At the very moment this perfect technique took form, a phantom world naturally emerged within Dongbo Xueying’s mind.
Vast and boundless, it brimmed with endless vitality, yet concealed deadly undercurrents. Life and death seemed like two sides of the same coin, intertwined in a dance that made the world even more vibrant—just as existence implies destruction, and light begets darkness. This duality flowed like a mighty river through the entire illusory realm, forming the core of its “operating principles.”
With this duality as its foundation, Dongbo Xueying seamlessly integrated all his other insights from the Path of the Phantom Realm. Everything unfolded naturally.
“Rumble—” Every one of his clones experienced a soul-shaking transformation. His spirit grew more ethereal and lucid, allowing him to deduce techniques with unprecedented speed and precision. Moreover, his soul became denser, teetering on the brink of a qualitative leap.
“My soul… feels so powerful,” he mused. “Stronger than my physical body, even.” A surreal sense of might washed over him, as if his soul could merge with the very essence of this world—immortal so long as the world endured. Yet this was merely an inkling, tantalizingly close but not quite within reach.
Suddenly, within the Feixue Manor of Junshan City, Dongbo Xueying’s closed eyes snapped open, revealing depths of unfathomable profundity. The cold-hearted zither player and Yufeng Qingyin, who had been unsettled by his sudden silence, found themselves irresistibly drawn into his gaze—as if his eyes were the most mesmerizing in existence.
“My body…” Dongbo Xueying felt every fiber of his being rejoice. His soul, unbeknownst to him, was nourishing his flesh, refining it toward perfection. But these physical changes were trivial compared to the evolution of his soul.
“My soul… this sensation…” His spirit could now perceive the vast, primal essence of the Divine Realm—cruder than that of a Source World, yet immeasurably vaster. Souls were the most unique force of life; even the Heartworld Continent extracted “Blood Spirit Essence” through sacrificial rites. The essence of powerful souls surpassed even the world’s own energy in potency.
Clearly, the soul and the world’s essence were kindred forces—only far more extraordinary.
“I feel like I’m just one step away from merging with the world’s essence,” he realized. Once merged, his soul would be indestructible so long as the world endured. The implications were staggering—even a Primordial Chaos expert who controlled a Source World couldn’t annihilate its essence without destroying the entire realm.
“To think the Path of the Soul, at its apex, could reach such heights?” Dongbo Xueying marveled silently.
He had just perfected the third killing move of the Phantom Realm Path—a flawless fusion of the first (“Splendor of the Phantom World”) and the second (“Killing Intent of the Phantom World”). Its power dwarfed its predecessors, bringing him achingly close to the fabled “Soul’s Ultimate Realm.” A mere sliver now separated him from perfection.
“The Soul Path’s Ultimate Realm must far surpass that of ordinary paths,” he mused. It made sense—the soul was the foundation of life itself, and mastering it was incomparably harder.
—
Glancing around, Dongbo Xueying noticed Yufeng Qingyin, the cold-hearted zitherist, and the performers sprawled unconscious across the hall. “My breakthrough must have inadvertently affected them,” he realized. With a thought, a ripple of energy swept through the room, rousing everyone—though they remained dazed.
“Master… how did I… fall asleep?” Yufeng Qingyin murmured, blinking in confusion.
“I unintentionally influenced you all,” Dongbo Xueying replied. “I’ll be entering seclusion. Do not disturb me unless absolutely necessary.”
“Yes, Master,” she acknowledged.
Nodding, he rose and departed swiftly for his meditation chamber.
—
Alone in stillness, Dongbo Xueying assessed his transformation. His Primordial Chaos Body—previously unstable at the mid-stage Divine Emperor level, lasting barely an hour in battle—had now been refined by his soul, boosting its power by half and drastically reducing its strain. His natural recovery could now sustain prolonged combat.
“Still, the soul’s influence merely polishes the body’s existing framework,” he noted. True ascension to a “Half-Primordial Lifeform” or beyond required breakthroughs in the Void Path.
“So close…” He frowned. The third killing move was a hair’s breadth from the Ultimate Realm. Its fusion of the first two moves—amplified by insights from the gray and golden eyes of the Thousand-Eyed Entity—made it nearly peerless. Yet “nearly” wasn’t enough. Ultimate meant perfection.
His obsession with ensnaring and annihilating foes had skewed the technique’s balance. “This move is too extreme,” he admitted. “The fourth will rectify that. Its completion… will herald my Soul Path’s Ultimate Realm.”
—
Post-breakthrough reflections and consolidation passed swiftly. His true reason for seclusion was preparation—with the third killing move mastered, it was time to leave Junshan City once more.
Unfurling a scroll, Dongbo Xueying studied intelligence on Void Path Primordial Lifeforms. Through the Tianxin Pavilion, he’d long tracked two priorities: scriptures of Void Path Ascendants and leads on such creatures. One promising report had awaited the right moment.
“Tielong City houses the corpse of a Void Path Primordial Lifeform,” he read.
Most Primordial Lifeforms bore only fragmented Void Path rules across their bodies. But a true “Void Path” specimen would manifest them throughout—a rarity he desperately sought.
“Tielong City’s ruler ranks seventh on the Divine Emperor Rankings,” he mused. With over thirty Supreme-tier combatants in this world, the city lord stood among the elite. His five children, all Divine Emperors (one at the late stage), and his dominance over even Fuliugu’s master made him formidable.
“Obtaining that corpse would be invaluable.” Force was out of the question; negotiation was his only path. Even so, he’d waited until now—armed with his third killing move—to act.
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