C20 Divine Soul

"Really? Why is this happening? Is there something wrong with my Primordial Spirit?"

Upon hearing his senior brother's response, Laojiu became a bit anxious. Patriarch Lieshan, being a Saint Becoming Level master, couldn't possibly have made a mistake in his cultivation. That meant the issue must lie with him.

"Your Primordial Spirit does have a problem, and it's a significant one! However, this is the kind of problem that millions of Cultivators would dream of having."

"Most Cultivators, including many at the Saint Becoming Stage, have rather ordinary Primordial Spirits. When one cultivates their Primordial Spirit, the Divine Sea typically starts as a small puddle. As their realm advances, this puddle can grow into a pond, a river, a lake, and eventually an ocean!"

"But these transformations are merely accumulations of quantity. They might be powerful, but they're not unique. It's relatively easy for others to defend against because everyone's Primordial Spirit is similar."

"Some Cultivators, however, are exceptional cases. We often refer to their Primordial Spirits as souls. In the beginning, there isn't much difference between a soul and a Primordial Spirit. But as one's power increases, the gap widens. By the time one reaches the Great Perfection of the Saint Becoming Level, a powerful soul attack could instantly annihilate a multitude of ordinary Saint Becoming Stage Cultivators!"

"Wow, am I really that incredible?"

Laojiu felt his blood surge with excitement at the thought. He imagined himself at the pinnacle, his Divine Soul sweeping through a host of Saint Becoming Stage Experts. How exhilarating would that be? It was the ultimate move for a showdown, a surefire way to impress and intimidate!

"However, the true significance of the Divine Soul isn't just that. The most crucial aspect is that once a Cultivator breaks through to the Saint Becoming Stage, their Essence Soul will develop its own unique talent and soul skill! But for you, these concepts are still quite distant. Breaking through to the Saint Becoming Stage is as challenging as reaching the heavens, a one in a million chance."

Lieshan explained, his mind drifting back to the only expert he had encountered who had transcended the Saint Becoming Stage. That individual exuded Origin Energy that was overwhelming and unfathomable. Against such a formidable expert, others could easily be crushed with a mere flick of a finger.

"Hey, I'm not going to worry about surpassing the Saint Becoming Stage just yet. If I've managed to cultivate something as extraordinary as the Divine Soul, who's to say I won't be able to transcend the Saint Becoming Stage one day?" Laojiu was brimming with confidence.

Or perhaps it was a case of ignorance being bliss!

"It's difficult to say. Possessing an Essence Soul isn't a prerequisite for transcending to the Saint Becoming Stage. To break through to this realm, one must encounter extraordinary fortune. Without heaven's favor, it's nearly impossible to advance."

Patriarch Lieshan felt a sense of helplessness when discussing this. Even if he hadn't been injured and had always lived in his hometown, it would have still been a formidable challenge for him to make that breakthrough.

Laojiu moved past these lofty subjects and refocused on the present. He had been away from home for approximately a year and a half, he realized after some thought.

"Senior Brother, may I return now?"

Laojiu remained deeply concerned for his parents. Despite the stockpile of food in the shelter, the wilderness teemed with dangerous beasts. The severe conditions of the wild were always a source of worry.

Previously, he lacked the means to defend his home, but now things were different. Should he encounter someone like Yuh Hualong again, Laojiu was confident he could flatten him with a single hand.

"Very well, you've attained the God Cultivating Stage. Your future cultivation will need to be accumulated gradually. Solely practicing in isolation won't suffice; one can't become a true expert that way. You've nearly acquired all of Master's possessions; there's nothing left here to cling to. Go home!"

Patriarch Lieshan showed no desire to prevent Laojiu from leaving. No matter how formidable the Fierce Creature, its intelligence was no match for a human's. Laojiu's combat experience had been limited to clashes between humans and beasts. While this was inconsequential at a lower realm, at a higher realm, he needed to adjust to combat between humans.

Without proving oneself in the human realm, one could never be considered a true expert.

Upon hearing he could return home, Laojiu was thrilled. He gathered all he could into the space within the Ink Crystal Stone, not sparing even the shattered pieces of the Dragon Trapping Staff.

Patriarch Lieshan watched his actions, at a loss for words. The boy, having been scared of poverty, was loath to leave behind even a single blade of grass! Had it been possible to dismantle the mechanism, Laojiu would likely have wanted to take that too.

Once he had secured the beast rings, Laojiu turned his attention to the Twin Water Shadow Beast. To coax such a formidable creature into joining him would be to gain an immediate and significant increase in strength.

To achieve his objective, Laojiu resorted to a mix of sweet talk, threats, and temptations, appealing to both logic and emotion to persuade the Water Shadow Beast. He was relentless, not caring whether the beast understood him, as long as it didn't break free.

It's unclear if the Twin Water Shadow Beast grasped Laojiu's persuasive words, but ultimately, it succumbed to the lure of his food and agreed to leave with him.

Laojiu attempted to reseal the beast into the Beast Ring but failed. His strength was insufficient, and the Water Shadow Beast was uncooperative. With no other options, Laojiu had to abandon the effort.

He rationalized that if the Fierce Creature escaped once they were outside, it wouldn't be a significant loss. The two most formidable creatures hadn't been released yet, and he figured they might be recaptured later on.

Laojiu was overthinking it, though. The Water Shadow Beast might have been clever, but it lacked the human capacity for deceit. Once they left the Xuanyuan Dragon Monarch's cave, the beast faithfully followed Laojiu, showing no desire to stray.

This gave Laojiu a sense of smug satisfaction, believing his oratory skills were truly exceptional, having persuaded such a formidable Water Shadow Beast.

His journey here was fraught with difficulties, but the return trip was surprisingly smooth. Whenever they encountered any mutated beasts, the Water Shadow Beast proactively dealt with them before Laojiu needed to lift a finger.

Such encounters provided them with plenty of fresh meat!

"Senior Brother, could you tell me about your hometown?" Laojiu asked one night as he sat by a bonfire, communicating with Patriarch Lieshan through his Primordial Spirit. He had never inquired before, but now he couldn't afford to remain ignorant.

The formidable cultivators they might face could hail from Patriarch Lieshan's homeland. Understanding more about potential adversaries could decrease the likelihood of failure.

"My hometown is on Blood Battle Star in the South Back Star System. It's at least five times the size of Yanhuang Star. But it's not the largest Life Star in the system; that would be Soaring Yellow Star, which is over a thousand times larger than Yanhuang Star and serves as the main star of the South Back Star System. There are other distant Life Stars that I know of, though I've seldom visited them. Even the most remote Life Star has Origin Energy a hundred times more potent than what's currently found on Yanhuang Star."

Patriarch Lieshan spoke with a hint of nostalgia, as if reminiscing about something wondrous.

"Wow, your single star system contains so many Life Stars? That's absolutely incredible!" Laojiu's limited astronomical knowledge left him unable to fathom the situation. As far as current human exploration has determined, only Yanhuang Star is known to harbor life.

The other planets are largely inhospitable to humans.

"What do you know? The star systems we're discussing are not the same as your star systems. Your so-called Solar System is merely a minor celestial body to us. True star systems are vast celestial bodies measured in light-years. Take your Milky Way, for instance."

Patriarch Lieshan quickly schooled Laojiu in the basics.

"How do you communicate across such vast distances? Do you use spaceships?"

Laojiu was brimming with excitement, drawn to the allure of the unknown.

"Spaceships? Those are just figments of your imagination! Sure, technology has been explored, but it's hardly the main focus; the key development lies in unlocking human potential."

"For travel between distant planets, we utilize Space-time Gates. Even separated by thousands or tens of thousands of light-years, we can traverse the distance in a moment through these gates. To colonize desolate star systems, we typically employ Space-time Shuttles, a miraculous fusion of technology and mystical cultivation techniques. The larger models can carry hundreds of thousands, while the smallest fit only a few. The velocity of the Space-time Shuttle varies with the power of its operator."

"A Saint Becoming Level master could easily cover millions of miles in the blink of an eye. When the Flame Emperor first arrived at Yanhuang Star, it was by sheer accident—a spatial fold in the Deep Space near Purple Flame Star was breached, leading him here. The subsequent Space-time Gate established a connection to the first stop in the South Back Star System: Purple Flame Star."

Laojiu was profoundly moved by Patriarch Lieshan's tale. Though these foreign beings had been on Yanhuang Star for years, the indigenous humans remained utterly unaware of these extraordinary realities.

"From which planets do each of you hail?"

"The Flame Emperor is from the Shennong branch of the Lianshan family on Soaring Yellow Star, while I am from the Lieshan family on Blood Battle Star. Although our master's Ji surname is prominent on Soaring Yellow Star, I'm not certain if he belongs to that particular family. He's never discussed it with me. The Heben family, a major power on Soaring Yellow Star, were the ones who pursued us years ago. Chiyuv was merely a vicious hound kept by the Heben family. Soong Nanding, the thief who stole the Star Core of Yanhuang Star, was also a guest elder of the Heben family."

"As for these newcomers, I'm not sure which family they represent, but it's clear they're connected to the Heben family. A lesser family wouldn't have the financial strength to forcefully open a Space-time Gate sealed by six Holy Level Experts."

"I've heard of someone named Soong Hsing. I wonder if there's any relation to Soong Nanding?"

Laojiu mentioned the most formidable person he knew of, Miss Soong Hsing, the most powerful name he had ever heard.

"It's difficult to determine! The Soong family is the largest on Purple Flame Star, controlling nearly a fifth of the planet's resources. They're essentially the undisputed rulers of their domain. Financially, they're on par with the Humen family of Soaring Yellow Star, though the caliber of their experts might not be quite as high."

We can't rule out the possibility of an alliance between the Heben and Soong families.

Patriarch Lieshan spoke with authority, as in his world, the fortunes of a family are measured in millennia. The key factors are the number of elite experts and the strength of their legacy.

The downfall of a vast family isn't something that happens overnight. On a small planet like Yanhuang Star, the existence of hundreds of independent nations is quite extraordinary.

The primary reason is the absence of a supreme ruler on Yanhuang Star, making unification impossible. Additionally, the short lifespans of its inhabitants and the rapid turnover of its officials, along with a near non-existent personal martial strength and reliance on firearms, make long-term unification exceedingly challenging.

These outsiders swiftly took control of the major continents upon their arrival. Regardless of the continent or the race of its inhabitants, none could elude their clutches. This was the consequence of their formidable individual abilities.

​