An In-Depth Reveal of Cultivating Gods 12: Discussing the Power of Souls in Exiled Immortal (Heavenly Dao Xiao Hua)

In Exiled Immortal, the power of souls was the most mysterious force. For example, when Xue Xue self-destructed to save Xiao Hua, she became the first soul to enter the space behind his head, causing the yin and yang of that space to divide. Its yang side formed Shenhua Continent, while its yin side became the Netherworld. Then there was Huang Tong, who could devour souls only because he had been born from Ximing, where Xiao Hua found Netherworld Bamboo and Netherworld Orchid. There were also the celestial phenomena that appeared when Xiao Hua removed the mysterious dark cloud from Wang Zhengfei's mind, and the Happy Heaven Demon of the Primordial Continent gathering hundreds of millions of souls in an attempt to escape the Time Light Knot. All these things showed that the power of souls possessed a mysterious force in Exiled Immortal.

I. Classifications of Soul Power

1. Buddhist Sect—Power of Faith, the outward manifestation of soul power

According to Xu Zhi in "Exiled Immortal, Chapter 3239: Forbidden Power," soul power was the most mysterious force in the universe. For instance, the cultivation method of the Buddhist Sect's Nine Revolutions Golden Body was founded upon reincarnation, and the foundation of reincarnation was the soul. To condense a golden body, the Buddhist Sect needed Buddha Fruit; to attain Buddha Fruit, it needed merit and the Power of Faith. The Power of Faith was merely the outward manifestation of soul power, yet that single manifestation alone had established a Buddhist Sect capable of contending with the Daoist Sect.

2. The Undead Power of the Netherworld

Undead Power was also a form of soul power, and at the same time, the nemesis of all Mana, Immortal Power, and Buddhist Power. Thus, the Netherworld had an extraordinary origin. It was the place where all vitality met utter extinction, yet also where all vitality first sprouted. The Netherworld was immensely powerful; even the Heavenly Venerables of the Palace of Punishment did not dare provoke it lightly.

3. The living vitality within the life power of Confucian Cultivation

Confucian Cultivation cultivated armor inscriptions and gained the qi of gods. From Xiao Hua's resurrection of Cai Zhuoxia, his life power should also have been a form of soul power.

4. Mastering soul power allowed one to become a god

Xuan Hong's discourse on the Dao mentioned that soul power far surpassed Five Elements Power and Body Power. In the words of the great experts of the God Realm cited in that discourse, only by mastering soul power could one be called an Origin God or a Primeval God. Therefore, soul power was a Forbidden Technique.

II. The cultivation of immortal marks by immortals in the Immortal Realm—this was also the cultivation of souls, as shown by the following evidence:

1. The first appearance of "immortal marks" in Exiled Immortal came when Star Moon Fairy and Xu Zhi, two banished immortals, were undergoing trials at Star Moon Palace. According to Xu Zhi in "Exiled Immortal, Chapter 3278: Star Moon Fairy Returns to the Immortal Realm," "That Book Immortal who had fallen to demonic ways had formidable methods. He directly injured my soul and touched upon my immortal mark." From this, it could be seen that immortal marks were connected to souls.

2. Similar proof could be found in the words of the Underworld Judge in "Exiled Immortal, Chapter 3994: Tribulation Transcendence (Twelve)": "Within the soul, there must be something like an immortal mark."

3. When Xiao Hua transcended tribulation and ascended to the Immortal Realm, it was the Witch Clan's thirteenth great god who split open the Heavenly Gate. From this, it could be inferred that the Immortal Realm had originally been the Witch Realm. Only the inheritance of soul cultivation had been sealed within the Four Great Continents, while the remaining fragments had been transformed into higher realms. Judging from this foundation, the Immortal Realm's immortal-mark cultivation techniques must certainly have been influenced by soul cultivation.

4. Xuan Hong's discourse on the Dao mentioned that soul cultivation was the engraving of laws, and this engraving was the power of heaven and earth—that was the soul.

5. Indirect proof: Xiao Hua was meant to become a Primeval God, and becoming a Primeval God required mastering soul power. Yet after ascending to the Immortal Realm, Xiao Hua's soul was faint and thin, with only one-tenth remaining because of his nine ascensions. For Xiao Hua's soul to reach great completion, his cultivation in the Immortal Realm would certainly be related to the soul. Thus, Xiao Hua refined his bones into seven colors in the Cultivation World, and in the Immortal Realm, his soul would inevitably have to undergo cultivation like body tempering.

6. From Xiao Hua using more than a hundred scattered nascent souls to heavily wound the fake Guiding Emissary—it was necessary to shatter an immortal's immortal mark in order to kill an immortal in the Immortal Realm. So long as the immortal mark remained unbroken, no matter how grievous the immortal's injuries were, they could recover. Therefore, the cultivation of immortal marks was connected to souls.