The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1614

There wasn't much of it but it was still enough to be picked up by any energy-sensitive beings in the vicinity.

Hao Xuan quickly closed his eyes and sent a portion of his consciousness into the Umbral Planes. It appeared as a see-through apparition standing in the exact same spot as his physical form, effectively using it as a glove for his soul projection.

With one eye he could see what was happening on the other side and with the other see the mortal realms. But he could only ever interact with the physical realm like this.

Within the Umbral Planes he saw Princess Hwa's shadow with the two colors mixed just like the last time but she wasn't alone anymore. There was a soul- an ACTUAL soul of a once-living creature standing in front of her.

It must have belonged to the beast she had just buried because that small grave was now set alight by a brightly colored rainbow of colors all pouring into the artifact.

The four-legged beast barked and whined trying to get her attention but she could not see it here. Its soul was plagued with all manner of gruesome illnesses that appeared as tumorous growths and infected wounds.

Hao Xuan could not believe his eyes.

'The damage to its soul is immense. This is what an injured soul looks like so soon after death? No wonder most of them can't move on.'

But the artifact continued to absorb all those bright lights from its grave and when those lights slowed down, it began pulling the damaged and diseased chunks off of the creature's soul. It should have done immense damage to it but the creature did not seem to mind it at all.

It began to shrink while its soul started to become clearer than ever before. The artifact converted its injuries and ailments into the same light blue and bright pink colors that were already settled within Princess Hwa's shadow.

Hao Xuan leaned in for a closer examination and noticed barely discernable specks being deposited within her shadow from the artifact.

'!!!'

'The artifact is absorbing the raw umbral energy exuding from the beast's soul, turning its wounded soul shards into specks of divine power, which are then implanted within her shadow.'

Going by the size of the divine specks the conversion rate was roughly 1/1000th of what went in but there was no mistaking it, the artifact was able to turn various forms of Umbral Energies into Divine Power.

Hao Xuan observed the entire process from start to finish which only took 30 seconds or so. By the end, the creature's soul was purified and it had shrunk to the size of a fist.

'That must be the soul essence- the core of this being. With all those impurities removed, it should be able to move on or re-enter the moral plane with ease.'

This was perhaps the most important step for a newly departed soul. It had to shed the weight of its previous life to be able to move on to the next...wherever that may be. But that could not happen without some outside help or a miracle or two.

Most Gods were able to do this and it not only made them stronger in the process but that soul would also incur a karmic Debt to them in the next life.

Hao Xuan's eyes lingered on the artifact.

'Only a god- a TRUE god has the ability to cleanse the soul. It must have been a relic or a treasure of a mighty being before it was stolen by the Song Clan.'

With a blink of an eye Hao Xuan recalled his consciousness and ended the connection.

"It's done," he remarked upon seeing Princess Hwa unwilling to move on.

*sniff*

After wiping the tears on his robe she looked up with a questioning gaze, "What is?"

"This. The creature's soul has been cleansed by your prayer and it has moved on. There is no reason to shed more tears."

She looked at the grave and then at him, "Really?"

"Yes, I saw it myself. The soul-"

"Okay!"

She dusted off her dress and wrapped her arms around his neck, "We can go back then!"

"....."

'???'

He picked her up and started walking back, "You believe me? I could be lying just to get you moving."

"But you wouldn't," she said without hesitation, "You promised to never lie to me and I know you are a man of your word so..."

"Hmm...I take it back, you couldn't be more different than your sister," Hao Xuan joked.

"That's a given! Prettier too, right?"

"...."

Her dainty fingers poked and prodded him with narrowed eyes, "Riiiiight~?"

"I promised to tell you the truth. You won't like the truth so its better I don't answer."

"Tsk, it's the boobs, isn't it? She hit puberty before even Yuki Unni."

"Yuki?" Hao Xuan's eyes narrowed, "Is that-"

"My sister-in-law. She is 1 year older than Yi Unni and even prettier and kinder. They used to be really good friends when they were kids. She is my favorite person!"

"Hmm, sounds like your brother got really lucky then," Hao Xuan mindlessly commented but Princess Hwa went silent.

Whispering after a few seconds later, "Not really, it's a terrible match."

Hao Xuan couldn't help but inquire further about their family dynamics, "Why? If she is so perfect wouldn't he like her?"

But Princess Hwa refused to answer, "I don't wanna talk about that, oppa."

"Okay, so what do you want to talk about?"

"Hmmm," she pointed at herself, "Me! Do you think I'm pretty?"

"You know you are."

"But I want to hear you say it."

"You are pretty, my lady."

"Ohhh! I kind of liked that...like a lot."

"Hey, don't get weird on me kid, I'll drop you on the dirty ground."

"Kid?! I am 17 years old!" she protested.

"Like I said- a kid!"

"Not true! People here get married as soon as they hit puberty, that's how it has always been. It's only your weird world where you have to be 18 years of age to do anything..."

Hao Xuan came to a slow stop before looking down at her with an inquisitive gaze, "I didn't tell you anything about my world. How did you know that?"