Slice · Divergence

Path Rift.

Quan Cangtian sat cross-legged.

Before him lay the second Abundance Crystal.

It was emerald green, the size of a thumbnail.

He held a carving knife in his hand, its tip pressed against the crystal's surface.

The Life and Death Samsara Art circulated.

The carving knife began to move.

Its tip traced patterns over the crystal, so fine they were nearly invisible.

Halfway through.

The pattern went crooked.

Crack.

The crystal split apart.

It shattered.

Quan Cangtian looked at the fragments on the floor.

He said nothing.

Electrolux's voice emerged from the Consciousness Sea.

"Eight cycles aren't enough."

Quan Cangtian.

"How many cycles do I need?"

Electrolux.

"At least ten."

"And they need to be stable."

Quan Cangtian.

"I can only manage nine cycles at most right now."

"The tenth cycle falls apart."

Electrolux.

"Then train until the tenth cycle doesn't fall apart."

Quan Cangtian put away the carving knife.

He took out a third Abundance Crystal from his Storage Soul Artifact.

He did not rush to carve it.

He was regulating his breathing.

Body Sect stronghold.

Basement.

Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged.

Within his Spiritual Sea, a pale golden field of spiritual power revolved.

Its radius was five meters.

It was spherical, with blurry edges.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm huddled nearby, his antennae trembling.

"Yuhao, hold steady."

Ice Empress.

"Don't talk."

"He's controlling it."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shut his mouth.

Sweat beaded on Huo Yuhao's forehead.

Mental Detection and Mental Sharing were tangled together, compressed tightly.

The two streams of spiritual power were fighting each other, but he forcibly held them together.

It hurt.

It felt as though someone were hammering inside his head.

But he did not let go.

The five-meter domain prototype was stabilizing.

It was not expanding.

It was stabilizing.

The blurriness around its edges was becoming clearer.

Du Busi stood nearby with his hands behind his back.

He could see it.

This kid was stabilizing the domain, not expanding it.

That was right.

If the domain was unstable, expanding it would be useless.

Huo Yuhao opened his eyes.

His eye sockets were ringed with red.

"It's stabilized."

Du Busi nodded.

"What next?"

Du Busi.

"Only after it stabilizes can it expand."

"It's five meters now. Once stabilized, it can reach ten meters."

"Once ten meters is stabilized, it can reach twenty meters."

"Take it one step at a time."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm bounced around in the Spiritual Sea.

"Yuhao, you're amazing!"

Ice Empress.

"Shut up."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shut his mouth.

But his antennae were still trembling.

Tianhun City.

Twenty li beyond the outskirts.

Wasteland.

A Titled Douluo stood at the center of a Soul Guidance Formation.

Pale red light seeped up from underground, its patterns spreading across the ground.

It was already half complete.

The Soul Tool on the table lit up.

The Pontifex's voice came through.

"Speed it up."

The Titled Douluo.

"It will still take half a month."

The Pontifex.

"Ten days."

The Titled Douluo froze for a moment.

"Ten days?"

The Pontifex.

"Yes."

"The Child of Nature will not stay in Tianhun City forever."

"The formation must be completed within ten days."

The Titled Douluo.

"Yes."

The Soul Tool went dark.

The Titled Douluo continued pressing on the formation, pale red light seeping underground.

The speed increased.

Dark Soul Cult stronghold.

Basement.

The Pontifex stood beside a table, studying a map.

The map marked Tianhun City's location, along with the Soul Guidance Formation outside the city.

He was arranging a plan to surround and kill them.

Spatial lockdown.

Soul Power suppression.

Mental interference.

Three layers of traps.

Suddenly.

An additional presence appeared in the air.

The Pontifex did not turn around.

"What are you here for?"

Footsteps sounded behind him.

They were very light.

As though someone were floating.

"Just came to see you."

The voice carried a smile.

The Pontifex turned around.

Someone stood three steps away.

A white mask, painted with a smiling face.

A black robe, its hem dragging across the ground.

Envoy of Elation.

The Pontifex.

"He's mine."

Envoy of Elation.

"He's mine."

The two stared at each other.

The air was growing cold.

The Pontifex.

"You want to stop me?"

Envoy of Elation.

"I'm only here to remind you."

"Don't go too far."

The Pontifex.

"I will obtain the genes, the Soul Spirit System, and the Child of Nature."

"They are mine."

Envoy of Elation.

"You won't get them."

The Pontifex.

"Why?"

Envoy of Elation.

"Because he will be stronger than you."

The Pontifex sneered.

"A brat at level twenty-one, stronger than me?"

Envoy of Elation did not answer.

He turned and walked toward the shadows.

"One more thing."

He paused.

"Don't touch the people around him."

The Pontifex.

"Are you threatening me?"

Envoy of Elation.

"I was warning you."

He walked into the shadows and disappeared.

The Pontifex stared at the place where he had vanished.

He said nothing.

The map in his hand was crumpled.

Inn.

Quan Cangtian sat cross-legged on the bed.

The Life and Death Samsara Art circulated.

Death Qi was drawn in through the soles of his feet, while Life Qi flowed out from his Dantian.

The two forces revolved within his body.

Suddenly.

A new presence appeared in the air.

A familiar one.

The aura of the Path of Elation.

Quan Cangtian opened his eyes.

The Envoy of Elation's voice sounded beside his ear.

"I went to see him."

Quan Cangtian.

"Who?"

The Envoy of Elation.

"The other me."

Quan Cangtian.

"The Pontifex."

The Envoy of Elation.

"Yes."

"We disagreed."

"He wants you, and so do I."

Quan Cangtian.

"So?"

The Envoy of Elation.

"So you need to become stronger than him."

"Otherwise, you can only become his pawn."

Quan Cangtian did not respond.

The Envoy of Elation.

"Keep training."

"The carving blade can succeed, the Soul Spirit can succeed, and so can you."

The voice disappeared.

So did the aura.

Quan Cangtian clenched his fist.

The Dark Red Crystal in his palm pulsed.

He ignored it.

Path Rift.

Quan Cangtian sat cross-legged.

The cycle began to tremble.

Quan Cangtian gritted his teeth.

He did not let go.

Death Qi and Life Qi twisted within him as they completed the tenth cycle.

The eleventh cycle.

The trembling grew worse.

Cold sweat beaded on Quan Cangtian's forehead.

Cold sweat.

He forcibly controlled the cycle and completed the eleventh rotation.

It dispersed.

The two forces separated and returned to their respective positions.

Quan Cangtian panted.

Electrolux.

"It worked."

"Eleven cycles."

Quan Cangtian.

"Is that enough?"

Electrolux.

"It is."

"Try the carving blade again."

Quan Cangtian took out the third Abundance Crystal from the Storage Soul Artifact.

The carving blade was in his hand.

Its tip pressed against the crystal's surface.

Steady.

The blade tip carved a pattern into the crystal, so fine it was nearly invisible.

The first pattern.

It was complete.

It did not stray.

The second pattern.

It was complete.

It did not crack.

The third pattern.

It was complete.

The Abundance Crystal emitted an emerald-green glow.

Electrolux.

"It worked."

Quan Cangtian put away the carving blade.

"What now?"

Electrolux.

"Inject the Wind Wolf's soul into the crystal."

Quan Cangtian released the Wind Wolf from the Storage Soul Artifact.

The Wind Wolf lay on the ground, extremely weak.

The previous experiment had injured its soul.

Electrolux's Undead Magic seeped from Quan Cangtian's palm and wrapped around the Wind Wolf's forehead.

Its soul was stripped away.

Transparent, wolf-shaped.

Quan Cangtian pressed the inscribed Abundance Crystal against the Wind Wolf's soul.

The crystal merged into it.

The Wind Wolf's soul stabilized within the crystal.

It did not collapse.

Electrolux.

"Test it."

Quan Cangtian placed the crystal on the ground.

Summon.

The Wind Wolf emerged from the crystal.

Grayish-white, translucent, four-legged, its tail wagging.

It looked at Quan Cangtian.

Quan Cangtian tried to establish a connection with it.

He could feel it.

The Wind Wolf's perspective.

He could smell it.

The scent of earth, grass, and the chill of the Path Rift.

The Wind Wolf circled the crystal twice without dispersing.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

The Wind Wolf began to fade.

Its edges were dispersing.

It burrowed back into the crystal.

Quan Cangtian picked up the crystal.

Electrolux.

"Better than the flawed product."

"It can last for three hours."

Quan Cangtian.

"We still need more Abundance Crystals."

Electrolux.

"Yes."

"And we need a more stable cycle to carve deeper patterns."

Quan Cangtian stored the crystal in the Storage Soul Artifact.

He clenched his fist.

The Dark Red Crystal in his palm pulsed.

The Envoy of Elation had said that he needed to become stronger than the Pontifex.

He lowered his head and looked at the crystal.

Three hours.

Not enough.

But he had taken the first step.

The first step of the Soul Spirit System.