The meditation chamber began to vibrate as Lilian's aura climbed, but it easily contained her power within. The chamber was designed to service up to Dao Transformation cultivators, and so her Meridian Forging power was not strong enough to break through the defensive formations.
Her aura continued to steady climb, and a strong spatial aspect began to emanate as well. It was as if space was beginning to twist around her, becoming under her control. Her power finally reached a peak, her face scrunched red with effort.
The spatial aura began to slowly but surely condense, going from an intangible aura to a visible thing. It was as if a blade of pure spatial energy had formed above Lilian's head, its color ever changing like the chaos of space. The blade seemed as though it could cut through anything, and it took almost all of her power to keep corporeal.
Sweat dripped down her face and her breathing became heavy, but Lilian ignored her growing exhaustion as she locked the spatial blade in space, and prepared for the final step. She didn't know if this would work, but it was her only hope of escaping from her father.
After the conversation with Hilea, this idea had formed in her mind. Unlike almost all other cultivators, Lilian's soul was quite unique. Most cultivators had a uniform soul, of one energy and aspect, but she was different.
She had been born with the innate control of four powerful Dao's, and this innate aspect stemmed all the way down to her very soul. Her soul was separated into five quadrants, four of them aspected to one of her unique Dao's, and the last her soul core, which was of the same that other cultivators had.
She had never told anyone else this, and all others could tell from her was that there were many unique properties to her soul. Even her father had failed to notice this distinct difference between her and others.
When her father had placed his soul-seal on her, he had placed it on her Dao of Life soul portion, which also contained her soul-seed. Her Dao of Life control and soul-seed were the only things the Astral Emperor cared about, and so whether intentional or unintentional, he had placed the soul-seal there.
This distinction would normally not matter, as a cultivator's soul was one, and could not be split. Doing so would result in the death of the cultivator, but Lilian was not so sure this would be her fate. She was different, and she had a plan to take advantage of this innate difference of hers.
However, she only considered success a possibility, not a guarantee. It was just as likely that she would perish, but that was a risk she was willing to take. Even if she succeeded, it would be as though she had lost half of herself, which was a miserable existence regardless. However, anything was better than serving that hellish creature.
The spatial blade hovered directly over Lilian's head, as if ready to carve directly into her skull. While maintaining her control of the blade, Lilian focused her divine sense inward, towards her soul. She took exact note of her soul's location, as well as the location of the four aspected parts.
If there was any error at all, she would perish. Her focus was at her absolute peak.
Time seemed to stand still for her. She didn't know if she had paused for a second, or an hour, but she took a deep breath and held it in as if it were the last breath she would ever take, and the blade suddenly fell.
It pierced her head, disappearing within. It pierced through the spatial boundaries of the real world and the soulspace, and carved through without pause.
Pain.
That was all Lilian felt at the moment. Excruciating pain. It was as if her soul had been set ablaze, as well as stabbed by a million blades. The pain was almost unimaginable, and it felt as if she were truly about to die.
Pain was her entire existence, and Lilian nearly collapsed from the shock of it all. However, she knew that would be death, and so through the horrifying pain, she remained focused. The spatial blade continued through her soulspace, on the path she had previously determined.
Her control of the blade had nearly ceased when the pain almost overwhelmed her, which would have resulted in the blade exploding, destroying her soul without question. It veered slightly as her control waned, and then set back on the correct path as she regained fleeting control of it. The pain was almost too much to bear. In fact it was too much to bear, but she mustered strength she didn't know she had and fought; for her freedom, for her life.
Once again, Lilian lost meaning of time. She didn't know if the process had taken a split second or an hour, but to her, it had felt like an eternity.
The spatial blade appeared once again, on the other side of her head, opposite where it had entered. As soon as it reappeared, it faded away, as her control finally vanished. Spatial fragments exploded in all directions, hitting her in her arms and chest, drawing blood.
She ignored the pain and blood, although it was almost impossible to do so. Her mind felt as though it were on fire. Even a single thought was almost too much to muster, but against all odds, she maintained her strength and will and pushed through.
Her Qi, divine sense, and soul power flared once more, and a vibrant ball of spiritual power drifted out of her head. It floated before her, emanating a vibrant and ethereal glow, as well as a profound aura of time itself.
Lilian's weary eyes stared at the ball of light floating before her, a ball which contained her Dao of Life and Dao of Time soul portions, as well as the soul-seal her father had planted on her. It was like a rune, carved directly into her soul, which was now visible for her to see for the first time.
Her connection was quickly fading with her removed soul half, as if it were no longer a part of herself. The severance was complete.
Lilian felt the creeping embrace of death take a hold of her. The process had been too damaging, too destructive. She would most surely die if nothing was done. Using the last tenuous connection to her Dao of Life soul, she activated it with her last bits of power.
Vibrant energy, brimming with life flowed out of the ball of light, and flooded into her body, mind, and soul, although the quantity and quality was decreasing by the second as the connection faded away. As if a knife had cut a thread, the connection finally severed, permanently removing her connection with half of herself.
Darkness enveloped her vision while her consciousness rapidly faded away. With the last remaining scrap of Qi she had, a formation disk appeared in her hand, and she crushed it. Spatial energy enveloped her body and whisked her away, leaving a ball of pure soul power, brimming with the Dao's of Life and Time, as well as the mark of the malicious soul-seal, floating in the room.
