Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 514: Chapter 514 Breakthrough to the Fourth Layer of the Martial King Realm

Although Ye Qingchen knew Elder Yang was somewhat unreliable, for now, it was the only plan he could think of.

Under Zi Bu’s guidance, the group quickly returned to the Central Celestial Academy. Afterward, Ye Qingchen bid farewell to Zi Xing and the others and walked alone toward the Divine Tree Library.

During Ye Qingchen’s absence, the Central Celestial Academy remained as bustling as ever, seemingly untouched by the news of the Demon Clan’s emergence in Eternal City. The disciples here remained immersed in their cultivation, completely undisturbed.

Ye Qingchen understood that Eternal City was far from here. Since the Demon Clan had only just appeared, only the true higher-ups in the central region had received the news immediately. As for the disciples of the various sects, these higher-ups would certainly not inform them until the situation stabilized. After all, doing so would only create panic, and these lower-level disciples would be of no help anyway.

Ye Qingchen walked toward the Divine Tree Library, but to his disappointment, Elder Yang was not there. Ye Qingchen couldn’t understand it; given Elder Yang’s lazy nature, he would not normally leave the Divine Tree Library. But with Elder Yang gone and his whereabouts unknown, Ye Qingchen had no choice but to start cultivating in the library and wait for his return.

On the way back, he had already adjusted his body to its optimal state. Coupled with the gains from the sect’s newcomer competition, as soon as Ye Qingchen entered his room, he sat down cross-legged, activated the Divine Tree Technique, and began to absorb Spiritual Energy.

Although the Divine Tree Library was dilapidated, it was still a branch of the Central Celestial Academy, and the concentration of Spiritual Energy here was far superior to the outside world. Furthermore, Ye Qingchen was the only one in the entire library. This meant the rich supply of Spiritual Energy was his alone to absorb—more than enough for his breakthrough.

What he hadn’t expected was that as soon as he began circulating the Divine Tree Technique, he felt a mysterious energy stirring within his sea of consciousness.

Ye Qingchen was unaware that he had absorbed Demonic Qi during the sect’s newcomer competition, so he had not noticed this energy before. But now, as he settled down to cultivate, he could sense it clearly. He discovered that this energy was hidden within the gray jade bi; whenever he circulated his Cultivation Technique, this energy would appear but could not be absorbed by him.

The gray jade bi hovered around his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, yet this mysterious energy had managed to escape its detection and remain hidden in his sea of consciousness for so long. This spoke volumes about the energy’s mysterious nature.

Ye Qingchen fully activated his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, trying to understand the origin of this energy, but to no avail.

Since the Dual Pupil Martial Soul gave no warning, this energy must be harmless. Moreover, it only appears when I circulate the Divine Tree Technique. It’s likely the energy serves the same purpose as nature’s spiritual energy but contains some special component that prevents me from absorbing it directly.

I wonder if the Fen Tian Earth Fire can refine it.

A thought flashed through his mind. However, the Fen Tian Earth Fire was within his sea of Qi. To use it, he would have to draw the energy into his sea of Qi, and the risks of allowing such an unknown energy inside were easy to imagine.

After a moment of indecision, Ye Qingchen decided to take the risk. He began circulating his Soul Power, carefully guiding the energy into his sea of Qi. Fortunately, no anomalies occurred when the energy entered his sea of Qi, much to Ye Qingchen’s relief. Now that the energy had been drawn out, the next step was refinement.

Ye Qingchen summoned the Fen Tian Earth Fire, enveloped the energy within it, and began to repeatedly temper it.

”Hmm? It really works!”

Ye Qingchen was excited to discover that after being scorched by the Fen Tian Earth Fire, the energy had actually begun to separate. Although the change was still subtle, he could feel it, as if it were peeling away.

About a quarter of an hour later, the energy was completely refined into two parts. One part transformed into an extremely pure stream of Spiritual Energy, which flowed into his sea of Qi to be absorbed and refined. The other part autonomously entered his sea of consciousness and was once again absorbed by the gray jade bi. Despite all his efforts, he could not draw that energy out again.

Ye Qingchen sighed, helpless against the energy that had entered the wordless jade bi. However, the pure Spiritual Energy he had just absorbed had boosted his strength considerably. By his estimation, that single wisp alone was equivalent to what he could absorb in a full day of arduous cultivation.

Since the energy refined into two parts—one to enhance my Cultivation and one that is currently harmless—I might as well go all in and focus on improving my Cultivation first.

Having made up his mind, Ye Qingchen continued to draw the mysterious energy from his sea of consciousness into his sea of Qi for refinement.

「The next morning.」

Ye Qingchen had finally refined all the mysterious energy from the gray jade bi, and his strength had consequently reached the fourth layer of the Martial King Realm!

He had originally estimated that it would take at least another month to reach this level. He never expected that by absorbing that mysterious energy, he would break through in just one day. His only concern was the other portion of the separated energy, which was now all inside the gray jade bi. He was unable to absorb it, expel it, or even control it.

It seems I’ll have to find a way to deal with this when I get the chance.

Ye Qingchen shook his head, stood up, and decided to see if Elder Yang had returned. He opened his door, washed up briefly, and knocked on Elder Yang’s door. Much to his disappointment, Elder Yang still had not returned.

Since he had just broken through, it was pointless to continue his arduous cultivation. With Elder Yang absent, Ye Qingchen thought he would head to the contribution hall to see if he could find anything worthwhile.

Just as he was walking down the small hill, he saw a familiar figure appear before him.

Ye Qingchen exclaimed in surprise, ”Senior Sister Zi Xing? What brings you here?”