How Much For Your Soul?

Chapter 38

The moment Shen Yue and his men killed the Luqian brothers, at the North Heavenly Ice Plains far from the St. Ancestral Mountains, a tall, slender figure sealed inside thick blue ice, opened his eyes. Zhu Long had sensed their deaths.

When Zhu Long became the new Spiritual God of Snow Wind, he had subjugated all of the legend-ranked demon beasts on the continent. He had long ago placed seals to inform him of his minion's death. Now that Yu Yan somehow escaped her prison, she could not be allowed to roam free and contest him for the control of Tiny World!

"I never imagined that that wretch, Yu Yan, would be able to escape from the Black Spring. Those two morons didn't even manage to look after her properly, not to mention letting her escape. They were even killed so easily. Useless!" His enraged voice sounded out through the fissure permeated with ice.

The frigid snow-laden wind that continually blew through the crevice had gathered around the handsome man as if he was an ethereal being of ice. The moment people laid eyes on him, they would get a suffocating feeling, causing their hearts to stop. Peculiar blue pinpricks of light gathered within the demon beast's eyes. They were revolving manifestations of his Power of Law.

"For many millennia I have concealed myself here, awaiting the moment of the seventh lotus's birth. Yu Yan, unless you present your Divine Spark to me, you will die!" The corner of his mouth twitched into a menacing smirk.

In the beginning, his Power of Law started off as streaks of light, then slowly bloomed into mysterious flowers that formed at his side. The first flower, then the second, third...until the sixth one. Now, only one bud remained. It was swelling as though it would burst into bloom at any moment.

His rage caused the temperature to drop significantly. Yu Yan killing his minions and defying his reign over Tiny World gave him the intensity needed to manifest the last lotus.

He had finally created seven lotuses of ice! The feeling was intense, the cumulative effect of thousands of years of training in solitude had paid off! The pure joy at accomplishing his goals produced the first genuine smile on his face in an eon. Zhu Long felt invincible! Even the Nether Lord would have to be cautious when facing him now.

Since the Luqian brothers had failed, he would have to dispose of Yu Yan himself. The Fire Spiritual Goddess was blatantly cultivating her Law, challenging his authority! Obviously, she had forgotten the lesson his demon beast brethren had taught her!

Flexing his muscles, the ice tomb he was sealed in instantly shattered. Rising into the air, he flew out of the frozen crevice and towards the Endless Desert. It would take two days of constant flying, as the Heavenly Ice Plains was quite a distance from the scorching desert.

Zhu Long did not stop at all as he flew towards the source of Fire Law being blatantly broadcast. The thought of that weak fire bitch challenging him drove him onwards at breakneck speeds. Her Divine Spark would soon be his!

Entering the desert, it did not take him long to spy the small army gathered around a giant bonfire. Upon closer inspection, there was a petite woman in a meditative pose sitting at the centre of the inferno. It seems she has recovered more than he thought, no wonder those idiots died.

He quickly scanned the humans around Yu Yan but could not detect any aura, either they were hiding their cultivation somehow, or they were baseline mortals. It did not worry him, as even the remaining Spiritual Gods would have to cower beneath his strength! It mattered not if Yu Yan had somehow managed to gather a thousand legend rank experts, they would be like wheat before the scythe when he attacked!

With nothing to fear from these pathetic humans, Zhu Long descended towards their camp. He could already hear the screams they would make as he tore them limb from limb! With a shudder of pleasure, he called out his challenge.

"Yu Yan you pathetic wretch, hand over your Divine Spark! I will finish what my ancestors started!"

Instantly the raging inferno ceased, and Yu Yan stared up at the newest edition of Spiritual Gods.

"Who are you to speak to me? Lowly Worm!" Said Yu Yan with disdain.

Zhu Long's handsome face morphed into a bestial snarl. "You dare? Your time is over human, your race is scattered and near extinction! Kneel, and I might keep you as a pet!"

It was Yu Yan's turn to scowl as she spat on the ground as if the mere thought of speaking to this demon beast produced a bad taste in her adorable little mouth.

"Since when has an unknown peasant had the right to speak to me? Your true form must be that of a dog to be barking this much!" She replied scathingly.

Seeing the rage on Zhu Long's face, Shen Yue knew that he would charge in recklessly. His plan to bait the demon beast into the array was all going to plan. With a signal, his men retreated and formed a semi-circle a distance behind Yu Yan.

Noticing the humans form up behind the Fire Goddess, Zhu Long's mouth contorted into a chilling sneer. An endless torrent of Snow Wind Law started to form around him, and for the first time in history, it snowed in the desert.

Yu Yan continued to follow the script Shen Yue had written for her.

"What's the matter you mutt? Want a bite?" As she said this, she bent over and slapped her posterior towards Zhu Long. Mocking him with her childish antics.

It proved to be the last straw for the God of Snow Wind, as Zhu Long yelled out in rage, charging at Yu Yan. His urge to physically beat the petite woman was his undoing.

Shen Yue activated the array to lock down Zhu Long's movements, causing the demon beast to plummet the last ten metres to the ground. The inscription array restricted him to a five-metre square and cut off his ability to fly. With a hundred Heavenly Fate experts fueling the inscription, it was impossible for a mere Spiritual God, even one as powerful as Zhu Long, to break free.

As soon as the enraged demon beast had chared at her, Yu Yan had retreated back towards the army. Finding the controlling core of the second inscription array, she hastily poured her Power of Law into it. Instantly, the temperature of the area raised significantly. Flames rose from the ground, eliciting a pained scream from the fiercest beast on the planet.

"Cowardly humans! You cant face me as an equal, so you use these cheap tricks?" Zhu Long furiously roared out.

Nobody answered him as they started to follow the next step of the plan. With Zhu Long's movement hindered and hopefully the power he could utilise dampened, the men took out iron javelins from their rings. With the first squad's officer commanding his men to fire, the fifty soldiers hurled them at the captured prey.

Seeing the incoming missiles, Zhu Long could only command the pure energy of Snow Wind to create a barrier while he tried to break the inscription array. Unfortunately, he underestimated the power that they were thrown with, and the ice wall was shattered into chunks of ice, already melting from the heat!

One of the javelins narrowly missed, tearing his robes at the waistline. With the terrifying heat encompassing the area he was trapped in, he would have to apply three times the amount of energy as he would normally! Since the terrain was against him, he could not even replenish his diminishing energy.

With the next wave of projectiles hurtling towards him, Zhu Long started to panic. Once again, he created a wall of ice, but this time twice as thick to block the iron wave of death. Drawing heavily on his energy reserves, he utilised the Power of Law to bring to life five ice dragons. Since his mobility was impeded, he could only use long-range attacks.

The ice dragons issued rage-filled howls, as they charged towards Yu Yan. The men detailed to her security unleashed waves of spears at the beasts of ice, gradually breaking more and more chunks off.

By the time they arrived in striking distance, they were like an arrow at the end of its flight. The fifty men that had merged with their demon spirits quickly destroyed them before they could harm the Goddess.

The power of the Heavenly Fate experts was overkill in this operation. If it wasn't for the fact that Shen Yue wanted to preserve the lives of his men, they could simply swarm Zhu Long and beat him like a red-headed stepchild.

Under the coordination of Shen Yue, the men continuously peppered Zhu Long with attacks. The key was to use the bare minimum of javelins to chew up his Law energy. It was amusing to hear the struggling God's curses as he was harassed into a frothing rabid state.

An hour later, and it was over. Being continually drained of energy and not being able to absorb any more Power of Law, the strength of his shield of ice was limited. Six javelins had broken through, turning him into a pincushion.

As a Spiritual God's body was created from their Divine Spark, these usually mortal wounds were not enough to kill the rabid mongrel. Fifty more spears of iron certainly ruined Zhu Long's day. Twenty men quickly approached the porcupine and restrained him, knocking the already senseless demon beast out. The last thought Zhu Long had was the regret that he could not even fully employ his newly created seventh lotus of ice!

Shen Yue was there in a flash to brand his soul and mine his brain for useful books. It was a rather anti-climatic fight, using traps and skill to overcome a stronger enemy. Nie Li probably would've charged in headfirst and used his plot armour to beat Zhu Long to death. Unfortunately, Shen Yue was not a risk-taker and preferred to fight smarter, not harder!

The Spiritual God of Snow Wind only yielded a few cultivation techniques for demon beasts, and nothing exceptional. Shen Yue was now left with a decision to make. To rewrite Zhu long's memory and turn him into a loyal pet? Or set up a Demon Spirit Devouring Array to raise his soul force and hopefully his Snow Wind Law.

It was a tough choice to make. On one hand, Shen Yue would have a mighty guardian for his empire, but on the other hand, a Spiritual God would contain a lot of energy. It would be a tremendous boost to his cultivation.

Decisions, decisions!