Chapter 111: Ku~~la~~gru~~

"For us normal transcendents, even a slight crack in the soul is enough to cause splitting headaches and difficulty concentrating, a state that basically renders one unable to cast spells."

"If one forcibly casts spells, it will worsen the soul injury, causing irreversible soul damage."

"When the soul is fractured, losing one or two percent, those with weaker souls are essentially half-dead."

"A five percent soul loss for a transcendent basically means no chance of survival."

"A five percent soul loss is also the limit for us human beings to survive."

The old wizard spoke in a steady tone.

"Take our minor soul cracks, for instance... well... it probably takes about three times one's total source power to fill these cracks and recover."

"Of course, this source power capacity refers to the official capacity designated by the Transcendent Association for the corresponding tier."

"If your source pool is larger, then it's two times, or even a whole source pool's worth. When your source pool is vast enough, it might take only half, or even a third of your source power to repair that soul crack."

"Does a regular spellcaster need three times their own source power to repair a soul crack?"

After listening to the old wizard, Gune sighed softly.

"Indeed—just a tiny bit!"

"And this is just filling cracks. If the soul loses one or two percent, then... it would probably take a long time just to recover the soul, without any cultivation."

"Fortunately, at least we have means of soul recovery, so we won't face situations like realm regression or permanent inability to break through due to severe soul injuries."

On the continent of Oya, it was not uncommon for many transcendents to experience realm regression or inability to break through due to soul trauma.

Clearly, the trinity of soul, body, and energy could remedy this drawback.

"This trinity life-form ability does have some use, even significant at times." Gune nodded.

"Of course." The old wizard nodded.

"The trinity of body, energy, and soul, interconvertible—though slow and inefficient—at least gives us the ability to recover in certain aspects, preventing irreparable states."

"This is also a peculiar ability that many other life-forms lack."

"From nothing to something—that's a huge leap."

"Of course, this is only with one demonic rune condensed. If one could condense a second demonic rune, the efficiency would improve considerably."

"Oh?" The old wizard's words stirred Gune greatly.

"A second one?" Gune looked at the old wizard.

"Of course you can condense a second one. You didn't think such a powerful rune could only be condensed once, did you?"

"The difficulty of condensing the second must be very high, right?" Gune said.

"Naturally." The old wizard nodded slightly.

"When condensing the second, the call from Kulagru intensifies dramatically, and it's soul-deep, almost impossible to resist."

"I know several top transcendent masters who tried to condense a second demonic rune."

"But they all failed."

"Of course, some managed to endure and succeed, but their fates were tragic."

"Now their corpses still kneel near the great Kulagru's self-sealing place. Before they died, I could hear them softly murmuring things like 'Great Kulagru'."

"That devout, heartfelt faith—you couldn't pull them back." The old wizard sighed softly.

These words made Gune's brow twitch.

Compared to a great life-form like Cthulhu, the gap with human flesh and fragile soul was too vast.

Even if the other had no ill intent.

Even if the other was self-sealed and still sleeping.

Even if the demonic rune was condensed by humans themselves.

But this power, after several twists, was still too heavy for life to bear.

Once infiltrated, the soul's form would completely change, dying amidst狂热 faith.

"Of course, there are a few special beings who have completed the condensation of two demonic runes."

When the old wizard finished this sentence,

his speed began to decrease.

By now, the two had arrived at the deepest part of the seabed.

In this pitch-black, silent seabed, the old wizard led Gune swiftly into an underwater tunnel.

Gune quickly activated his dark and source vision.

When Gune unleashed his source vision, the old wizard looked at him.

"Hmm! Such high affinity with source power, truly a good talent, a promising seedling for a strong one. And being able to access such a powerful existence as the demonic rune is a good thing for him."

"It's rare for our continent of Oya to produce such a transcendent genius."

After a moment, light gradually appeared ahead.

At the same time, the tunnel, which had seemed like piled seabed sediment, appeared to turn into a rock tunnel.

Suddenly,

"Splash..."

The sound of breaking water rang out abruptly.

Light quickly brightened within Gune's field of vision.

At the same time, Gune felt as if he had entered a powerful barrier.

"Have we reached the underworld?"

After quickly adjusting to the light, Gune looked at the world before him.

The underworld before his eyes stretched out like an ancient, vast forest.

A grand, majestic building stood amidst this ancient forest, like a supreme temple.

Just one glance made Gune feel a solemn urge to worship.

At this moment, the underworld was bathed in a hazy luster.

It wasn't too bright, but it was clearly daytime.

Gune looked up; the sky of the underworld was a peculiar hazy layer.

"Is light from the shadow world projecting into the underworld?"

This scene astonished Gune.

"It's said that the high-dimensional transcendent world, the shadow world's layer, is projected and can be lived in."

Slowly calming his mind, Gune finally looked around himself.

At this moment, Gune's body was covered by a jelly-like energy barrier.

It looked very soft, but when Gune tried to move, he found he couldn't budge the soft energy at all.

After a slight attempt, Gune restrained his strength and didn't rashly touch the mysterious energy barrier.

"Ku~~la~~gru~~"

At that moment, the old wizard beside him let out a deep, melodious call.

With the old wizard's call,

this energy barrier slowly opened a passage.

Then the old wizard led Gune forward through it.

"This is a special barrier naturally formed by Kulagru." The old wizard said as he flew forward with Gune.

"This great life-form does not wish its existence to affect or damage the surroundings."

"Therefore, we can only approach this palace by calling upon it."

"Otherwise, no one can enter."

As he spoke, the old wizard had already led Gune to land on the square outside the palace.

At this moment, in the square, in the corners, sat over a dozen transcendents in meditation.

These transcendents were either clad in armor, or in robes and cloaks, or shrouded in black mist.

Some wore leather pants, completely bald, carrying a heavy sword on their backs.

Some of their auras were unleashed, while others were perfectly restrained.

But without doubt, those who could sit and cultivate here were definitely powerful beings at the level of transcendent masters.

Regarding the landing of Gune and the old wizard,

these transcendent masters paid no attention, simply sitting and cultivating.

"These are all ascetics, strong ones pursuing higher realms."

"Some have even sat here in meditation for a hundred years."

The old wizard said softly.

"Sitting so long, don't they get hungry?" Gune thought to himself.

"But after becoming a transcendent master, with special talent abilities, one might not need to eat."

"Without such talents, one still needs to eat."

"And above transcendent masters, the envoys, ancestral spirits, and even saint-level beings should be able to take energy as the core of life, right?"

As he led Gune slowly toward the hall ahead,

the old wizard, walking forward, pondered for a moment, then looked at Gune.

"By the way, where were we?"