Yellow Springs Wraith

With a creak, the Gates of Hell slowly opened.

There were no countless ghost soldiers and generals standing guard, as the legends claimed.

The Gates of Hell before him were nothing more than a towering city gate.

"Past the Gates of Hell, this should be the Road to the Underworld."

Taking a step forward, Su Chen set foot on the road beyond the Gates of Hell.

On either side of the road were seedlings that had just broken through the soil. They all seemed to be medicinal herbs, but it was still difficult to tell what kind from the freshly sprouted shoots.

"I'll pick one and take a look."

Though it was only a seedling, Su Chen still intended to bring one back and see whether he could keep it alive through planting or some similar method.

"Little Black, Little White. Try and see if you can get close."

The sides of the road were filled with sinister energy. Even Su Chen did not dare set foot there lightly.

With no other choice, he could only have Little Black and Little White, as energy beings, test it first.

"Hiss, you can't get close?"

The moment they approached, a wave of resentment swept over them.

Even with Little Black and Little White resisting with all their strength, they could barely contend against it.

"Then forget it."

After all, everything Su Chen knew about this strange place came from his own conjectures.

Since the attempt had failed, he did not force the issue.

His Soul Power was only at level twenty right now. He was still far too weak.

"No, something's wrong here!"

Su Chen's heart jolted. He realized that he had most likely already fallen into a trap.

There had clearly been so many ghosts along the way, yet none had changed even when they reached the Gates of Hell.

But the flowerbeds lining this road were filled with such heavy resentment, and yet there was not a single ghost in sight.

That was far too strange.

"As expected, there's a problem."

When he tried to circulate his Soul Power again, Su Chen suddenly discovered an unfamiliar strand of Soul Power rampaging through the meridians in his left hand.

"I have to leave this place immediately."

After repeatedly trying and failing to suppress that Heterogeneous Soul Power with his own Soul Power, Su Chen was horrified and immediately turned to run back.

At that moment, shrill howls rose from both sides of the road.

"Easy to come, but you won't leave so easily!"

What followed was a heavy impact, seemingly mixed with spiritual power and Soul Power.

Amid the piercing shrieks by his ears and the assault of divine power mixed with spiritual power, Su Chen soon lost consciousness.

"Xie Yue, what happened?"

When he regained consciousness, a familiar voice reached his ears.

It sounded like Pope Bibi Dong.

"I don't know what happened either..."

Xie Yue's voice was filled with grievance. Hu Liena and Yan had already returned to their usual training, while he alone had been left here as the "culprit."

"I only told him how to meditate, and then he ended up like this."

"Enough. How could meditation possibly cause this?"

Bibi Dong's voice rose several notches, her anger now obvious.

"I... I'm fine."

Struggling to sit up, Su Chen spoke slowly.

A heart-rending pain struck again, and that familiar sensation once more engulfed his entire body.

"You're in this condition, and you still have the nerve to say you're fine?"

Bibi Dong had intended to scold him, but seeing his miserable state, her words instead carried a note of reproachful concern.

"Master Ping, explain his current condition to him."

As she spoke, Bibi Dong waved over someone standing behind her.

Su Chen noticed that even Chrysanthemum Douluo, who had always thought highly of himself, took the initiative to step aside and make way for him.

This man was a Soul Master of Spirit Hall. Though his Soul Power was only level seventy-two, his status was in no way inferior to that of an ordinary Titled Douluo.

His surname was Ping, and his given name was Su. His martial soul was the Thousand-Year Ganoderma, a special plant-type martial soul.

To cultivate such a martial soul to this level, he could be considered one of the few outstanding geniuses in the world today.

His attainments in medicine were even more unparalleled in his time, enough to rival Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's skill with poison.

If not for his friendship with Qiandao Liu, he would never have agreed to remain stationed at Spirit Hall.

"Reporting to Your Holiness the Pope."

Only then was Su Chen able to sit up and examine this famed physician, who had never appeared in the original work.

Master Ping was already seventy or eighty years old. With his white hair and youthful complexion, he truly looked the part of a renowned physician.

"There are several hundred strands of Heterogeneous Soul Power within young friend Su's body. Soul Masters cultivate through meditation, nothing more. They use their own meridians to absorb the Soul Power between heaven and earth, thereby improving themselves. People's martial souls differ in their innate qualities, which is why there are differences in rank and cultivation speed."

"Mm."

Bibi Dong nodded, signaling for Master Ping to continue.

"But as young friend Xie Yue said, young friend Su has only just begun meditating. He has not been to any strange treasure land either. For something like this to happen is truly baffling."

"Master, just tell us how he can be treated."

Bibi Dong knew that if she let him go on without restraint, he could ramble about medicinal theory for an entire day.

"There are two methods of treatment."

As he spoke, Master Ping raised one finger.

"First, young friend Su can use deeper, more powerful Soul Power to dissolve the Heterogeneous Soul Power throughout his body in one go."

"Master, how long would it take to dissolve the Soul Power throughout my body?"

Enduring the pain wracking his entire body, Su Chen asked.

"From what I can see, you would need to become at least a Soul Emperor."

Master Ping sighed.

"But cultivation has never been easy. Even if you are exceptionally talented, you would already be twenty or thirty years old by the time you reached Soul Emperor. What's more, with this Heterogeneous Soul Power troubling you now, your cultivation speed will be slower than normal."

"What about the second method?"

Xie Yue asked anxiously.

Though he did not know exactly what had caused this, one fact was beyond doubt.

Su Chen had developed this problem after meditating according to the method Xie Yue had taught him.

Thus, Xie Yue felt deeply guilty as well.

"The second method works quickly. However, while it takes effect fast, carrying it out is extremely dangerous."

"What method?"

Su Chen was unwilling to wait a full twenty years, either.

In twenty years, Tang San would have long since grown powerful. Wouldn't he end up buried alongside Spirit Hall?

"An Immortal Herb."

"An Immortal Herb?"

The moment Su Chen heard that, a name immediately surfaced in his mind.

"That's right, and it must be an intensely nourishing item of pure yang. Only then can it reshape the meridians. If one can be found, the best choice would be the Ten-Thousand Year Ginseng King."

"Wait, reshape the meridians?"

Bibi Dong abruptly interrupted Master Ping. Upon hearing this, her expression became even more solemn.

She stared fixedly at Master Ping and slowly asked,

"Master Ping, what do you mean by that?"

Master Ping paid no heed to Bibi Dong's gaze.

Instead, he carried himself as though whatever he said was final.

Closing his eyes and steadying his breath, he put on an unfathomably profound air.

"Have you ever heard the saying: without destruction, there can be no rebirth?"