C444 The Artifact Soul Was There
"Could this be the Artifact Soul of the Evil Cauldron?"
It was common knowledge that nearly all divine artifacts were inhabited by an Artifact Soul.
As the Evil Sect's most prized treasure, the Evil Cauldron was expected to possess an Artifact Soul as well.
Yet, hadn't there been rumors that the cauldron was gravely damaged following the fall of the Evil Sect?
Before laying eyes on the Evil Cauldron, Yu Yuan had even heard tales of its complete destruction, leaving no trace behind.
He believed that if such a divine artifact had sustained severe damage, its Artifact Soul was likely gone.
Without its Artifact Soul, the rank of the Evil Cauldron would have plummeted.
As he ventured inside the cauldron, employing the Evil Body Refining Skill to draw in the strange energy, he broke through the Mystic Gate of his middle dantian and forged the eight extraordinary channels without detecting any sign of the Artifact Soul.
Yu Yuan had come to the conclusion that the once-renowned Artifact Soul of the Evil Cauldron must have perished.
However, while he was absorbing spiritual energy with the Evil Body Refining Skill, he hadn't anticipated a rapid breakthrough or the immediate clearing of the eight extraordinary meridians post-Profound Break.
He was also aware that he couldn't linger in the Evil Cauldron for long, as Lau Ying awaited his return.
But events unfolded too swiftly for him to contemplate.
It was only when he halted his cultivation that he awoke to the realization he had entered the early stages of the Profound Break Stage.
He discovered that not only were the eight extraordinary meridians clear, but his physique, having undergone a fresh cycle of purification and tempering, had integrated the Evil Cauldron into the Qi and Blood Mystic Technique.
This series of events left him feeling bewildered, as if he were being guided by an unseen consciousness.
Yu Yuan, ever intelligent and perceptive, suspected that the Artifact Soul of the Evil Cauldron might not have been annihilated by the cauldron's damage.
Perhaps it had merely retreated into hiding after a severe setback.
Or it could be exceedingly frail, akin to the dormant sword soul in his arm, requiring a lengthy period of accumulation to make its presence known once again.
"If the Artifact Soul truly remains!"
Yu Yuan's heart raced at the thought.
An Evil Cauldron with an Artifact Soul versus one without was a night-and-day difference!
With the Artifact Soul intact, the Evil Cauldron would retain its status as a Divine Artifact, with the potential to return to its former glory and even surpass its peak power!
"My fortune has always been favorable. I'm hoping the Artifact Soul survived the fall of the Evil Sect and wasn't extinguished along with it."
As he mulled this over, he retracted his focus from the Qi and Blood Mystic Technique, only to be greeted by a powerful hunger.
His stomach rumbled, seemingly urging him to eat quickly to nourish the newly formed Qi and Blood domain with a substantial and dense supply.
The lower dantian refined spiritual energy, while the middle dantian cultivated Qi and Blood.
The Qi and Blood of the middle dantian largely depended on sustenance rather than drawing in the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth.
Cultivators would breathe in the Spiritual Qi, and upon establishing the Yellow Court Little World, they would integrate this Qi into the Yellow Court's acupoints for gradual refinement and solidification.
Prior to reaching the Profound Break Stage, cultivators could sustain their physical bodies with the Spiritual Qi, staving off intense hunger.
But upon entering the Profound Break Stage, the opening of the middle dantian's Profound Gate necessitated the use of Qi and Blood to nourish, forge, and hone the body.
On the Heavenly Source Continent, sects and powers commonly consumed pellets made from grains to transform into Qi and Blood, which then infused into the middle dantian's Profound Gate.
Once reprocessed by this Profound Gate, the Qi and Blood would permeate the flesh, bones, and organs, significantly bolstering the physique.
Conversely, on the Quietus Continent, factions like the Devil Palace, Red Devil Sect, Fiend Sect, and the Blood God Cult customarily relied on consumption to fortify themselves.
Mighty spiritual beasts, Demonic Beasts devoid of spiritual intelligence, and even alien beasts were considered mere sustenance, their flesh and blood devoured whole to refine the boundless Qi and blood within, assimilating it into the Profound Gate at the center of the middle dantian. This practice of empowerment has been a tradition of the Demonic Beast Clan since time immemorial.
The cultivation practices at the Profound Break Stage diverged significantly between the two continents. Not only did the methods and sources for acquiring Qi and blood differ, but the emphasis placed on the Profound Break Stage varied greatly as well. Most sects, including the six other than the three great upper sects and the seven lower sects, would hasten through the Profound Break Stage, eager to move on. They would swiftly target the Niwan Acupoint in the middle dantian, rapidly coalescing their Spiritual Sense.
The Ancient Desolate Sect stood apart, investing considerable time and effort into meticulously tempering their physical forms at the Profound Break Stage. This approach stemmed from the Quietus Continent's cultivators, who, considering themselves the true adherents of their craft, consistently undervalued the fortification of the flesh. They were reluctant to expend excessive energy on physical cultivation, favoring instead the cultivation of the Yellow Court in the lower dantian and the Mind Sea in the upper dantian.
The refinement of the Yin God merely required the Earth Soul to purify the Spiritual Sense, gradually taking shape. In contrast, the Yang God was a corporeal entity, emerging from the confluence of the Heavenly Soul's spiritual power and the Spirit Crystal. Once formed, the Yang God, a product of repeated refinement of spiritual power and the Heavenly Soul, could glide freely through the celestial expanse, unbound by any constraints.
The Yang God's transformation did not necessitate the gathering of Qi and blood, explaining why many so-called orthodox cultivators were loath to linger at the Profound Break Stage. Keen to expedite their journey to the Penetrating Stage, to solidify the Yin God, and to progress to the Soul Wandering Stage and the Unrestrained Stage, they sought speed above all else.
On the Quietus Continent, numerous practitioners of the Devil Spell chose to thoroughly hone their bodies at the Profound Break Stage, subjecting every morsel of flesh, each meridian, and every bone to rigorous refinement.
This was due to the fact that many formidable Devil Spells were a fusion of Qi and Spiritual Power, or required the harmony of Qi with Soul Power.
For this reason, they placed great importance on the physical refinement at the Profound Break Stage.
Among the techniques for this rigorous refinement of flesh and spirit, the Evil Body Refining Skill stood out as one of the most esteemed, renowned across the three continents.
During his time in the Evil Cauldron, Yu Yuan had relied on the streams of alien light that carried the essence of Qi and blood.
But now, having integrated the Evil Cauldron into his dantian, Yu Yuan was suddenly overcome with a sense of hunger.
"A bunch of disloyal cretins!"
Surveying the shattered island and the strewn boulders, Yu Yuan inwardly cursed. The glass bottle and Fallen Star Eyes were nowhere to be found, and neither was the Chaos Roc awaiting him.
He had felt his stay within the Evil Cauldron was brief and expected others to wait.
It was one thing for the rest to leave, but how could both the Fallen Star Eyes and Lau Ying have disappeared?
Dozens of miles away, a blue shadow undulated beneath the sea.
Initially drawn to the collapsed island by the scent of extraordinary Qi and blood, the blue shadow had deliberately altered its course.
But as Yu Yuan emerged from the cauldron and used the Evil Body Refining Skill to assimilate the Evil Cauldron, shrinking it into his dantian, the blue shadow came to an abrupt halt.
The outpouring of vigorous Qi and blood from the Evil Cauldron ceased completely as it was absorbed into Yu Yuan's acupoints.
The island's collapse had scattered rocks everywhere, and an odd force of isolation now concealed Yu Yuan from view.
The blood sacrifice altar, which had wreaked havoc on the island, paused momentarily. Upon sensing again, it found Yu Yuan's location devoid of any life or unusual Qi and blood.
After a brief hesitation, the altar detected a fresh surge of blood energy from a great distance.
Abandoning its approach to Yu Yuan's position, it changed course, heading elsewhere.
Shortly thereafter, Yu Yuan, adrift above the ruins of the island, scanned his surroundings but found no trace of the Fallen Star Eyes or the glass bottle.
He pondered for a moment before decisively projecting his consciousness into the Yellow Court Little World.
His mind immersed itself in a vivid crimson rainbow, becoming one with the Sun Essence Fire.
The Sun Essence Fire he was refining originated from an eye of the Chaos Roc, suggesting a delicate link between them.
He focused his senses...
Moments later, his eyes sparkled with realization, as he discerned the faint direction of the Sun Essence Fire.
"The Chaos Roc's presence means the others must be nearby."
With no hesitation, he set off.
"Whoosh!"
In the sea, he moved like a bolt of lightning, his speed now seven to eight times what it had been!
A smile swiftly spread across his face as he took his time to grasp the myriad differences between his current state at the Profound Break Stage and his past self at the Yellow Court Stage.
Upon entering the Profound Break Stage and undergoing physical refinement, his body should have felt more cumbersome.
Yet, in the water, his pores seemed to be enveloped in mist, making him unexpectedly buoyant. Without any effort, he could float effortlessly.
He wouldn't rise to the surface, nor would he sink to the seabed.
To move, to fly, he simply had to channel a trace of his spiritual power and vital energy, propelling himself at a velocity several times greater than before.
This was the exquisite experience that came with ascending to a higher plane.
