Chapter 843: Soul Summoning
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Chen Fei only glanced briefly and saw hundreds of Myriad Bamboo.
As for the purpose of this high platform, Chen Fei couldn’t discern it. After all, even compared to some formidable Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts, Chen Fei’s mastery of formations might not be on par.
Chen Fei could at most use his Heavenly Eyes to discern the flaws within formations.
Breaking formations, Chen Fei was proficient; creating them, he was quite ordinary.
With hundreds of Myriad Bamboo, along with other spiritual materials, the cost of this high platform was exorbitant.
Only in the Sacred Lands, and even with several Sacred Lands united, could such abundant spiritual materials be freely obtained.
Even for any top-tier power, even the Heavenly Illusion Valley of old, it would bankrupt them to achieve this.
For a moment, Chen Fei had the impulse to shoulder this high platform and run away.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Fei shook his head, then turned and flew towards the direction of Green Cloud Market. He wanted to confirm the current situation of Myriad Bamboo in the market.
In the central hall of the Sacred City, a dozen or so experts at the Sun Moon Realm gathered together.
Su Wenyu’s face was pale, his aura weak.
In the battle against the Black Divine Body, Su Wenyu and the Phantom Flame Leopard hadn’t perished, but they were all severely injured, their origins affected. To recover, even with the a.s.sistance of spiritual treasures, it would take several years.
Su Wenyu and the Phantom Flame Leopard were both at the initial stage of the Fifth-Tier. According to previous estimates by all the Sun Moon Realm experts and Monster Emperors in the Boundless Sea, if they were to find the Black Divine, there was a great chance they could have killed him.
After all, the Black Divine was only at the Fourth-Tier. In his previous battle where he had killed a Sun Moon Realm expert, he must have been severely injured.
Originally, the Black Divine’s realm had been very high, allowing him to fully unleash every bit of his power and even magnify it multiple times.
But the barrier of realm levels was an objective fact.
Su Wenyu and the Phantom Flame Leopard had seen the true body of the Black Divine and confirmed that he had indeed been severely injured, just as they had previously speculated.
However, no one could have imagined that the Black Divine could actually condense the deceased Song Shangke.
Song Shangke had indeed died, his soul completely extinguished, and his physical body still in the Green Egg Sacred Land, with no possibility of being refined into a puppet.
Yet, despite this, Song Shangke had appeared, resurrected by the Black Divine through some incredibly skillful power.
Calling it a resurrection was not quite accurate because Song Shangke could not control himself; all his actions had been completely obedient to the Black Divine.
It was similar to those monsters on the Middle Continent today; the Black Divine had condensed Song Shangke in a strikingly similar manner.
Song Shangke’s power had decreased compared to before, but he had still remained within the realm of the Sun Moon Realm.
And how terrifying was a Sun Moon Realm expert who completely disregarded their own life and safety, possessing all their past wisdom and able to fully unleash their current power?
Moreover, Song Shangke’s resilience was akin to those monsters, completely unlike a human.
Thus, despite Song Shangke’s reduced strength compared to an ordinary Sun Moon Realm expert, his frenzy immediately entangled Su Wenyu and the Phantom Flame Leopard.
Then the Black Divine seized the opportunity nearby.
In the end, Su Wenyu and the Phantom Flame Leopard fled severely injured, unable to hold out until other Sun Moon Realm experts and Monster Emperors arrived.
When powerful beings clashed, it could drag on for a long time, but it could also end very quickly.
Especially when one side fought recklessly, without any regard for themselves, the battle often ended very swiftly.
At that time, Song Shangke had nearly dragged Su Wenyu down with him. After all, monstrous beasts were tough-skinned and thick-fleshed, and Monster Emperors were naturally even more so. If Song Shangke had to choose, he would undoubtedly choose Su Wenyu.
The fact that the Black Divine could reincarnate deceased Sun Moon Realm experts was something Su Wenyu had to bring back to the Sacred City, and Su Wenyu couldn’t afford to let himself die.
The Black Divine had reincarnated a Song Shangke, and combined with the Black Divine himself, they were already equivalent to the power of two fifth- ranked beings. If they were to reincarnate another Sun Moon Realm expert, what would happen then?
Fortunately, recently all fifth-ranked powers had been entering and leaving in pairs. If anyone had been alone, they might have already fallen victim to the Black Divine’s attacks.
Of course, it was also possible that the Black Divine remained indifferent, focusing solely on restoring himself to fifth-rank power.
Once the Black Divine reached the Fifth-Tier, regardless of how many Sun Moon Realm experts and Monster Emperors remained in the Boundless Sea, all would inevitably be slain without exception.
“The resurrection of the deceased! Although we’ve regarded the Black Divine as the greatest threat in the Boundless Sea, we never expected him to possess such abilities!” whispered a Sun Moon Realm expert.
“When the Black Divine transformed those monsters, we should have antic.i.p.ated it,” solemnly remarked Zhan Xuming.
“Those monsters lack wisdom. We’ve studied them after capturing them. At their peak Fourth-Tier, they are already at their limit and cannot break through to the Fifth-Tier,” Su Wenyu sighed bitterly.
The Black Divine creating so many fourth-rank monsters, and even slaying a batch of them, was beyond everyone’s expectations.
To reach the Fourth-Tier, whether human or beast, required an immense amount of time and resources.
Moreover, one’s innate talent had to be exceptionally strong; otherwise, despite having time and resources, it would all be in vain.
Yet, the Black Divine effortlessly condensed so many fourth-rank monsters, and could even continue generating them after each slaughter, which was simply unimaginable.
Fortunately, these monsters lacked wisdom, so even at their peak Fourth-Tier, they had very little spiritual insight.
In such a state, it was absolutely impossible for them to break through to the Fifth-Tier because they couldn’t control it.
Otherwise, if these monsters could reach fifth-rank power, the Sun Moon Realm experts and Monster Emperors of the Middle Continent would have no need to resist anymore. They could simply surrender to the Black Divine and perhaps save their lives.
“The Soul Calling Altar is nearly completed; it should be able to disrupt the Black Divine’s summoning techniques. And it’s fortunate that you discovered Song Shangke’s reincarnation; otherwise, we would have been at a great disadvantage!” Zhan Xuming shook his head.
The Soul Calling Altar, a top-tier fourth-rank formation, naturally functioned to summon lingering souls.
Song Shangke being reincarnated by the Black Divine, and still possessing his past wisdom, indicated that his residual soul had been somehow collected by the Black Divine.
Su Wenyu was certain that Song Shangke’s complete spirit was not enslaved.
If his entire spirit had been enslaved, Song Shangke’s physical body would have exhibited some abnormalities.
Fortunately, when Song Shangke was defeated by the Black Divine, he managed to escape on his own, eventually succ.u.mbing to exhaustion, and was collected by other Sun Moon Realm experts who arrived later.
If the Black Divine had obtained Song Shangke’s physical body, that would have truly turned him into a puppet.
Currently, the Black Divine didn’t have Song Shangke’s physical body, but he held onto a fragment of information about Song Shangke, using it to resurrect him as a deceased.
However, the Black Divine had already released most of Song Shangke’s lingering soul. When Su Wenyu and the other Sun Moon Realm experts returned to the Sacred City, they attempted to locate the Black Divine using Song Shangke’s physical body.
Despite pinpointing the location where the majority of Song Shangke’s lingering soul was held, his physical body showed no reaction.
Therefore, Su Wenyu and the others resorted to a second method—setting up the Soul Calling Altar to forcefully gather the remnants of Song Shangke’s wandering soul throughout the world.
This method could not resurrect Song Shangke; they lacked the Black Divine’s capabilities.
However, by forcibly gathering the remnants of Song Shangke’s soul, the Black Divine was unable to use the method of resurrecting the deceased to enslave him again.
The Soul Calling Altar was only a fourth – rank formation. Su Wenyu and the others used various spiritual treasures and two profound treasures as focal points, forcibly elevating the Soul Calling Altar to the level of a fifth-rank formation.
Only the power of a fifth-rank formation could summon back the remnants of Song Shangke’s soul.
“In those two instances, the true form of the Black Divine showed some suspicious signs. We needed to investigate this matter,” Su Wenyu suddenly said.
Zhan Xuming and several Sun Moon Realm experts exchanged glances and nodded. Indeed, something seemed suspicious.
In the Green Cloud Market, Chen Fei changed his appearance and aura, stepping into a shop.
“Sir, what can I do for you?”
The shopkeeper sensed Chen Fei’s cultivation at the Sea and Mountain Realm and warmly approached.
“I want to refine a spiritual treasure. Do you have any Myriad Bamboo?”
Since this wasn’t his true appearance, Chen Fei directly asked.
“Myriad Bamboo?”
The shopkeeper was taken aback, checked a jade slip in his hand, shook his head, and said, “Sir, unfortunately, the Myriad Bamboo was bought by the Sacred Land a few days ago. We don’t have any left in the store.”
Chen Fei furrowed his brows slightly, his earlier suspicions confirmed.
Hundreds of pieces of Myriad Bamboo were what Chen Fei saw on the surface. He couldn’t tell how many were actually arranged inside the high altar.
Chen Fei was worried that the Sacred Land’s own supply of Myriad Bamboo might not be sufficient, so they would collect them from the market, and it turned out to be true.
“What about that high altar?” Chen Fei muttered softly.
“Sir, have you already seen it? It truly is that high altar,” the shopkeeper nodded with a smile.
Not only the Myriad Bamboo, but the Sacred Land also purchased a great quant.i.ty of spiritual materials and treasures. The prices they offered were quite fair, allowing the shop to make a tidy profit.
“Thankyou for your trouble. I’ll go look elsewhere,” Chen Fei nodded in acknowledgment, then turned and left the shop.
The shopkeeper watched Chen Fei’s departing figure, shaking his head lightly. From what he knew, nearly all the Myriad Bamboo in the Green Cloud Market had either been bought up or were close to it.
The shopkeeper was knowledgeable about formations and vaguely sensed a connection between the high altar and souls.
Typically, Myriad Bamboo was used as auxiliary material for refining high- quality spiritual treasures.
Four thousand high-grade elemental stones were not considered expensive; usually, just one or two pieces were enough for refining a high-quality spiritual treasure.
Occasionally, it might be used in alchemy as a medicinal primer, but the quant.i.ty used was minimal.
However, apart from these uses, Myriad Bamboo could also be employed in formation arrangements.
Many Sea and Mountain Realm experts were unaware that properly used Myriad Bamboo could subtly nourish the soul.
Most formations that heavily utilized Myriad Bamboo were likely related to this function.
The shopkeeper knew all this but didn’t elaborate much with Chen Fei just now.
Matters concerning the Sacred Land were not something a mere shopkeeper dared to comment on. Despite the high altar being plainly displayed in the Sacred City, he didn’t have the audacity to discuss it openly.
Half an hour later, with furrowed brows, Chen Fei left the Green Cloud Market. In mid-air, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.