60: Taiyin Soul Stone

Deep within the Yao Family Ancestral Hall, the moment the stone door of the secret vault opened with a boom, a surge of cold energy, far purer and more ancient than the earth core soul marrow, gushed out like a broken dam!

The energy was not merely cold; it possessed a peculiar characteristic that nourished the Soul and moisturized the Origin, instantly filling the entire secret chamber.

The fragment of the taiyin soul stone in Lin Chen's embrace trembled violently, emitting a joyful hum, as if a wanderer had returned home.

Meanwhile, the Hall of Souls Dou Huang opposite him, his eyes instantly transformed from greed to extreme shock and ecstasy!

"taiyin soul stone! And such a complete piece! Hahaha! Heaven helps me!" The Hall of Souls Dou Huang roared with laughter, temporarily abandoning Lin Chen.

He reached out with a large hand and grabbed at the dark black stone floating on the stone platform.

Now!

Lin Chen's eyes blazed with cold light.

He had never placed his hope on the opponent's oversight; all his retreats were for the moment of this thunderous strike!

"Shadow Leap!"

His body suddenly blurred in place, not retreating, but appearing directly above the stone platform as if teleporting, in a manner defying common sense!

The Dou Huang's hand almost simultaneously grabbed the spot where he had just stood, only catching an afterimage.

"You little thief, how dare you!" The Dou Huang was furious and shocked, changing his grab to a palm strike, sending a powerful palm towards the back of Lin Chen's heart in mid-air.

The Dou Qi surged, enough to split mountains and crack stones.

Lin Chen, however, did not dodge or evade at all.

All his focus and Dou Qi were concentrated on his right hand.

That right hand was as black as ink, not the "Shadow Erosion Claw" from before, but a technique he had comprehended from the fragmented "The Shadow Codex," one that focused more on "seizing" rather than "destroying"—the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Hand!

His hand moved a step faster, grabbing the taiyin soul stone!

It felt bone-chillingly cold to the touch, yet it was not dead; instead, a vast, ocean-like pure Soul Power surged madly into his body through his palm!

This energy was of the same Origin as him, yet it was even more ancient and pure, instantly soothing the fatigue in his Soul caused by forcefully using "Shadow Erosion · Body Fusion" and "Shadow Leap."

Even the backlash of Shadow Erosion Dou Qi seemed to be temporarily suppressed!

"Pfft!"

At the same time, the Hall of Souls Dou Huang's enraged palm struck Lin Chen's back squarely!

The crisp sound of bones cracking was clearly audible!

Lin Chen spat out blood wildly, his body, like a meteor struck at high speed, smashed forward violently.

But his hand, clutching the Soul Stone, held on tightly, even using the impact to completely tear the Soul Stone from some kind of restraint on the stone platform!

"Give it to me!" Second Elder Yao Zhenhai also reacted at this moment, his eyes red, and he thrust a sword towards Lin Chen's wrist, attempting to snatch the treasure.

Lin Chen was severely injured but remained calm in the face of danger.

His Soul Power briefly surged due to the infusion of the taiyin soul stone, bringing his perception of his surroundings to an unprecedented clarity.

He could even "see" the subtle tremors and energy flow at the tip of the Second Elder's sword.

"Shadow Grasp!"

He flung his left hand back violently; a strange suction force did not act on the sword itself but skillfully pulled the dense, un-dissipated Taiyin energy permeating the secret vault, forming a subtle vortex that caused the Second Elder's sword strike to deviate by a hair's breadth!

It was this hair's breadth!

The sword's edge grazed Lin Chen's wrist, drawing a trail of blood beads, but failed to sever his hand.

And Lin Chen, leveraging the terrifying impact from the palm strike on his back, and the suddenly increased affinity with the surroundings after obtaining the taiyin soul stone, once again forcefully performed—

"Shadow Erosion · Body Fusion!"

His body seemed to completely transform into a mixture of thick shadow and Taiyin energy, no longer a simple concealment, but almost assimilated with this sea of energy mist!

His speed soared to the extreme, not in a straight line, but along the smoothest trajectory of energy flow, like a slippery fish, instantly passing through the gap between the Hall of Souls Dou Huang and the Second Elder's pincer attack, directly rushing towards the secret vault's stone door that had not yet fully closed!

"Stop him!" The Hall of Souls Dou Huang roared furiously, chasing madly, countless black chains shooting out like venomous snakes towards the black shadow that Lin Chen had become.

The Second Elder also frantically urged his sword glow.

But Lin Chen's current state was extremely peculiar.

With the taiyin soul stone in hand, he was like the Dominator of this energy Domain; those attacks, upon touching the Taiyin energy around his body, were all weakened, delayed, or even deflected to varying degrees!

Boom boom boom!

Most of the attacks missed, hitting the walls and ground, stirring up flying debris and energy turbulence.

Lin Chen's figure, however, had already swept out of the stone door like a ghost!

"Where do you think you're going!" The Hall of Souls Dou Huang rushed out right behind him, only to suddenly discover that the shadows in the corridor outside the door twisted, and three identical "Lin Chens" appeared simultaneously, fleeing in three different directions!

These were the "Dark Shadow Clones" that Lin Chen had hastily conjured!

Although they only had the form and weak aura, in such a chaotic situation, they were enough to cause a moment of confusion!

"Damn it!" The Hall of Souls Dou Huang was so angry he almost spat blood; his Soul Power swept out frantically, instantly seeing through two of the clones, but in that brief delay, Lin Chen's real body had already disappeared into the complex shadows of the corridor.

"Search for him! He's severely injured and can't have run far! Blockade Yao City! Not even a fly is allowed out!" The Hall of Souls Dou Huang's roar echoed throughout the entire Yao Family Ancestral Hall.

The entire Yao City instantly erupted into chaos.

At this moment, Lin Chen was enduring the excruciating pain of displaced organs and fractured bones, combining "Shadow Erosion · Body Fusion" and the power of the taiyin soul stone to the extreme.

He was no longer merely concealed; he was more like an invisible shadow, moving rapidly along the blind spots of buildings, underground drainage channels, and even the shadows beneath people's feet.

The taiyin soul stone in his embrace continuously emitted warm energy, nourishing his damaged Soul and body, suppressing the backlash, and also deepening his comprehension of this "shadow traversal."

Half an hour later, in a secluded mountain forest a few miles outside Yao City, a faint black shadow separated from the shadow of an ancient tree, stumbling to the ground, revealing Lin Chen's pale face.

He spat out another mouthful of bruised blood, quickly found a hidden tree hollow to hide in, and immediately sat down cross-legged to examine himself.

His injuries were extremely severe.

Several ribs in his back were broken, his internal organs were damaged, and his Dou Qi was almost depleted.

But fortunately, the taiyin soul stone was in his hand, and a vast, pure Soul Power continuously poured into his body, rapidly repairing his injuries and replenishing his consumption.

"That was close... If not for this taiyin soul stone, I would have certainly died this time..." Lin Chen felt lingering fear.

A Dou Huang powerhouse was far from what he could contend with head-on at his current stage.

He dared not delay and immediately activated the Dark Shadow Soul Binding Art, guiding the taiyin soul stone's energy to heal his injuries.

This time, the Cultivation Technique ran exceptionally smoothly; the Taiyin energy and Shadow Erosion Dou Qi seemed to be of the same Origin, and the repair efficiency was astonishing.

At the same time, he was also digesting the gains from this adventure.

Not only did he obtain this mysterious and powerful taiyin soul stone, but more importantly, his application of shadow power had made a qualitative leap under the pressure of actual combat and the enhancement of the taiyin soul stone.

The "Dark Shadow Soul Binding Hand," "shadow traversal," and a deeper understanding of "Shadow Erosion · Body Fusion" were all valuable assets.

Three days later, Lin Chen in the tree hollow slowly opened his eyes, which shone with brilliant light.

His injuries had recovered seven or eight tenths, and his strength had even benefited from the misfortune, completely stabilizing at the Peak of an eight-star Dou Ling, just a hair's breadth away from nine-star.

He caressed the warm, dark stone in his hand, feeling the almost inexhaustible Taiyin Soul Power contained within it.

"With this item, Cultivating Soul Power and suppressing backlash in the future will be twice as effective with half the effort.

Perhaps even... some secret techniques recorded in the "The Shadow Codex" might now be possible to Cultivate."

He put away the Soul Stone, changed into a new set of clothes, and took a disguise pill again to change his appearance and aura, then quietly left the tree hollow.

He needed to gather some information, especially about Xiao Yan.

Counting the time, the Black Seal City auction should have ended; he wondered if Xiao Yan had successfully obtained the remnant map of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.

And how far had the Hall of Souls's conspiracy progressed?

Half a day later, in a small town tavern outside Black Seal City.

Lin Chen sat in a corner, listening to the discussions of the surrounding mercenaries and merchants.

"Have you heard? Something big happened at the Black Seal City auction a few days ago!"

"More than big! It's said someone snatched something the Hall of Souls was determined to get!"

"It was that Xiao Yan! He pulled off another big one! I heard that after the auction, the Hall of Souls and the Black Emperor Sect jointly ambushed him, but he still managed to fight his way out!"

"Not only did he fight his way out! I heard that the Black Emperor Sect Sect Master Mo Tianxing suffered no small loss! That Xiao Yan seems to have a super powerful Soul body with him!"

"Now Black Seal City is under martial law; the Hall of Souls is frantically searching for him..."

"But I heard Xiao Yan was also seriously injured and seemed to have fled towards the northwest of the Black-Corner Region..."

Lin Chen listened silently, understanding in his heart.

Xiao Yan, as in the original story, had indeed snatched food from the tiger's mouth, causing great trouble.

The northwest direction... that seemed to be the direction of Jia Nan Academy.

It seems it's time to go back.

Now that his strength had greatly increased and he had obtained the taiyin soul stone, he possessed stronger self-preservation capabilities.

Moreover, after the turmoil in Black Seal City, the Hall of Souls's attention would inevitably be largely drawn to Xiao Yan, making it a good time for him to return to the Academy.

More importantly, he had a faint feeling that Jia Nan Academy, or rather, the Inner Academy, might soon become restless.

The Hall of Souls's actions were becoming more frequent, and a storm was brewing in the Black-Corner Region.

He paid the bill, stood up, walked out of the tavern, and looked towards Jia Nan Academy.

"Xiao Yan, I hope you can still hold on.

It's time for us to slowly settle our accounts."

He muttered softly, his figure blending into the crowd as he walked out of the city.

This trip to Black Seal City, although he did not directly participate in the auction's turmoil, his gains were by no means small.

A greater storm was gathering on the horizon of the Black-Corner Region.

And Lin Chen, who now possessed the taiyin soul stone, already had more capital to stir up trouble within it.

(Chapter 61 End)