Devouring Soul Emperor

Seeing Mu Xiaoxiao’s terrified expression, Chu Qingyun hesitated. In the end, he decided against telling her the even more frightening thought he had.

He had suspected from the beginning that the sudden appearance of these Blood Sect ruins was likely the work of the Martial Soul Hall.

Based on the current situation, if his suspicions were true, then something catastrophic was about to happen.

However, since he hadn’t run into anyone from the Martial Soul Hall since leaving Blood Abyss City, Chu Qingyun couldn’t be sure if they had infiltrated the ruins.

’I hope I’m just being paranoid...’

Chu Qingyun could only hope so in silence.

"Chu Qingyun, let’s go! We have to leave these ruins. King-level monsters that have been alive for two thousand years, and maybe even emperor-level ones... We can’t handle them at all."

Mu Xiaoxiao said, her voice trembling slightly.

But Chu Qingyun just shook his head helplessly. "Have you forgotten about the array outside the ruins?"

Mu Xiaoxiao froze, and her expression soured.

When the Blood Sect ruins were first discovered, an Array Master had identified the Grand Array as the Six Imperial Demon-Sealing Array.

People had found it strange at the time because, strictly speaking, the Six Imperial Demon-Sealing Array wasn’t a Guardian Array. Its primary function wasn’t to protect from threats outside, but to contain threats within.

To put it simply: getting in was easy, but getting out was hard.

It was clear now that the people of the Blood Sect hadn’t been ignorant at all.

They had set up this Grand Array to prevent the monsters inside from escaping, not to protect the ruins themselves.

According to the speculations of the Array Masters outside, the Grand Array had lost much of its power over two thousand years. It now operated on a cycle, entering a weakened state once every seven days.

This meant that if Chu Qingyun and his companions wanted to escape, they would have to wait inside the ruins for another six and a half days and break out during the array’s weakened period.

With this drastic turn of events in the Blood Sect ruins, the three of them naturally grew even more vigilant.

When they rested that night, they not only extinguished their campfire but also set up a watch, with one person taking shifts to guard against any danger. They didn’t dare let their guard down for a moment.

Chu Qingyun took the first watch.

After making a sweep of the surrounding area, he returned to where Mu Xiaoxiao and Dai were resting. He took out the blood-colored sphere he had obtained earlier and began to study it again.

He and Mu Xiaoxiao had both studied it before, but to no avail.

However, now that he knew the senior in the pavilion had been a Martial Sect expert, Chu Qingyun was certain the sphere was no simple object.

The Sect Level expert had nothing on him when he died.

Aside from the Scroll he was writing right before his death, this was the only other item. It was clear that it must have been incredibly important to him—or rather, to the entire Blood Sect.

Mu Xiaoxiao and Dai were already fast asleep.

Both of them had been through intense battles during the day and had sustained injuries, leaving them mentally exhausted.

Chu Qingyun condensed Primordial Power in his palm, attempting to probe the blood-colored sphere.

However, a faint crimson glow emanated from the sphere, firmly blocking the Primordial Power of his Fifth-level Martial Spirit, preventing it from penetrating at all.

Chu Qingyun persisted for ten minutes, but the crimson glow on the sphere remained as strong as ever, showing no signs of weakening.

Resigned, Chu Qingyun had no choice but to give up for the time being and withdraw his Primordial Power.

After he withdrew his Primordial Power, the crimson light receded back into the sphere. In the darkness, the sphere continued to emit a faint, bloody glow.

’If Primordial Power doesn’t work, I wonder if my Devouring Power will...’

Chu Qingyun hesitated. He wanted to try using his Devouring Power, but he was afraid it was too domineering and might destroy the sphere.

In the end, however, he decided to give it a shot.

’If I’m too afraid of breaking it to even try, then what’s the difference between having it and not having it at all?’

Chu Qingyun connected his Heart and Mind to his Devouring Martial Soul. He mobilized a current of Devouring Power, condensing it in his palm, then carefully separated a tiny wisp and wrapped it around the blood-colored sphere.

Sensing the intrusion of an external force, a layer of crimson Blood Aura once again emerged from the sphere.

Devouring Power was different from Primordial Power.

Using Primordial Power was an attempt to forcefully suppress the blood-red light and break into the sphere.

Devouring Power, on the other hand, sought to devour that layer of bloody light.

At that moment, Chu Qingyun had only one thought: he hoped the bloody power within the sphere wasn’t too strong. If it was as powerful as the Primordial Power that had sealed the jade-colored energy back then, he would be completely out of options.

Fortunately, while the bloody light could completely block his Primordial Power, it wasn’t strong enough to resist his Devouring Power.

Chu Qingyun could clearly feel streams of crimson power flowing along the tendril of Devouring Power and into his Devouring Martial Soul.

Moreover, this power felt very familiar to Chu Qingyun.

It was very similar to the power he obtained when devouring the flesh of Demon Beasts with his Devouring Power, only it was far purer.

Chu Qingyun’s body was still unable to absorb this power.

After the crimson power was refined by his Devouring Martial Soul, it flowed through his meridians and gathered in his hand. Soon, a Crimson Crystal the size of a grain of rice condensed in his palm.

’The power from Demon Beast flesh can condense into those dark red Elixir Pills, while the power in this sphere can condense into a Crimson Crystal. Could there be some connection between the two...?’

Chu Qingyun pondered this silently.

After devouring for a while with a single wisp of Devouring Power, the crimson light on the sphere showed no change. Clearly, a much stronger power was still sustaining it.

So, Chu Qingyun sent out a few more tendrils of Devouring Power, wrapping them around the sphere and continuing the process.

However, he didn’t dare use too much Devouring Power, lest he lose control and actually destroy the sphere.

Time passed, second by second.

The Crimson Crystal condensing in Chu Qingyun’s palm grew progressively larger, but the bloody light on the sphere remained stable.

By the time his shift was over, the crystal in his palm had grown from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a date pit.

It was a perfect, rhomboid Crimson Crystal. Under the moonlight, it looked both beautiful and mysterious, like a flawless work of art.

The blood-colored sphere, however, remained unchanged.

’Looks like dealing with this thing isn’t going to be a quick job...’

Chu Qingyun shook his head, withdrew his Devouring Power, and placed both the blood-colored sphere and the rhomboid crystal into his Storage Ring. Then he woke Dai for his shift and lay down to rest.

A catastrophe had befallen the ruins.

At a time like this, it was crucial to maintain one’s strength at its peak. Therefore, whenever conditions allowed, Chu Qingyun and his companions made sure to get enough rest.