Soul Emperor Awakening

The Lan Family was a considerable power in the Demon Cloud Sea. When their wanted poster was issued, it sent shockwaves through many of the region’s factions—someone had wreaked havoc at the Lan Family’s mine!

This wasn’t just audacious; it was a death wish. Once found, the perpetrator wouldn’t just be killed—their memories would be searched, and every single person connected to them would be eradicated!

Such was the Lan Family’s tyranny, applied to all without exception. If they knew the one who provoked them was a disciple with ties to both Qingcheng Mansion and the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, who knows how they would react? A hard-line approach would likely be off the table; they would probably resort to negotiations at most.

Lin Xuan was completely unaware of this. He and Tuo Yunhai had found a small island to rest for a while. It wasn’t that he wanted to stop, but his injuries were simply too severe. He had killed Long Ba in a rage while enduring his wounds; it was a miracle he hadn’t coughed up blood on the spot.

While recuperating, he also wanted to eat well and let Tuo Yunhai have a proper meal for once. Fortunately, they were in luck; the island they’d found was home to a few Demon Beasts. After Lin Xuan easily dispatched them, he handed them over to Tuo Yunhai to roast, content to just wait for his meal.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, he had been resting here for some time. His body had recovered a great deal. Most importantly, the island had plenty of Demon Beasts, and eating their meat was excellent for restoring Vitality. His complexion was much healthier than before. Crucially, when he had escaped the mine, he’d taken the guards’ Storage Rings, and they were filled to the brim with Primordial Stones!

The sight of the piled-up Primordial Stones was dazzling. While maybe not ten million, there were at least several million Primordial Stones inside. He hadn’t bothered to count. There could have been more, but he hadn’t managed to loot everything, and a portion had likely already been turned over to the higher-ups.

With the Primordial Stones and the Demon Beast meat, his recovery speed skyrocketed. In just half a month, his injuries were almost completely healed.

The grievous injury had actually brought him significant benefits. His Cultivation advanced, and he broke through to the Peak of the Spirit Refining Stage in one fell swoop! Instead of setting him back, the fierce battle had spurred his Cultivation forward. He could feel his body integrating even more perfectly with the Golden Dragon Bone.

Furthermore, he could sense a new attribute within his body—Thunder Elemental Power. After withstanding that lightning, he found he had gained a trace of Thunder Elemental Power, though not much. It had all been fused into his bones—or to be more precise, into the marrow of the Golden Dragon Bone!

It was as if a metallic substance had channeled the Thunder Elemental Power inward and stored it. This astounded him. ’If I continue to absorb it, won’t I be able to launch attacks using Thunder Elemental Power?’

"The Demon Beasts in the Demon Cloud Sea have much tougher meat than in other places, and it even has healing effects. It really is good stuff," Lin Xuan remarked, very satisfied with his recovery. "Without it, healing would have taken two or three months." He looked up to see Tuo Yunhai swinging a staff, practicing the Lin’s Staff Technique.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Xuan taught him the Lin’s Staff Technique, along with several other high-grade Martial Arts. In doing so, he discovered that Tuo Yunhai’s talent was astonishing. He grasped everything incredibly quickly. Lin Xuan roughly estimated his aptitude to be at least at the sixth-class level.

’I’ll take him home first, and then I’ll return to Qingcheng Mansion.’ A plan had already formed in Lin Xuan’s mind. He knew the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion must be worried about him, but he was committed to seeing this good deed through to the end and taking Tuo Yunhai home first.

The crucial thing was that he was currently empty-handed. There was no telling what he might run into on the journey, so he decided to wait for a bit. According to Qing Liuyun’s memories, there was a larger island nearby with a prosperous city, a place where he could purchase the items he needed.

Right now, other than Primordial Stones, he had nothing. He absolutely had to buy a Weapon, and maybe some Breaking Essence Pills. With his current Cultivation, consuming a Breaking Essence Pill would allow him to break through to the Essence Pill Stage, and his combat strength would take a quantum leap.

Having made up his mind, Lin Xuan called out to Tuo Yunhai, "We’re leaving. Let’s head to the nearest island, Gathering Spirit Island."

The closest island was indeed Gathering Spirit Island. As for the place called Divine Martial Island, it was completely absent from Qing Liuyun’s memories. The Demon Cloud Sea was vast, so it was impossible for Qing Liuyun to have visited every corner. But if he hadn’t been killed by Cyan Cloud Peak, he would have likely explored more than half of it.

Tuo Yunhai pulled back his staff and wiped the sweat from his brow. His complexion was worlds better than before. Having eaten and drunk well these past few days, his body was in much better condition.

"Okay, I understand, Brother Lin!" Tuo Yunhai’s eyes were full of hope, and he was smiling more and more often.

Once again, they rode the Phoenix toward Gathering Spirit Island. Although it was considered nearby, the journey would still take at least a day or two. They proceeded with extreme caution, constantly observing their surroundings to avoid any trouble.

At last, they neared Gathering Spirit Island. Before reaching it, they picked a spot to land, then switched to a boat to row the rest of the way. This area was much safer than the Sea of Weapons, so they had less to worry about. Besides, riding a Phoenix into town was the very definition of attracting unwanted attention.

As they drew closer to Gathering Spirit Island, they saw many boats coming and going; the area was clearly prosperous. Gathering Spirit Island was the main trading hub of the Demon Cloud Sea and was said to be the safest place in the region. Fighting was strictly forbidden—anyone who dared to start a brawl on the streets would face severe punishment!

In return, one had to pay an entry fee of Primordial Stones. This fee granted them access to the city and its protection. Only a faction with an exceptionally powerful backer could enforce such rules and make such guarantees.

"What a bustling city! It’s so much more beautiful than my hometown!" Tuo Yunhai exclaimed, looking all around, fascinated by everything.

They had originally intended to come to Gathering Spirit Island after leaving Divine Martial Island, but they were captured before they ever arrived.

They had just stepped ashore when they saw wanted posters by the harbor displaying various bounties. Lin Xuan couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw one of them. "I never thought I’d be worth this much..."

On the Stone Slab, the wanted poster detailed the following information: A young man riding a Phoenix, Cultivation is around the Seventh or Eighth Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage, is injured, and knows the Puppetry Technique. For providing accurate information: a reward of 100,000 Primordial Stones! For capturing the Phoenix and the young man alive: a reward of 1,000,000 Primordial Stones, one Top Level Spiritual Artifact, and one Spirit God Pill! It was signed by the Lan Family.

The Spirit God Pill was an Elixir Pill for cultivators at the Spirit Pill Stage Level and was incredibly valuable. All together, the rewards were worth a sum of at least five or six million Primordial Stones. It was a terrifyingly high bounty, but for the mine-owning Lan Family, it was a mere drop in the ocean.

Compared to other bounties, this reward was dozens of times higher. It was no exaggeration to call it the highest bounty in the Demon Cloud Sea!