A Spirit King died, just like that!

Slain by a Spirit Lord no less.

Abbotess Liang’s dying expression was one of hatred and disbelief. Nobody could be more shocked than her at that moment. Nobody could have imagined such a result.

Chen Wentian possessed too many treasures and too many secrets. He was simply too unfathomable. In the wide world of cultivation, few could pull off such a feat. The scions of the most powerful entities in existence could perhaps do it. Those of the most powerful divine beast clans might be able to do it. Out of all the no-name cultivators that had no background, he was the only one who could cross realms and slay a Spirit King.

Various emotions filled him, from satisfaction to pride to relief. It had been a difficult battle, a dangerous one that could have easily cost his life if he wasn’t careful. He had to take this risk because she had to die. She was too dangerous so he had to expend everything to kill her.

She was the type of person to hold grudges and seek revenge regardless of the cost or propriety. If she managed to escape, he would no longer be safe in the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent and his lovely disciples wouldn’t be either. They would have to go into hiding, constantly fearing for their lives every day. It wasn’t a life he wanted for them. They deserved a safe and steady home where they could grow.

Chen Wentian returned to his human form and grabbed her skull with both hands. He activated the Anatta Soul Nirvana Art to trap her dying soul and temporarily prevent her from dissipating into the cycle of samsara. Her soul was his reward for winning the battle so he wasn’t going to let it escape.

Her soul was useful to him but he had no intention of trying to absorb the soul into his collection or imprison it for future use. A Spirit King soul was too strong-willed, too dangerous to keep around.

Instead, he used his soul power and forcibly split her soul apart into manageable fragments and absorbed them one by one. The process was akin to torturing the soul until it shattered. It was cruel and painful and left nothing of the original person behind. It was what she deserved so he felt no remorse.

The first fragment entered his soul realm and was absorbed. It was the perfect fuel for his soul art and his cultivation rapidly advanced as a result.

Boom!

4th Stage of Spiritual Strengthening!

Another fragment was absorbed and soon he broke through again.

5th Stage of Spiritual Strengthening!

6th Stage of Spiritual Strengthening!

7th Stage of Spiritual Strengthening!

He managed to reach the peak stage of the Spirit Lord Realm in one go!

Chen Wentian’s stagnating cultivation had finally taken a huge leap forward but he wasn’t done yet. There was still plenty of Abbotess Liang’s soul left.

He paused to consider what to do. The remaining Spirit King soul fragments weren’t enough to let himself reach the Spirit King Realm. The amount of power required to break through to the next realm was far beyond what a single Spirit King could provide. If he continued furthering his own cultivation, there wouldn’t be any immediate benefits.

Instead, he decided to power up a few mortal souls to the immortal realm. The more Spirit Lord souls he had, the easier a future battle with a Spirit King would be. He was confident that in his current state, he would be able to go against a Spirit King in peak condition and not lose. If he had more Spirit Lord souls to help him, he might even be able to beat them in a fair fight.

The first one he chose for an upgrade was the void bee queen. Its power was directly tied to how much money he could earn through space-attribute spiritual crystals. It was a great investment for the future prosperity of the sect. He was also interested in its stealthy abilities and how it could potentially complement Chen Mo with spying activities.

He quickly absorbed another fragment of Abbotess Liang’s soul and allowed the black star of the void bee queen to absorb it all. The process went smoothly and after two pieces, the expected happened.

Breakthrough!

---

Far away, in Ten Thousand Flower Valley, the sky opened and heavenly energy from the vast beyond descended upon a beehive within the ancient forest. The light disappeared as quickly as it came and the void bee queen reemerged, reborn. It was now several times bigger than before, around as long as a person’s palm. Its body was pure black with glittering black eyes and translucent wings.

The queen bee fluttered its wings excitedly and all the bees around it responded with excited buzzes. It then let out its brand-new immortal aura and disappeared from the nest. One void shift was all it took to exit the forest and reappear above the fields of flowers and herbs. Space-attribute spiritual energy flared again and it headed out for a joyous first flight as an immortal.

It dashed around the perimeter of the sect and the surrounding wilderness. Its speed was far beyond an ordinary Spirit Lord. As an insect, its natural flying ability only improved with cultivation. At the same time, its space-warping abilities improved its agility beyond comprehension. It was so fast and nimble that even a Spirit King that specialized in flight might it difficult to capture it.

The void bee was a rare and powerful insect beast species. It was only natural for the Spirit Lord form to be special.

---

Chen Wentian ignored the happy bee and continued his cultivation. Time was limited as Abbotess Liang’s soul was fast dissipating into nothingness despite his best efforts.

He settled on another mortal beast soul for the next upgrade, a jade tusk elephant that he had been with him for a long time. His eleventh disciple still needed an immortal item and he felt that the loyal elephant soul was a good choice. The beast’s specialty was the ability to amplify power using its mass and resilience. It had the potential of meshing well with Bei Yingluo’s mysterious ability to cross realms. The two of them together would be able to produce a spectacular display of unfathomable power far surpassing her cultivation level.

The last soul fragments were absorbed and another breakthrough happened. This time, since the elephant did not have a physical body, the heavenly light pierced through the soul realm and bathed a green star with its heavenly light.

A triumphant trumpeting cry echoed around the soul realm. The green star pulsed with energy and then transformed into a massive green elephant phantom. It made a mad dash around endless space, knocking into other souls playfully and causing a ruckus.

--- 

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