rift, an alien object from beyond this realm.
It had instinctively merged with the yinsha spring, forming this strange mutated core. What shocked her more was that inside those bones, a remnant soul had been sealed all along. During the fusion, it devoured soul after soul, growing stronger until it turned into that terrifying shadow she had faced.
"No wonder those silver motes were so miraculous…"
She glanced toward the spring, her thoughts surging. The motes were born from the fusion of bone energy and the core's yinsha power. They carried both attributes, capable of healing injuries while restraining wandering souls.
But something had clearly gone wrong. Only part of the power fused into the core. Once her body came into direct contact with that mixed energy, it violently rejected her, like touching deadly poison.
That mistake had ended up saving her life.
Xie Zhaolin rose to her feet, her eyes fixed on the churning spring once again.
Now she understood. The faint azure glow at the bottom was the lingering energy from the fusion of bones and core. If she wanted to safely extract the core, she had to deal with that remnant consciousness first. Her fingers flicked, and three Soul Suppressing Talismans, shimmering with silver light, appeared in her hand.
These talismans were formidable, but they had limits. Their range was small, and they couldn't protect her sea of consciousness directly. Otherwise, she wouldn't have nearly been possessed by that shade earlier. She steadied her mind and carefully pressed the three talismans against the stone walls around the spring. They formed a perfect triangular seal. Silver light flowed, locking down the area.
Drawing a deep breath, she touched her brow. A strand of her soul power slowly extended into the spring. Immediately, the silver motes inside stirred as if summoned, flocking toward her.
"They really can sense it…" She gave a faint nod. Since they were born from the core, resonance was natural.
Carefully guiding her awareness, she followed the motes deeper and deeper into the spring. The pressure mounted with every inch. Her awareness felt trapped in a mire, every advance exhausting. Still, Xie Zhaolin pressed on, unshaken. Then, her senses caught something unusual. At the deepest point of the spring, every mote of light converged toward a single spot!
"Found it!"
Joy sparked in her chest. She locked onto the source.
There, a fist-sized crystal floated silently in the water. Its whole body gleamed dark silver, covered in the same blood-red lines as the bones. Threads of silver light coiled around it, writhing faintly.
Even more striking, a wisp of azure flame flickered inside the crystal, radiating the exact same aura as the shadow.
"So it's still there…"
Her heart sank. That remnant soul was faint, but if it erupted while she was taking the core, the consequences would be disastrous. She pulled her awareness back and took out a few mid-grade spirit stones, laying out a small sealing array around the spring. It wasn't large, but it was enough to suppress any backlash.
Once everything was ready, Xie Zhaolin inhaled sharply. Her fingers formed seals, and a stream of baleful qi shot into the water, rushing straight for the core.
The instant it touched, the crystal shuddered violently!
The Soul Suppressing Talismans lit up with piercing brilliance. The sealing array activated, silver chains of light locking onto the azure flame within.
"Break!"
Her shout rang through the chamber, and her baleful qi surged. The azure flame writhed madly, letting out a shrill scream as the stone chamber shook violently. The spring roared, countless silver motes bursting upward, even shattering the ice crystals on the walls.
Xie Zhaolin clenched her jaw, veins bulging on her forehead. Even as a remnant, the soul fought fiercely. Her baleful qi clashed with the flame in the depths, sparks of blinding light erupting.
"Scatter!"
Seeing the flame still resisting, she rapidly formed seals with both hands. The Yinsha Soul Locking Chains roared to life, unleashing a torrent of baleful qi that spun into a black vortex before her.
The azure flame was dragged straight in, smothered by writhing layers of black qi. Sensing danger, the remnant suddenly flared violently, breaking through the array's restraints and surging up the vortex, lunging at her!
"Courting death!"
Cold light flashed in her eyes. She bit her tongue hard, spraying blood onto the array's core. The sealing formation blazed gold. The chains tightened all at once, crushing down. The flame shrieked one last time before shattering into nothing. The spring slowly calmed. Only the crystal remained, quietly floating in the depths.
Xie Zhaolin exhaled long and slow, wiping sweat from her brow. The most dangerous part was over. Now she could focus on retrieving the core.
She retrieved three slender black needles from her storage ring. They were forged of Nether Iron, covered in intricate runes—断脉针 (Duàn Mài Zhēn), severing needles designed to cut spirit vein links.
"Go!"
The three needles flew out, stabbing into key nodes around the spring.
The water surged violently. Countless silver threads lashed from the crystal, writhing like living things.
Her hands danced in seals, lighting the runes on the needles one by one. She narrowed her eyes, divine sense fully open, carefully tracing the threads. Each one was a lifeline between core and spirit vein. Only by severing them cleanly could the core be extracted.
"There!"
Her eyes lit up. With a flick of her fingers, the needles shifted, striking the exact convergence of three main lines.
"Sever!"
With a crisp snap, the needles flared black.
There was a sharp crack. The three main lines broke at once. The silver threads unraveled like roots torn from soil, dissolving into the water.