Soul Emperor Awakening

Riding the Phoenix, Lin Xuan swiftly made his way to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. He found Zi Yi, and after he brought her up to speed, she immediately began making arrangements. During this period, he stayed at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to cultivate or watch Liu Yue’Er do the same.

The talent of the Dragon Race was truly something to behold. Liu Yue’Er’s Cultivation had taken another step forward, and he felt she would soon be able to break through to the Essence Pill Stage. ’Her progress is simply Heaven-Defying.’ It had only been a short while, yet she had already reached the Late Stage of the Spirit Refining Stage. For her, breaking through to the Essence Pill Stage would be as easy as drinking water.

According to the Golden Dragon King’s memories, however, this wasn’t just normal—it was actually quite slow. Under normal circumstances, as long as enough nutrients in the form of Spirit Fruits and other treasures were supplied, breaking through to the Essence Pill Stage was incredibly easy. By those standards, Liu Yue’Er’s pace was slow.

After he had spent a few days at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Zi Yi finally brought him news. It was time to depart! Of course, he wouldn’t be bringing Liu Yue’Er. The destination was simply too dangerous; otherwise, there wouldn’t be a requirement that only those at the Essence Pill Stage Level were permitted to go.

Not only were the participants required to have an Essence Pill Stage Cultivation, but even the guards were at the Peak of the Essence Pill Stage—and there were several of them! They had come close to dispatching Spirit Pill Stage experts to act as guards.

Without much hesitation, he immediately set off for their destination with Zi Yi. It wasn’t until they were in the carriage that Zi Yi revealed the specifics of their destination.

"Miss Zi Yi, where exactly is this place we’re heading to?" Lin Xuan asked. "We’re already on our way. Are you still not going to tell me?"

"It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, but what’s the point? I thought it would be better for you to experience it firsthand. That’s more... real." Zi Yi said with a smile. "In truth, the place we’re going isn’t widely known. It was only discovered recently, you could say. It’s called the Demon Cloud Sea."

"What? The Demon Cloud Sea?"

Lin Xuan cried out in shock. ’He didn’t just know of the place; he was intimately familiar with it. Or rather, Qing Liuyun was.’ After all, Qing Liuyun had died in the Demon Cloud Sea! For some unknown reason, his soul had managed to fly back to the Cyan Cloud Tower, a bizarre event in and of itself.

The Demon Cloud Sea was indeed a perilous place. One had to be at least at the Essence Pill Stage Level to even dare venture inside, and that was considered a low bar. Even Spirit Pill Stage experts could encounter life-threatening problems there. And this was only in the outer regions. Further in, not even Spirit Pill Stage experts dared to tread.

The Demon Cloud Sea hadn’t always existed, having only appeared in recent years. What was once a perfectly normal sea had transformed into a terrifying ocean of death, a place from which few, if any, ever returned.

Qing Liuyun had originally entered with Cyan Cloud Peak to explore, only to be ambushed and killed by him within the Demon Cloud Sea. It hadn’t been Qing Liuyun’s first time entering the sea; he had been inside several times and was quite familiar with the outer regions. He even had a slight understanding of the middle section, but he never dared to venture into its depths.

The middle section was already terrifying enough. The environment was harrowing, with every corner filled with dangers that could claim his life at any moment. Qing Liuyun no longer dared to explore it alone, so to continue his investigation, he had invited Cyan Cloud Peak to join him. After all, an extra pair of hands meant an extra layer of security.

Who could have known that he would be ambushed and killed by Cyan Cloud Peak? The catalyst for this betrayal, besides the fact that Qing Liuyun was about to become the Mansion Master, was their chance discovery of an extremely precious Spirit Fruit: the Golden Element Fruit!

To put it bluntly, that Golden Element Fruit was responsible for the rise of Tong Yulong. When Lin Xuan first heard about Tong Yulong’s Golden Element Body, he had found it very strange. From Qing Liuyun’s final memories, he knew that consuming a Golden Element Fruit would vastly increase one’s affinity for Golden Elemental Power, essentially creating a pseudo-Golden Element Body!

While not a true Innate Golden Element Body, it was still far superior to that of ordinary people. This Heaven-Defying fruit had a peculiar drawback, however: it had to be consumed by someone relatively young to have the greatest effect. In other words, it was useless for older cultivators like them.

Since Qing Liuyun was the one who found such a Heaven-Defying Golden Element Fruit, he would have undoubtedly given it to his daughter, Qing Yiyi. He certainly would never have handed it over to Cyan Cloud Peak. ’He was the one who found it, so on what grounds should he give it to Cyan Cloud Peak’s son?’

Thus, Cyan Cloud Peak struck a fatal blow. It was the Golden Element Fruit that had prompted him to make his move ahead of schedule. Afterward, he publicly claimed that Qing Liuyun had simply vanished within the Demon Cloud Sea.

It was the perfect excuse. People often vanished without a trace in the Demon Cloud Sea, including even Spirit Pill Stage experts. Yet, that didn’t deter the masses from venturing there. The place was simply filled with too many treasures; it was a gigantic treasure trove.

In an era where resources were scarce, the mere presence of them was enough to attract powerful experts. Spirit Pill Stage experts were unwilling to spend their entire lives without a breakthrough, and Core Formation Stage experts refused to stagnate forever. In this world, there was no such thing as eternal life.

Some, fearing the end of their lifespan, would venture into the depths of the Demon Cloud Sea as a last resort, seeking an opportunity for a breakthrough. Most never returned, and their treasures were inevitably left behind, turning the Demon Cloud Sea into an even greater treasure trove over time.

"Young Master Lin, you’ve heard of it?" Zi Yi asked, a little puzzled. "Generally speaking, very few people know of this place; only the more powerful experts are aware of it. The Demon Cloud Sea is famous among the strong, but those with lower Cultivation levels are usually in the dark. After all, what’s the use in knowing about a place you can’t even go to?"

Even those at the Essence Pill Stage had to travel in groups. Going alone was tantamount to suicide. Otherwise, why else would Zi Yi have hired so many guards? It was purely for the sake of safety.

"I’ve heard a little about it," Lin Xuan said, covering his shock with a smile. "I hear it’s very dangerous."

"It is. The Demon Cloud Sea is extremely dangerous, which is why we needed your Cultivation to be at the Essence Pill Stage Level before you could join us. When we enter the Demon Cloud Sea, you absolutely must follow our commands!" Zi Yi’s smile vanished, replaced by a stern expression. Her tone grew heavy; she was clearly not joking.

Of course, Lin Xuan knew she wasn’t joking. With Qing Liuyun’s memories, he knew the conditions inside better than Zi Yi herself. Running around recklessly in there was a death sentence. ’Unless you can fly! But even then, you’d still face danger. No place is truly safe. The only real safety comes from having absolute power.’

"But of course," Lin Xuan said. "I know this expedition to the Demon Cloud Sea is very important to you, Miss Zi Yi. I will be extremely cautious."

"Yes... it is very important to me..." Zi Yi sighed, but didn’t elaborate.

Seeing her expression, Lin Xuan didn’t press her for details. ’Perhaps there’s something in there she really wants.’ Under normal circumstances, though, the goal of such an expedition was simply to bring back a large haul of treasure. The more treasures she found, the greater her contribution would be, and the better she could prove her capabilities. That was the path to promotion.

Lin Xuan was the Chief Appraiser she had sought out, but his title was only recognized by this branch, not by the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s Main Pavilion. She was staking everything on him, hoping he could play a pivotal role and help her prove her worth within the organization.