"The essence of a celestial being's soul..."
Jiang Ding looked at the blue fragments scattered across his sea of consciousness, and his heart tightened.
Instinct told him these things would bring immense benefits to his soul. He was like a glutton starved for ten thousand years at the sight of a feast, or a lecherous fiend glimpsing a peerless beauty half concealed. Fierce greed rose within him, as though the hope of evolving his soul and advancing his foundation lay right before his eyes.
Jiang Ding hated instincts he could not control.
"Instinct isn't always right."
Jiang Ding spoke softly.
"If instinct were always right, this starry universe would belong entirely to beings of Innate bloodlines. Humans would have no place in it."
"The instincts we develop when we're weak have many flaws..."
He possessed the complete legacies of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion and the Immortal Sect, so he knew how terrifying the essence of a foreign, higher-order soul could be.
The essence of a celestial being's soul.
Indeed, in the eyes of Spirit Transformation cultivators—even Dao Child-level Spirit Transformation cultivators from an upper-realm Immortal Order—the essence of a celestial being's soul was pure and flawless. It was far more precious and pristine than any eighth-tier natural soul treasure, without a single trace of impurity to be found.
Not only Spirit Transformation cultivators, but even Void Refining cultivators and Dao Integration Divine Lords would be unable to find any impurities in it.
By many standards, this essence was an unparalleled opportunity. It could let a cultivator's soul transcend its limits and elevate its very nature, sending him soaring into the heavens, never to be ordinary again.
Yet when it came to becoming an immortal, to forging an immortal or near-immortal foundation, what was this essence?
The deadliest poison!
In