Chapter 191: Dou Sheng!
"Within these soul origins, there are certain methods left behind by the Hun clan. Before you absorb them, you'd best first clear out the 'filth' inside!" Though still irked by Jiang Yun, Zhu Kun spoke words completely at odds with his heart, unable to resist giving this instruction.
"I understand. Many thanks for Uncle's reminder!" Jiang Yun smiled and nodded toward Zhu Kun.
Raising his head, he gazed at the soul origins suspended in midair. The amount here, compared to what he had obtained from raiding those four branch halls last time, was far, far greater.
However, after sweeping a glance over these soul origins, Jiang Yun turned his head and looked at Zhu Kun beside him, asking, "Uncle, what is Zi Yan's situation at present? Has she still not emerged from seclusion?"
Hearing this, Zhu Kun's gaze toward Jiang Yun grew even gentler. His face tinged with faint, barely-contained excitement, he said, "Zi Yan has yet to emerge. But I can sense the vigorous, thriving life force emanating from within. Jiang Yun, my boy—this time, when Zi Yan comes out, she'll likely give you a tremendous, wonderful surprise!"
Hearing this, a knowing, heartfelt smile also surfaced on Jiang Yun's face. In the original story, Zi Yan, without the guidance of the Old Dragon Emperor, had broken through to the level of a four-star Dou Sheng in a single stroke upon refining the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit.
This time, under even more favorable conditions, and with the legacy of the previous generation's supreme Dragon Phoenix on top of that—this time, Zi Yan would likely truly surpass everyone's expectations.
"That's good, then. In that case, this junior shall first go and deal with these!" Jiang Yun smiled and nodded toward Zhu Kun, preparing to leave with Xiao Yi Xian. But before departing, Jiang Yun seemed to think of something. He produced a long, lengthy list of medicinal ingredients and handed it to Zhu Kun. "This trip's harvest was far from small. The Half-Saints on the island are in for a blessing!"
Taking the list of medicinal ingredients Jiang Yun handed over, Zhu Kun gave it a rough, sweeping glance. Seeing the densely packed names of ingredients upon it, and recalling that Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian had already obtained the Bodhi Heart, his heart stirred. Laughing, he said, "It seems your harvest truly was substantial. This old man thanks you in advance on behalf of those little whelps."
Seeing this, a faint, shallow smile remained on Jiang Yun's face. Saying nothing further, he vanished with Xiao Yi Xian into the great hall.
On Dragon Island, atop a cloud-and-mist-wreathed mountain peak.
Jiang Yun sat cross-legged upon a massive boulder. Before him, a cluster of light roughly several zhang in size hovered gently. Soft, pure, gentle radiance continuously spread outward from within, shining upon the surrounding grass and leaves, making those little blades of grass appear even more lush, verdant, and emerald-green.
Gazing at this cluster of soul origin, feeling the vast, mighty soul origin power pervading within that soul light cluster—even though they had seen it once before, Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian still could not suppress their sighs of wonder.
"Puff!"
Jiang Yun opened his mouth and spat. A mass of pristine white flame was slowly expelled by him. The flame materialized and drifted beneath the soul light cluster, instantly transforming into a great, roaring, blazing inferno that completely enveloped and wrapped the soul light cluster.
With practiced, familiar ease, Jiang Yun calcined and burned this cluster of soul origin. Wisp after wisp of exceptionally faint black qi rose and billowed forth from within, then transformed into nothingness and vanished without a trace.
In but a short while, Jiang Yun gazed at the soul light cluster floating before him—now like crystal. Using his soul power as a blade, he cut off a portion and handed it to Xiao Yi Xian beside him, laughing, "These are for you. After experiencing the hundred cycles of samsara, your current soul realm has already reached the very edge of the Heaven Realm. These will be more than enough to push you to the Heaven Realm Great Perfection. With the experience of the hundred cycles of samsara, you won't feel any sense of forced, artificial growth, either!"
Xiao Yi Xian gazed at the soul origin floating before her eyes. Shaking her head with a smile at Jiang Yun, she said, "You should absorb it instead. Perhaps you could break through to the Emperor Realm soul in one fell swoop?"
"Bonk—"
"Ow—"
Xiao Yi Xian, who had just been gazing at Jiang Yun with a face full of gentle tenderness, immediately clutched her forehead in pain. Glaring at Jiang Yun with a face full of aggrieved resentment, she said, "What was that for?!"
"Silly girl—did the hundred cycles of samsara muddle your brain? Even if this soul origin were doubled, it still wouldn't be enough for me to even touch the edge of the Emperor Realm soul. Just listen to me and obediently absorb them!" Jiang Yun looked at Xiao Yi Xian with a face full of amused exasperation and slowly, patiently explained.
"Hmph—"
Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian's face instantly flushed a deep, burning red. With a tsundere, prideful cold snort, she accepted the soul origin and turned, flying toward a distant mountain peak.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Yun shook his head with a laugh. He also cut off a portion of the soul origin for himself. Looking at the soul light cluster, which still had half remaining, he flipped his hand and stowed it away.
After putting it away, Jiang Yun shifted his hand seals. The soul power in the center of his brow surged forth violently, transforming into a human-shaped figure identical to Jiang Yun. It sat cross-legged before the soul light cluster. Its mouth opened slightly, and a suction force surged forth.
And as this suction force appeared, the soul light cluster also trembled faintly. An exceptionally pure, refined soul origin power spread forth, coiling and winding around the figure of Jiang Yun's soul. Following his mouth, his nose, and the pores all over his body, it flowed and merged into him in an endless, continuous stream.
As more and more soul origin was absorbed, the surface of Jiang Yun's soul also gradually became covered in a strange, crystalline layer, like purple crystal.
"Rustle, rustle!"
The soul light cluster rippled and undulated gently, producing wave after wave of crisp, clear sounds like splashing water. Stream after stream of exceptionally pure, refined origin soul power was continuously, endlessly poured into Jiang Yun's soul.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"
As increasingly more soul origin was absorbed by Jiang Yun, ring after ring of intangible, invisible ripples also slowly and gradually spread outward, centered on Jiang Yun. The intangible ripples made everything within a thousand-zhang radius of this mountain peak suddenly fall utterly, completely silent and still.
The commotion Jiang Yun was causing at this moment was far from small. Sensing the abnormality, gaze after gaze from within Dragon Island was cast in this direction. But ultimately, upon seeing that it was Jiang Yun, they all withdrew their gazes one after another.
"Heaven Realm Great Perfection... Even our Dragon Island only has a scant few who have reached that realm!"
Within the Dragon Hall, Zhu Ming's gaze pierced through layer upon layer of void and saw the cross-legged figure of Jiang Yun. Looking at Zhu Kun beside him, he marveled.
"Heh heh..." Noticing Zhu Ming's gaze, Zhu Kun laughed and waved his hand, his mood exceptionally, thoroughly pleased.
And time, within that silent, still cultivation, passed day by day...
Half a month later, atop the mountain peak, Jiang Yun sat cross-legged. Before him was a human figure whose body was wrapped in a strange, crystalline layer, like purple crystal. This figure's face was identical to Jiang Yun's.
Before this crystalline human figure, the cluster of soul origin—originally a full zhang wide—had already completely vanished.
"Whew—"
Just then, the cross-legged Jiang Yun slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid qi. In the very instant that soul clone entered Jiang Yun's body,
dazzling, blinding, intense light erupted violently from within him. An intangible fluctuation—as vast and mighty as heaven and earth itself—surged forth overwhelmingly, blanketing everything, like a storm sweeping out from within his body!
At this moment, the sky was covered in dense, dark clouds. Fierce, wild lightning danced and rampaged!
"Rumble!"
In the sky above, dark clouds were densely packed. Bolts of lightning, like silver serpents, continuously darted and flickered forth. The sound of roaring thunder resounded and echoed throughout this stretch of space. And at the same time, a vast, mighty, intangible fluctuation—as boundless as heaven and earth itself—centered on that mountain peak, quietly swept forth like a storm.
"It seems the breakthrough was a success!" Noticing this change, Zhu Kun laughed and spoke to Zhu Ming beside him.
Zhu Ming nodded. With the aid of a supreme treasure like the soul origin—if one still couldn't break through, then the problem would lie with one's innate talent.
And Jiang Yun—without a doubt—possessed the most top-tier talent in the entire world!
Having broken through to the Heaven Realm Great Perfection, Jiang Yun did not awaken. Instead, he once again sank into a deep, profound slumber.
Yet within his body, an earth-shaking, heaven-overturning transformation began to unfold.
Around Jiang Yun's entire body, an aura of decline and twilight suddenly radiated forth—as if he were a flame of life about to be extinguished at any moment. Yet beneath that precarious, tottering state, even deeper within, an indescribable, terrifying oppressive might was emanating.
Sensing this scene, Zhu Kun and Zhu Ming were momentarily dazed. Then, Zhu Kun was the first to react. Chuckling lightly, he said, "What a kid... he's actually breaking through to Dou Sheng..."
"Jiang Yun has the Bodhi Heart. Breaking through to Dou Sheng is a foregone conclusion. But is this how one breaks through by absorbing the Bodhi Heart?" Zhu Ming nodded, then looked at the death qi pervading around Jiang Yun and asked with a strange, puzzled expression.
Zhu Kun cast a deep, profound look at Jiang Yun. Sensing the terrifying power slumbering even deeper within, he spoke in a deep voice, "Jiang Yun likely has his own ideas and intentions. He is no reckless, rash man. Let us simply watch quietly and see how things unfold!"
At this moment, within Jiang Yun's body, two streams of Dou Qi—one black, one white, representing the qi of life and the qi of death—transformed into two black-and-white giant dragons, swimming and roaming wantonly and freely. And within his qi vortex, a black-and-white Yin-Yang fish-eye slowly hovered and floated.
Jiang Yun had, beneath the Bodhi Ancient Tree, already comprehended and gained insight into the fundamental laws of life and death. This time, he intended to create his very own cultivation method—to break through to the Dou Sheng realm using the Dao of life and death.
In the Great Thousand World, the Undying Lord was a great achiever of the Dao of life and death. His Imperishable Dharma Body ranked twelfth on the list of the Ninety-Nine Supreme Dharma Bodies.
Jiang Yun did not know whether he could reach the other's heights in the future. But he knew that if he wanted to break free of the Saint Demon Emperor, to achieve the state of surpassing the master—then he had to, before reaching the Heavenly Sovereign level, find his own path and walk it with firm, unwavering resolve.
Three long, leisurely years passed in the blink of an eye!
Within these three years, the upheaval and commotion caused by the Bodhi Ancient Tree's emergence in the Central Plains had already gradually subsided.
The turmoil that had once been stirred up when the Soul Hall and the Pill Tower went to war had also, with the passage of time, returned to the calm and quiet of former days.
Of course, the outside world had no knowledge of the Soul Hall having its home raided and plundered.
After the Soul Hall was raided, when the Hun clan army had finished dealing with the Yan clan's affairs and managed to free their hands—how they dealt with Hun Mie Sheng was unknown to all. Everyone only felt that during this period, the Soul Hall had been low-key to a terrifying, uncanny degree.
So much so that even when their former sworn enemy—Yao Chen, revived and returned—openly declared he would seek trouble with the Soul Hall, they showed not the slightest reaction whatsoever.
And within these three years, Xiao Yan—the disciple of the now Half-Saint Yao Chen, the Medicine Saint—began to shine with dazzling, brilliant radiance across the Central Plains.
Not only had he repelled many geniuses of the various clans on the battlefield of the Bodhi Ancient Tree, but even the native-born geniuses of the Central Plains had been beaten by him until they couldn't even lift their heads.
What was even more rare—not only was his cultivation outstanding, but his level of alchemy had also fully and thoroughly inherited the true teachings of the Medicine Saint. Faintly, he seemed poised to become a second Jiang Yun.
Among these events, there was one matter that made the Hun clan inwardly breathe a sigh of relief. For a full three years, no one had yet discovered that the passageway to the Yan Realm had been closed and sealed. To ensure that the news was leaked as late as possible, they had even dispatched men to intercept and kill Huo Jun and the others, who had been returning from the Bodhi Ancient Tree.
As a result, not a single person from any of the other clans had ever once come to visit the Yan clan.
This truly left the Hun clan, playing ostrich with its head in the sand, utterly, incredibly frustrated.
The Gu clan, the Lei clan, the Yao clan... were all these fellows only concerned with their own tiny little plots of land?!
They had truly overestimated these people!
And now, having digested the Yan clan and been 'recharged' once more, Hun Sheng Tian and the others had once again reached the point where they could take action. The Hun clan had already sharpened its blade anew and was preparing to butcher the next 'blood reservoir'...
"That kid's been in seclusion for three years—today, is there finally some movement?!"
On Dragon Island, Zhu Kun gazed toward that figure seated silently, cross-legged and motionless.
At this moment, in that distant, azure-blue sky above, layer upon layer of thick, dense black clouds suddenly surged forth. Between heaven and earth, fierce gales howled and raged, moaning and wailing without cease.
"Uncle Zhu Kun—what's going on?" Xiao Yi Xian, clad in a simple, elegantly graceful long dress, gazed at the disturbance in the distance and asked Zhu Kun beside her.
By now, Xiao Yi Xian had already emerged from seclusion ahead of him. During these three years, she had even refined the Living Creature Flame. Now, she was already a peak three-star Dou Sheng, a Heaven Realm Great Perfection-level expert.
"That is a heavenly phenomenon. Generally, it only appears when a Heaven Class cultivation method is born into the world. That kid Jiang Yun actually created his own Heaven Class cultivation method—and from the looks of it, it's in no way inferior to the phenomenon that appeared when our clan's Dragon- Shattering Hand was born!" Zhu Kun watched the scenes unfolding in the distance and explained to Xiao Yi Xian beside him, traces of wonder flickering in his eyes.
Zhu Kun's assessment was far from low. The Dragon-Shattering Hand was the Ancient Dragon Clan's top-tier Dou Technique, ranked as a high-grade Heaven Class technique. Once unleashed, it was terrifying beyond compare!
Generally speaking, Heaven Class cultivation methods and Dou Techniques were created by early-stage Dou Shengs, mid-stage Dou Shengs, and high-stage Dou Shengs. Naturally, there were also those of exceptionally transcendent, heaven-gifted talent who, at the Dou Zun stage, had created low-grade Heaven Class Dou Techniques. But these were, after all, exceedingly, exceedingly rare.
For someone like Jiang Yun—to create a high-grade Heaven Class cultivation method at the peak of Half-Saint... Zhu Kun declared that in his entire lifetime, he had never seen such a thing.
"A Heaven Class cultivation method?!" Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian gave a soft, gentle smile. She did not doubt Jiang Yun's talent in the slightest. In her heart, she was genuinely, sincerely happy for him.
"Boom—"
Under the countless watching gazes, a pillar of black-and-white dual-colored light shot into the sky. Within the pillar of light, surging, overflowing death qi pervaded. Yet within that death qi, life force also flickered and emerged. Life and death, death and life—infinitely profound and wondrous, mysteriously unfathomable.
"Bang—"
After a humming, buzzing sound, the thick, dense black clouds in the sky also ceased their churning and roiling. Then, under the many stunned, astonished gazes, they slowly and gradually dispersed.
When the final mass of black clouds dispersed, the darkness and gloom in the sky also faded and vanished. Warm, gentle sunlight once again poured down from the heavens, shining upon that figure standing tall in the empty air.
"Peak two-star Dou Sheng... not bad, I suppose!" As the black clouds dispersed, Jiang Yun felt the Dou Qi surging and racing through his body at an unprecedented, never-before-seen speed. He murmured quietly.
"Jiang Yun—"
Just then, an airy, ethereal, soft and gentle voice rang out beside his ear. Jiang Yun raised his head. An exquisitely, breathtakingly beautiful face appeared before him. On that beautiful face lingered faint traces of stirring, surging emotion—captivating, stirring to the absolute extreme.
Jiang Yun gave Xiao Yi Xian a smile. Extending his hand, he naturally took hold of her jade-like hand. Xiao Yi Xian, with exceedingly practiced, familiar ease, smoothly looped Jiang Yun's arm and pulled it into her embrace.
"Stinky brat—get over here!"