The Journey of Immortal Cultivation

However, no matter how compelling the voices around him might be, Emperor Fu Ming was unaffected, unwilling to listen to even a single word. He pressed his hand over the cross-shaped wound on his chest, clearly anticipating this situation long ago. The message hidden within the Stone Heart was too vast; if he recklessly acted on it, his Divine Soul might be trapped in a maze of knowledge, unable to escape.

He muttered a mantra under his breath, and the tiny flesh sprouts began to wiggle, intertwining. After fifty breaths, he lowered his right hand from his chest, which was now smooth, without a trace of the fierce wound left.

At this moment, Emperor Fu Ming finally took out an elixir and swallowed it, causing his pale complexion to start turning rosy.

He was about to stand when a defiant, wild laugh suddenly echoed in his ears!

Was there a second person hiding in the secret room?

His expression changed, glancing around but seeing no other figure besides himself. Listening closely again, he realized the voice was coming directly from his own heart.

He suddenly understood: the newly acquired Stone Heart housed a monstrous entity!

Emperor Fu Ming exhaled deeply, yet remained calm, saying in a deep voice: "You really have patience, hiding within the Power Soul for so long, only to emerge once I merged the dual hearts."

Upon hearing him speak, the voice paused, curious: "You’re not afraid of me?" The implication was that he should be feared. The voice was old and profound, resonating with the clanging of metal, with each word spoken distinctly and firmly, clearly accustomed to issuing commands from a high position.

Emperor Fu Ming sneered: "It’s nothing but a wisp of Residual Soul hiding in the Power Soul to barely prolong its existence, why should I fear it?"

"Residual Soul?" The voice chuckled twice coldly, "Ignorant youngster, truly showing no respect for your elders. If you knew my name, you would surely kneel and worship! Well, after capturing your Divine Soul, I’ll teach you proper manners before devouring it!" Before the sentence ended, Emperor Fu Ming was drawn into his own Sea of Consciousness!

Upon entering, his expression changed. No matter what color his Sea of Consciousness originally was, it was now tainted into a midnight black as dense as ink. The surface saw fierce storms and waves, raising walls of water over ten feet high.

Amidst sea and sky, a tall figure stood proudly, seemingly able to pierce through the heavens with a mere reach!

The figure was nearly eight feet tall (approximately 2.6 meters), with fierce eyes and a large mouth, white hair and a curling mustache, and several menacing scars across the face; the longest and most terrifying one stretching from the left eye to the right cheek, indicating that this blow nearly split his face in half years ago. Though wrinkles were etched onto his face, showing he was no longer young, his chest was bare except for beast-head shoulder armor, and his waist was wrapped in an animal skin skirt, further highlighting muscles that seemed forged from steel.

At first glance, the man resembled a majestic lion in his twilight years, formidable despite old age.

Emperor Fu Ming was considered tall among Humans, yet appeared child-like before this imposing figure.

The old man laughed heartily: "This body of yours is quite good, very good, it shall be mine." With a pointed finger, seven or eight black chains suddenly emerged from the Sea of Consciousness, like serpents, tightly binding Emperor Fu Ming and pulling him straight down into the depths, imprisoning him at the bottom.

Emperor Fu Ming struggled twice but could not break free.

The old man regarded him as one would an ant, yet concealed two barely noticeable hints of curiosity: "You are quite interesting, young one, daring to whimsically fuse two Stone Hearts within your body, and even manage without failure. Hmm, you are still a Human! Tsk, such a meek and lowly Human."

Emperor Fu Ming gritted his teeth and sneered: "Old fool, who told you that Stone Hearts can’t be fused? Then how could I succeed?" Though underwater, he could speak through Divine Thought.

The old man looked at him as if he were an idiot: "Nonsense, of course not! Ever since the Wisdom Soul and Power Soul split, no one has been able to combine them again. Those who tried have failed. You dared to stuff them both into your chest and succeeded, truly a fool’s luck."

He chuckled: "We Barbarians also stress defying Heaven to change fortune, luck is extremely important too. You have Qi Fortune on your side, excellent. After I take your body, I’ll make good use of it!"