Returning to the Soul Condensation Realm

The wing room was dead silent, as if everything had been frozen on pause. The look in Li Qingyan's eyes gradually shifted from concern to chilled detachment. Xu Yuan's salted-fish thrashing on the ground abruptly ceased. The suppressed, agonized groans in his throat died down until, under her level gaze, he let out a few weak grunts and whimpers before falling completely silent. He felt an urge to whip a corpse. What did she mean, "acting"? Granted, there had been an element of acting, but the pain had been real enough. Still, his hard-earned wisdom from his past life had taught him one clear truth: once a woman made up her mind about something, any explanation was just perceived as making excuses. In situations like this, no matter what she said, the only correct move was simply to nod and agree: "Right, right, totally right." In the quiet, Li Qingyan walked back to the bed and sat down, calmly regarding his corpse-like form on the floor. "Doesn't hurt anymore?" Silently climbing up from the floor, Xu Yuan said in a hoarse voice, "It hurts." Li Qingyan crossed her slender, pale legs, pressing her lips together with curved eyes. "Then keep screaming. Pay This Palace no mind." "Ahhh~" "......" Li Qingyan's fists clenched. Xu Yuan hastily shut his mouth. Li Qingyan parted her red lips, about to say something, when she suddenly noticed his aura had changed. As the man himself, Xu Yuan naturally felt the shift within his body, and what little color remained in his cheeks abruptly drained away. It was beginning. Under his earlier guidance, the ingested Fate-Reversing Liquid had seeped into his limbs and bones, and the marrow-cleansing, meridian-purging agony began spreading through his entire body. The flickering, dying aura suddenly surged with dense, majestic power, and the aura of a Transcendent-realm aberrant ghost began rolling outward uncontrollably, bearing down on everything around them. Fortunately, Xu Yuan had designated the surrounding streets a forbidden zone beforehand; otherwise, the sheer pressure of the Transcendent Realm would have crushed the ordinary soldiers to death. This leaking Transcendent aura naturally drew the attention of the army-conscripted martial experts stationed in the Barbarian Sacred City. Almost the very next instant, several figures streaked into midair, gazing from afar at the courtyard standing amidst the ruins. Three men and one woman. The woman wore an ink-wash qipao that accentuated her lush, mature curves to perfection. Her skin possessed the firm, porcelain radiance typical of high-level cultivators, and her demeanor was serene. Of the rest, aside from an elderly man in the robes of a grain transport official, the other two were white-armored commandants. After watching for a few breaths, the four noticed that rather than subsiding, the terrifying aura continued expanding outward, and gravity crept into their eyes. The mature woman in the qipao glanced at the burly man in white armor beside her. "Commandant Tang, do we need to go take a look?" Commandant Tang's dark brown eyes were calm as a lake. "That blood-robed Transcendent already stated: whoever dares disturb Her Highness while she tends her wounds shall be treated as an assassin." The mature woman furrowed her brow slightly. "With such a terrifying aura erupting so abruptly, if it poses a danger to Her Highness..." "A danger?" Commandant Tang cut her off. "Against a Transcendent powerhouse capable of matching a Saint blow for blow, do all of us combined stand a chance against one of his hands? If he truly makes a move, our only choice would be ordering the soldiers below to stake their lives on activating the military array." The mature woman drew a breath and sighed. "In that case, how about sending a voice transmission to inquire?" Commandant Tang gave a slight nod. "That area has been declared a forbidden zone. That is our only option." Hearing this, the woman said no more. Her fingers pinched an incantation gesture, sending a streak of flowing light shooting toward the courtyard exuding the eerie aura. After a few breaths of waiting, a raspy, pleasant female voice carried back, devoid of any weakness of injury: "This Palace is unharmed. This aura comes from my close friend practicing a secret art. Enforce the forbidden zone as he instructed. Any trespassers shall be dealt with under military law." "......" Listening to this, the four exchanged glances. And while they stood in silence, that uncanny aura abruptly began expanding. Under its immense pressure, a faint blood-colored mist materialized, engulfing that entire city sector within its fold! Even the woman in the qipao, an Origin Realm powerhouse, could not help turning pale upon sensing the aura, and the three men fared no better. Because this was an aura they had felt only three days ago—from the Barbarian King who had ascended to sainthood. Yet compared to the Source Qi fluctuations from the Barbarian King, Chi Feng, this eerie bloody aura lacked a measure of purity and carried far more impurity. The mature woman murmured to herself, "Is he trying to break through?... No, the aura is starting to dissipate." Upon reaching its peak, the alluring crimson mist underwent no qualitative transformation. Instead, it gradually began unraveling, the majestic aura receding at a slow crawl. It had failed... Seeing this, the expressions on the four faces varied. There was regret, wistful sighs, and a quiet sense of relief. The dying Barbarian King's counterstrike had inflicted no small wounds upon him. To attempt a breakthrough before those wounds had healed—if he had actually succeeded, what kind of monstrous prodigy would that blood-robed man be? And if such a monster accompanied Her Highness back to Di'an City, what kind of turbulence would he trigger in the political landscape? Though their standing was not high enough to set foot in the supreme echelons of the Great Yan imperial court, they could still glean fragments of what was happening at the summit of Di'an City through various channels. For example, the Emperor's health was failing... For example, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had re-emerged into the world... For example, the marriage alliance between Princess Wuyuan and the Prime Minister's Manor's Third Young Master had already been proclaimed to the world... In these turbulent times, Her Highness had found a Transcendent powerhouse on the verge of breaking through to Saint. Wasn't that an outright slap in Duke Xu's face? Commandant Tang took a deep breath, sweeping his gaze across the other three. "Everyone, if you want to keep your lives, I suggest you take this to the grave and keep a tight rein on your subordinates' mouths." *** Xu Yuan's process of returning to the Soul Condensation Realm did not go smoothly. All because of Qi's demon crystal. The demon crystal of a primordial aberrant ghost that was once a Saint contained a life origin that was vast and concentrated. Unlike the demon crystals of ordinary aberrant ghosts, once absorbed, Qi's life origin clung like maggots in bone, nearly impossible to purge. Like the roots of a century-old tree sunk deep into soil, Qi's life origin seemed to take root inside Xu Yuan's body, defying even the Fate-Reversing Liquid. And so, progress ground to a halt. Inside the vast wing room, silence reigned. Her lips pressed tight, Li Qingyan in her red robes asked, "Senior, what do you mean it cannot be purged?" Luo Xiran's gentle, clear voice was heavy. "Qi tampered with it. The Fate-Reversing Liquid's corrosive effect against the life origin of a primordial aberrant ghost like Qi is very limited. At this rate, the brat cannot fully restore his human form." Li Qingyan's breath caught slightly. "Senior, This Palace recalls you mentioning before: so long as the life origin is not completely purged, the aberrant ghost transformation will continue deepening until he turns into a full aberrant ghost..." "Yes," Luo Xiran replied. Li Qingyan's shapely willow-leaf brows knit tight, her breathing trembling faintly. "Is there any way out now?" "I'm thinking." "......" At that, Li Qingyan's heart sank. Her fingertips pressed into her palms as she raced through possible solutions. Her years in the military had given her a passing familiarity with many paths of cultivation, but aberrant ghosts—creatures vanished for ten thousand years—fell entirely outside her knowledge. Silence settled over the room once more. Nothing remained but the clatter of boots against stone floorboards as Li Qingyan paced back and forth with furrowed brows. After a while, Xu Yuan slowly opened his closed eyes. As the party directly affected, he seemed far calmer than the two anxious women. Watching her pace back and forth in front of him for several breaths, he suddenly chuckled. "Qingyan, even I'm not in a rush. Why are you acting like the emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is panicking?" Li Qingyan stopped in her tracks and glared back at him. "Comparing yourself to Imperial Father? If that got out, you'd be in for a world of hurt." Xu Yuan gave a devil-may-care shrug. "If I'm about to die anyway, can't I be a little reckless with my words?" Li Qingyan grew incensed. "What time do you think it is? You still have the mood to joke with This Palace?" Feeling the stubborn life origin inside him, Xu Yuan remarked, "Eight or nine out of ten things in life don't go our way, but life still goes on." "......" Li Qingyan drew a couple of sharp breaths, looking as though her chest wrap might burst from pure anger. Looking into her delicate, beautiful eyes, Xu Yuan sighed softly and asked, "Qingyan, I cherish my life above all else. Yet to help you, I was willing to risk devouring Qi's demon crystal." "......" The expression in Li Qingyan's eyes froze, and she stared at him blankly. Xu Yuan smiled and winked at her. After a few moments of silence, Li Qingyan bit her lip, took a deep breath, and her gaze gradually hardened. She whispered, "If the aberrant ghost transformation cannot be reversed, This Palace will kill you with her own hands, and then take her own life." "......" As their gazes met, the corner of Xu Yuan's eye twitched. He could tell this crazy woman wasn't joking. Clearing his throat, Xu Yuan murmured, "Cough... Actually, you could consider turning into an aberrant ghost with me..." "Too ugly. This Palace dislikes it." "......" Pausing for a second, Xu Yuan cut straight to the point and asked Luo Xiran, "Xiran, can you brew more Fate-Reversing Liquid?" The problem right now wasn't that the Fate-Reversing Liquid couldn't purge Qi's life origin, but that there wasn't enough of it. Lost in thought, Luo Xiran replied instinctively, "I can concoct it if there are sufficient ingredients. But ten thousand years have passed; many of the materials might be extinct. Secondary herbs are fine, but if a primary ingredient has vanished, finding a substitute alters everything. It would require substantial time for testing and refinement, and time is what we lack." Xu Yuan stroked his chin, a thoughtful glint in his eye. He knew where to find the primary materials recorded in those notes. However, if it truly came down to concocting it, he would probably have to pin the source of that information on Old Man Luo again. Amid his thoughts, Xu Yuan spoke up once more: "So... is there really no way left right now?" Luo Xiran fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking: "There is one." Before Xu Yuan could open his mouth, the chest-wrapped princess beside him chimed in first: "Senior, please speak plainly." Luo Xiran's voice turned grave: "You, brat—attempt a breakthrough to Saint." "......" Silence. Xu Yuan's expression went stiff, while bafflement filled Li Qingyan's eyes. Break through to Saint? Back in the Meishen Secret Realm, Xu Yuan had at most reached the Origin Realm, and could at best break through to the Transcendent Realm. Both his realm and cultivation were far from sufficient—how could he possibly break through? Yet neither Xu Yuan nor Li Qingyan questioned her immediately despite this seemingly outrageous claim; they waited for her explanation. This old woman, Luo Xiran, had studied aberrant ghosts for most of her life, possessing vast knowledge in both theory and practice. She would never speak without cause. Carefully choosing her words, Luo Xiran manifested her form through the fungal armor and cast a glance over Xu Yuan. "Brat, right now, you actually meet the conditions to attempt a breakthrough to Saint." "......" Xu Yuan parted his lips, then pointed a finger at himself. *I'm that awesome? How come I didn't know?* Luo Xiran scoffed, lifting a hand to brush back a stray strand of hair, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly. "The conditions for your breakthrough are all external." With that, she raised two slender fingers before them: "First, Qi was originally a primordial aberrant ghost that fell from the Saint realm. His life origin contains a Saint's saint origin, which is one of the reasons why the Fate-Reversing Liquid struggles to purge it. "Second, I was also a Saint in life. By utilizing the Blood God Stone to fuse the fungal armor into your aberrant ghost body, I can take control of your vessel to guide the flow of qi and assist your breakthrough." Finishing her piece, Luo Xiran gave a soft laugh. "Once the breakthrough fails, the saint origin belonging to Qi will be burnt to nothing, and the life origin in your body will be severely depleted." Xu Yuan fell silent for a few breaths, enlightenment dawning in his voice. "I see... Failing the breakthrough to Saint will leave my aberrant ghost body weakened, and at that point, the Fate-Reversing Liquid can purge it twice as easily, transmuting the aberrant ghost body back into a human vessel." Saying this, Xu Yuan knit his brows slightly. "But what if I actually succeed in breaking through to Saint? Xiran, if I become a Saint-level aberrant ghost, the Fate-Reversing Liquid's efficacy..." "Thick skin is truly a marvelous thing," she remarked. "......" Xu Yuan was speechless. Without further talk—as all three were people of action—they immediately set the plan into motion. After the fungal armor melded into his body, followed by Luo Xiran's command of "Relax!", the qi dynamic around Xu Yuan abruptly shifted. A colossal, terrifying surge of qi quietly permeated the massive stone chamber. The ambient pressure was so immense it warped the very space around them, accompanied by faint, rumbling undertones. *Buzz—* A piercing ring echoed in his ears, and Xu Yuan felt everything before his eyes slow to a crawl. Under Luo Xiran's guidance, the life origin inside him began circulating of its own accord. Several breaths later, a wrenching pain welling from the very depths of his life origin struck without warning. Xu Yuan felt as though his entire being were being torn to shreds. Even with his resilient willpower, the sheer agony began blurring his consciousness. "Focus!" Just as Xu Yuan was on the verge of blacking out, a sharp, clear shout rang beside his ear, jolting him awake. "Brat, steady your mind! If you pass out while attempting a Saint breakthrough, you'll never wake up! "Stay conscious! Remember this feeling—it will be a tremendous opportunity for when you break through to Saint in the future!" As Luo Xiran's voice faded, Xu Yuan shuddered awake, gritting his teeth to endure. Time slipped quietly by. And within that seemingly boundless agony, Xu Yuan suddenly realized he was sensing an energy fluctuation beyond comprehension. A flawless, pure, and profound resonance... A Saint. Xu Yuan tried desperately to commit the feeling to memory, but it slipped away completely. It was like a castle in the air, or sand slipping through his fingers. And this resonance unique to a Saint lasted only a few breaths before vanishing amid an explosive burst inside his body. The Saint breakthrough had failed, exactly as expected. Xu Yuan's aberrant ghost body was severely crippled. Under Luo Xiran's guidance, the medicinal power of the Fate-Reversing Liquid swiftly devoured everything that belonged to the aberrant ghost... On the first day, amid agonizing pain, Xu Yuan's cultivation plummeted to the Origin Realm. The fungal armor was once more peeled away from his body, and Qi's demon crystal condensed anew, retrieved by Luo Xiran. On the second day, Xu Yuan's cultivation fell to Grandmaster. On the third day, Xu Yuan reached the realm of a Soul Condensation expert once more.