229: Chapter 229 Advancement, Divine Soul

The night was deep, and the moonlight, obstructed by dark clouds, only let through a few specks of starlight.

Chen Ran left the Lin Family estate and walked all the way to his residence.

After the commotion caused by the City Defense Army a few hours ago, the entire street was much emptier, and most of the commoners had long since disappeared.

Only the lingering smell of blood on the ground remained, drifting into his nose with the night breeze.

"Cao Yong."

Chen Ran repeated the eunuch's name in a low voice and slowly walked to a small courtyard.

The Cabinet's decree to push for the Family tax had long since spread throughout the capital.

Although Chen Ran did not know the specific details, he could gather from surrounding sources of information that these aristocratic Families would likely not agree so easily.

Today's incident was ostensibly to use the tragic state of the Wang Family to warn the world, but behind the scenes, it was certainly also meant to strike at the Lin Family.

If this decree continued to be enforced, the flames of war would eventually burn him as well.

By then, both his Cultivation and his life would be affected.

"Should I kill that Cao Yong?"

This thought popped into Chen Ran's mind, but he then shook his head.

"That Cao Yong is not weak; he has already entered the Innate Realm. Acting rashly would likely trigger a thorough investigation by the Cabinet."

A second-rank Martial Artist in the Innate Realm was extremely rare in the entire capital.

Although his status could not compare to a Grandmaster, he was still at the pinnacle, above ten thousand people.

Even with his current methods, Chen Ran could not guarantee that he could kill the opponent within a few breaths.

A Martial Artist who could Cultivate to this Realm was not some ordinary character; he had many Cultivation Techniques and likely possessed quite a few life-saving measures.

To kill him instantly in a short time, one would need to have overwhelming Cultivation.

"In the end, my strength is still not enough. If I had the level of a Grandmaster, I wouldn't need to ponder these trifles."

Chen Ran sighed softly, his gaze focused in mid-air.

A light screen appeared in his line of sight; it was now past the hour of the Rat.

The [heavenly book of prison suppression] had new activity.

[You have been stationed at the Heavenly Prison for one day; reward: one year of internal energy.]

The ancient book in his Sea of Consciousness erupted with a golden light, which finally flowed slowly into his body.

A stream of heat rose from within his body out of thin air, flowing through his limbs and bones, and finally gathered in the center of his Dantian.

In the past few days, he had secretly killed many prisoners and also slain a Yao Beast.

With the accumulation of internal energy, he could perform another point allocation.

Chen Ran moved his mind and summoned the heavenly book of prison suppression.

[Name: Chen Ran]

[Accumulated internal energy: 330 years]

[Available internal energy: 30 years]

[Cultivation Technique: Nether Soul Heart Sutra (Minor Achievement) ↑ Lingxiao Sword Art (Not yet started) ↑ ...]

The only two Cultivation Techniques he could bring out now were the unique skill the Lin Family had originally given him, and the Nether Soul Heart Sutra he had taken from Shen Jixuan after killing him.

The two had different focuses; the former focused on offensive arts, while the latter focused on the Divine Soul.

Chen Ran thought for a moment and decided to add points to the Nether Soul Heart Sutra.

He was not currently lacking in offensive Cultivation Techniques; on the contrary, the special effects possessed by the Nether Soul Heart Sutra were extremely important in battle.

"heavenly book of prison suppression, add points for me."

Accompanied by Chen Ran's whisper, the internal energy on the heavenly book changed, turning into streams of light that flowed into the panel.

[Available internal energy: 30 years → 0 years]

[You have devoted yourself to Cultivation for thirty years and finally gained enlightenment, breaking through the Nether Soul Heart Sutra to the Major Achievement Realm.]

[Your Soul Power has been greatly enhanced.]

Lines of information surged across the panel like a sea of screens, and Chen Ran suddenly felt a pain in his Sea of Consciousness, followed by the appearance of many memories.

In the memories, he was in a dim nether prison, surrounded by flickering nether flames. Every time he swallowed a wisp of nether flame, his Divine Soul would slowly grow by a fraction.

He did not know how long it had been before he finished digesting those memories, and the throbbing pain in his brain gradually disappeared.

"Cultivating alone for thirty years—if not for the protection of the memories, I fear I would have gone mad before reaching Major Achievement."

A moment later, Chen Ran's eyes regained their clarity, and his agitated Divine Soul returned to calm.

During those days of Cultivation, he was all alone. Fortunately, after the refinement by the heavenly book of prison suppression, the Cultivation memories were like watching a movie in his mind.

Although it was long and boring, after the movie ended, there was only a slight sense of discomfort.

Otherwise, after Cultivating alone for thirty years, his Heart-Nature would have undergone a huge change, and he might not even know how to speak upon coming out.

Chen Ran covered his eyes with one hand, and a faint purple flame appeared before him.

Chen Ran felt the consumption level of his Divine Soul and made a secret estimation.

After the Nether Soul Heart Sutra reached Major Achievement, the consumption of using the Nether Eye was also much less.

Previously, he could only sustain it for a few quarters of an hour, but now, when fully unleashed, he could actually sustain it for half an hour.

Moreover, a new effect had been awakened.

Chen Ran controlled the Nether Eye and looked toward the distance.

Under the cover of night, a large swarm of mosquitoes gathered beside a candle lamp. These insects were attracted by the light and were firmly trapped beside it.

They did not notice at all that a young man was looking over from not far away.

The faint purple flame condensed in mid-air, and finally, a translucent blade shot out from between his eyebrows.

The next moment.

Those mosquitoes in front of the candle lamp fell from mid-air in groups, landing on the ground with no signs of life.

"The ability awakened after reaching Major Achievement is actually a Divine Soul offensive art."

Chen Ran looked at the large pile of insect corpses and sighed softly.

It was worthy of being a secret technique that required nearly a hundred years of internal energy to advance. This ability alone was already something that ordinary martial arts could not compare to.

This method of killing from a distance was already close to the arts of immortals.

Chen Ran experimented a few more times and discovered that the range of this Divine Soul offensive art was about ten meters in radius, and the casting interval was about the time of one incense stick.

"The secret technique awakened in the second layer of the Nether Soul Heart Sutra is called [Nirvana Slash]; it truly lives up to its name."

The Divine Soul offensive secret technique was invisible when unleashed, and the casting was silent. As long as it was hidden well, even if investigated, the cause of death could not be found.

"However, it consumes a bit too much Divine Soul power. With my current Soul Power, I can only cast it three times at full power."

Chen Ran frowned slightly; this [Nirvana Slash] consumed several times more Soul Power than the Nether Eye.

But fortunately, he had the heavenly book of prison suppression to replenish the consumption, so this Soul Power was not too precious.

Chen Ran finally had time to feel the changes in his Divine Soul.

After the Nether Soul Heart Sutra broke through, the strength of his Divine Soul surged.

A thin membrane could already be seen on the Bridge of Heaven and Earth.

In terms of numerical changes, it had gone straight from the Early Stage of the Innate Realm to the Middle Stage of the Innate Realm.

Driven by the Divine Soul, his Cultivation had also entered the Peak of the Return to Truth Realm.

He was only a short distance away from completely converting the True Qi within his body into True Essence.

It would not be long before he could completely convert the True Qi into True Essence.

Chen Ran retracted his aura and waved his hand lightly, and a gust of wind crushed the insect corpses into powder.

He then returned to the room, sat cross-legged, and stabilized his newly increased Divine Soul and Realm.

It was not until the next morning that the faint aura in the room dissipated completely.