Soul-Deriving Array

What secrets did the Divine Map hold that made those Black-Clad Men so desperate to seize it at any cost?

Or was the Divine Map merely an excuse?

Which faction did those mysterious Black-Clad Men truly belong to?

Lu Feng sorted through one doubt after another.

At Night Crow Ridge, Lu Feng had already determined that the thirteen Black-Clad Men were not the true Hidden Edge Thirteen Killers of the Snow Region Ice Spring Sect. Yet after the leader had used the Ice Spring Sect's unique icy aura, he found himself uncertain.

At the very least, that black-clad man leader definitely had some connection to the Ice Spring Sect.

Lu Feng had initially guessed that the "Young Master" mentioned by the Black-Clad Men was someone he had offended in the past. But after seeing Yu Yihan taken hostage and realizing that they intended to use her to threaten the Clear River Sect, Lu Feng changed his mind. Among those he had offended in the past, none had the audacity or capability for such a thing.

Lu Feng could not figure out who, or which force, had secretly plotted all of this. The Black-Clad Men were clearly only chess pieces; the force hiding behind them was the truly terrifying existence. If they had merely laid a trap to kill him, that would have been one thing, but they even sought to deal with the sect he belonged to. What exactly were they after?

Lu Feng dearly wanted to investigate everything at once, but he could not even move now.

Darkness blurred the passage of time. Lu Feng entered an extraordinarily strange state, as though he could feel time slipping away—three years, five years, even ten or twenty years, or perhaps merely a few short days...

In the darkness, Lu Feng thought of many things. From struggles between factions and schemes of mutual deceit, to daily life and cultivation, all kinds of cultivation techniques, then every sort of battle scene—anything he could think of, anything there was to ponder, Lu Feng considered, summarized, and sorted through again and again as time slowly passed.

As Lu Feng pondered in the darkness as always, he suddenly found it somewhat dazzling. In his daze, he seemed to see a glimmer of light. He immediately calmed himself and looked carefully, only to discover that although he was still within his soul sea, he could now clearly sense everything around him.

"What is going on?"

Lu Feng gave a start and hurriedly looked toward where his Life Soul was within the soul sea. Then, to his delight, he discovered that the Heavenly Rush Soul at the center above his Life Soul's head was radiating an extremely brilliant light.

He could actually control the Heavenly Rush Soul?

Drawing on his past experience, Lu Feng could confirm that his first spirit soul had finally been opened.

On the path of Soul Cultivation, one had to first open the seven souls before gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, deriving chakras, and condensing a core.

Lu Feng had now taken this first step once again.

His Life Soul sat quietly cross-legged within his soul sea like a miniature black silhouette. The Heavenly Rush Soul was located at the center above the Life Soul's head and was tied to a person's Soul Strength. The stronger the Heavenly Rush Soul, the more condensed one's soul would become in the future, and the farther one could travel along the path of Soul Cultivation.

"Didn't they say all seven spirit souls were bolstered by formations? Could it be that by comprehending and thinking in the darkness, I stumbled into controlling the first formation by sheer luck?" Lu Feng muttered in confusion.

"This is..." Lu Feng subconsciously wanted to take a look at the outside world, and clear images actually came through one after another.

"External release of Soul Consciousness? Isn't that a soul technique that can only be controlled after reaching the Core Formation Realm?" Lu Feng's heart was filled with shock. He was only in the One Soul Realm now, still some distance from the Spirit Gathering Realm. Beyond the Spirit Gathering Realm was the Chakra Realm, and only after that came the Core Formation Realm.

That was a leap across three entire major realms?

Bits and pieces of information about the Heavenly Rush Soul Formation surfaced in Lu Feng's mind.

"Is it because of this formation?" Lu Feng pondered and guessed. The Heavenly Rush Soul Formation had actually allowed his Soul Strength to leap three whole ranks. Such enhancement and advancement was simply too heaven-defying.

"Perhaps it isn't entirely because of the formation," Lu Feng thought. Back then, by detonating the seven souls, his realm had already broken through to the Heaven Soul Realm. Although all his cultivation had now been overturned, his Soul Strength had remained. It was merely restricted by his current strength, making him unable to fully wield it.

And this Heavenly Rush Soul Formation was precisely like a key, releasing some of the Soul Power he had been unable to use.

After a bout of "self-consolation," Lu Feng controlled his Soul Consciousness and spread it outward, wanting to see just who the expert that had saved him was. Who possessed such immense ability that they could forcibly save someone whose seven souls had all been destroyed and whose body had been gnawed by a flock of crows?

Lu Feng truly wished to meet such a heaven-shaking great power who had defied the common sense of heaven itself. Yet nowhere his consciousness reached did he see anyone.

Lu Feng began carefully observing his surroundings, hoping to find some clue.

The first thing that entered his mind was a dark-red stone bed. Upon it lay a handsome "strange" man, flat on his back. The white gauze wrapped around his back showed that he had suffered no light injuries.

Wait...

Lu Feng seemed to realize something. He looked at that "strange" man once more, only to discover that the man was himself. He could not help but laugh and cry.

The seven souls were not only the foundation of Soul Cultivation, but also the foundation of a person. With the tremendous change in Lu Feng's seven souls this time, his figure and appearance had naturally undergone enormous changes as well. Looking at the unfamiliar face on the stone bed, Lu Feng quickly accepted reality.

After all, although his appearance had changed, it seemed to have become much better-looking.

Upon closer inspection, he found that his brows were thick as swords and slightly longer than before, adding several degrees of sharpness. His lips also carried a curve they had never possessed before, as though he always wore a faint cold smile, with a hint of bewitching charm.

His long jet-black hair lay loose and scattered, making him appear somewhat languid and listless. Yet when paired with those exquisite, cold, proud features, it gave an entirely different impression. His whole person exuded a wild, unrestrained, sharp, and arrogant air.

Lu Feng nodded in satisfaction.

His consciousness slowly spread outward...

Not far from the stone bed stood a table pieced together from bamboo. One table and four chairs were neatly arranged, spotless and free of dust. A pot and four cups atop the table were likewise set in perfect order.

This room, neither large nor small, surprisingly contained no other furniture or decoration. Lu Feng found it strange, and his consciousness continued to spread outward. He wanted to pass through the closed bamboo door in the distance, but discovered in astonishment that no matter what methods he tried, he simply could not penetrate beyond it.

Countless questions lingered in Lu Feng's heart, yet he could not find anyone to resolve them.

Time quietly passed. Lu Feng remained in this state for nearly half a month before he finally felt a connection to his body for the first time. His fingers twitched slightly, and after his eyes rolled once, they opened.

Dazzling light rushed toward him. Lu Feng frowned slightly, and only after adjusting to it did he slowly sit up, preparing to leave the stone bed and take a look outside the Bamboo House.

"Half a month earlier than expected." A long-unheard aged voice came from outside the door.

Lu Feng sat up and leaned against the edge of the bed, looking toward the old man entering through the Bamboo House doorway. He immediately felt a degree of familiarity.

The old man had the bearing of an immortal sage. His white hair hung to his shoulders, his sword-like brows were set above fierce eyes, and though he was already in the twilight of his years, his body still appeared exceptionally robust. His snowy beard cascaded down like a waterfall, lending him several more traces of immortal air. As the old man moved, Lu Feng discovered in surprise that his left leg was slightly lame, as though it had suffered a grave injury.

While Lu Feng sized up the old man, the old man was also examining Lu Feng. It would have been fine if he had not looked, but the moment he did, he was greatly startled.

He had originally thought Lu Feng had merely awakened half a month earlier than expected, which was normal enough. It took that long for the Seven Souls Array to merge with him. But after examining him, the old man discovered in shock that Lu Feng had not only awakened, but had already comprehended and opened the Heavenly Rush Soul Formation. This left the old man somewhat stunned.

One had to know that after obtaining this Soul-Deriving Array, it had taken him many years to barely comprehend it. In comparison, he could not help but feel a little envious of Lu Feng's talent.

"How did you comprehend and open this Soul-Deriving Array of yours?" The old man still asked in disbelief.

"I was thinking about some things, and as I kept thinking, it opened. Strange, isn't it?" Lu Feng answered truthfully, recounting the wondrous state he had entered in the darkness.

Hearing such a casual answer, the old man felt stifled, with the sense that comparing people could make one furious. He explained, "The formation laid upon the Heavenly Rush Soul is called the Soul-Deriving Array. I obtained it in a desperate place, where I nearly suffered the complete destruction of my Heaven Soul and escaped death nine times out of ten. Its power goes far beyond what you can currently display. I hope you will not let it gather dust." As he spoke, the old man seemed to sink into memories.

Lu Feng had already experienced a measure of the Soul-Deriving Array's strength. Setting aside anything else, its enhancement of his Soul Strength alone had already benefited him immensely.

Listening to the old man, Lu Feng could not help but lose himself in thought. The Soul-Deriving Array seemed to be a hundred times more powerful than he had imagined.

The old man took out a gray stone crystal and handed it to Lu Feng. "Take it and give it a try. Let's see how much strength you possess in the One Soul Realm."

Stone crystals were tools used across the Profound Heaven Continent to test a cultivator's strength. Special formations were carved upon them, allowing them to clearly and accurately display the tester's strength.

However, the value displayed by a stone crystal could only serve as a reference. A soul cultivator's strength could easily fluctuate under the influence of various factors, so one could not fully trust what the stone crystal showed.

For instance, a soul cultivator in a state of anger could clearly unleash strength far beyond their actual level.

Lu Feng accepted the stone crystal and gripped it tightly in his hand. He circulated his spiritual energy and slowly poured it into the stone crystal, waiting for it to change.

On the path of Soul Cultivation, the seven souls were the most fundamental existence. An ordinary person who had never cultivated generally possessed only five Stones of Strength. Each time a cultivator awakened and opened one soul, they gained ten Stones of Strength. If all seven souls were opened and one successfully reached the Spirit Gathering Realm, one would possess a hundred Stones of Strength in every gesture, capable of easily lifting a cauldron weighing a thousand jin.

An ordinary One Soul Realm soul cultivator possessed around fifteen Stones of Strength. This was an average standard applicable to all soul cultivators across the continent.

With this average value as a reference, some clans and sects used it as a benchmark to select those with superior aptitude for deeper cultivation.

Lu Feng recalled that when he had been in the One Soul Realm before, he possessed nineteen Stones of Strength, already considered outstanding among those of the same realm. Now that his seven souls had shattered and been reforged, the strength he possessed upon reaching the One Soul Realm again should be even greater.