Chapter 123: Three Immortal Souls
Chapter 123: Three Immortal Souls
Cheng Lingyu halted, staring at the Thousand Mountains Trapped Dragon formation in awe. After a long silence, he glanced toward Guishun Valley’s southern edge—where the Nine Nether King Sparrow resided—and noted two other Immortal Souls occupying the eastern and northern areas.
“Why stop?” Lan Xiaozhu whispered, puzzled.
Cheng Lingyu shook his head slightly and pulled her forward, flying deeper into the mountains.
An hour later, a lake appeared before them—an unusual sight in Guishun Valley. Though small, its waters shimmered with Spiritual Light, hazy as a mirage.
Standing nearby, Cheng Lingyu felt piercing cold seep into his bones, his expression hardening.
“It’s freezing! This place feels like an ice field,” Lan Xiaozhu stammered, shivering.
“Step back. I need to see what this Immortal Soul is,” Cheng Lingyu said grimly.
“Be careful,” Lan Xiaozhu warned, retreating swiftly.
Cheng Lingyu extended his left hand, launching a flame infused with special aura toward the lake. He retreated instantly, watching as the flame struck a silver light barrier at the lake’s edge.
The tranquil lake erupted. A colossal white beast surged from the water, hovering mid-air. Snowflakes swirled as cold spread, shattering Cheng Lingyu’s Nine Nether Flame into nothing.
The beast’s serpentine body bore glittering scale armor etched with intricate patterns. Its dragon head sported jade-white horns, while translucent wings buzzed like cicada wings. The sheer power radiating from it made the void quake.
A dragon—an ethereal figure exuding glacial fury and endless bloodlust.
*Jade Crystal Ice Wing Dragon… a legend across eras.* The thought sprang from Cheng Lingyu’s mind, triggered by the grass’s intense reaction to this Immortal Soul.
Cheng Lingyu’s muscles locked, his soul trembling under the cold. The dragon’s azure eyes—deep as oceans—pinned him down. The crushing pressure forced him to avert his gaze, his chest heaving.
*Damn. Worse than the Nine Nether King Sparrow.*
He scrambled backward. This dragon soul was beyond his current strength to subdue.
“Too powerful… No one could tame it,” Lan Xiaozhu muttered, dragging him away. Even from afar, the pressure lingered, though the Cold Crystal Illusion Flower’s aura eased her discomfort slightly.
Cheng Lingyu stayed silent. The magic knife in his palm had pulsed faintly earlier, as if eager to clash with the dragon. But as they fled, the weapon quieted again.
One day later, the two arrived at the eastern part of Guishun Valley, where deep ravines crisscrossed, crimson lava flowed, volcanoes spewed smoke, and toxic gas permeated the harsh environment.
“It’s roasting us alive here!”
Lan Xiaozhu wiped her sweaty face, unable to contain her complaint.
Cheng Lingyu murmured, “Wait here. I shouldn’t be long.”
This deadly terrain held too many dangers for him to risk bringing Lan Xiaozhu further.
In the eastern depths, Cheng Lingyu’s eyes fell upon a massive lava lake.
At its center lay a large blue stone etched with ancient patterns, its azure glow stark against the molten red surroundings.
Upon the stone grew a green bamboo stalk adorned with tear-shaped markings resembling countless watchful eyes.
The luminous bamboo stood defiantly in the lava lake’s heart, radiating ethereal beauty.
“Another Immortal Soul?”
Cheng Lingyu marveled. Without his Magic Eyes technique, he might have mistaken this Soul Shadow for real vegetation.
This plant soul differed from any Immortal Soul he’d encountered before.
“Dreamy Thousand Tear Bamboo… entwined with six desires…”
Memories from the mysterious grass resurfaced. This bamboo could awaken primal cravings and inner demons – a cultivator’s worst nightmare.
“Perfect. This should be manageable.”
Thanks to the Dreamless Technique, Cheng Lingyu observed calmly without succumbing to its influence.
Regrettably, his current Realm remained insufficient for merging with this soul.
“Let’s find the last one.”
Rejoining Lan Xiaozhu, they hurried north through Guishun Valley.
In the northeastern valley, Cheng Lingyu froze. Yun Xi stood before them with four companions, including the man in black – Ye Rufeng.
Both groups halted in mutual surprise.
Yun Xi’s delicate features tightened as she studied Cheng Lingyu.
“You’re different. Something feels… strange.”
Her quickening pulse betrayed his growing allure.
“You’ve changed too. Congratulations on reaching Soul Martial Fourth Realm.”
Cheng Lingyu turned to Ye Rufeng with a chuckle. “Fancy meeting you here.”
The black-clad man’s smile held winter’s chill. “Chance meetings often breed conflict.”
“Conflict spices up cultivation’s tedious path.” Cheng Lingyu countered. “Where people gather, trouble follows.”
Lan Xiaozhu observed both women – equally striking, now matching cultivation Realms.
“Congratulations, Yun Xi.”
“Likewise, Xiaozhu.”
The two women were close friends and often met in Yunyang City.
“How did you two end up together?”
Lan Xiaozhu glanced at Ye Rufeng, asking about their encounter.
Yun Xi smiled with a peculiar expression.
“He’s my friend who came to Guishun Valley specifically to find me. What about you and him…”
Lan Xiaozhu nodded slightly, her face glowing with faint happiness and charm.
Yun Xi’s lips twitched as if to speak, but she swallowed her words.
Ye Rufeng gazed at Cheng Lingyu with a cold smile.
“This world holds countless wonders, but few truly appreciate them.”
He stepped away indifferently, his black-clad figure moving through the void like a ghost.
Cheng Lingyu frowned and sneered, “Too long in illusions starves the soul. Bask in sunlight sometimes—don’t haunt like a specter.”
Ye Rufeng retorted, “Many live worse than ghosts, mere walking corpses.”
Yun Xi, flushing awkwardly, waved at Lan Xiaozhu before chasing after Ye Rufeng with her three companions.
“Beware Ye Rufeng. That ghostly man’s dangerous.”
Lan Xiaozhu squeezed Cheng Lingyu’s hand, whispering her warning.
“We’ll meet again. Our clash is inevitable.”
Cheng Lingyu sensed his fate would intertwine with this mysterious man in black.
After parting, Cheng Lingyu journeyed northward.
“You’re close with Yun Xi.”
Lan Xiaozhu smiled. “Yes, Song Xuejiao and Yun Xi are both dear friends.”
Cheng Lingyu asked, “Do you know Qu Wei from Shenhuo Sect?”
“I do. Why?”
Surprised she knew Qu Wei, Cheng Lingyu continued casually,
“Qu Wei’s my friend, but she and Yun Xi seem at odds.”
Lan Xiaozhu, having privately researched Cheng Lingyu’s past, explained,
“Qu Wei’s brother loved Yun Xi secretly, then died for her. Their sisterly bond shattered after that tragedy.”
Cheng Lingyu raised his eyebrows at this revelation.
Lan Xiaozhu sighed, “Yun Xi’s kind despite being the city lord’s daughter. Many in Yunyang City adore her, but her status silences their feelings.”
“Is that fortune or misfortune?”
With a bittersweet smile, Lan Xiaozhu softly said, “Fortune and misfortune share a thin border. Fate shifts like desert sands.”
Cheng Lingyu pondered these words from Celestial Cataclysm Divination, sensing hidden depths.
At dusk, they reached Guishun Valley’s northern mountains. After lengthy searching, they located the Immortal Soul underground.
Cheng Lingyu blasted open a cave entrance, revealing winding tunnels. Two hours of twists brought them to a vast cavern.
Dreamlike light shimmered on a Seven-Colored Stone Array that stunned Cheng Lingyu.
Though the sealing formation appeared complex, the true marvel lay in its stones—multi-hued, metallic, radiating familiarity.
Standing outside the formation, Cheng Lingyu’s active metal source hummed violently, sensing kinship.
“Source Soul? This exists?”
His burning gaze fixed on the array’s core where a prismatic beast shape-shifted endlessly—dragon, tiger, flower, vortex.
Lan Xiaozhu gaped at the bizarre Immortal Soul.
“What is this? Stranger than my Cold Crystal Illusion Flower! Shapeshifting with metallic essence!”
Cheng Lingyu relaxed, attempting communication, but the formation blocked his efforts.