Xianye

Chapter 469 Soul Rebirth
A chilling wind howled across the fields—

Countless faint roars and laughter came from the wind, and will-o'-the-wisps spread across the mountains and plains, a ghastly green and eerie scene, as if they wanted to burn the peaks and valleys to a bright blaze.

The moment the human-faced, tiger-bodied ghost leaped out of the white water, Chen Heng also felt a strange sensation.

He had complete control over the ghost's every move. With just a thought, the ghost before him would be destroyed, and there was no way to resist it.

Using white water as the foundation of the method, after collecting and refining the primordial spirit, one can then activate a secret incantation to summon the life soul of the primordial spirit's master from the white water and use it for one's own purposes.

This is the mystery of the White Water of Death!

Because demonic cultivators often extract the yin and turbid principles of heaven and earth when they gather and refine qi, and their techniques and supernatural powers follow this principle, they are naturally compatible with yin and turbidity. Therefore, when they cultivate the path to death and white water, they encounter fewer twists and turns and find it easier to get started than ordinary xuanmen cultivators.

Several old demons who once dominated Xudu Heaven and caused bloodshed were well-versed in this method.

With just a flick of his magic power, countless living souls, as numerous as hairs on a cow, burst forth from the white water. Wherever they passed, they surged forth, covering the earth and sky, making it difficult even for the light of the sun and moon to shine down!

If you encounter a weaker opponent, you don't need to exert yourself. Just send away Bai Shui's living soul, and the ants will bite the elephant to death.

However, if one encounters an opponent who is evenly matched or even slightly stronger, one can use the Soul of Life to deplete the opponent's strength or buy time to avoid maximum losses.

Although its ability to directly attack is weaker than that of Yin Shi Hong Shui, from any perspective, this Wang Wang Bai Shui is an extremely useful Daoist technique, worthy of the name You Ming Zi Shui!
However, even so, the living souls in the white water are not inexhaustible.

Once a living soul is damaged, it must be placed in plain water to recuperate and cannot fight again.

If it is damaged too many times, even the primordial spirit within the white water will be completely destroyed, rendering it unusable.

Leaving aside the fact that mastering the White Water technique requires killing countless living beings, the important thing is that the White Water technique has a limit to the number of souls it can contain, and the more souls there are, the greater the pressure on the White Water master's soul.

This heavy pressure was so great that even the Netherworld True Water could hardly dispel it, let alone the Dark Black Water.

Only with an exceptionally firm and concentrated mind, or with the advancement of one's spiritual practice, can this influence be eliminated to some extent.

At this moment, Chen Heng used his mind to send several messages to the ghost, instructing it to sit, lie down, jump, and do whatever it wanted, as if it were his own arm.

Seeing this, he did not linger any longer, but ordered the ghost to clear the way ahead and headed deep into Douhun Mountain.

Douhun Mountain is a well-known ominous place in Huangling Prefecture. In terms of its origins, it can even be traced back to the time when Fachi Shenzhang Tian was in charge.

Later, Chen Yu unified all living beings on land and sea and became the new emperor. The monk Zhihun saw that the geographical layout of Douhun Mountain was unusual, and that there was a kind of Yin energy naturally attached to the depths of the spiritual veins, which could give birth to all kinds of evil spirits and demons. So he also asked the emperor to seal the mountain and use Douhun Mountain as a training ground.

They had only gone a few miles when a sudden gust of wind blew in.

A tall skeleton leaped down from mid-air, holding two long swords it had somehow acquired. The swords were dim and covered in rust.

Chen Heng didn't make a move, but only sent a thought. The ghost with a human head and a tiger body immediately understood, screamed twice, and rushed forward fearlessly.

With a slash and a flash, a chase and a flight, it was clear that the white water ghost was more powerful in life, yet for a time, it fought the skeleton to a standstill, unable to gain the upper hand.

Chen Heng was not surprised to see this. Although Bai Shui could absorb primordial spirits for his own use, what he summoned from Bai Shui was only the living soul, one of the three souls, and its strength was naturally greatly reduced.

And that living soul is also somewhat lacking in intelligence, so of course it cannot master the skills it learned as flexibly as it did in life.

Such a performance was entirely expected.

This fight lasted for the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn.

Finally, the ghost mustered its strength and spewed out a jet of black gas from its throat, piercing a large hole in the skull's neck. It then quickly stepped forward and delivered a final blow, finally separating the skull from its head.

Seeing this, Chen Heng also released a stream of white water to collect the skeleton's spirit.

Not long after, with a splash of water, the skeleton's spirit was also summoned.

With a slight gesture, the two souls continued forward, one after the other.

The journey was filled with constant fighting, like snow rolling down a slope, growing larger and larger.

From the initial one or two souls, to the final number of over a hundred, they have gradually formed a stream flowing into the sea, vast and mighty!

Wherever the many souls passed, trees were broken and eerie winds swept through, frightening even some ghosts into not daring to approach and instead keeping their distance.

As the number of living souls increases, they are constantly driven to fight.

In this process of using war to sustain war, Chen Heng's understanding of the lost White Water also increased considerably, and he seemed to have vaguely grasped another threshold.

Furthermore, the practice of the three waters is interconnected.

After obtaining the White Water of Death, his long-dormant Black Water of Darkness was also slightly stirred, and some previously incomprehensible points seemed to have gained some inspiration...

Over the past seven days, as they ventured deeper into Douhun Mountain, the malevolent spirits and demons Chen Heng encountered grew increasingly formidable.

Some of them can even transform into human form, speak human language, and possess higher intelligence.

On a desolate hill piled with bones, Chen Heng stood with his hands behind his back, watching a skeleton Taoist remain calm and composed amidst the siege of hundreds of living souls, seemingly handling the situation with ease.

Its innate blood lightning strikes are feared by all living beings, who dare not confront it head-on. Instead, it keeps the White Bone Taoist at a distance, slowly wearing down his strength.

"You think you can trap me with such a trick!"

The White Bone Taoist sneered, and two ghostly flames suddenly ignited in his empty eye sockets. A tall, fat, and muscular iron corpse charged at him, but was easily shattered by the White Bone Taoist with a single slap, its rotten flesh flying everywhere.

After killing the Iron Corpse, the White Bone Taoist seemed to be fighting desperately, flicking his fingers to shoot out streaks of blood lightning, and destroying more than a dozen living souls in one go. Surprisingly, he managed to tear open a gap in the air amidst the encirclement of living souls, and it looked like he was about to escape.

However, seeing a glimmer of hope for survival, the White Bone Daoist retreated instead of advancing, hurling a handful of yellow sand towards Chen Heng's location while cackling:

"With such spiritual energy, your flesh and blood must be a great tonic! I'm sure that eating you will further enhance my cultivation!"

Several drum-like sounds rang out, and yellow mist billowed up!
When the White Bone Taoist looked closely, he saw that the handful of yellow sand he had thrown out was blocked by the shimmering jade light on Chen Heng's body, only penetrating three inches before being completely blocked by the jade light and unable to continue.

The White Bone Daoist was both shocked and enraged. In his horror, he unleashed his full power to unleash the Blood Thunder, causing the air within a radius of several miles to be filled with the stench of blood and a foul wind that made people want to vomit.

Chen Heng neither dodged nor evaded. He raised his left hand, and a bolt of purple divine lightning tore through the sky, causing the blood lightning released by the White Bone Daoist to crumble as if it had encountered a natural enemy. Then another bolt of divine lightning followed, tearing apart his lower chest and abdomen in the blink of an eye.

"Oh no! This lightning is incredibly strong!"

The White Bone Taoist was terrified.

It mustered its last strength and transformed its body into a wisp of gray smoke as thin as a needle thread, disappearing into the jumble of rocks and moving like a snake.

It had only flown ten feet when the gray smoke was surrounded by the living souls that had been waiting for it.

After struggling in grief and anger for dozens of rounds, the severely injured White Bone Taoist was finally torn to pieces by the combined forces, with only his primordial spirit being held by a wolf demon and carefully presented to Chen Heng.

After performing the usual ritual, not long after, the soul of the White Bone Taoist also leaped out of the white water and respectfully knelt before Chen Heng.

"How did you gain spiritual insight and wisdom?" Chen Heng asked.

The White Bone Taoist raised his head and replied woodenly, "Reporting to the master, seventy-two years ago, a few cultivators who seemed to be a family entered Douhun Mountain to collect Yin-type medicinal herbs. I first killed the younger one with a single stroke, and then killed the older one."

Only the young one escaped about a mile away. Although I couldn't catch up with him, he had blocked the cloud worm's path and was eaten by it. In the end, I caught up with him and killed him..."

According to the White Bone Taoist, it was after he ate the flesh and blood of the cultivator that he finally began to understand some principles, much like how grains of sand accumulate to form a tower.

Later, he received careful instruction from several seniors and continued to devour the flesh and blood of cultivators.

Not only did it make its own wisdom indistinguishable from that of a living person, but it also unearthed the insidious thunder magic of blood thunder from the depths of this body, making many ghosts and spirits wary of it.

Chen Heng nodded after listening, but didn't say anything.

The flesh and blood of cultivators are imbued with spiritual energy, which is abundant and has always been a favorite of demons and ghosts, as eating them can greatly enhance one's cultivation.

It is true that Douhun Mountain is a place where one can gain benefits from training, but these benefits are not only for cultivators outside the mountain, but also for the evil creatures within.

Whenever a cultivator ventures in, some ghosts and monsters who think they are powerful will cheer with joy, hoping that the more people who come, the better, and the higher their cultivation level, so that they can eat them more happily!

At Chen Heng's instruction, the White Bone Daoist then demonstrated all his skills, including the Blood Thunder technique.

"Although it is not as powerful as it was in life, with this blood lightning by its side, it can still be considered a unique species."

Seeing this, Chen Heng nodded slightly. With a command, a blood cloud rose from beneath the feet of the White Bone Daoist, clearing a path for all the souls to follow, rushing toward the Cloud Insect Cave that the White Bone Daoist had mentioned.

Cloud worms, miasma mother, jackal demon, spider monster, flying head barbarian, corpse spirit, human-faced owl...

Another half month passed, and after some picking and choosing, discarding those whose skills and abilities were nothing special.

At this moment, Chen Heng's white water already contained no fewer than fifty powerful souls, each capable of fighting against a Cave Profound cultivator, and nine of them even able to rival a Golden Core cultivator.

This is still a living soul, and its abilities are far inferior to those it had in life.

It is evident that Chen Heng has already subdued many ferocious monsters within the inner perimeter of Douhun Mountain, with only a few forbidden areas deep within remaining unexplored.

On this day, at a perilous peak where strange rocks rise steeply and vines and trees cast shadows.

Chen Heng, who was on the cloud, reached out and five-colored light rolled over, suddenly gathering into a large hand that smashed half of the dangerous peak. Then, he reached out to the left where there were rolling rocks and the large hand broke through the wind and clouds, suddenly grabbing a blue-faced man who couldn't escape in time!
When the blue-faced man was firmly grasped by the Five Heavenly Officials' Great Handprint, blood gushed from his seven orifices. Fortunately, in the last moments before his bones rotted and tendons broke, he mustered a sudden burst of strength, and a sharp black rainbow shot out from behind his head, smashing the large hand to pieces.

The blue-faced man struggled to move his fingers, as if trying to cast a spell to temporarily avoid the attack.

The next instant, the scattered and swirling five-colored light condensed back into a giant hand, and like swatting a mosquito, it knocked him off the clouds!
"..."

Despite the blue-faced man's skill, he was still struck so hard that his limbs became stiff and he couldn't get up for a long time.

At this moment, the prepared souls of all living beings rushed forward, the White Bone Taoist unleashed blood thunder, the cloud worms charged with all their might, the Miasma Mother spewed out poisonous light, and the Jackal Demon sacrificed the Corpse Umbrella...

Amidst the dense, resounding sounds like a torrential downpour on banana leaves, no matter how skilled the blue-faced man was, he could not break through the encirclement with his severely injured body. After fighting for a long time, he finally revealed a weakness.

First, a bolt of lightning struck the blue-faced man squarely in the chest. Taking advantage of his dazed state, the golden-skinned corpse spirit swung down with an iron spear, breaking his neck and then impaling his head on the spear tip.

A stream of white water swept across the sky, collecting the primordial spirit that was still struggling on the remains of the corpse.

As another powerful soul emerged from the white water, it mastered its power. At this moment, Chen Heng vaguely gained insight, as if all the essence of the white water of the past was merging in his mind, about to coalesce into another form.

He knew that he had reached the right level and was about to break through to another realm.

After instructing all living beings to protect him, he found a large green rock that had not been destroyed in the battle, sat on it, and began to contemplate it.

Two months passed in this way, during which time some unruly and ferocious monsters came forward, but they were quickly dealt with by the living souls, who were unable to disturb the peace.

And finally, on a dark night when a sudden downpour and a torrent of water rushed in.

Chen Heng's eyelids twitched, and a speck of white light slowly floated out from his fontanelle, lifted upward by a wisp of pure energy.

He slowly rose, and the white light flew higher and higher, reaching the highest point in the sky where countless electric snakes danced wildly, becoming blurry and indistinct.

Finally, Chen Heng let out a long, clear whistle, and the dark sky seemed to be suddenly covered by a conspicuous white veil. Waves of white water crashed down like rainbows hanging in the mountains. The ghostly corpses stood between the white water, their mouths wide open, echoing the sound!

In the blink of an eye, gloomy clouds gathered and thunder roared.

The mournful cries of ghosts echoed throughout the heavens and the earth, reverberating across the mountain peaks for a long time!

"Going to Baishui, it has finally achieved a small success."

Chen Heng stood up and sighed.

……

……

The fact that he has now achieved a minor success in Bai Shui not only means that he is one step closer to receiving guidance from Chen Yu, but also that he has accomplished one of the three things.

This also means that he has gained another combat skill, with the help of a living soul, which will allow him to use more methods in the future Dan Yuan Conference.

At this moment, another large plume of crimson smoke shot through the air.

Chen Heng reached out and caught it. With a quick glance, he understood what the other two things Chen Yu wanted him to do were.

"After cultivating a seven-colored tree on Zhangxuan Island, is it necessary to go to the sky above Huan Cliff to collect and refine the Void and Dangerous Divine Sand?"

Chen Heng pondered for a moment, then flicked his sleeve, instantly soaring a hundred feet into the air, riding the wind and clouds to his next destination.

And this time, things went smoothly as well.

Within ten days, he bowed and took his leave with the guardian deities of Zhangxuan Island, leaving behind only a seven-colored tree that he had planted himself.

Although this seven-colored tree is called a precious tree, it is actually just a strange tree with leaves that emit a unique fragrance and roots that can emit seven colors. Although it is beautiful, it does not actually have much value.

The reason Chen Yu gave such an instruction was that successfully cultivating this tree would be a great test of a cultivator's control over their own energy.

If it is even slightly too heavy, the leaves will not emit their unique fragrance; if it is even slightly too light, the roots will not be able to display their seven colors.

Only by properly adding and subtracting nutrients can a seed the size of a lotus seed be successfully cultivated into a true seven-colored tree.

This step sounds easy, but probably more than 90% of the young cultivators in the Void Emperor Heaven would be stumped by it.

And let alone someone like Chen Heng, who accomplished in just ten days what most people would struggle to do in half a year...

Several days later, above Huanya.

After revealing himself, Chen Heng flicked out a wisp of smoke, which was then pulverized within a few feet of his body. He suddenly became somewhat interested.

　Thank you to reader brighton for the Silver Alliance. I've been quite busy lately, and the chapters I've posted so far are mostly from my backlog. There aren't many left, so I'll add more later when I have more free time. Thank you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)