Before the gates of the Sacred Land of Civilization. The Son of the Desolation stood there, gripping the Primordial Divine Halberd, radiating palpable killing intent, utterly determined to slay Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan, in turn, sneered from the corner of his lips, intent on battling the Son of the Desolation to a decisive conclusion. The Dharma Saint Imperial Son spoke up, "Son of the Desolation, this is the threshold of the Sacred Land of Civilization.

As everyone knows, unleashing arcane power here, especially power of your caliber, easily provokes spatial instability, which can prevent the very gates of the Sacred Land from opening. Are you suggesting that because of you alone, no one else should be allowed entrance?" As the Dharma Saint Imperial Son voiced this, most eyes turned toward the Son of the Desolation.

The Sacred Land of Civilization rarely opens; if he were the reason for its closure, nobody would tolerate his recklessness. (For updates, search Baidu for "Huashan Xianmen").

Indeed, the Son of the Desolation had formidable backing, but many present hailed from the Five Great Ancient Civilizations, and his strength, though immense, was met by many who had been in seclusion for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years, and were not easily intimidated. The Son of the Desolation pondered this aspect, looking from the Dharma Saint Imperial Son to Lu Yuan: "You are correct.

Unleashing my vast arcane power here might indeed cause spatial chaos, given how unstable the space before the Sacred Land is. However, if I intend to kill you, I will kill you.

I can do so without using arcane power." Instantly, a colossal Primordial War Wolf materialized above the Son of the Desolation's head. The War Wolf was a species from the Primordial Era, roughly ten times larger than a normal wolf.

While they might seem weak compared to other Primordial beasts, the Primordial War Wolf was exceptionally potent. Its strength lay not in brute force, but in its incredibly acute intuition, lightning-fast speed, and razor-sharp fangs and claws, often giving it an edge even over other Primordial creatures.

No one expected the Son of the Desolation to summon a Primordial War Wolf. Didn't summoning such a creature require arcane power?

Did he not fear spatial instability? Wait!

This Primordial War Wolf summoned by the Son of the Desolation was not corporeal at all—it was an embodiment of consciousness, a convergence of spirit essence. This meant the Son of the Desolation intended to slay Lu Yuan using only his soul power.

Soul power—a force distinct from arcane power. Arcane power easily distorts space, but soul power does not.

For an ordinary cultivator, their soul power would be insufficient to kill someone near the Heavenly Venerate realm. But the Son of the Desolation was different.

His soul power had coalesced in the void to form a Primordial War Wolf. The entire wolf was lifelike; if one failed to look closely, they might not realize it was mere consciousness made manifest.

To condense awareness to such a degree, and to project the ferocity of this Primordial War Wolf—the atmosphere around them shifted, and everyone present could sense that this surge of soul power could completely shred the spirit of someone near the seventh level of the World Realm. In such a scenario, even if the physical body remained untouched, if the soul was entirely devoured, death was absolute.

That the Son of the Desolation could command his soul to this extent was something most others present could not replicate; it spoke volumes of his peerless soul power. But wait, that was only the beginning.

Immediately, a host of Primordial beasts began to appear around the Son of the Desolation. The second spirit manifestation was the Demonic Great Serpent, which possessed three heads capable of spewing poisonous mists of all varieties—the deadliest of toxins, the most monstrous of beasts.

The third creature summoned was the Asura Serpent Dragon, a Primordial beast renowned throughout that era for its unparalleled speed, also condensed from the Son of the Desolation’s soul. The fourth manifestation was the Long-Haired Great Elephant.

This colossal elephant was considered a powerhouse among Primordial beings, possessing an incredibly sturdy physique and a size that dwarfed almost all other life forms. A single, casual stomp could crush other living beings instantly.

The fifth creature was the Primordial Progenitor Dragon-Tiger, the ancestor of both dragons and tigers, combining the might of the Primordial Divine Dragon and the Primordial Divine Tiger. The twenty-first manifestation was named the Thousand Snakes, possessing a massive torso composed of a thousand distinct bodies.

The fifty-third was the Ghost Dragon Horse, a progenitor-level Primordial spirit formed by absorbing boundless Primordial ghost energy, merging the essences of dragon and horse. The seventy-second creature to appear was a giant bird with a sleek, streamlined body, called the Myriad Slashes Bird, capable of unleashing endless torrents of razor-sharp slashing energy at any moment.

"Seventy-two heads? What?

A full seventy-two entities!" "Heavens! For us to manifest even one such being through soul power is a struggle, yet the Son of the Desolation has conjured seventy-two!" "He must be using the Primordial Soul Gathering Pagoda, a treasure from the Ancient Desolation Civilization.

But even with that artifact, summoning seventy-two conscious, spiritual Primordial beings simultaneously is terrifying." "How can the Son of the Desolation's soul be this powerful?" "Seventy-two! A single one of these Primordial entities could easily tear apart the soul of someone at the seventh level of the World Realm." "With all seventy-two attacking at once, among these fifteen thousand people, how many could possibly withstand this?" "A contest of souls is the most perilous—one misstep, and your spirit will be devoured by the opponent's." "The Dharma Saint Imperial Son might wish to help, but how could he?

It seems the Son of the Desolation can kill Lu Yuan using pure soul power, without resorting to arcane energy." "If the Dharma Saint Imperial Son dares to intervene further, he risks drawing his own soul into the fray, only to be annihilated by the Son of the Desolation." "The Son of the Desolation is too fearsome." The seventy-two soul-manifested Primordial entities unleashed waves of soul attacks, sharpened to an extreme degree. Every single one of these spirit-conjured beasts possessed terrifying and horrific power.

No one present, including the Dharma Saint Imperial Son, Kong Ni, Kong Mingde, and other half-step Civilization Realm figures, was confident in blocking them. Many suspected that being caught in such a soul assault would lead to their own destruction.

This was the infinite galaxy of soul attacks! This was the surging celestial river of soul assaults!

It was almost the fiercest soul attack achievable below the Civilization Realm! For anyone beneath that level, recreating an attack of this magnitude would likely be impossible.

Facing this torrent, everyone present felt a chill run through them. With the Son of the Desolation possessing such soul power, how many could possibly resist him?

As for Lu Yuan, surely his fate was sealed. Just as the seventy-two soul attacks were about to strike Lu Yuan, a wash of white light erupted above his head.

This light resembled a gentle, pure white flame, warm yet absolute. Such a defensive soul manifestation seemed laughable against the raging, infinite river of the Son of the Desolation’s soul onslaught.

The first five soul-manifested Primordial beasts smashed into Lu Yuan’s white light. Curious, the white light did not instantly shatter.

The soul attacks from fifteen soul-manifested beasts slammed into the white light. Still, the white light did not instantly collapse.

Lu Yuan’s spiritual radiance was not to be underestimated. The Son of the Desolation let out a cold snort, and thirty-five soul-manifested beasts struck the white light fiercely, yet it remained intact.

Only then did the Son of the Desolation utter a faint, surprised "Hm?" Now, the Son of the Desolation held nothing back. In an instant, he unleashed all seventy-two soul-manifested Primordial beasts in a final, crushing assault toward Lu Yuan.

The white soul light above Lu Yuan's head trembled—but it merely trembled. It held!

It actually held! The assault of just a few soul-manifested beasts could claim the soul of someone near the seventh level of the World Realm.

The collective attack of all seventy-two beasts had been expected to overwhelm anyone present, striking fear into all who witnessed the Son of the Desolation’s might. Yet, Lu Yuan had stubbornly defended himself.

How was this possible? How could Lu Yuan achieve this?

In truth, when Lu Yuan first faced the seventy-two soul-manifested beasts, he realized that even with a soul several times stronger than others, he might not withstand such an attack. However, a sudden realization struck him: he possessed the Initial Character 'Zheng' ().

The character 'Zheng' wards off evil, guards the true heart, and protects the soul. (Search Baidu for "Huashan Xianmen" for updates).

He would no longer fear attacks from inner demons—which, at their core, were attacks on consciousness and spirit. If the Son of the Desolation was attacking with soul power, why not use the Initial Character 'Zheng' to guard his true heart?

Since 'Zheng' could not be displayed overtly, Lu Yuan manifested his own soul power while cloaking it with the protection of 'Zheng', forming the white light. On the surface, this white light appeared gentle and fragile, but Lu Yuan’s own powerful soul, coupled with the supreme defense of the Initial Character 'Zheng', meant it would be bizarre if the Son of the Desolation could break through this spiritual defense.

Thus, the white soul light appeared mild and weak externally, but was, in reality, impregnable. Lu Yuan felt his confidence solidify.

The Son of the Desolation looked at Lu Yuan, surprise flickering in his gaze. Until this moment, every confrontation with Lu Yuan had resulted in his complete dominance; Lu Yuan had never managed any meaningful counterattack, and the Son of the Desolation had long viewed him as a mere ant.

Now, Lu Yuan had actually managed a defense, truly astonishing the Son of the Desolation. "Lu Yuan, Eighth Son of Destiny, very well.

I shall deign to remember that name. However, you will die here today, slain by my soul attack." The Son of the Desolation scoffed, "Primordial Soul, Earth’s Great Soil, merge as one!

Soul power, ascend for me!" With his roar, the seventy-two soul-manifested Primordial beasts remained seventy-two entities. But their color, originally a standard hue, transformed into a golden yellow.

Golden yellow—this was the color of Soul Gold! The most potent soul power is the supreme Chaos Color, though only those at the Civilization Realm can cultivate that shade of soul.

The next tier down is the golden hue. Now, the Son of the Desolation had elevated his own soul essence to the golden level.

One golden-colored manifestation equaled five of the original color. This meant that the seventy-two golden-colored soul entities now possessed the equivalent power of three hundred and sixty original beasts.

The Son of the Desolation had pushed his soul power to its absolute peak.