Chapter 6: Spirit Beings

Qu Yi deliberately exposed his presence in the starry sky, allowing the ten people from the Upper Realm to sense him. As soon as they teleported over, he immediately activated the Boundless Star Map and left.
Qu Yi’s destination was the Five Souls Desolation.
While the representatives of the ten sects were being transported around via the spatial teleportation array over several days, Qu Yi had already hidden inside the Inch Realm Sphere and visited the Five Souls Desolation. There, he placed several Soul Compasses on several planets in that region before returning to the space outside Soul Devouring Star and revealing his presence again.
The destination specified by the Boundless Star Map had to bear Qu Yi’s soul imprint—this was the function of the Soul Compasses.
As soon as Qu Yi disappeared, the ten people from the Upper Realm exchanged glances before returning to Soul Devouring Star.
“Everyone, follow me into the Five Souls Desolation,” Zong Xi declared firmly as soon as he landed, then flew straight into the starry sky toward the Five Souls Desolation.
The other nine representatives from the Upper Realm also announced the same decision—to enter the Five Souls Desolation along with the strong warriors from their sects.
This decision sent panic among the powerful cultivators at the Great Perfection and Tribulation stages of the ten sects.
“Do we really have to enter the Five Souls Desolation? It’s one of the two most dangerous places in the cultivation world. There are Five Souls Spirits inside, and even those at the Great Perfection stage can’t resist them.”
“The scenery in the Five Souls Desolation is the best in the entire cultivation world, but it’s also the most dangerous place.”
“That bastard Qu Yi—there were so many other places he could flee to. Why did he have to go to the Five Souls Desolation? He’s doomed us all!”
“We can only hope the upper immortals can suppress those Five Souls Spirits. Otherwise, we’ll just become their food. I’ve been cultivating for ten thousand years—I can’t afford any accidents now.”
……
As the strong warriors from the ten sects flew into the Five Souls Desolation with the ten people from the Upper Realm, their minds were filled with worry and unease. Yet, in the face of the overwhelming power of those ten people, none of them dared to resist.
Thus, the ten people from the Upper Realm took the warriors from the ten sects with them into the Five Souls Desolation.
※※※
The Five Souls Desolation was also a star region, vast in size, containing perhaps tens of thousands of planets.
Every one of these planets was rich in spiritual energy, and all kinds of rare treasures could be found there. The planets varied in size, but each one was covered with ancient trees and abundant spiritual herbs, home to countless powerful spirit beings.
Spirit beings were a unique race unique to the Five Souls Desolation, and they were precisely why cultivators feared entering this place.

The essence of yang is called “spirit,” while that of yin is called “ghost.” In this Realm of the Five Souls, spiritual energy takes form, plants and trees become sentient, and ancient stones as well—various objects gain the chance to become spiritual beings throughchance opportunities.

These spiritual beings have no physical form, just like a cultivator’s original spirit, which hides within trees, mountains, soil, or medicinal herbs. Whenever they detect a spiritual or original spirit entity approaching—and if such entities are weaker than them—they emerge to attack.

The food for these spiritual beings is other spiritual or original spirit entities.

In terms of strength, compared to cultivators in the cultivation world, they can be likened to those in the Qi Attraction stage, Foundation Establishment stage… or Tribulation Crossing stage. As for those at the Great Vehicle stage, there is a unified term in the cultivation world: “Soul Spirits.”

When a spiritual being possesses its own soul, it becomes a Soul Spirit.

Currently, there are five Soul Spirits in the entire Realm of the Five Souls—one for each of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. This is also the origin of the realm’s name.

The most feared existence in the cultivation world within this realm are these five Soul Spirits. They possess the strength of those at the Great Vehicle stage and specifically target cultivators’ original spirits; once attacked, death is certain.

What’s more terrifying is that the whereabouts of these Soul Spirits are unpredictable; they move freely throughout the realm, unlike other spiritual beings who only operate within their fixed planets. It is precisely because of their unpredictable movements that they cause the greatest fear among cultivators.

Therefore, cultivators have no way to ensure they won’t enter the Realm of the Five Souls; they can only rely on luck, hoping not to encounter these Soul Spirits.

Encountering other spiritual beings may not mean death, but encountering a Soul Spirit does.

Now, the ten sect’s strong warriors, along with ten figures from the higher realms, have entered the Realm of the Five Souls and landed on a planet.

Zong Xi led the people of the Taiyuan Sect—twenty-five beings at the Great Vehicle stage and twenty strong warriors in the later stages of Tribulation Crossing. As soon as they landed on this planet, they left the other nine sects and searched everywhere for Qu Yi.

Upon reaching a mountain peak, Zong Xi stopped.

“Everyone, the legal artifact that Qu Yi relies on to escape is the same one used by Emperor Hao when he descended to the mortal world. I think Qu Yi has placed some soul-related magical artifacts in this Five Souls Desolation, allowing him to use that artifact to travel away at will. However, with Qu Yi’s current level of spiritual energy during his tribulation, it’s impossible for him to keep using that artifact constantly. So, as long as you stay on the planet and locate the soul-related magical artifacts Qu Yi has left in various places, then set up spatial teleportation arrays nearby, we can use those arrays to bring him over and keep chasing him. Once he runs out of spiritual energy and can no longer activate the artifacts, that’s when he’ll be captured,” said Zong Xi calmly.

It turned out that Zong Xi had already guessed that Qu Yi had used the Boundless Stars to escape. But Zong Xi didn’t know that Qu Yi had already taken complete control of the Boundless Stars, and with the Star Luo Ding as an energy storage device, his spiritual energy would never run out, allowing him to keep using the Boundless Stars.

The people of the Tai Yuan Gate were somewhat surprised upon hearing Zong Xi’s words, as they had learned some secrets from back when Emperor Hao descended to the mortal world.

“Yes, Supreme Immortal,” the people of the Tai Yuan Gate shouted in unison.

Immediately afterward, they dispersed across the planet to search for soul-related magical artifacts.

The powerful warriors from the other nine sects had the same idea: to find the soul compasses Qu Yi had left in various places in the Five Souls Desolation and set up spatial teleportation arrays.

……

Qu Yi entered the Five Souls Desolation through the Boundless Stars, not to the outer planets of the desolation, but to its inner planets.

At that moment, in the mountains of a medium-sized planet, there was a rocky peak, and Qu Yi’s figure appeared there.

Below the peak lay a lush green grassland, with strange and exotic flowers growing here and there—all of which were spiritual herbs, some of them extremely ancient, estimated to be tens of thousands of years old.

When Qu Yi landed on the peak, he was immediately captivated by the spiritual energy around him.

“This Five Souls Desolation is said to be one of the two most formidable places in the entire cultivation world, yet the spiritual energy here is so dense that I can’t sense any malicious aura at all,” Qu Yi said with a faint smile.

“Qu Yi, the world is vast, and you’ve only seen a tiny fraction of it. There are still many amazing places out there,” the Artifact God replied.

The primordial energy of the five elements gives rise to countless variations, naturally creating different peculiar landscapes in various places. Qu Yi also understood this principle, so even as he marveled at the wonders of the Five Souls Desolation, he didn’t find it strange at all.

“The Artifact God, I’ve already brought the ten people from the Upper Realm into the Five Souls Desolation. Now I can focus on scanning the Four Elements Path,” Qu Yi said with a light smile.

It turned out that if Qu Yi truly wanted to hide, the ten people from the Upper Realm would never be able to track him down. But he also didn’t want his disappearance to draw their attention to the Three Tripod Sect, as his whereabouts had been somewhat exposed before. If those ten people used special methods to discover that Qu Yi was the true leader of the Three Tripod Sect, then the sect would indeed face a devastating blow.

“Let’s wait a bit longer. You need to show up from time to time so that those ten can be sure you’re still in the Five Souls Desolation, and they’ll continue searching in this dangerous place,” the Artifact God said calmly.

If Qu Yi didn’t reappear for a long time, those ten people would naturally suspect he had left and would leave the Five Souls Desolation with the representatives of the ten sects.

“I understand what you mean. Then I’ll show up every few days and keep moving deeper into the Five Souls Desolation. This way, the representatives of the ten sects will think I’ve been forced into a corner and can only seek help from the Essence of the Five Souls. Haha,” Qu Yi said excitedly.

The Artifact God smiled in response.

As Qu Yi stood on the mountain peak, a strange aura slowly rose from within the mountain, approaching the peak.

“Qu Yi, there’s a spirit at the middle stage of the tribulation phase beneath your feet about to attack you,” the Artifact God suddenly said.

“Is that so? A spirit at the middle stage of tribulation? Then let it enter my primordial spirit. I’m curious to see whether it will devour my primordial spirit or if my primordial spirit will devour it,” Qu Yi replied with a smile.

Qu Yi remained standing, seemingly unaware of anything beneath the mountain surface.

Suddenly, a golden mist emerged from the ground, filled with a strong spiritual energy. The mist gathered together to form a golden spherical entity.

As soon as the golden sphere appeared above the ground, it struck Qu Yi’s feet, seemingly penetrating through the countless pores in his feet and entering his body, directly reaching his primordial spirit.

It was a golden spirit at the middle stage of the tribulation phase.

Upon reaching Qu Yi’s primordial spirit, it immediately formed a golden sphere that surrounded it entirely, attempting to devour it whole.

Qu Yi’s primordial spirit remained calm, like a sleeping lamb waiting to be eaten by a hungry wolf.

Sure enough, upon seeing Qu Yi’s primordial spirit showing no resistance, the spirit creature immediately shrank in size, ready to attach itself to its surface and gradually devour it layer by layer. The spirit creature and the primordial spirit had just made contact. With a thought from Qu Yi, his six-headed human-like primordial spirit suddenly emitted five mid-tier immortal artifacts—Shangjin Sword, Xiefeng Drum, Fenshui Pot, Youhuo Silk, and Qiantu Shuttle—which instantly shattered the spirit creature into pieces. The energy waves emitted by these mid-tier immortal artifacts were beyond the control of this spirit creature in the middle stage of tribulation, forcing it to disperse into mist. Immediately afterward, Qu Yi’s primordial spirit moved swiftly, swallowing up the misty remnants of the spirit creatures, thereby strengthening itself slightly. “Haha, these spirit creatures are truly excellent nourishment for my primordial spirit!” Qu Yi laughed wildly as he stood on the peak.