Chapter 7: The Soul Seal Lamp
Qu Yi swung his sword and killed Yang Tianqi. He immediately seized Yang Tianqi’s Yuan Ying and used the Azure True Fire to burn away Yang Tianqi’s soul. Naturally, Yang Tianqi’s physical body was also completely destroyed.
“Alright, everyone, hurry into the Dimension Ball! That mid-stage Divided Soul guardian of Yang Tianqi is on his way here,” Qu Yi suddenly shouted.
Mu Han immediately flew to Qing Wu Gui’s side, brought him to Qu Yi, and the four of them quickly entered the Dimension Ball.
Just as Qu Yi and the others disappeared, Leng Yu had already arrived over the island, witnessing its ruined state. Frowning, he glanced at the remnants of the magical attacks on the island, and a cold glint appeared in his eyes.
“Tianqi? Impossible! Tianqi has the Earth Dragon Armor—no one can kill him!” Leng Yu roared in fury.
It turned out that from the destruction on the island, Leng Yu had realized that many of the damages were caused by the Earth Dragon Armor, a unique spell of Yang Tianqi. Quickly, he took out a transparent jade block from his space ring—a precious communication token in the cultivation world.
Only those at the Divided Soul stage could use communication tokens, and only major factions could possess them. Thanks to his connections in Cangyang Valley, Leng Yu had obtained one, allowing him to stay in touch with Cangyang Valley at any time.
Of course, the communication token used by Qu Yi was different from those commonly used in the cultivation world—it was a special array taught by the God of Instruments, allowing Qu Yi to use it even with his Yuan Ying stage strength.
Leng Yu channeled his vital energy into the token, which emitted a dazzling white light, seemingly activating the communication array. Then he transmitted the situation on the island to Cangyang Valley.
“Elder brother, something’s happened to Tianqi! Hurry to the Soul Palace and check if Tianqi’s Soul Seal Lamp has gone out,” Leng Yu sent the message.
Of course, the “elder brother” Leng Yu referred to was Yang Tianqi’s father, Yang Di.
In a towering pagoda in Cangyang Valley, on the Six-Pan Star, a handsome middle-aged man with a cold expression held a communication token, channeling his vital energy to read the message he had just received.
“Tianqi!” The man, Yang Di, stood up in shock.
Soon, Yang Di arrived at a grand hall in Cangyang Valley where the Soul Seal Lamps were stored, and he found the one belonging to Yang Tianqi.
For a supreme sect like Cangyang Valley, disciples who go out on missions have special places to store their Soul Seal Lamps, allowing the sect to stay informed at any time about their lives. The Soul Seal Lamp is made from a special ore, Soul Ink Jade, and can store a person’s soul imprint. As long as a person leaves a trace of their soul imprint in the lamp and is not dead, the lamp will continuously emit a faint glow of flame. Of course, if the person dies, the lamp turns completely black.
As soon as Yang Di entered the Soul Hall, he immediately saw the Soul Seal Lamp of his son, Yang Tianqi. All the other Soul Seal Lamps around him emitted a faint glow, but Yang Tianqi’s lamp was pitch black.
“Tianqi!” Yang Di staggered, struck by the shock.
Hmph. After his rage subsided, Yang Di quickly regained his composure, his eyes gleaming with cold light. Then he picked up the communication token.
“Leng Yu, Tianqi is dead. Go immediately and seal the space teleportation array on Jiemo Island. Only allow people to arrive from other planets; prevent anyone from leaving via Tianhua Star. I will send ten disciples at the Divination Stage to assist you. You must find the murderer.”
Yang Di issued orders swiftly, determined to find the killer and avenge Yang Tianqi.
With his status, it was easy for Yang Di to assign ten disciples at the Divination Stage. However, he didn’t have the authority to seal the space teleportation array on Jiemo Island, as the business of the Demon Path Alliance was shared among three cultivation sects, and no single elder from Cangyang Valley could make such a decision. But Leng Yu could easily use tactics to bribe those in charge of the teleportation array, finding some excuse to repair it—effectively sealing it.
Upon receiving Yang Di’s message, Leng Yu immediately took off and headed to Jiemo Island alone.
Just as Leng Yu left above the island, Qu Yi and Qing Wugui laughed heartily inside the Dimension Sphere.
“Qing Wu, I never expected that you, with your sense of merciless killing, would realize it only at the moment of death. You’re quite clever,” Qu Yi said with a laugh.
Qing Wugui even smiled shyly. He hadn’t realized that he had actually used Yang Tianqi to understand another form of killing intent.
“Qu Yi, you’re progressing fast too. Having refined the Soul Crystal, you’re probably about to reach the early stage of Departure from the Body,” Qing Wugui said with a faint smile.
“Yes, I estimate that in another month, we’ll be able to start advancing to the early stage of leaving the body. By then, we can truly compete with the experts,” Qu Yi said with confidence.
Bai Man stood beside Qu Yi, holding his arm, while Mu Han stood next to Qing Wu Gui, nestled against him like a little bird. The two listened quietly, feeling secure and happy.
“Oh, by the way, Qu Yi, after we killed Yang Tianqi, I think the people from Shi Xian Valley won’t let us go, let alone Cang Yang Valley. Where should we go next?” Bai Man suddenly asked.
Yang Tianqi was with Shi Jue, yet he died. Shi Xian Valley was definitely involved, and without a doubt, Shi Jue would try hard to find the killer to protect the valley’s survival. As one of the top ten ultimate sects in the cultivation world, Cang Yang Valley would surely investigate the death of its disciple—its reputation couldn’t be tarnished.
Qu Yi fell silent for a moment before saying, “I think it’s impossible for us to leave Tian Hua Star openly now. With Cang Yang Valley’s strength, they must have arrangements at the teleportation array. So, let’s make some waves on Tian Hua Star first. Since Wu Qing has already reached the early stage of leaving the body, he can handle the killing ahead, and we can just follow behind happily. As for where to go, I think we could head to the Heaven’s Punishment Mountains.”
“What? Heaven’s Punishment Mountains?” Bai Man exclaimed in surprise.
The Heaven’s Punishment Mountains were said to be impenetrable—those who tried to cross them died. Even cultivators of magic or immortality dared not pass through, as it was the domain of demon cultivators. Moreover, during the incident at Shi Xian Valley, Qi Shen overheard that Yang Tianqi, Leng Yu, Shi Jue, and Shi Jin had gone to the Heaven’s Punishment Mountains and were all driven away, showing just how powerful the demon cultivators there were.
Bai Man and Mu Han were puzzled and worried. But Qing Wu Gui, being a natural fighter, seemed unaware of danger and wasn’t bothered by Qu Yi’s words at all.
Qu Yi looked at the three of them and smiled, “If I’m not wrong, among the top ten ultimate sects in the cultivation world, those three demon cultivator sects must be plotting something to seize control of the entire cultivation world. So, there will be demon cultivators active on various planets. I guess those in the Heaven’s Punishment Mountains also have plans. We’ll just hide behind and act according to the situation.”
“Hehe, Qu Yi, you’re trying to steal the credit of the demon cultivators again,” Bai Man said with a laugh.
Obviously, everything that had happened on Tianfeng Star made Bai Man convinced that Qu Yi wanted to secretly control the demon cultivators before turning his attention to the magic cultivators and immortal cultivators.
“That’s not necessarily the case. My goal isn’t to let any of the three factions—immortal cultivators, magic cultivators, or demon cultivators—gain dominance. I just want my Sanding Gate to grow stronger, so that in the future, it will dominate the cultivation world, with all three factions under Sanding Gate’s control,” Qu Yi said with a calm smile.
Bai Man, Qing Wugui, and Mu Han all stared at Qu Yi in shock. They never expected him to have such grand ambitions.
“Qu Yi, do you want to unify the entire cultivation world?” Qing Wugui couldn’t help but ask.
Bai Man and Mu Han also eagerly awaited Qu Yi’s reply.
Qu Yi smiled faintly and said, “Yes. I think that might be my destiny. Ever since I obtained the Dimension Ball on the Beast Mountain and joined the Xianyun Sect to acquire the divine technique ‘Five Energies and Three Flowers,’ I’ve been on a path to growing stronger. The current cultivation world is dominated by the ten major sects because they possess ultimate cultivation techniques. I alone have five such techniques, allowing me to continue cultivating until I ascend to the immortal realm without being controlled by them. And you, Qing Wugui, also possess the ultimate cultivation technique, the ‘Asura Demon Canon.’ Think about it—when we reach the Tribulation Stage and still aren’t part of any sect, those ten major sects will surely discover our secrets. Would they let us live then? So, for my own sake and for my brothers, I can’t take that risk. We must have our own strength.”
After hearing this, Qing Wugui was deeply moved and hugged Qu Yi.
It turned out that Qu Yi had already thought this far ahead, anticipating conflicts with the ten major sects in the future. Undoubtedly, when facing them, he couldn’t fight alone—he needed his own faction so that the ten major sects would acknowledge his status.
“Qu Yi, I’ll definitely support you,” Qing Wugui immediately promised.
“Woo, Qu Yi, I support you too!” At that moment, Wu Yuan, who was lying nearby, also jumped over and shouted loudly.
They all burst into laughter.
Leng Yu went to Demon Reception Island, arranged everything, suspended the means by which cultivators could leave via that island, and trapped the murderer of Yang Tianqi on Tianhua Star. Then, Leng Yu waited quietly on Demon Reception Island for the people from Cangyang Valley to arrive.
By this time, Qu Yi and the others had reached the edge of the Heavenly Punishment Mountains, ready to enter them for cultivation.