Chapter 225: Heavenly Soul Essence
Chapter 225: Heavenly Soul Essence
Corpses piled up across the ground as Cheng Lingyu, consumed by bloodlust, unknowingly merged Formation Martial Arts into his combat style, boosting his combat power to new heights.
The fusion of Formation Martial Arts and Soul Martial Arts allowed him to dominate all directions, crushing enemies effortlessly as he surged forward.
He unleashed a relentless barrage of skills—Thousand Strikes, Thunder Palm, Skywing Escape, Thousand Moon Slash, Burning Sky Technique, Sky Splitting Technique, and Dreamy Magic Eyes—sending his foes fleeing in terror, their cries echoing.
The supergravity field grew even more fearsome as Cheng Lingyu advanced to the Soul Martial Fifth Realm, its crushing force intensifying.
Wherever he tread, blood pooled and corpses littered the earth.
In that moment, Cheng Lingyu became an unstoppable reaper, shattering four spirit artifacts and two Forbidden Artifacts with the Six Mysterious Deadly Formation’s aid.
Outside the castle, four to five hundred cultivators had gathered, over eighty percent hostile toward him. More than three hundred fell to his blade.
Survivors fled like mangy strays, while even spectators nearby scattered, horrified by his brutality.
Gao Tianyu gaped, realizing his earlier survival had been pure luck.
Cheng Lingyu paused, surveying the carnage. A flicker of resignation crossed his icy expression.
Swift as a whirlwind, he gathered every scattered storage ring.
Staring at the ancient castle, he sighed. This outcome surpassed his calculations, yet he’d anticipated it.
“A blood sacrifice to this forsaken city—punishment for their disrespect.”
With a final glance at Gao Tianyu, he vanished.
The small world containing the ancient ruin sprawled vaster than imagined. After a month of cultivation within the castle, much had changed outside.
By a quiet stream, Cheng Lingyu sat sorting storage rings. Most held worthless pills and weapons.
Two items stood out: a beastskin marked with a pentagram radiating ancient energy, and a fingertip-sized nut.
When he retrieved The Source Pearl, it reacted fiercely to the nut. The pearl identified it as the legendary Heavenly Soul Essence—bizarre and exceedingly rare.
This essence grew solely in the Soul Realm under extreme conditions. It matured over a hundred millennia—even The Source Pearl couldn’t pinpoint the exact time.
Its indestructible shell, tempered by celestial forces during growth, resisted even divine weapons.
Consuming it required precise methods. None had ever succeeded, both due to its scarcity and the minuscule success rate.
Three rules governed its use: swallow it whole, nurture it in the dantian’s energy sea, and recognize its shell—forged by cosmic Dao essence—as an unbreakable seal.
If the seal wasn’t broken, everything would be wasted.
The first two conditions weren’t hard, but the third was the toughest.
Rumors in unofficial records claimed someone once swallowed the Heavenly Soul Essence, spent ten thousand years cultivating to reach the Heavenly Martial Realm, yet still failed to break the seal on its skin. In the end, all their efforts were wasted, leaving only regret.
If the Heavenly Soul Essence was so hard to digest, what good was it?
There was no clear answer, as no one had ever succeeded. Only legends remained.
It was said that merging with the Heavenly Soul Essence could cause unexpected changes in one’s soul, elevating it to a transcendent state.
But no one knew exactly how.
Cheng Lingyu was deeply shocked. After learning all this, he ate the Heavenly Soul Essence without hesitation.
Soon, it appeared in his dantian. He shifted it into the pyramid for better nourishment.
Focusing inward, Cheng Lingyu examined the Heavenly Soul Essence’s skin but found nothing unusual.
Next, he consulted The Source Pearl about the beastskin’s origins—and the answer surprised him even more.
The pentagram Pattern on the beastskin was a star marker, used for navigation during time and space travel.
“Strange. Who left this? How did cultivators end up with it?”
After fiddling with the beastskin briefly, Cheng Lingyu got up and left.
Traveling across the barren wilderness, he suddenly felt lonely, missing his elder brother Mu Hua.
“I wonder where they are now?”
Muttering to himself, he sped up. Activating a formation underfoot, he teleported short distances, easily crossing one great mountain after another.
Suddenly, he sensed a faint disturbance miles ahead to his right.
A valley lay there, emitting subtle ripples of energy.
Cheng Lingyu paused, considering ignoring it. But an uneasy feeling tugged at him.
“Fine. A quick look won’t waste much time.”
Changing direction, he flew toward the valley, covering the distance swiftly.
As he neared, his expression shifted. The valley was shielded by a formation, blocking outsiders.
Suppressing his aura, Cheng Lingyu crept closer. An invisible barrier muffled all sounds inside.
Peering through the transparent barrier, he glimpsed flickering light—a sign of conflict.
After a moment’s thought, he summoned the Youchen Nine Domains Orchid. Its mastery of Spatial Techniques let him slip through the barrier undetected.
Retracting his Immortal Soul, Cheng Lingyu hurried deeper into the valley. Between two cliffs lay a narrow Secluded Valley—the source of the commotion.
“Get lost!”
A woman’s furious, familiar voice rang out.
Men’s mocking laughter followed, laced with humiliation.
Another weak growl hinted at injury.
Hearing this, Cheng Lingyu darted forward. Passing a giant stone, the scene unfolded before him.
A group of cultivators stood with their backs to Cheng Lingyu, numbering over twenty people. Nearby lay several injured individuals and scattered corpses.
Opposite them, more than a dozen bodies lay haphazardly. Only one woman remained standing, gripping her Long Sword as she staggered backward, her face twisted with grief and hatred.
Behind her, a gravely injured man strained to raise his head, hurling curses at the advancing cultivators.
The images made Cheng Lingyu’s expression darken. He recognized the woman and injured man – along with every corpse – as disciples of Lou Ri City.
Though he couldn’t name the cultivators facing away, their Divine Martial Sect robes explained everything.
The two survivors held deep connections to Cheng Lingyu. The gravely injured man was Tian Feng from Fallen God Ridge, while the sword-bearing woman was Nie Jiaolong of Xuanmoon Ridge.
Tian Feng survived only due to his low cultivation level at Soul Martial Sixth Realm – too weakened by injuries to fight, yet clinging to life. Nie Jiaolong lived because her striking beauty tempted her captors.
“Quite the feisty one.”
“Feisty makes it more fun.”
Divine Martial Sect disciples leered while closing in toward Nie Jiaolong.
Facing their lecherous grins, despair filled Nie Jiaolong’s heart. She’d fought fiercely, but her attackers had spared her to eliminate all her fellow disciples before her eyes, seeking to violate both her body and dignity.
Death didn’t frighten her, but the coming ordeal did. Though she’d never admit it, she knew it represented every woman’s worst nightmare.
Her injuries proved more severe than she’d realized. Only her Long Sword’s support kept her upright. Now barely differing from a mortal, she couldn’t even muster strength for suicide – only weak curses remained.
“One day…you’ll regret this,” Nie Jiaolong rasped, her eyes burning with hatred.
“Regret? What could Lou Ri City do?” A disciple sneered. “Even if outsiders learned of this, your city lacks the power to oppose us.”
The Divine Martial Sect disciples scoffed. Their sect’s might overshadowed Lou Ri City’s.
Nie Jiaolong knew this truth but clung to defiance, her angry sounds the only Weapon left. “Lou Ri City will never-”
“Wrong.” A disciple interrupted. “It’s we who won’t spare Lou Ri City. Every disciple you brought here dies today.”
Tian Feng choked out, “You’ll never…”
“Silence!” A cultivator raised his hand. “Stop babbling and die already.”
Nie Jiaolong screamed, “Stop!”
The attacker ignored her. A curved Blade of Light shot from his palm toward Tian Feng’s skull.
As the lethal light descended, another beam streaked sideways, knocking the Blade of Light away.