Spiritual World

That bolt of lightning was a restriction of the Divine Realm, a rule that shackled this world.

Weapons were one major way to make up for differences in rank, but to put it bluntly, how could those God Kings in the Divine Realm, who even monopolized divine positions, possibly allow the lower realm to forge divine artifacts so casually?

Before the timeline of Soul Land 3—more precisely, before the Divine Realm was swept away by the turbulent currents of spacetime—Heavenly Forging that fused laws in the lower realm had absolutely no chance of succeeding.

But Wang Rui could not tell Huo Yuqing that. It was far too distant from her current level, and such information would do her no good.

So Wang Rui only answered her second question. "The forging failed."

Huo Yuqing opened her mouth. Thinking of that determined woman's pursuit being reduced to ashes beneath heavenly lightning, she suddenly felt somewhat sad.

The girl wanted to comfort the Auspicious Beast, but she did not know what to say.

"But it wasn't a complete failure either." Wang Rui grinned. Something close to a smile appeared on the golden lion's face. Rarely, he deliberately paused for effect, finding Huo Hang's reaction rather amusing.

"The final tribulation lightning was exceptionally terrifying, but a kindhearted person who cherished talent stepped in to help. With his assistance, Tiger Empress's work was not completely destroyed by the lightning." He paused before continuing, "Heavenly Forging did not succeed. The Law of Destruction within the tribulation lightning did not successfully fuse into that metal, but Soul Forging succeeded. The metal developed a soul, and it really did pick up a faint trace of Destruction aura... though it wasn't very useful."

Huo Yuqing nodded, half understanding.

The people present at the time must all have been incredibly powerful, right? If even they had been unable to deal with that heavenly lightning, then who had protected the weapon Tiger Empress forged?

Tiger Empress was a super soul beast with cultivation beyond a Hundred-Thousand Years, and Huo Yuqing knew that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was comparable to a human Titled Douluo. The only one capable of easily resolving tribulation lightning that even a group of Titled Douluo-level powerhouses could not resist was...

She did not voice her guess.

Huo Yuqing knew that she was far too weak before someone at that level, and the Auspicious Beast probably would not answer her question directly anyway.

So she shifted the topic to another question she was curious about. "Then what exactly is the Spiritual World you mentioned?"

"The Spiritual World is actually your Sea of Consciousness. It is where a person stores Spiritual Power, and in terms of the body, it corresponds to the brain. But the physical body and soul do not always correspond either. Hmm, that gets complicated... The state of each person's Sea of Consciousness differs according to their level of Spiritual Power cultivation."

Wang Rui patiently explained this very simple matter to him. "Because of the attribute guidance just now, you are currently in my Spiritual Sea in the form of a consciousness body."

"Mm, the more common classification divides Spiritual Power into the Spirit Origin Realm, Spirit Connection Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Spirit Abyss Realm, Spirit Domain Realm, and the legendary Divine Origin Realm... But this is not the classification used by modern humans. Modern humans' research into Spiritual Power is still very shallow."

"Still, we usually cannot be bothered to divide it so finely. Broadly speaking, it is classified into three levels: Formless and Intangible, Tangible but Formless, and Tangible and Substantial."

"What realm am I probably at?" Upon hearing knowledge related to spiritual-type cultivation, Huo Yuqing could not help asking curiously.

"You possess a spiritual-type martial soul, so you were born having surpassed the Spirit Origin Realm and entered the Spirit Connection Realm directly. At this point, your Spiritual World should be a relatively blank space, which is the Formless and Intangible state." Wang Rui continued explaining. "If you keep cultivating, you will be able to form illusory images outside your body that can be seen but not touched with your Spiritual Power. At that level, your Spiritual World will condense into a true Spiritual Sea... And if you continue further, you will be able to condense your Spiritual Power into physical form outside your body."

Wang Rui thought for a moment. "It's a bit like creating something from nothing, literally speaking? Anyway, at this realm, actual scenery will appear in your Spiritual World. Once your Spiritual Power advances further, you will be able to control your Spiritual World as you please."

"Like this."

The trees behind the Three-Eyed Golden Lion suddenly parted. From afar, Huo Yuqing could see a beautiful lake, its black surface rippling with golden light. On the other side of the lake stood a stretch of high ground, upon which sat a castle. Black towers reached toward the sky. Then, the castle sank underground, while a pure white palace supported by stone pillars rose up and collapsed again. Rubble spiraled into the air and reassembled into a statue of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

If someone had asked Wang Rui himself, he would have felt that being able to control one's Spiritual World at will was the most meaningful ability of Tangible and Substantial Spiritual Power—intelligent lifeforms probably all enjoyed decorating their own homes.

That was probably why most games stuffed in a decoration feature.

But if Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had been here, he would definitely have rolled his eyes and called it showing off—after all, Wang Rui would never normally do something this childish.

But those involved could not see it as clearly as an observer. In any case, neither the girl nor the lion present realized it.

"I can do that too?" Huo Yuqing asked excitedly.

"Of course." The Auspicious Beast nodded. "After all, you possess the spiritual-type martial soul with the greatest potential. And just now, I used the Gold of Life to open your third eye. Your aptitude has improved to a certain extent, and your Spiritual World will expand accordingly. As for what wonders that third eye possesses, you will have to figure that out yourself."

"Then how am I supposed to find you in the future?"

"Sky Dream Ice Silkworm will tell you. When you need a soul ring, he will bring you to find me," Wang Rui said. "I will not overly restrict your life in the human world, but when Star Dou needs you, you must come."

Huo Yuqing nodded earnestly. "I will definitely cultivate diligently." The girl made her promise solemnly.

"Alright, we've more or less settled the questions. Let's head out."

Although it seemed as though many things had happened in the Spiritual World, from Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's perspective outside, the Auspicious Beast and the human had merely pressed their foreheads together for a few seconds before immediately separating.

"Oh my, Auspicious Beast, why were you so fast? It's fine, five seconds is already a long time. Don't be discouraged." The enormous baby silkworm swayed as he spoke to Wang Rui.

"..." It felt as though mockery had slapped him across the face from thin air.

Wang Rui pinned down Tian Meng's last segment with one paw and scraped his claws against the plump bug flesh. "You're about to become a soul ring, so you think you can say anything now, huh? Believe it or not, I'll make sure you never see that one living in the north again?"

"I was wrong, I was wrong!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shrieked with a beaming grin. "I shouldn't have said you were fast, and I definitely didn't mean to say you were short and powerless—"

Thud! The Three-Eyed Golden Lion leaped up and stomped Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's head into the soft earth he had plowed up himself.

A faint sound of suppressed laughter reached them. Turning around, Wang Rui saw that Huo Yuqing was already laughing so hard she could not straighten her back.

"You two have such a good relationship." The girl wiped away tears she had laughed out while trying to hold it in and sighed.

"It's nothing special." Wang Rui rolled his eyes, stepped off Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's head, and gave him a kick. "Start the fusion. I'll stand guard for you."

"Alright..." Tian Meng said lazily. "Little one, are you nervous?"

Huo Yuqing blankly shook her head.

"Good. Then I'm not nervous either." The baby silkworm nodded his huge head. "Then let's begin. Don't worry, I'll be gentle. I won't hurt you too much."

"SKY! DREAM! ICE! SILKWORM!" Wang Rui roared furiously.

"Hey, I wasn't talking about you!" Tian Meng muttered.

The ten golden rings on his jade-like body seemed to come alive, constantly pulsing before detaching from him and wrapping around Huo Yuqing. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm himself continuously faded away as he merged into the girl's body.

A terrifying wave of Spiritual Power almost instantly covered every corner within a hundred-mile radius. That Spiritual Shock caused all the weaker creatures nearby to fall into a brief daze.

Wang Rui's Eye of Destiny was already open. He stared intently at the sky, his long tail unconsciously sweeping from side to side.

The fortune around Star Dou suddenly fluctuated violently once more, and the forest abruptly became exceptionally oppressive.

"It's here," he murmured.

The clear, azure sky suddenly darkened without a single cloud in sight.

Immediately afterward, thunder rumbled through the cloudless heavens. Even the sun's radiance was completely obscured by darkness. An immense pressure descended from above, making it hard to breathe.

"What's going on?!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm cried out, his voice sounding somewhat terrified.

"Don't panic. Keep going," Wang Rui said gravely.

A gray current that looked minuscule yet carried terrifying might descended from the sky.

It was the fragment of a spiritual imprint left behind by the Holy Necromancer, Undead Scourge Electrolux, from the Holy Demon Continent!

To Huo Hang, this was his third martial soul, as well as the mentor who taught him countless things and guided his growth.

But to soul beasts, Electrolux represented hope. The otherworldly knowledge he carried was the most crucial key to creating Soul Spirits and perfecting the contract system.

This was an opportunity Wang Rui had to fight for.

"I'm sorry. I'll find a way to compensate you for these opportunities in the future," he said softly.

Pure, somewhat illusory golden flames rose from Wang Rui's body. His blood-red Eye of Destiny opened wide as he drew upon the surrounding Power of Destiny with all his strength, forming a small vortex in an attempt to draw in that gray current.

But it was useless, because the gray current seemed completely unaffected by the Power of Destiny.

Yet the gray current, which had originally been descending toward Huo Yuqing as she fused with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, abruptly stopped. It transformed into a small gray orb of light and hovered in midair.

"Such a familiar aura... It is actually the Light Blessed by the Gods?" An aged voice filled with bewilderment rang out. "Light Blessed by the Gods... Then why is it also blessed by the God of Fire? And why does it seem to possess the fate abilities of a prophet as well... Wait, this Power of Destiny seems even stronger than that of any prophet I have encountered? How extraordinary... In thousands of years, this old man has never encountered such an existence."

As soon as the voice fell, the little gray orb did not hesitate any longer. Like a bolt of lightning, it shot into Wang Rui's brow.

After looking into the descriptions of Spiritual Power in Soul Land 2 and Soul Land 3, they practically did not seem like the same thing at all...

I flipped through the books like crazy here, but still could not sort it out. Soul Land 2 had the terms Tangible and Substantial and Tangible but Formless, but by Soul Land 3 they had apparently been swallowed up entirely.

I'm late today, so please accept two kowtows from me orz