Chapter 82: Patriarch v. Soul Cultivation
Yao Shen had not been idling away his time as the frenzied Demon chipped away at his Human Qi Construct. In truth, from the moment Gavril had unleashed his Inherited Domain The Codex, Yao Shen had already noticed a response from the Soul Emperor level Bell Artifact that had been slumbering in his Soul Lake.
Yao Shen had always known that the Bell Artifact had been concealing a second ability from him. A Soul Emperors Divine Sense brand was fundamentally different from a Nascent Souls Brand, the former belonging to a cultivator that attained a corporeal soul that possessed the ability to directly interact with the physical world. So the moment he had branded the Bell Artifact, it had effectively become an extension of his Souls physical mold; allowing him to store the artifact within his Soul Lake.
Initially, Yao Shen had not known how to place the hunger he had felt from the Bell Artifact, focusing almost all of his concentration on testing Gavrils Domain. However, it had not taken long for his Divine Sense Brands weakness to come to the forefront. While a Nascent Soul Cultivator only marked his blade with Divine Sense to prevent other cultivators from using his weapon, a Soul Emperors much more intimate bond with the artifact meant that the Bells vociferous cravings had begun to leak into his own thoughts.
A battle between two Soul Emperors was no place for distractions. A cultivator as seasoned as Yao Shen naturally understood such a basic concept, yet he wasnt willing to sever the connection between himself and the artifact that he believed to be intended for the purpose of soul cultivation.
For what had intrigued him was the target of the hunger.
The Bell Artifact desired the very souls Gavril had so callously been controlling, souls that did not fit the hastily constructed blood vessels that they had been forcibly housed in.
Incongruent Souls.
Yao Shen realized that he could now tell which souls were instinctively rejecting the bodies they were inhabiting, only needing a single glance. The Bell Artifact could allow him to siphon those souls and his newly acquired instincts told him that it would be even easier to capture souls after he destroyed the physical body entirely.
However, it could only do so after Yao Shen supplied it a hefty amount of his own Qi, coupled with his Divine Sense, which it required to sense its targets.
The Bell Artifact was his ace in the hole, a direct counter to the Inherited Domain The Codex; albeit one that Yao Shen was not willing to use until the opportune moment.
Disabling Gavrils domain should have given him a direct path to victory, but his Human Dao Domain was geared for endurance, not offense. Yao Shen had been a Soul Emperor for less than a year, while his opponent was a Demon who had dabbled in forbidden Daos to obtain abilities that were far outside the norm of ordinary.
It was not hard to deduce that there was a very real possibility that Yao Shen would lose in a straightforward battle with Gavril, even after stripping his Domain away.
Which was why Yao Shen had to fight back with every fiber of his being, if he wanted to sell his enemy on his desperation. Imbuing the emotion of rage into his sword and then using it as a medium to transfer said rage to the incongruent souls had been far more likely to do nothing over eliciting such a strong emotional resonance with them.
In Gavrils eyes though, it was likely that he saw Yao Shens response as one of the attack vectors Human Dao had access to. The Demon could claim his actions to be based on a whim all he wanted, but Yao Shen had already narrowed down his objective to two purposes. Primarily, Gavril had likely been tasked by the Demonic Path to understand the abilities of his Esoteric Dao and see first hand what he was capable of.
The secondary objective though, was what Yao Shen intended to exploit. If Gavril was determined to kill him, then he would not have chosen to engage in combat so ostentatiously. Regardless of the justifications the Demonic Path had no doubt already prepared for his actions, killing another Soul Emperor in a foreign land was a gross violation of the pact.
A mere Soul Emperor could not be worth that price. No, what Gavril wished to accomplish was something similar in effect, but far subtler. After releasing the seal on his true form, Gavril was indeed emotionally unstable, but he had also gone out of his way to make a display of his overwhelming strength.
He wished to trounce Yao Shen so thoroughly in combat that it would result in the creation of a Heart Demon, the silhouette of Gavrils indefatigable form following him each time he tried to cultivate or engage in combat.
Yao Shen allowed the Demon to engage in his theatrics, even provoking Gavril in his emotionally unstable form while his true body funneled Qi and Divine Sense into the Bell Artifact.
Gavril had intended to use Yao Shens inexperience as a Soul Emperor to crush his spirit, while Yao Shen had chosen to exploit the set of assumptions the Demon was operating under.
It was all done in preparation for the moment his domain crumbled.
Gavril had a frenzied expression on his visage as he shot forwards towards Yao Shen as his Soul Blade, an extension of his own soul, transmitted a desire to bite into the enemys body and bathe its cold metal in a flush of blood.
Only an arm, A stern voice that cut through the chaos of a dozen others, one that was tinged with power that far exceeded the others, warned him.
Yes, that was right. Unfortunately, he couldnt kill the enemy before him but he supposed that an arm would suffice for now.
Gavril swung his blade in a wide arc.
Or atleast, he tried to.
The enemy stood before him, dressed in simple white robes. Most of his Qi was depleted, his only blade shattered in half before his own.
Yet, despite repeatedly directing his body to move, it failed to budge even a single muscle.
It was then that he noticed the small, unassuming bell in Yao Shens hands.
Gavrils divine sense immediately shot outwards, a bit of panic setting in as he rushed to assess the situation.
It only took him a few moments to detect the ghastly halo of a massive bell that was overshadowing the entirety of his Domain.
You know, I was curious, Yao Shen spoke through gritted teeth, clearly enduring an immense amount of strain just to talk. Not once have I regarded the heavens as fair. But if there is a silver lining, then I would say that at the very least, the heavens are not duplicitous. Or so I thought, He broke out into a cough, while Gavril continued to remain locked in place.
Your Domain is an affront to every cultivator that has stepped onto the path of ascension. Their every sweat, every tear and every sacrifice has more meaning than your life will ever amount to. But then, there is you, Demon. You scorn the way of the heavens and plunder at will. You take the accumulated experience of others and add it to your own soul without any consequences, making a mockery of years, decades and even centuries of efforts! Yao Shen bellowed, the rage in his tone audible through the crushing exhaustion weighing down on him.
Then, he began to laugh. It was a slow, melancholic laugh as Yao Shen shook his head.
Except it is just, in its own twisted way. You are no Soul Cultivator. Your Codex? A pathetic amalgamation of souls that you have inflicted unspeakable horrors upon to fit your warped purposes. But your current state reflects your own shortcomings. Instead of refining and strengthening your own soul, you tried to forcibly graft fragments of others onto your own.
Yao Shen looked into the Demons eyes, seeing nothing but murderous rage within those malevolent pupils.
Let me show you, then. What true soul cultivation looks like, Yao Shens expression paled, his entire body shuddering as he violently moved his right hand.
The inconspicuous bell in his hands rang, its movements mirrored by the vast bell halo above.
Dozens of silver threads that had wrapped around various souls incorporated in the Inherited Domain- The Codex. Seventeen of those threads were tightly wound around Gavril himself, revealing the true extent of his depravity.
Stop, Gavril barely managed to croak out. Youdont knowwhat thats a relic.
But Yao Shen had no intention to listen to the Demons ramblings. He had an understanding of the Artifacts true function and in truth, it was not intended for combat at all. The key to soul cultivation was refining the soul, but the artifact was not all-powerful. Its base form would suffice for Yao Shen, who had never dabbled in Soul Cultivation before, but there would eventually be a limit.
To overcome that limit, the artifacts current function existed. To capture the souls of defeated enemies and use their pressure to refine your own soul- to use Souls as a consumable fuel, in effect.
If Gavril had not tainted his own Soul to such a degree, the Bell Artifact wasnt capable of touching a single hair on his head.
Similarly, if Gavril hadnt unleashed the seal on his Soul, Yao Shen would only have been capable of seizing the souls trapped in the Codex.
Devour, Yao Shen issued the final command, yanking the bell in his hand towards himself.
The silver threads pulled in unison. Dozens of Core Formation Souls, the Soul Emperor Spiritual Beast soul and all the souls embedded Gavrils soul were dragged out and sucked into the Bell Artifact in one quick motion,
An anguished wail pierced the air as Gavril screamed at the top of his lungs, lasting a few long moments before his self-preservation instinct kicked in. He burst into a mist of blood, rapidly fleeing in the direction of the forest.
Yao Shen tried to aim the bell artifact in his direction and release a concentrated blast of divine sense powered by the soul of the Serpentine Spiritual Beast, only to realize that he barely held enough strength to hold the artifact aloft, let alone wield it as a weapon.
I will make you pay for this, A wisp of lingering blood qi transmitted the message in Gavrils tone before winking out, as the Demon fled into the depths of the Nayun Forest.
Hes not heading for the Azlak Plains, Yao Shen thought to himself as his Divine Sense tracked the trailing blood mist to the limits of his range. An attack is unlikely considering that I have enough power accumulated in the Bell Artifact to wink an Early-Stage Soul Emperor out of existence.
Only after ruling out any further threats did Yao Shen allow himself to collapse onto his back, before panting heavily.
Never thought I would say this , he began, his words uttered between gasps. But just this once, I suppose I can make an exception.
Thank the heavens.
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