Chapter 112: Chapter 110: Nether Soul Flame

"What do you all think? How far can Mo Qi go? Will he be able to trigger the core and bring down a Soul Essence Tide?"

"It’s hard to say. We’ve only ever read about the Soul Essence Tide in the records. Back then, only the founding patriarch managed it. Though there has been no shortage of stunning and brilliant talents since, none have succeeded."

"Let’s just wait. We’ll have our answer soon enough."

The three old men stared intently at the sealed passageway, their eyes practically boring through it.

Their hearts were filled with a mix of excitement and anticipation.

It is said that the core of every Secret Realm is a unique existence, possessing a degree of consciousness.

If someone could earn its acknowledgment, it would release a Soul Essence Tide.

The so-called Soul Essence Tide is actually a special kind of energy emitted by the Secret Realm Soul.

It can nourish the soul, cleanse the spirit, exorcise Heart Demons, and even has a high chance of enhancing one’s talent or rejuvenating the old and dying.

Of course, all of this only existed in legends and records. In reality, not even these three old men had ever witnessed it.

Just then, the treasure-lit mountain suddenly retracted its glow, and the entire Secret Realm began to tremble slightly.

"What’s happening? Could it be an enemy attack?!"

All the experts within the Secret Realm were startled. They dropped what they were doing and quickly gathered together.

Before they could figure out what was going on, a peculiar energy spread out from the depths of the mountain.

Anyone touched by this energy, regardless of their Cultivation or strength, revealed an expression of pure bliss.

It was an indescribably pleasant sensation, like a gentle hand brushing over their flesh, Meridians, Dantian, and even their Sea of Consciousness, carrying away all discomfort and stagnation.

Some found hidden injuries that had accumulated for hundreds of years silently healing.

For some who had been in seclusion for too long, the Heart Demons born from years of tedium faded and vanished.

Others expelled a large amount of impurities from their bodies, feeling light and refreshed.

For all of them, this was a great stroke of fortune.

Before the great mountain, the three old men were overjoyed. They hugged each other and cheered, all semblance of their dignified image gone.

"This is the Soul Essence Tide! It has to be!"

"It’s exactly as the records described! That little fellow Mo Qi is truly something else. He didn’t let us down!"

"That’s right! This is a blessing for the Void Sect! The heavens are smiling upon our Void Sect!"

If they knew the truth of the matter, they might not have been so quick to celebrate.

Within the Void Road, the Secret Realm Soul had not acknowledged Mo Qi, nor had it voluntarily released the Soul Essence Tide.

Instead, the Chaos Scripture had forcibly stripped away eighty percent of its power, causing an energy imbalance that triggered the tide.

The Chaos Scripture split this eighty percent of the Secret Realm Soul’s power in two. One part was driven into Mo Qi’s Sea of Consciousness to merge with his soul; the other was fed to the Netherworld Flame to promote its transformation.

This caused Mo Qi to be engulfed in the Netherworld Flame, which was now half red and half black.

The scorching Yang Fire, accompanied by the soul-stealing Yin Fire, complemented each other. Under the guidance of the Chaos Scripture, they gradually contracted into a red-and-black flower bud.

Finally, the flower bud drilled into the space between Mo Qi’s eyebrows, coming to rest just above his Sea of Consciousness.

Nourished by the power of the Secret Realm Soul, his Sea of Consciousness expanded relentlessly. This caused Mo Qi immense agony, as if someone were constantly pouring molten lead into his head.

After all, he hadn’t even completed the Nine Transformations into Spirit. Strictly speaking, he was only at the Refining Essence Realm.

Therefore, this surge of power from the Secret Realm Soul was far more than he could bear.

Just as Mo Qi felt his Sea of Consciousness was about to burst, the Netherworld Flame, now a flower bud, flew in.

A powerful suction force emanated from the flower bud, absorbing every last drop of the excess power from the Secret Realm Soul.

As time passed, the flower bud slowly grew, eventually blossoming into a complete flower the size of a washbasin. It floated in his Sea of Consciousness, looking quite unremarkable.

The Netherworld Flame could no longer be called the Netherworld Flame. It should now be called the Nether Soul Flame.

Mo Qi opened his eyes and quietly assessed the changes within his body.

His Sea of Consciousness had nearly doubled in size, and his connection with the Nether Soul Flame had changed completely.

If the Netherworld Flame had previously been under his control merely due to the influence of the Chaos Scripture, the Nether Soul Flame was now an integral part of his own body.

Only now had he truly mastered this Celestial-level Fire Seed and understood its capabilities.

"Not bad. Another safeguard on my path to becoming stronger!" Mo Qi clenched his fists in satisfaction. He could feel that the Nether Soul Flame, this Celestial-level Fire Seed, was constantly tempering his physique and soul.

In other words, his strength would now continuously improve even if he didn’t actively cultivate.

’I can’t wait to see how strong I’ll be after completing the Nine Transformations into Spirit.’

Mo Qi touched the Iron Ring on his neck, a determined glint flashing in his eyes.

’Mother, please wait. Your son will be reunited with you! I won’t let a single one of those who harmed you get away!’

At the same time, a question had always lingered in his heart.

’That group of men in black... what was it they demanded Mother hand over? Was it this ring, or the Chaos Scripture?’

「...」

In the main hall of the Void Sect’s primary peak, a single disciple from the Wolf Fang Sect had beaten the Void Sect so badly they couldn’t even lift their heads.

Because the Core Disciples refused to act and the Wolf Fang Sect continued its provocations, another Elite Disciple couldn’t help but step forward not long after Chen Liang and Huang Hao were seriously injured and knocked unconscious.

His fate was even more tragic. His Dantian was shattered, his Cultivation was lost, and he was turned into a cripple.

Yun Xuzi and the other high-ranking members could all see that the other two disciples from the Wolf Fang Sect were even stronger than this youth.

Especially the one cloaked in a black robe; the aura he inadvertently leaked was comparable to the Half-Step Vajra Realm.

’When did the Wolf Fang Sect produce so many geniuses? Weren’t they afraid the Mountain and Sea Empire would forcibly recruit them?’

The Wolf Fang Sect youth sneered, "I must say, with so many disciples in your Void Sect, are there only three with any guts? Even if you can’t beat me, you could at least wear me down by coming at me one after another, right? With enough people, you could eventually defeat me. Or are you all just too cowardly to even step onto the stage?"

The youth’s words were more than just public mockery; they were a humiliation more thorough than a slap to the face.

The members of the Void Sect were furious, but no one could refute him.

The few Core Disciples all hung their heads. The fates of Leng Fei and the three Elite Disciples were still fresh in their minds. Knowing they couldn’t win, they were unwilling to go up and suffer.

Just then, Ji Lin walked in with Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang. Yu Liang and Yang Ming accompanied them.

Liu Ruyan had not come. She and Niu Kexin were still guarding the entrance to the Secret Realm. To them, Mo Qi was what mattered most.

"Senior... Senior Brother Jin?!"

The Wolf Fang Sect youth was completely stunned when he saw Jin Sanpang.

’Isn’t that Jin Sanpang, the precious son of Steward Leader Jin Quan? The publicly acknowledged number one genius of the Wolf Fang Sect!’

Zhang Shao also saw Jin Sanpang, and his face instantly darkened.

"Jin Quan, I had held out a sliver of hope for you, but I never expected you to actually betray the Sect!"