Devouring Soul Emperor

This was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to miss.

An opportunity like this—so many Martial Spirits from the Martial Soul Hall gathered together without a Celestial Spirit Realm master guarding them—was exceptionally rare.

Of course, breaking through to the next realm wasn’t something to be rushed.

Even Martial Artists from wealthy backgrounds, who had no shortage of cultivation resources, wouldn’t just blindly keep refining Primordial Stones and Primordial Spirit Liquid to force their way to higher realms.

Doing so might grant temporary benefits, but it would lead to an unstable foundation. Once they broke through to a certain realm, they would likely find themselves unable to ever advance again.

The common practice was to linger in a realm for a period after a breakthrough.

During this time, they would use combat or practice Secret Techniques, Soul Techniques, and Secret Manuals to fully temper their bodies with Primordial Power, forging it into a more condensed and solid state.

Only after building a solid foundation would they refine Primordial Spirit Liquid again to break through to the next realm.

This balanced approach of alternating between tension and relaxation was the only way to progress further on the path of the Martial Dao.

However, Chu Qingyun’s situation was somewhat unique.

His Qi Sea was so vast that it was practically impossible for him to gather enough Primordial Power to fill it in one go. Other people’s cultivation involved saving up enough Primordial Spirit Liquid and then refining it all at once to achieve a breakthrough.

Chu Qingyun, on the other hand, could only do it in many small increments, slowly devouring Primordial Power to fill his Qi Sea. Only when his Primordial Liquid had fully accumulated could he break through.

After quietly returning to the Martial Soul Hall’s encampment, Chu Qingyun decided to ignore the Fifth-level Martial Spirits this time and directly targeted the sixth-level ones.

It wouldn’t be long before dawn.

Going after more Fifth-level Martial Spirits wouldn’t yield much of a reward.

And once the sun rose, the people from the Martial Soul Hall would definitely discover that many of their Fifth-level Martial Spirits were missing. Even if he waited another day, it would be difficult to find another chance to strike.

The first person Chu Qingyun targeted was a sixth-level Martial Spirit sleeping in a crude wooden hut at the edge of the camp.

Chu Qingyun first crept up to the wooden hut. When the two nearby patrollers weren’t looking, he quickly used his Shadow Martial Soul to envelop the entire structure.

After waiting a moment, Chu Qingyun confirmed that the two patrollers hadn’t noticed a wooden hut had vanished into thin air. He then gently opened the door and stepped inside.

It was a sixth-level Martial Spirit who appeared to be a young woman in her twenties. In the darkness, Chu Qingyun couldn’t make out her features, but judging by her silhouette, she seemed to have a very nice figure.

Wasting no time, Chu Qingyun drew his Strange Sword and immediately unleashed his Thunder Light Sword Qi, thrusting toward the sixth-level Martial Spirit on the bed.

The instant the Sword Qi shot out, the sixth-level Martial Spirit’s eyes snapped open.

But it was too late. The distance was too short. The layer of Sword Qi coating the Strange Sword was incomparably sharp; it broke right through the Primordial Power surging from her body and pierced through her chest.

"Who’s there!?"

"Help! Someone, help!"

Grievously wounded by the single strike, the sixth-level Martial Spirit cried out in terror.

’As expected of a sixth-level Martial Spirit,’ Chu Qingyun thought to himself. ’Her Spiritual Sense is so much stronger than a fifth-level’s. She can even still scream after taking a hit from my Thunder Light Sword Qi...’

He wasn’t concerned about her shouts. The entire hut was enveloped by his Shadow Martial Soul. Even if she screamed herself hoarse, not a single sound would escape.

Not unless she could shatter the Shadow Martial Soul outside with brute force.

But clearly, having been gravely injured by the Strange Sword and its Sword Qi, that was impossible for her.

"Devouring Power!"

Chu Qingyun connected with his Devouring Martial Soul. A surge of Devouring Power erupted from his palm, transforming into dozens of fine black threads that shot toward the sixth-level Martial Spirit, invisible and formless in the pitch-black darkness.

Her body had been pierced by Sword Qi, and she was severely injured. Even as a sixth-level Martial Spirit, she couldn’t muster much resistance. All she could do was scream in terror as she watched her Primordial Power and Martial Soul Power be endlessly devoured.

It took a full minute to completely devour the sixth-level Martial Spirit’s Primordial Power.

The Primordial Power of a sixth-level Martial Spirit was far stronger than that of a fifth-level one.

But after his Devouring Martial Soul refined the Primordial Power of one sixth-level Martial Spirit, the Primordial Liquid in Chu Qingyun’s Qi Sea had only increased by a tiny, almost imperceptible amount.

At this, Chu Qingyun could only sigh helplessly. He retracted his Shadow Martial Soul and moved on to the next target.

With the help of his Shadow Martial Soul and the Hidden Qi Technique, the process of dealing with the sixth-level Martial Spirits went very smoothly.

In about half an hour, Chu Qingyun had taken out a total of four sixth-level Martial Spirits and devoured their Primordial Power.

What he failed to notice, however, was that he was getting closer and closer to the center of the camp.

In this encampment, the sixth-level Martial Spirits were among the small group with the highest strength and status. Naturally, they wouldn’t just sleep on the ground or in trees like the others; most of them had set up small huts within the camp.

In the very center of the camp stood a wooden house that was clearly much better constructed than the other huts.

Next to that wooden house were several other small huts, each containing a sixth-level Martial Spirit.

Just as Chu Qingyun was approaching those huts, the door to the main wooden house was kicked open from the inside with a BANG. A figure rushed out and instantly locked onto Chu Qingyun’s hiding spot. "Who’s there!?"

This man was none other than the leader of the encampment, the Lord Ming whom Chu Qingyun had seen during the day.

’Damn it, I’ve been discovered!’

Chu Qingyun could clearly feel a powerful aura and killing intent erupt from the man, locking onto his general area.

Although he hadn’t seen Chu Qingyun yet, he was certain someone was there!

Immediately after, the doors of two nearby huts opened, and two more sixth-level Martial Spirits emerged.

More and more people in the vicinity were waking up, and the entire Martial Soul Hall encampment seemed to be slowly coming to life.

’I can’t delay any longer. If I do, I’ll definitely be surrounded...’ Chu Qingyun’s thoughts raced. Without a moment’s hesitation, he shot off like a shadow in the night, WHOOSHING away.

Although he hadn’t been spotted yet, with more and more people waking up, it would be impossible for him to remain hidden.

Even if he were to transform into someone else, he likely wouldn’t be able to fool them. Lord Ming had already locked onto his area and was only holding back out of caution.

In this situation, the longer he hesitated, the more sixth-level Martial Spirits would converge on him.

That was why Chu Qingyun had fled without a second thought.

"I can’t even get a clear sense of his Qi... He must be an assassin from the Assassin Alliance! After him!"

Lord Ming was clearly a man of broad experience, as he had even recognized the Hidden Qi Technique.

With that command, he led the several sixth-level Martial Spirits beside him in pursuit of Chu Qingyun.