The First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 425: Chapter 425 Soul Splitting Magic_1

As Shen Mo’s Cultivation Realm advanced and his soul power grew stronger, he could now send a Demon Soul General as far as five hundred li away.

This was two hundred li farther than when he was at Layer I of the Spirit Sea Realm!

It was not impossible to send it further; however, beyond this range, the Soul Refining Flag would lose control over the Demon Soul General.

Just like Horse Groom Lv, who Shen Mo had left behind in the Taiyi Sword Alliance possessing the disciple Yang Chengxiong, Shen Mo could not control its actions as if it were an extension of his own arm!

He could only issue orders in advance and then let the Demon Soul General act on its own instinct.

To this day, Shen Mo still didn’t know how Horse Groom Lv, far away in the Taiyi Sword Alliance, was progressing with the construction of the large magic altar array.

Is it diligently fulfilling the tasks I assigned it, or did it devour Yang Chengxiong, expose its identity, and get slain by the experts of the Taiyi Sword Alliance...? Shen Mo had no way of knowing any of this!

If he were to let the other Demon Soul Generals venture more than five hundred li away, even with the Soul Refining Flag in hand, he would lose control over them.

Even if orders were given beforehand, there was a high probability they would disregard them, focusing solely on satisfying their voracious appetites by wantonly devouring creatures to advance to higher levels!

Horse Groom Lv was situated in the cultivation world of the Taiyi Sword Alliance, where the consequence for wantonly devouring creatures was invariably death.

Shen Mo didn’t need to worry that it would advance to Class IV through this and then cause a backlash against him when he retrieved the Soul Refining Flag.

However, the remaining Demon Soul Generals could not be managed this way.

Once they escaped the Soul Refining Flag’s suppression, their existence would easily be exposed, eventually dragging Shen Mo down with them.

There was also the possibility that after devouring a large number of living beings, they would advance to the Class IV level. Then, when Shen Mo found and retrieved them, his soul would be unable to bear the strain and risk being torn apart. He would either have to let them escape his control or defeat them and then completely annihilate them with the Soul Destruction Curse!

Therefore, Shen Mo never forced the Demon Soul Generals beyond the Soul Refining Flag’s control range.

However, he was now comprehending the Spirit Reversing Scripture and, drawing inspiration from the soul-splitting rebirth method, he created a new Soul Curse, similar to the Soul Searching Spell, Soul-binding Spell, and Soul-annihilation Spell in terms of its application of soul power!

He named it... the Soul Splitting Curse!

However, Spells like the Soul Searching Spell were derived from the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture. Any cultivator who cultivated this Soul Magic to a certain level could naturally employ the soul power application methods recorded within it. But the Soul Splitting Magic was Shen Mo’s own creation! It originated from the soul-splitting rebirth method in the Spirit Reversing Scripture and was restructured using a marvelous technique akin to the Soul Searching Spell, representing a novel application of soul power.

FLAP! FLAP!

The long banner rippled, its blood-red light obscuring the surroundings!

The Ghost Bride, a late-stage Class III Demon Soul General, stepped out from the blood-red curtain. Without Shen Mo’s command, she stood quietly within the hall.

Then, a peculiar light flickered in Shen Mo’s eyes. A wisp of soul power emerged from between his eyebrows, flowing into the Ghost Bride’s Soul Body as a profound ripple—a method distinct yet somewhat similar to casting the Soul Searching Spell.

The ripple subsided, leaving behind Shen Mo’s Soul Splitting Rune within the Ghost Bride’s Soul Body.

The next moment, with a thought, Shen Mo commanded the Ghost Bride to depart from the Bright Sand Country’s royal palace.

WHOOSH!

A surge of turbid Demonic Qi erupted from the Ghost Bride, propelling her Soul Body rapidly into the distance.

A late-stage Class III Demon Soul General could fly fifty thousand li in a single day and night without rest!

The Ghost Bride covered the five hundred li distance in just a quarter of an hour, quickly flying beyond the Soul Refining Flag’s control limit.

However, now, empowered by Shen Mo’s Soul Splitting Rune, he could still command the Ghost Bride at will, receive various types of feedback from her, and, with a mere thought, control her specific actions!

Two hours later, the Ghost Bride had flown four thousand li away.

Shen Mo still hadn’t completely lost control of her, but the feedback he received began to grow indistinct. It also became difficult to make the Ghost Bride respond with extreme precision, as if she were an extension of his own body.

Four thousand li... that seems to be the limit for the Soul Splitting Magic!

Shen Mo nodded in satisfaction, and then, with a thought, gave the Ghost Bride the command to return.

The range of his sense did not extend four thousand li, not even two hundred li. However, his control over the Ghost Bride wasn’t reliant on his sense, but on the connection between the Soul Refining Flag and the Ghost Bride!

The strength of this connection was proportional to Shen Mo’s Cultivation Realm and soul strength, currently limited to a five hundred li range.

Significantly enhancing his Cultivation Realm and strengthening his soul in a short period was nearly impossible.

Therefore, Shen Mo found an alternative approach: imprinting one of his Soul Splitting Runes into the Ghost Bride’s Soul Body.

This Soul Splitting Rune was similar to, yet not entirely the same as, the unique cultivator’s soul mark found in a Sound Transmission Talisman!

With this rune’s assistance, Shen Mo could still command a Demon Soul General even if it was four thousand li away from the Soul Refining Flag.

Of course, even if others practiced a similar Soul Curse and embedded it within a Demon Soul General’s Soul Body, they wouldn’t be able to control them successfully! This was because only Shen Mo was the master of the Soul Refining Flag.

The rune’s control capability was minimal; it merely reinforced the direct link between Shen Mo and the Demon Soul General.

In other words, in the future, within a five hundred li range, Shen Mo wouldn’t need the Soul Splitting Rune. He could control the soul generals in the flag using only the Soul Refining Flag. However, once beyond five hundred li, yet within four thousand li, he could still use the Soul Splitting Rune and the Soul Refining Flag to continue manipulating the Demon Soul General’s actions!

However, this rune also had drawbacks. Because it was derived from the Spirit Reversing Scripture, each of Shen Mo’s three souls and seven spirits could only correspond to a single Soul Splitting Rune.

This meant the number of Demon Soul Generals he could control as effectively as the Ghost Bride at a distance of four thousand li was limited to ten!

Of course, for Demon Soul Generals not currently in use, he could erase the Soul Splitting Rune from their Soul Body and transfer it to another Demon Soul General.

After some contemplation, Shen Mo waved the Soul Refining Flag, materializing Master Hong Jue, Jinshan the Gold Piercing Ghost, Tieshan the Green-skinned Ghost, and six other late-stage Class III Demon Soul Generals—nine in total—and imprinted each with a Soul Splitting Rune!

”Go!”

Once the imprinting was complete, Shen Mo extended his hand and pointed outward, commanding nine Demon Soul Generals, including the Ghost Bride, to fly off in all directions.

As for why he didn’t deploy the Snake Eel Demon Soul?

The reason was simple: Shen Mo needed these nine Demon Soul Generals to sweep through the islands of Bright Sand Country, exterminating all Priests who practiced evil cultivation methods.

The Snake Eel Demon Soul, whose appearance was more akin to a ”primordial Sea Beast,” would easily cause panic and chaos if it appeared openly in the skies of Bright Sand Country!

By this point, the strongest Priests in Bright Sand Country had already been completely wiped out by Shen Mo half a month prior.

Even if any Priests of Class III or higher remained, they would be no match for a late-stage Class III Demon Soul General.

These ten Demon Soul Generals, no longer restricted by the five hundred li range, were more than capable of thoroughly cleansing the islands and maritime territories of Bright Sand Country!