Lam Minh didn't act immediately on the desolate battlefield. He knew that performing the "Saintly Soul Separation Art" required an absolutely safe and quiet environment.
He effortlessly lifted the completely sealed Deacon Yue onto his shoulder. Then, he turned and looked at the pile of unconscious prisoners, Hung Ba and the remaining "Saint Children." He just waved his hand, and a few beams of sword qi shot out, finishing them off quickly. He couldn't leave any potential threats behind.
After "cleaning up," he flew up, carrying Deacon Yue, and quickly left the academy, returning to the secluded valley where he had refined the God-Slayer sword.
He placed Deacon Yue down in the middle of the cave. She looked at him, her eyes still full of mockery and hatred.
"What are you planning to do? Torture me? It's useless. I won't say another word."
Lam Minh didn't answer. He just sat down cross-legged, facing her.
"I don't need you to speak," he said. "I will 'take' what I need myself."
With that, he closed his eyes. His soul, under the control of his Golden Core, slowly exited his body.
A faint, golden-glowing figure appeared, hovering above Lam Minh's head. This was the first time he had projected his soul after his breakthrough, and his soul was much more solid and powerful than before.
Seeing this, Deacon Yue's expression finally changed. The mockery vanished, replaced by horror.
"You... you're planning... the Saintly Soul Separation Art? Impossible! How do you know this forbidden art? This is the supreme secret art of the Saintly Way!"
"In this world, no secret lasts forever," Lam Minh's soul spoke, his voice echoing throughout the cave.
He gave her no chance to say more. His golden soul shot forward, passing through her defenses, and went straight into Deacon Yue's sea of consciousness.
The world inside Deacon Yue's sea of consciousness was a night sky filled with endless, cold, silver crescent moons.
In the center, two souls existed.
One was the soul of the occupying entity, in the form of a large, arrogant moon goddess, but she was injured and weakened.
And beside her was the tiny soul of Xiao An, chained, curled up, her eyes lifeless.
When Lam Minh's soul appeared, the Moon Goddess roared in fury.
"You bastard! How dare you invade my sea of consciousness! I will crush your soul!"
She waved her hand, and countless moonlight blades formed, shooting towards Lam Minh.
But in the world of the soul, what determines victory is not just energy, but also will.
Lam Minh did not flinch. His soul erupted with the golden light of the Dragon God. He waved his hand, and a soul-form God-Slayer sword also materialized.
He slashed out, shattering all the moonlight blades.
"In this world, you are not the master," Lam Minh said, his voice full of pressure.
He charged in, and an earth-shattering soul battle erupted in the sea of consciousness.
Lam Minh's soul, tempered through two lifetimes and supported by the Dragon God bloodline, was incredibly strong and resolute.
The Moon Goddess's soul, though powerful, was severely injured from the battle outside and was also affected by the very chains that bound Xiao An.
The scales quickly tipped in Lam Minh's favor.
He attacked relentlessly, using his sword intent to slash at the Moon Goddess's soul. Each slash made her scream in pain, her soul growing fainter.
"No... I can't lose..." she roared. "I am a noble 'Seed'! I cannot lose to a human!"
She made a crazed move. She tried to absorb, to devour Xiao An's soul, to completely fuse with it and turn it into her own energy.
"I already told you. You don't stand a chance," Lam Minh said coldly.
He had been waiting for this moment.
He stopped attacking the Moon Goddess. He used all his soul power to perform the forbidden art.
Ancient symbols appeared around him, forming a formation. This formation wasn't for attacking, but for "separating."
It shone a beam of light onto the point where the two souls were fusing.
"Aaaaaaa!!!!"
Both the Moon Goddess and Xiao An's soul screamed in agony.
The process of separating souls was more painful than being sliced to death.
"YOU WILL REGRET THIS!!!" the Moon Goddess shrieked.
Lam Minh gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain the formation. His own soul was also being consumed at a massive rate.
Finally, after a long struggle.
SNAP!
The two souls were separated.
The Moon Goddess's soul became faint, weakened to the extreme.
Xiao An's soul was almost transparent, as if about to dissipate, still bound by the dark chains.
Without a moment's hesitation, Lam Minh used his soul sword to deliver a final blow.
The Moon Goddess's soul, before dissipating, looked at him with eyes full of hatred. "The Holy Master... will not forgive you..."
After completely annihilating the enemy, Lam Minh rushed to Xiao An's soul.
He embraced that fragile soul, feeling as if his own heart was being cut by a knife.
He quickly brought both souls back to their physical bodies.
Outside, in the cave.
Lam Minh opened his eyes and coughed up a mouthful of blood. The soul battle had left him with internal injuries.
Deacon Yue's body convulsed for a moment, then collapsed, completely lifeless. The parasitic entity was dead, and the host body could not survive.
Lam Minh didn't care about her. He quickly took out the "Turtle Origin Water Crystal."
He carefully separated Xiao An's soul from Deacon Yue's dead body, then gently brought the Water Crystal close.
The turquoise Water Crystal, as if sensing a soul in need of healing, dissolved into a gentle light, enveloping Xiao An's soul.
The dark chains on her body slowly vanished. The wounds on her soul gradually healed.
Her soul, from being almost transparent, slowly became more solid.
But she still didn't wake up. Her eyes remained closed, her consciousness still submerged in darkness.
Lam Minh frowned. "Why? It's clearly healed."
He carefully investigated again. And then he discovered it.
Deep within her soul, there was something else.
Not chains. Not a restrictive seal.
But a "seed."
An extremely small dark seed, sleeping, but radiating a familiar, terrifying aura.
It was the aura of... the Holy Master.
...
Lam Minh stared at the dark "seed" sleeping deep within Xiao An's soul, a chill running down his spine, colder than when he faced Eleventh or Deacon Yue.
This thing was a part of the Holy Master.
It was like a time bomb planted in the deepest recesses. He didn't know when it would detonate, or what its purpose was. But he knew one thing for sure: it was incredibly dangerous.
This was probably why Xiao An still hadn't woken up. This seed was suppressing her consciousness.
He tried to use his Dragon Qi to approach it, intending to remove it. But as soon as the Dragon Qi got close, the dark seed emitted an extremely strong defensive energy, repelling his Dragon Qi. It didn't attack, only defended, but that defense was unshakably firm.
"Damn it!" Lam Minh gritted his teeth.
He realized that with his Golden Core strength, he couldn't remove this thing. It was directly linked to the Holy Master, an existence that had probably reached the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, or perhaps even higher.
He was caught in a dilemma. He had saved Xiao An's soul, but he couldn't awaken her. She was like a person in a vegetative state, existing but without consciousness.
He couldn't leave her in this state forever.
He carefully used a jade artifact that Lac Long Quan had given him to temporarily house Xiao An's soul. The jade emitted a gentle light, helping to nourish and protect the soul.
He sat there, in the silent cave, his mind reeling.
What should he do now?
He thought of finding Lac Long Quan. With the power of a Late-Stage Nascent Soul expert, perhaps his uncle would have a way. But he hesitated. This matter involved the Holy Master, an enemy even Lac Long Quan was wary of. He didn't want to drag him into a direct confrontation with the Holy Master at this time.
He thought of the Golden Turtle. His knowledge was vast; he might know about this kind of forbidden art. But he also didn't know where to find him. After being freed, he had gone to find Lac Long Quan, and perhaps they were carrying out some plan together.
He felt powerless. For the first time since his rebirth, he felt truly small in the face of such a grand conspiracy.
After a long period of thought, he made a decision.
He couldn't solve this alone. He needed help. Not help in terms of strength, but in terms of wisdom and knowledge.
He thought of two people.
To Quyen and Minh Thu.
To Quyen, with the knowledge of a top scientist, might be able to analyze the nature of this dark seed from a biological and energetic perspective.
Minh Thu, with her skills as a super-hacker, might be able to find information related to soul-based forbidden arts in the vast databases she could access.
Two heads, especially two genius minds, were definitely better than his one right now.
But to do that, he had to bring Xiao An's soul back to Lac Hong Academy. An extremely risky move. The "Saintly Way" was surely monitoring his every move. Carrying such an important soul was like carrying a ticking time bomb through a crowded street.
"I need a very careful plan," he murmured.
He decided not to go straight back to the academy. He would take a roundabout route, creating false trails to mislead the enemy.
He carefully stored the jade containing Xiao An's soul in his storage ring. He cleaned the cave thoroughly, erasing all traces.
Then he left, but he didn't fly. He walked, using the counter-surveillance methods he had learned, moving like a ghost through the dense forest.
He headed south, in the complete opposite direction of the academy.
He knew that from now on, every step he took had to be carefully calculated. He was not just fighting for himself, but also carrying the soul of his best friend.
Meanwhile, in the Holy Sanctuary.
The Holy Master was sitting on his throne. Suddenly, he frowned slightly.
"The seed I planted in Yue's vessel... has been affected by an external force, but it hasn't been destroyed. And it... is moving."
A mysterious smile appeared again in the darkness.
"Interesting. Very interesting. You didn't kill it, but instead, you're carrying it with you. What are you planning to do with it, Lam Minh?"
"We shall see. I will give you a little more time. Go ahead and keep my gift. I am very curious to see how you will deal with it."
A new game of chess, a new battle of wits, had quietly begun.
And Lam Minh, moving cautiously through the forest, was completely unaware that his every step was under the observation of his most terrifying enemy.