Chapter 370: Chapter 345 Entering Nine Layer Heaven_1
"That’s it?"
Lu Yan seemed taken aback, having managed to block the attack thrust upon him by the enemy’s jade talisman.
With a surge of thought, his soul flew back into his conscious sea, and the phantom image of the imposing tree disappeared without a trace.
"My soul, it could spurt out an attack of this magnitude, easily eradicating an Immortal’s soul that was comparable to mine in strength... such aggression..."
Lu Yan was elated.
He speculated that the phantom image of the grand tree was a Soul Phantom.
Now, Lu Yan’s soul strength was comparable to a Primordial Spirit of the Fourth Turn.
However, the purple Da Peng which could be seen as an abnormally savage Immortal Clan, had a soul strength equal to his but incapable of withstanding a single blow from the phantom tree.
"This is my real trump card though."
Lu Yan pondered, considering that he should thoroughly study the soul later, perhaps develop other mysterious powers.
For example, an Internal God-man’s Organ Miracle could cultivate various mysticisms, and even infer from large-scale martial arts.
Stimulating the Dao Book to devour the bodies of the two purple Da Pengs, eliminating all traces of battle, Lu Yan gracefully took off and returned to Lingdong City.
Energy emerged from the Dao Book soon enough, which Lu Yan continued to use to enhance "Demon Hunting".
During this time, he was persistently recalling the previous battle, evaluating his gains and losses.
"Four Immortals, each with fighting prowess far surpassing regular Martial Cultivators. The Immortal Clan, undoubtedly endowed with surprising talents; only the best of the Human Martial Artists can be seen as a match for them."
Lu Yan analyzed consistently.
"A Primordial Spirit of the Fifth Turn might have the power to match Chu Long. I must be cautious if encountering an Immortal in future."
"Speaking of which, after this hefty loss, should the Immortals be taking retaliatory measures against me?"
"And wasn’t it said that Immortals could not leave the Fairy Ruins? How can they now leave without a hitch?"
Many questions surfacing in Lu Yan’s mind, his pressure piling.
Should he report this to the Mansion of King Ming?
In the end, Lu Yan declined. Once he reports, his cultivation level would be fully exposed.
He had progressed too swiftly, fearing the desires of King Ming. As of now, he was incapable of escaping from King Ming’s clutches.
Only when capable of escaping from King Ming should he unveil himself.
Despite King Ming’s impeccable reputation in Da Chu, it’s always wise to err on the side of caution.
"I should go ask Zuo Yun whether he can set up some Formation on the passages of the Moling Mountain Range, the kind that alerts."
Upon thinking of this, Lu Yan immediately sought Zuo Yun.
"To lay a few formations is simple; just leave it to me. If a Primordial Spirit Realm existence crosses, the Formation would alert me."
Zuo Yun nodded.
"Thank you, Brother Zuo."
Lu Yan was relieved.
As long as there’s a warning mechanism, if another Immortal comes, he can prepare in advance, relocate his family, and avoid revealing his location.
"General, no need to be so polite, I’ll start working on the arrangements immediately."
Zuo Yun soared into the sky, disappearing into the horizon.
"Did Zuo Yun fail to notice that I broke into the Primordial Spirit?"
A thought popped into Lu Yan’s mind.
He had intentionally concealed his soul essence before, and Zuo Yun seemed to not discern it at all.
"Must be the grand tree in my soul."
Lu Yan discovered the reason soon enough.
When he concealed his soul essence, the Soul Power hid within the grand tree. The tree, similar to a withered log, didn’t carry an ounce of breath.
No wonder Zuo Yun failed to perceive it.
"Zuo Yun is just a first turn Divine Spirit, uncertain if a stronger cultivator can be deceived, like Chu Long, or even King Ming..."
Lu Yan contemplated.
The Gathering Spirit Technique he cultivated could only conceal the True Body’s cultivation level and wasn’t able to hide Soul fluctuations.
Thus, his breakthrough into the Primordial Spirit would definitely be seen through once he meets Chu Long face-to-face.
But now, perhaps not.
If he can conceal it, it would be best.
In the Dao Book, energy emerged consistently. Soon after, Demon Hunting broke through again, stepping on the 8th layer.
The enhancement continued.
After two days, the Dao Book had thoroughly refined a handful of Immortals, Demon Hunting was raised to around 50% of the ninth layer.
Upon reaching the ninth layer, enhancement became dramatically more difficult, requiring a truly staggering amount of energy, far surpassing prior layers.
"The ninth layer, indeed a watershed. If it was True Dragon Nine Strikes or True Dragon War Body, they would have reached the highest level, and the 50% of the ninth layer requires energy summing up to, or surpassing the total of the preceding layers..."
Lu Yan made judgments inwardly.
It was so difficult to reach the ninth layer, and then the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, presumably even more so.
To promote Demon Hunting or Yanluo Golden Body to their highest levels, it would take enormous resources.
But Lu Yan also looked forward to it, as this kind of martial art, once cultivated to the highest level, grants the impressive rewards of heaven and earth.
The difficulty of cultivation is proportional to the attained harvest.
"Now, my cultivation level is still low, wait until it peaks and see if I can get a tour of the Fairy Ruins, and ’get close’ with those Immortals."
Defining it to himself, Lu Yan subsequently took out a Soul Crystal to commence refining energy.
A few days later, Zuo Yun returned and established that the formation was well-set.
....
The Purple Wing Immortal Ruins.
A furious roar tore through the sky, beneath, countless Immortal Servants quivered in fear, not daring even to breathe.
"Peng Hu, Peng Yue is dead. He died in Lingdong, Xuan Zhou."
The voice of the Immortal Master Purple Wing echoed within the Fairy Ruins, filled with powerful killing intent.
"Immortal Lord, aside from Peng Hu and Peng Yue, two experts from Nanmang Immortal Ruin also participated in this operation. Yet, Lu Yan just recently broke into the Primordial Spirit Realm, how could he kill four high-ranking members of our Immortal Clan?"
A giant purple Da Peng spoke from the side.
"Among the humans, apart from a few monsters of extraordinary talent, the others would be no match for our Immortal Clan. Peng Hu has reached the fourth stage of the Primordial Spirit Realm, capable of battling human cultivators of the fifth stage. If he died there, it must be because he encountered a top expert from the Mansion of King Ming."
Another large Purple Da Peng speculated.
"Immortal Lord, once I break the chains of heaven and earth, I’ll go to Lingdong and kill that little kid."
A third purple Da Peng spoke.
The Immortal Master Purple Wing revealed a thoughtful expression, spoke after a pause, "Peng Hu and the others are already dead, the Mansion of King Ming will undoubtedly be highly vigilant. Moreover, to get to Lingdong, one must pass through the pass of the Moling Mountain Range. If Chu Tianming or Chu Tianjiao personally guard the passage, it will serve as a death trap to any who attempt to traverse."
"Let’s spare Lu Yan for the time being and let him live a little longer. Once I break free, I will personally claim his life."
When the Immortal Lord spoke, the other purple Da Peng did not dare to disagree.
Simultaneously, in Nanjiang, the Immortal Lord of the Nanmang Immortal Ruin made a similar decision.
The stronger the power of the Immortals, the greater the suppression they received. The chains of heaven and earth were more solid.
They initially obtained the treasured artifact of the Immortal Clan, which can be used to weaken, even sever, the chains of heaven and earth. But the stronger their cultivation level, the more challenging it is to escape. It takes time.
Once they truly break free, be it Lu Yan or the Mansion of King Ming, could be killed with a simple wave of their hand.
.....
Days passed by.
Soon, almost all the Soul Crystals in Lu Yan’s possession were refined by him, leaving only a small amount to be used in arranging formations.
But his cultivation level did not breakthrough to the second stage of the Primordial Spirit Realm.
Interestingly, there were not many Soul Crystals in the treasure trove of the Dagu Dynasty.
It is easy to understand why. During that time, the Dagu Dynasty was in ruins, facing its end. Suich items as Soul Crystals must have been used for refining and to boost the strength of the Primordial Spirit Realm experts. The fact that not many Soul Crystals remained was expected.
The treasury they left behind was more geared towards preparing armed forces, not cultivating top-level fighters.
Hence, most of the resources in the treasury were for Martial Marquis, Grandmasters and those in the True Body Realm. There were not many resources suitable for the Primordial Spirit Realm.
"Without the Soul Crystals, if I want to strengthen the soul, I can only let the soul fly high above the nine heavens to borrow the power of nature for refining, drawing from the essence of heaven and earth to power up the soul."
Lu Yan thought to himself.
Other first-stage Primordial Spirits couldn’t harness the power of nature for refining, they could only obediently collect Soul Crystals, gradually enhancing their power.
But he was different.
With a single thought, Lu Yan’s soul slipped out of his body, flying towards the vast sky above.
Legend has it, deep within the sky’s vault, there exist nine layers of heaven.
Each layer contained wild and infinite energy, forming various fearsome Gang Winds, seas of flames, thunderous lakes, netherworld, frozen oceans, etc. All of them were terrifying natural forces that humans simply could not withstand.
Moreover, each layer was more terrifying than the one before.
The spirits or Primordial Spirits in the Primordial Spirit Realm could enter therein, utilizing the natural forces to refine themselves and absorb the essence.
It is said that when the concentration of natural forces inside rose to an extreme, it could even produce some top-notch treasures.
For instance, the Gold of Rule, some were born within the Nine Layer Heaven.
Lu Yan’s soul kept flying upwards, and when its altitude exceeded ten thousand meters, he suddenly felt he had passed through a barrier, entering a new world.
Looking around, he saw rampant energy forming various terrifying phenomena everywhere.
Far away, a river of fire swept through thousands of miles, scorching hot.
Nearby, there was an area of dark clouds spanning thousands of miles. Inside the clouds, the thunder rolled, and thick bolts of lightning snaked around like pythons.
Facing such dreadful natural forces of heaven and earth, Lu Yan felt incredibly small. An overwhelmingly oppressive atmosphere emerged in his heart.
"Let’s give it a try."
Lu Yan exhaled deeply and flew towards the dark clouds filled with lightning.
Zap!
As Lu Yan approached the dark clouds, a robust bolt of lightning struck towards him.
"It’s just the First-layer Heaven, I can surely withstand it."
Lu Yan’s gaze was resolute. He didn’t evade and allowed the lightning to strike him.
Instantly, his soul was enveloped in an intense lightning power, causing prickling pain all over his body.
The power of lightning transformed into numerous incredibly fine threads, burrowing deep into his soul, threatening to obliterate his soul.
Lu Yan sucked in a deep breath, enduring the intense pain, and persisted stubbornly.
After a while, the lightning dissipated, and the pain faded, replaced by waves of a refreshing sensation.
"There is indeed an improvement."
Lu Yan felt it carefully, after the lightning dissipated, a trace of the lightning essence had remained in his soul, absorbed and transformed into soul power.
Although the amount was minimal, there was indeed an improvement.
"Let’s try again."
Lu Yan continued his approach to the dark clouds and was struck by another bolt of lightning. After a moment, his soul power improved slightly again.
"This kind of lightning is mediocre, I can fully withstand it. I think I should try entering the dark clouds."
Lu Yan thought to himself.
After being struck several times, Lu Yan had grown accustomed to it. With a flash of his figure, he dashed into the dark clouds.
Rumble! Hiss...
Suddenly, more than ten bolts of lightning struck Lu Yan’s soul simultaneously.
His soul shuddered, black smoke rose, but Lu Yan managed to withstand it in the end, and his soul power enhanced significantly.
