Chapter 509

The gazes of all the races of the Netherworld were firmly locked onto the key to the Netherworld Soul Realm, and slaughter and pursuit played out continuously in various places of the Fifth Abyss.

Inside the Soul Nightmare, relying on Lady Red Nightmare’s memories, Hua Changxi avoided all sorts of hidden dangers in the valley and cheerfully gathered one rare soul plant after another.

In the valley, Soul Nourishing Trees could be seen everywhere.

The smallest of these soul trees took several people to wrap their arms around, while the thickest had a diameter exceeding ten meters, astonishingly large.

Soul Nourishing Trees greatly benefited the spirit soul.

The unique aura they emitted could calm violent soul bodies and, to a certain extent, nurture the spirit soul; even ordinary people, by carrying Soul Nourishing Wood, could strengthen and nourish their soul body.

Wooden plaques refined from it could contain spirit souls (primordial spirits); while a spirit soul dwelt within, it could nourish and repair the soul body, and the wearer, even walking among the human world, would not fear the erosion of yang energy, ensuring the soul body remained stable and undispersed.

Moreover, it was an excellent material for making soul vessel containers; made into cases or boxes for storing soul fruits, soul plants, or soul pills, it could guarantee that not a trace of soul power leaked out.

Not only that, the branches, leaves, and heartwood of the Soul Nourishing Tree were also the main medicinal ingredients for refining pills that nourish the spirit soul.

Although the Soul Nourishing Tree was good, it was not easy to obtain.

Simply put, the texture of Soul Nourishing Wood was extremely hard, and ordinary tools simply could not fell it. Otherwise, the Soul Nourishing Trees in the Soul Nightmare Valley would not have remained so abundant; they would have long been felled by the strong of the various Netherworld races.

However, the difficulty of felling was no obstacle for Hua Changxi.

She had the black broken blade!

Having had the experience of the black broken blade cutting Ghost Yin Wood like tofu in the Ghost Domain Forbidden Land, Hua Changxi was very confident that the black broken blade could fell the Soul Nourishing Tree.

The next moment, she summoned the black broken blade, lifted it, and walked to the largest Soul Nourishing Tree in the valley.

This Soul Nourishing Tree was undoubtedly the oldest in the valley; its main trunk was thick as a dragon, with twisting roots and interlocking branches, its foliage blotting out the sky and sun, casting a vast, dense shadow.

Hua Changxi circled the giant tree once, her gaze sweeping back and forth over the rough, hard trunk, silently measuring the difficulty of felling it.

The main trunk was truly too thick to shake, likely beyond her strength; but the thick branches stretching out in all directions should not be too hard to cut down.

Thinking this, Hua Changxi hesitated no longer. She lightly touched the ground with her toe, her figure like a swallow, and carrying the black broken blade, she flew up onto the towering canopy that pierced the clouds.

For the next period of time, the originally silent Soul Nightmare Valley echoed continuously with the sound of "thump thump thump" of felling wood.

The sound lingered for a long time, appearing especially crisp and persistent in this deep, secluded gorge.

The hardness of the Soul Nourishing Tree exceeded Hua Changxi's expectations, perhaps because the tree she had chosen was of too great an age, its wood quality having reached perfection; each slash of the blade sent back a shock like a heavy hammer blow.

Only after her arms were struck stiff and numb, nearly losing sensation, did she manage to cut down nine branches.

Hua Changxi rested for a good while before recovering, then looked at the branches she had cut down; each was several tens of meters long, and the cuts were two to three meters thick.

"That should be enough."

After storing the Soul Nourishing Tree branches in her Sumeru Pearl, she did not immediately collect other soul plants in the valley, but instead gathered the wood shavings that had fallen during the felling.

Among the Twelve Forms of Soul Control, there is a form called Soul-Fixing Needle.

These wood shavings could be used to make the wooden needles for fixing souls.

In the Soul Nightmare Valley, soul power was abundant, which to some extent isolated the erosion of Netherworld Qi. Hua Changxi stayed in the valley without any discomfort.

Thinking of those Netherworld experts she had seen earlier, she immediately sat down on the spot and began to sharpen the wood shavings to make soul-fixing wooden needles.

Time slipped away quietly; she did not stop until the wood shavings were exhausted.

Looking at the hundreds of soul-fixing wooden needles of varying thicknesses before her, Hua Changxi felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Although the soul-fixing needles made from Soul Nourishing Wood could only fix souls and could not harm the spirit soul, she was still very satisfied.

Next, she began collecting other soul plants.

Soul-Renewing Flowers: the main material for refining Soul-Renewing Pills and Soul-Renewing Incense; Soul-Luring Insects: the main material for brewing Soul-Luring Lamp oil.

The Soul-Renewing Technique and the Soul-Luring Technique were both spells from the Twelve Forms of Soul Control, so she collected more of these two kinds of soul flowers and soul insects.

Facing the soul plants in the valley, Hua Changxi ultimately suppressed her greed, did not become a locust, and after collecting a controlled batch of soul plants, soul fruits, and soul flowers, she stopped.

Having collected the desired soul plants, Hua Changxi had accomplished the purpose of this trip, and then she began to think about how to leave the valley.

However, thinking of the many Netherworld experts she had seen in the Fifth Abyss, she felt it was better to stay in the valley for a while longer.

With nothing to do, she took out the spoils she had obtained along the way since descending into the Netherworld.

Looking at the pile of storage devices on the ground, Hua Changxi realized just how many Nine Nether creatures she had killed along the way, from the first layer of the Nine Nether down to the fifth.

Over the next moments, she began to tally her gains.

First came a pile of Netherstones—low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and supreme-grade, and even Nether Marrow Stones.

Nether Marrow Stones, much like Spiritual Marrow Stones in the mortal world, were a primary resource for cultivators at the Marshal realm.

Next were various Nether plants and fruits from the Nine Nether, along with numerous Nine Nether books.

Last came a heap of Ghost Artifacts, Demon Artifacts, Nether Artifacts, and other magical implements.

“What’s this?”

Among a stack of dust-covered, blackened books and eerie artifacts shrouded in gloomy, murky aura, two items stood out conspicuously.

One was a peculiar sheet of paper, white as snow.

The other was a thumb-sized, silvery-white orb that swirled with dense, pure soul power.

Hua Changxi picked up the paper. As she opened it, two large characters—written with iron hooks and silver strokes, imbued with the lingering charm of pure yin energy—burst into her sight: *Soul Canon*.

After skimming through the *Soul Canon*, she not only learned the general situation of the Soul Tribe but also discovered that the silvery-white orb was called a Soul Pearl.

A Soul Pearl was not a naturally formed object of heaven and earth; rather, it was a destined supreme treasure condensed by the Soul Tribe from their own soul source.

Because the Soul Tribe cultivated exclusively in soul dao, unlike other tribes of the Nine Nether, which could condense a ghostly body or temper a demonic physique, the Soul Tribe were born with nothing but a pure soul body. Hence, their frontal combat strength and defensive abilities were relatively weak.

But that absolutely did not mean the Soul Tribe were weak, easily bullied, or at anyone’s mercy.

The Soul Tribe possessed three unique racial advantages bestowed by heaven.

First, the construction of the Soul Domain.

Soul Tribe experts could use their own soul power to construct an absolute domain—the Soul Domain.

Where the Soul Domain enfolded, the Soul Tribe were the absolute rulers. The laws within the domain were governed by their soul consciousness, and the souls of all things fell under their control.

Second, the condensation of Soul Fire.

The Soul Tribe were the only race capable of condensing soul fire. This fire was formless and intangible, yet it could burn the soul bodies of all races, with nothing able to stand against it.

Third, soul consciousness that pierced heaven and earth.

The Soul Tribe were born with powerful soul consciousness, far surpassing other races.

Not only could they detect the slightest details from a thousand li away, but they could also disregard spatial barriers, conducting thought communication and perception across distances, and even temporarily attach themselves to powerful beings or objects, like an incorporeal shadow.

At the same time, they could easily seize souls, plunder spirits, and alter others’ memories. Even those with profound cultivation could, if not careful, have their minds manipulated.

This granted them unparalleled abilities in intelligence gathering and soul control.

However, the Soul Tribe also had a fatal weakness.

The Soul Pearl was both the source of their power and their life-bound core.

The moment a Soul Pearl unexpectedly shattered or was forcibly seized by a powerful enemy, the foundation sustaining the existence of the soul body would instantly collapse.

If the soul body were strong and condensed enough, it would not dissipate immediately, but it would fall into extreme pain and despair: soul power madly leaking, the soul body disintegrating inch by inch, ultimately turning into nothingness.

“Hoo…”

After reading the *Soul Canon*, Hua Changxi let out a long breath.

Traveling for training truly was necessary. Only after stepping out did she realize how vast the world was, and how each race had its own strengths.

Hua Changxi thought back. She had never directly encountered any Soul Tribe members.

In that case, this copy of the *Soul Canon* and this Soul Pearl must have been spoils taken by other Nine Nether tribes after killing a Soul Tribe member.

Hua Changxi looked at the Soul Pearl. Worried that remnants of its original owner’s soul consciousness might still linger inside, she offered a wisp of South Ming Lihuo and carefully refined the Soul Pearl again.

Under the refinement of the South Ming Lihuo, nearly thirty percent of the soul power within the Soul Pearl was consumed, but she still felt it was necessary.

This was the Nine Nether, after all. In the Nine Nether, soul-possession techniques were entry-level spells!

She did not want to carelessly stumble and fall.

Only after the Soul Pearl was refined did she take it in her hand.

It was cool and icy, similar to the feeling of holding a soul crystal.

Hua Changxi's eyes moved as she thought of something. She immediately took off the "Suixin" mask and placed the soul orb into the array slot.

When she put the mask back on and with a thought, her robe transformed, and the aura around her immediately became indistinguishable from that of the Soul Race.

"Next time I can disguise myself as a member of the Soul Race."

Hua Changxi took out the soul orb, carefully put it away, then picked up the "Soul Scripture" again and began to study it closely.

Soul fire cannot be condensed by anyone other than the Soul Race; soul thoughts are limited by the soul body.

However, she could learn the construction of the soul domain.

The Nine Nethers are dangerous; having more skills on hand can't be a bad thing.

After that, Hua Changxi began to cultivate according to the techniques recorded in the "Soul Scripture."

After some time, she opened her eyes and furrowed her brows slightly.

The construction of the soul domain is severely limited by the strength of the soul body.

[Realm: Nascent Soul 99.99 billion / 1 billion; Divine Sense: 10 billion points]

Without opening the spiritual platform, even though her physical body had stepped into the threshold of the eighth level, her soul body's strength was still only comparable to the Soul General realm of the Soul Race.

Therefore, the soul domain she constructed could only control cultivators at the Nine Nethers General realm, the Human Nascent Soul realm, and below.

However, with the cooperation of the Nightmare Art of Lady Chi Yan, the soul domain she constructed should still be able to trap cultivators at the Nine Nethers Marshal realm and the Human Spiritual Platform realm.