After Gu Lingxiao finished speaking, the underground depths of the White Stone Ruins remained silent. No one responded.
Truly worthy of being the reincarnation of a saint. Even in such a situation, she was this cautious.
“You think I am bluffing?”
Gu Lingxiao pointed a finger toward Jiang Qingxue’s “corpse.”
This finger strike appeared casual, yet it was anything but ordinary.
The technique was called Soul-Extinguishing Finger. The name sounded simple and unremarkable, but it was extremely effective.
It had only one function: to locate a soul and then destroy it.
The concept of “locate” was not limited to spatial positioning.
When powerful beings were hunted down, they often hid their souls in the past or in the future.
In the present world, such a soul could never be found.
If it could not be found, it naturally could not be destroyed.
If one only sensed the current space-time, one would conclude that the person’s body and soul had already been completely annihilated.
This method of concealing the soul was often used to fake death and escape like a cicada shedding its shell.
In essence, it meant abandoning the physical body and allowing only the soul to traverse space-time.
However, a soul traveling through space-time lacked the protection of a strong physical body and would often be damaged within the chaotic and dangerous time currents.
Although powerful beings theoretically had other methods to protect their souls, once forced to flee in soul form, what means would they still have left?
After passing through the turbulent time currents, a soul could generally do nothing but hide quietly, waiting for the crisis to pass before attempting another crossing.
“So she hid in the Sky Vault Continent three months in the future. It seems her soul has been severely damaged.”
Gu Lingxiao sneered. Under normal circumstances, hiding millions of years into the future would not be unusual.
Yet Jiang Qingxue had only hidden three months ahead. It was obvious her soul was too damaged to support a longer traversal.
The power of the Soul-Extinguishing Finger pierced through the turbulent time currents and steadily reached the Sky Vault Continent three months later.
“How is this possible!”
Jiang Qingxue stared in shock as that destructive force crossed time and space and descended upon her.
“Ahhh!!!”
Her soul instantly became illusory and unstable.
That single finger strike did not destroy her.
But it allowed Gu Lingxiao to pinpoint her exact location.
Immediately afterward, Jiang Qingxue felt her soul hooked by something.
She could neither escape nor move.
In the next instant, her soul was dragged back three months earlier to the Sky Vault Continent.
Her body, which Lingyue had pierced through, suddenly sat upright like a corpse reanimated. She gasped heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“How did you do it!”
Jiang Qingxue glared at Gu Lingxiao as if her bright eyes might pop out of their sockets.
Gu Lingxiao put away the Soul-Hooking Chain he had just used.
As the young master of the Gu Family, he possessed countless treasures.
“How much of your past-life memories have awakened?”
Gu Lingxiao was certain that the method of hiding her soul was not something the original Jiang Qingxue could have performed.
Only the saint from before her reincarnation could have done so.
That meant that under Lingyue’s attack, part of her memories had already awakened.
“A little.”
Jiang Qingxue answered cautiously.
“Tell me about your identity before reincarnation.”
“What do you want?”
“To assess your value. If you are useful, I will use you. If not, I will kill you.”
Gu Lingxiao spoke calmly, yet his words were brutally direct.
The reincarnation of a saint was worth a few extra explanations.
Jiang Qingxue froze for a moment, seemingly surprised by his bluntness.
But soon she understood.
Her current value was enough for him to explain himself, but not enough to earn politeness.
At this moment, she was meat on the chopping board. She could only maneuver carefully.
“Palace of Myriad Realms—Jiang Qingxue.”
“Palace of Myriad Realms?”
Gu Lingxiao looked at her in mild surprise. He had not expected her to come from that faction.
It was a powerful and highly unique force that had existed in the Immortal Domain for a very long time.
In the beginning, the Palace of Myriad Realms had been an ordinary faction within the Immortal Domain.
Nothing special.
Until a palace master with an expansionist ambition appeared.
He had ascended from a Lower Realm, where he had once been an emperor ruling an entire dynasty.
He was a brilliant and ambitious ruler with a pioneering spirit.
After unifying his Lower Realm, he ascended and joined the Palace of Myriad Realms.
With his extraordinary talent, he eventually became its palace master.
After taking the position, he continued the same expansionist approach he had used in the Lower Realm.
But the Immortal Domain was filled with immensely powerful factions, some of which had existed for hundreds of Epochs.
Conquering the Immortal Domain was nothing but a foolish dream.
The Immortal Domain had existed for far too long. Every faction’s sphere of influence was already firmly established.
Only when a major faction fell would the balance of power shift.
So that palace master turned his ambitions toward the Myriad Heavens and Realms.
In the past, the Immortal Domain usually only established ascension passages with the Lower Realms, allowing strong cultivators to ascend and serve them.
But this palace master expanded like a mortal dynasty, spreading the name of the Palace of Myriad Realms throughout the Myriad Heavens and Realms.
It was worth mentioning that the name “Palace of Myriad Realms” had also been chosen by him.
“With your strength, you would be among the top tier within the Palace of Myriad Realms,” Gu Lingxiao said thoughtfully. “I have not heard of any major events in the Palace of Myriad Realms in recent Epochs. Why would you choose reincarnation?”
The Saint Realm was already an extremely terrifying level within the Chaotic Immortal Domain.
Even a prodigy like Gu Lingxiao was only at the Emperor Realm.
Saint Realm experts were generally stable and rarely encountered fatal danger.
Reincarnation was no trivial matter.
“Young Master Gu, that is not something I can reveal.”
“Not convenient to reveal?” Gu Lingxiao nodded slightly. “You have a point. It seems the Soul-Searching Technique would be more effective.”
“Young Master Gu! I am from the Palace of Myriad Realms!”
Jiang Qingxue’s expression turned cold. She had not expected Gu Lingxiao to act so recklessly.
She had revealed her background precisely to deter him.
“From the Palace of Myriad Realms? So what? You might as well have your palace master come personally and see whether he would dare show me even the slightest disrespect.”
Gu Lingxiao spoke as if stating an ordinary fact.
“You!”
Jiang Qingxue’s face flushed with anger. She had not expected such words from him.
But she currently had no capital to oppose him.
She could only suppress her fury.
“It is not that nothing major happened in the Palace of Myriad Realms. Rather, something occurred that outsiders are unaware of.”
“Go on.”
“I do not know.”
“You do not know?”
Gu Lingxiao narrowed his eyes.
In his estimation, for a Saint Realm expert to undergo reincarnation, it was highly likely that internal conflict had erupted between factions, leading to a great war.
Yet Jiang Qingxue claimed she did not know?
Whether she was lying or not, Gu Lingxiao had no interest in judging.
“Forget it. I will search your soul myself.”
“Young Master Gu, I am a saint!”
Gu Lingxiao’s attitude finally angered Jiang Qingxue.
She glared at him, her spiritual energy surging outward, ready to strike at any moment.