Devouring Soul Emperor

Rows of wooden shelves lined the first floor of the main hall, stacked high with layers upon layers of Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques.

Upon seeing this, the hearts of everyone who had forced their way in burned with fiery passion.

The collection of Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques amassed by a sect was an unimaginably vast and immeasurable fortune for those in the Martial Spirit Realm!

This was an opportunity to change their destiny!

Many of them instantly lunged forward. Without even looking, they snatched up the Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques before them and stuffed them into their robes.

However, even though Chu Qingyun had a Storage Ring, he didn’t rush to grab everything in sight.

’Rolling Stone Fist Technique... an advanced Fist Technique...’

’Ten Basic Sword Techniques... a low-level Sword Technique...’

’Burning Blood Secret Technique...’

’...’

Chu Qingyun moved quickly across the first floor, rapidly browsing through a few of the Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques on the shelves. He discovered that everything on this floor was quite basic; there wasn’t even a single Spirit Level manual among them.

This kind of stuff wasn’t very valuable even in Great Xia, let alone in the Blood-soaked Land or the lands of the sects.

A massive collection of basic Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques was crucial for a sect or a major power, as it provided a continuous path for cultivating both geniuses and powerhouses.

Even the most talented genius couldn’t just skip over the Martial Artist Realm and Martial Master Realm.

But for an individual, even if they took all of it, it wouldn’t be worth much.

The more basic something was, the more common it was.

Here on the first floor, probably over 90% of the Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques could be found in other sects and factions.

He even recalled seeing someone use that Burning Blood Secret Technique back in Qingshan City.

"There’s nothing of value here. Let’s go upstairs!"

Chu Qingyun called over to Mu Xiaoxiao and Dai, and the three of them rushed upstairs together.

The good stuff was kept upstairs, while the lesser items were kept below.

This was common sense. However, the seemingly endless sea of Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques on the first floor was simply too staggering, especially for the ordinary Earth Spirit Realm cultivators from the Blood-soaked Land who had no powerful backing.

After all, not every Martial Spirit Realm cultivator had access to King-Level Secret Manuals for their cultivation.

For the vast majority of those in the Martial Spirit Realm, a single Spirit Level Secret Manual was enough to make them fight to the death.

It was like discovering a treasure trove. The first floor was filled with vast fields of gold. If an ordinary person were to walk in, even if they knew there were better things upstairs, they would still be so overwhelmed that they couldn’t think straight for a moment.

Those Earth Spirit Realm cultivators frantically grabbing Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques on the first floor of the main hall were in exactly this state of mind.

But by the time they came to their senses and figured it out, the real treasures upstairs would likely be long gone.

Chu Qingyun’s group of three rushed upstairs at top speed. The second floor was about the same size as the first, but it looked much more spacious.

Each Secret Manual and Secret Technique was arranged with extreme care and attention.

At this time, many people were also on the second floor, rapidly collecting the various Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques.

Chu Qingyun casually flipped through a couple and found that the second floor housed Spirit Level Secret Manuals, or some higher-quality Secret Techniques corresponding to the Martial Spirit Realm.

After grabbing two, the three of them didn’t linger and charged directly up to the third floor.

The first floor had the most basic items, the second had Spirit Level items, so the third floor would naturally contain King-Level ones.

The Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques stored here were handled with even more care than those on the second floor. Each one was placed in its own separate area, and there were even specialized rooms for cultivation nearby.

Moreover, every Secret Manual and Secret Technique was protected by an Array and a Restriction.

Of course, after two thousand years, most of those Array Restrictions had been completely destroyed. The ones that remained were fragile and easily broken.

Currently, there were a dozen or so people on the third floor, most of whom were from the three major teams.

No one wasted time on idle talk. They darted back and forth across the third floor, snatching up any Secret Manual or Secret Technique they saw and putting it away.

"Let’s do it."

"Okay. Dai, let’s split up to grab those books, but whatever you do, don’t get into a fight with anyone."

The three of them also split up to maximize their efficiency in snatching the Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques stored on the third floor.

In any case, no one dared to attack anyone else inside the main hall.

Among all the competitors, those with powerful backgrounds and Storage Rings undoubtedly had the biggest advantage.

King-Level Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques were generally large, heavy, and inconvenient to carry.

Fortunately, Chu Qingyun also had his own Storage Ring.

"Blood Evil Swordsmanship... Ha, my luck’s not bad. The very first one is a Swordsmanship Secret Manual!"

Chu Qingyun glanced at it, and with a casual wave of his hand, he destroyed the dilapidated seal and placed the Blood Evil Swordsmanship from the stone platform into his Storage Ring.

"Kid, you have a Storage Ring too!"

A cold voice came from the side. It was Zhou Wushang. It turned out he had also had his eye on this stone platform, but Chu Qingyun had beaten him to it.

Chu Qingyun gave a cold snort, ignored him, and rushed toward the next spot.

Zhou Wushang didn’t dare waste any more time talking either and quickly pounced on the next target.

Here on the third floor of the main hall, every second counted.

Uttering even a single useless word could mean missing out on a King-Level Secret Manual!

Geniuses like Zhou Wushang from the Ten Great Dynasties, or big shots like Matai from the No-Life Gang, didn’t much care for Spirit Level Secret Manuals.

But King-Level Secret Manuals were a completely different story!

After all, the Blood Sect ruins were built by the remnants of the Blood Sect. On this entire vast third floor, there were merely a little over a hundred Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques in total.

Under the rapid sweep of a dozen, nearly twenty people, all the Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques were cleared out in just a few minutes.

Chu Qingyun got three, and Mu Xiaoxiao got two.

Dai, on the other hand, had pretty good luck. He actually managed to get five of them, which he stacked up high and carried over to Chu Qingyun and Mu Xiaoxiao.

"Hm? A simpleton actually got five?"

"Hey, simpleton, hand over those five Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques, and we’ll let you live."

Two cultivators who had joined smaller sects ahead of time—a Level Seven Martial Spirit and a Level Six Martial Spirit—saw that Dai was only a Level Six Martial Spirit, looked a bit slow-witted, and didn’t even have a Storage Ring.

So, the two of them actually blocked Dai’s path, intending to demand his Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques.

"You dare try to steal our things? Are you looking to die?!"

Mu Xiaoxiao was already in a bad mood after her plans to thwart the Martial Soul Hall were frustrated. In a flash, she appeared in front of Dai, her hand even gripping the hilt of her sword.

A Level Seven Martial Spirit!

The expressions of the two men became wary, and they didn’t dare say anything more.

The strongest factions—the Celestial Sword Sect, the Saint Extreme Sect, and the No-Life Gang—had all made it clear: they would jointly hunt down anyone who dared to fight inside the main hall.

Under these circumstances, they certainly didn’t dare to make a real move.

At least, not openly...