Soul Body

Deep within the labyrinthine tunnels, the air thick with anticipation and dread, lay a spacious hall. At its center, a massive stone gate, hewn from slabs of deep blue granite and radiating an aura of ancient power, sealed the entrance to the final chamber.

Xingchen stood before this imposing barrier, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and measured. Though he appeared calm outwardly, within him, a maelstrom of spiritual energy churned and gathered, awaiting release.

He opened his eyes suddenly, twin orbs of focused power. A wave of spiritual energy erupted from his body, slamming into the stone gate with the force of a physical blow….

It rebounded instantly.

Xingchen staggered back, a sharp pain lancing through his skull as his own disrupted energy slammed back into his meridians.

"Master!"

Xiaoqian, ever vigilant, was by his side in an instant. She steadied him, her voice filled with concern. "What is it, Master? What did you sense?"

"Nothing," Xingchen said, shaking his head . A wave of exhaustion washed over him, the aftermath of the spiritual backlash leaving him feeling shaky and disoriented. "This gate…it's…blocking my soul perception…"

It was as if…he'd slammed into an invisible wall. A wall that sent shivers of unease down his spine.

He'd hoped to get a feel for what they were dealing with… The dying Soul Eater Sect members had spoken of terrible danger… but what did that mean exactly? There was something deeply unsettling about this place…something that gnawed at the edges of his mind…

"Allow me, Master," Xiaoqian said, her eyes narrowing. "I will open it. By force if necessary."

Xingchen nodded, stepping back. They'd already spent the better part of an hour searching for a hidden mechanism…a pressure plate…a lever…anything…but to no avail.

Whatever lay beyond this gate…it did not want to be disturbed.

He trusted Xiaoqian's instincts, but there was a reason he'd been hesitant to resort to brute force. He'd faced enough death traps for one lifetime…

But they couldn't just stand here…

Xiaoqian moved like a wraith, positioning herself in front of the gate. She drew a deep breath, her slender frame tensing as Martial Qi began to crackle around her fists, a faint red glow building in intensity….

Xingchen drew back further, out of range. He'd felt the raw power Xiaoqian possessed… but to see it unleashed so casually… The energy concentrated in her fists …it dwarfed his own Blazing Dragon Blast in both intensity and sheer destructive potential…

"Xiaoqian, be careful-!"

His words were cut short as Xiaoqian's fists slammed into the gate.

The impact resonated through the chamber, the very walls seeming to groan under the strain of her assault…but when the dust settled…

The gate stood firm.

Not so much as a scratch marred its surface.

"Damn it!" Xiaoqian snarled, her pride clearly wounded. She wasn't used to things resisting her…especially not inanimate objects.

Xingchen watched in awe as Xiaoqian gathered her Qi again, her frustration morphing into cold, focused fury. This time, the red glow around her hands pulsed with a menacing, internal light…

She wasn't just trying to break the gate down any longer…she was going to obliterate it.

Xingchen didn't need to be told twice. He retreated even further, seeking cover behind a particularly thick stone pillar as Xiaoqian unleashed another attack.

The ground trembled, dust raining down from the ceiling as her fists connected with bone-jarring force….

The gate held.

This time, however, a small…almost imperceptible… dent marked the spot where Xiaoqian's fists had landed.

A growl ripped from Xiaoqian's throat, the sound more beast than human…

She drew back her fists again, the red glow around them almost blinding in its intensity…

Before she could strike, a low, humming sound echoed through the chamber.

The gate…it was…moving.

Slowly at first… grinding against stone… then faster…

It began to rise.

Xingchen blinked, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing.

It was opening.

On its own.

Xiaoqian fell back, instinctively moving to stand protectively in front of Xingchen.

He appreciated the gesture, but… it was him who should be protecting her…

He pushed that thought aside, his attention focused on the receding gate. What lay beyond? A horde of those…creatures…? Another trap? Or…something…worse?

The gate ground to a halt, revealing not a den of horrors… but…

A young man.

He sat cross-legged in the center of what appeared to be an otherwise empty chamber… Eyes closed, his youthful face a picture of serene tranquility … as if in deep meditation.

There was just one problem.

He was floating.

His body…it wasn't quite… solid. It flickered like a candle flame… insubstantial…

"A Soul Form," Xiaoqian breathed, her normally impassive face etched with surprise.

"A… Soul Form?" Xingchen echoed, his gaze fixed on the figure.

That was what he'd sensed… the familiarity…the…wrongness… of it all…

A Soul Form. The echo of a being long since passed… clinging to existence through sheer willpower and an unnatural mastery of Spiritual Energy.

Only those who had achieved the pinnacle of Martial prowess…the elusive realm of Martial God… could even attempt such a feat… and even then… The sheer amount of Spiritual Energy required to maintain a Soul Form for a prolonged period… it was… astronomical.

What was one doing here…trapped…in a place like this…?

The figure's eyes opened.

"At last," it said, its voice soft… almost sad, "You have arrived..."

Xiaoqian tensed, stepping forward, her hands already glowing with that familiar red aura.

"There's no need for that," the Soul Form said, a sad smile touching its youthful lips. "I mean you no harm."

"Who are you?" Xingchen asked, his voice wary. He could sense no malice… no bloodlust…. But that didn't mean this …being…wasn't dangerous…

"I was once… the Soul Eater Sect Master," the figure replied, its gaze fixed on Xingchen, a mixture of curiosity and …regret?… clouding its eyes. "I remain…to survive."

Xingchen's blood ran cold. "The… Soul Eater Sect Master? But… you were… killed… by the Wind Monarch Sect…"

He distinctly remembered Elder Feng recounting the tale of the Soul Eater Sect's destruction… the Sect Master's death…

The Soul Form chuckled, the sound dry and hollow. "Death," it said, its form flickering… as if the effort of speaking was almost too much to bear… "is…a relative term…"

"Indeed. It seems you know of my… predicament," the Soul Form said, amusement flickering in its ethereal eyes.

Despite the Soul Form's disarming smile and gentle demeanor, Xiaoqian didn't let down her guard for an instant. She stood poised to strike, her body thrumming with barely contained power… ready to unleash the full fury of her abilities at a moment's notice.

"I won't deny it, Senior, " Xingchen said, his tone respectful, but cautious. "As a disciple of the Wind Monarch Sect, I've heard…rumors."

And what rumors they were! Tales of unimaginable cruelty…of forbidden techniques… of a sect driven mad with power… a sect that had very nearly plunged the entire continent into chaos…

"Yes… the rumors are… mostly true," the Soul Form admitted with a sigh. "They… nearly killed me…all those years ago."

He paused, his translucent form flickering for a moment… as if the effort of holding himself together was taking its toll.

"Ironically… it was their assault…their combined might...that shattered the Soul Eater's hold on me. For a brief, glorious moment…I was… free… "

"Free?" Xingchen echoed, his brow furrowing. "You were the Soul Eater Sect Master… surely-"

The Soul Form shook his head. "You…and the rest of the world… believe that I chose this path… that I embraced the Soul Eater's legacy…"

He laughed then, a dry, mirthless sound. "But it wasn't a choice… not in the way you think… The Soul Eater's power… it… seduces, whispers promises of strength…of revenge… It preys upon the weak… the vengeful…the… desperate… twists them into… weapons… to serve its own twisted ends…"

He trailed off, his gaze distant… haunted.

"When the Wind Monarch Sect attacked… their combined might was a blessing in disguise… It severed… most of … the Soul Eater's hold on me… enough for me to regain… a semblance…of control… I fled here…" He gestured at the confines of the chamber. "This place… it… contains the Soul Eater's influence… allows me to… keep it… at bay…"

"Enough talk!" Xiaoqian snapped, her patience clearly at an end. "Tell us where it is! The Soul Devouring Secret Art!" The air crackled around her fists as she took a menacing step toward the Soul Form.

He regarded her with something akin to amusement. "You… you know of it?"

"Cut the charade, old ghost!" Xiaoqian shot back, her voice dripping with disdain. "It's mine. It always has been." Her words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken meaning…with centuries of resentment and unfulfilled vengeance.

A look of… understanding…dawned on the Soul Form's face. "You… you're the…" He seemed to choose his next words carefully. "The Soul Devouring Maiden…"

Before Xiaoqian could respond, Xingchen held up a hand, silencing her. He turned back to the Soul Form, his tone respectful, but firm. "Senior, we won't pretend to understand the… complexities… of your situation. But the Soul Devouring Secret Art… it belongs to her… to us… We came here to retrieve it …for the good of everyone."

He didn't add that he intended to destroy it …permanently. The last thing this world needed was another weapon…another catalyst for violence and destruction…

To his surprise, the Soul Form didn't hesitate.

"It's here. With me."

"Then…you'll give it to us," Xingchen said, his voice a mixture of relief and cautious optimism.

The Soul Form shook his head.

"I cannot."

Xingchen's heart sank. "Why not? Surely, you must realize the danger-"

"The danger?!" The Soul Form's voice, normally so subdued, rose an octave. "You know nothing of danger, boy! I've seen what that… thing…can do … felt its influence corrupting my very soul … for decades!" He drew a trembling breath.

"And you think I would willingly unleash that… that abomination… upon the world again?!"

"There's a simple solution to that," Xiaoqian said, her voice cold and emotionless. "We kill him, take it, and be on our merry way."

Xingchen shot her a warning glance.

The Soul Form threw back his head and laughed… the sound echoing eerily though the chamber. "You? A mere Early Stage Martial God? You can't even scratch the surface of my power!"

"Don't underestimate me, ghost," Xiaoqian snarled. Without warning, she launched herself at the Soul Form, a blur of motion that belied her deceptively slender frame.

Xingchen watched, his gut twisting with apprehension…

He'd known Xiaoqian was powerful…but to attack a Soul Form head-on…? It seemed…reckless, even by her standards….

The Soul Form raised an eyebrow … as if amused by Xiaoqian's audacity … but he didn't move to defend himself.

He didn't need to.

With a casual flick of his wrist, a wave of pure psychic energy slammed into Xiaoqian, sending her flying backwards.

She crashed into a nearby wall, dust and debris raining down around her as she struggled to her feet, a thin trickle of crimson blood trailing from the corner of her mouth.

"So, even a Soul Form can use soul power for battle?" Xingchen murmured, his gaze darting between Xiaoqian and the… remarkably unfazed… Soul Form.

It was one thing to use soul power for sensing… for defense… even for subtle manipulation… but this…?

"That strength…that power… it comes from my Soul Devouring Secret Art," Xiaoqian snarled, wiping the blood from her lip.

They were running out of time…

Xingchen weighed his options. Discretion was usually the better part of valor… but they couldn't very well leave empty handed… He was already reaching for another Thunder Talisman… desperate times…

"Master."

Xiaoqian's voice echoed in his head, the familiarity of it strangely reassuring in this impossibly ancient, echoing chamber. He'd almost forgotten about their soul link… how it allowed them to communicate silently, even amidst chaos…

"It's inside him. The Secret Art…it's… fused with his soul form. A physical manifestation…"

"What are you saying…?" Xingchen sent back, a knot of dread forming in his stomach. He didn't like the sound of this…

"Keep him… distracted," Xiaoqian said, her voice taking on a steely edge he'd rarely heard before. "When I give the signal… attack…with everything you've got…"

Before Xingchen could question her plan … Xiaoqian sprang forward…charging headlong into battle once more.

"Reckless child," the Soul Form said, an almost bored expression on his face… "Do you truly believe you can defeat me?"

It happened so fast that Xingchen barely had time to register what he was seeing…

As Xiaoqian closed the distance, a strange light began to emanate from her form… from her very being … It pulsed with an intensity that made his skin crawl…

Like a dying star…

"She's… burning her soul… Impossible…" The Soul Form's composure finally cracked. Gone was his bored amusement… replaced by… what? Fear?

Xingchen had never heard anything like it.

Soul burning. It was a forbidden technique, rumored to grant unimaginable power… at a terrible, irreversible cost.

It was a technique that could only be performed by …Soul Forms… beings of pure Spiritual Energy…

But Xiaoqian… she was… different.