Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi exchanged a glance.
“What else is at the bottom of that Soul-devouring Lake?” Nie Tian asked.
You Qimiao pondered for a brief moment, then said, “I’ll help you get the soul crystals you need!”
“Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir! He’s after our Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir!” One of the Netherspirits that was bogged down in the mire of murky energies bellowed in the human language. “Among the three existing worlds, the Mortal World, the Spirit World, and the Void World, ours, the Void World, is the only one that has Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir!”
Nie Tian was dumbfounded. “The Mortal World, the Spirit World, and the Void World...”
Luo Wanxiang’s expression flickered. “Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir!”
Eyes wide, he stared at You Qimiao from the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect and asked, “How do you know about the Netherspirits’ Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir?”
HOWL! HOWL!
The evil G.o.d of bloodl.u.s.t, the last remaining evil G.o.d that hadn’t been captured and sealed inside the Spirit Pearl, was skinny, with sharp blade-like bones sticking out of its odd-looking body. At this moment, it was absorbing refined Nether Qi from its surroundings like a sponge absorbing water.
Surprisingly, the more Nether Qi it absorbed, the more shriveled it became.
However, its aura soared. Even the mire of murky energies You Qimiao had gathered from another Realm Sea started to have difficulty confining it.
“You, girl from the Void Spirit Society! Take Nie Tian to that lake now!” You Qimiao said urgently.
“Okay!” Pei Qiqi spun the s.p.a.ce Boundaries Crystal once again, using one of its many facets as a void pa.s.sage. Then, she grabbed Nie Tian and shot into the crystal like two streaks of light.
Luo Wanxiang fixed You Qimiao with a death glare as his shattered All Manifestations Star Banner came back together. “Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir! I can’t believe you’re after Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir!
“Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir only exists in the Void World, and only Netherspirits have it. Even the Phantasms of the Spirit World can’t produce Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir with their Soul-devouring Lakes.”
“Luo Wanxiang!” A Netherspirit let out a fierce cry. “If you can kill this man right now, we’ll grant you three drops of our Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir, so after you derive profound enlightenment from the Nether River, you’ll be able to break through into the late G.o.d domain with its help!”
“Really?” Luo Wanxiang asked with blazing desires in his eyes.
“Really!”
“Alright then!”
Even though Luo Wanxiang’s dharma idol was bogged down in the murky energies, a wisp of his true soul managed to display a profound soul magic recorded in the fragmentary star marks with the help of his All Manifestations Star Banner.
“Sea of Illusory Stars!”
Ninety-nine dazzling Star Eyes were created and aligned in a profound formation. Each and every one of them was vested with his soul power and the wonders of his star souls.
In the next moment, the sea of dazzling stars manifested in You Qimiao’s view.
Wisps of You Qimiao’s soul will, which he had dispersed over this area, were affected by the strange power of the magical sea and had their connection with his true soul cut off, as if he were lost in the Sea of Illusory Stars.
The murky energies he had channeled from another Realm Sea were originally concentrated, but they now started to scatter and spread into their surroundings.
This meant that the mire of murky energies was becoming thinner and less binding.
The evil G.o.d of bloodl.u.s.t, the few Netherspirits, and Luo Wanxiang all started to gradually regain their mobility, and the ability to cast soul magics.
More importantly, the numerous evil spirits and vicious souls controlled by the Netherspirits gradually regained the ability to fly around.
Swarms of them morphed into curious symbols that were very similar to the Phantasms’ language and looked like squirming earthworms.
They were the Netherspirits’ unique soul symbols, which carried the profound truths of souls, and could be used to cast a wide array of profound soul magics.
“Soul Ignition!”
In the blink of an eye, the soul symbols flew past the mire of murky energies to form a soul spell in the air over You Qimiao’s head.
BOOM!
Like strange fiery sparks, the numerous soul symbols that emanated mysterious dim light vanished.
In the next moment, fiery light started to appear in every part of You Qimiao’s dharma idol.
The wisps of soul will he had used to construct his dharma idol were ignited by the Netherspirit soul spell, and were being burned away at an alarming rate.
“Nie Tian!” he bellowed.
Meanwhile...
Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi came out of a spatial rift that manifested over the Soul-devouring Lake, where they looked down at the dark, unfathomable lake.
You Qimiao’s Immortal grade divine tool seemed to have morphed into a giant yin-yang fish that was swimming swiftly in the depths of the Soul-devouring Lake.
Both Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi could only see the vague shape of the huge fish that had transformed from the Yin Yang Chaos Mirror.
As for the soul crystals and the Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir the Netherspirits had referred to, they could see none.
Also, as they sent soul awareness into the Soul-devouring Lake, they rapidly lost connection with them, as if they were stones that were tossed into the ocean.
Nie Tian turned to Pei Qiqi and asked, “Have you heard about Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir? From what those Netherspirits and Luo Wanxiang said, it seems to be even more precious than soul crystals. And it seems to be the real reason why You Qimiao came here. Whatever soul crystals he gets from here may be only add-ons.”
Pei Qiqi shook her head. “My master has never told me anything about the Void World, much less the Netherspirits. I only just learned that our world is called the Mortal World. The world where Ancientspirits and outsiders live is called the Spirit World. And this world is called the Void World. The Void World... and the Void Palace Sect...”
She couldn’t help but think of the former most powerful sect in the Realm of Split Void.
Her parents were members of the Void Palace Sect. One of them was even a Voidspirit. They seemed to have moved to another heaven and earth they had discovered through a spatial rift in the Void Illusion Mountain Range.
WHOOs.h.!.+
The giant fish transformed from the Yin Yang Chaos Mirror suddenly charged out of the surface of the unfathomable lake, which didn’t show the slightest ripples.
The giant fish that seemed to be the combination of two completely different auras opened its mouth and blew towards Nie Tian.
Then, pitch-black crystals that looked like black diamonds flew towards Nie Tian in a stream of strange water from the Soul-devouring Lake.
“Soul crystals! Close to a hundred of them!” Nie Tian was so thrilled that he forgot all about the Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir. He blurred into action and entered the stream of water in a flash. As he made grabbing motions, strings made of pure spiritual power flew out to pull the soul crystals into his palms.
“Please hurry,” The huge fish said in the human language. “My master is now in a difficult situation. That vice sectmaster of your sect has gone all-out against him for three drops of Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir that the Netherspirits have promised him.”
SPLAs.h.!.+
With these words, the yin-yang fish transformed from the Yin Yang Chaos Mirror jumped back into the Soul-devouring Lake.
Pei Qiqi didn’t even get to ask about the Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir as she had planned.
She turned to Nie Tian and said, “This yin-yang fish must be the true form of that Immortal grade divine tool’s soul. No wonder it’s considered the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect’s signature treasure. Its soul can not only take the form of a yin-yang fish, but it can also speak in the human language.”
Nie Tian nodded and said, “I’ll refine the soul crystals first. Give me some time and don’t take me back to You Qimiao just yet. It’s safer here.
“Here. These are for you.”
With these words, he casually tossed a third of the soul crystals to Pei Qiqi. “You must have consumed a significant amount of soul power as well after shuttling through s.p.a.ce with the help of your spatial treasure.”
“Okay,” Pei Qiqi said without any pleasantries. She received the soul crystals and started refining them right away as he did.
Before, when the five evil G.o.ds had been obedient, Nie Tian had been able to extract and refine soul power into himself with the help of the Spirit Pearl.
However, things were different now.
The Spirit Pearl’s soul had to guard the four evil G.o.ds that had been captured and pulled into the misty cyan world inside the pearl by four Illusory Ancient Talismans, which was a very consuming task.
Plus, it had consumed a tremendous amount of power to pull the evil G.o.ds into the pearl in the first place.
For that reason, Nie Tian had had no choice but to ask You Qimiao for soul crystals in advance, so he could condense another Illusory Ancient Talisman and confine the last remaining evil G.o.d within the Spirit Pearl.
FIZZ! FIZZ!
A soul crystal burned in Nie Tian’s palm like a cl.u.s.ter of black flames.
With an incredibly high speed, he absorbed wisps of pure soul power and refined them into his sea of awareness, allowing his blurry and illusory true soul to become clear-cut and real again.
One soul crystal after another was drained of their power.
Cl.u.s.ter after cl.u.s.ter of black flames burned out, without even leaving any ashes.
After consuming twenty soul crystals, Nie Tian’s eyes finally became brilliant and full of life again.
“I’m finished...” As soon as he spoke, he discovered that Pei Qiqi had only finished draining three of the soul crystals he had given her.
Apparently, the speed at which she refined soul crystals was far slower.
Pei Qiqi opened her eyes. “Oh, as long as you’re finished, I’m okay. Since I haven’t fought any hard battles, my consumption of soul power isn’t that great.”
With these words, she activated the s.p.a.ce Boundaries Crystal.
On the battlefield they had come from...
You Qimiao found it harder and harder to keep the murky energies he had gathered from another Realm Sea from scattering, since his soul power was being burned away and he was losing himself in Luo Wanxiang’s Sea of Illusory Stars.
The mire of murky energies continued to spread thinner and thinner.
The hideous evil G.o.d of bloodl.u.s.t swung its arms that looked like frosty bone blades as it engaged in a fierce battle against You Qimiao’s dharma idol.
With every swing, it sent out a wave of strong bloodl.u.s.t, cutting You Qimiao’s dharma idol open. However, he would rapidly heal his dharma idol by relying on pure refined spiritual power.
At the same time, Luo Wanxiang and the Netherspirits cast a brand new restrictive spell with the soul symbols transformed from the numerous evil spirits and vicious souls.
You Qimiao’s dharma idol was already riddled with holes. It seemed that this mighty combination of yin and yang powers, as well as his soul power, was on the verge of breaking apart.
If it did, You Qimiao would be bound to suffer severe injuries!
At this perilous moment, Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi suddenly appeared.
You Qimiao’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw Nie Tian.
At this moment, Nie Tian’s eyes shone as brightly as stars. Apparently, he had, to a great extent, replenished the soul power he had consumed with soul crystals.
This meant he was going to capture the last evil G.o.d soon.
“No!”
The evil G.o.d of bloodl.u.s.t, who had witnessed what had happened to its friends, sensed the unfavorable situation upon seeing Nie Tian’s return.
Even at this point, it still hadn’t finished gathering the fragments of its lost memories and soul, which meant it had yet to recover its peak strength.
Therefore, it only looked at Nie Tian and instinctively wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
Nie Tian’s return also made Luo Wanxiang and the Netherspirits insecure and uneasy. Their faces were grim as they looked at him.
Without rus.h.i.+ng into action, Nie Tian frowned and asked, “Sectmaster You, I have some questions about the so-called Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir. What is it? And how can it help you with your breakthroughs in cultivation? We made a deal earlier, according to which we’ll get forty percent of what you gather from that Soul-devouring Lake, while you’ll keep sixty percent. I suppose by that you mean Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir, right?”
“No! I meant soul crystals! Only soul crystals!” You Qimiao said anxiously.
Nie Tian seemed rather calm and composed as he touched his head and said, “Sectmaster You, you see, if I don’t capture that evil G.o.d and those strange energies of yours escape your control... I’m afraid you’ll be in serious trouble. You’ll only have a chance at winning the battle if you summon your Immortal grade divine tool back from that Soul-devouring Lake and fight with its help.”
Both he and Pei Qiqi saw the dangerous situation You Qimiao was in.
The Netherspirits were burning his soul power with a powerful soul spell, causing cracks to appear all over his dharma idol.
Meanwhile, the evil G.o.d of bloodl.u.s.t was chopping at his dharma idol, and Luo Wanxiang was clouding his mind with the Sea of Illusory Stars.
If this went on, his dharma idol would most likely explode within a short time.
If that happened, even if he called the Yin Yang Chaos Mirror back, he would only be able to escape, leaving the treasures in the Soul-devouring Lake behind.
You Qimiao gritted his teeth and said, “Alright! I meant Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir! You’ll get forty percent of the Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir and soul crystals I gather! As you know, I’m a man of my word. Once I agree to something, I’ll never go back on it!”
Pei Qiqi nodded gently. “That seems to be true.”
Nie Tian narrowed his eyes and asked, “So what can Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir do, and what makes it so valuable?”
“Soul crystals can only help cultivators improve their soul power and strengthen their souls.” You Qimiao seemed anxious, and wanted to rush through his explanation. “Even without them, cultivators can acc.u.mulate enough soul power to reach the breakthrough point through time.
“So the purpose of soul crystals is only to speed up the process.
“But that’s not the case with Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir! That wondrous elixir can be used to cleanse souls! As we acc.u.mulate soul power to make breakthroughs in our cultivation, some intangible harmful matter will be inevitably left in our souls. We call them soul impurities.
“Outsiders have to refine their fleshly bodies and drive impurities from their bodies in order to make advances in their bloodlines. Unlike outsiders, we humans don’t attach much importance to body refinement. However, impurities in our souls will also keep us from reaching the peak of cultivation.
“Now, I’m facing my last breakthrough, which is from the middle to the late G.o.d domain. The purity of my soul will be of great importance.
“Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir can help me purify my soul and significantly improve my success rate.
“Not just to me; Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir can be of great help to those who seek to enter the early or middle G.o.d domain as well. The purer your soul, the fewer obstacles you’ll face in your breakthroughs.
“Now! That’s all you wanted to know!”
You Qimiao raised his voice.
Pei Qiqi was completely amazed. “I can’t believe that elixir is so full of wonders! Nie Tian, if what he said is true, Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir is indeed much more valuable than soul crystals.”
Nie Tian laughed. “That sounds like some treasure indeed! No wonder you and Jiang Yuanchi went through so much trouble to come to the Void World. Neither of you have the confidence to enter the late G.o.d domain without it, and that’s why you want Soul-cleansing Origin Elixir so badly!”
“I suppose Senior Mo Heng, Fan Tianze, and Chu Rui will want it too,” Pei Qiqi said softly.
The smile vanished from Nie Tian’s face as he locked eyes with the evil G.o.d of bloodl.u.s.t and said, “Alright, you’re the last one now. Why don’t you just come back by yourself?”