noveltune Chapter 167 Soul Search, No. 2 Master's Questioning
Chapter 167 Soul Search, No. 2 Master's Questioning
Chapter 167 Soul Search, Master Bu Er Questions Us
Chen Yi's eyes flickered slightly as he weighed the pros and cons in his mind, then nodded in agreement:
"With my current cultivation level, I can only deliver three lashes at most. After those three lashes, this karmic debt will be settled."
He was willing to resolve the karmic ties with the old tortoise if possible.
The old tortoise's willingness to release its divine sense, allowing Chen Yi's thunder whip to penetrate unimpeded, clearly indicated that it harbored no ill intentions.
Chen Yi wouldn't mind retaliating a few times against this kind of behavior that would only harm the old tortoise but not Chen Yi.
After discussing the details briefly, Chen Yi landed five zhang away from the stone.
Lightning patterns danced between Chen Yi's fingers as he forcefully drew out the Five-Colored Soul Lightning Whip.
The first lash was like purple lightning splitting the sky, the stone tortoise's soul portal opened wide, and the tip of the lash exploded with a hundred arcs of lightning!
The demonic seed hissed and trembled, the filthy runes shattered into three-tenths, and the black mist churned and retreated like boiling water.
The second whip followed immediately, its four divine chains humming as the lapels twisted into the depths of the soul sea with cyan, gold, red, and blue light patterns!
The vortex of destruction tore open the core of the demonic seed, and the evil runes shattered into another 50% pieces. The viscous demonic liquid was evaporated by the soul lightning, producing pungent, acrid smoke.
The third whip transformed into a thunder dragon of judgment, and the natal thunder talisman burst into flames between Chen Yi's eyebrows.
The five-colored divine light penetrated the old tortoise's profound soul, reaching the depths of its origin, while the sharp, metallic light at the tip of the whip shattered the last two-tenths of the evil patterns.
The demonic shriek abruptly ceased, shrinking completely into a pitch-black dot, and the external evil chains turned to ashes!
The stone tortoise's cloudy eyes suddenly cleared, and it transmitted a message filled with astonishment: "Young friend, your skill is extraordinary! The power of these three whips is beyond expectation, enough to suppress this fiend for a hundred years!"
Seeing Chen Yi put down his whip and stop, it said, "Since I have received the favor of being a follower and guard of the Thunder Soul Sect, this old tortoise is not a stingy tortoise."
Before the words were finished, a profound text of the art of concealing one's breath, engraved with ancient tortoise shell patterns, entered Chen Yi's sea of consciousness—the complete chapter of the core inheritance of the Xuan Turtle lineage.
Finally, the stone tortoise spat out a palm-sized, jet-black tortoise shell covered with mysterious patterns: "This is something I refined when I molted. It can conceal the secrets of heaven and prevent those below the Nascent Soul stage from being pursued by divination. I now give it to you, young friend, to establish a good connection."
Seeing that the effects of the three whips exceeded expectations, the old tortoise's opinion of Chen Yi improved. He even felt that Chen Yi, this follower guard, was more powerful than the three formal successors of the Thunder Soul Sect. So he gave Chen Yi another item as a way of establishing goodwill.
Chen Yi nodded his thanks and accepted the gift. The old grudge between him and the old tortoise dissipated, and his mind became clear.
By accepting this tortoise shell, the two have formed a good relationship, and perhaps when they meet again in the future, they can have a good chat.
The world of cultivation is ever-changing; make many friends and few enemies to pave a wider path for yourself.
He cultivated in this secret realm for many years, progressing from initial fluctuations of divine sense to the cultivation of his divine sense.
From his current innate lightning pattern to his powerful soul lightning whip,
And through countless promotions, he benefited greatly.
Although I didn't want to get involved in karma, I ended up getting involved quite a bit anyway.
If it can resolve one or two of the issues, that would be Chen Yi's wish.
Chen Yi nodded to the old tortoise.
He gazed at the surging demonic clouds deep within the secret realm, then turned and left, concluding the matter for the time being.
The rest was beyond the capabilities of someone as minor as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, a minor Body Cultivator, or a minor Soul Cultivator.
If, in the future, he achieves success in his cultivation, the demonic obstacles here are still not resolved, perhaps he will return once more to eliminate them.
To settle the cause and effect of this Thunder Soul Secret Realm.
Amidst flashes of wind and thunder, Chen Yi transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the exit of the secret realm.
And underground, where everyone is inconspicuous,
The old tortoise transformed into the size of a beetle and, with incredible speed and without making a sound, used earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels) to reach the exit of the secret realm before Chen Yi.
Then, it slipped into the hem of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's trousers and leisurely left the secret realm.
Outside the secret realm, the two Nascent Soul cultivators standing silently in the air scanned the area with their divine senses, yet neither of them could detect the old tortoise.
This demonstrates the exquisite skill of his breath-concealing technique.
Beyond the secret realm, leaden clouds churned in the sky.
Emperor Qi, his black dragon robe fluttering in the wind, stood with his hands behind his back on the clouds, gazing solemnly at the secret realm's mountains and rivers.
The Purple Cloud True Lord, dressed in white like snow, stood silently in the air, his aura blending seamlessly with the heavens and earth, a thousand feet away from Emperor Qi.
The two Nascent Soul cultivators' magical power was like an invisible heavenly might, crushing the cultivators below and making it difficult for them to breathe.
Upon learning of the changes in the secret realm, the two Nascent Soul cultivators immediately organized a team to guard the exit of the secret realm in order to prevent any demonic seeds from sneaking out by infiltrating the cultivators' souls.
At the exit of the secret realm, nearly ten Core Formation cultivators formed a formidable array.
Every cultivator who steps out of the portal is examined by a Core Formation cultivator.
If the cultivators who emerge belong to a sect or faction, a Core Formation True Person from that faction will greet them, their divine sense sweeping over their soul like a fine net.
If a cultivator's eyes flashed with a black light, the True Person would immediately flip their palm and summon a Demon-Sealing Jade Talisman, or activate the Soul-Suppressing Bell, to forcibly imprison and remove the demonic seed.
With a Core Formation cultivator as a guarantor, even cultivators from certain sects and forces who have been implanted with demonic seeds have a chance to survive.
As for those rogue cultivators without any powerful protection, they were personally inspected by the royal family's Core Formation True Persons, and most of those with demonic seeds were killed.
After all, if it is sealed away, without the guarantee of a master or elder, it may cause trouble in the future.
As soon as the divine sense of an old man in hemp robes began to show signs of filth, the royal Core Formation cultivator flicked out a golden lightning bolt.
The lightning struck his skull, and before the corpse could fall, it turned into ashes that scattered everywhere.
Seeing the situation, another youth tried to escape, but his body transformed into a blood-red rainbow and soared into the sky—
"laugh!"
Emperor Qi lowered his eyes from the clouds and lightly tapped his finger, a pale golden light tearing through the sky.
The youth froze for a moment, before he could even scream, he disintegrated into a cloud of blood mist, vanishing without a trace amidst the wailing of the demonic seed.
Blood rained down, mingling with the charred, stinking pieces of corpse among the grass.
The remaining rogue cultivators remained silent, trembling as the Core Formation cultivator's divine sense brutally pierced into their sea of consciousness and searched through it.
The Purple Cloud True Monarch in the air had indifferent eyes. The life-and-death battles of the Core Formation cultivators below her were nothing more than dust to her.
When Chen Yi, now posing as the bald Xu Jiu, emerged from the secret realm, the examination of his soul was nearing its end.
At this time, most cultivators who had not yet emerged from the secret realm were likely in grave danger.
Of those who emerge, nearly half have a chance of being implanted with the demonic seed.
Therefore, every cultivator who emerges later will be subject to intensive scrutiny.
"Who is below? Do they have a sect, lineage, family, or power?"
As soon as Chen Yi appeared, a royal cultivator asked him in a deep voice.
Chen Yi quickly scanned the scene, getting a general idea of the situation, and calmly replied:
"I am Xu Jiu, a disciple of the Jade Dragon Sect. Please investigate."
The royal cultivator said to the Jade Dragon Sect's vice sect master, who was not far away:
"Master Yan, this person claims to be a disciple of your Jade Dragon Sect, but he hasn't produced any credentials befitting a disciple of the Jade Dragon Sect. Will your Jade Dragon Sect provide a guarantee?"
Upon hearing this, the burly, middle-aged Master Yan did not rush to reply. He quickly considered his options.
Now, these Core Formation cultivators know the outcome of the secret realm's inheritance: the three successors of the Thunder Soul Sect are Qiu Li, Qin Chengcheng, and Ning Bu'er (three women); everyone else has failed to varying degrees.
Xu Jiu tried to glorify himself by claiming to be Qin Chengcheng's follower and bodyguard, but failed to obtain the final inheritance.
Ha, such an achievement is not worth the Jade Dragon Sect risking to protect. Who knows if the soul of the person who came out so late has been planted with a demonic seed?
unless
Thinking of this, Master Yan secretly transmitted his voice to Chen Yi:
"Xu Jiu, there's a high probability you have a latent demonic seed on you, coming out so late."
It's not that I'm unwilling to act as a guarantor for you, but the risks involved are simply too great.
"Have you thought about what we discussed before? Our investigation shows you still owe the sect 150,000 spirit stones. If you repay these, I will make an exception and vouch for you. How about it?"
Is this how you're threatening me now?
Chen Yi squinted at Vice Sect Master Yan.
He wasn't possessed by the demonic seed, so naturally he wasn't afraid of having his soul searched.
However, his soul holds too many secrets. If a Core Formation cultivator were to search his soul, he would find it difficult to control himself from unleashing a soul lightning bolt to destroy the cultivator's consciousness.
That would make things look bad.
Chen Yi glanced around and found that most of the prodigies were present.
He felt a slight sense of reassurance. It wasn't the final moment yet; he'd wait and see. He had abundant resources and many trump cards at his disposal, and he'd also made the acquaintance of many prodigies in the secret realm.
The current predicament is not difficult to resolve.
There's no need to bow down to the Jade Dragon Sect over such a threat.
At the same time, he remembered Vice Sect Master Yan's face in his heart. He hadn't settled the score from last time, and now he was bullying him by taking advantage of the sect's power.
Seeing that Chen Yi did not reply for a long time, Vice Sect Master Yan suddenly sneered:
"Elder Qi, this boy is merely a nominal disciple of my Jade Dragon Sect, not yet formally accepted into the main sect."
Our Jade Dragon Sect is not familiar with this young man's temperament, cultivation level, or character.
Moreover, the demonic seed lies dormant for a very long time, and the consequences of its eruption are unpredictable.
My Jade Dragon Sect cannot vouch for it.
To be on the safe side, it would be best if the royal family could conduct a thorough examination of Xu Jiu's soul.
Faced with the Jade Dragon Sect's opportunistic act of kicking someone when they're down,
Chen Yi remained calm and waited for the situation to develop. If someone really wanted to investigate his soul, it wouldn't be too late to call for help.
Sure enough, the old Core Formation cultivator from the royal family, Elder Qi, was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. He was just about to summon Chen Yi according to the rules and conduct a soul search on him when...
A voice transmission from a member of the royal family rang in his ears: "Seventh Grandfather, wait! This person cannot be investigated!"
"Seventh Grandfather, Xu Jiu performed exceptionally well in the secret realm and has done us a great favor. We cannot perform a soul search on him!"
Qi Wuba and his sister Qi Yourong simultaneously tried to dissuade them through telepathy.
It's one thing for ordinary rogue cultivators to have their souls searched, but if a prodigy like Chen Yi also has his soul searched, even without the planting of a demonic seed, it will still affect his future path in cultivation.
Soul searching itself damages the soul.
Upon hearing this, Elder Qi made no move, but he couldn't simply let Chen Yi leave.
He scrutinized Chen Yi repeatedly, pondering how this bald, burly man could garner the assistance of two of the royal family's most outstanding talents.
And then,
An aged voice appeared in the air.
"Xu Jiu, right? Since the Jade Dragon Sect isn't investigating, and neither is the royal family?"
I, an old man, will inspect it myself!
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the old man who had spoken.
Anyone who knows this old man and is aware of the details of the previous incident in the secret realm,
An amused expression immediately appeared on his face.
The old man, with his white hair, withered eyes, and large joints, sat atop a third-tier puppet flying tiger, looking at Chen Yi with displeasure.
This person was none other than Iron Bone Immortal, Ning Bu'er's master.
His reason for stepping forward to deal with Chen Yi was quite simple.
The reason is
Ning Bu'er was seriously injured after leaving the secret realm.
In particular, her soul, due to the introduction of the soul-drawing lightning, while killing the parasitic demonic thought, also suffered damage to her own soul—a loss of 800 to the enemy but 1000 to herself.
Therefore, she needs much longer to recuperate than Qiu Li and Qin Chengcheng.
Iron-Bone Master could barely understand this.
What angered him even more was that when he picked up Ning Bu'er, he discovered that almost all of Ning Bu'er's major acupoints had been implanted with lightning crystals.
As a Core Formation cultivator, how could he not know how ambiguous the process of fusing the Thunder Crystal was?
Under his persistent questioning, Ning Bu'er reluctantly whispered that the person was Xu Jiu, and only said that the two were fellow Daoists, with absolutely no possibility of becoming Daoist partners.
How could he, as the master, swallow this anger? He took advantage of my disciple and then refused to take responsibility, didn't he?
Do you really think I, this puppet, have no one left?
To make matters worse, even though Ning Bu'er was already so badly injured, when they met, the most frequent topic of conversation wasn't about healing and recuperation, nor about the gains from the secret realm.
Instead, she asked her master to help her repay the 50,000 spirit stones she owed Xu Jiu.
You've already taken advantage of him so much, and now you still owe him 50,000?
Iron Bone Master was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, wishing he could break Xu Jiu's legs.
"You little brat, it's all your fault that my beloved disciple is in such a miserable state, and you still keep saying you owe me tens of thousands of spirit stones?"
"You bald guy, you dare to associate with my disciple? You must give me an explanation today!"
Iron Bone Immortal flew forward, his lips twitching slightly as he transmitted a message to Chen Yi.
Chen Yi immediately understood the cause and effect of this situation.
"Senior, there's been some misunderstanding. Both Fairy Ning and I acted voluntarily. She owes me spirit stones, and I've paid the same price."
Senior, please investigate further.
Chen Yi replied telepathically.
"I'll see through your grandma's legs! I'm a third-tier puppeteer, a dignified True Person, how could I be wrong?!"
"Still being stubborn, huh? Fine, fine, I'll see if your bones are as stubborn as your mouth!"
Iron-Boned Immortal transmitted his voice, cursing and scolding.
Seeing that Master Tiegu was about to attack Chen Yi,
The weakened Ning Bu'er managed to say, "Master, no. Xu Jiu definitely doesn't have the demonic seed. Please vouch for him!"
"You're already in this state, and you're still taking his side? If he were any man, he would be responsible for you, instead of asking you for tens of thousands of spirit stones!"
Damn it, I'm so angry!
I'm going to break his legs today!
Ning Bu'er added fuel to the fire, directly enraging Iron Bone Master.
He released a third-tier ape-shaped puppet in front of everyone. The puppet was three zhang tall, and as soon as it appeared, it locked its crimson eyes on Chen Yi and released the aura of a peak third-tier low-grade puppet.
"Lock this thief up! I'll personally search his soul!"
At the command of the Iron Bone Master, the ape-shaped puppet suddenly plummeted from the air, its iron fists coming straight at Chen Yi.
At this moment, all the True Immortals and Foundation Establishment cultivators were watching the spectacle.
Those who were previously unaware of the situation, after making urgent inquiries, roughly understood the reasons behind it.
"A toad tried to eat swan meat, but was discovered by the swan's master and is about to be swatted to death."
This version had the most rumors and ultimately became the mainstream version.
After all, Ning Bu'er, a peerless beauty who had also obtained the status of the successor of the Thunder Soul Sect, was bound to be admired and revered by countless cultivators.
Naturally, no one wants to be taken advantage of by this crude, bald man.
The puppet ape swung its arms, its towering iron body tearing through the air as its black iron fist slammed down!
Before the fist even landed, the terrifying wind pressure had already crushed the ground beneath Chen Yi's feet into spiderweb-like cracks, and the scarlet eyes locked onto Chen Yi's escape route.
Tier 3 puppets are extremely strong at locking down targets.
Especially now that Chen Yi is being inspected in public, he dares not run away and can only face the attack head-on, because if he runs away, it means that he is guilty and has something to hide, and the Nascent Soul in the air may then take action.
In an instant, everyone looked in Chen Yi's direction, with most hoping that the bald man would be smashed into a pulp by a single punch from the third-tier puppet.
A few prodigies who had entered the Hall of Inheritance looked worried.
(End of this chapter)