Chapter 5: Calming the Souls (Part 2)

Guo Shier was terrified. He kept looking back as vast areas of rock disappeared, and void worms emerged from the resulting voids. Such a large number of void worms instantly erased the cliff faces—anything that touched them turned to nothingness, silently. Even large rocks ejected from the breakdown in space were instantly consumed by the spatial rifts, leaving not even a trace of dust.
Their ability to erase anything silently was utterly terrifying.
Just as the breakdown pierced through the cliff, countless void worms quickly chased after them.
Li Ran didn’t dare retract the breakdown, but the earlier impact had severely damaged it. After all, it was designed for crossing dimensions, not for attacking rocks. Once unleashed, it could no longer function as a weapon and needed to be reforged before it could defend against the void worms.
Surrounded by countless void worms, Li Ran, Guo Shier, and Qi Wu Zhen all became panicked. They continuously used rune palms to push back the approaching worms.
Suddenly, Li Ran said, “It’s no good. We must retract the breakdown…”
Guo Shier shouted, “No! Hold on a little longer!” He also threw himself into action. The Soul Calming Cauldron flew out above his head, hovering about a foot away. He cast a spell, causing the cauldron to enlarge slightly. “I’ll give it a try. Big brother, hold on!” Meanwhile, the breakdown continued to push forward, surrounded by chaos as the shadows of void worms slammed into its protective barrier.
Ceciline was too scared to speak. She had never felt such fear or helplessness before, but she held on and didn’t scream, instead clinging tightly to Guo Shier’s waist. Her only thought was that as long as she held onto him, neither he nor she could die. It was only then that she seemed a little like a woman.
When Guo Shier’s Soul Calming Cauldron flew out, Ceciline sensed it immediately, as it was right above her head. She raised her head slightly and saw it clearly, filled with curiosity. “What a strange thing… It looks like a container. What can it do?” Soon, she observed the changes in the cauldron—unimaginably, it could grow larger and become exquisitely beautiful, with colorful runes glowing brightly, completely different from what she had seen at first. At first glance, it had been an unremarkable, dark little object.

Guo Shier flicked his fingers, and a rune was shot out from his tip, hitting the Soul Calming Cauldron. Serceline immediately felt dizzy, as if there was an explosion in her soul, followed by a gentle force invading her body. It turned out that Guo Shier noticed Serceline’s stiff body and then remembered her. Knowing that her fragile soul couldn’t withstand even the slightest vibration from the Soul Calming Cauldron, he quickly acted to protect her soul.

The Soul Calming Cauldron emitted intense light, sending out countless rune waves as fine as dust. In an instant, all the Void Worms within hundreds of meters were halted in their movements.

Li Ran was overjoyed and shouted, “It works!”

The attack of the Soul Calming Cauldron was aimed at souls. He never expected these strange Void Worms to have souls—or rather, their cores might be made of souls. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why such an attack could affect them.

Professionals of the Spellcraft Clan were all masters of souls. Especially the top experts, who were Soul Grandmasters, excelled at cultivating souls. However, they had few methods of soul attacks. In the Spellcraft World, as long as one was a professional, their soul strength was much greater than that of ordinary people. Using soul attacks was less effective than using spells, so this path hadn’t developed. Only outsiders like Guo Shier would deliberately study soul attacks.

Seeing the effect, Guo Shier was overjoyed. He cast several spells in succession, with the emitted runes hitting the Soul Calming Cauldron, creating ripples. The Void Worms fell like rain, clearing a large area around them in an instant. But there were still too many Void Worms, surrounding them layer after layer.

Li Ran shouted, “Use your sacred artifact to protect us!”

Guo Shier slammed his hand on the Soul Calming Cauldron. With a loud boom, the cauldron suddenly expanded to the thickness of a water tank. Li Ran took the opportunity to retract through the boundary break. Fortunately, Guo Shier’s Soul Calming Cauldron was effective; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand the boundary break. If they had delayed retracting any longer, another refinement would have taken a great deal of effort. Now, a brief refinement was enough to restore it—truly fortunate in misfortune.

“Stabilize!”

A large rune flew out and hit the Soul Calming Cauldron, instantly sending out countless colored lights that held the Void Worms within a kilometer in the air. Guo Shier shouted, “Go!” He cast another spell, and countless runes descended, forming a new shield that enveloped the four of them. He called out, “Sister Zhiwu, take us flying!”

Qi Wu Zhen replied, “Okay!”

Guo Shier has one more trick, but he dares not use it casually. It’s a suppression character that can draw the Void Worms into the Soul Subduing Cauldron. However, the Void Worms are extremely abnormal, and he’s unsure if those spatial rifts might destroy his Cauldron. Thus, he hesitates to use this trick recklessly.

But he uses the suppression character to its fullest, sweeping away all the Void Worms around him. Though he can’t kill them, it prevents them from moving. Most of the Void Worms can’t stay in the air and fall down, creating countless holes in the ground. The rocks and soil on the ground offer no protection; even if the Void Worms remain still, the spatial rifts extending from them persist, and nothing can stop their destructive force.

The Void Worms swarm over the four of them, forming an increasingly large encirclement. With the power of the Soul Subduing Cauldron, they can only deter the nearby Worms; it cannot control those far away. Still, this buys them temporary safety. Unless Guo Shier runs out of strength, the Worms can’t do anything to them.

The four continue flying, surrounded by the swarm, creating a spectacular sight. With wave after wave of shockwaves, more and more Void Worms fall.

Sericeline is utterly amazed. She had never known of such a method to counter the Void Worms’ attacks. Though not a single Worm has been killed, none can pose a threat to them. The Worms keep attacking but keep falling due to the suppression, with colorful lights flashing as they descend like rain. Yet everything remains eerily silent, giving an extremely strange feeling.

Since the shockwaves target the soul, no sound is produced, and the Void Worms don’t make any noises either. Despite the intense battle, there’s complete silence as they fly forward.

An hour passes, and Guo Shier seems slightly tired. He says, “This won’t work. At our speed, unless we all exert force together, we’re no different from these worms. Even if we’re faster, it’s only by a little. I’ll eventually run out of strength, and that will be troublesome. These worms are so annoying; there’s no way to kill them.”

Another half hour passes, and suddenly Li Ran exclaims, “We’ve reached the front of the swarm!”

Qi Wuzhen shouts, “Push harder! Break through!”

Suddenly, the path ahead cleared up, and the four of them broke free from the swarm of insects, just like skilled surfers emerging abruptly from the waves. The moment they got out, Seraphine exclaimed, “Look… look ahead!”
It was the ruins of a massive city. From afar, one could see endless buildings, some towering over a thousand meters high. Countless metal structures resembling rails surrounded the tall buildings, their long reflections stretching across the ground. The ruined city presented a post-apocalyptic scene.
Guo Shier sighed and said, “I hope this is an unexplored city… Otherwise, they won’t have time to escape.” It was absolutely impossible to make them turn back. After struggling so hard to get out of the insect swarm, no one wanted to go through that madness again.
Qi Wuzhen said, “I actually hope it’s an explored city, so we might have a chance to escape…”
Li Ran said, “There’s no need to worry about that. There are people in the city!”
Guo Shier looked closely and indeed saw flying vehicles, like tiny black dots, hovering just above the ground. Due to the great distance, it was impossible to make out details. He said, “Damn it, those people are doomed…” Even if he wanted to warn them, there was nothing he could do. Once in the Luotian ruins, one’s fate was truly beyond their control.
This was a famous ancient ruin city, a renowned metropolis of the ancient Tianling tribe, filled with numerous relics. Covering thousands of square kilometers, it stretched as far as the eye could see, with towering buildings that could accommodate a large population. When explorers from various tribes entered, they couldn’t see a single person. This city had been discovered recently, and many experts from different tribes flocked there, immediately starting their searches.
Guo Shier continuously sent out shock waves to prevent the Void Insects surrounding them from closing in. The three of them moved at lightning speed. There was no room for hesitation—even a single breath’s delay could send them back into the insect swarm. No one wanted to fall into that swarm, as it would plunge them into chaos. Especially with complete silence around, surrounded only by flying insects, it was terrifying, even if they could withstand their attacks.
After enduring prolonged fear, Seraphine gradually recovered. Having been unharmed since the scare, her courage grew, and she became somewhat agitated. She said, “Wow, this city is so huge. It’s a shame… It’s all over now. Wow… there are people! They’re doomed, haha.”
Guo Shier slapped her on the buttocks and said, “Be quiet!”

Ceciline’s face turned bright red as she whispered, “Oh…”
Li Ran, despite his busy schedule, joked, “It’s truly mesmerizing… haha!”
Qi Wuzhen’s lips curled slightly; she too found this Blade Clan girl interesting. Though not very strong, she was good at clinging to people, persistently pursuing Guo Shier, and even succeeding. Although Guo Shier treated her indifferently, he didn’t give up on her either, always taking her with him. It was unclear what Guo Shier was thinking.
In just a few short exchanges, they had reached the edge of the city, and the swarm of insects arrived there almost at the same time. It was only then that people in the city noticed, causing an immediate uproar.