"Thank you for your trouble, brother-in-law," Bai Xinyi said, and then his body rapidly expanded, transforming into a colossal celestial fox ten thousand meters long, sprawled across the land, its eyes filled with resolve.
He revealed his true form because only then could his soul be stripped more comprehensively.
Yu Zhibo wasted no words. Empowered by his Mangekyo Sharingan, golden energy began to weave around him, manifesting as an Emperor of Heaven phantom, standing five hundred meters tall, clad in golden armor and treading on cloud-like footwear, casting a golden hue over the surrounding land.
In his hands, the Taiji Heavenly Emperor Soul Severing Sword grew to over two hundred meters in length, shimmering as it was infused with energy, resembling a sky-piercing greatsword.
The soul-pressure intensified, and despite enduring countless hardships, Bai Xinyi couldn't help but feel a flicker of apprehension in his gaze.
However, this apprehension lasted only a fleeting moment before his gaze regained its firmness.
For his father, mother, elder sister, younger brother, and sisters, he would endure!
The next instant, a flash of golden light, followed by a "swish," saw Yu Zhibo's Heavenly Emperor Susanoo bring down the Emperor Sword fiercely towards Bai Xinyi's brow.
The Taiji Heavenly Emperor Soul Severing Sword struck his brow and then, without any obstruction, passed through his body like a phantom blade of light.
This sword did not cleave the flesh, only the soul!
"Roar~"
Bai Xinyi let out a piercing scream. With his will fully surrendered to resistance, the agony from his soul was exceptionally intense. A gray phantom emerged from his body – his soul.
But alas, the soul had only detached from his body by less than ten centimeters before being forcefully pulled back by immense gray chains. These were the Chaos Laws controlled by Bai Xinyi, firmly binding his soul to his physical form.
Yu Zhibo's eyes flashed red, instantly discerning that there were precisely thirty Chaos Chains.
"So, after the Law, each advancement in tier represents one Chaos Chain... and the pulling force is so strong. As expected of the Celestial Fox Chaos Body..."
Yu Zhibo mused inwardly. The eighty-tier Bai Xinyi was incredibly powerful. The gap in cultivation was undeniable. If the latter hadn't surrendered his resistance, Yu Zhibo likely wouldn't have been able to cleave through him.
Indeed, while the Taiji Heavenly Emperor Soul Severing Sword had an effect on souls, it couldn't compensate for the weakness of its wielder. It was like water extinguishing fire, but if a single drop of water were thrown into a sea of flames, it would be instantly vaporized.
There was no other option but to continue the assault!
With Yu Zhibo's relentless sword strikes, Bai Xinyi's screams grew increasingly agonizing, eventually rendering him voiceless, his entire fox form teetering on the brink of unconsciousness.
And with each successive strike, his soul first detached by less than ten centimeters, then twenty centimeters, then one meter, five meters, ten meters...
The wounded soul was repeatedly cleaved, only to be pulled back into the physical body by the chains formed from the Chaos Laws. In this process, the grayness within Bai Xinyi's soul gradually faded, both due to the detachment of the Chaos Laws and the severe damage inflicted upon his soul.
The Taiji Heavenly Emperor Soul Severing Sword was unlike ordinary metal; it was a weapon that acted upon the soul, driven by Yu Zhibo's mental and soul power. Thus, after hundreds of full-power swings, even Yu Zhibo felt immensely mentally fatigued.
"Is it because the eighty-tier strength is too great, or is the Chaos Body's restraint on the soul too tight? This is so damn tiring!"
"Also, this scene must not be seen by mother-in-law and the others. Otherwise, even if it's understandable, seeing their son in such pain will undoubtedly cause them distress. While they might not harbor resentment, it would still affect their relationship!"
Yu Zhibo continued his mechanical strikes, his mind wandering with trivial thoughts. Half an hour later, as Bai Xinyi's soul was being cleaved nearly a hundred meters out of his body, there was a "clang," and one of the thirty Chaos Chains suddenly... snapped.
The broken Chaos Chain transformed into a wisp of gray energy. As it was about to return to the heavens and earth, Yu Zhibo's heart stirred, and a golden spiritual figure seated in his Niwan Palace began to stir restlessly...
The next moment, his brow blazed like the sun. A golden spiritual figure, with two Mangekyo Sharingan suspended above its head, flew out of the Niwan Palace. The two Mangekyo Sharingan above its head then transformed into two blood-red vortexes, generating a colossal suction force that drew in the gray energy of the Chaos Chain.
From beginning to end, Yu Zhibo had made no conscious decision; these were spontaneous actions of the golden spiritual figure, leaving Yu Zhibo himself astonished.
But he knew the golden figure wouldn't betray him, as it was essentially a manifestation of his will.
After the gray energy of the Chaos Chain was absorbed by the blood-red vortexes, it emerged from the other end and, as if possessing life, transformed into chains that coiled around the spiritual figure.
"Ah!"
The golden spiritual figure let out a scream audible only to Yu Zhibo and scrambled back into the Niwan Palace.
Yu Zhibo: "..."
As the spiritual figure returned to the Niwan Palace, the golden Heavenly Emperor phantom he projected with his eyes began to crumble, dissipating into golden stardust and vanishing into the world.
Yu Zhibo's expression was one of bewilderment, but he soon felt his sequence core begin to rumble, like a colossal grinding mill of heaven and earth, pulverizing the gray energy of the Chaos Chain.
During this process, Yu Zhibo felt his mental power become sluggish, as if sinking into a swamp, which was why the Heavenly Emperor Susanoo had disappeared.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Bai Xinyi, who was on the verge of death from the repeated blows, weakly raised his eyes to look at Yu Zhibo, his gaze filled with confusion.
Yu Zhibo gave a wry laugh. "Third brother-in-law, I'm tired. I need to rest for a bit. Please wait."
As he spoke, he sat down cross-legged.
Bai Xinyi desperately wanted to say that a long pain was worse than a short one, but seeing the exhaustion on Yu Zhibo's face, he ultimately held his tongue. He could only close his eyes and endure, bearing the pain from his soul.
Suddenly, he let out a soft exclamation.
It had been almost half an hour. Normally, as his soul weakened, his ability to maintain lucidity should have diminished.
But the reality was that with each strike of the Heavenly Emperor Soul Severing Sword, his consciousness became even clearer. At this rate, he could remain lucid for another five or six hours without any issue.
"It's working! I'm really going to escape this nightmarish shell!" Brightness erupted in Bai Xinyi's eyes, and he felt an inexhaustible surge of motivation, even the pain in his soul seemed to lessen.
As for Yu Zhibo, after his spiritual figure absorbed the gray energy of the Chaos Law, his sequence core began to grind and purify it furiously, and at a much faster rate than usual. Thus, after two hours, the gray energy of the Chaos Law was completely purified, its imprint on this space erased.
The purified chaotic gray energy was absorbed by the spiritual figure, causing the purification progress of the Nine Tomoe Sharingan displayed on the system to change from 2/10000 to 102/10000.
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Thank you to Lan Qingfeng Ru Huai for the inspiration capsule and blades + small gift, thank you to user 13454378 for the inspiration capsule and powering up, thank you to Xu Yuyu for the inspiration capsule and love letter, and to Professor Miyazaki of Coney Island, and Ai Chi Zhu Ti Gua Tang de Ai Si for the requests for updates, and to all other friends for their gifts, likes, and support. Thank you all.