Chapter 121: Soul Guide Banner

Cheng Lingyu had undergone significant changes, his eyes now shimmering with a magical aura that carried temptation in every glance and smile.

This marked his mastery of the Third Level of Magic Eyes, Heart Invasion at Great Completion – granting him soul-piercing perception and the power to Locking the Soul and Fixing the Spirit, effortlessly breaching mental defenses.

The ability served as intimidation for men and seduction for women.

As he stepped forward, formation patterns swirled beneath his feet with flowing brilliance, showing his improved command of formations.

The perfect fusion of Physical Body cultivation, spiritual energy application, and engraved formations comprehension became his greatest recent achievement.

“Engraving Spiritual Arrays onto the pyramid would make it flawless.”

The thought made Cheng Lingyu’s lips curve slightly.

The Heavenly Spirit Diagram’s applications were vast, with weapon refining being crucial. Previously, he’d failed to combine it with Physical Body cultivation and spiritual energy usage.

After waking, countless previously confusing matters became instantly clear.

Acting immediately, Cheng Lingyu held Lan Xiaozhu’s hand while walking through Guishun Valley, simultaneously manipulating the three-layered ten-vortex pyramid in his dantian’s True Essence Sea.

Choosing suitable Spiritual Arrays proved challenging. This pyramid formed his Physical Body’s foundation, far surpassing the five lakes and four seas pyramid in importance. Careful planning was essential.

With his current cultivation level limiting advanced arrays, he conceived a bold idea – engraving the Heavenly Spirit Diagram itself.

Though seemingly reckless, analysis showed feasibility. Having grasped six of the Diagram’s nine levels while mastering two, he decided to start with the simplest First Level.

If successful, higher levels could be added as his Realm progressed.

Guiding true essence and spiritual energy carefully, Cheng Lingyu began attempts. The unique three-layered ten-vortex pyramid caused immediate failure.

Undeterred, he employed the technique of origins for analysis. The conclusion? His cultivation level remained insufficient – requiring at least the True Fire Stage of True Martial Eight Levels for true fire engraving.

Cheng Yun’s teachings echoed: both weapon refining and alchemy demanded fire. Without internal flames, treating the pyramid as magical artifact proved impossible.

Accepting this, Cheng Lingyu shelved the project with a smile, focusing on immediate priorities.

…

The third Spirit Hall’s crowd kept swelling. Despite casualties, cultivators kept chasing the saint’s legacy and deadly temptations.

The stone coffin’s secret was exposed – ancient jade emitting grand talismans, yet none could retrieve it.

News spread beyond Guishun Valley, prompting major Forces to seek extraction methods.

Approaching the fourth Spirit Hall again with Lan Xiaozhu, Cheng Lingyu found the same Mist-shrouded scene. A complex three-dimensional spatial formation maintained its time and space Confinement.

After prolonged observation yielded no entry points, Cheng Lingyu growled in frustration: “This cursed three-dimensional spatial formation’s pure deception!”

Lan Xiaozhu couldn’t see the spatial formation and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Cheng Lingyu answered, “This Spirit Hall has a special barrier enclosed by an invisible three-dimensional spatial formation. Rushing in blindly would be suicide. I’ve studied it thoroughly—it’s strangely unbreakable.”

Lan Xiaozhu frowned. “Even the most complex formations have weaknesses, however obscure. How could this one be unsolvable?”

“Two possibilities: either it’s sealed to keep everyone out, or it’s a deliberate trap.”

“Then let’s not waste time here. We should leave.”

Reluctance etched his features as Cheng Lingyu retrieved The Source Pearl, watching its faint glow pulse toward the fourth Spirit Hall despite evident interference. Channeling true essence into the artifact, he brightened its radiance until a beam struck the distant hall.

Visions flooded his mind—a kaleidoscopic vortex swirling inside the fourth Spirit Hall, teeming with shifting Beast Souls and plant souls. The scene zoomed into the vortex’s heart, where spectral figures multiplied and expanded. Amidst them, a humanoid silhouette emerged, sharpening into a young man’s face: determined obsidian eyes, chiseled features framed by silver-streaked hair, an aura of weathered resolve.

The image shattered as The Source Pearl convulsed violently, its backlash erasing the vision. Lan Xiaozhu gaped at the artifact in recognition, but Cheng Lingyu wordlessly stored it away, dragging her into retreat.

Silent during their flight, he wrestled with the vision’s mystery—whose face had invaded his thoughts?

“Where next?” Lan Xiaozhu pressed.

“Hunting the remaining Immortal Souls. Eight exist in Guishun Valley—four still hidden.”

He recounted known fates: the three-headed spirit snake claimed by Young Master of Thousand Phantoms, the Cold Crystal Illusion Flower fused with Lan Xiaozhu, Duan Hong’s White Tiger Immortal Soul. Only the Nine Nether King Sparrow’s location remained certain.

“Immortal Souls aren’t ordinary martial spirits. How will you claim them?” Her curiosity sharpened.

Cheng Lingyu alighted on a remote peak, far from the third Spirit Hall’s crowds. Unleashing the Soul Guide Banner, he magnified it tenfold and hurled it valleyward. The banner’s pole embedded into bedrock with a thunderous crash, its glow summoning swirling Beast Souls and plant souls.

“This will draw competitors,” Lan Xiaozhu warned.

“Briefly.” His confidence held. “Choose any worthy souls here.”

The banner’s descent quaked the earth, warping Guishun Valley’s energy. Martial souls flocked—Hellish Red Lotus, twin-winged fire serpents, sky centipedes—all captured under Cheng Lingyu’s control. Lan Xiaozhu exulted at rarities like Five Cloud Flowers and Fire Spiritual Sparrows being subdued.

Through the banner’s awareness, Cheng Lingyu tracked four Immortal Soul signatures: the Nine Nether King Sparrow’s locus plus three unknowns. Yet puzzlement arose—one signature was missing. Had another Immortal Soul already been claimed?

As distant cultivators approached, he recalled the banner. Eyes hardening, he unleashed the Soul Cutting Technique. Vengeful spirits—lingering remnants of dead Blood Martial experts—howled through the void. Their soul-rich essence was ripe for harvesting.

Materializing a soul sword, Cheng Lingyu’s oscillating mental waves sliced through spirits retaining lethal memories and skills. They retaliated fiercely, but he pressed on—thirty vengeful souls meant thirty chances to amplify his power.