200: Chapter 200 Devouring, Advancement

Rumble.

The surging Sea of Consciousness formed a bottomless vortex at its center, absorbing everything within sight.

It was as if the entire sky had been split in two because of it.

Splash.

The curtain of water hanging high in mid-air fell, splashing ripples in circles.

Chen Ran's gaze was indifferent. True Qi, like raging fire, wrapped around his waist, condensing into a misty figure that shifted up and down.

His eyes pierced through the curtain of water, looking straight into the depths.

In the perception of [Sky Net], although Shen Jixuan's aura was withered after forcefully taking a slash, he surprisingly still retained a sliver of life.

"Truly tenacious."

Chen Ran couldn't help but sigh at this moment; the foundation of this Ancient Dao-Abandoning Cultivator was deep, surprisingly able to withstand his full-force attack.

Chen Ran grabbed with one hand, and the entire Sea of Consciousness began to churn, a pale golden light scattering from his fingertips.

This was the Sea of Consciousness formed by the manifestation of his Domain; everything here would obey his command.

At this moment, the figure that had been silent in the deep water for a long time, seemingly devoid of life, also began to move.

Shen Jixuan first let out a roar, and a wave of Qi surged into the sky.

Circles of purple ripples unexpectedly spread around him.

Chen Ran paused his steps, looked up at the deep water, and swung the long blade in his hand through the air once more.

"Still not dead?"

Chen Ran whispered in his heart as the long blade condensed from the overwhelming Mental Energy quietly collided with the purple Qi flames.

The next moment, the entire Sea of Consciousness lost its sound, falling into an eerie silence.

Brilliant light bloomed where the two met, and the shockwave of the terrifying True Qi collision expanded outwards from the center point in circles.

Wherever the shockwave passed, everything nearly vanished.

Rumble.

The entire Sea of Consciousness began to shake violently; this world constructed of Mental Energy emitted sounds of being unable to bear the burden.

Crack.

It was as if the sound of glass shattering rang out, followed by dense sounds, and finally, with a snap, it shattered.

A figure emitting purple flames flew backward like a cannonball, trailing a series of sonic booms.

Chen Ran looked toward the figure that had nearly vanished in the distance, tapped his foot lightly, and transformed into a bolt of lightning-like light.

In that shattered Sea of Consciousness, a trail of purple Qi smoke emerged from the materialized body, flying toward the distance as if fleeing for its life.

The speed was so fast that even Chen Ran hadn't anticipated it; he could only see the light escaping through the broken cracks.

Shen Jixuan's face was pale; the sound of whistling wind came to his ears, and the surrounding scenery rapidly retreated backward.

"Damn it, I miscalculated this time."

Shen Jixuan's eyes were gloomy, looking at the surrounding burning flames with heartache.

This was not an ordinary flame, but a secret technique formed by burning the Divine Soul.

Now, every second that passed, his Divine Soul would be permanently weakened by half a percent.

Just in this short time, his Divine Soul had been weakened from the Innate Realm to the edge of the Return to Truth Realm.

Just the essence burned away would require at least decades of cultivation to recover.

"After I get out, I will sooner or later exact revenge with interest."

Shen Jixuan looked at the invisible barrier in the distance; as long as he reached the mental boundary, he could detach from the body.

As the distance grew closer and closer, he was just about to step across the boundary.

He suddenly heard a voice resembling a vengeful ghost from behind:

"Senior Shen, this isn't a place where you can come and go as you please..."

Hum!

In the Sea of Consciousness, the archaic heavenly book of prison suppression vibrated slightly, and a pure golden light enveloped him.

Shen Jixuan's eyes widened, sensing a terrifying suction force coming from the golden light.

"What kind of artifact is this!?"

Just by taking a glance, Shen Jixuan felt a chill in his heart.

"Fine, it is no injustice for this old man to lose..."

He sighed helplessly, only able to watch as his soul body grew closer and closer to the golden light.

In the end, the heavenly book of prison suppression suddenly emitted a glorious phenomenon.

The golden light illuminating the sky transformed into several chains, binding the soul body and absorbing it inside. Accompanied by the last few screams, everything returned to peace.

Chen Ran stopped his steps, looking at the archaic scroll in the Sea of Consciousness, his expression strange.

Of all the places Shen Jixuan could have run, he had to barge into the heavenly book of prison suppression.

While he was pondering, a few lines of text appeared before his eyes.

[Prisoner Shen Jixuan detected as dead, now calculating participation.]

[You have successfully suppressed the Divine Soul of the Ancient Dao-Abandoning Cultivator.]

[Obtained reward: Twenty years of cultivation.]

[Obtained reward: Shen Jixuan's Soul Power.]

[Obtained reward: Nether Soul Heart Sutra (Minor Achievement).]

Hum.

The heavenly book of prison suppression slowly closed, and several streams of light flew out from it and entered his body.

A warm current rose from his Dantian out of thin air, then surged into his limbs and bones; the dry feeling originally caused by the mental turmoil quickly melted away.

Chen Ran felt as if he were soaking in a hot medicinal bath on a cold day; the fatigue throughout his entire body was swept away at this moment.

This wasn't the end; Chen Ran discovered that this cultivation, after circling around his Dantian, finally merged into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

All the remaining Soul Power of Shen Jixuan was stuffed into his body all at once at this moment.

Chen Ran felt a coolness in his mind, and fragments of memories began to emerge.

How strong is the Divine Soul power of a Innate Realm Cultivator?

Chen Ran didn't know, but now, Shen Jixuan's Soul Power, cultivated for about a hundred years, was all poured into his mind at this moment.

He had no choice but to sit cross-legged on the water surface, struggling to digest that massive Soul Power.

Boom!

The entire Sea of Consciousness was tottering; a visible ripple spread from the youth at the center point and continued to expand outward.

Eerie purple flames burned on the water surface.

If someone were to look from a third-person perspective, they would discover an astonishing scene.

The entire Sea of Consciousness was rapidly expanding outward; under the condensation of a large amount of Divine Soul power, the place that had been dilapidated due to the battle was now continuously repairing itself.

Don't know how much time had passed.

On the calm silver water surface, Chen Ran opened his eyes faintly, and a cold purple flame seemed to flash and vanish in his eyes.

"This harvest is even greater than I imagined."

Chen Ran felt the Divine Soul power inside his body, which had expanded more than tenfold, and whispered to himself.

If his Sea of Consciousness was just a lake before, now it was truly like an ocean.

After devouring Shen Jixuan's Soul Power, his entire Divine Soul power had jumped straight past the Return to Truth Realm.

Chen Ran stood up and released his Divine Thought.

Mental Energy rippled out from his body like water waves, rapidly probing toward the distance.

One zhang.

Ten zhang.

One hundred zhang.

...

Finally, the Divine Thought slowly stopped at three hundred zhang away from his body.

Within a range of one hundred zhang, everything appeared clearly in his perception.

Just in this path of the Divine Soul, he was already comparable to a Innate Realm Martial Artist.

Chen Ran's face showed joy; just in this path of the Divine Soul, he was already comparable to a Innate Realm Martial Artist.

This was still without using the perception augmented by [Sky Net]; if combined with that effect...