Chapter 778: Alien Immortal Soul Seed

Millions of soul threads erupted and spread within Xu Qing’s Sea of Consciousness. Xu Qing’s mind flowed into his soul, then diffused throughout his entire body, finally forming a vortex within his Sea of Consciousness.

It roared as it spun!

Simultaneously, lightning flashed across the imperial capital’s sky, bolts tearing through the vast expanse as if something that shouldn't exist in this world was about to be born, drawing the attention of the Heavenly Dao.

But soon, this sense of attention inexplicably vanished, as if the Heavenly Dao, for some unknown reason, had deliberately overlooked whatever was about to appear.

It even covered it up; the heavenly thunder transformed into an ordinary glow. Yet, the lingering light of the lightning still illuminated everything under the night sky for an instant as it flickered.

In the night, some awoke in their secret chambers, some paused while hurrying through the streets, some fell silent during discussions at the Grand Academy, some focused their gaze from high buildings, and some looked up from within the imperial palace.

Ultimately, under the Heavenly Dao's concealment, they found nothing.

Consequently, while a few individuals continued to pay attention, most other cultivators in the imperial capital withdrew their focus; those meditating continued to meditate, and those hurrying continued to rush.

Similarly, those at the Grand Academy meeting withdrew their perceptions, looking at the thirty-nine students seated around them.

"Patriarch, what happened?" someone inquired.

"Just a momentary impulse, it's nothing. Please continue," replied the masked cultivator in a coarse linen robe, who had withdrawn his perception. From his attire, it was clear that this person was the Patriarch.

The White Pagoda where they were located belonged to the Soul Infusion sect, and the students below nodded upon hearing this, resuming their previous discussion, which revolved around recent events concerning the Heretic Immortal sect.

If it were other sects, given the current standing of the Soul Infusion sect, they wouldn't pay it any mind. But the Heretic Immortal sect was different; fundamentally, its essence was completely incompatible with the Soul Infusion sect.

One focuses on weaving gods from the mind, emphasizing human completeness.

The other involves replacing the physical body, ultimately discarding all traces of humanity, retaining only the subjective mind, with the ultimate goal of becoming a Heretic Immortal.

The first aims to become a divine human.

These two completely contradictory philosophies dictated that only one of the sects could prosper.

This was also why the Heretic Immortal sect had previously declined to its extreme; apart from its inherent factors, the rise of the Soul Infusion sect accelerated this process.

Therefore, when a mysterious master possessing hundreds of thousands of soul threads appeared in the Heretic Immortal sect, this unprecedented event finally caught the attention of the Soul Infusion sect.

Even after half a month, the popularity of the Heretic Immortal sect had decreased because the mysterious master had not reappeared. But it was conceivable that if the individual appeared multiple times, the attention on the Heretic Immortal sect would continue to rise.

At that point, the Heretic Immortal sect would have an opportunity to rise again.

This was also the main topic of the internal meeting of the Soul Infusion sect.

Regarding this matter, among the high-ranking students of the Soul Infusion sect at that location, some were apprehensive, some doubted the rumors, and opinions varied.

Finally, the Patriarch of the Soul Infusion sect raised his hand, and instantly, the White Pagoda became silent. All the high-ranking students collectively turned their gaze to their Patriarch.

Their eyes all held reverence.

"There's no need to worry about the Heretic Immortal sect. Recently, a person of distinguished status openly joined our Soul Infusion sect. Their inclusion will only add splendor to our sect!"

"Prepare yourselves; this person will arrive in three days!" The Patriarch's words spread, and his calm tone reassured the high-ranking students present, who all nodded in agreement.

The meeting then concluded.

At the same time, outside, the lightning had dissipated, with only its echoes still reverberating, while inside Ning Yan's mansion, in a secret chamber, Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes glowed intensely, his expression showing surprise and doubt, and even bewilderment, as his brows furrowed.

"What is the reason for this?"

Xu Qing murmured, and as he raised his hand, a purple snowflake pierced through his palm, emerging with a trace of blood, and floated before him.

The vortex formed by millions of soul threads in his Sea of Consciousness continued to spin as if without beginning or end. As it rotated, a chill emerged within it, with purple snowflakes rising from the vortex and drifting about.

There were not many snowflakes, exactly one hundred.

Sensing his own Sea of Consciousness, Xu Qing withdrew his spiritual perception and gazed intently at the snowflake floating on his palm.

After pondering for a moment, he took out a communication jade slip and sent a message to the Sword Holders. Shortly after, a ferocious beast for experimentation was delivered.

Looking at the wolf-like beast before him, Xu Qing didn't hesitate, raising his right hand and waving it.

Instantly, the snowflake flew directly towards the beast's glabella. The moment it touched, the beast trembled all over, letting out a horrific scream.

The next moment, the snowflake, as if alive, corroded the beast's glabella, penetrating directly into its flesh and disappearing.

Strangely, the wound on its glabella was rapidly healing at that moment, its traces disappearing visibly.

The wolf-beast itself gradually became still, its eyes closed, seemingly dead! But its breath remained, until a moment later, it suddenly opened its eyes and looked at Xu Qing, causing Xu Qing's mind to stir.

He had a feeling that everything about the beast, within his perception, seemed to have an unseen connection to him.

And the core of this connection was precisely that purple snowflake.

It had not disappeared but existed within the wolf-beast's body.

Integrated perfectly with its flesh and blood.

Xu Qing's eyes showed contemplation. He raised his hand and remotely pulled the beast closer, then infused it with his spiritual sense. After careful examination, he was slightly moved.

He sensed soul threads forming within the beast...

"Interesting!"

Xu Qing murmured, then he waved his hand again, and the wolf-beast's body split in half, allowing for another thorough examination of all its flesh and blood.

Soon, the wolf-beast was dissected, and the purple snowflake flew out from within, floating before Xu Qing.

Xu Qing thought for a moment, then had more beasts sent over, and integrated a snowflake into each. Thus, a night passed. After numerous experiments, by the time morning arrived and Xu Qing walked out of the secret chamber, he had gained a deeper understanding of the hundred snowflakes formed from his million souls.

However, the cost of this understanding was the strong scent of blood in the secret chamber and the dissected wolf carcasses strewn across the floor.

Xu Qing paid no attention to these; his eyes showed clear comprehension.

These hundred snowflakes were seeds. All wolf-beasts that integrated with these snowflakes remained physically normal, experienced no discomfort, and their vitality was unaffected, except that soul threads would spontaneously generate within their bodies.

These soul threads were transformed from their own souls, so the drawback was that if their soul power was insufficient, they might wither and die.

These snowflakes seemed gentle but were actually overbearing. If scattered and used as weapons, they could devour enemies' souls, transforming them into my own soul threads.

"At the same time, it is also parasitic. If a practitioner of the Heretic Immortal sect's cultivation method integrates with this snowflake, theoretically, their cultivation speed will reach an astonishing level, provided they have enough soul power!"

"However, they will also be controlled by me. With a single thought, I can retrieve the seed. Although this won't harm their life, all the soul threads accumulated during that period will be lost!"

As he walked on the way to the Grand Academy, Xu Qing felt the hundred purple snowflakes within his body, analyzing them in his mind.

"Regarding these snowflakes, I still don't know enough. I need more experiments to understand them more comprehensively."

Xu Qing didn't intend to use them lightly before fully understanding them. After entering the Grand Academy, he composed himself and entered the Heretic Immortal sect's area.

The Heretic Immortal sect now had nine more disciples, making it livelier than before. The Patriarch no longer needed to personally handle many tasks, as disciples naturally took over.

Xu Qing and his three senior brothers, due to their seniority and fewer daily visitors to the Heretic Immortal sect, were quite leisurely.

Thus, the Heretic Immortal sect's newsletter reopened.

Days passed like this. Xu Qing would study the snowflakes every night when he returned to his mansion, until the fourth day, when a piece of news spread throughout the Grand Academy.

"The Seventh Prince announced outside the Grand Academy that he would join the Soul Infusion sect and was scheduled to formally visit the Soul Infusion sect's White Pagoda at noon today to meet the Patriarch!"

Revealing one's identity was not permitted within the Grand Academy, but declaring it outside was not against the rules.

Especially after the twelve Prince Incense sticks stood erect at the Rainbow Bridge, this was the first announcement regarding a prince's movements. Thus, it garnered attention in the imperial capital.

This news also sparked heated discussions within the Grand Academy, particularly exciting the students of the Soul Infusion sect.

After all, such an event was the first of its kind at the Grand Academy. In the past, even if princes joined, they wouldn't reveal their identities in such a manner, thus, the sect a prince joined remained unknown to the outside world.

However, the Seventh Prince's high-profile announcement clearly carried a different meaning; it essentially bound him completely to the Soul Infusion sect.

He indeed entered the Grand Academy at noon that day, surrounded by students of the Soul Infusion sect. A bustling crowd walked towards the Soul Infusion White Pagoda.

They also passed by the Heretic Immortal sect's area. Xu Qing watched the Seventh Prince, surrounded by the crowd. Although the prince was dressed as a student, this scene reminded Xu Qing of when he had entered Feng Hai County as a savior.

Back then, Xu Qing had also watched from a distance, just as he was doing now.

Seeing him surrounded, Xu Qing's gaze remained normal, but his heart turned cold.

As for the core disciples who joined the Heretic Immortal sect later, they observed the bustling scene outside from within the White Pagoda, each with their own thoughts.

However, the three core students who had joined before Xu Qing didn't overthink it; their focus remained on the newsletter.

So, they pulled Xu Qing into the newsletter recording.

Witnessing this, the Patriarch of the Heretic Immortal sect, sitting there, felt a pang of anxiety. He felt that the opportunity for the Heretic Immortal sect to rise had arrived, yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fully grasp it. He had even been searching for a method during this time, even searching for that existence, that venerable master!

"This can't go on," he fretted. "I've already taken the blame for that senior. Logically, he should grant me an audience."

The Heretic Immortal sect's Patriarch was anxious, and as Patriarch, he had already formed a judgment based on previous clues. He believed that the mysterious master must have grasped some methods unknown to others.

Otherwise, theoretically, it would be impossible for the Heretic Immortal sect to produce hundreds of thousands of soul threads.

"I ask for nothing else," he sighed. "As long as he can impart the method for cultivating hundreds of thousands of soul threads, the Heretic Immortal sect will certainly rise."

"If more than ten masters with hundreds of thousands of soul threads could appear... even if it's just a few Heretic Immortal methods, we could return to our peak, proving this path is correct."

While the Patriarch was sighing with emotion, the mysterious master he was yearning for was actually in a corner, printing the newsletter with three disciples!

"Shocking Secret! The Seventh Prince joined the Soul Infusion sect because of her!"

"An unspeakable relationship exists between the Chief of the Herbalist sect and its Patriarch."

"Crisis! Is this a distortion of human nature or a degradation of morality? Find out in this issue of our late-night paid newsletter: Where Has My Darling Gone?"