"Besides being innate, a person's soul can only become powerful through a corresponding secret cultivation technique. Could it be that this boy obtained a secret technique for soul cultivation? The soul… the soul…"
Wei Zhongran was also jolted from his shock by Mo Qing's question. His mind raced for a moment, and he quickly recalled some of the things Zhao Min had told him. She and Li Yan had once been trapped in the forbidden land of a lost sect, where they had stayed for over a decade, thus missing the time when Shuang Qingqing was supposed to send them back. And that so-called "Hellsoul Clan" was precisely of the Soul Cultivator lineage. Zhao Min and he had managed to escape only by treading carefully every step of the way.
'Li Yan and Min'er's souls were astonishingly strengthened there. This means that when Min'er undergoes her tribulation in the future, this stage will no longer be a difficulty…'
Wei Zhongran's thoughts spun rapidly, but his expression remained one of shock, as if he too couldn't understand it.
Under Mo Qing's puzzled gaze, a moment of hesitation finally appeared on Wei Zhongran's face. In the end, he said uncertainly, "Could this be related to his fall into the Devil's Cliff Crevice back then?"
"Oh? What makes you say that, Junior Brother?" Mo Qing asked with some confusion, his voice transmitted quickly.
"After he and my daughter fell through the Two-Realm Barrier, although they were protected by the treasure my father gifted them, they only managed to hide from the Chaotic Flow Space. Especially when they were finally passing through the Two-Realm Barrier, Li Yan nearly perished to protect my daughter. Fortunately, at that time, I had just destroyed the Two-Realm Barrier, and the rules of heaven and earth were in the process of reorganizing, leaving many gaps in space. The two of them were lucky enough to escape that calamity. Unfortunately, Li Yan's physical body was still mostly destroyed, and his Divine Soul was severely wounded by the power of the two realms, leaving him just one step away from perishing…"
Wei Zhongran stopped there. There was no need to explain too much to Mo Qing. In order not to arouse suspicion about some of Li Yan's secrets, he simply stated his "speculation." With Mo Qing's experience, he could naturally guess the rest of the reasons.
Immediately, his gaze fell back on the back mountain of Little Bamboo Peak, where the golden-armored warrior had already reached the top of Li Yan's head.
However, Mo Qing's expression still changed slightly. So Li Yan's Divine Soul had been severely wounded by the power of the two realms. Under such circumstances, a mere young Foundation Establishment cultivator hadn't turned into an imbecile. His luck was truly heaven-defying!
However, all sorts of strange opportunities could happen to cultivators, even more bizarre than Li Yan surviving a severe soul injury from the power of the two realms. But even if one knew this method could potentially enhance their cultivation, no one would dare to try it. Let alone Mo Qing, even a Spirit Transformation cultivator wouldn't dare to drop their protective spirit light and expose their Divine Soul, especially not within the Two-Realm Barrier. That was undoubtedly courting death.
In a remote herb garden of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, a young cultivator with delicate features sat in a grass shed. He looked up at the sky. The moment the golden-armored martial general appeared, he couldn't help but let out a soft "eh."
'He broke through the Inner Demon Tribulation in six breaths. Has this boy's soul really become that powerful? A Miscellaneous Spirit Root, the Myriad Essence Art… such a powerful soul… the Fragmented Poison Body… that silver light on his body should be the aura of the "Undead Nether Phoenix." Hehehe, this boy hides his secrets quite deeply. What that Wei boy called an "opportunity" might actually be true. The power of the two realms… my goodness, just thinking about it makes my scalp tingle. Although Li Yan's techniques are rather singular, with just these trump cards, he should have a twenty to thirty percent chance of surviving the tribulation on his own…'
The delicate-featured young cultivator's thoughts raced, but he had no intention of probing into all of Li Yan's secrets. Disciples who concealed their trump cards were countless in the Malevolent Spirit Sect; he had seen far too many. As long as the other party was a true disciple of the Malevolent Spirit Sect with no ulterior motives, there was no need for him to secretly eliminate them. Li Yan had already demonstrated his loyalty to the Malevolent Spirit Sect with his actions during the great battle at Devil's Cliff.
The moment the golden-armored martial general appeared, the blood-soaked Li Yan stood up. At this moment, he had no time to think about the Inner Demon Tribulation. The oppressive might descending upon him was a tangible reality. He didn't believe this golden-armored martial general was a product of his inner demons!
"Die, little crawler!"
The moment the golden-armored martial general descended, it let out a thunderous roar, its voice booming like rolling thunder.
Even from hundreds of li away, the Golden Core cultivators in the distance felt their Seas of Consciousness explode the moment the sound reached them. Their expressions changed drastically as they hurriedly activated their cultivation methods to resist. Some of the lower-level Golden Core cultivators only had time to let out a miserable shriek, clutching their heads as they plummeted from the sky. Even elite disciples like Baili Yuan and Wang Tian let out a muffled groan.
Wang Tian and Zuo Shengyan both swayed in the air, blood seeping from their ears. But they managed to stabilize themselves. After circulating their magical power throughout their bodies, their Seas of Consciousness finally cleared up.
When they looked towards the center of the tribulation cloud again, their expressions were a mixture of uncertainty and complexity. Although they weren't at the Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm, they were all prodigies of the sect and had, of course, fought against some Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivators. Though they were no match, they were confident they could escape with their lives. After several such encounters, the thought that Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivators were not so formidable after all, just higher in realm and magical power, had begun to fester in their hearts.
Just before, many Golden Core cultivators felt that if they were in Li Yan's position, they could also handle a portion of the Heavenly Tribulation. Once they reached the Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm, their chances would naturally be greater. Although they had long known from the texts that very few succeeded in transcending the tribulation, with less than thirty percent surviving, as disciples of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, which one of them wasn't proud and arrogant? They all thought they would be among the few who would succeed.
Now, just being hit by that voice had made them dizzy and unsteady in the air, and this was while they were far from the center of the tribulation.
"Is the gap with the Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm really that big?" Wang Tian muttered to himself after stabilizing, not even bothering to wipe away the blood flowing from his ears.
"It's not the Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm, it's him and us…" Baili Yuan's voice came over. Wang Tian's body trembled, and he nodded.
In a super sect like the Malevolent Spirit Sect, there had only been so many Nascent Soul cultivators over the years. Only now did they truly understand what that meant. Were there not few cultivators who reached the peak of cultivation but just couldn't grasp that sliver of insight, ultimately stopping at the Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm with lifelong regret? Of those who did gain the insight, how many could withstand half of the eighty-one heavenly tribulations? And Li Yan had persisted until the final three tribulations. If it were them, could they do it?
When the golden-armored martial general's voice rolled out, Zhao Min and Li Changting simultaneously erected a huge protective shield, shielding Miao Wangqing behind them. The two of them only swayed slightly before stabilizing, while Miao Wangqing's face behind them instantly turned pale.
"Told you not to come, but you insisted. You should have just fallen just now!" Li Changting said to Miao Wangqing with dissatisfaction, then glanced at Miao Wangqing's abdomen.
"This… how many times in a cultivator's life can one encounter such a thing? I… I also want to form… form…" Miao Wangqing said with some grievance, but before she could finish, she was interrupted by Li Changting again.
"Form, form, form a Nascent Soul my ass! Even I don't have any hope!"
Zhao Min was now continuously channeling her magical power to protect Miao Wangqing. She ignored what the other two were saying, her gaze already fixed on the distance again.
Far away, at the center of the tribulation, a series of violent explosions had already erupted again.
As the golden-armored martial general's voice sounded, it had already arrived above Li Yan's head. The ten-zhang-long golden giant axe in its hand descended upon Li Yan's head with the might to tear the heavens and split the earth.
Li Yan had already stood up, his stark white bones, not yet fully regrown with flesh, emitted a teeth-grinding ge ge ge… sound. Just as the golden axe was about to touch his hair, Li Yan below suddenly vanished.
The golden-armored martial general's eyes, originally filled with soaring killing intent, paused slightly. The next moment, Li Yan's figure appeared like a ghost, right above the golden-armored martial general's head.
'His movement skill is so fast. Even an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator might not have such speed.'
This was the first time Mo Qing in the distance had seen Li Yan use "Phoenix Soars to the Heavens." A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he thought to himself, simultaneously releasing his Divine Sense fully. Within several thousand li, many unfamiliar cultivators had already appeared in his Divine Sense.
Some, after sensing his and Wei Zhongran's pressure, had realized the situation was not good. The timid ones had already fled far away, not daring to linger near the Malevolent Spirit Sect. But there were still some cultivators who, after seeing the phenomenon here, had stopped in place, their expressions hesitant as they swept their Divine Sense towards the tribulation.
"Leave within one breath, or die!"
Mo Qing's voice rang in the ears of those unfamiliar cultivators, shaking them so much that their qi and blood roiled. A few even plummeted directly from the sky. Faced with such domineering might, the remaining cultivators no longer dared to harbor any illusions of luck. Each one endured the intense pain in their Sea of Consciousness and immediately fled in panic.
Li Yan, having soared into the air, held a long black spike in each hand. A devouring, gloomy light shone from both ends of the spikes. He flashed and thrust towards the back of the golden-armored martial general's head.
Although the golden-armored martial general's body was huge, its movements were not slow at all. A look of human-like mockery flashed in its eyes. Its massive head shook continuously, creating a series of afterimages in the air. One of Li Yan's Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spikes pierced past its ear. The other Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike, however, scraped against the edge of the golden-armored martial general's golden helmet, creating a shower of golden sparks, not harming it in the slightest.
At the same time, the golden-armored martial general let out an extremely muffled sound. "Little crawler, a pearl's glow dares to shine!"
With a shrug of its shoulders, a sharp spike suddenly appeared on its golden armor, instantly piercing Li Yan's arm and going straight through his forearm!
Both sides moved at extreme speed. Even Mo Qing and Wei Zhongran, without using their Divine Sense, only saw a blur before a series of golden lights exploded.
Wei Zhongran had long known about Li Yan's movement skill, so he was not as surprised as Mo Qing.
The moment the spike that suddenly grew from the golden-armored martial general's shoulder armor pierced Li Yan's arm, its originally mocking expression froze. It felt as if its strike had hit empty air, with no sense of impact. Before it could react further, the golden-armored martial general felt a sharp pain in its calf. With two crisp ding ding sounds, while one of Li Yan's figures was still above its head, another Li Yan appeared at the side of its calf. He was holding a black spike in each hand, which he thrust into its leg.
A large patch of golden light immediately surged from the golden-armored martial general's calf. The Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spikes, which had just pierced about three inches deep, were pushed out by a vigorous force. Even with the formidable strength Li Yan had cultivated, he could only hold on for half a breath.
In a flash, a whirlwind swept past. The giant axe swung swiftly past its leg, and Li Yan's figure below vanished once again. When he reappeared, he was already a thousand zhang away from the golden-armored martial general.
In this series of attacks, Li Yan had pushed his "Phoenix Soars to the Heavens" movement skill to its limit. The golden-armored martial general hadn't been able to accurately pinpoint Li Yan's position with a single strike.
However, a thousand zhang away, Li Yan's eyes grew incomparably solemn. The mixture of intense pain and a tingling itch from the wounds on his body did not affect his concentration.
'It can feel pain, but it has no Divine Soul. This is a being condensed from pure earth-attribute spiritual energy!'
Li Yan quickly calculated in his mind. His continuous barrage of attacks just now was to find the opponent's weakness as quickly as possible. But unfortunately, although this golden-armored martial general had intelligence and a sense of pain, it had no soul!