Chapter 286: Soul-cleansing Pool

When Lu Ye regained consciousness, he found himself standing by a large pool filled with ethereal mist. Rows of Immortal Essence Guards stood erect near the pool, and their commanding officer, upon seeing the City Lord, immediately saluted.

The City Lord waved his hand, dismissing him.

Lu Ye looked down but could see nothing, only the ethereal mist churning ceaselessly. The mist seemed to be bound by some force; though it churned, not a wisp escaped.

Was this the legendary Soul Cleansing Pool?

Yi Yi stood beside him and whispered, “Lu Ye, that mist seems very beneficial to me.”

As a spirit body, her perception of the mist was incredibly sharp. Lu Ye hadn't noticed anything, but Yi Yi could sense that if she could enter the pool, the benefits she would gain would be unimaginable.

Lu Ye turned to the City Lord, who was standing nearby, and asked, “Do we just jump in?”

The City Lord, with his hands clasped behind his back, stepped forward and nodded, “Yes, just jump in. However, you only have three hours. After three hours, I will send you back.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lu Ye leaped directly into the pool. With limited time, he naturally wanted to seize the opportunity.

He kept falling downwards, and soon Lu Ye realized something was off. This Soul Cleansing Pool seemed... quite deep?

The City Lord hadn't mentioned that.

Just as Lu Ye was about to activate his Flying Wing Spirit Tattoo, his body suddenly felt lighter, as if some force from below was supporting him. His descent gradually slowed, and he eventually came to a stable stop.

He didn't feel solid ground beneath his feet; instead, it was like stepping on cotton. He was sure he hadn't reached the bottom of the Soul Cleansing Pool. Turning to look around, he couldn't see Yi Yi or the others. The churning mist here was simply too dense, making it impossible to see his own hand.

He didn't need to worry about their safety; they must also be somewhere else in the Soul Cleansing Pool at this moment.

With only three hours available, Lu Ye quickly sat down cross-legged.

The situation here reminded him of when he underwent body tempering in the Dragon Spring. It was quite similar to his current predicament, but in the Dragon Spring, he had to absorb the blood mist to achieve tempering effects. This place was different. Lu Ye felt invisible forces all around him, continuously seeping into his body.

His body became lighter, his mind clearer, and the fatigue from days of cultivation and reading was swept away.

This was the power of the Soul Cleansing Pool, acting upon the soul. Unfortunately, Lu Ye's current cultivation level wasn't high enough; he hadn't yet reached the soul realm. Otherwise, the benefits he could gain in this place would be truly unimaginable.

Even so, as long as he could absorb and refine the surrounding mist, it would still greatly enhance his soul.

If merely being here offered such benefits, what if he actively cultivated?

Lu Ye immediately began to act, constructing Spirit Gathering Spirit Runes in his spiritual apertures.

As each funnel-shaped Spirit Gathering Rune took effect, the surrounding mist was drawn in, rushing into Lu Ye's body at an increasing speed. This made his consciousness even clearer and his body even lighter.

Above the Soul Cleansing Pool, the City Lord observed with his hands clasped behind his back, muttering to himself, “Two of the Four Symbols gathered, and seemingly related to that one symbol... Interesting.”

As he was muttering, the City Lord's expression tightened. He realized something was amiss with Lu Ye. He didn't know what method the boy was using, but the surrounding mist was continuously surging into his body, and at an increasingly rapid pace.

This was not a good sign. The mist in the Soul Cleansing Pool certainly offered immense benefits to the soul; even simply being immersed in it could continuously strengthen one's soul power. However, too much of anything is bad. Lu Ye was only at the eighth level of the Spirit Stream Realm, far from reaching the soul realm. Frenziedly devouring the soul mist like this would only lead to him being assimilated by it, causing his soul to shatter.

It seemed giving him three hours was too much. This boy wouldn't need three hours; at this rate, he wouldn't even last half an hour.

The City Lord, however, wasn't in a hurry to intervene. Instead, he watched with keen interest. He wanted to see what choice the boy would make when he realized something was wrong.

The enhancement of soul power was irresistible, and it was easy to get lost in it.

At this moment, Lu Ye was enthusiastically constructing Spirit Gathering Runes in his spiritual apertures. As the surrounding mist continuously poured in, he felt himself becoming increasingly light, and an indescribably refreshing sensation permeated his entire being, from inside out. This feeling was intoxicating, making one unable to extricate oneself, making one feel omnipotent.

The moment this feeling arose, he became alert, and stopped constructing the spirit runes.

Having the experience of tempering his body in the Dragon Spring before, he knew that sometimes too much of a good thing could be harmful.

He quietly perceived himself. Unlike his previous vague perceptions, his current perception became much clearer, and as the mist was refined, this clarity intensified.

He could even “see” the spiritual power flowing within his body. He also “saw” the Talent Tree within him, rooted in his Source Spiritual Aperture. Many leaves on the Talent Tree were ablaze with intense flames.

Then he “saw” himself, sitting cross-legged atop a cloud of mist.

Lu Ye was startled. Seeing himself from an outsider's perspective was clearly abnormal, and somewhat resembled the legendary 'soul leaving the body'.

He looked down and realized that at some point, he had transformed into a spirit body, just like Yi Yi.

The connection between his spirit body and his physical body was rapidly weakening.

Something was wrong!

He quickly reined in his mind. A strong pulling force emerged, and Lu Ye abruptly opened his eyes. He found himself still sitting on the mist cloud, but he was no longer in the spirit body state he had been in moments before.

There was something strange about the mist in this Soul Cleansing Pool.

Realizing this, Lu Ye immediately became cautious.

He carefully examined himself, and recalling all the sensations he had just experienced, he quickly pinpointed the problem.

The mist in the Soul Cleansing Pool indeed had immense nourishing power for the soul, capable of strengthening one's soul power. However, he had a limit to what he could withstand, as he was merely a Spirit Stream Realm cultivator.

If soul power became too strong in a short period, it would instinctively try to break free from the body's restraints, such as the 'soul leaving the body' phenomenon he just experienced. And as the soul continued to grow stronger, this situation would become increasingly severe.

The physical body was the vessel for the soul, the very foundation of the soul. Once the soul broke free from the body's restraints, it would truly be transformed into a spirit body.

This was an outcome Lu Ye absolutely could not accept.

While a pure spirit body indeed offered many conveniences, without a physical body as its foundation, it would ultimately be like water without a source, or a tree without roots.

Yi Yi didn't have a physical body, but as a companion spirit transformed from Amber, she still had a foundation to rely on.

Having identified the problem, Lu Ye no longer dared to act recklessly. This situation was different from body tempering in the Dragon Spring. In the Dragon Spring, no matter how much blood mist he absorbed, it would only temporarily strengthen his physique, and his mind wouldn't be able to keep up with his body's reactions. He could then slowly adapt over time.

But letting his soul become too strong in this place was ultimately not a good thing.

He had originally constructed over 130 Spirit Gathering Runes in his spiritual apertures. Now, he quickly dispersed half of them, to avoid being overwhelmed by the nourishment from the surrounding soul mist.

A moment later, Lu Ye dispersed half of the remaining ones again, leaving only thirty Spirit Gathering Runes.

The situation was still not optimistic. He seemed to have absorbed and refined too much soul mist just now, causing his soul power to rapidly approach its limit. If it continued to grow, the 'soul leaving the body' phenomenon would undoubtedly occur again.

After sensing for a moment, he had no choice but to disperse all thirty remaining spirit runes.

The situation became awkward. The benefits were clearly within reach, almost tangible, yet he could only sit there idly.

By the Soul Cleansing Pool, the City Lord looked down and observed. He nodded slightly, finding it somewhat unexpected that Lu Ye could realize the problem so quickly, and even resist the temptation of the soul mist's enhancement.

It seemed this boy was still decent. Just as he had said before, one shouldn't be too greedy; contentment brings lasting happiness.

As he was thinking this, he then saw Lu Ye take out a storage bag, open its mouth, and shake it from side to side, as if trying to scoop the soul mist into the bag...

The City Lord found it both amusing and exasperating. It was then he understood. That 'one shouldn't be too greedy' nonsense was pure rubbish.

Beneath the Soul Cleansing Pool, Lu Ye checked the contents of his storage bag. He had indeed managed to collect some soul mist, but the storage bag's space was limited. Even if it were full, how much could it hold?

Legend had it that someone once, by chance, obtained a few drops of Soul Cleansing Pool water and brought it out to offer to elders in their sect. How did they manage to get the pool water?

Lu Ye put away his storage bag, and looked down.

This dense, churning soul mist couldn't have appeared out of thin air. Could the actual water of the Soul Cleansing Pool be down below?

Quickly hanging his storage bag on his waist, Lu Ye plunged forward, using his hands and feet, swimming as if diving deeper into the Soul Cleansing Pool.

A moment later, feeling that his speed was too slow, he activated his Flying Wing Spirit Tattoo and quickly flew downwards.

It was as if he was flying through dense clouds, as Lu Ye continued to descend.

Even after a full incense stick's time, he hadn't reached the bottom. The Soul Cleansing Pool seemed like a bottomless abyss. Lu Ye felt that something was amiss. No matter how deep the Soul Cleansing Pool was, it had to have a limit. His flying for the duration of an incense stick without reaching the bottom was clearly abnormal.

By the Soul Cleansing Pool, the City Lord had, at some point, sat down by its edge. He propped his chin with one hand, a playful expression on his face. Although living people occasionally entered Immortal Essence City for various reasons, as City Lord, he wouldn't easily show himself to such juniors. It had been a long time since he had witnessed such an interesting scene.

From his perspective, Lu Ye hadn't actually delved deeper into the Soul Cleansing Pool at all. Instead, he had remained in the same spot, maintaining his downward flying posture. The churning soul mist around him and the peculiar environment within the Soul Cleansing Pool had created the illusion that Lu Ye was continuously descending.

Inside the Soul Cleansing Pool, Lu Ye retracted his spiritual power wings, and looked around at the dense soul mist, deep in thought.

Since he couldn't determine how deep the Soul Cleansing Pool actually was, nor whether he could find the pool water even if he reached the bottom, could he perhaps create some Soul Cleansing Pool water himself?

Such dense soul mist, logically, should be able to form soul water with a little guidance and condensation. This was the same principle as mist condensing into water. As for how to guide the soul mist to condense, Lu Ye did have some ideas.