The Seventy-Two Soul-Suppression Pillars
--
The passage at the bottom of Sea God Island extends downwards from the base of the mountain in the center of the island, the stone steps appearing and disappearing in the silvery-blue light. Nan Feng walked along the stone steps for about half an hour, the stone slabs under his feet gradually transitioning from rough rock to polished bluestone, and the reliefs on the stone walls on both sides changed from simple patterns to dense arrays of runes. The arrangement of those runes was exactly the same as the engravings on the Divine Oracle Stele, the Primordial World Imprint vibrating slightly deep in his soul, translating the meaning of the runes one by one— Soul Suppression, spirit sealing, soul locking, and god binding.
At the end of the stone steps stood a massive bronze door. The outline of Nine-Layer Tower was carved on its surface, with seventy-two thin lines extending from the top, each line connecting to a fist-sized groove. These seventy-two grooves were evenly distributed across the door's surface, resembling some kind of mechanism. Nan Feng conjured the pagoda from his palm, and the base of the nine-story bronze tower embedded itself into the largest groove in the center of the bronze door. All nine stories of the tower trembled simultaneously, and all seventy-two grooves lit up with a silver-blue light. The bronze door slowly slid open to the sides with a thunderous roar.
Behind the door lies a vast underground space.
Standing at the entrance, Nan Feng's mind was filled with the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light. Seventy-two Shi Zhu were arranged in a circle with a radius of several hundred steps. Each Shi Zhu was several meters tall, and its surface was covered with dense runes. Silver-blue light descended from the tops of the Shi Zhu, enveloping the entire space in a radiance like that of the deep sea. In the center of the seventy-two pillars was a spacious stone platform. Above the platform, a slender beam of light floated, extending from the surface of the platform all the way to the dome, disappearing into the distance.
"Seventy-two Soul-Suppression Pillar." Old Huai's voice came from the Tower Spirit Space, carrying a solemnity rarely heard from Nan Feng. "Each pillar seals a wisp of ancient remnant soul. You must light them one by one—infuse them with your Primordial World Power, allowing the remnant souls to recognize you as their master. The lighting process will be very painful; those remnant souls will backfire on your soul, attempting to seize your consciousness. But your Primordial World Power is naturally effective against soul attacks, and the Mountain Suppression Art also has a natural suppression effect on remnant souls. As long as you endure, they will actually help you refine your supernatural powers."
Nan Feng didn't hesitate. He walked to the first Shi Zhu on the outermost edge of the circle. There was an extremely fine groove among the runes on the surface of the Shi Zhu, the shape of which resembled the outline of the tower's base. He placed his right palm on the groove, and Primordial World Power surged from his dantian, flowing along his meridians into his palm. Dark golden light spread from under his palm to the surface of the Shi Zhu, and the runes on the Shi Zhu lit up one by one under the infusion of Primordial World Power.
The instant the first Shi Zhu lit up, a chilling, piercing remnant soul consciousness surged into his soul from within the Shi Zhu. That consciousness was sharp, violent, and full of hostility, like the roar of an ancient Ferocious Beast that had been imprisoned for too long, breaking free of its cage. Nan Feng's soul space trembled violently as the remnant soul consciousness sliced into his mental sea like a sharp blade.
But the Primordial World Imprint reacted even faster than him.
The dark golden light in his dantian surged violently the moment the remnant soul invaded. A Primordial World Power far exceeding Soul Power erupted from the depths of his soul, enveloping, suppressing, and transforming the remnant soul's consciousness. The Mountain Suppression Art automatically circulated within his meridians, and golden suppressive power poured out from the tower, flattening the remnant soul's violent energy layer by layer. Under the dual suppression of the Primordial World Power and the Mountain Suppression Art, the remnant soul rapidly weakened, eventually transforming into a wisp of gentle soul energy that merged into Nan Feng's soul space.
The first Soul-Suppression Pillar lit up completely. The silver-blue light at the top of the pillar changed from dim to bright, and the beam shot straight up to the dome, leaving a silver-blue trail in the dome.
"The Primordial World is the master of all souls." Old Huai's voice echoed in the Tower Spirit Space, carrying an ancient certainty. "After these remnant souls sense the Primordial World Power, their instinctive hostility will turn into submission. The Mountain Suppression Art is a suppressive force, naturally suppressing remnant souls. With the two combined, you will be able to light up the Soul-Suppression Pillar faster than the Pagoda God did back then."
The Nan Feng moved toward the second Shi Zhu.
The second, third, and fourth pillars. With each Soul-Suppression Pillar lit, a remnant soul rushed into his soul space. The strength of the remnant soul gradually increased with the position of the Shi Zhu, from the initial thousand-year-old remnant soul to the later ten-thousand-year-old remnant soul. Nan Feng's soul space trembled under the repeated impact of the remnant soul, but each impact was suppressed by the Primordial World Imprint and the Mountain Suppression Art. The remnant soul was transformed into soul energy and merged into his spiritual sea. The Samsara patterns on the seventh floor of the tower gradually lit up under the infusion of the remnant soul energy.
The tenth. The twentieth. The thirtieth.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Nan Feng's forehead. Although the backlash from the remnant soul was suppressed by the Primordial World Power, each suppression was consuming his Divine Power. On the Spiritual Power map that the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light spread in his mind, the light spot of each Soul-Suppression Pillar changed from dark red to silver-blue after he lit it. When the thirtieth Shi Zhu lit up, he had already walked one-third of the way through the circle.
The fortieth root. The fiftieth root.
The moment the fiftieth Shi Zhu lit up, the intensity of the remnant soul's backlash suddenly surged to a new level. The ferocity of that remnant soul far surpassed all the previous ones, like the final roar of an ancient Ferocious Beast sealed within Shi Zhu for tens of thousands of years before its death. Nan Feng's soul space trembled violently under the impact, and the soul energy in his spiritual sea was stirred into a vortex.
He paused for a moment.
Then continue towards the fifty-first root.
The fifty-first, the fifty-second, the fifty-third. Each step felt like wading through quagmire, the backlash from the remnant soul growing stronger, and his Divine Power being consumed faster and faster. The multicolored spectrum of the Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light flickered in his mind, and the dark red dots on the Spiritual Power map that had not yet been lit seemed to mock his limits.
The sixtieth one.
Nan Feng knelt before the Shi Zhu. His left hand supported him on the surface of the Shi Zhu, while his right palm pressed into the groove. The Primordial World Power surging from his dantian was much slower than before, and the Spiritual Power in his meridians had become thinner due to prolonged and intense consumption. The backlash from the remnant soul of the sixtieth Shi Zhu made his soul space tremble precariously, and a tiny crack appeared in the soul energy in his spiritual sea under the erosion of the remnant soul.
"Twelve more are needed." Old Huai's voice came from the Tower Spirit Space, carrying an unusual urgency, "You can't hold on any longer—if you continue, your Divine Power will collapse."
Nan Feng did not answer. He removed his left palm from the surface of the Shi Zhu and placed both hands in the grooves at the same time. The Primordial World Power in his dantian was forcibly compressed, condensed, and compressed again, and the dark golden light in his palms became so dense that it was almost tangible. The Space-Time Power of the fifth level of the tower was suddenly released in the soul space, and the time flow rate of the Tower Spirit Space climbed from six to one to eight to one.
"What are you going to do?" Old Huai's voice held a hint of surprise.
Nan Feng did not answer. He poured all the compressed Primordial World Power into the sixty-first Shi Zhu at once. The remnant soul was instantly shattered, suppressed, and transformed under the impact of the Primordial World Power, and the sixty-first Shi Zhu lit up. Then came the sixty-second, the sixty-third, and the sixty-fourth. Each infusion was like tearing a gash in his soul, but after each tear, Primordial World Power would automatically surge out to repair it. His soul space became more and more resilient through repeated tearing and repair, and the soul energy in his spiritual sea became more condensed after each repair.
The seventieth root. The seventy-first root.
Nan Feng stood before the seventy-second Shi Zhu. This was the last one in the circle, and the runes on Shi Zhu were denser, more complex, and more ancient than those on any of the other pillars. His hands pressed against the grooves, the Primordial World Power in his palms had become as thin as mist, but the dark golden flame deep within his soul shone brighter than before.
The moment the seventy-second Shi Zhu lit up, the entire underground space trembled violently. The silver-blue light of the seventy-two Soul-Suppression Pillar simultaneously reached its peak, and the seventy-two beams of light shot from the top of the pillars to the dome, where they converged into a silver-blue sea of light. The sea of light surged and condensed, finally transforming into an extremely thin beam of light above the stone platform at the very center of the circle. The beam of light extended downwards from the surface of the stone platform, condensing into a palm-sized silver-blue crystal at the very center of the platform.
The third Tower Spirit Fragment.
The fragments drifted slowly down from above the stone platform. Nan Feng stretched out his right hand, and the fragments fell into his palm. A silver-blue light exploded in his palm, resonating violently with the Samsara patterns on the seventh floor of the tower. The tower emerged from his palm, Nine-Layer Tower doors lit up simultaneously. The moment the third Tower Spirit Fragment merged into the tower, the Samsara patterns on the seventh floor changed from dim to bright, and the tower doors on the seventh floor were pushed open completely with a roar.
The seventh level of the tower – Samsara.
The Samsara Power poured out from the seventh-floor tower gate, forming a seventh silver-blue Samsara pattern on the tower's surface. Nan Feng's soul space expanded rapidly under the infusion of this Samsara Power, and the soul energy within his spiritual sea transformed from silver-blue to a dual luster of silver-blue interspersed with dark gold under the Samsara Power. He sensed that his Divine Power recovered several times faster than before, and the resilience of his soul space had also increased significantly.
The pillar of light suspended above the stone platform began to contract after the seventh-floor tower door was fully opened. The pillar of light compressed downwards from the dome, and the silver-blue light became increasingly condensed, eventually coalescing into a fist-sized silver-blue crystal on the surface of the stone platform. Fine Spiritual Power patterns flowed on the surface of the crystal, and the arrangement of the patterns was somewhat similar to the Space-Time patterns on the fifth floor of the tower.
Sea God Divine Power Crystal.
Nan Feng walked to the stone platform and reached out to grasp the silver-blue crystal in his palm. The moment the crystal touched his hand, a warm, gentle Soul Power flowed from his palm into his meridians, traveling along the meridians to his dantian. The liquid Primordial World Power in his dantian surged violently under the infusion of Soul Power, and a dark golden light exploded in his dantian. The volume of the liquid Primordial World Power expanded by one circle, and the concentration of Soul Power suddenly soared from the level of sixty-six.
Level 67, Level 68, Level 69.
Level 70.
The moment the Soul Power broke through level seventy, the door on the sixth floor of the tower, which had been nearly half cracked, suddenly expanded under the impact of the Soul Power, advancing from nearly half cracked to two-thirds cracked. The amount of Power of Return to the Void surging out from the crack in the door increased even more, and the black annihilation patterns on the surface of the tower increased from four to five. The Samsara patterns on the seventh floor were completely stabilized under the impact of the Soul Power breakthrough, Samsara Power slowly flowed in the meridians, intertwining with the suppressing power of the Mountain Suppression Art, the spatial law of Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, and the annihilation power of the Power of Return to the Void.
Nan Feng stood in the very center of the circle, a luminous curtain of silver-blue light from the seventy-two Soul-Suppression Pillar- Suppressing Pillars forming around him. He sensed the changes within his body— his Soul Power was at level seventy, stuck at a multiple of ten. According to the ironclad rule, without absorbing the Sixth Soul Ring, his Soul Power could not continue to increase. The liquid Primordial World Power in his dantian had become more solid after breaking through level seventy, its dark golden light interspersed with silver-blue Samsara luster and emerald green life luster.
"Level 70." Old Huai's voice came from the Tower Spirit Space, carrying an irrepressible sense of satisfaction. "Your Soul Power has increased four levels from sixty-six to seventy. Now you need to consolidate—your Soul Power has become sufficiently solid under the tempering of the Life Origin Stone and the Soul-Suppression Pillar, but the foundation for level seventy still needs time to be strengthened. After a year of consolidation, your Soul Power will naturally stabilize at around level seventy-two. Then you can consider the Sixth Soul Ring."
Nan Feng stored the Sea God Divine Power Crystal into the Tower Spirit Space. The crystal floated beside the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus in the Tower Spirit Space, its silver-blue and cyan-gold light reflecting each other. After the seventh floor of the tower was fully opened, the Samsara Power slowly flowed in the Tower Spirit Space, converting the Spiritual Power in the space into absorbable Soul Power. He sensed that the time flow rate in the Tower Spirit Space stabilized at 10:1 after the seventh floor was opened, with one day outside being equivalent to ten days inside the tower.
Shifang peeked out from a corner of the Tower Spirit Space, a golden halo of flames quietly rotating around him. "Brother Nan," his voice came from within the Tower Spirit Space, "The smell of those remnant souls... it's so strange. Like a fire that has burned for tens of thousands of years, suddenly extinguished by water."
Nan Feng retracted the tower into his palm. The silver-blue light of the seventy-two Soul-Suppression Pillar gradually dimmed after he left the ring, returning to the original dark gray of the Shi Zhu' surfaces. The silver-blue sea of light in the dome slowly dissipated after the Soul-Suppression Pillar dimmed, and the underground space fell back into quiet darkness. Only the remaining silver-blue light spots on the stone platform shimmered faintly in the darkness, like seventy-two stars scattered on the stone surface.
He turned and walked towards the bronze door. He activated the Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, leaving a trail of afterimages on the stone steps. The array of runes on both sides of the steps lit up slightly as he passed, as if bidding farewell. The bronze door slowly closed behind him, and the light in the seventy-two recesses went out one by one.
When Nan Feng emerged from the passage at the bottom of Sea God Island, it was nearly noon. Sunlight poured down from the mountain peak in the center of the island, illuminating the entire island. He stood at the passage exit for a while, allowing his eyes to adjust to the transition from the deep-sea silvery-blue glow to the midday sun.
The red ribbon on her left wrist swayed gently in the afternoon sea breeze. Within the Tower Spirit Space, the nine lotus Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus pulsed steadily, perfectly synchronized with her heartbeat. In her dantian, the emerald light of the Life Origin Stone, the silver-blue light of the Sea God Divine Power Crystal, and the azure-gold light of the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus intertwined deep within her soul. Her Soul Power reached level seventy, stuck at a multiple of ten. The seventh level of the tower was fully opened, and the Samsara Power flowed slowly through her meridians.
The Old Huai poked its head out from the immortal tree, its translucent remnant soul drifting gently in the sea breeze. "Let's return," it said. "The Purple Pearl Pirates's ship is still waiting behind the reef. After returning to Vast Sea City, you need to find a place to recuperate for a year. After a year, when your Soul Power stabilizes at level seventy-two, then go find the Sixth Soul Ring Soul Beast — the Golden-Eyed Peng King —waiting for you on the perilous peak."
Nan Feng headed towards the reef. The awning boat was quietly moored under the protection of the Tower Realm's light membrane, its sails furled, and its mast gleaming in the afternoon sun. He jumped onto the bow, untied the mooring lines, raised the sails, and adjusted the course. The sea breeze propelled the awning boat away from the reef the moment the sails billowed, heading northwest towards Vast Sea City.
Sea God Island gradually shrank behind them, eventually becoming a silver-blue dot on the horizon. Nan Feng stood at the stern, watching the dot disappear into the sky. The seventy-two Soul-Suppression Pillar stood quietly at the base of the island, their silver-blue tops shimmering faintly in the darkness. The third Tower Spirit Fragment had merged into the tower, and the seventh Gate of Samsara was fully opened. The Sea God Divine Power Crystal floated quietly in the Tower Spirit Space, its silver-blue light illuminating the nine petals of the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus.
The red ribbon on his left wrist fluttered in the sea breeze. The awning boat cleaved through the waves, heading towards Vast Sea City. Nan Feng sat cross-legged at the stern, a thin layer of cyan-gold light forming on his body from the Tower Realm. The spatial laws of Shrinking the Ground to an Inch operated quietly beneath his feet, and the black annihilation patterns of the Power of Return to the Void shimmered faintly on the surface of the tower. His Soul Power was level seventy, stuck at a multiple of ten, but his foundation was more solid than before he set sail. After returning to Vast Sea City and settling down for a year, his Soul Power would stabilize at level seventy-two. Then the Golden-Eyed Peng King. Then the Sixth Soul Ring.
He closed his eyes and immersed himself in cultivation.