Chapter 677 - 673: Yielding Merit
This is not an enhancement targeting a specific avatar.
The power of soul absorbed by this avatar can be directly sent back to the main body.
The main body enhances, all avatars enhance.
An avatar cannot transfer Inner Strength or True Yuan to the main body, yet it can transfer the power of soul back.
This is the special nature of the power of soul.
What exactly is the power of soul?
His understanding of the soul has always been deepening and evolving.
After absorbing the memory of this Great Sky Demon, he realized his understanding of the soul was too superficial.
Spiritual power and the power of soul are like Cultivation compared to True Yuan.
Spiritual power originates from the soul, but it is not the power of soul; rather, it is the effect of the power of soul.
The soul extracts Essence Blood from the body to condense into spiritual power.
If the soul is strong, the condensed spiritual power is stronger and more refined.
The Heavenly Demon Clan cultivates the soul, which essentially is cultivating spiritual power.
The various techniques of the Heavenly Demon are powered by spiritual power, which, to them, is like True Yuan to the Human Race.
This is a different system.
Under this system, their understanding of the soul is vastly different from that of the Human Race.
The origin of the soul cultivation system is the Demon Spirit Realm, and outsiders cannot cultivate in it; the Human Race knows very little about this system, and their understanding of the power of soul is also shallow.
No matter how they speculate and study, they ultimately cannot touch its core, always just scratching the surface.
After Chu Zhiyuan absorbed the memory of this Great Sky Demon, his understanding of this cultivation system became much deeper than others.
His understanding of the soul also became more profound.
The Demon Clan innately despises humans and the Demon Clan, seeing them as lower and more superficial.
The human cultivation system uses spiritual power to drive the body’s True Yuan, enhance True Yuan, cultivate True Yuan, and then use True Yuan to mobilize Heaven and Earth’s Power.
Whereas the Demon Clan directly uses spiritual power to control Heaven and Earth’s Power.
The Demon Clan considers the human cultivation system inferior and weak.
But this is also the inevitable choice for humans; without the help of the Demon Spirit Realm, they cannot directly cultivate spiritual power and can only take this roundabout way.
Therefore, they absolutely cannot tolerate harm from humans, especially being completely killed.
They must seek revenge a thousandfold and hundredfold.
However, at the same time, they are also extremely wary of forces that can truly extinguish their souls.
Because they are nearly undying, they cherish their lives exceedingly and are unwilling to take risks.
Chu Zhiyuan felt relieved when he saw this.
Their caution could not be better, giving him enough time to avoid exposure.
Meanwhile, he himself was also being extremely cautious; once making a move, he must ensure certainty and directly extinct, absolutely not allowing the Great Sky Demon to send messages back through the Soul Pearl.
Otherwise, he would truly become an enemy of the Demon Clan, which would try every possible way to eradicate him.
Currently, he cannot withstand such concentrated attacks.
This avatar has reached such a level that it cannot be easily given up, and he must strive to go further.
——
By the time he arrived at the True Martial Institute the next day, the Third Prince, Chu Liyang, was already there.
Chu Zhiyuan glanced at him, not even bothering to speak, merely clasped his fists, and sat down in his original position.
It was the position taken by the Second Prince yesterday but now reclaimed.
Furthest from the Third Prince.
He closed his eyes and began cultivating, trying to see how the effect of Cultivation was after enhancing the power of soul.
Once the Infinite Brightness Scripture was in motion, he immediately felt different.
The operation speed of the Infinite Brightness Scripture increased significantly, and at the same time, the aura of the Karma Stone wall rapidly drilled in.
This caused the Xiao White Snake in his Shan Zhong to move one-third faster suddenly.
Chu Zhiyuan’s spirits were greatly lifted.
With such efficiency, he hopes to break through to the Second Transition in a short time.
...
The Eldest Prince and Second Prince soon appeared.
Seeing Chu Zhiyuan motionless and sensing the Spiritual Energy vortex above his head, their expressions instantly became solemn, sitting down in silence to cultivate.
They do not have Super Sense and cannot see the Yin Yang Fish in the Void above Chu Zhiyuan’s head, but they can vaguely sense it.
They cannot sense the specific size clearly, but they can generally feel the Yin Yang Fish is far larger than theirs.
This gave them a strong sense of urgency.
They had been leading by so much, it was unacceptable to them to be caught up by Chu Zhiyuan.
...
Qingfeng Cliff.
The warm midday sun shone on their bodies; Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin were still standing at Qingfeng Cliff, talking.
Bathed in the gentle breeze, Chu Honglin said, "Last night’s matter, as well as the Diwu Academy, have been settled; no one will leak it."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled: "Thank you, Uncle."
"There’s nothing to thank me for," Chu Honglin said. "I’ve kept things quiet on my end; don’t let things slip on yours."
"Of course."
"Your Prince Mansion is like a sieve; you need to find a way to tighten it up."
Chu Zhiyuan shook his head: "That’s impossible."
"Hmm—?"
"Uncle, you know as well, my Prince Mansion lacks unity among its people, and just relying on Aunt You Lan cannot consolidate them."
"Ah, the human heart..."
Chu Honglin sighed helplessly.
The situation of Prince Nine’s Mansion is indeed troublesome.
Throughout the mansion, genuinely loyal ones are few and far between.
As they say, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; Ninth Prince’s situation is like a tree about to fall at any time.
The human heart seeks profit and avoids harm; how could loyalty still be devoted to him in this condition?
Only someone like You Lan, who has been with him since childhood and was greatly favored by his mother, would be genuinely loyal.
The others are already wavering and even colluding with outsiders.
Chu Zhiyuan said: "I will keep away from them, ...what about the Guards?"
Chu Honglin was at a loss for words.
Chu Zhiyuan sneered: "Father doesn’t agree?"
"The Elder Brother advised you to behave yourself, keep quiet."
"Worthy of Father!" Chu Zhiyuan’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Elder Brother must have his reasons," Chu Honglin said. "Perhaps there’s another meaning behind it."
Chu Zhiyuan snorted: "Seems like I can’t kill any more Heavenly Demons in the future."
Chu Honglin coughed lightly.
Chu Zhiyuan said: "Uncle, can’t hold back? Even Father can hold back."
"The Elder Brother thinks these body-seizing Great Sky Demons are a slight concern, nothing too serious, but to me, they are more significant."
"But ultimately, you must listen to Father."
"...Indeed." Chu Honglin snorted: "But if we act discreetly, there shouldn’t be much of an issue."
Chu Zhiyuan pondered.
He weighed the risks and rewards of doing so.
With Chu Honglin, a Divinity Transformation Realm expert, on his side, dealing with the body-seizing Great Sky Demons was manageable.
The key is to thoroughly wipe them out and not let the news of the Great Demon Suppressing Seal leak.
Can this be done without leaking anything?
It wasn’t much of an issue either.
Firstly, there’s the Super Sense to detect any surrounding snooping, and secondly, there’s the Soul Pearl.
The critical point is that the benefits are substantial enough.
Chu Honglin quickly added: "Father won’t dispatch more Guards, but he will acknowledge the Merit."
"Can the Merit be kept secret? Don’t let it slip from this."
"To ensure accuracy, Merits cannot be falsely attributed to another, making confidentiality difficult."
Chu Zhiyuan said: "What uses do the Merits have?"
"They can be exchanged for Treasures or used to Entering Spirit at the Outer Realm Battlefield."
"Just give it to Uncle then." Chu Zhiyuan said: "I’m not likely to join the Spirit Guard anyway."
"You might still be able to."
Chu Zhiyuan knew that since the Emperor had not changed his mind yet, it was unlikely.
Being made a Prince Consort was inevitable, which meant joining the Spirit Guard was impossible.