Su Shi himself was a bit unresponsive. He hasn’t even obtained the third ancient bell yet, and he managed to break through with just a fragment? It seems a bit too easy.
But upon careful consideration, it’s not entirely so. Although his previous cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul Realm, his spiritual power was even deeper than that of a Spirit Severing cultivator.
Plus, with the spiritual tea he drank just now, the spiritual energy in his dantian was almost overflowing. And after the tempering of the soul power by the small bell in his dantian, it far surpassed the same level cultivators. This fragment of the ancient bell brought him an opportunity, allowing him to smoothly breakthrough to the separation stage.
It can be said that his “accumulation brings success,” but the speed at which he accumulated is already beyond the understanding of ordinary people.
Yu Hongyin shook her head. A twenty-year-old Golden Elixir Cultivator can be called a genius. A twenty-year-old Nascent Soul Cultivator is a rare genius. What does a cultivator in his twenties at the Spirit Severing Realm amount to in comparison?
Yu Hongyin’s eyes were somewhat complex. Even if he’s a Holy-grade perfection, he definitely wouldn’t have such an exaggerated speed of progress. He must have great luck and opportunities.
To be able to reach the pinnacle and become a supremely powerful being, all of them were unrivaled geniuses. But looking at the young man before her, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of rising tide pushing against the preceding waves.
“The most talented genius in Linlang? Even if we consider the entire Nine Realms, it would be hard to find a second one,” Yu Hongyin pondered to herself.
“Yu Ren’er’s judgement is indeed not to be underestimated. Although she appears foolish, her eye for men is top-notch,” Yu Hongyin contemplated to herself.
Su Shi lowered his head and looked at his own hands.
Su Shi lowered his head and looked at his own transparent palms. Through the semi-transparent palms, he could see the swaying grass below. “So this is what it’s like to have the soul leave the body,” he thought. With a slight movement of his mind, he instantly arrived on the Ninth Heaven. The next second, he returned to the ground. Sometimes he dived into the underground, and sometimes he crossed over mountains and hills. It felt as if he had discarded all weight, drifting lightly without any burden, freely traversing the heavens and earth, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Such playfulness brought Yu Hongyin to shake her head. “How childish.”
But Su Shi quickly noticed that something was wrong. His soul was becoming more and more transparent, giving him a faint feeling of powerlessness. “What is happening?”
“Your soul power is dissipating,” Yu Hongyin explained. “If we compare soul power to water, then the physical body is the container. Without the protection of the body, the water will continuously evaporate and dissipate until it completely disappears.”
“In the end, it’s because your cultivation level is not enough. By constantly condensing, the water can be solidified into ice and will not easily dissipate. The time of separation can also become longer,” she continued.
“But if you want to completely separate your soul from the body and exist independently in the world, you must integrate the Great Dao into your soul. Of course, this is a story for later, not something you need to consider now,” she added, though she couldn’t help but sigh.
Usually, when cultivators first step into the Spirit Severing Realm, their soul can only briefly leave the body, lasting about three breaths. Then the soul power starts to dissipate and they have to return to their body. It’s unheard of for someone like Su Shi to freely roam around immediately after breaking through, lasting for a good half an hour before his soul begins to feel weak.
“Monstrous genius,” Yu Hongyin couldn’t think of any other words to describe him.
The novelty wore off, and Su Shi grew tired of it. He returned to his physical body, and his transparent soul merged into it. The Lingtai emitted a faint light as he slowly opened his eyes.
After breaking through to the Spirit Severing Realm, not only was his soul tempered, but his spiritual power and vital energy also experienced significant enhancements.
Inside the dantian, the area of the spiritual energy lake had shrunk slightly, but each drop of spiritual liquid became more condensed, containing several times more spiritual power than before. Above the lake, the ancient small bell glowed faintly. With the acquisition of the black fragment, the crack on the small bell in the dantian had also been repaired to some extent.
However, unfortunately, Great Harmony of Nine Mixed Elements still hadn’t managed to break through to the third transformation. After all, this was just a fragment. To completely break through the third transformation, it seems he would have to find a complete ancient clock.
This black ancient bell had somehow shattered, and it was unknown how many pieces it had broken into. The difficulty of finding all of them wouldn’t be small.
“But now that I have reached the Spirit Severing Realm, once my cultivation level stabilizes, I should be able to sense the locations of the other fragments,” Su Shi pondered to himself.
“Indeed,” he thought of something and asked, “Ancestor, when Daoist Zhaixin gave you the fragment, did she mention any information related to the other fragments?”
Yu Hongyin thought for a moment and said, “She once said that this thing was given to her by Li Hanjiang. After she had a foreboding that her remaining lifespan was short, she gave it to me, telling me to pass it on to the destined one in the future. Since you can sense this fragment, you must be the destined one she mentioned, right?”
Su Shi was stunned. Zhaixin Daozun had actually anticipated this step? The divination ability of the Dao experts is truly terrifying!
“It seems that it is indeed related to Li Hanjiang, the Ancient Emperor,” Su Shi thought for a moment and asked again, “Does the Ancestor know why Li Hanjiang suddenly disappeared?”
Yu Hongyin shook her head and said, “I don’t know. Not only do I not know, even when Zhaixin burned her life force, she couldn’t find the true whereabouts of Li Hanjiang, perhaps he has already perished.”
Thinking of the experiences in the Ancient Emperor’s Secret Realm, Su Shi felt that this possibility was highly likely. Only when someone with a strong perception of their lifespan ending would they leave their inheritance behind.
The world and I are illusory, what use is the immortal path,” Su Shi quoted the self-mockery of the ancient emperor in the secret realm, which to some extent explained the situation.
“Actually, you are very similar to Li Hanjiang,” Yu Hongyin suddenly said without any context.
Su Shi was taken aback, “I am similar to him?”
Yu Hongyin nodded and said, “Although your appearances are different, your temperaments are very similar. Both have a bit of a carefree attitude and carry an imperial-like majesty.”
“And your physical body is the most perfect I have seen, even more so than his. Li Hanjiang was born with the bloodline of True Martial. It is through martial arts that he proves the Dao and attains an undying and invincible demonic body. His physical body is like a mountain, capable of cutting off rivers with a single palm. And the man in front of me, his muscles and bones are like jade, his blood and energy are like dragons. Although he cannot be compared to the ancient emperor, one can see the boundless potential within him. Given time, his achievements will definitely not be inferior to Li Hanjiang!”
“Unfortunately, if Zhaixin could see you with her own eyes… Ah, she would be overjoyed. Even if she died and her Dao vanished, she would rest in peace,” Yu Hongyin said, a hint of regret in her voice.
Su Shi fell into silence.
“Should I tell Daoist Sikong about this?” he asked, thinking of the seemingly cold but easily shy nun. A smile appeared at the corner of Su Shi’s mouth. He wondered what her reaction would be to hearing these “secrets.”
