C2267 Thunder to Temper the Soul

As Yu Yuan finished speaking, the powerful individuals gathered there immediately turned their attention to Bertain's devil soul.

"I don't feel anything myself."

The Demon God's voice resonated as a cluster of deep purple light emanated from his brain. Numerous enigmatic soul threads, like streaks of purple lightning, wove together rapidly, forming an inscrutable pattern that eluded everyone's understanding. He was in communication with the demonform clad in Golden Dragon Armor.

Yu Yuan, utilizing his real body, was probing the devil souls that had split from Bertain's demonform and were now adrift in various Astral Domains of the Wasteland. He truly could not detect any movement from the devil souls.

Moreover, the devil soul that had lingered on the Peak of Creation and had escaped the All Spirits Ban with Loong Jie was gradually becoming more and more tenuous. It resembled a ghost fading from clarity into obscurity, seemingly on the verge of vanishing altogether.

"She's right!"

Yuan Lianyao gasped in surprise and peered into the depths of the spring at the gray figure symbolizing the Death God, exclaiming, "Yu Yuan, she's not making this up! Lord Bertain might really be in danger."

Yu Yuan, in the guise of an Undead Sovereign, intently watched Bertain's devil soul as it slowly dissipated, murmuring, "I'll give it a try!"

With a whoosh, he cast a burst of emerald glow that enveloped Bertain's devil soul in an attempt to halt its fading. However, it was to no avail; Bertain's devil soul continued to fade.

"Youyu, put him inside the soul stone!" commanded Yu Yuan.

Under normal circumstances, Youyu would never allow Bertain, a master of soul arcane, anywhere near the soul stone. But given Bertain's dire situation, Youyu promptly produced the soul stone.

"Don't!" Chen Qinghuang suddenly interjected with a cold shout, "Do not let him enter!"

At that moment, Yu Yuan sensed a familiar presence emanating from the gray shadow. The gray figure, representing the Death God Kurkova, had conveyed to Chen Qinghuang the need to prevent Bertain's devil soul from entering the soul stone.

"Stop!"

Yu Yuan quickly reconsidered and called out to halt the action. Subsequently, everyone watched as Bertain's devil soul gradually dissipated into nothingness under their collective gaze.

"What do you know?"

Now it was Yu Yuan who was desperate for answers. He approached the edge of the spring from the summit of the Peak of Creation and pressed Chen Qinghuang for information.

The Death God, Kurkova, remained composed and silent.

...

In a tumultuous region of the Wasteland, where lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Crack! Sizzle!

Countless bolts of lightning formed a ferocious vortex, bombarding the sky above a continent.

Many alien beasts, with relatively low bloodline levels capable of absorbing and growing stronger from the lightning, inhabited this land.

The Stormwraiths were the most prevalent among them.

Swoosh!

A dazzling golden light streaked across the void of the Star River, materializing in another realm.

The light solidified into the Demon God Bertain, clad in Golden Dragon Armor.

Beneath the gleaming armor was Bertain's amethyst demonform. He gazed at the thunderous vortex ahead and the tempestuous star below, flashing a broad smile, "Good thing I arrived first. If I had waited for the Tree of Life or for Qi Yunhong to show up, I'd be left with nothing but scraps."

Whoosh!

Bertain, in his demonform, plunged into the maelstrom of lightning. The amethyst beneath his Golden Dragon Armor began to draw in the power of the lightning.

Time passed, unmeasured.

"Teacher."

Yu Yuan's real body, along with the Dragon Slaying Stage, suddenly materialized.

"Eh, what brings you here?"

Surprised by their sudden appearance amidst the lightning, Bertain asked, "Aren't you supposed to be at the Creitecesh with the Wellspring of Creation, near the Spring of Death?"

Bertain's expression turned sheepish. Before Yu Yuan could reply, he chuckled awkwardly, "Or perhaps, you intend to use this world's thunderous energy to elevate Qi Yunhong to the Supreme Realm? Are you upset that I've claimed a share of the lightning, potentially slowing his ascent to supremacy?"

"Teacher, I'm concerned about you," Yu Yuan said, shaking his head.

"Concerned about me? What's there to worry about?"

Bertain laughed heartily, dismissing the concern. "I have my own methods of cultivation. You needn't fret over me. Besides, I've discovered the Wasteland is quite the advantageous spot."

"Can you still sense the devil soul in the Creitecesh?" Yu Yuan inquired gently.

"When I'm concentrating on lightning to refine my soul, I temporarily lose connection with the devil soul that's part of me," Bertain replied nonchalantly.

"Teacher, perhaps you should come out first," Yu Yuan suggested.

He was inwardly astonished.

Lightning and thunder were the nemesis of the soul, and yet Bertain had used them to forge his devil soul. Yu Yuan would have struggled to believe it had he not witnessed it himself.

He then recalled the Stormwracked Wastes in the Origin Realm, an area firmly sealed by Bertain.

Wei Zhuo from the Thunder Sect had only been allowed to enter that forbidden area for cultivation after receiving Bertain's approval.

Could it be that the Stormwracked Wastes had also served as Bertain's training ground in the past?

"I'm not sure what you're trying to do."

With a sense of resignation, Bertain emerged from the vortex of lightning and explained, "In the Origin Realm, to escape the Primal Soul of the Everlands, I would frequently retreat into the Stormwracked Wastes. There, regardless of my thoughts or actions, it could not detect me."

"To combat it and to break free from the creator as you have, I would ponder various issues within that sanctuary."

"Eventually, I even mastered using the power of thunder to annihilate my spiritual sense."

Bertain's explanation flowed without pause.

Moments later, he fell silent, his expression turning grave.

He had sensed it!

After dispelling the thunderous energy within him and emerging from the vortex, he could no longer feel any of the devil souls that had been separated from him!

The devil souls he had sent across various starry realms to collect Soul Power for his refinement now seemed as if they had perished.

Cultivating with the power of thunder was bound to inflict self-harm and deplete vast reserves of Soul Power.

He had left his real body here to cultivate, with the separated devil souls gathering Soul Power, so that he could maintain a favorable condition once his cultivation here was complete.

But now, with all the separated devil souls gone, he realized something was amiss.

"Inside the All Spirits Ban, it was as if you had an epiphany, learning to suppress the manifested soul sea. You stood within the soul sea, using its Soul Power to regenerate your severed arm and even provided Lin Daoke with a pure strand of Soul Power to mend the fissures in his primordial spirit sword."

"Teacher, how did you accomplish that?" Yu Yuan inquired earnestly.

"It was just a flash of inspiration," Bertain said calmly.

"A flash of inspiration? Teacher, do you recall the time you had High Priest Reid summon me with just a strand of my thoughts?" Yu Yuan pressed on.

Bertain fell silent, contemplating for a moment before grasping the profound implication of his words.

"Are you suggesting that what I experienced in the All Spirits Ban as a flash of inspiration, that very light... originated from the Demon God?" Bertain's face underwent a dramatic change.

Yu Yuan nodded gently, his gaze fixed on Bertain's amethyst demonform. "Because of your unique nature, and because you once tempered your soul with the power of thunder, your devil soul remains unharmed within this demonform. However, should your devil soul leave this vessel, it would surely vanish."

"Let me see for myself!"

Bertain commanded.

Whoosh!

Another devil soul emerged from the amethyst demonform, manifesting externally.

Absent the assault of thunder and lightning, and free from any external force, the devil soul gradually dissipated until it vanished completely.

"You're right!"

Bertain instantly realized that indeed, something was amiss.

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