Thirty meters…thirty-three meters…thirty-seven meters…the lower heavenly palace grew increasingly taller.
Rumble…!
A loud sound rang out as the enormous heavenly palace pushed through the vine barrier. The heavenly palace seemed ethereal. The vine barrier did not hinder it at all, leaving it to rush out.
This eight-colored lower heavenly palace grew increasingly larger. The people inside the vine barrier could no longer make out how tall it was. However, Gu Hai’s mortal soul still seemed to be curled up in it.
“Just how big is Gu Hai’s mortal soul?” Long Aotian’s eyelids twitched wildly.
It is still growing? It is still growing taller?
The amount of the power of faith in the Revival Pool dropped visibly. That was an incredibly vast pool of power of faith.
Rumble…!
It was like a hole opened in the sky. The milky-white liquid quickly poured into Gu Hai’s heavenly palace.
The vast heavenly palace kept growing.
The expressions of the black angels outside changed.
“What is this?” Yanxuan’s face sank.
“Move away! Be careful! This is Gu Hai’s scheme. Seal off the vicinity, and don’t let Gu Hai escape!” one of the black angels said with a glare.
“Why does this palace seem to have the aura of a heavenly palace?” one of the black angels said in shock.
“What nonsense are you speaking? How can there be such a large heavenly palace? Furthermore, it is still growing? What kind of joke are you cracking? Don’t touch it. Be careful. It is Gu Hai trying to trick us!” Lu Fa said with a glare.
“What a horrifying aura!” The eyelids of the black angels twitched wildly.
“Another treasure? This Gu Hai really has a lot of treasures!” Yanxuan said with wide eyes.
The black angels nodded.
The eight-colored palace continued growing, inducing strange phenomena.
Clouds of eight different colors appeared in the sky—red, yellow, blue, brown, green, purple, white, and black.
The colored clouds all sent surging Spiritual Energy into the continuously enlarging palace.
The eight colors were vibrant, lending the clouds grandeur.
Rumble…!
The palace kept growing. It had already reached sixty-seven meters tall, about the size of a twenty-story building. However, it was still increasing and expanding.
A curled-up figure was vaguely visible in the palace.
“That can’t be a mortal soul, right? Gu Hai’s aura?” Yanxuan said with horror in his voice.
“How can this be possible? Gu Hai is in the Nascent Soul Realm. Even if he is in the Heavenly Palace Realm, how could he have such a large mortal soul?” Lu Fa said with disbelief on his face.
This mortal soul gave Lu Fa a sense of great danger. As the mortal soul started to uncurl, countless angels felt their souls tremble.
Outside Heaven City:
The Mosquito Daoist, who came to check on the situation, goggled, his body freezing.
“Although this Daoist has met Gu Hai only once, there’s no way I would mistake his aura. That is a heavenly palace? Eight colors? Gu Hai’s mortal soul is in there?” The Mosquito Daoist’s expression changed.
“He only just established his heavenly palace? That can’t be right. That’s impossible. How could someone who has just established their heavenly palace have such a strong mortal soul? Nascent Soul Realm? What nonsense! Is that four-winged angel crazy? They got Gu Hai trapped? Trapped, my ass! With such a strong mortal soul, could the Supreme Genesis’s two retarded sons trap him?” The Mosquito Daoist’s expression changed again.
The Mosquito Daoist trembled internally, no longer doubting Gu Hai’s strength.
With such a large mortal soul, how can Gu Hai be only in the Nascent Soul Realm?
The Mosquito Daoist shivered and quickly fled as he cursed. Now, he started to fear Gu Hai.
Now, the level of the Revival Pool’s content quickly dropped to half in mere moments.
Ao Shun, Long Aotian, and the others gaped. Although they could not see how large Gu Hai’s lower heavenly palace had grown outside the vine barrier, just the sight of the massive leg inside the heavenly palace already rendered them speechless.
“Crown Prince Ao Shun, you go first. How big was your lower heavenly palace again when you first established it?” Sima Changkong said with a stiff expression.
“Thirty-three centimeters,” Ao Shun said with a bitter expression.
“Mine was also thirty-three centimeters,” Sima Changkong said bitterly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Outside, Gu Hai’s mortal soul caused boundless Spiritual Energy to pour into his body. His nascent souls had just exhausted their energy and were now replenishing themselves.
The size of Gu Hai’s mortal soul did not change. His lower heavenly palace had initially been thirty meters tall. Now, he used the power of faith to enlarge his lower heavenly palace, allowing his mortal soul to straighten and relax.
As Gu Hai quickly absorbed the power of faith, he felt that his mortal soul was no longer compressed and could stretch out.
Why was Gu Hai’s mortal soul so large? Back in the Human Path Secret Realm, Gu Hai had absorbed at least a tenth of the countless soul fragments in the sky when he coitally cultivated. Furthermore, he had killed innumerable asuras in the Asura Path Secret Realm, obtaining boundless Soul Energy. This was especially so for Ming He’s Soul Energy. That portion had been horrifyingly large. Although most of it had gone to nourishing his earthly soul, his mortal soul had also received some, hence his mortal soul’s current size.
Outside:
Rumble…!
Gu Hai’s mortal soul finally stopped uncurling and straightened fully. It was one hundred sixty-three meters tall [forty-nine zhangs], the number of seven times seven. That eight-colored heavenly palace continued enlarging.
[TL Note: The square and circle have the significance of perfection in Chinese culture. The square represents laws and regulations. The circle stands for fulfillment, oneness, perfection, unity, and the cycle. Seven as a number has many meanings in Chinese culture, both auspicious and inauspicious. However, I believe in this case, it points to the combination of Yin, Yang, and the five elements—signifying harmony—so having a mortal soul that is seven times seven zhangs refers to perfection and harmony.]
Rumble…!
The Revival Pool was as large as Earth’s Beijing City, but Gu Hai soon drained all the power of faith in it.
“Will the Supreme Genesis go crazy when he finds out his eight hundred thousand years of accumulations are all gone?” Long Sanqian said with an unsightly expression.
“The Supreme Genesis?” Everyone felt startled.
Indeed. The Supreme Genesis accumulated this over eight hundred thousand years. Now, it is all gone?
Outside, Gu Hai’s eight-colored lower heavenly palace finally stopped growing at three hundred thirty-three meters tall. It looked majestic, towering into the sky.
The eight-colored heavenly palace gave off a powerful aura that made the souls of angels with four wings or less tremble. They all knelt unconsciously.
“What are you doing?” Yanxuan glared at the angels.
Such an aura would affect only those under Lower Heavenly Palace Realm; Yanxuan and the black angels were immune. However, there were countless other angels here, most of whom were under Lower Heavenly Palace Realm.
“This…this really is a heavenly palace?” Lu Fa felt startled.
“That’s impossible!” the black angels said with disbelief on their faces.
Far away, the Mosquito Daoist moved back continuously. As he looked at the eight-colored heavenly palace in the distance, his eyelids twitched wildly. “A three-hundred-thirty-three-meter-tall lower heavenly palace and a one-hundred-sixty-three-meter-tall mortal soul. He’s a monster! This Daoist’s mortal soul is only one hundred meters tall now. One hundred! Damn it!”
Phew!
Gu Hai exhaled gently. He had finally established his heavenly palace. It was all over.
Just as Gu Hai was about to withdraw the lower heavenly palace image, the pool he sat in flared with red light.
Now that the pool was empty, its bottom came into view. There seemed to be countless diagrams carved into it, looking like a giant cross made of millions of talismans.
When the power of faith disappeared, the talismans unleashed a puissant aura. Then, they suddenly floated up from the bottom and turned erect, becoming a three-hundred-thirty-three-meter-tall crimson cross shining bright red.
The moment the red light appeared, it encased Heaven City. A bloody aura filled the entire city.
“The Cross Annihilation’s aura?” The Mosquito Daoist’s face sank.
“The Revival Pool is a stone rubbing of the Cross Annihilation. It contains the murderous intent of the Cross Annihilation? Hall Master, be careful!” Sima Changkong suddenly cried out.
The crimson cross was double the size of Gu Hai’s mortal soul. It felt like heavenly might pressing down.
The expressions of Yanxuan and the black angels immediately changed.
“The Revival Pool? Something happened at the Revival Pool?” Lu Fa’s expression changed.
“The Cross Annihilation stone rubbing at the bottom of the Revival Pool activated? Gu Hai, you tricked me?” Yanxuan exclaimed with wide eyes.
Now, everyone knew that something had happened at the Revival Pool. The crimson cross would activate only when the power of faith was gone. Since it got activated, something must have happened there.
When the crimson cross appeared, it immediately pressed towards Gu Hai’s mortal soul with a destructive might.
“It’s useless. The crimson cross might be able to deal with a newly advanced Lower Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator. However, what use is it on Gu Hai?” the Mosquito Daoist sighed to himself in the distance.
“Hall Master!” Ao Shun’s expression changed. He sensed a great threat and wanted to make a move.
Just at this moment, a scroll appeared in the hands of Gu Hai’s mortal soul. When that scroll unfurled, it released a bright blue light.
The blue light covered the sky like a blue sea drowning the crimson cross.
Boom!
A loud report triggered intense quakes.
When the blue light vanished, the crimson cross vanished as well.
“The Mortal Soul Register got activated by the crimson cross and automatically launched a counterattack?” Gu Hai exclaimed in astonishment.
Buzz!
Gu Hai’s mortal soul shrank and returned to his body with the lower heavenly palace.
However, the people outside were still in shock at this scene.
“Did I see wrong? Where’s the crimson cross?” Lu Fa cried out in alarm.
“It’s gone? How could it be gone?” Yanxuan cried out as well.
Only the faraway Mosquito Daoist showed an expression that said, “Sure enough, that’s how it is,” as he shot into the distance.
The Mortal Soul Register? It did not have such power back in the Human Path Secret Realm, right? Wait, perhaps the Reincarnation King could use only some of the Mortal Soul Register’s functions as he was appointed by Heaven; he had not personally refined the Mortal Soul Register. Naturally, he could not use the power of the Mortal Soul Register. The Mortal Soul Register is actually such a good treasure? Gu Hai thought.
Buzz!
Gu Hai opened his eyes.
“Hall Master, was that your mortal soul earlier?” Sima Changkong asked with a strange expression.
“Fortunately, I managed to reach the first layer of the Lower Heavenly Palace Realm.” Gu Hai nodded.
Sima Changkong, Ao Shun, Long Aotian, and Long Sanqian: “…”
Fortunately? Can you please consider our feelings?
“Master, we have all broken through. Are we going to wait for the Supreme Genesis to bring Bing Ji over?” Ensnaring Performance asked as he stepped forward.
“No, I have made my breakthrough and can now use my mortal soul to control the Vine World Calabash at full power,” Gu Hai replied.
“Oh?”
Gu Hai’s mortal soul came out of the lower heavenly palace and entered his wood deity.
When the spiritual and physical souls merged, Gu Hai suddenly gave off boundless green light.
The wood deity used the mortal soul’s connection to the world to instantly take in boundless wood-attributed Spiritual Energy and control the Vine World Calabash at full power.
The vine barrier immediately started growing.
Whoosh!
The vine barrier soared upwards. Innumerable vines became like whips, spreading all over Heaven City.
“What?” The expressions of countless angels changed.
“Oh no! Hurry! Leave!” an angel exclaimed.
The vines multiplied—one to ten, ten to ten thousand, ten thousand to one hundred million. It was just like when the Azure Emperor controlled it back then. Now, Gu Hai could bring out the full power of the Vine World Calabash.
Rumble…!
In just an instant, boundless vines wrapped up the vast Heaven City.
Not a single angel managed to flee; they all got surrounded by boundless vines. The entire Heaven City became like a giant, green vine egg.
Far away, the Mosquito Daoist’s eyelids twitched wildly. “I just knew it. This Gu Hai is a fraud. He clearly is a ferocious and powerful person, yet he acts like a meek maiden? Ptooey! Fortunately, this Daoist did not fall for it!”
Chapters for July: 13 / 30
