Chapter 157: Testing the Soul Pearl
Chapter 157: Testing the Soul Pearl
Seeing Yun Xi’s angry, resentful, and slightly pale face, Mu Yuan couldn’t utter any words of comfort. Even bold claims like “I’ll give this monk a hard time” felt too hollow to voice.
Scattered fights occurred, but Mu Yuan paid no attention. He was solely focused on figuring out how to defend against the strange monk’s Divine Sense Mount Sumeru technique!
“Hey, Brother Mu, it’s your turn!”
Yun Xi noticed Mu Yuan lost in thought as his turn approached. He gently nudged Mu Yuan’s shoulder.
Mu Yuan snapped out of his contemplation. After thinking for a long moment, he still had no strategy.
His cultivation level was similar to Yun Xi’s, both in the Void Refining Realm. Perhaps his Divine Sense was slightly stronger due to his diverse training and surviving the heavenly tribulation, but it still couldn’t compare to someone in the Elixir Formation stage.
“Master, didn’t you obtain a Soul Pearl? If used well, it might just withstand the opponent!”
The calm, indifferent voice of Heavenly Fiend Child drifted over suddenly.
“How do you know about that?!”
Mu Yuan remembered the Soul Pearl was acquired before Heavenly Fiend Child was even conceived. Yet he’d never used it. Hearing the child recount it now gave him a sudden jolt.
“What’s surprising? Longevity Sword is inherently sentient. Though I was born recently, my spiritual awareness awakened long ago. Though hazy, I vaguely recall many things. Most of Master’s experiences, around sixty or seventy percent, aren’t hidden from me.”
Hearing Heavenly Fiend Child’s detached tone, Mu Yuan’s face fluctuated between red and pale, his expression inscrutable.
“Damn sword spirit! Has he known everything about me?!”
Mu Yuan suddenly felt stark naked in the world, as if all his secrets had been spied on by Heavenly Fiend Child!
“Master need not be angry. Many things… I didn’t wish to see them either!”
Heavenly Fiend Child seemed to recall something, likely sensing Mu Yuan’s turmoil. The corners of his handsome, crystalline little mouth lifted slightly, hinting at a smile.
Humiliated and furious, Mu Yuan verged on panic. His Clear Water True Qi swirled furiously in his Dantian, abruptly forming a massive waterfall that sent Heavenly Fiend Child tumbling head over heels. Then, Eternal True Qi surged out, morphing into a huge golden mountain that slammed down!
The two streams of Zhenqi intertwined, becoming a black-and-white pattern upon contact. Like two writhing flood dragons, they formed a small sealing talisman, trapping Heavenly Fiend Child along with Longevity Sword inside!
Great Art of Yin-Yang Soul Shackling and Qi Sealing!
After finishing this, Mu Yuan casually clapped his hands as if nothing happened, a smile returning to his face!
Originally on the high platform, Mu Yuan was about to enter the Black Jade Qilin Seal. But suddenly he halted, his expression shifting dramatically like June weather, shifting from clear to overcast. After a long while, it returned to normal, arousing the onlookers’ extreme curiosity!
Mu Yuan’s opponent was Qiong Hua, the Eighth Prince’s subordinate. She offered no remarkable performance, lacking Mu Yuan’s fierce blade aura and explosive firepower. Assuming Mu Yuan was shaken by fear, they thought it unwarranted.
Inside the Kylin Seal, Mu Yuan started gently rotating the Soul Pearl in his Sea of Consciousness!
This Soul Pearl, obtained from a Soul Devourer Beast, had sat unused. Yet Five Yin Patriarch coveted it, and even the Monster Saint held it in high regard, proving its profound wonder.
Mu Yuan’s Divine Sense had transformed into an Immortal Tree, scattering as Divine Sense or gathering as a tree!
He held little concern for Qiong Hua’s methods. Though Heavenly Fiend Child was infuriating, his advice was spot-on.
The Soul Pearl—this supreme treasure, capable of absorbing Divine Sense and siphoning memories—was exactly what he needed against that strange monk!
Since Mu Yuan hadn’t used the Soul Pearl before, Qiong Hua made the perfect test subject.
Qiong Hua was cold and impassive as always. With a wave of her hand, countless fragrant petals and flowers filled the air.
Mu Yuan concentrated, unmoving, focusing on the Soul Pearl within.
His Divine Sense pushed it like mist, causing the pearl to spin slowly.
The Soul Devourer Beast had consumed ordinary mortals in life. Their memories held no profound adventures or ethereal mysteries, only daily cycles of farming and hunting, filled with mundane chores like cooking, worries about the next meal, and thoughts of pretty wives.
Mu Yuan cast the Great Sun Fire Curse, igniting the swirling petals in a roaring blaze. Rolling, billowing smoke and waves of flame filled the Kylin Seal. Even under the scorching Great Sun True Fire, Qiong Hua’s Zhenqi-created petals proved astonishingly resilient. Though they sizzled as they burned, they persisted for quite some time.
As the Soul Pearl rotated, an unfathomably profound illusion sprang forth, piercing space to invade Qiong Hua’s Sea of Consciousness!
A mortal lifetime’s love, hatred, joy, hardship, luxuries, and decadence—Qiong Hua experienced it all instantaneously, as if she was living it herself!
While Qiong Hua was ensnared, Mu Yuan frowned slightly!
The Soul Pearl wasn’t as he’d hoped. Compared to the strange monk’s Buddha Realm in the Palm and Divine Sense Mount Sumeru technique, ordinary mortal memories lacked decisive aggression!
When Mount Sumeru pressed down, even Yun Xi’s unshakable Divine Sense shattered under one blow, let alone these mundane thoughts!
Since attack didn’t work, defense would be key!
Mu Yuan shifted tactics instantly. He withdrew the Soul Pearl’s countless meaningless thoughts, instead pouring a perfect cycle of Five Elements True Qi into it. In a flash, a miniature Five Elements world formed.
Lush trees, vast earth, flowing rivers, blazing fire, majestic mountains!
Five distinct essences built an indestructible vision of the Void.
Clearly inexperienced in Divine Sense battles, Qiong Hua felt helpless and clumsy. Trying to imitate Yun Xi’s brute-force approach seemed her only option.
Her lips parted slightly, releasing a radiant, vividly colored orb. Its dazzling light instantly conjured countless fluttering flower insects, butterflies, bees, and flies, whirling toward Mu Yuan!
Using Qiong Hua to experiment with the Soul Pearl’s wonders, Mu Yuan wouldn’t let these spells distract him.
“Heavenly Fiend, trap these spells! But do not harm her!”
Mu Yuan dispersed the Great Art of Yin-Yang Soul Shackling and Qi Sealing. Heavenly Fiend Child emerged from the dazzling lights within his Dantian!
Though immensely profound, the Great Art couldn’t truly contain Heavenly Fiend Child!
The child possessed Divine Abilities of the Dragon Clan, coupled with Longevity Sword’s unparalleled sharpness. Few things could withstand it. Heavenly Fiend Child had reached Elixir Formation cultivation shortly after birth. Had Mu Yuan not refined the sword upon its emergence, he’d never have controlled this fiercely destructive spirit!
Still, Heavenly Fiend Child knew his limits. Trapped, he played the part, refusing to struggle.
Now freed, he felt stifled all the same!
Mu Yuan genuinely feared Heavenly Fiend Child would kill Qiong Hua in a fit of rage! Though the child’s power resided fully in the Longevity Sword, separated from it, he was just a futile wisp of soul. Possession and cultivation anew were problematic—hard to find a suitable body, and even harder to restart cultivation!
A misstep could lead to demise!
Only because the old dragon’s soul had poured immense effort into refining Longevity Sword was this possible. Otherwise, Heavenly Fiend Child’s manifestation would have depended entirely on Mu Yuan’s own stage!
For future progress, Heavenly Fiend Child would have to advance step-by-step with Mu Yuan’s own cultivation gains.
Sword spirits cannot cultivate independently; they rely on their master. Only when the master refines the sword itself can the spirit improve.
Hearing he could trap but not kill, Heavenly Fiend Child seemed displeased. Still, he complied, casually casting the East Sea Dragon-Fishing Art!
The Dragon Clan’s Divine Abilities excelled most at controlling thunder, lightning, and water spirits. Dragon King’s Dynamic Force manifested through conductive water, while Purple Heaven Immortal-Slaying Thunder embodied overwhelming destruction. The East Sea Dragon-Fishing Art, however, was pure water essence!
Conveniently, Mu Yuan manifested Clear Water True Qi, drawing no undue notice!
From within Mu Yuan’s Dantian, Heavenly Fiend Child performed the technique. Water vapor erupted from Longevity Sword, coalescing into countless watery flood dragons that charged forth!
To outsiders, it appeared Mu Yuan’s Dantian Zhenqi erupted wildly. Brilliant light scattered everywhere before countless dragons coiled and swooped, whirling until forming huge bubbles of water. Each bubble enveloped a fluttering butterfly or insect!
The East Sea Dragon-Fishing Art, incredibly profound, ranks supreme among trapping Divine Abilities.
Mastering it, however, presents immense difficulty. Mu Yuan himself had only learned Mysterious Heaven Dragon Ascension—blade rays specifically harming Primordial Spirit—from Heavenly Fiend Child. Though he admired the East Sea Dragon-Fishing Art, he hadn’t found time to study it!
With Heavenly Fiend Child safeguarding him, Mu Yuan could freely explore the Soul Pearl!
The miniature Five Elements world cycled through manifestations. Within Qiong Hua’s Sea of Consciousness, she felt vines binding her at one moment, mountains crushing her the next, followed by savage flames scorching her, bitter frost freezing her solid, endless choking sand and dust—all impossible to defend against!
While the Divine Sense battle raged internally, external observers saw Qiong Hua’s body undergo bizarre changes—sudden heat steaming from her, cold frost covering her one moment—aspects impossible to describe fully.
“What is that?! Can’t figure it out! Can’t figure it out!”
“It’s just a bunch of water bubbles! Why is she sweating…?”
Bafflement reigned. The strange monk, however, seemed to sense something. His lowered eyelids snapped open! Sharp glints danced like fire within them.
“So this one understands Divine Sense attacks too. Seems more like he’s practicing… But go ahead, transform. That Buddha Relic is mine regardless!”
The monk’s thoughts flashed briefly before reverting. His prayer beads spun in hand as he muttered scripture under his breath, the sound faint.
The Daoist stood obediently behind him, his bald head polished to a shine. Adoration and fervor burned in his eyes as he gazed upon the monk like a novice monk beholding the descent of the True Buddha, utterly devout.