Amidst the resonant and distant zither music, his graceful and deep voice rose amidst the quintet:
"Life
Is but a long road of dreams
Let the frost, the frost linger on the face
In this mundane world
How many directions can dreams be beautiful
Searching, foolishly, for the heart's beloved in fantasy
The path is vast as people wander aimlessly."
Previously, the song accompanied by the zither melded with Haiyang, but this time, it was the first time Ye Yinzhu displayed the full power of his music. The infectiousness produced by the combination of zither and song infiltrated the minds of everyone present in an all-encompassing manner. On the other side, although Yue Ming, with his exceptional spiritual power, managed to hold on for a moment, the other four students from the Dark Demon Sect were completely lost to themselves under the spiritual assault of the zither song, even shedding tears under the pull of the melody, thus losing their combat capabilities.
The most peculiar reaction was from Snow Spirit You Ming, who was closest to Ye Yinzhu.
In the direct assault of the zither song, Ming Xue's crystalline body vibrated with ripples akin to those on water, and the dark blue snowflakes in the air evidently diminished. Most peculiar was that her large, lifeless eyes suddenly showed ripples of emotion, a trace of faint sadness appeared on her flawless face, and her body floated forward as if pushed by the wind, arriving in front of Ye Yinzhu.
Although the four students from the Dark Demon Sect, except for Yue Ming, had by now been completely immersed in the zither song and lost their battle capabilities, the Dark Demon Curse had been fully completed amidst their overlapping chanting. A gigantic black Magic Hexagram silently appeared in front of Yue Ming, followed immediately by countless wailing sounds erupting from the Magic Hexagram.
One after another, dreadful green silhouettes, as if they were struggling out of hell, burst forth with the wailing noise from the black hexagram, swarming towards the five from the Divine Music Department like a covering the sky. Judging from the color of the magic, they had already reached the intermediate Green rank. The combined chanting from the four Yellow rank students was surprisingly powerful, making both Ye Yinzhu and his friends change their expressions simultaneously.
"Yin Zhu, be careful…" Sura's anxious voice, amplified by Douqi, shouted out.
Ye Yinzhu could not focus on Ming Xue, who had already flown to his side and ceased attacking. His clear black eyes were filled with resolute determination. He knew that he must not retreat, as behind him stood Haiyang and the other three women. Now, he could rely only on his own strength to withstand the final attack from the Dark Demon Sect. In an instant, Ye Yinzhu's eyes turned dark red, and a strong surge of dark red magical aura burst forth, boosting his spiritual power to its limit and increasing the defensive power of Moon God's Protection to the strongest level he could sustain.
His Douqi was concentrated yet unscattered, and beneath the cover of his sleeves, his eight fingers had turned the color of yellow jade. The music from "A Touch Of Ghost" came to an abrupt halt. Blocking the seven zither strings on Haiyue Qinhui with all eight fingers at once, his magic power and Douqi were both elevated to their extreme state, and a wave of weakness had already begun to assail his brain.
Ye Yinzhu was aware that he still had the Life Guardian on his wrist, which could enact Absolute Defense, something the Dark Demon Curse could never shatter. But with his naturally proud disposition, he was not inclined to use the Life Guardian. He knew that relying too much on the Life Guardian could become a significant obstacle to his future progress. Therefore, he would not activate it unless absolutely necessary.
The Dark Magic Curse Hell Wail had generated dozens of ghosts, and even though Yue Ming and the others were unable to unleash the full power of this high-level Dark Demon Magic, the effect was still considerable. The Fourth Training Ground was filled with wails of agony and the oppressive elemental fluctuations of the Dark Demon Sect, and the immense squeezing force had caused the four women behind Ye Yinzhu to change color, all except Haiyang.
As Ye Yinzhu gathered all his energy to prepare for a decisive battle against the Dark Demon Curse, a bizarre scene suddenly unfolded. Ming Xue, who had floated beside him, for some reason showed more and more humanized emotions in her dead eyes, as if she had made up her mind. Suddenly, her body flew horizontally in silence, positioning herself in front of Ye Yinzhu and causing him, who was about to launch his full power attack, to falter mentally.
Her dark blue hair stirred without wind behind her, forming a huge circular barrier. Black currents formed around her body, creating an enormous black hole filled with a powerful and icy aura of absorption.
The ghosts that flew out of the black hexagram screamed in terror. The dreadful green light fluctuated violently as if terror-stricken. However, against the black currents released by Ming Xue, these ghosts created by the Dark Demon Curse didn't have the slightest ability to resist. They were devoured voraciously by Ming Xue's black hole like green arrows.
Yue Ming was completely stunned. She could never have imagined that the most potent attack of the Dark Demon Magic she had released with great effort would be blocked by her own Magical Beast. Although she could clearly feel the spiritual connection with Ming Xue, at that moment, she lost control over her. This was almost impossible for a Magical Beast who had signed a master-servant contract.
Department Head Basten of the Dark Magic Department, who had been silent on the stage, finally could not remain seated. He stood up in shock, his aged face filled with astonishment. A beast not under the control of its master—what did that imply? Could the next moment be one of backlash? The expected victory was suddenly marred by such a turn of events, which he found hard to believe.
The four women behind Ye Yinzhu were also stunned. "A Touch Of Ghost" ended just then. Amidst it all, Haiyang felt a subtle sensation; as the second most spiritually advanced contestant from the Divine Music Department, she faintly sensed that Ming Xue's transformation had a great deal to do with the music played by their quintet.
The Dark Demon Curse was extremely difficult to produce, but its absorption was much quicker. In just a few breaths' time, the ghastly green ghosts had disappeared completely, and the black hexagram in front of Yue Ming quietly closed up. Due to the excessive consumption of her spiritual power and the mental shock she had received, Yue Ming's body swayed, nearly falling to the ground. She could only rely on her Magic Staff to barely stay upright.
Ming Xue floated beside Ye Yinzhu. Having absorbed the Dark Demon Curse, Ming Xue's body seemed to solidify slightly, and in this brief period, she appeared to have grown. What originally looked like a six or seven-year-old had now become eight or nine years old. Most chilling for Yue Ming was that in Ming Xue's eyes, there seemed to be the glimmer of thought. It was known that the emotion of contemplation did not appear in Magical Beasts until they reached the seventh rank or above, especially Wisdom-type Demon Beasts. And yet, Ming Xue was only a rank four to five Magical Beast.
In the stands, Fergerson furrowed his brows slightly, musing aloud, "This Snow Spirit You Ming seems to have evolved."