Chapter 8: The Hundred-Legged Soul Turtle

Qu Yi glanced at Chu Gao, Zu Xiao, Zhuang Xiao, and Zong Chun. Seeing their fearful expressions, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Alright, all of you. My true identity is Qu Yi—you must have guessed that by now. But there’s no need to be afraid. I’m not someone who kills indiscriminately. Since you haven’t offended me, I won’t target you. However, it seems we’ll have to part ways now,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
Hearing this, Chu Gao, Zu Xiao, Zhuang Xiao, and Zong Chun immediately relaxed and looked at Qu Yi with surprise.
“Qu Tian… oh, Qu Yi. So this is the Eight Directions Sword. I heard you single-handedly fought against the elders of the ten major sects and killed those from five of them. You’re truly powerful.”
“I never expected to end up as a teammate with you, Qu Yi. But this amazing news can’t be shared, haha.”
“By the way, Qu Yi, I heard that the Haotian Immortal Mansion is about to open. Will you go in?”
…
No longer worried about their lives, the four began to ask Qu Yi questions, trying to learn more about his personal life.
Qu Yi sighed. Even these powerful cultivators in the later stages of the Convergence Phase still had the traits of ordinary people—curiosity about gossip.
“All of you, there’s no need to inquire about my affairs. Also, after I leave, you four should immediately leave the Soul Heart Star Region. This isn’t a place for you. And I advise you to forget that you’ve seen me. Otherwise, if the ten major sects capture you and imprison you, don’t blame me,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
Qu Yi wasn’t worried that they would reveal his whereabouts. The Soul Heart Star Region was so vast that even the elders of the ten major sects might not be able to find him.
Chu Gao, Zu Xiao, Zhuang Xiao, and Zong Chun paled upon hearing this and immediately understood why Qu Yi had warned them. If they revealed his location, they would suffer first and likely be imprisoned.
“Don’t worry, we understand,” the four said immediately.
Seeing this, Qu Yi didn’t linger and teleported away.
The four discussed briefly and then flew toward the outer areas of the Soul Heart Star Region, ready to leave.
Although soul cores were important, lives were even more precious. After witnessing Yue Yu and Yue Kang’s ways, they all realized that in the Soul Heart Star Region, they had to be wary not only of soul beasts but also of powerful cultivators in the Tribulation Crossing phase—where human hearts were even more treacherous.
…
Qu Yi flew alone to another planet, advancing further into its inner regions.

The planet as a whole was light gray, with clouds in the sky, land, forests, and waters all in light gray, giving it a rather eerie appearance. Qu Yi chose to fly into this planet because he saw it from space and found it extremely peculiar, instinctively sensing that there might be some powerful items inside, so he flew in. However, as soon as Qu Yi entered the planet’s atmosphere, the Artifact God spoke up. “Qu Yi, there are two mid-stage Tribulation-crossers fighting on this planet. Go and take a look.” So that’s how it was. Qu Yi immediately entered the Miniature Realm Sphere, controlled it to fly into the planet, and landed where the two strong warriors were fighting. Both of them were mid-stage Tribulation-crossers. One practiced water-based cultivation techniques, wearing a crystal-blue robe with his handsome hair casually draped over his shoulders, exuding a sharp and icy aura. The other practiced fire-based cultivation techniques, dressed in a fiery red robe, with a robust build and muscular physique, clearly a hot-tempered person. At that moment, the two were engaged in a fierce battle, neither gaining an edge. “Han Bing, you despicable wretch! You actually attacked me from behind!” The muscular man in the robe, holding a red shovel while casting fire spells, cursed. This red shovel was called the Star-Digging Shovel, a top-grade spiritual weapon; with just one swing, it could blast out a planet’s core. The cultivator named Han Bing held a magic weapon that resembled an iron pot, entirely crystal blue, surrounded by water energy—this weapon was called the Sky-Lifting Pot. Han Bing waved the Sky-Lifting Pot and unleashed a series of water spells, extinguishing the flames in the air and causing patches of white mist to spread. The two fought fiercely, flying rapidly above the planet, but they didn’t leave the area; they just circled in the air, as if there were treasures related to their battle hidden within that region. Inside the Miniature Realm Sphere, Qu Yi kept sensing the situation outside and monitoring the outcome of the battle between the two mid-stage Tribulation-crossers. “Artifact God, since these two are fighting so desperately, there must be some powerful treasures in this area, right?” Qu Yi asked while observing outside the sphere. The Artifact God, lying on a soft chair without moving an inch, replied lazily, “There’s nothing special. There’s just an underground soul beast cave, where there’s a late-stage merged soul beast—the Hundred-Legged Soul Turtle—and it’s currently laying eggs.”

Upon hearing this, Qu Yi understood. These two late-stage Tribulation cultivators must have entered this planet together and then discovered the late-stage Tribulation Centipede Soul Turtle laying eggs—what a perfect opportunity! Usually, they would flee at the sight of a late-stage merged Soul Turtle, but now, in this special situation, they could deal with it. Unexpectedly, as the man in red entered the cave first, the man in blue launched a surprise attack, and the two began to fight fiercely.

“It seems I still need to deal with these two myself. As for the Centipede Soul Turtle, I wonder if it has a soul core inside,” Qu Yi said slowly, a smirk on his lips.

Above ground, the two mid-stage Tribulation cultivators were still fighting fiercely.

Suddenly, Qu Yi appeared, holding the Eight Directions Sword in his hand, his face filled with joy, pride, and confidence.

“Who is that?”

“Who are you?”

The two mid-stage Tribulation cultivators, caught off guard, immediately stopped fighting and turned to look at Qu Yi. Seeing that his cultivation level was only late-stage merged, they flashed fierce looks, their murderous intent surging.

The Soul Star Region was essentially a paradise of slaughter—whether it was soul beasts and cultivators, or cultivators among themselves, they were constantly fighting based on their strength.

The two mid-stage Tribulation cultivators saw a late-stage merged cultivator daring to interrupt their fight, which they regarded as an insult to their authority, and without hesitation, they resolved to kill him.

“You two idiots! Your fighting is so noisy that it prevents people from sleeping and also hinders the Centipede Soul Turtle from laying eggs. Don’t you have any sense of shame?” Qu Yi suddenly started cursing.

Hearing the insults, the two cultivators were stunned for a moment. They never expected Qu Yi to say such things in such a situation.

“Kid, you’re seeking death!”

“Bastard, I’ll burn you to ashes!”

The two mid-stage Tribulation cultivators became furious immediately. One held a Sky-Piercing Shovel, the other a Sky-Reaping Pot, and they quickly flew toward Qu Yi, intent on crushing him into meat paste.

Of course, in the eyes of these two mid-stage cultivators, killing a late-stage merged cultivator would take just a single strike.

But was Qu Yi an ordinary late-stage merged cultivator?

“Be careful! There’s light above!” Suddenly, Qu Yi shouted.

Hearing the shout, the two mid-stage cultivators immediately looked up and indeed saw two streams of light slashing down. But before they could fly away, the light pierced through their bodies, eliminating them instantly.

Yes, as he shouted, Qu Yi immediately swung the Eight Directions Sword.

Qu Yi quickly flew over, took out the Yuan Ying of both of them who were in the middle stage of the tribulation phase, and stored them in his space ring. One Water-type Yuan Ying in the middle stage of tribulation, one Fire-type Yuan Ying in the middle stage of tribulation—along with the Gold-type, Wood-type, and Earth-type Yuan Yings that Qu Yi already had—he now had five Yuan Yings in the middle stage of tribulation. “It seems whatever I lack appears, my luck is unbelievable,” Qu Yi said with a hint of emotion after storing the Yuan Yings. Suddenly, the voice of the Artifact God came through: “Enough, go to the underground cave quickly and find that Hundred-Legged Soul Turtle; it has a Soul Core inside.” Seeing the Artifact God interfering as if he couldn’t stand Qu Yi succeeding, Qu Yi frowned in frustration but still flew to the entrance of the cave as instructed. Using his spiritual sense, he detected a powerful presence inside. Soon, Qu Yi grabbed his Eight Directions Sword and jumped into the cave, rushing straight toward the bottom. The cave was ten miles deep, but at Qu Yi’s speed, he reached it in just a few steps. The Hundred-Legged Soul Turtle’s shell was ten meters wide, dull gray in color, with only a simple ‘X’ pattern on it. Beneath the shell, there was a row of dense turtle legs—fifty on each side, totaling a hundred. As soon as Qu Yi reached the bottom, the turtle stretched out its head, its two dark eyes staring at him with extreme ferocity. Soul beasts that were laying eggs were always fierce! “Human, you’re seeking death!” The turtle’s spiritual sense penetrated directly into Qu Yi’s mind. Qu Yi smirked, pointing his Eight Directions Sword and saying, “If you had your full strength, I wouldn’t have come to kill you. But since you’re laying eggs now, your power must be greatly reduced. Then your Soul Core should belong to me.” As he spoke, the turtle’s entire body suddenly expanded tenfold, filling the entire underground space. Then, gray gas began to emerge from its head. This was the turtle’s soul attack spell—Soul Compression. Once this gas reached Qu Yi’s Yuan Shen, it would pressure it, forcing Qu Yi’s soul out before devouring it. Qu Yi immediately swung his Eight Directions Sword, its glowing blade piercing into the transformed Hundred-Legged Soul Turtle and killing it on the spot.

The “soul compression” aura emitted by the Soul Turtle also entered Qu Yi’s body and quickly reached his six-headed spirit entity. Just as the soul aura from the “soul compression” was about to take action, it suddenly became docile, turning into something like spiritual springs that were all absorbed by Qu Yi’s soul, strengthening it. This was all thanks to the help of the Artifact God. The Artifact God was inside the Tiny Realm Sphere, which in turn was within Qu Yi’s soul. Naturally, any attempt by these souls to attack Qu Yi’s soul was equivalent to attacking the Tiny Realm Sphere, and thus attacking the Artifact God. It was unclear how the Artifact God acted, but whatever it was, the soul auras that entered Qu Yi’s body automatically became “food” for his soul. After being stunned for a moment, Qu Yi shook his head, growing even more confused by the Artifact God’s extraordinary power and mystery, and thus desiring to learn more about it. “Hurry up and harvest the Soul Core of the Hundred-Legged Soul Turtle!” the Artifact God called out at the right moment. Qu Yi responded with an “oh,” immediately split open the turtle’s shell, and found its Soul Core. It was a soil-type Soul Core; by refining it, his understanding of earth energy would allow him to reach the later stage of the Tribulation Crossing phase.