Chapter 687: Soul Refining

Others were also trying one after another. Li Hao's figure shot straight up into the sky, his body protected by Universe Power as he flew toward the Twin Gemini Stars. The repulsive force gradually increased with his ascent. Everyone also noticed this newcomer; those who frequently appeared in the Twin Gemini World had some impression or guesses, but they had no impression of the person before them.

Falandisi was also quite interested in this person who dared to make a fool of himself after he had already made his move.

However, Li Hao had quickly reached the 3,000-meter mark and continued his sprint without slowing down. This level of resistance was nothing to him, but upon entering the 4,000-meter stage, he clearly felt the difficulty of the repulsive force increase exponentially, especially with the addition of rotational force, which made the use of power chaotic.

But the impact on Li Hao was still not significant. Nevertheless, he slowed down to maintain his state and continue forward. The people below had stopped trying, watching this strange newcomer in the sky. He had started from an unfavorable position and was expected to fall quickly, yet he was already advancing toward everyone's records. The area that had made Falandisi suffer had not blocked this newcomer.

Li Hao had already entered the fifth stage. At the same time, everyone capable of entering the fifth stage would lose their coordinates; no matter what kind of sensory power the people below possessed, they would lose track of him. Everyone looked at the woman in the core circle; clearly, she was the only one present who had reached it, and that masked woman was still staring at the sky without moving.

Entering the fifth zone, Li Hao felt an unprecedented repulsive force. Every step forward felt like compressing a spring; the force countered him exponentially. Following certain rules, the power of the Twin Gemini Stars seemed infinite, giving any challenger the feeling that no matter how strong their power was, the Twin Gemini Stars would give a doubled counterattack.

If one relied solely on the stored energy of a single life form, it was clearly insufficient to resist. Reaching this point, one must possess sufficient ability to neutralize it. This last 1,000 meters was the real hurdle. Li Hao used a portion of his Golden Cell power, but he still encountered the same exponentially increasing counter-force. In other words, the rules here were just like that; they would not change simply because of an increase in raw power.

Li Hao's body hovered in the air, maintaining his current balance of power. He had only advanced about 500 meters in this stage; the part behind was where the pressure was greatest. There was a possible choice: to sprint in one go, but he did not know what was waiting once he broke through this stage, and it was very easy to get injured.

Or he could use the Space Displacement ability to see if he could bypass this part. Li Hao tried Space Displacement, but the next second he was bounced out, his figure dropping more than 200 meters instantly. At this moment, he was very, very close to the Twin Gemini Stars. The massive Twin Gemini Stars, burning with blue light flames, were right before his eyes, though the stars themselves were still shrouded in a mist of light flames, making it impossible to see their full appearance. But at this distance, Li Hao could feel that this was a planet condensed with vast Soul Power. Suddenly, he changed his mind, slowly reduced his power, and his figure began to descend.

At this time, the people below were also watching a meteor falling in the sky. This was already the longest ascent time in this record attempt. Some people's eyes even carried a different meaning; the premise of comparison was to ensure one's own safety, otherwise, it was not necessarily a sign of a good man.

Li Hao's high-speed descent came to a hover as he approached the ground, landing slowly. At this moment, everyone's gaze changed once again.

Falandisi and the others were all looking at this person with curiosity, probably guessing his identity in their hearts. Li Hao did not care about the gazes of the people around him. He wanted to try a different method; the mission did not specify how to arrive. Even if it didn't work, Soul exploration could also help him understand the true state of the Twin Gemini Stars.

A golden ball of Soul flashed out of Li Hao's body and vanished. His Soul Out-of-Body technique had already been mastered to perfection, and with his understanding of the Golden Cells reaching a higher level, Soul Out-of-Body was no longer so dangerous.

The Twin Gemini Stars formed about ten layers of obstacles based on the terrain. At the beginning, there was a change every 1,000 meters, but after 5,000 meters, the final 1,000 meters had five layers of changes directly. If one were to force their way through with just their physical body, it would truly be a very difficult task.

The power between the two planets in this mission was based on the intruder's power plus the repulsive force, and general Space Ability would also be interfered with; using it forcefully was very dangerous. Universe Force Stage was likely just the baseline, but to truly reach the Twin Gemini Stars, brute force alone was definitely not enough.

Any power, whether it was physical or non-physical arcane, would encounter the counterattack of the Twin Gemini Stars, but Soul Power was a different situation. The barriers in the space were still there, and in Li Hao's eyes, they were clear as day, but they had little impact on the Soul. To be precise, it wasn't that there was no impact; generally, when the Soul is out of the body, the Soul is very fragile.

For example, Hermia's first time out of her body—if the Soul left the body too far, it wouldn't work, but Li Hao was already completely different.

Through a large amount of dream practice, combined with his various Soul experiences and his Golden Cell body, he was no longer just simply performing Soul Out-of-Body. After the Soul left the physical body, it still possessed sufficient connection and power, especially the power and insight within the mutated Golden Cells, which were more flexible and sharper than when he was in his body. Traveling to the Twin Gemini Stars in the form of a Soul felt quite intuitively like "taking an elevator" and sightseeing along the way.

Li Hao experienced this feeling. Even at the level of the Star Alliance, the ability possessed by Bleem could be called "God." However, his behavior and demeanor were not like a God, but more like a system, or some kind of "group consciousness" with rule limitations. Li Hao had another feeling.

The 5,000-meter mark was broken through, and the final 1,000 meters lay before Li Hao. He could clearly feel the existence of the Twin Gemini Stars, but at this critical point, everything was calm, yet the final 1,000 meters were extremely dangerous.

The Soul could very clearly feel the Twin Gemini Stars. What was exceptionally awesome was that these two miniature planets were complete; in this mission space, they had truly shaped such energy, no different from the real thing.

The reality of the Star Realm and the reality of the real world were actually consistent. If one did not master high-dimensional power, he really didn't know who could create it. Thinking about it this way, creating the Solar System was not impossible, and it was not the power of the Star Alliance.

At this time, on the surface of the Earth Star, others were observing the masked man who had appeared in the distance from time to time. This person had also become motionless since trying once, but judging from the way he landed, it didn't look like he was injured. Suddenly, someone was slightly stunned. The metaphor of this mask seemed a bit strange; it was a bald man wearing a coat with a somewhat odd style. What this metaphor was, was unclear, but recently there was a bald man who was famous—the Bald Cape Hero, that powerhouse who conquered the Endless Maze? Could it be him?

At this time, Li Hao's Soul had already appeared on the surface of the Blue Star. It was a golden energy figure exactly the same as Li Hao. Just as he was preparing to make a break for it, a red Soul body was bounced out from inside. As the two met, they were both clearly stunned for a moment.

The other party's appearance seemed very disheveled; clearly, the Soul was injured, showing obvious ripples and fluctuations. Li Hao reached out his hand, and a golden force was transmitted, supporting the other party. The other party's momentum, like a cannonball, was blocked. The red Soul body was actually carrying extremely strong vigilance, but she had just been injured and had no power to resist. She also hadn't expected to encounter another Soul body at this location and at this time. She even felt that she was done for; the Star Realm was not safe at all, otherwise, she wouldn't have become a Red Name. If she had known, she would have reserved a portion of her Soul Power when breaking through the final level. Sure enough, not listening to her master's words meant suffering right before her eyes; she couldn't fight back at all.

Just as she was about to struggle to defend herself, her Soul was already warmed by the golden energy. In an instant, the torture of alternating cold and heat on her body dissipated quite a bit. An extremely inclusive and powerful force gave her a sense of security. Was this a powerhouse comparable to her master? Soul Out-of-Body was the most dangerous and the easiest to be preyed upon, so she was always quite cautious, but the other party's Soul cultivation was truly a bit shocking. She could feel the vigorous and tyrannical nature close to the source within this golden light. Li Hao blocked the other party and simultaneously felt her strong vigilance. He smiled slightly, and the bald mask changed along with it.

"Don't worry, I have no malice." Yekaterina calmed her rolling and fluctuating Soul; there was no other way at this time. Her Soul had been impacted to the point of almost falling apart, which was extremely dangerous. Encountering a master of the same level at this time was simply a nightmare.

Li Hao was curiously examining the other Soul body. The other party's Soul body was very rounded; her realm should not be low, and being able to break through to this position definitely meant she had something.

Compared to Li Hao's curiosity, Yekaterina could only be described as shocked. Her unstable Soul was actually being healed; this was simply hellish! She was only able to reach this step because she had a fortuitous encounter and possessed an Imperial Artifact, and her sect also had its share of knowledge, but she had never heard of such an existence. "Thank you for your help, senior." After stabilizing her Soul condition, Yekaterina expressed her gratitude, looking at the strange mask with complex eyes. "Are you going in?"

Li Hao smiled and nodded. "I intend to go in and take a look."

"Senior, it is very dangerous inside; it seems to be able to absorb Soul Power." Yekaterina still warned him. This could be considered a return for the other party's help.

Li Hao looked inside, smiled, and with a flicker of his figure, he had already broken into the final stage. Instantly, his Soul arrived in a dark space.

The other shore was the Twin Gemini Stars, but a membrane had formed between the Twin Gemini Stars, blocking him.

Yekaterina, who had originally wanted to return to her own body, also stopped, her expression turning cold as ice in an instant. She could respond to the condition of her main body. At this time, her main body was still on the surface of the Earth Star, and there was no movement around it. Not to mention that her people were also there; after the recent round of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys, she figured no one would act rashly. As long as the Red Name was not too serious, it would slowly fade away over time, not to mention she didn't care at all.

Looking into the depths, Yekaterina fell into a strange and complex expression. In fact, this level was the most dangerous part of the Twin Gemini Stars. The Light King had rated him as the fifth in the S-rank, and quite a few people felt it was a bit of an exaggeration. Compared to the danger, the training effect was stronger. In fact, the difficulty the Light King knew was in this final level. Not coming might be happiness; once one came, it was the most fatal. If one was not careful, their soul would fly away and scatter, no matter what kind of powerhouse they were.

Back then, the Star Dragon King and Augustus both almost lost their lives here, and there was a secret inside. Back then, the Star Dragon King and Augustus had joined forces to break through. Of course, once one stepped over, they would enter a new realm. Legend had it that the Soul would be cleansed, becoming purer and closer to the origin of the universe.

At this time, Li Hao had already felt the temperature around him dropping sharply. In the blink of an eye, the place where his Soul was had turned into an ice hell. The omnipresent cold air, accompanied by howling air currents, crazily seeped into Li Hao's Soul. In this place, Soul strength was what allowed the Soul to reach here, and the next test was the resilience of the Soul.

The cold air crazily flowed into Li Hao's body; it was the feeling of completely freezing the Soul. As long as the Soul's resistance or consciousness was slightly lacking, the consciousness would become numb, or even stop moving. Once it stopped, the Soul would be torn apart. No matter how the outside world changed, the consciousness had to maintain its own movement. This was also the terrifying part of the Twin Gemini Stars. As long as one didn't push themselves, they could actually linger; the stronger the person, the easier it was to be buried here.

Very likely, some true powerhouses were not famous in the secular world, to the point that they were completely unknown. That Light King really had something. Li Hao gradually discovered that the strength surrounding the Star Realm was the core of the Star Alliance's power. Some god-like powers were all pointing toward understanding order and mastering order. Once mastered, the technology and power of the Star Alliance would indeed become a minor path.

Heavenly Dao is the Great Dao. Regarding Soul attribute resistance, the resistance of the same source would be stronger. If the Soul itself was of the Ice attribute, it would be easier to pass this level, and one might even get a great improvement in Ice ability; conversely, it would be a bit difficult.

Li Hao did not have a clear attribute, but for this pure test of the Soul, he really had no feeling anymore. The so-called Ice test, that kind of stimulation to the Soul, could be said to exist, or it could be called void; it was an all-around inspection of the Soul's attributes. Once one could not persist, they would collapse, but Bleem had already helped him pass this stage a long time ago. At this time, Li Hao's Soul body had been completely permeated and frozen by the ice, and the cold air was still intensifying, but the Soul body itself felt no fear or collapse.

As for the resilience of the Soul, Li Hao claimed to be second, and he really didn't know who would dare to claim to be first. In the darkness, the ice power went through multiple rounds of transformation, attempting to intimidate Li Hao's Soul defense, but Li Hao remained motionless.

Soon the cold tide receded, and fire appeared. The burning of regular fire, the flames burning the body—when it had no effect on Li Hao, the smelting attribute of the fire began to change. This included Scarlet Flame, Black Fire, Ghost Fire, and various forms of fire, baptizing Li Hao's Soul over and over again.

In the space where Li Hao was, it had changed from a terrifying ice hell to a fire hell. Waves of fire surged in from all directions, making the entire space like an alchemy furnace, constantly burning Li Hao's Soul. As long as the Soul showed a trace of weakness, cowardice, or some gap or loophole, it would expand in an instant until it collapsed. The fact that the woman just now could come in and go out was itself a very difficult thing.

At this time, Yekaterina outside was also calculating the time, and her expression became more and more solemn. "It's already been fifteen minutes, which means that person is already breaking through to the second round."

Li Hao didn't calculate this; he was feeling the baptism of the fire. Yes, he had learned it when he was taught by B Ge before: if you can't resist, you have to learn to enjoy it. The fire was tempering the Soul; why wasn't it a process of tempering? If one had a sufficiently strong mind and experience, this was a method to reshape Soul Power.

Ice and fire, the most basic natural forces; from another perspective, they were the deceleration and acceleration of particle movement, the purest "cold" and the most extreme "heat." At this time, Li Hao was completely immersed in it. The changes in the outside world only prompted him to better understand his own Soul condition and his understanding of power. The essence of the complex types of fire did not change much; at most, they were just means to find the flaws in the Soul.

However, Li Hao's Soul had no flaws in this regard; his realm was far higher than this, only that he hadn't been able to understand and use it well before.

Finally, the waves of fire tides, which would make a life form collapse just by looking at or feeling them, all receded. No matter what kind of fire, all changes remained the same. Within the fire, Li Hao's golden body had been formed, and the second level was also passed.

The third level came. In the space, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, and then a bolt of thunder directly struck Li Hao, making him feel cold to the core. The terrifying power of the thunder was the most shocking in terms of its lethality to the Soul.

Yekaterina outside had a solemn expression. Her understanding of the Twin Gemini Stars was mainly from the records of her sect and the guidance of her master. Every step contained the profound meaning of tempering the Soul, but it was also unimaginably dangerous.

The third level was the most terrifying and the most fatal: Soul-Extinguishing Thunder. This was also the place that had always hindered her, preventing her from moving forward. One had to know that she came from the Thunder Illusion Sect of the Silver Heart Alliance. This was an ancient sect hidden within the Star Alliance, dedicated to studying the Star Realm and the origin of Soul Power, pursuing the ultimate power; it was far from what those outside could compare to. Thunder power was the most lethal to the Soul. Disciples of the Thunder Illusion Sect would begin to try to accept the baptism of ice, fire, and thunder in their childhood. The tenet of the Thunder Illusion Sect was that the Star Realm was an opportunity given by the universe for life forms to achieve Godhood. What is a God? Transcending the three dimensions, truly liberating the Soul in the true sense, and reaching the fourth dimension; only in this way could one be truly free.

And the top life forms in the Star Alliance, no matter which civilization they came from, after tens of thousands of years of baptism in the Star Realm, ultimately pursued "transcendence," which could also be called "Deification."

The outside world didn't know at all that back then, in order to break through the Twin Gemini Stars, the arrogant Star Dragon King and Emperor Augustus had both visited the Thunder Illusion Sect. To the outside world, and even to some generals, they were a mysterious existence; they just felt that some peerless geniuses of various races would pop up in the Star Alliance from time to time. Augustus himself originated from the Spirit Hero Sect, one of the Three Heavenly Sects, but this ancient sect had declined quite severely, and the expedition to the Creation Pillar had almost wiped them out, leaving no successors. Yekaterina did not think she could pass quickly; this was an excellent place for practice. The conditions formed by many missions in the Star Realm were purer than the reality existing in the Galaxy. For them, the Galaxy was just a rough manifestation of the Star Realm.

People of different realms and different backgrounds had very different understandings of the world. At this time, Li Hao was enjoying the program after the thunder striking his head and the ice and fire bathing. It struck Li Hao until he was dizzy and confused. This kind of attack had collateral damage to both the Soul and the main body on the surface of the Earth Star. If it weren't for the fact that his Golden Cell power was full, this would have turned him into a barbecue.

On the surface of the Earth Star, Li Hao's body had already begun to vibrate with powerful force. The tyranny of this power had already aroused the wariness of everyone around. Although it was drawn but not released, the suffocating power had already shrouded a range of several thousand meters. The surroundings were already scorched black, as if cursed. They were all people extremely sensitive to power, and their intuition was signaling intense danger.

Of course, danger was danger, but there were always those who didn't know how to die. A Saint clearly held a fluke mentality. It was unknown for what reason—perhaps he recognized the identity of the Bald Cape Hero, or perhaps Li Hao had not moved for a long time, as if he were in an extremely difficult moment—the other party made a move. A bolt of Annihilation Thunder exploded out of thin air. The moment it approached, the attacker was infused with the tyrannical thunder power. The terrifying Soul-Extinguishing Thunder Strike directly caused the other party to evaporate on the spot.