62: Soul Ruins Secret Realm

In Lin Yuan's eyes, a nine-colored divine glow suddenly swirled, as deep as a hidden galaxy, faintly resonating with the Law Divine Tree in the projection! He clearly "saw" that every swaying leaf and the patterns upon its veins were the manifestation of the Laws of heaven and earth: the violent blaze of the Fire Law, the silent chill of the Ice Law, the ethereal mystery of the Spacetime Law... Tens of thousands of Laws with vastly different attributes actually presented a heart-trembling harmonious coexistence among the branches and leaves of that heaven-reaching divine tree!

“So, the key lies in how to quickly absorb the 'nutrients' that nourish the divine sense?” Lin Yuan's voice carried an enlightenment that saw through to the essence, and a wisp of nine-colored divine sense danced at his fingertips, actually causing the dao patterns flowing on the desk to twist slightly.

“Straight to the point!” Sharp light burst from Feng Tianxiu's eyes as he waved his sleeve, and the shocking projection instantly vanished. It was replaced by a floating Jade Slip, its surface covered in mysterious and complex ancient Void Runes, with spatial fluctuations rippling around it like water. “In fifteen days, at the Spirit Martial Hall's Central Continent headquarters, the ‘Soul Ruins Secret Realm’ will open!”

Seeing the divine light gather in Lin Yuan's eyes, his interest clearly piqued, the look of gratification on Feng Tianxiu's face deepened. He lightly traced a finger across the cyan jade desk shrouded in Spiritual Qi—

Buzz!

An even larger and more detailed 3D projection instantly unfolded, like a scroll sealed for eternity opening before them!

“The Soul Ruins Secret Realm is so vast inside that it is comparable to a mature three-star Middle Thousand Worlds!” Feng Tianxiu's voice carried a solemnity as if describing an epic. “Within it roam endless ‘Soul Spirits’—this is a supreme Secret Realm passed down by the founding Ancestral Master of our Spirit Martial Hall. Legend has it that its Origin is the undying remnant soul of a peak powerhouse from the Soul Clan after their fall! Through eternal ages, these remnant soul fragments have evolved into countless forms of Soul Spirits...”

He spread his five fingers, and the scenes in the projection changed rapidly. Large swathes of distorted, cold-Aura phantoms appeared densely: “Secret Realm Soul Spirits are divided into four ranks based on strength! First-rank Soul Spirits are shaped like drifting grey mist; their Soul Power condensation is already enough to rival a top human Spirit Refining Realm Martial Artist! Second-rank Soul Spirits already have human outlines and possess surging Soul Power; crushing an ordinary Myriad Laws Realm is like crushing an ant! Third-rank Soul Spirits can even perform the Soul Clan's treacherous secret techniques; their terrifying strength stands above Dharma Domain Realm experts!”

The projection screen suddenly focused! A terrifying figure with huge purple soul wings on its back stood proudly in the air! Even with just a blurry back view, the invisible pressure it emitted caused the thousands of Soul Spirits below to face imminent destruction; they all prostrated on the ground, trembling, and even the soul mist became thin and unstable!

“This is...?” Lin Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpricks, and his nine-colored divine sense instinctively formed a defensive halo around him.

“A fourth-rank Soul Spirit! And one of the best among them—a Purple Soul Spirit Lord!” Feng Tianxiu's voice was as heavy as a mountain pressing down. “In the depths of the vast Soul Ruins, such existences are as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns, but every single one possesses terrifying power that surpasses human Feather Transformation Realm experts! They are true overlords who can dominate a soul Domain!”

Lin Yuan noticed that the Soul Spirits in the projection were not partitioned by rank but were mixed together, with the strong and weak coexisting: “They just roam around the Secret Realm in such a disorderly fashion?”

“Exactly!” Feng Tianxiu nodded, and the projection zoomed out, showing the desolate, broken, ancient battlefield-like ruins of a corner of the Soul Ruins Secret Realm. “The entire Soul Ruins is a cruel world where the strong prey on the weak! High-rank Soul Spirits not only possess intelligence no less than an ordinary person but also designate vast territories and rule over a staggering number of low-rank Soul Spirits, like kings!”

Lin Yuan's gaze was sharp, catching that a halo of different colors floated above the head of each Soul Spirit phantom: “What do these colors represent?”

“Every rank of Soul Spirit is further divided by internal quality based on Soul Power purity and potential!” Feng Tianxiu's expression was incredibly solemn as he pointed at the projection. “White is an ordinary Soul Spirit with mixed Soul Power; Green is elite level, with Soul Power several times more refined; Blue is commander level, having already nurtured a trace of Law characteristics; Purple is a soul spirit lord of a region, with unfathomable power...” He paused, a flicker of awe crossing his eyes. “And Gold is a Soul Spirit Dominator, rare throughout the ages! As for Red...”

He took a deep breath, his voice carrying an indescribable shock: “That is a ‘Soul Spirit Supreme’ that might only be born once among billions of Soul Spirits! If born during the Soul Clan's prime, they would surely be an invincible peerless Prodigy of their Realm who could suppress an era! Legend has it that a Red Soul Spirit appeared in the Soul Ruins ten thousand years ago; who knows what world-destroying level it has grown to now!”

The nine-colored brilliance in Lin Yuan's eyes suddenly surged like two burning miniature suns: “What are the benefits of killing these Soul Spirits?”

“Your divine sense tree uses the Laws of heaven and earth as its Foundation and pure Soul Power as its flesh and blood nourishment!” Feng Tianxiu said decisively. “After a Secret Realm Soul Spirit is killed, its core Origin will turn into the most refined ‘Soul Source,’ which can be directly devoured and absorbed by the divine sense tree! The higher the rank and stronger the quality of the Soul Spirit, the larger and purer the Soul Source it becomes! This is the most direct ‘tonic’ for the growth of the divine sense tree!” His tone shifted, carrying a hint of mystery. “There are even rumors that killing Soul Spirits of elite (Green) rank or higher has a very small probability of dropping ‘Soul Crystals’ condensed from their obsessions or Soul Power essence from before they died, containing special insights or power... However, even this old man does not know the details of such secrets.”

“For such a treasure land, the number of slots must be extremely limited?” Lin Yuan went straight to the point, his fingers rubbing the spatial Jade Slip, feeling the cold touch of the ancient runes upon it.

A trace of bitterness appeared on Feng Tianxiu's face. He took a pot of spiritual tea imbued with dao rhyme from his sleeve and filled their cups. “It opens once every ten years, with only a thousand slots each time! Any Spirit Refining Realm Prodigy under a hundred years old under the Spirit Martial Hall can sign up to compete.” He took a sip of tea and sighed, “In the past, those Saints and Saintesses from the Central Continent headquarters with deep backgrounds would occupy over eight hundred seats! The remaining hundred-plus slots were then cruelly fought for by the countless branches of the billions of Great Worlds. Although our Xuanxiao Great World is a Six-Star Great World, in ten thousand years, only one person has ever won the qualification to enter!”

Seeing Lin Yuan's sword-like brows furrow slightly, Feng Tianxiu hurried to put down his teacup, his tone becoming urgent: “But you are the number one Saint of the Tianqing Domain and hold a noble status; you have automatically obtained the qualification to participate in the Xuanxiao Great World's preliminary rounds! Tomorrow, the Saints of the Great World's thousand Domains will gather at the Tianxuan Domain headquarters to decide the sole slot through a ‘Divine Sense Simulation Device’!”

A cold arc hooked at the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth. Behind him, his nine-colored divine sense suddenly boiled, condensing into a dazzling divine sense light wheel that seemed to contain endless Laws. As the wheel turned, even space distorted: “The selection rules?”

“A divine sense battle royale!” Feng Tianxiu said word by word, his finger like a blade as he carved a complex and mysterious array pattern onto the desk. “The divine senses of all participants will be fully projected into the ‘Phantasm God Realm’! There, you will only have bodies condensed from divine sense and cannot use physical strength, Magic Treasures, or external items! Victory or defeat, life or death, depends entirely on the strength of your divine sense, the subtlety of its application, and the depth of your Law comprehension!”

His voice suddenly dropped, carrying a hint of weight: “Although the Xuanxiao Great World has one thousand and eight Domains and the preliminary slots seem numerous, after layers of cruel screening, the one who can ultimately represent our Xuanxiao to step into the Soul Ruins Secret Realm... in ten thousand years, there has been only one!” A trace of distant memory and respect flashed in Feng Tianxiu's eyes. “That person is the current Hall Master of Xuanxiao! Back then, he swept through the thousand Domains with an invincible posture and finally passed the ultimate selection at the Central Headquarters. Later...”

“Heh.” Lin Yuan gave a light laugh. Nine-colored brilliance flowed like a physical substance from his fingertips as he lightly tapped the ten-thousand-year-old cyan jade desk.

“Sizzle—!”

An inch-deep finger mark with edges as smooth as a mirror was silently branded into it, with wisps of nine-colored dao rhyme swirling within the mark without dissipating.

“Quite interesting.”

...Lin Yuan returned to his cultivation quiet room and sat cross-legged on a futon made of ten-thousand-year-old soul-nourishing jade. The Spiritual Qi in the room was so dense it almost turned into liquid. He closed his eyes to look inward; the nine-colored divine sense tree swayed slightly in the void of his Sea of Consciousness as he pondered how else to improve before the battle. Suddenly, with a thought, two old items that had been almost forgotten appeared in his palm—the simple dao observing sword and the fate dice covered in mysterious etchings.

These two strange items that had accompanied him since Blue Star were once important assets for him to transcend life and death when he was weak. Lin Yuan gazed at them; the body of the dao observing sword was dim, its former flowing dao rhyme as silent as stagnant water. The runes on the surface of the fate dice had also lost their agile luster, appearing grey and dilapidated. A wisp of nine-colored divine sense probed into them, and Lin Yuan's brows furrowed slightly—with the heaven-defying leap in his cultivation, the original energy contained within these two strange items could no longer keep up with his terrifying level of divine sense. Their recovery speed was even more of a drop in the bucket; if he forcibly activated them, they would likely completely disintegrate in an instant.

“So... they have reached their end after all.” Lin Yuan's fingertips lightly brushed over the cold sword body, a very faint melancholy belonging to past years flitting through his eyes. They carried his struggles and hopes from his weakest period. Now, his own great power had surpassed his past self by countless times; these two treasures had indeed fulfilled their mission. Putting them away, Lin Yuan's gaze instantly became as firm and sharp as a rock: “External items are ultimately just aids. The true path to heaven depends on one's own great power! This is for the best; by cutting off these dependencies, my true self can be revealed!”

...The next day, at the Tianxuan Domain Spirit Martial Hall headquarters.

A murderous Aura filled the heavens and earth!

A ten-thousand-zhang tall “Divine Sense Heavenly Monument” stood at the core of the headquarters like an eternal divine mountain! The body of the monument was as black as ink, with the true names of past powerhouses carved upon it with supreme power. Every name emitted a terrifying pressure that made the soul tremble, as if countless pairs of eyes were looking down at the living beings below! Around the Heavenly Monument, nine giant pillars carved with ancient Coiling Dragon totems stood towering according to the positions of the stars, forming a vast array that enveloped the entire headquarters, its array patterns flowing with heart-palpitating energy brilliance.

Saints from the one thousand and eight Domains of the Xuanxiao Great World gathered here! Every one of them was a top-tier Prodigy selected from among billions in their respective regions. Their divine senses surged around them, and their Auras were either as sharp as swords, as heavy as mountains, or as treacherous as an abyss. Lin Yuan stood quietly among them, his nine-colored divine sense flowing naturally to form an invisible absolute Domain, completely neutralizing the layers of pressure and probing divine senses unconsciously emitted by the other Saints, like a gentle breeze passing over a rock.

“Look, that is the number one Saint of the Tianxuan Domain, Chu Jingtian.” Feng Tianxiu's transmission rang in Lin Yuan's Sea of Consciousness. “He has condensed a fifth-rank divine sense and ranked in the top ten in the previous grand competition's preliminaries! Rumor has it that when he was at the third sky of the Spirit Refining Realm, he once used only divine sense pressure to crush and kill a long-established old demon of the ninth sky of the Spirit Refining Realm!”

Lin Yuan's gaze shifted slightly, landing on a young man dressed in a luxurious purple robe. This person stood with his hands behind his back, his expression arrogant. Above his head in the void, a lifelike silver divine sense flood dragon with ferocious scales and claws circled and roared! The flood dragon's eyes were like lightning, emitting a bone-chilling cold light and majestic dragon prestige! As if sensing Lin Yuan's gaze, Chu Jingtian suddenly turned his head, his eyes as sharp as a blade!

“Ssh! Ssh!”

Two streaks of silver divine sense, condensed as if physical, tore through the air. With a sharpness that could pierce the soul, they fiercely stabbed toward Lin Yuan's eyes! Their speed and ruthlessness clearly showed an intent to heavily damage the other's soul Foundation!

“Hmph.”

A light snort, flat and without ripples.

Lin Yuan did not even raise his eyes; the nine-colored divine sense flowing around him only gave an extremely slight ripple.

“Bang! Bang!”

Those two aggressive streaks of silver divine sense were like hitting an invisible wall of sighs. Without even being able to stir a single ripple, they instantly exploded into a sky full of silver light spots and vanished into nothingness!

“Ugh!”

Chu Jingtian was hit as if by an invisible heavy hammer. His face instantly turned as pale as paper, and he stumbled back three steps with a muffled groan, each step leaving a deep footprint on the hard spiritual jade ground! He clutched his chest, and the look he gave Lin Yuan now was filled with unbelievable shock and a hint of undisguisable fear!

This scene, occurring in the blink of an eye, was like throwing a giant rock into a calm lake!

“Hiss—!”

The sound of countless people drawing in cold air rang out! Instantly, dozens of divine senses of varying strengths and attributes, like sharks scenting blood, surged from all directions with curiosity, suspicion, probing, and even malice. They wanted to tear open Lin Yuan's invisible barrier to catch a glimpse of the truth! Some of these divine senses were as hot as lava, some as cold as the Nine Netherworlds, and some carried poison that could corrode all things, weaving into an invisible giant net that crashed down!

“Noisy.”

Lin Yuan's lips parted slightly as he spat out only two words.

Boom—!!!

Like a volcano that had been silent for ages suddenly erupting! An indescribable, irresistible torrent of nine-colored divine sense burst forth with Lin Yuan as the center! It was like an invisible tsunami sweeping across the entire plaza!

“Pfft!” “Ugh!” “My divine sense!”

The probing divine senses were like hitting a world-destroying astral storm. They emitted groans of being unable to bear the weight and were instantly crushed and annihilated! Several Saints with slightly weaker cultivations spat blood on the spot, their souls severely shaken as they stumbled back. The gaze they directed at Lin Yuan was like looking at an awakened ancient god or demon, filled with extreme terror!

The entire field was dead silent! One could hear a pin drop! All the clamor, probing, and arrogance were completely crushed at this moment!

“Silence!”

A grand voice that seemed to come from above the Nine Heavens and contained supreme heavenly prestige suddenly descended! It was like billions of thunderclaps exploding directly in the deepest part of everyone's soul! It shook everyone's souls and made their blood and qi churn!

At the peak of that ten-thousand-zhang Divine Sense Heavenly Monument, a figure dressed in a simple white robe had appeared at some point, standing with his hands behind his back. Standing there, his Aura was perfectly integrated with heaven and earth, as if he were the Incarnation of the will of the entire Xuanxiao Great World! Just his gaze falling down made the Saints of the thousand Domains below feel a suffocating pressure, and even the circulation of divine sense within their bodies became sluggish!

“Xuanxiao Hall Master!” someone cried out in shock, their voice trembling with extreme awe.

The white-robed old man casually waved his sleeve.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

Over a thousand streaks of light shot accurately toward every Saint like meteors, turning into jade talismans engraved with numerical numbers that floated in front of each person.

“The rules are simple—take your jade talismans and enter the Phantasm God Realm!” The Xuanxiao Hall Master's voice was like a decree of the Heavenly Dao, echoing through the universe. “Plunder the jade talismans of others! In the end, the one who holds the most jade talismans—only one person can advance!” His gaze was like two streaks of divine lightning that split the heavens and earth as it swept across the trembling Saints below. His final words carried a bone-chilling cold that could freeze the soul: “Falling in the Phantasm God Realm only damages a portion of your divine sense Foundation. However, if your divine sense is exhausted and depleted...”

He paused slightly, every word like an ice pick stabbing into the soul:

“At best, your dao Foundation will collapse, and your Realm will fall forever!”

“At worst... your Divine Soul will be annihilated, and your true spirit will cease to exist!”

Before his voice had even faded!

Boom—!!!

The ten-thousand-zhang Divine Sense Heavenly Monument suddenly erupted with a blazing divine light that connected heaven and earth! The nine Coiling Dragon pillars hummed simultaneously, and dragon roars shook the sky! A heaven-reaching light pillar, condensed to the extreme and covering the entire headquarters, crashed down!

Lin Yuan only felt his soul lighten, as if it were being stripped from his Physical Body by an irresistible great power. Light and shadow swirled before his eyes, and time and space shifted. When he regained his focus, he was already in a bizarre space where the atmosphere of Laws was chaotic and violent—

The Phantasm God Realm!