novellhall Chapter 538, Entering the Soul Realm
Chapter 538, Entering the Soul Realm
"The conditions for entering the Nine Nether Soul Realm are not open to discussion!"
Upon seeing the reply from Lingguang Palace, the leaders of the various sects and aristocratic families were furious.
"This Lord of Lingguang Palace is far too domineering!"
"Exactly! How can anyone do things like that? She doesn't even leave room for discussion; it's utterly arbitrary!"
Dan Sheng Hall, Ling Jing Pavilion.
Meng Qingyao sat upright in the main seat, her gaze sweeping over the secret realm masters and heads of various departments present, and said in a deep voice: "Since Lingguang Palace is unwilling to lower its conditions, if we want to seize the opportunity to enter the Soul Realm, I'm afraid we have no choice but to accept the price she has set."
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell into a brief silence, and everyone's gazes drifted towards Yu Fu and Jia Lu.
Xia Ziyang couldn't help but probe, "Hall Master Yu, Hall Master Jia, what are your thoughts on this matter?"
Yu Fu and Jia Lu exchanged a glance, then looked at Meng Qingyao respectfully and replied in unison, "We will follow Pavilion Master Meng's orders."
Seeing that the two had passed the buck back to him, Shen Qianfan suddenly spoke up: "I heard that Peak Master Hua came out of seclusion yesterday, and some disciples saw him on Danyuan Peak."
Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately became serious.
Yu Fu glanced at Shen Qianfan and said with a faint smile, "Sect Leader Shen is indeed well-informed."
Shen Qianfan pressed on, "I wonder what Peak Master Hua's opinion is on the matter of the Nine Nether Soul Realm?"
Yu Fu remained impeccably composed: "My master has instructed that all affairs of the Dan Sheng Hall shall be handled in accordance with Pavilion Master Meng's arrangements."
Knowing that he couldn't get any more information from Yu Fu and Jia Lu, Shen Qianfan had no choice but to change the subject.
"The requirements for Lingguang Palace are simply too high."
"If we really do it this way, it's equivalent to paying one billion low-grade spirit stones for each spot. One hundred spots would be a hundred billion low-grade spirit stones, which is enough to buy a medium-sized spirit mine."
Even for a powerful and influential family, giving up a medium-sized spirit mine would be extremely painful.
Xia Ziyang looked at Meng Qingyao and suggested, "Sect Leader, I think we should hold off on making a decision for now, observe the situation, and see how other holy lands and sects react."
Upon hearing this, the others nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, in the Elder Hall of the Weapon Saint Palace.
Hua Liulang followed Tong Yao in, looking somewhat reserved. Looking at the elders seated together, he unconsciously slowed his breathing.
Elder Yiming spoke first with a grave expression: "Lingguang Palace is adamant about not lowering the price. One spot for ten billion low-grade spirit stones is truly outrageous."
"Other holy sites have sent messages suggesting that we jointly protest to the Palace Master of Lingguang Hall and put pressure on her to lower her demands. What do you all think of this move?"
The elders all responded, clearly unwilling for the Weapon Saint Palace to pay such a high price.
Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Elder Yiming turned his gaze to Tong Yao and Hua Liulang: "What do you two think?"
After a moment's thought, Tong Yao honestly replied, "This disciple thinks... it's better not to."
In his view, a quota of one billion low-grade spirit stones may sound like an astronomical figure, but it would take about the same amount of resources to cultivate a Nascent Soul cultivator.
If cultivating in the Soul Realm can truly bring significant improvement to cultivators in the Spirit Platform Realm, then this price isn't actually exorbitant.
Hua Liulang was surprised that the Grand Elder would ask for his opinion, and scratched his head nervously: "I...I have no opinion."
Seeing Hua Liulang's innocent and bewildered expression, Elder Yiming had no choice but to be blunt: "Liulang, there are rumors circulating that Hua Changxi is actually the Lord of Lingguang Palace..."
"Elder, that's a rumor!" Hua Liulang interrupted without even thinking.
Elder Yiming choked for a moment, then said helplessly, "...Fine, let's just consider it a rumor. I'm talking about hypotheticals. If the Palace Master of Lingguang Palace really is Hua Changxi, and we were to unite with other forces to coerce her, do you think she would submit?"
Hua Liulang shook his head vigorously, his voice firm and resolute: "Absolutely not, there's not a single possibility!"
Thinking of his own Ninth Sister's temperament, Hua Liulang couldn't help but complain, "My Ninth Sister has a stubborn temper. The more she is suppressed, the more fiercely she resists."
“I remember when I was little, my grandmother asked her to admit her mistake, but she refused. As a result, she was locked up for three days and three nights. She was so hungry that she had no strength left, but she didn’t utter a sound.”
"If my Ninth Sister is truly the Palace Master of Lingguang Palace, the more you pressure her, the better!"
Looking at the grumbling Hua Liulang, Elder Yiming's hesitation and doubt deepened. His original intention to exert pressure to reduce the cost of payment wavered somewhat.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhenzhen and Jing Liao were also consulted by the higher-ups of their respective sects at the Array Saint Sect and the Talisman Saint Pavilion.
Yan Zhenzhen said, "If the Nine Nether Soul Realm can really greatly enhance the spiritual sense of cultivators in the Spirit Platform Realm, then I think the conditions offered by Lingguang Palace are acceptable."
Jing said, “Business is a matter of personal choice. If the price offered by Lingguang Palace does not meet our expectations, we will not do business with them. It is not a good thing to join forces with other powers to coerce us.”
The four holy lands, each with their own strengths, are still weighing the pros and cons and hesitating, not to mention the other sects and families.
Everyone had their own agenda and tacitly chose a delaying tactic, hoping to put Lingguang Palace on the defensive for a while and observe the situation in order to force the other side to reduce the price they had to pay.
As for Xuanyuan Mansion and the Central Holy Land, as the balancing hub and coordinator among the major forces of the human race, it is not advisable for them to make a hasty statement under these circumstances.
In order not to go against the majority of forces, they also chose to remain inactive and did not immediately reply to the message from Lingguang Palace.
Meanwhile, at Lingguang Hall.
Faced with the lack of any response from all parties, Yun You was not surprised at all and calmly reported the matter to Hua Changxi.
After all, it would be difficult for anyone to make the painful decision to give up such a huge amount of resources in a short period of time.
Almost all the managers and heads of the various departments of Lingguang Hall are cultivators at the Spirit Platform Realm. Many of them have difficulty cultivating their divine sense, which has led to slow progress in their cultivation.
Therefore, everyone wants to open the Nine Nether Soul Realm as soon as possible.
However, to minimize the costs, all parties are observing each other and dragging their feet. If this endless delay continues, it's anyone's guess when the Nine Nether Soul Realm will truly open.
A month later, in the main hall of Lingguang Palace, Hua Changxi put away the fourth-grade pill she had refined and took out the One Thought Scroll to take a look.
No news at all!
In other words, a month has passed, and all parties are still dragging their feet and delaying.
"Hmph!" Although she didn't encounter any life-or-death crises while venturing deep into the Nine Netherworld, she still paid a considerable price.
She stole the Netherfire Match, so she should be the one to decide the rules for entering the Soul Realm.
All parties were merely trying to use their superior numbers to coerce her into changing the conditions, making their will the primary factor in determining the conditions for entering the Soul Realm.
She hates being threatened or coerced, and she hates even more people ganging up on her and bullying her!
After pondering for a moment, Hua Changxi sent a message to the head of the mission hall.
"Have the patrol and garrison soldiers along the borders of Nanxiang County been arranged?"
Head of the Mission Hall: "It's all arranged."
Hua Changxi: "Notify the selected cultivators at the Spirit Platform Realm and Nascent Soul Realm to gather at the mountain gate square first thing tomorrow morning."
The Vermilion Bird Army consists of 100,000 soldiers, nearly 100 of whom are at the Spirit Platform Realm and over 20,000 at the Nascent Soul Realm.
Because of her responsibility to protect Nanxiang County, a month ago, she ordered the Mission Hall to immediately allocate 50% of its Spirit Platform Realm and Nascent Soul Realm cultivators to the Soul Realm.
Afterwards, Hua Changxi sent a message to the head of the Discipline Hall: "The Vermilion Bird Army is about to enter the Soul Realm for cultivation. Since the length of time they stay in the Soul Realm is uncertain, the Vermilion Bird Army members who remain must patrol strictly and do their best to maintain order in Nanxiang County and the surrounding areas to ensure that nothing goes wrong."
Upon receiving the news, both the Mission Hall and the Discipline Hall immediately began making arrangements.
The next morning, three groups of people arrived early at the Lingguang Hall gate square.
The first wave was led by Jing Sheng, behind whom stood hundreds of Ghostfire Well jailers, all of whom were at the Nascent Soul stage, surrounded by ghostly energy, exuding a chilling aura.
Another group, led by Anze, was equally formidable. In addition to three powerful Spirit Platform Realm demonic beasts, there were more than ten Spirit Platform Realm cultivators and dozens of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators lined up alongside them.
The last group consisted of only one person—Butterfly Dance, a cultivator at the Spirit Platform Realm. She stood alone in a corner of the square, and although she was all alone, she possessed a calm aura that could not be ignored.
When the selected Vermilion Bird Army members at the Spirit Platform Realm and Nascent Soul Realm were notified to gather at the mountain gate square, everyone noticed these three groups of people from a distance.
"Who are those people...?"
Yun You and the other hall masters and managers arrived at the mountain gate square. Looking at the three groups of people, their eyes couldn't help but flicker slightly.
"It's Butterfly Dance, the guardian of the sycamore grove!"
"And the jailers at the Ghost Fire Well!"
"The other group... apart from the leader who is from the Vermilion Bird Army, the rest don't seem to be our people."
When the Hall Master of the Mission Hall announced the gathering today, he did not specify the reason. However, seeing these three groups of people, everyone immediately guessed that the Hall Master was going to take them to the Soul Realm today.
Upon realizing this, a small number of people secretly took out their Mind Control Devices and sent out their guesses.
Since they didn't recognize Anze and his group, the Suzaku Army soldiers gathered in the square immediately started discussing among themselves.
Anze ignored the scrutinizing gazes from all around him and instead looked up directly at the main hall atop the stone steps—where a dazzling crimson figure had appeared sometime earlier.
Soon, the others in the square also noticed the presence of that figure.
In an instant, the once noisy square fell completely silent.
Hua Changxi stood at the highest point of Lingguang Hall, looking down at the Vermilion Bird Army in the square.
Because the River of Souls runs through the three realms of Heaven, Man, and Earth, the opening point of the Soul Realm can be anywhere. The reason it is called the "Nine Nether Soul Realm" is simply because the River of Souls manifests more often in the Nine Nether.
She planned to activate the Nine Nether Soul Realm right there in the square at the Lingguang Palace gate.
Once everyone was present, Hua Changxi flipped her right hand, and a ball of dark blue light radiating a chilling aura appeared out of thin air.
Hellfire Match!
When Hua Changxi first obtained the Netherfire Match, she knew it was the key to unlocking the Nine Nether Soul Realm, but she didn't know exactly how to use it.
However, upon seeing the peculiar structure of the Netherfire Match, which resembled a match, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she instantly grasped the way to open the Soul Realm.
"Snap~"
Hua Changxi struck the Netherworld Fire Match in his hand as lightly as if he were striking an ordinary match.
Immediately afterwards, the surrounding space rippled violently.
The next moment, the center of the fluctuation seemed to be cut open by an invisible blade, and the crack quickly spread and expanded, eventually turning into a gaping hole as tall as a person.
As soon as the opening appeared, a dense concentration of soul power emanated from it, causing the expressions of everyone in the square to brighten.
Everyone stared longingly at the opening, believing it to be the entrance to the Soul Realm.
Unexpectedly, in the next instant, an invisible, powerful, and solid soul force enveloped the entire area without warning.
Soul Domain!
After enveloping the people in the main mountain gate square with her soul domain, Hua Changxi stepped into the rift in front of her.
Those within the Soul Domain experienced a sudden darkness before their eyes, their consciousness instantly fading. When they regained consciousness, they found themselves standing in a vast and boundless Soul Realm, brimming with soul power.
No sooner had the figures in the square disappeared than two magnificent spaceships roared down outside the gates of Lingguang Palace.
One ship flew the flag of the Demon Suppression Army, while the other ship fluttered the flag of the Xuanyuan Army.
Yun You, who had been waiting at the mountain gate and was specially left behind to deal with all parties, felt a little relieved as she watched the Minister of the Heavenly Department and the five generals of the Xuanyuan Mansion leap down from the spaceship.
Wei Zhenjie rushed over to Yun You in a hurry, taking three steps at a time.
Before he could speak, Yun You spoke first, smiling, "Minister Wei, five generals, it's really unfortunate that you're a step too late. The Palace Master has already led the Vermilion Bird Army to the Soul Realm."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhenjie raised his hand and slapped his forehead, sighing, "Even though I rushed as fast as I could, I still didn't make it."
Why are you in such a hurry?
"A single Netherfire Match can only open the Soul Realm nine times. Each time it's used, there's one less available. So, each time it's opened, we naturally have to make sure that the number of people entering reaches the limit to make it worthwhile!"
Looking at his expression, Yun You helplessly shrugged: "The Palace Master gave you all time long ago; it's just that you didn't cherish it." (End of Chapter)