Chapter 509

The eyes of the various tribes of the Nine Netherworlds were firmly gripped by the key to the Nine Netherworlds Soul Realm, and slaughter and pursuit were constantly staged throughout the fifth layer of the abyss.

Inside the Soul Nightmare, Hua Changxi, relying on Lady Chi Yan's memories, avoided the various hidden dangers in the valley and was happily collecting rare soul plants one by one.

In the valley, Soul-Nurturing Wood could be seen everywhere.

The smallest of these soul woods required several people to embrace, and the thickest had a diameter of over ten meters, which was astonishingly large.

Soul-Nurturing Wood was of great benefit to the soul.

The unique aura it emitted could soothe violent soul bodies and, to a certain extent, nourish and repair the soul; even for ordinary people, carrying Soul-Nurturing Wood could strengthen and nourish their soul bodies.

Wooden plaques refined from it could house souls (primordial spirits). With the soul residing within, it could nourish and repair the soul body, and the wearer, even when walking in the human world, would not fear the erosion of yang energy, ensuring the soul body remained stable and did not dissipate.

Furthermore, it was also an excellent material for making soul-tool containers. Whether made into caskets or boxes to store soul fruits, soul plants, or soul pills, it could ensure that soul power did not leak in the slightest.

Not only that, the branches, leaves, and heartwood of the Soul-Nurturing Wood were the main medicinal ingredients for refining pills that nourished the soul.

Although Soul-Nurturing Wood was good, it was not easy to obtain.

For no other reason than that the texture of the soul-nurturing material was very hard, and ordinary tools could not cut it at all. Otherwise, the Soul-Nurturing Wood in Soul Nightmare Valley would not have remained in such abundance and would have long since been cut down by the powerhouses of the various Nine Netherworlds tribes.

However, the difficulty of cutting could not stump Hua Changxi.

She had the black broken blade!

Having had the experience in the Ghost Realm forbidden area where the black broken blade cut Ghost Yin Wood as easily as cutting tofu, Hua Changxi was very confident in whether the black broken blade could cut down the Soul-Nurturing Wood.

The next moment, she summoned the black broken blade and walked toward the largest Soul-Nurturing Wood in the valley with the blade in hand.

This Soul-Nurturing Wood was undoubtedly the one with the highest age in the valley. Its main trunk was as thick as a dragon, with roots intertwined, and its branches and leaves covered the sky and sun, casting a large, dense shadow.

Hua Changxi circled the giant tree, her gaze roaming back and forth over the rough and hard trunk, secretly weighing the difficulty of cutting it.

The main trunk was truly too thick, and she feared she lacked the strength to shake it; but these thick branches extending in all directions shouldn't be too difficult to cut.

Thinking this, Hua Changxi no longer hesitated. With a tap of her toes, her figure like a swallow, she carried the black broken blade and leaped onto the towering tree canopy.

For the next period of time, the sound of 'bang, bang, bang' wood-cutting echoed continuously in the originally silent Soul Nightmare Valley.

The sound was long and persistent, appearing exceptionally crisp and determined in this deep canyon.

The hardness of the Soul-Nurturing Wood exceeded Hua Changxi's expectations. It might also be because the Soul-Nurturing Wood she chose was too old, its wood quality having reached perfection; every time she swung the blade, the counter-shock force was like a heavy hammer strike.

Her arms were shaken until they were stiff and numb, almost losing sensation, before she managed to cut down nine branches.

Hua Changxi rested for a long time before recovering, then looked at the branches she had cut down; each was dozens of meters long, and the cut ends were two or three meters thick.

"Should be enough."

After putting the Soul-Nurturing Wood branches into the Sumeru Bead, she did not immediately collect other soul plants in the valley but began collecting the wood shavings that had fallen during the cutting just now.

In the 'Twelve Forms of Soul Control', there was a form called 'Soul-Fixing Needle'.

These wood shavings could be used as soul-fixing wooden needles.

In Soul Nightmare Valley, soul power was abundant, which isolated some of the erosion of the Netherworld energy. Staying in the valley, Hua Changxi felt no discomfort.

Thinking of the Nine Netherworlds powerhouses she had seen earlier, she sat down on the spot and began to polish the wood shavings, making soul-fixing wooden needles.

Time slipped away quietly, and she only stopped when the wood shavings were exhausted.

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

Although the soul-fixing needles made of Soul-Nurturing Wood could only fix the soul and could not cause damage to the soul, she was still very satisfied.

Next, she began to collect other soul plants.

Soul-Continuing Flower, the main ingredient for refining Soul-Continuing Pills and Soul-Continuing Incense; Soul-Guiding Insect, the main ingredient for brewing Soul-Guiding Lamp oil.

Soul-Continuing Art and Soul-Guiding Art were both spells in the 'Twelve Forms of Soul Control', so she collected more of these two soul flowers and soul insects.

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

Having collected the desired soul plants, the purpose of Hua Changxi's trip was considered complete, and she began to think about leaving the valley.

However, thinking of the many Nine Netherworlds powerhouses that had appeared in the fifth layer of the territory, she felt it was better to stay in the valley for a while longer.

With nothing to do, she took out the spoils of war she had harvested all the way since coming down to the Nine Netherworlds.

Looking at the pile of storage devices on the ground, Hua Changxi was surprised to realize that from the first layer of the Nine Netherworlds down to the fifth, she had killed quite a few Nine Netherworlds creatures along the way.

For the next period of time, she began to count her harvest.

First was a pile of Nether Stones, including low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade, and even Nether Marrow Stones.

The grade of Nether Marrow Stones was just like the Spirit Marrow Stones in the human world, being the main resource for Commander-realm powerhouses during cultivation.

Then there were various Nine Netherworlds soul plants, soul fruits, and various Nine Netherworlds books.

Finally, there was a pile of magical artifacts such as ghost tools, demon tools, and nether tools.

"This is?"

Among the pile of dusty, blackened books and eerie magical artifacts wreathed in gloomy, turbid energy, two items stood out particularly prominently.

One was a strange piece of paper as white as snow.

One was a silver-white round bead the size of a thumb, flowing with dense and pure soul power.

Hua Changxi picked up the paper. Upon opening it, two large characters with iron-painted silver hooks, containing a certain pure, extremely yin charm—'Soul Canon'—entered her sight.

After roughly reading through the 'Soul Canon', she not only learned the general situation of the Soul Clan but also knew that the silver-white round bead was called a Soul Bead.

The Soul Bead was not something naturally nurtured by heaven and earth, but a life-bound treasure condensed by the Soul Clan from their own soul source.

Just because the Soul Clan specialized in the soul path, unlike other tribes in the Nine Netherworlds realm that could condense ghost bodies or temper demon bodies, the Soul Clan was born with only pure soul bodies, so their frontal combat and defensive capabilities were relatively weak.

But this by no means meant that the Soul Clan was weak, easy to bully, or at the mercy of others.

The Soul Clan possessed three unique racial advantages.

First, Soul Domain construction.

Soul Clan powerhouses could construct an absolute domain—a Soul Domain—with their own soul power.

Where the Soul Domain covered, the Soul Clan was the absolute master; the laws within the domain were dominated by their soul thoughts, and all things and souls were under their control.

Second, Soul Fire condensation.

The Soul Clan was the only race capable of condensing soul fire. This fire was formless and qualityless, yet it could incinerate the soul bodies of all races, and nothing could stop it.

Third, soul thoughts that reached the heavens and the earth.

The Soul Clan was born with powerful soul thoughts, far exceeding other races.

Not only could they observe the finest details from a thousand miles away, but they could also ignore spatial barriers to conduct long-distance mental communication and perception, and could even briefly attach themselves to powerful living beings or objects, like invisible shadows.

At the same time, they could easily capture souls, seize spirits, and tamper with others' memories; even those with profound cultivation, if slightly careless, would have their minds controlled.

This gave them unparalleled intelligence-gathering and soul-manipulation capabilities.

However, the Soul Clan also had its fatal weakness.

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

Once the Soul Bead was accidentally shattered or forcibly snatched by a strong enemy, the foundation that maintained the existence of the soul body would instantly collapse.

If the soul body was strong and condensed enough, although it would not dissipate immediately, it would fall into extreme pain and despair: soul power would crazily dissipate, the soul body would disintegrate inch by inch, and eventually turn into nothingness.

"Whew~"

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

Going out for training was indeed too necessary. Only after coming out did she realize the vastness of the world and that each race had its own strengths.

Hua Changxi recalled that she had never encountered anyone from the Soul Clan head-on.

In this way, this 'Soul Canon' and this Soul Bead must have been seized by other Nine Netherworlds tribes after killing members of the Soul Clan.

Hua Changxi looked at the Soul Bead, worried that the original owner's soul thoughts might still be lingering inside, so she sacrificed a wisp of Southern Brightness Li Fire and carefully tempered the Soul Bead once.

Under the tempering of the Southern Brightness Li Fire, nearly 30% of the soul power contained in the Soul Bead was consumed, but she still felt it was very necessary.

This was the Nine Netherworlds, and in the Nine Netherworlds, the Possession Art was an entry-level spell!

She didn't want to fall into a trap without paying attention.

After the Soul Bead was tempered, she held it in her hand.

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

Hua Changxi's eyes turned, thinking of something, and she immediately took off the 'Follow-Heart' mask and placed the Soul Bead into the array slot.

When she put the mask back on, her thoughts turned, her dharma robes changed, and the aura around her immediately became exactly the same as that of the Soul Clan.

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

Hua Changxi took out the Soul Bead, carefully put it away, and then continued to read the 'Soul Canon' in detail.

Soul fire could not be condensed by anyone other than the Soul Clan; soul thoughts were limited by the soul body.

However, she could learn how to construct a Soul Domain.

The Nine Netherworlds was dangerous; having more skills would never be a bad thing.

Afterward, Hua Changxi began to cultivate according to the techniques in the 'Soul Canon'.

After a while, she opened her eyes, her brows slightly furrowed.

The construction of a Soul Domain was severely limited by the strength of the soul body.

【Realm: Nascent Soul Realm 9.99 billion/1 billion; Divine Sense: 10 billion points】

Without opening the Spirit Platform, even though her physical body had already stepped into the threshold of the eighth layer, her soul body strength was still only comparable to the Soul General realm of the Soul Clan.

Therefore, the constructed Soul Domain could only control cultivators at the Nine Netherworlds General realm, the human Nascent Soul realm, and below.

However, combined with Lady Chi Yan's nightmare arts, the Soul Domain she constructed should still be able to trap cultivators at the Nine Netherworlds Commander realm and the human Spirit Platform realm.