Chapter 554: The Soul of Elder Eagle
Sure enough, the moment they retreated a few steps, the situation changed.
Under the increasingly intense dark-blue glow radiating from the Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat, Elder Eagle’s corpse began to tremble violently. A moment later, wisps of pale white mist slowly seeped out of the body like smoke rising from freshly extinguished embers.
Normally, whenever the Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat devoured a soul, a gray spirit would be ripped from the corpse the instant that dark-blue radiance enveloped it, only to be swallowed whole in a single gulp. This time, however, only that strange white mist continued to pour from the corpse, drifting upward without forming a soul. It was something Marcus had never seen before.
"What’s going on, Marcus?" Jade asked, unable to hide the concern in her voice.
Everyone could tell something was wrong.
Marcus simply shook his head, his expression equally puzzled as he kept his eyes fixed on the corpse. "I don’t know. Stay alert."
A possibility crossed his mind. ’Could the corpse be transforming?’
As the Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat continued drawing with its soul-devouring ability, the white mist grew denser and brighter. At the same time, an astonishing amount of water-element energy spread through the chamber, so concentrated that everyone could clearly feel it washing over them.
Then the drifting mist slowly gathered together, and before their eyes, it gradually formed the vague outline of a great white eagle suspended in midair.
Marcus frowned. ’Another monster?’
Instinctively, he almost reached for an arrow, tempted to test whether Elder Eagle’s corpse would react. Before he could move, however, the enormous eagle-shaped mist suddenly spread its wings. The span stretched nearly three meters across, and for a brief instant, everyone thought they heard the piercing cry of an eagle echo through the hall.
A brilliant flash erupted, and the white radiance flooded the room, forcing everyone to narrow their eyes. As the light settled, a gray, translucent figure slowly emerged from within the eagle-shaped glow, floating silently above Elder Eagle’s corpse like a spirit formed from drifting clouds.
At that exact moment, the system notification appeared:
Ding!
[Congratulations, player Stonehaven. Your mercenary group member Wind Butterfly’s pet, the Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat, has inadvertently activated its innate soul-devouring ability and drawn out the soul of Elder Eagle, who had been trapped inside the Corpse Dream for over two thousand years and had nearly fallen into complete despair.[
So it really was Elder Eagle’s soul.
As the system notification faded, the dazzling light gradually dimmed, allowing everyone to see the spirit clearly.
The soul itself was gray and translucent, yet it was surrounded by a brilliant white aura shaped like an eagle with its wings spread wide. Although the image shimmered slightly, making it difficult to see every detail, his appearance was unmistakable.
He looked like an elderly man in his seventies or eighties, tall and lean despite his age. A long white beard flowed down his chest, and beneath thick brows rested a pair of sharp, lively eyes that still carried remarkable vitality.
A soul was, by nature, a form of condensed energy. The stronger someone had been in life, the more powerful their soul remained after death. As an ancient cultivator like Elder Eagle Morta, the spiritual energy contained within his soul was astonishing; even standing several meters away, they could clearly feel the waves of power radiating from him.
"Mew!"
The Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat stared at the floating soul with unconcealed excitement, meowing repeatedly as if it had just discovered the greatest feast imaginable.
The glowing Water rune on its forehead flashed continuously, releasing stream after stream of dark-blue light toward Elder Eagle’s soul, desperately trying to pull it closer so it could devour it.
Yet something was clearly wrong. Ordinarily, a soul possessed no means of fighting back; regardless of how much spiritual power or elemental energy it contained, it was still just an energy body that would eventually disperse into the world if left alone.
The Twin-Winged Ice Owl had been a Mythic Beast, yet even its soul had offered no resistance before being absorbed by the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat’s pet egg.
By all logic, Elder Eagle’s soul should have been no different; instead, every strand of dark-blue light released by the Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat dissolved the instant it touched the white eagle-shaped radiance surrounding the soul. The energy simply melted away, disappearing harmlessly without leaving so much as a ripple.
The cat had succeeded in extracting the soul from the corpse, but devouring it? It couldn’t even come close.
It was obvious that the cultivation technique Elder Eagle had practiced while alive also protected his soul after death.
Curious, Marcus immediately cast Insight:
—
Elder Eagle’s Soul: Over two thousand years ago, Elder Eagle was betrayed by his disciple and sealed inside the Corpse Dream, leaving his soul imprisoned within his own corpse. Now that the corpse has finally been destroyed and the Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat has drawn his soul free, he has regained his freedom. During those two thousand years of imprisonment, Elder Eagle secretly continued cultivating his soul, gradually developing defensive abilities that protect it from external attacks and soul-devouring techniques.
—
Just as Marcus had suspected, the Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat was probably going to miss this rare meal.
’That’s a shame,’ Marcus thought.
His first instinct wasn’t greed. He simply wanted this loyal pet to seize such a rare opportunity to grow stronger. A soul as powerful as Elder Eagle’s could bring tremendous benefits if it could somehow be absorbed.
Before Marcus could think of a solution, Elder Eagle slowly opened his eyes.
He paid no attention whatsoever to the dark-blue light striking his protective aura. Instead, his gaze settled calmly on the group before a faint, grateful smile appeared on his weathered face.
He inclined his head. "My thanks. I am Morta, though most knew me as Elder Eagle. I was betrayed by my own disciple, my soul sealed away, and my body reduced to nothing more than a walking corpse. You have freed me from that prison. For that, I owe you my gratitude."
Marcus couldn’t help blinking. Not only could Elder Eagle’s soul defend itself, but it had retained its consciousness and could speak as naturally as a living person. Devouring a soul like this was clearly out of the question.
Still, the old cultivator had shown nothing but goodwill, and Marcus returned the nod with a polite smile.
"My name is Stonehaven. I came here after following a treasure map in hopes of finding some valuable loot. I never imagined I’d encounter the soul of a legendary figure, much less someone who cultivated over two thousand years ago. It’s truly an incredible stroke of fortune."
"Two thousand years..."
Before Marcus could continue, Elder Eagle quietly repeated those words to himself, and the warmth in his expression disappeared.
He slowly turned toward the crystal coffin suspended above the swirling whirlpool, and an expression of hatred twisted across his face. The resentment in his eyes was so intense that even after two millennia, it had not faded in the slightest.
"That despicable traitor..." he said through clenched teeth. "He kept me imprisoned for more than two thousand years."
After a long silence, Elder Eagle looked back at Marcus. "Stonehaven... would you be willing to do this old man one favor?"
His eyes narrowed, burning with hatred that had endured through countless centuries. "Help me vent the resentment I’ve carried for over two thousand years."