Chapter 28: Numinous Soul Great Yao

When Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo were in the layers of cold ice, inhaling strands of cold sha and painstakingly planting them into their Zifu within their bodies... above the 'Dragon Whale Mountain' in the region of Demonlotus Mountain, the wind and clouds were surging, vast amounts of primal energies of Heaven and Earth converging, and even a massive image of a tortoise entwined with a snake faintly appeared between Heaven and Earth.

"That is..."

"Tortoise and snake, it's a tortoise and snake!"

The countless monsters on Dragon Whale Mountain raised their heads in shock, staring at the scene high in the sky. With the convergence of primal energies and the manifestation of the tortoise and snake, these monsters who had embarked on the path of Immortal cultivation naturally understood what this meant.

"Numinous Soul!"

"A Wanxiang great monster on our Dragon Whale Mountain has broken through to the Numinous Soul stage."

"It's the Numinous Soul stage."

One after another, they were both terrified and excited.

Once the Qi Refining path enters the Numinous Soul stage, whether it be a Fiendgod, a human, or a demon, as long as one reaches this stage through Qi Refining techniques, one will achieve the 'Tortoise-Snake Numinous Soul'. The tortoise and snake intertwine, naturally generating an endless stream of 'Primordial Fire'. This Tortoise-Snake Numinous Soul also contains the supreme mysteries of Heaven and Earth.

"Who has reached the Numinous Soul stage? Our Dragon Whale Mountain has several Wanxiang great monsters, and even a few at the Wanxiang perfection stage."

"I heard that last time the Great King led a group of Wanxiang great monsters out, but only the Great King returned alone. I heard that all the other Wanxiang great monsters who went died."

"All died?"

"Mm, now on our Dragon Whale Mountain, including the Great King, there are only two or three Wanxiang great monsters. This breakthrough should be the Great King."

...

While the horde of monsters was buzzing with discussion, the most powerful leader of the Demonlotus Mountain region, the 'Dragon Whale Great Monster', also walked out of his secluded meditation chamber.

"Hahaha... hahaha..." The tall and sturdy Dragon Whale Great Monster laughed heartily, his laughter rolling like thunder, echoing throughout the entire Dragon Whale Mountain.

Hearing such laughter, how could the monsters not understand that their Great King had broken through?

"Congratulations, Great King! Felicitations, Great King!"

The group of monsters in front of the Dragon Whale Great Monster all knelt down and shouted loudly.

"Congratulations, Great King! Felicitations, Great King!" The monsters in the distance also called out one after another, and even further away... in short, the monsters across the entire Dragon Whale Mountain rose and fell, each shouting: "Congratulations, Great King! Felicitations, Great King!"

The sound rumbled, soaring straight into the clouds.

Numinous Soul?

Once one steps into the Numinous Soul stage, even in the entire Anchan Commandery, one can be considered a figure of renown. Moreover, with the Dragon Whale Great Monster's innate talent, although he had just broken through, his combat power was still extremely astonishing.

"The Great King has cultivated bitterly for over ten thousand years, and now with a single breakthrough, he has achieved the Numinous Soul and attained longevity. Future achievements as an Immortal are certainly not out of reach," a sharp-beaked, monkey-faced monkey monster flattered from the side.

Once one becomes a Numinous Soul, one's lifespan is indeed endless. However, the increasingly powerful 'Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations' will eventually cause Numinous Soul Daoists to die.

Thus, becoming a Celestial Immortal is true longevity.

But flattery like this wasn't entirely wrong.

"The Great King's talent is extraordinary, with the body of a Dragon Whale and a Fiendgod body... Even an Immortal would probably be unable to do anything to the Great King," another seductive female monster flattered.

"Great King..." One after another, they flattered.

The Dragon Whale Great Monster looked at the surrounding small monsters and sighed inwardly. In the past, his Dragon Whale Mountain, as the leading mountain in the Demonlotus Mountain region, always had over ten Wanxiang great monsters. But previously, they had been slaughtered in large numbers by that human child Ji Ning, leaving only two Wanxiang great monsters, who lived in two other places on Dragon Whale Mountain.

These before him were all small Zifu monsters, only capable of flattery.

"Immortal?" The Dragon Whale Great Monster shook his head inwardly, well aware of his own strength. "This time, my breakthrough is in Qi Refining, not in Fiendgod Body Refining. Having achieved the Numinous Soul... although my strength has increased greatly, I am still far from an Immortal. But if I encounter that human child Ji Ning again, I will surely be able to kill him."

The Dragon Whale Great Monster's dark green eyes flickered with murderous intent.

"Elder Brother!"

"Congratulations, Elder Brother, on your breakthrough."

Two streaks of light flew over from afar, precisely the other two Wanxiang great monsters on Dragon Whale Mountain.

The Dragon Whale Great Monster looked over and said in a loud voice, "Brothers, you have come at a good time. I have just broken through, and thinking back to how our other brothers and sisters were slaughtered by that human child... my heart aches with regret. I am about to give orders, inviting some great monsters from the Yanshan Great Wastelands who have old ties with our Demonlotus Mountain region to help search, and we will definitely find those two human children."

"Well said, Elder Brother."

"Yes, we must take revenge." The two great monsters landed. They were tall and pitch-black, with curved horns on their heads—a pair of wild bull great monsters, the most trusted by the Dragon Whale Great Monster. Even when he went to battle, he had these two guard the lair.

The Dragon Whale Great Monster nodded: "I will immediately send people to deliver letters to the various demon kings, asking them to help in the search."

"Now that Elder Brother has broken through, the various demon kings will have to show face."

"I believe we will find them soon."

The two wild bull great monsters both said.

The Dragon Whale Great Monster then casually took out a piece of beast hide, wrote the contents on it, and drew lifelike images of Ji Ning, Mu Zishuo, and Qingqing in human form. He also described the dragon-headed warship and some other features. The beast hide also bore his powerful Yuan force aura.

"Water Seal Art." As a water tribe great monster, the Dragon Whale Great Monster found it very easy to cast the Water Seal Art. He cast it several dozen times in succession, producing several dozen copies of the beast hide.

Then he ordered a large group of Zifu monsters under his command to deliver the letters.

Soon, a host of Zifu monsters each turned into streaks of light and headed to other monster forces.

"Whenever I think of that human child, I wish I could eat his flesh and drink his blood." The Dragon Whale Great Monster gritted his teeth. "The blood feud of my sworn brothers remains unavenged, and there are many other brothers and sisters who have followed me for years. The more I think about it... how infuriating!"

"Elder Brother, don't be angry first. I believe in a few days, news will come."

"There's no rush to kill them until we find that human child."

Both great yak demons tried to persuade him.

"Hmm," the great dragon-whale demon nodded, "let's endure a few more days, then go kill them."

...

The Peacock Demon King sat high on his throne.

He casually picked up the beast-hide letter and glanced at it, but his expression changed at once. Looking down, he asked, "Your king has broken through to the Primordial Spirit?"

"Our king just broke through today," said the Purple Mansion Monkey Demon below, with a hint of pride.

The Peacock Demon King nodded: "I understand. I will instruct the lesser demons to help search for those two humans and the Hollow Blue Snake. Go back and report."

...

One after another, demon forces received the message from the great dragon-whale demon, and from it they all realized that he had broken through to the Primordial Spirit. Those powerful demons who had once been on equal footing with him dared not be negligent. They each passed down orders to begin searching for the two human youths and the Hollow Blue Snake.

...

Ji Ning and his companion were still completely unaware of all that was happening outside.

Within the ice layer.

In the ice-sealed chamber, the two sat cross-legged before the cold aura vein. The vein, originally over ten zhang long, was now less than ten zhang, having shrunk considerably.

"Inhale."

Strands of cold aura continuously flowed into Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo through their mouths.

Clearly, Ji Ning's absorption rate was much faster.

"Almost there." Ji Ning focused all his attention on his Violet Mansion, not daring to be distracted in the slightest. The cold aura on the small island in the sea of Yuan power within the Violet Mansion had already condensed into a rough shape.

At this moment, the cold aura in the Violet Mansion space was like a malignant tumor, ready to explode at any moment and damage the entire Violet Mansion!

It was very dangerous!

Because the cold aura had not yet taken form, the more Ji Ning absorbed, the more dangerous it became. Only after successfully planting the seed would it be safe.

"I've absorbed enough cold aura. It should be time to condense it into a seed." Ji Ning prepared for a moment, then with a thought, the myriad stars, the moon rabbit, and the golden crow in the sky of his Violet Mansion each shot beams of light toward the cold aura island. These beams were extremely pure Yuan power, converging as they landed on the cold aura island, becoming utterly translucent and directly suppressing the cold aura.

Bang!

Like a layer of soil covering it, the light completely enveloped the cold aura.

The entire cold aura island became crystal clear, covered with runic patterns. The cold aura permeated every part of the runes, which were like the root hairs of a great tree...

After a few moments.

"Chi!"

As if weeds were breaking through the soil, a very thin stream of cold sha emerged from the island's surface, trembling and unsteady, yet it continued to grow.

A 'cold sha vein' was thus rooted in the Zifu within his body.

"Success!" Ji Ning revealed a joyful expression and opened his eyes, immediately spotting Qingqing, who was carefully guarding in the distance, as well as Mu Zishuo, who was still absorbing cold sha beside him.

"Master, you succeeded?" Qingqing exclaimed excitedly.

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded. "Nothing's happened to my junior apprentice-brother, has it?"

Qingqing shook her head. "No, it's just that he's absorbing the cold aura much slower than you. You finished planting it in one day. At his rate, it'll probably take him three days to refine it."

Ji Ning nodded.

His own Violet Mansion space was more stable than his junior apprentice-brother's, and his divine sense was stronger, making it easier to control the cold aura. That he planted the cold aura quickly was within his expectations.

"Master, I have a gift to congratulate you on successfully planting the cold aura." Qingqing smiled.

"A gift? Between you and me, why talk of gifts?" Ji Ning chuckled.

"The master will surely like it." Qingqing smiled mysteriously, then flipped her hand to reveal a huge wooden box. The box was a deep gray all over and emitted a faint fragrance.

Ji Ning asked doubtfully, "You even keep it in a sinker wood box?"

"Look." Qingqing opened the sinker wood box triumphantly. Inside was a block of ice about two feet long, one foot wide, and one foot thick, faintly glowing green. As soon as the ice was exposed, the surrounding temperature began to drop. This place was already a chamber in the ice layer, yet the temperature dropped further—what kind of ice was this?

"This is ten-thousand-year-old ice," Qingqing said proudly. "I found it in the Yushan Great Wasteland. There was a cold pool there. I lay comfortably in the cold pool, absorbing the cold energy to nurture my cold baleful aura. But who would have thought a cultivator would come... So I directly dug up the ten-thousand-year-old ice and slipped away."

Ji Ning was indeed overjoyed in his heart.

Qingqing really was a little treasure trove.

The cold baleful aura inside his body was still a small seedling, barely a ninth-grade cold baleful aura. It needed constant nurturing. While nurturing with elemental power was possible, it was too slow. Using some rare items would be much faster. Ten-thousand-year-old ice was one of them.

"Don't you need it yourself?" Ji Ning asked. "Use it yourself; I'm not in a hurry."

Qingqing looked embarrassed. "Hehe, I dug up a lot. What I gave you is just a small piece."

"How big is your ten-thousand-year-old ice?" Ji Ning asked.

"Over three zhang high." Qingqing lowered her head. She stretched out her delicate hand, and a huge block of ice appeared in midair, like a small iceberg. Then it vanished, apparently put away by her.

Ji Ning blinked. It really was over three zhang high? He looked at the congratulatory gift he had received—only two feet of ten-thousand-year-old ice...

Ji Ning shook his head with a smile, then took it and began to use the ten-thousand-year-old ice to nurture his cold baleful aura.