The Ye Clan's Ancestor! Obtaining a Soul Technique

"Looks like I've stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter."

Ye Qingzhou remained exceptionally calm.

His consciousness had come to this unusual soul world because he had looked at the plaque in the Ye Clan's ancestral hall.

From the old man's voice, he could tell without thinking that this was an opportunity a Ye Clan ancestor had prepared for a gifted descendant.

And so it was. As he watched, the pale golden mist ahead swiftly gathered into an illusory figure.

It was an old man in a grayish-white robe, with a gaunt face, white hair and beard, and eyes as black as the silent night sky.

After appearing, the old man studied Ye Qingzhou closely and spoke in a calm voice. "I am Ye Qingtian. Junior, have you heard of me?"

"This descendant, Ye Qingzhou, greets Qingtian Ancestor." Ye Qingzhou immediately bowed, his tone respectful and tinged with shock.

Ye Qingtian was the first patriarch of the Ye Clan. He had been an elder of the Pill Tower Elder Council, an Eighth-Tier alchemist, and a Four-Star Dou Zun.

"How has the Ye Clan fared of late? Is it still one of the Pill Tower's Five Great Families?" Ye Qingtian asked.

"Ancestor, we descendants have failed to live up to expectations. The Ye Clan is still one of the Pill Tower's Five Great Families, but things are not going well now." Ye Qingzhou related everything he knew in detail.

The Ye Clan's strongest member was now only a Six-Star Dou Zong. Not only had the clan gone over a century without producing an Eighth-Tier alchemist, but it was also in danger of losing its elder seat after failing to pass the Pill Tower's assessment for so long.

"I didn't expect the Ye Clan to have declined this far. But at least it is still one of the Five Great Clans and can still receive the Pill Tower's protection. As long as it can pass an assessment, it will have a chance to rise again." Ye Qingtian seemed to have long anticipated that this day might come and did not appear overly surprised.

A faint smile appeared on his face, and his gaze held greater expectation as he looked at Ye Qingzhou. "That chance rests with you."

"When I left this Soul Imprint in the plaque, I used the ancestral hall to set up a restriction."

"One must be a descendant of my Ye Clan, with a sufficiently pure bloodline and outstanding talent for both cultivation and the soul, to sense and enter this mental space."

Hearing this, Ye Qingzhou understood. He feared that, originally, he might not have been able to activate this inheritance imprint either.

It was the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame seed that had purified every aspect of him sufficiently for him to obtain this opportunity.

"The Ye Clan has endured for several hundred years now. A few descendants of passable talent have come here in that time, but none have ever managed to draw me out and pass the trials to obtain the core inheritance."

"Now you are qualified to receive the inheritance I left behind, but you must still pass three tests according to the rules."

At this, Ye Qingtian paused, his gaze sharpening. "Descendant, are you willing to try?"

Ye Qingzhou raised his head and answered without hesitation, "I am willing."

With an inheritance this rare before him, he was hardly going to fear a small test.

A hint of a smile appeared on Ye Qingtian's aged face as he gently waved his illusory sleeve.

In the next instant, pale golden mist surged in from every direction, shrouding the space in greater depth.

"The first test: Sea of Souls."

The moment his words fell, Ye Qingzhou found himself in a golden ocean.

Golden waves began to form immediately afterward, condensed from terrifying soul power. They were pressure made manifest, sweeping down from the skies and covering the earth.

There was nowhere to hide; he had to withstand them head-on. Ye Qingzhou felt as though an invisible hand had gripped his body tightly. The space around him seemed to solidify, and a suffocating sensation came over him.

So heavy!

With a thought from Ye Qingzhou, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame seed shone deep within his sea of consciousness, beginning to resist the waves of pressure.

As time passed, ripples spread through the depths of his sea of consciousness, and a great deal of soul power poured into it.

Time seemed to pass with exceptional slowness.

He did not know how long had gone by. It might have been ten thousand years, or it might have been but an instant.

Ye Qingzhou suddenly felt the weight lift from his shoulders. His consciousness became exceptionally clear, and the force that had nearly suffocated him receded like the tide.

"I held on!" Ye Qingzhou's eyes shone brilliantly.

The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame seed protected his true self, so no Soul Pressure could harm him.

Instead, his soul had benefited from the tempering, its power increasing noticeably. Breaking through to the Spirit Realm in the future would also be much easier.

Light flickered in Ye Qingtian's illusory eyes, which were full of approval. "Good, very good. To withstand the assault of the Sea of Souls is no small feat."

"Next is the second test: Soul Sharpness."

With those words, Ye Qingtian's figure vanished again. Countless threads of silver light shot out from the surrounding sea of golden mist, like arrows of soul power blotting out the sky and covering the earth as they pierced Ye Qingzhou's soul body from every direction.

The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame seed appeared deep between Ye Qingzhou's brows, forming a unique barrier within his soul body.

The arrows all pierced through his soul body, but they did not harm his source. Instead, they helped reshape him and build his form.

A solidified form was something only a Spirit Realm Soul could achieve. The figure in his sea of consciousness was currently outlined by imagination alone and had not truly taken shape.

It's a test and an opportunity!

With ten thousand soul arrows piercing through it, his mistlike soul took on a form seventy percent similar to his physical body.

This was laying the foundation for the Spirit Realm. As long as he continued to absorb soul power to replenish it, he could naturally step into the Spirit Realm upon reaching the limit. This was a great opportunity to defy the heavens and change his fate.

"Good. You took all ten thousand arrows head-on and let them shape your body. Your soul foundation is strong, and I have now strengthened it further."

Ye Qingtian's voice was full of appreciation for this descendant of his, but his gaze grew sterner.

"The third test: Soul Comprehension."

This time, no attack descended.

Instead, a vast stream of information unfolded directly in Ye Qingzhou's mind, like an ancient tome.

The ancient tome was condensed from soul power, its surface covered with densely packed ancient characters and circulation diagrams. To Ye Qingzhou, it was as obscure and incomprehensible as a heavenly book.

"This is the secret soul art I obtained from an ancient ruin years ago, the Xuan Heaven Soul Technique."

"You should know that a chasm ten thousand feet deep lies between the Late Mortal Realm and the Spirit Realm. Without a soul technique to draw in the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth to shape the soul, one cannot take that crucial step."

"Now, with my help, you have strengthened your foundation and shaped your soul. As long as you can increase your soul power, entering the Spirit Realm is only a matter of time."

"But with this secret art, you can directly absorb the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth while you cultivate."

"However, this art is profound. If you immerse yourself in it, you may lose yourself."

"So, choose for yourself."

Choose?

Ye Qingzhou did not hesitate. "Ancestor, I am willing to choose."

His decisiveness took Ye Qingtian completely by surprise. Then he threw back his head and laughed.

"Good, very good. Comprehend it without worry. If you lose yourself in it, I will help you awaken, even if I must expend all the soul power in this Soul Imprint."

"I won't disappoint you, Ancestor." Ye Qingzhou sat down cross-legged and entered a state of comprehension.

Before long, a vast stream of information appeared in his sea of consciousness.

The Xuan Heaven Soul Technique's cultivation method was extraordinarily complex. Its process involved sensing the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, analyzing it, absorbing it, and using it to strengthen soul power.

This was followed by methods for refining and materializing the soul, and even using it to attack.

Each level was linked to the next.

It really is profound, too wondrous for words. I can't tear myself away, and it's hard to remember.

But I have the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame seed!