91: Chapter 91: The Soul Refining Fruit Improves, and Secrets are Revealed by Reading the Jade Slip

The nourishment from the star essence liquid allowed Ye Qing's Divine Soul to experience a thorough baptism.

He did not exit his closed-door cultivation immediately but continued to immerse himself in the mysterious feedback from the Cave Heaven World and the Power of the Primordial World, excavating and solidifying every bit of potential in his Late Golden Core Stage Realm.

After another month, a clear fluctuation, carrying joy and mature Dao rhythms, finally came from the core of the Cave Heaven.

That "star soul spirit-calming fruit" transplanted from the Black Nightmare Hills had finally fully matured under the continuous nourishment of the Cave Heaven World's abundant Origin and the star core!

In the center of the three crystal-like shuttle leaves, the pigeon-egg-sized star-colored fruit had become crystal clear. Inside, it seemed to Seal an entire miniature nebula that was rotating and constantly being born and destroyed. Natural Dao patterns flowed endlessly on its surface, emitting a thick, inseparable star Soul Power and a strange fragrance that calmed the spirit and settled the mind. Just smelling a trace of it made one's Divine Soul clear and all distracting thoughts vanish.

"Finally, it's done."

Ye Qing's thoughts stirred, and he carefully plucked this fully matured "star soul spirit-calming fruit."

The fruit felt slightly cool and heavy in his hand, as if he were holding a small piece of the starry sky, with Dao rhythms contained within.

Without the slightest hesitation, he consumed it immediately.

The flesh melted in his mouth. It was not the sweetness of an ordinary spiritual fruit, but a cool, pure, and vast torrent that seemed to contain the most original Soul Power from the birth of the stars. It instantly rushed into his limbs and bones, finally converging into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness!

Boom!

Ye Qing felt as if his Divine Soul had been cast into an endless ocean of stars.

The majestic and gentle star Soul Power, like the finest star sand, washed over, cleansed, and nourished his Divine Soul Origin over and over again. All the subtle "dust," "hidden injuries," and "stagnation" left over from his past cultivation, insights, battles, and even his Transmigration, melted away like ice and snow in the face of this most original star Soul Power, disappearing completely.

His Divine Soul grew, solidified, and transformed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His Divine Sense perception expanded crazily, breaking through 1,500 zhang, 2,000 zhang, and finally stabilizing at around 2,300 zhang! Its level of refinement was far beyond the past; it was like silk and threads, capable of leaving his body to investigate, revealing every detail. His ability to capture energy, crises, and even the subtle Dao rhythms between heaven and earth reached a brand new Realm.

More importantly, the essence of his Divine Soul underwent a kind of sublimation.

It became more "clear" and more "stable," as if it possessed a trace of the eternity of "stars" and the inclusiveness of the "Void Realm." As his thoughts turned, countless ideas became incomparably clear, and his deductive and computational abilities skyrocketed. Many difficult points in his past Cultivation Techniques, Divine Abilities, and array Dao suddenly became clear with just a little thought, allowing him to draw inferences about other cases from one instance.

He even faintly touched upon a subtle feeling characteristic of a higher-level life form—the Nascent Soul Cultivator—where the Divine Soul merges with heaven and earth and can perform a preliminary "spirit travel."

Although he was still far from truly condensing a Nascent Soul, his Divine Soul Foundation had already been polished to the extreme of the Golden Core Realm, paving the most critical path for future Breakthroughs.

"What a 'star soul spirit-calming fruit'! It truly lives up to its reputation! With this Divine Soul Foundation, my chances of condensing a Nascent Soul in the future have increased by at least 30 percent! Moreover, it has immeasurable benefits for future comprehension of the Dao, deduction of Cultivation Techniques, and the practice of the hundred arts."

Ye Qing felt joyful in his heart and slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes contained a divine light, clear and profound, as if they could reflect a person's heart, yet they were calm and waveless. His control over his own emotions and thoughts had reached a level of subtlety.

He adjusted his breathing slightly to adapt to the surging power of his Divine Soul.

Afterwards, he took out several Jade Slips from the Storage Pouch of the golden-eyed Yao Race Young Lord.

Previously, due to the limitations of his Divine Soul, he did not dare to easily investigate one of the Jade Slips with a Divine Thought imprint. Now that his Divine Soul had undergone a qualitative change and its strength had greatly increased, he could perhaps give it a try.

He first picked up the Jade Slip recording the 《Dark Feather Void Escape》, and his Divine Sense sank into it.

The content of the Cultivation Technique was profound. Its core lay in using one's own Yao power (or magic power) to simulate a Divine Ability of an ancient remnant species called the "Dark Feather Void Sparrow," condensing "Void Wings." It allowed for short-distance "teleportation"-like Void Realm shifting and was more adept at hiding and traveling in shadows and chaotic energy environments. It was an extremely brilliant escape method and movement technique.

"It actually has the same miraculous effect as my 'Void Step.' They can be used to learn from each other and make up for each other's weaknesses. Especially the method of condensing 'Void Wings' and hiding, which is of great benefit to improving the adaptability of my 'Void Step' in long-distance travel and complex environments."

He memorized the essence of the Cultivation Technique, leaving it for future deduction and Fusion.

Next, he picked up the Jade Slip containing internal information and maps of the Yao Race.

The information within was complex, mostly about the distribution of Yao Race forces in the Dragonfall Abyss and its surrounding areas, the marking of some resource points, and an outline of some infiltration and sabotage plans targeting the Human Race forces. Ye Qing browsed quickly, memorizing the valuable geographical information, Yao Beast distribution, and several locations suspected of having ancient ruins or rare mineral deposits.

Finally, he picked up the Jade Slip with the Divine Thought imprint with a solemn expression.

He wrapped it with his Divine Sense and slowly probed inside.

Hum!

Inside the Jade Slip, the ownerless Divine Thought imprint fluctuated slightly, and a cold, majestic residual Yao sense carrying a faint warning swept past. If it were before, Ye Qing might have felt pressure, but now that his Divine Soul had undergone a qualitative change, the deterrent power of this ownerless imprint had greatly diminished.

He focused his mind and calm, using his more pure and condensed Divine Sense to slowly penetrate, analyze, and erase the imprint.

The process lasted about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Finally, the last trace of the imprint was erased, and the information inside the Jade Slip was revealed to Ye Qing's "eyes" without any obstruction.

This Jade Slip seemed to be the "mission log" and "confidential memo" of that golden-eyed Yao Race Young Lord.

The first half recorded in detail his mission to infiltrate the Dragonfall Abyss area:

First, to monitor the progress of the major Human Race forces (Tianxing Sect, Liuyun City, Ancient Sword City, etc.) in exploring the "ancient teleportation array ruins," and to seize opportunities to destroy or seize key information and array base fragments.

Second, to find and obtain several special resources vital to the high-level Yao Race, including the "star soul spirit-calming fruit." This fruit seemed to be of great use for the healing or Breakthrough of a certain big shot of the Yao Race.

Third, to contact and coordinate with the Yao Race secret agents lurking in the Dragonfall Abyss area and even within the Human Race forces, to pass intelligence and execute secret missions.

"He really was a big fish, shouldering heavy responsibilities. The star soul spirit-calming fruit is actually something specifically requested by the high-level Yao Race. It seems I inadvertently snatched a big deal." Ye Qing understood in his heart and continued to read.

The information in the second half was even more shocking.

It mentioned that the high-level Yao Race, through some secret method or ancient records, speculated that deep within the "ancient teleportation array ruins," there might not just be a teleportation array, but that it might hide an entrance to a lost "Ancient Star World," or Seal some "forbidden object" related to the star source essence. Regardless of which one it was, it was of great significance to the Yao Race.

Therefore, the Yao Race not only sent many elite teams like the golden-eyed Young Lord to infiltrate, but also secretly gathered forces, preparing to intervene by force at the appropriate time, and even willing to have a head-on conflict with the major Human Race forces to seize control of the ruins.

The Jade Slip also vaguely mentioned that the Yao Race seemed to have mastered some method to briefly weaken or bypass the ancient Restrictions on the periphery of the ruins, but it required a considerable price and waiting for a specific "astrological timing."

Finally, the Jade Slip recorded the locations of several extremely secret temporary contact points and material transfer stations established by the Yao Race in the Dragonfall Abyss area, as well as the contact methods and identification codes of some secret agents.

"Entrance to an Ancient Star World? Forbidden object? The Yao Race has huge plans. Moreover, they even have a clue on how to weaken the ancient Restrictions... It seems that the water in the ancient teleportation array ruins is deeper and muddier than I imagined."

Ye Qing's expression was solemn. This information was of high value, giving him a clearer and more dangerous understanding of the situation in the Dragonfall Abyss.

"The golden-eyed Young Lord has fallen, and his mission has failed; the high-level Yao Race will surely know. Since I obtained the star soul spirit-calming fruit, they will never let it go. Next, the Dragonfall Abyss will likely stir up an even greater storm. I need to be more careful and try my best to avoid getting involved in core conflicts."

"However, these contact points, secret agent information, and the Yao Race's understanding of the ancient Restrictions... perhaps I can use them?"

A glimmer of light flashed in his eyes. Steady development does not mean avoiding risks entirely. Sometimes, within risks, there are huge opportunities. For example, the "materials" at those Yao Race contact points, or... some key intelligence.

"This matter needs to be discussed in the long term, planned, and then acted upon. The immediate priority is to continue to improve my strength. Now that my Divine Soul is stable, next, I should try to Breakthrough to Golden Core Perfection. Only with sufficient strength can I be qualified to place my own chess pieces on this chessboard."

He put away the Jade Slip, memorized all the key information, and then completely destroyed it, leaving no trace.

His consciousness sank into the Cave Heaven again.

The Cave Heaven World, due to continuous digestion of nutrients and feedback, had quietly exceeded 8,000 zhang in area. The earth veins were more vigorous, the star sea more magnificent, and the vitality more majestic.

On the Floating Landmass, the moonlight star seed glowed with silver light, and many spiritual plants were thriving.

Beside the star core, the mysterious dark gold beast egg had its surface Dao pattern light flowing to a peak, and the life rhythm coming from inside the eggshell was strong and powerful, as if it might break out of the shell at any time.

"This beast egg... seems to be on the verge of hatching too. I wonder what kind of little guy will come out."

Ye Qing observed with great interest, while guiding the Power of the Primordial World fed back by the Cave Heaven, starting to make the final accumulation and preparations for the Breakthrough to Golden Core Perfection.

Inside his body, the 8,000-zhang Cave Heaven had stars shifting and the earth Qi rising. The medicinal power of the newly obtained "star soul spirit-calming fruit" continued to nourish his Divine Soul, and the fed-back Power of the Primordial World was vast and pure.

His Late Golden Core Stage cultivation, in such an environment, was steadily advancing toward the invisible barrier that represented Perfection.

Deep in the chaotic wind barren ridge, the gale was forever silent, and the cave was soundless.