Saving Zhou Zihong; Becoming the Soul Devourer

Cultivation knows no passage of time; winters pass without count of years.

Qin Hao had already remained in the Outer Realm Battlefield for a full seven years.

During these seven years, Qin Hao spent the majority of his time cultivating within the Chaos Bead Space.

Occasionally, he would venture out to search for treasures.

The Outer Realm Battlefield was, by nature, a place where Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, and even Infant Transformation Experts had waged great wars, so there were naturally many treasures left behind within it.

By now, Qin Hao's cultivation had risen to the False God realm of the Nascent Soul Late Stage Great Perfection.

Under normal circumstances, as long as he grasped a Concept, he could directly ascend to the Spirit Transformation realm.

However, Qin Hao possessed the Extreme Realm Power; unless he dissipated his cultivation and started over, the Nascent Soul stage was his limit.

Regarding this, Qin Hao was not anxious.

In any case, he only needed to unlock a new map, and his cultivation would naturally rise.

"Swish!"

As Qin Hao flew, a Space Rift suddenly appeared before him.

"Awoooo!"

The moment the Space Rift appeared, several eerie Wandering Souls with horns on their heads flew out.

Upon seeing Qin Hao's figure, they rushed toward him immediately, intent on devouring him.

"Extinguish!"

Qin Hao's Extreme Realm Power surged, directly obliterating these Wandering Souls.

"The frequency of Space Rifts appearing is increasing, and Wandering Souls are already able to leave the Extinction Realm. It seems Wang Mazi is about to break free!"

Qin Hao's expression shifted, and he suddenly looked into the distance.

He saw streaks of golden divine sense suddenly converging toward a certain location, dense and overwhelming, like a golden meteor shower.

Even from within Qin Hao's Storage Bag, a streak of golden divine sense flew out!

"The divine sense is moving; Wang Mazi is about to manifest."

Qin Hao did not stop the divine sense from returning.

Because the more benefits Wang Mazi gained, the more benefits he would also receive.

Once all of Wang Mazi's divine sense returned, his soul would surely reach a terrifying level.

In a region of the Netherworld an unknown number of miles away.

Ma Liang's corpse lay on the ground, his soul gradually dissipating.

"Rip!"

A Space Rift appeared, and Wang Lin's final streak of divine sense crawled out from within, entering Ma Liang's body to perform a possession.

"Swish!"

"Ma Liang" slowly opened his eyes, a flash of blood-red light flickering within them.

His voice was incomparably cold as he said, "Teng Huayuan, I, Wang Lin, have returned!"

[Ding!]

[Detected that within the Outer Realm Battlefield, the highest soul life form level is Soul Devourer. The host's soul has transformed into an adult Soul Devourer!]

The moment Wang Lin appeared in the Outer Realm Battlefield, Qin Hao received the system's notification.

"Boom!"

In an instant, Qin Hao felt his soul and divine sense power surging at a terrifying speed.

His divine sense broke through the Nascent Soul level in a flash, reaching the Spirit Transformation tier, and continued to grow.

Deep within Qin Hao's mind, a crystal-clear crystal emerged.

Following the appearance of the crystal, Qin Hao's soul and divine sense immediately condensed into a human shape, becoming incomparably solid.

At this moment, even if Qin Hao appeared solely in his divine sense state, he would look no different from a True Person.

This crystal was the Soul Core of a Soul Devourer.

Only by condensing a Soul Core could a Soul Devourer be considered a true Soul Devourer.

Because a Soul Devourer possessing a Soul Core would have its soul power increased by several times over, and it would be able to use its own soul power to create Wandering Souls.

In the original story, although Wang Lin became a Soul Devourer, he had not condensed a Soul Core.

It was not until he appeared in the Land of the Ancient God that he condensed a Soul Core with the help of another Soul Devourer under Tuo Sen.

"As of now, in terms of the quantity of divine sense alone, I fear I have already surpassed all Spirit Transformation experts and am on par with Infant Transformation experts."

Qin Hao compared it secretly in his heart: "But in terms of quality, it still falls somewhat short of Infant Transformation."

To use an inappropriate analogy:

This is like comparing ten pounds of mud to ten pounds of steel.

Their weight is the same, but even if the mud were dried, it would be crushed to pieces by the steel, while the mud could not inflict even the slightest damage upon the steel.

"Woooo~"

Suddenly, several more Space Rifts appeared in the surroundings, and thousands of Wandering Souls surged out from them, pouncing toward Qin Hao.

"Stop!"

Qin Hao issued a direct command to these Wandering Souls.

Sensing Qin Hao's divine sense, the bodies of all the Wandering Souls shuddered, and they stopped involuntarily.

The Soul Devourer was the monarch of all Wandering Souls; even if he ordered them to their deaths, they could not disobey.

"Haha!"

Qin Hao was immediately delighted. "Returning with a massive army of Wandering Souls will certainly be a great asset!"

Just like that, he began to lead this vast, surging tide of Wandering Souls, searching for even more of their kind.

Every Wandering Soul Qin Hao found was brought under his control.

"Hm?"

While in the process of incorporating more Wandering Souls, Qin Hao's divine sense suddenly detected three streaks of Rainbow Streaks speeding through the air.

Behind them, dozens of Wandering Souls were in hot pursuit.

These three were all disciples of the War God Temple from the Huofen Kingdom.

Over the past seven years, Qin Hao had encountered many Cultivators from various sects and naturally recognized the attire of the War God Temple.

The three consisted of two men and one woman.

The woman wore the standard uniform of the War God Temple; her face was like jade, her features exquisite, and she possessed a Stunning Beauty that was truly breathtaking.

Her figure was graceful and her frame slender, her waist swaying like a willow branch, her legs shapely and straight. Her long, jet-black hair was tied into a single ponytail with a silver crown, which added a touch of heroism to her appearance.

Because they had been hunted by Wandering Souls for so long, the woman's hair was now disheveled and she was drenched in sweat, a poignant, bitter smile on her face that would stir pity in anyone who saw her.

A War God Temple female Cultivator with such a moving appearance—this must be Zhou Zihong, right?

With a flicker of thought, Qin Hao immediately steered his legion of Wandering Souls to fly toward the trio.

As Zhou Zihong and her companions flew, they suddenly widened their eyes, their faces filled with terror and despair.

For they saw that before them, a vast Soul Sea had appeared.

The Wandering Souls were so dense they blotted out the sky, numbering at least a hundred thousand.

The sheer horror of the scene left the three of them stunned.

"It's over, it's over. Senior Sister Zhou, we are finished today!"

One of the young men, Lin Tao, screamed in terror.

"Look, everyone! That... that sea of demonic souls has a human Cultivator inside!"

The other, an older Cultivator named Yang Xiong, pointed at the Soul Sea and roared in shock.

Hearing this, Zhou Zihong and Lin Tao both looked toward the depths of the Soul Sea.

Their gazes pierced through a gap in the middle of the mass, and sure enough, they saw a Cultivator.

The Cultivator looked quite young, dressed in white as snow, his black hair dancing wildly. He stood tall and straight, his eyes like stars, exuding an imposing and extraordinary aura.

Yet, the countless Wandering Souls swirling around him made him appear terrifying, as if he were a great demon lord who had cultivated for countless eons.

"Whoosh!"

With their path blocked, the speed of the three slowed significantly.

While they were distracted, the Wandering Souls behind them caught up and lunged toward them for the kill.

"Ah!"

"No!"

The three screamed in absolute terror.

They had all witnessed the horror of the Wandering Souls; neither spells nor Flying Swords had any effect on them whatsoever.

On the contrary, any Cultivator pounced upon by the Wandering Souls would have their Life Force and soul instantly devoured.

"Stop!"

Just as the three were sinking into despair, an indifferent voice suddenly rang out.

To their astonishment, they discovered that the attacking Wandering Souls had stopped right in front of them, as if struck by an Immobilization Technique.

"Phew!"

The three breathed a sigh of relief, their lives temporarily spared.

But soon, they grew anxious once again.

Facing this demon who could control the Wandering Souls, their lives were now entirely in his hands.