Chapter 580: New Soul Skill, New World

Dream Realm.

Li Fei was immersed in an indescribable epiphany.

In a trance, it felt as if over a dozen years had passed, and he gradually regained his senses—

He had witnessed the fall of a sun.

On Great Luo Peak, that golden pillar of light shooting straight into the sky suddenly collapsed!

The grand array that had shrouded most of Ming Province disintegrated along with it.

That ten-thousand-meter-long golden dragon let out a sorrowful wail, its body shattering piece by piece!

"Senior Brother—"

At the border, True Person Qingyun shouted, using his natal flying sword to propel his body as he flew frantically toward the Great Luo Sect.

The president of Moyun University, who had been suppressing him the entire time, did not stop him.

Nor could he have stopped him.

"Such a peerless figure, yet he has fallen in the end."

The Grandmaster, whose body was covered in over a dozen wounds from sword Qi, looked toward the direction of Great Luo Peak and sighed.

In the other directions of Ming Province, the powerhouses of the Great Luo Sect also realized that True Monarch Qingxu had failed.

Some chose to return to the Great Luo Sect, while others turned and fled elsewhere.

Outside the city of Jinshan, Xiang Yunshu, having witnessed the collapse of the Daoist state with his own eyes, finally felt at ease.

However, he still did not disperse the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi around him; instead, he controlled this purple-gold dragon to charge into the collapsing Daoist state and began to devour the scattered Dragon Qi within.

Given the massive loss of national destiny in this battle, Xiang Yunshu was now recovering as much as he could.

"Amitabha."

The golden Buddha statue to the side chanted a Buddhist name, then pressed its palms together and began to recite Buddhist scriptures.

Golden scriptures surged from the Buddha statue's mouth and flew toward every corner of Ming Province.

These golden scriptures landed on the cities that had been blood-sacrificed, beginning to ferry the departed souls.

The Buddha statue was reciting the Sutra of Rebirth.

Although Li Fei had defended Chongcheng, there were many more cities that had not been saved.

Overnight, dozens of cities had been blood-sacrificed, with the death toll in each city reaching as high as forty or fifty thousand, bringing the total number of deaths to nearly nine hundred thousand!

In some cities, the commoners had not gathered together, so to ensure the speed of the blood sacrifice, the Great Luo Sect disciples who charged into the city chose to set fires.

The massive fire completely ignited the city!

Thus, in many of the blood-sacrificed cities, large residential areas were burned to ruins.

When the fires were extinguished, charred corpses lay scattered among the broken walls and ruins, and many people wept uncontrollably while searching for the bodies of their loved ones.

As the golden scriptures landed on these ruins, the surrounding people felt their hearts receive immense solace; many who had been driven to despair finally calmed down, and while weeping, they knelt on the ground to pray for their loved ones, hoping they could be reborn in the Pure Land.

Because the Great Luo Sect was located in Ming Province, there were many believers throughout the province.

But after this battle, at least a million believers in Ming Province had converted to Buddhism!

While using Daoist principles to control the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi to devour the scattered Dragon Qi, Xiang Yunshu also distracted himself by using his analytical Daoist principles to observe the Buddha statue beside him.

Others could not see it, but he could see golden particles, like countless stars, gathering toward the Buddha statue from all over Ming Province.

Xiang Yunshu knew that this was also a form of the will of the masses.

The imperial court transformed the will of the masses into the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi, while the Buddhist school transformed the will of the masses into the power of merit!

Since Pudu Temple had spared no expense in consuming the fortune accumulated by the Buddhist school over a thousand years to intervene in this battle, they naturally expected to reap some rewards afterward.

Xiang Yunshu did not stop the Buddha statue from collecting the power of merit; he simply said:

"I hope Abbot Wuzhao will accompany me to the Great Luo Sect."

Wuzhao was the dharma name of that living Buddha.

Currently, Xiang Yunshu was severely injured, and even his natal magic treasure had suffered heavy damage; his condition was very poor.

Although True Monarch Qingxu had failed to break through his realm, his life or death was unknown, and the Great Luo Sect still had a Human Martial Saint.

To be safe, Xiang Yunshu needed to invite Abbot Wuzhao to activate his natal magic treasure and accompany him on a trip to the Great Luo Sect.

"Amitabha, please lead the way, State Preceptor."

Wuzhao's compassionate voice emanated from the Buddha statue.

Seeing that the scattered Dragon Qi had been mostly absorbed, Xiang Yunshu urged the purple-gold dragon and flew toward the Great Luo Sect with him.

The golden Buddha statue followed closely behind.

On Great Luo Peak.

Tai Yu had already broken the restrictions that had bound him and quickly arrived at the edge of a cliff.

True Monarch Qingxu, dressed in a set of Daoist robes, stood with his back to him, looking up at the sky.

"Qingxu!"

Tai Yu called out.

True Monarch Qingxu did not turn around.

The next moment, under Tai Yu's witness, True Monarch Qingxu's body dissipated bit by bit!

This former Sect Master of the Great Luo Sect, a True Monarch of the current age, vanished from the world just like that.

Tai Yu stood where he was and suddenly let out a roar.

This roar was like ten thousand peals of thunder, echoing through the twelve peaks of Great Luo!

The roar of a Martial Saint was earth-shattering!

All the boundless rage in Tai Yu's heart was vented in this roar.

It was unclear whether he was angry at True Monarch Qingxu for being rebellious and leading the Great Luo Sect into treason.

Or if he was angry that True Monarch Qingxu had exhausted eight hundred years of the Great Luo Sect's fortune, only to fail in the end.

Shortly after Tai Yu's roar, a figure flew rapidly toward them using wind-riding techniques.

The person who arrived was True Person Qingxia.

She looked around, but seeing nothing, her face turned deathly pale.

"Uncle-Master Tai Yu, he..."

"His body has died and his Dao has vanished; he has turned to dust."

Tai Yu turned to look at Qingxia, having already regained his composure.

True Person Qingxia's body swayed, and her eyes turned red:

"In the end, it was all for nothing..."

"He is gone, but our Great Luo Sect must continue; you must pull yourself together as soon as possible."

Tai Yu looked at Qingxia and said every word clearly.

He was saying this to Qingxia, but also to himself.

He was now the last and only pillar of the Great Luo Sect.

He had to lead the Great Luo Sect through this crisis!

True Person Qingxia lowered her head, crying and laughing, as if she had not heard what Tai Yu said.

Tai Yu glanced at her, then turned to look outside the mountain.

"Sect Master Tai Yu, may I ask what has become of the traitor Qingxu?!"

Xiang Yunshu's voice rolled in from the distance.

Tai Yu took a deep breath, his entire presence becoming awe-inspiring.

He stepped forward and said in a loud voice:

"The traitor Qingxu has been executed—"

On the highway outside Chongcheng, Li Fei slowly opened his eyes.

In the Dream Realm, he had witnessed the entire process of True Monarch Qingxu breaking through his realm.

Although he had not entered the other party's subconscious, Li Fei had still gained a great deal!

Recalling the crying he had heard and the sense of being moved as if seeing a new heaven, he felt that True Monarch Qingxu had indeed succeeded in breaking the peak limit and stepping into a realm above the peak!

But in the end, he had witnessed that 'sun' fall with his own eyes.

In the Dream Realm, the dissipation of a person's subconscious meant that the person had died.

"Was it because he forcibly broke through using a fragmented Daoist state, causing an unstable foundation, so although he broke through, he still fell in the end?"

Li Fei speculated.

The gains from this 'Dao-viewing' were immeasurable!

At this moment, he wanted to recall those epiphanies from the Dream Realm, but he could not remember them at all.

It was like a dream, leaving no trace behind.

But he knew that some things had already been deeply imprinted in his subconscious.

They would become treasures in his subconscious, waiting to be activated one day in the future!

Li Fei put away the Dream-Entering Token.

He discovered that the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi within his body had completely dissipated at some point.

He did not know if it had been exhausted or if it had been taken back by Xiang Yunshu.

The Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi had greatly drained his vitality, but it had also brought him a large amount of high-quality energy:

【Ten Thousand Blood Bead

Level: 24, 86%】

Blood Soul: 691 units

Blood Soul Skills: Blood Rage (Strong), Blood Fiend (Strong), Blood Might (Strong), Blood Spring (Strong), Blood Breath

Transformation Skill: Blood Demon (Strong)】

The Ten Thousand Blood Bead leveled up by 3 tiers at once!

The total number of Blood Souls increased from 559 to 691!

Not only that, when the total number of Blood Souls exceeded 600, the Ten Thousand Blood Bead unlocked a new Blood Soul skill—Blood Breath.

This is a passive Blood Soul skill that can only be triggered when Li Fei's total Blood Soul count falls below 30%.

After 【Blood Breath】 is triggered, it can restore 5% of the total Blood Soul amount every minute!

Now that Li Fei's total Blood Soul count is 691, once 【Blood Breath】 is triggered, he can restore 34.55 Blood Souls per minute.

This recovery speed means he can maintain the "Blood Demon State" indefinitely, and can also maintain 【Blood Rage】 at his own endurance limit!

With this Blood Soul skill, Li Fei's endurance in battle has instantly risen to a new level.

"I'm becoming more and more like a boss."

Li Fei muttered to himself.

With his current combat power, as long as he doesn't challenge those in higher realms, there won't be many opportunities to use 【Blood Breath】.

Besides the Ten Thousand Blood Bead, Li Fei had other gains.

He raised his palm, and a black flame darted out from it.

After slaughtering over fifty Imperial Camp cavalrymen, 【Flame Core】 was not far from triggering its core-level extraordinary ability.

While Li Fei was "observing the Dao" in the Dream Realm, his mind received intense stimulation, and the implant 【Flame Core】 within his body was successfully triggered to produce its core-level extraordinary ability—Heart Fire!

Li Fei used his finger to gently touch the black flame darting from his palm.

In an instant, a feeling of intense sorrow surged into his heart.

The images of Hao Yi dying and Shangguan Xiao committing suicide for love appeared in his mind once again.

Before Li Fei could emerge from the sorrowful emotions, the various evil deeds committed by the corrupt officials he had learned about in Xingcheng surfaced in his mind, and a wave of rage surged forth!

Following that came the joy of a breakthrough in his cultivation realm, and the tension of encountering life-and-death crises.

In the blink of an eye, it was as if Li Fei had relived his life in this world, with all kinds of emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—all surging into his heart!

Li Fei retracted his finger, having gained an understanding of this newly acquired ability.

"Heart Fire" can make the person hit recall various unforgettable events in their life, with all kinds of emotions and desires surfacing, causing them to lose their mental composure!

This is a relatively rare extraordinary ability targeting the mental plane.

Any extraordinary ability targeting the mental plane is precious, such as "Dragon Might" belonging to Zhang Shan, the top expert under the "Beast King."

"Dragon Might" is pure mental suppression, while Li Fei's "Heart Fire" is much more complex and significantly more powerful!

Li Fei's mental strength was already comparable to the peak of the Dao Foundation stage, and after being "baptized" by the Son of Heaven's dragon aura, his mental strength became even purer and more condensed.

Even with such mental strength, he would lose his composure for a moment if hit by his own "Heart Fire."

Martial artists below the peak of the Dao Foundation stage would find it even harder to block "Heart Fire"!

The 【Blood Might God】 created by Li Fei is a fusion of magic and martial arts, acting like a heavy hammer that charges forward, directly breaking through the opponent's mental defenses.

Now with "Heart Fire," Li Fei can first use 【Blood Might God】 to break the opponent's mental defense, then use "Heart Fire" to exploit the opening—one hard, one soft, a perfect combination!

"I wonder how powerful this combo is?"

Li Fei was suddenly eager to try it out.

He soon waited for an opportunity.

October 25th, 8:47 AM.

The reinforcements sent by the imperial court from the neighboring Yi Province finally arrived at Chongcheng.

This troop was led by Pan Tianhao, the Chief of the Yi Province Stop-War Department; in addition to over a hundred martial artists, there were over four hundred Imperial Camp cavalrymen!

However, there were many wounded in this troop, clearly having just experienced a major battle.

On their way here, they encountered a joint ambush by a True Person and two Martial Arts Masters from the Great Luo Sect!

When the Dao Kingdom of True Lord Qingxu collapsed, that True Person chose to return to the Great Luo Sect, while the other two Martial Arts Masters fled elsewhere.

Pan Tianhao did not take his men to pursue them, but instead followed the orders he had received beforehand and continued to lead his men toward Chongcheng.

Not long after everyone arrived at Chongcheng, new orders from the imperial court arrived:

"The State Preceptor has ordered us to set out immediately to intercept and kill the fleeing rebels of the Great Luo Sect!"

Pan Tianhao conveyed the orders of Xiang Yunshu to everyone.

Li Fei and several officials including Lu Wenxing were also present.

"Lord Pan, there are many fleeing rebels from the Great Luo Sect. I wonder where we are going and whom we are to intercept and kill?"

Lu Wenxing asked.

Having defended Chongcheng, their merit was already set in stone; even if they couldn't compare to Li Fei, they would certainly be rewarded upon returning.

In this situation, Lu Wenxing and the others were actually ten thousand times unwilling to take on other missions.

Unfortunately, this was not something they could decide.

Pan Tianhao glanced at Li Fei and said:

"The State Preceptor has ordered us to go to several different places to intercept and kill the fleeing Great Luo Sect rebels. As for exactly who we are to intercept, it is unclear."

"This..."

Lu Wenxing and the others looked at each other.

The Great Luo Sect is full of powerful experts; if they happen to intercept a True Person, a Martial Arts Master, or even a Grandmaster, wouldn't that be seeking death?

Just as they wanted to follow the main force, Pan Tianhao's next words shattered their hopes:

"We are going in three different directions in total and must split into three groups. Lord Li, you and your men defended Chongcheng and have great synergy, so you will remain as one group and immediately head to Mingjia Town in the northwest; you must arrive before 7:00 PM tonight! The remaining two routes are left to us."

"Lord Pan..."

"Enough!"

Pan Tianhao stood up abruptly, looking at Li Fei with a stern gaze:

"Lord Li, carry out the order!"

He did not have the authority to command an Imperial Envoy, but this was the order of the State Preceptor Xiang Yunshu.

Li Fei slowly stood up and met Pan Tianhao's gaze calmly:

"Very well."

Pan Tianhao gave him a deep look, then turned and left with his men.

"This Chief Pan might be a man of the First Prince."

Lu Wenxing watched the other's back and transmitted his voice to Li Fei.

He had already made up his mind to follow Li Fei from now on, so he no longer had reservations about saying certain things.

To be able to so unceremoniously assign a mission that could put Li Fei in danger after learning of the merit Li Fei had established in this battle, it was most likely the intention of that First Prince.

"It doesn't matter."

Li Fei said calmly, "Let's set out as well."

Afterward, he led Lu Wenxing and the others away from Chongcheng.

Under the morning sun, Li Fei looked back at the direction where the Great Luo Sect was located.

From the moment the interception order was issued, this former behemoth could be considered to have completely collapsed.

However, when a whale falls, everything else thrives.

What follows will be a new world!

There will be another chapter around 12 o'clock.

(End of chapter)