Devouring Soul Emperor

A thought flashed through Chu Qingyun’s mind.

The Shadow Martial Soul behind him stirred. It drifted forward slightly before rapidly spreading across his body, enveloping him completely.

The Tier Four Shadow Martial Soul was like a layer of black clothing wrapped around him, yet it didn’t affect his breathing or movements in the slightest.

Chu Qingyun held his hand up before his eyes. Even with the aid of his Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, he still couldn’t see it through the shroud of his Shadow Martial Soul.

’This is the real deal... I can’t even see my hand in front of my face.’

After deploying his Shadow Martial Soul, Chu Qingyun also activated the Hidden Qi Technique, concealing his aura completely. He moved to the other side of the tree without a sound.

His first target was a Fifth-level Martial Spirit resting in a nearby tree.

With a light leap, Chu Qingyun crossed over five meters, landing steadily on the tree. He then hopped twice more along the branches, carefully approaching the Fifth-level Martial Spirit.

A cold sneer touched Chu Qingyun’s lips as he looked at the sleeping Fifth-level Martial Spirit.

’I have to take care of this Fifth-level Martial Spirit without making a sound.’

Otherwise, if he made any noise and alerted the other Earth Spirit Realm experts from the Martial Soul Hall, escaping wouldn’t be hard. But after spooking his prey, trying to strike again would become immensely more difficult.

Over a thousand Earth Spirit Realm experts from the Martial Soul Hall were gathered in the small camp, with many more patrolling back and forth.

Under these circumstances, killing a Fifth-level Martial Spirit without making a sound—even a sleeping one—was a near-impossible task. Even another Fifth-level or perhaps a Sixth-level Martial Spirit would likely fail.

After all, even if his throat were slit with a single strike, the victim would surely make some sound before dying.

But Chu Qingyun had a plan.

"Shadow Martial Soul!"

At Chu Qingyun’s command, the Shadow Martial Soul wrapped around his body stretched out like a tent, extending from him to envelop the Fifth-level Martial Spirit from afar.

From the outside, it would look as if the Fifth-level Martial Spirit had simply vanished.

Of course, with everyone asleep, no one was paying him any mind.

Under the cover of the Shadow Martial Soul, Chu Qingyun struck. Primordial Power surged as he smashed his fist into the Fifth-level Martial Spirit’s head, grievously injuring him and leaving him dazed.

The Fifth-level Martial Spirit jolted awake with a miserable howl.

But since the Shadow Martial Soul completely enveloped the area, his voice couldn’t escape.

After injuring him, Chu Qingyun slammed a hand onto his head. The Devouring Power erupted, rapidly consuming all of his Primordial Power and Martial Soul Power!

Soon, the Fifth-level Martial Spirit was devoured until nothing remained. Chu Qingyun then retracted the Shadow Martial Soul.

The area remained perfectly quiet. The patrolling Earth Spirit Realm experts from the Martial Soul Hall were still just wandering about.

Absolutely no one noticed that a Fifth-level Martial Spirit was now missing from a tree at the edge of the camp.

After dealing with that Fifth-level Martial Spirit, Chu Qingyun set his sights on another one nearby who was sleeping directly on the ground.

Using the same method and aided by his Shadow Martial Soul, Chu Qingyun silently devoured this Fifth-level Martial Spirit as well.

Chu Qingyun struck repeatedly within the Martial Soul Hall’s camp.

He exclusively targeted Fifth-level Martial Spirits, as their Primordial Power was far greater than that of Fourth-levels. Devouring the Primordial Power of a single Fifth-level Martial Spirit was more beneficial than devouring ten at the fourth level.

Of course, Sixth-level Martial Spirits had even greater Primordial Power, but they were also much stronger overall.

Even with his Shadow Martial Soul upgraded to Tier Four, Chu Qingyun wasn’t confident he could silently eliminate a Sixth-level Martial Spirit, so he didn’t take the risk.

Through this continuous cycle of assassination and consumption, the Primordial Liquid in Chu Qingyun’s Qi Sea accumulated at an incredible rate.

To accumulate this much Primordial Liquid through normal cultivation with Primordial Spirit Liquid, even a Spirit Level Alchemist like him would have had to slave away for months just to afford it.

Fortunately, his Devouring Power allowed him to plunder the Primordial Power of others directly.

After half a night, the Primordial Liquid in Chu Qingyun’s Qi Sea was almost full. He was just a hair’s breadth away from being able to attempt a breakthrough to become a Fourth-level Martial Spirit.

Breaking through in cultivation takes time.

Naturally, Chu Qingyun wasn’t foolish enough to attempt his breakthrough in the Martial Soul Hall’s camp.

Under the cover of his Shadow Martial Soul and Hidden Qi Technique, he slipped away from the Martial Soul Hall’s camp and plunged deep into the forest.

After running at top speed for more than ten minutes and putting considerable distance between himself and the Martial Soul Hall’s camp, he finally stopped.

He scouted the area, and once he confirmed it was safe, he leaped onto a thick tree branch. Sitting cross-legged, he retrieved a large box of Primordial Spirit Liquid from his Storage Ring.

The Primordial Spirit Liquid was crystal clear, emitting waves of pure Primordial Power. Even in the pitch-black night, it gave off a faint, fluorescent glow.

Chu Qingyun extended a hand, sending a wisp of his Devouring Power into the jade box to begin consuming the Primordial Spirit Liquid.

As the Devouring Power did its work, the level of Primordial Spirit Liquid in the jade box dropped at a visible rate. After consuming more than half of the liquid, his Qi Sea was finally full of Primordial Liquid.

Putting away the jade box, Chu Qingyun sat in the tree, calmed his heart and concentrated his spirit, and focused his energy to begin refining and compressing the Primordial Liquid in his Qi Sea.

The leap from a Third-level to a Fourth-level Martial Spirit was a significant hurdle within the Martial Spirit Realm.

Even for someone like Chu Qingyun, reaching this stage of cultivation proved to be somewhat difficult.

Despite having opened a Qi Sea with a ten-thousand-meter radius, a profound foundation in the Martial Dao, and Soul Power far stronger than that of an ordinary Martial Artist, this breakthrough was still challenging. It took him twice as long as his advancement from the second to the third level before he finally succeeded, becoming a Fourth-level Martial Spirit.

The Primordial Liquid of a Fourth-level Martial Spirit is much purer than that of a Third-level one.

Primordial Liquid is the foundation of a Martial Spirit Level expert’s strength. Secret Techniques, Soul Techniques, Sword Techniques, and even direct physical or Primordial Power attacks—nearly every ability was based on Primordial Power.

Therefore, this advancement from the third to the fourth level represented a massive boost to every aspect of Chu Qingyun’s power.

’With my current strength, if I were to face Yin Feiyang again, I could probably defeat him with ease!’

’Now that I’m a Fourth-level Martial Spirit, I’ll have a bit more confidence when I venture into the Blood-soaked Land.’

’But... if I could reach the fifth level, the path forward would be that much smoother...’

After a moment of thought, Chu Qingyun once again activated his Shadow Martial Soul and Hidden Qi Technique, silently sneaking back toward the Martial Soul Hall’s camp.