57: Star Soul Tempering and Spiritual Realm Great Perfection

Within the Star Realm, the boundless void shimmered with flowing starlight. Xiao Chen sat cross-legged on a massive meteor, simultaneously cultivating the Myriad Souls Returning Flow Art and the Soul Emperor Canon. A faint spiritual glow emanated from his body, continuously absorbing the power of the surrounding celestial stars.

The Star Realm's starlight was exceptionally unique; it possessed both vast nourishing capabilities and a tearing sharpness. It was both a trial and a refinement for the soul.

Initially, as the starlight surged into his Sea of Consciousness, it felt like countless fine needles piercing him, bringing waves of intense pain. However, Xiao Chen's Late Spirit Realm soul foundation was incredibly solid, and the Myriad Souls Returning Flow Art was upright and harmonious, guiding this power to slowly temper his soul's origin, removing impurities and solidifying its foundation.

As time passed, the pain gradually subsided, replaced by a sense of clarity and growth. His soul power became more condensed and pure, and his perception and control over energy grew increasingly precise. On his system panel, the soul realm progress bar [Late Spirit Realm (3200/10000)] began to increase at a slow but steady pace.

However, the peaceful cultivation did not last long. Just as Xiao Chen was immersed in the soul-tempering process, his powerful soul perception suddenly sounded an alarm—three deeply hidden soul fluctuations, carrying an icy, deathly aura, were silently converging from three different directions, using the flowing starlight and meteor shadows as cover!

"They've come, as expected..." Xiao Chen sneered inwardly, but his expression remained impassive. He had long anticipated that the Soul Hall would not miss the opportunity to strike him while he was alone in the Star Realm.

The three approaching individuals were all formidable; the leader's soul fluctuation was obscure, likely having touched the threshold of Spirit Realm Great Perfection, while the other two were at the peak of the Mid Spirit Realm. This lineup clearly aimed for a swift, decisive kill, to capture his soul alive.

Just as the three hidden soul attacks (two Soul Chains and one Soul Corroding Needle) were about to strike, Xiao Chen moved! He did not stand up, but his soul power erupted with a roar!

"Soul Emperor Bell, appear!"

A solid, ancient bell phantom, its surface adorned with swirling starlight, instantly condensed, enveloping Xiao Chen! Clang! Clang! Clang! The three sneak attacks struck the bell phantom squarely, emitting muffled roars. The bell phantom fluctuated violently but managed to withstand the assault!

"How is this possible?!" The three Soul Hall Venerables, hidden in the shadows, cried out in shock. Their long-planned combined attack had been so easily blocked?

Before they could react, Xiao Chen's eyes blazed with green light, and he formed hand seals:

"Illusory Prison, Star Chaos!"

Centered on him, the starlight within a thousand-zhang radius suddenly twisted, and the meteor trajectories shifted, as if instantly transforming into an endless starry maze, trapping all three Soul Hall Venerables within it! This was a new move he created by combining the Illusionary Dream Realm with the Star Realm's environment!

Taking advantage of the moment the three were trapped by the illusion and their minds were unguarded, Xiao Chen's figure moved like lightning, executing the Swimming Fish Steps and merging with the starlight. He first appeared behind the weakest of the Mid Spirit Realm Soul Venerables, silently pointing out a "Soul Emperor Finger" directly at the back of his head!

The Soul Venerable felt his soul stiffen, his consciousness instantly plunged into darkness, and his body slumped. His soul origin had been severely damaged and sealed.

The other two were greatly alarmed and forcefully attacked the illusion, attempting to break through. The Spirit Realm Great Perfection Soul Hall Venerable even let out a furious roar, summoning a black Soul Banner from which countless vengeful spirits howled out, assaulting the Star Illusory Prison.

"Petty tricks!" Xiao Chen snorted, fully activating his Late Spirit Realm soul power to unleash the Soul Heart Flame, transforming it into a sky-filling starlight fire that swept out! The starlight fire, being supremely yang and rigid, was the bane of vengeful spirits, instantly burning the Soul Banner to tatters.

At the same time, Xiao Chen fully unleashed the "Soul Emperor Finger," a condensed and ultimate finger strike, imbued with a hint of the Star Realm's sharpness he had comprehended. It ignored space, directly pointing at the forehead of the leading Venerable!

"No!" The Venerable felt a fatal crisis, frantically burning his soul origin in an attempt to resist. But Xiao Chen's finger strike, fused with the momentum of the Star Realm, possessed power far beyond the ordinary! Where the finger strike passed, his soul defense shattered like paper, and his soul core was instantly pierced through!

The last Soul Venerable, seeing his leader fall, was terrified. He turned to flee. How could Xiao Chen let him go? His soul power transformed into a massive starlight hand, spanning the void, firmly grasping him and sealing his soul.

In a flash, three powerful Soul Hall Venerables—two dead, one captured! With his formidable soul cultivation and precise tactics, Xiao Chen executed a brilliant counter-kill!

After this battle, although Xiao Chen was greatly depleted, his mind was clear, and his soul was further tempered in the life-and-death struggle. He cleaned the battlefield, collected the spoils of war (the Soul Banner, soul origins, etc.), and then found a more secluded star vortex center to begin his secluded cultivation, digesting the gains from this battle.

Under the continuous nourishment of the starlight and the catalysis of his battle insights, Xiao Chen's soul power finally reached the peak of the Late Spirit Realm, touching that unbreakable barrier—the bottleneck of Spirit Realm Great Perfection!

Without hesitation, he invested all his accumulated elixirs, as well as the pure soul origins he had just acquired, into his cultivation. The Myriad Souls Returning Flow Art operated at its maximum, guiding the vast starlight and soul origins to assault the bottleneck!

"Boom!"

As if the universe was just born, endless light erupted in Xiao Chen's Sea of Consciousness! The soul barrier shattered! His soul power surged like a breached river, instantly skyrocketing! His perception range rapidly expanded to a thousand li, and his control over energy became exquisitely subtle! His soul origin underwent a qualitative change, imbued with a hint of eternal, indestructible charm.

Spirit Realm Great Perfection, achieved!

The moment he advanced to Spirit Realm Great Perfection, the cultivation method for "Soul Imprint" in the Soul Emperor Canon automatically appeared in his mind. Xiao Chen, enlightened, guided his newfound, immensely vast soul power to slowly condense an incredibly complex natal Soul Imprint in the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness, containing the aura of his own soul origin and a trace of Star Realm laws!

This process was extremely slow, requiring persistent effort. But the moment the Soul Imprint initially formed, Xiao Chen felt as if his soul had roots, and its connection with the heavens and earth became even closer. He could even vaguely sense that in the depths of the endless void, there seemed to exist some unowned, ancient soul fragments and information streams... This was what the Soul Emperor Canon referred to as the possibility of sensing ancient inheritances!

Xiao Chen only ended his secluded cultivation in the Star Realm after he had initially stabilized his Spirit Realm Great Perfection realm and condensed the nascent Soul Imprint. By his reckoning, nearly a month had passed in the outside world.

When he emerged from the Star Realm, Xuan Kongzi, who had been waiting outside, immediately sensed the vast, perfectly harmonious soul fluctuations emanating from him, and his eyes burst forth with an unbelievable brilliance: "Spirit Realm... Great Perfection?! It's only been a month! You..."

Xiao Chen briefly recounted his encounter with the Soul Hall in the Star Realm, omitting core secrets like the condensation of the Soul Imprint. Xuan Kongzi's face turned grim: "Elder Mu Gu... it was him indeed! This matter is of great importance; I must immediately discuss it with the other magnates! Xiao Chen, you did very well! Go back and rest; the Pill Tower will definitely give you an explanation for this!"

The news of Xiao Chen's return and his breakthrough to Spirit Realm Great Perfection spread like a whirlwind throughout the Pill Tower's core area, causing a massive sensation. One month, from Late Spirit Realm to Great Perfection—this speed was simply unprecedented! Xiao Chen's prestige reached a new height.

Meanwhile, the upper echelons of the Pill Tower began a secret and severe internal purge. Elder Mu Gu and his cronies were swiftly apprehended and investigated. A counterattack storm, triggered by Xiao Chen and targeting the Soul Hall's infiltration, was quietly brewing within the Pill Tower.

Xiao Chen knew that the temporary calm was merely an illusion. The Soul Hall had lost three Spirit Realm Venerables and would never let the matter rest. And Spirit Realm Great Perfection was just a new starting point. His next goal was the legendary Heavenly Realm Soul! And, how to use the nascent Soul Imprint to explore the mysteries of the potentially existing ancient Xiao Clan inheritance.

The stage of the Central Plains awaited him, to face even greater storms with a stronger stance.