"Why is Ling’er in this coffin?"
Tianming knew very well that there was no answer to that question. Moreover, in the instant between life and death, the answer was meaningless. He could only hope that the Soulfiend would stop the person in Feiling's body.
Tianming would still have a fighting chance if she was caught by the Soulfiend. However, he was certain that wouldn’t be the case if she reached the altar. Because their information wasn’t complete, the most dangerous thing would be being led by the nose.
The Soulfiend was close.
It suddenly opened its three mouths and inhaled sharply. The mysterious woman gradually slowed down and transformed back to Feiling’s appearance.
As the Soulfiend charged toward her, Tianming seized the opportunity, flinging himself forward with the Thunderfiend Chains and slamming into Feiling before the Soulfiend. He held Feiling in his arms, but she looked at him with cold eyes.
"Stop messing around. If the Soulfiend catches us, she and I will both die!" she growled.
As the words fell from her lips, the Soulfiend came clawing at her.
While Tianming dodged its attack, Ye Lingfeng finally caught up and took control of the runaway Soulfiend.
"Go!" Ye Lingfeng shouted.
Obviously, he couldn't control it since the Soulfiend appeared enraged.
Without a word, Tianming carried Feiling in his arms and turned to flee. However, she wouldn’t behave. The Soulfiend struggled out of Ye Lingfeng’s control and charged toward Tianming.
"Stop the Soulfiend!"
Tianming’s lifebound beasts darted out with Lan Huang in front. Unfortunately, its Mountainsea World was shattered by the Soulfiend. This meant the Soulfiend was actually stronger than them.
Lan Huang and Meow Meow were slammed aside, not to mention Ying Huo. The Invincible Sword Ki failed to penetrate the Soulfiend’s flesh; it was obviously thick-skinned.
"I’m warning you. Take me to the altar at once, or she and I will die in the hands of the Soulfiend!"
"Shut up!" Tianming shouted.
"Haha."
Realizing that Tianming was taking her away, she transformed into Celestial Wings once more and struggled out of Tianming's control, heading toward the blue altar. In fact, she was farther away from the altar now. If it weren't for Tianming's lifebound beasts and Ye Lingfeng holding back the Soulfiend, she wouldn’t be able to reach the altar.
"Stop!" Tianming obstructed her.
At that moment, the Celestial Wings suddenly crashed into Tianming, attaching the spirit to his body.
"Big Brother, take out the necklace!" It was Feiling's voice!
"Ling’er?!”
Although real men shouldn’t cry, Tianming's eyes were red at the moment. For Feiling to speak at a time like this meant she had obviously experienced some kind of struggle. Tianming wasn’t the only one desperately trying to fight; so was she.
Tianming immediately pulled out Ling’er’s Love from his spatial ring. In an instant, Feiling, who was attached to his body, employed Soulburn.
The golden flames instantly burned Tianming's Saint Palace Spring, a terribly uncomfortable feeling. His Saint Palace Spring was being consumed at a frightening speed. However, Tianming knew exactly what Feiling was going to do. After Soulburn, she would enter a state of dormancy. And in that state, the mysterious entity could do nothing.
Since being aware of that person’s presence in her body, Feiling never mentioned anything about Soulburn, all so it would come in handy at this time. Although they couldn’t solve the root of the problem, they could indefinitely delay.
"Die! You’re just the mortal spirit born from the acquired godchild. What gives you the right to occupy my body!” the strange woman screeched.
Just then, Tianming heard her monstrous rage.
"It doesn’t matter what you say. I am me, so goodbye!" Feiling sounded very decisive. After her prolonged silence, this was the moment she exploded.
Who didn't want to live? She persisted, and so did Tianming.
From the moment Ye Lingfeng had appeared, every step had been thrilling. They had taken many risks, but hadn’t lost yet.
The flames of Soulburn washed over Tianming, something he had never imagined would happen. But right now, he was most delighted. Who cared about the pain? As his saint ki was weakened, Feiling had finally exhausted her strength and turned into a golden ray of light that melted into Ling’er’s Love.
From that point on, he would no longer hear the mysterious woman’s voice. Additionally, the Soulfiend was now calm. Its three heads alternated between expressions of joy, anger, and sorrow, and its six arms slumped down.
It was over, at least for the time being. They fell to the ground in exhaustion. Tianming stood there, holding Ling’er’s Love in his hand.
"She's not dead. This time, it’ll take two months for her to awaken so that person won’t appear again. Since the tomb is still closed, I still have time!"
Feiling's struggle had gained time for Tianming.
"Ling’er!" Tianming's eyes gleamed.
He knew this was the best possible outcome. At least they were no longer confused, controlled by that person and at her mercy. In fact, they were in an advantageous position.
"Brother Tianming, is Ling’er alright?" asked Ye Lingfeng.
"She’s fine for the time being. We’ve got two months.”
Tianming suddenly recalled that Feiling could hear their conversations when she was in the necklace. That person should be able to hear him, too. Hence, he immediately tossed the necklace into his spatial ring. Since the spatial ring was an isolated space, they wouldn’t be able to hear anything, especially in their weakened state.
"We’ll think of a way," said Ying Huo.
"Yes." Tianming nodded, his gaze fixed upon the altar.
He didn't dare go up, for fear that something unexpected would happen when he approached the crystal coffin with Ling’er’s Love. The coffin was the only thing on the blue altar, and was clearly visible.
Lying within was Feiling. Although it might not be her, they looked identical.
"Brother Tianming, the Soulfiend has some chaotic memories which I’m guessing would be useful to you." Ye Lingfeng said after communicating with the Soulfiend.
“Alright, let’s leave this place first."
Tianming noticed a passage leading out of the underground palace. Although there was only one passage, it should be possible to leave. Ye Lingfeng sat on the top of the Soulfiend, his palm on its forehead, seemingly communicating with it. After Feiling’s use of Soulburn, Tianming had plenty of time to think of what to do next.
"What is it?" Tianming pointed to the Soulfiend.
"It’s a Soulfiend that’s been imprisoned in the Demon City for too long. It’s forgotten its origins. Due to starvation, it returned to its most primitive state. Now, only some broken memories remain," said Ye Lingfeng.
"So this isn’t the Tomb of the Ancients, but the Demon City?" Tianming recalled that person mentioning the same words.
"Most likely." Ye Lingfeng paused, then added, "The Soulfiend eats souls to grow stronger. It’s a strange mutation of both the corporeal body and the soul and can simulate the appearance of others, as well as transform into various shapes."
As soon as the Ye Lingfeng finished, the Soulfiend transformed into a second Ye Lingfeng. Although their appearance was the same, their temperaments were different.
"It really is strange."
Sure enough, the things in this Demon City couldn’t be measured by common sense.
"Brother Tianming, in fact it’s very grateful to you. Because you broke the heavenly pattern formation, it was able to open the door and escape. It says that it’s sorry, because as long as it sees Ling’er, it can't control the hatred and murderous thoughts," said Ye Lingfeng.
"I let it out?" Tianming was somewhat surprised.
What a coincidence indeed. What he let out had inadvertently ended up helping him at a critical moment. If it weren't for Ye Lingfeng, Tianming would have been led by the nose by that woman.
Right now, they were standing near the altar.
"If I want to unlock the mysteries behind Feiling’s death, the girl in the crystal coffin is obviously the key."
They sat down in the passage.
"Feng, does the Soulfiend know what the relationship is between Ling’er, the woman in the coffin, and that person? She mentioned that Ling’er is the mortal spirit of the acquired godchild," said Tianming.
If he hoped to obtain information from the Soulfiend, he had to know its origins. After learning more about the Soulfiend, Tianming got straight to the point.
"The Soulfiend isn’t clear about the specifics. But in its chaotic and broken memories, there are some fragments. When the innate and acquired godchild are merged, we can try conquering and killing the former with the power of my soul, because at that time, she’ll be very weak. This is the only chance for the acquired godchild to replace the innate godchild and live," Ye Lingfeng explained.
"That’s what the Soulfiend said?" Tianming appeared shocked.
"Sort of. I found it in its mind. It doesn’t actually understand anything. That’s just what I gathered," he replied.
"Well, since that person is afraid of the Soulfiend, it should be just as powerful as she is. And since that memory fragment exists, it must be true."
Tianming was pleasantly surprised. The soul was a wonderful thing, the foundation of human beings. In that respect, Ye Lingfeng was much better than Tianming. It was incredible that he could connect to the Soulfiend, and even explore its memory.
At that moment, Tianming finally saw hope!