txolops Chapter 233 Fierce Battle Against the Holy Ancestor Yuan Sha! Fame Spreads Across the Great Jin! The
Chapter 233 Fierce Battle Against the Holy Ancestor Yuan Sha! Fame Spreads Across the Great Jin! The
Lin Chuan strolled leisurely through the golden magnetic gravity field that made even Nascent Soul cultivators tremble, and arrived before the Kunwu Palace's ten-zhang-high, tightly closed bronze gate covered with intricate reliefs.
A faint glow shone through the crack in the door, indicating that there was another protective barrier inside, but its power had been greatly diminished over the years.
He did not force the door open, but instead circled the palace gate for a moment, his gaze landing on an inconspicuous door knocker carved with star and moon patterns.
According to the clues in the scattered memories of the Great Evolution God, this seems to be a node of an ancient "Star and Moon Guidance" restriction.
Lin Chuan pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and formed a hand seal, sending several spells containing the power of stars into it.
"Roll-roll-roll-roll-roll-roll"
The heavy bronze gate made a dull sound and slowly opened inwards a crack, just enough for one person to pass through.
A purer, more ancient spiritual energy, carrying the scent of sandalwood and dust, emanated from it.
Lin Chuan's figure blurred as he flashed into the doorway.
Behind the gate is not the main hall, but a long, wide corridor with huge dragon-shaped stone pillars standing on both sides.
At the end of the corridor lay the main hall's entrance. Some warning and attack restrictions remained here as well, but thanks to Lin Chuan's powerful divine sense and careful maneuvering, he passed through unscathed.
Pushing open the main hall door, a bright and spacious view suddenly appeared before me.
This is an extremely magnificent circular hall with a dome hundreds of feet high, painted with patterns of the sun, moon, stars, and constellations. Even after the passage of time, the colors remain vibrant, radiating a faint spiritual light.
The floor of the main hall is paved with warm jade, smooth as a mirror.
The most striking feature is a white jade altar that rises above the ground in the center of the main hall. The altar is circular and has three tiers, each covered with mysterious runes.
At the highest point of the altar, three strange wooden plaques, each palm-sized, of different colors, neither gold nor wood, and emitting faint spiritual fluctuations, floated in the air.
One piece is dark gold with fine, feather-like patterns on its surface, faintly resembling a lion's roar. The other piece is earthy yellow, heavy and somber, as if bearing the power of the earth.
The other piece is a vibrant green, full of life, yet it also carries a resilient, woody spirit.
"The natal soul cards of Lion Beast, Guiling, and Mu Kui..."
A glint flashed in Lin Chuan's eyes, and without hesitation, he flew forward and snatched the three soul tablets into his hand.
The Soul Tablet felt slightly heavy in my hand, and I could clearly feel the three powerful, unruly soul essences contained within it, yet tightly bound by some ancient restriction.
Just as he expected, controlling this object was tantamount to holding the three ancient guardian spirits by the throat.
With just a thought, one can crush the soul tablet, and the corresponding being will be annihilated, its soul destroyed, and its body and spirit vanish.
Just as Lin Chuan finished putting away the three soul tablets, a sudden change occurred!
"Whoosh!"
From the shadow of a thick, coiled dragon stone pillar in the corner of the main hall, a green shadow darted out silently like a ghost, heading straight for Lin Chuan's back!
The green shadow was incredibly fast, carrying with it a pure wood spirit aura and a chilling killing intent. It was none other than the "Wood Demon," who was skilled in wood-based techniques and concealment!
Clearly, it had infiltrated the hall at some point, intending to seize or destroy its own natal soul tablet, but it did not expect Lin Chuan to act so quickly.
However, Lin Chuan seemed to have anticipated this. He didn't even turn around; with a slight thought, the vibrant green wooden Kui natal soul tablet appeared in his left palm, his thumb gently pressing on the tablet, as if he might crush it at any moment.
"Move again, and you die."
The voice was calm, yet it carried a chilling coldness that could freeze one's soul.
The green shadow that rushed towards him seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand, freezing three feet behind Lin Chuan, and dared not advance an inch further!
The green shadows receded, revealing a dwarf old man less than four feet tall, with pale green skin, a face wrinkled like old tree bark, emerald green eyes, and a few green leaves growing on his head. This was Mu Kui's human form.
At this moment, its emerald green eyes were fixed on the soul tablet that belonged to it in Lin Chuan's hand, its face filled with shock, anger, fear and disbelief.
It could clearly feel that its life and death were completely in the hands of the other party! The restriction on that soul tablet was placed by an ancient Kunwu sect master, and it was something it could not resist with its current strength.
"How...how did you get it..." Mu Kui's voice was dry and hoarse, like the friction of withered branches.
"Surrender, or die."
Lin Chuan didn't bother to explain, his tone remaining calm yet carrying an undeniable resolve. He needed the power of these three guardian spirits; at the very least, he needed them to stay out of his way.
Mu Kui's expression shifted dramatically, a mixture of struggle, resentment, and humiliation... but ultimately, faced with the threat of death, it transformed into deep helplessness and dejection.
It slowly lowered its head, knelt on one knee before Lin Chuan, and hissed in an ancient manner, "Mu Kui... is willing to obey the immortal's command."
With the Soul Tablet in hand, it couldn't even muster the thought of resistance.
"Very good. Wait here." Lin Chuan put away the wooden spirit tablet, stopped looking at it, turned around and strode out of Kunwu Palace.
Outside the palace plaza, the Golden Magnetic Spirit Wood still radiated a brilliant golden light. As soon as Lin Chuan stepped out of the palace gate, he sensed two powerful auras rapidly approaching from different directions.
On the left side of the sky, a gray shadow flashed. The eight-winged lion-beast, whose wing had been slashed by the Ye family's elder with the Black Blood Blade, returned. Its crimson eagle eyes burned with the flames of violence and revenge. It was clear that its injuries had healed somewhat. It also sensed that the Kunwu Palace's restrictions had been triggered and came to investigate.
On the right side, the ground and rocks rippled, and a giant named "Gui Ling," who was about ten feet tall and covered with thick, earth-yellow stone armor, seemingly made of rock, emerged from the ground, silently and warily looking at Lin Chuan.
"Human! Did you disturb the Kunwu Palace?" The lion-beast let out a sharp roar, its eight wings flapping and stirring up a gale.
Although Gui Ling did not speak, his heavy, mountain-like pressure had already locked onto Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan remained expressionless. Facing the two ancient beings comparable to the late Nascent Soul stage, he slowly raised his right hand, and two more soul tablets appeared in his palm—a dark gold lion-bird beast soul tablet and an earthen yellow jade soul tablet.
"A natal spirit tablet?!"
Both the lion-beast and Gui Ling trembled violently, their eyes flashing with horror and terror. They understood better than Mu Kui what this soul tablet meant!
Those are the shackles planted upon them at the very beginning of their existence, connected to their very soul's origin! The one who controls the Soul Tablets is their absolute master!
"The Wood Demon has surrendered. Will you choose to submit, or... be annihilated?"
Lin Chuan's gaze swept lightly over the two spirits, and his thumb gently pressed down on the soul tablets again. A destructive aura that made their souls tremble faintly emanated from the soul tablets.
The lion-beast let out a defiant roar, its body surging with gray energy, seemingly still trying to struggle. But Lin Chuan merely stirred his mind, and a flash of light appeared on the dark golden soul tablet.
"Ugh—!"
The lion-beast was struck as if by a heavy blow, letting out a painful wail. Its massive body fell from the sky and crashed heavily onto the square, kicking up a cloud of dust. Its aura instantly weakened, and only fear remained in its eyes.
The power of the Soul Tablet directly affects the very essence of the soul, something it simply cannot resist.
Guiling silently watched the lion-beast struggle in agony, then glanced at the earthen-yellow soul tablet belonging to it in Lin Chuan's hand. Its rock-like face remained expressionless, but slowly, it too knelt on one knee and lowered its head. Submission was the only option.
At this point, the remaining three of the Kunwu Four Spirits—the Lion Beast, the Wood Demon, and the Jade Spirit—were all subdued by Lin Chuan using his natal soul tablet.
With these three powerful warriors, comparable to the late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, by his side, Lin Chuan already possessed the capital to roam freely in the perilous Kunwu Mountain.
Unless he encounters a Nascent Soul cultivator or gets trapped in some deadly ancient formation, there will be no one else who can threaten him.
Lin Chuan put away the Lion Beast and Gui Ling's natal soul tablets, and after giving the three spirits orders to follow, protect, and not reveal his whereabouts or secrets, he did not linger any longer.
It turned around and flew back towards the fork in the road platform it had come from.
Back on the platform, facing the dozen or so steps leading to different areas, Lin Chuan hesitated for a moment before choosing the one inscribed with the words "Zhu Ling Tang" (Spirit Casting Hall).
The Spirit Forging Hall, as its name suggests, is the ancient Kunwu Sect's place for forging magical artifacts and nurturing their spirits.
Lin Chuan remembered that in the original story, this place contained a precious "Taihuo" (Great Fire), which was the opposite of the Sun's Essence Fire. It was extremely yin and cold, and was an excellent spiritual object for refining certain special magical treasures and cultivating yin-yang supernatural powers. It was also one of the two true fires needed to refine "Returning Yang Water" in the future! Now that he had encountered it, how could he miss it?
This staircase leads to a relatively secluded mountain valley deep within the Kunwu Mountains. There are many restrictions along the way, but most of them are dilapidated.
Lin Chuan soon arrived at a palace that was entirely crimson, as if it had been forged by subterranean fire, with the three ancient characters "Zhu Ling Tang" (Hall of Casting Spirits) inscribed on the plaque.
The palace doors were tightly closed, but a faint heat emanated from them, and charred marks remained on the ground in front of the doors.
The palace gates are even more heavily guarded than those of the Kunwu Palace, and seem to be connected to the earth fire; forcibly breaking them open would cause the earth fire to explode.
Lin Chuan observed for a moment and then took out the Void Shuttle. This treasure was incomparably sharp and was even more adept at penetrating space and restrictive nodes.
He activated his magic power, and a silver light shone from the tip of the teleportation shuttle. He aimed at a point in the palace gate's restriction where the energy flow was relatively stagnant, and gently stabbed it.
"Wave--"
With a soft sound, a small hole was silently drilled into the barrier. Lin Chuan flashed inside, and the hole immediately closed.
The hall was sweltering, and in the center stood a massive bronze furnace. The fire had long since died down, but the residual heat remained.
There were some abandoned refining tables, bellows, and all sorts of strange tools scattered around.
At the deepest part of the main hall, on a separate jade platform, sits a small, three-foot-tall, ancient-style blue tripod.
The lid of the cauldron was tightly closed, and wisps of silvery, cold flames seeped out from the gaps in the lid, freezing the surrounding air into frosty patterns, creating a stark contrast with the intense heat inside the hall.
The cold flames were clearly icy and piercing, yet they gave people a strange feeling of "burning," which was exactly what Taihuo was!
"It really is this!"
Lin Chuan was overjoyed.
He cautiously stepped forward, first using his divine sense to investigate and confirm that the small cauldron had no other dangerous restrictions, before casting a treasure-collecting spell to put the entire small cauldron, along with the wisp of Taihu fire inside, into a specially made cold jade box, and then affixing multiple spirit-sealing talismans.
Having achieved his goal, Lin Chuan left the Spirit Forging Hall without lingering.
His next target is the true core of Kunwu Mountain, and the eye of the storm—the Demon Suppression Tower!
When he arrived near the Demon Suppression Tower, the area was already bustling with people, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.
The Demon Suppression Tower is a nine-story black tower constructed entirely of a strange material called "Demon Suppression Stone." The tower is covered with suppression runes from both Buddhism and Taoism, emanating a heavy, solemn aura that makes demonic cultivators extremely uncomfortable.
At this moment, the tower gate was wide open, and dozens of cultivators gathered in front of it. In addition to the remaining eight members of the Ye family, Hua Tianqi and his five companions from the Poison Saint Sect, as well as some rogue cultivators and elders from small sects who arrived later and whose cultivation was not weak, Lin Chuan even saw the figures of Nascent Soul cultivators sent by several other sects among the Ten Great Sects of the Great Jin Dynasty. Obviously, the news of Kunwu Mountain's emergence had spread far and wide, attracting more forces.
The crowd was noisy and chattering, all eyes fixed on the open tower gate, yet no one dared to be the first to rush in.
The tower faintly emitted sounds of fighting, screams, and chilling fluctuations of demonic energy, indicating that someone had already entered and met with misfortune.
Lin Chuan ignored these people, and the three spirits he had subdued followed closely behind.
His gaze swept calmly over the Demon-Suppressing Tower. With a flicker of his body, he ignored the surprised, fearful, and greedy looks and transformed into a streak of azure light, disappearing into the tower's gate.
The Demon Suppression Tower is a vast space, with each floor filled with powerful restrictions and traps, and countless remnants of demonic souls and vengeful spirits that have been suppressed and refined for tens of thousands of years.
The cultivators who had entered earlier were already engaged in fierce battles and struggles with these demons and each other within the tower, resulting in heavy casualties.
The relatively easy-to-obtain treasures, elixirs, and materials at the lower levels have already been looted.
Lin Chuan had no interest in participating in these low-level competitions. Relying on his powerful divine sense, the protection of his three spirits, and the occasional intimidation of his natal soul tablet, he made rapid progress and broke through to the higher levels.
The second floor, the third floor... the fifth floor, the sixth floor...
The higher you go, the stronger the restrictions become, the more ferocious the monsters become, and the more brutal the remaining traces of battle become.
Lin Chuan even saw fragments of Qian Laomo's tattered ghost head banner, as well as the corpse of an elder from the Poison Saint Sect.
Clearly, all sides have gone to great lengths to fight for the ancient heritage and heaven-reaching treasures that may exist within the tower.
When he finally reached the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression Tower after overcoming numerous obstacles, the sight before him made even him feel a pang of fear.
The eighth level was far more vast than any of the levels below, seemingly a world unto itself. The ground was dark red rock, as if soaked in blood, and the air was thick with a viscous, tangible demonic energy and the stench of blood. At this moment, an extremely brutal massacre was taking place within this level!
Dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators who had broken into this level were now trapped in a strange domain composed of viscous blood-red light. Their movements were slow, their faces were distorted, and they seemed to be enduring unimaginable pain.
At the center of the domain, above a dilapidated ancient altar bound by countless black chains, floats a dense, ever-writhing, and ever-changing mass of blood-red light!
Amidst the blood-red light, a blurry, terrifying demonic figure could be vaguely seen, with two horns on its head, bat wings on its back, and exuding overwhelming ferocity and ancient demonic energy!
What made Lin Chuan's gaze even more fixed was that beside the demonic figure, there was a slightly illusory yet exquisitely beautiful and ethereal silver female figure!
The woman's figure seemed to be fiercely fighting against the demonic shadow, with streaks of silver light and blood-red demonic energy constantly colliding and annihilating each other, but she was clearly at a disadvantage.
"Ancient Demon Ancestor - Yuan Sha's Divided Soul! And... Silver Moon!"
Lin Chuan instantly understood.
Just as predicted in the original story, the most powerful fragment of the ancient demon saint ancestor, who crossed over from the ancient world, was suppressed at the bottom of the Demon Suppression Tower! And the silver-clad female figure was the one trapped in the Void Heaven Cauldron, who was actually the wolf soul of the ancient demon clan's concubine, "Silver Moon"!
It seems that someone has triggered the restrictions within the tower, unintentionally awakening the suppressed Yuan Sha's divided soul. Meanwhile, the Silver Moon Wolf Soul has also taken the opportunity to break free from the Void Heaven Cauldron's restraints and confront its old adversary once again.
At this moment, the Yuan Sha split soul was grinning maliciously. With a single breath, the Nascent Soul cultivators trapped in the blood-red domain let out miserable screams. Their Nascent Souls were forcibly sucked out from the top of their heads, turning into streams of light that disappeared into the mouth of the Yuan Sha split soul!
With each Nascent Soul it devoured, the aura of the Yuan Sha split soul grew stronger, the blood-red light around it became increasingly dense, and its suppression of Yin Yue became more and more obvious. Although the Ye family's Grand Elder and others resisted desperately, they were unable to break free under the strange blood-red domain and the terrifying pressure of the Yuan Sha split soul. They could only watch helplessly as their companions were devoured, and their own lives were also in grave danger.
"We can't let it devour us any longer!"
A cold glint flashed in Lin Chuan's eyes. If this Yuan Sha's divided soul were to recover too much power, the entire Kunwu Mountain would likely suffer, and he himself would not escape calamity.
His mind raced, and he made a decision in an instant.
He did not immediately rush into that dangerous crimson domain. Instead, he slapped the spot where the Void Heaven Cauldron was located at his waist and simultaneously used his divine sense to transmit a thought containing specific information to the Silver Moon Wolf Soul that was engaged in fierce battle.
"We can't let it devour us any longer!"
A cold glint flashed in Lin Chuan's eyes. If this Yuan Sha's divided soul were to recover too much power, the entire Kunwu Mountain would likely suffer, and he himself would not escape calamity.
His mind raced, and he made a decision in an instant.
He did not immediately rush into that dangerous crimson domain. Instead, he slapped the spot where the Void Heaven Cauldron was located at his waist and simultaneously used his divine sense to transmit a thought containing specific information to the Silver Moon Wolf Soul that was engaged in fierce battle.