In a remote corner of the kingdom, a village was engulfed in flames. The light of the fire shot into the sky, dyeing the entire night sky blood-red.
The stench of burning flesh drifted on the wind, mixing with a strong smell of blood.
Thick smoke rose high into the air, as if silently accusing the heavens.
In front of the village stood several silent figures.
The light of the bonfire illuminated their faces. Each pair of eyes was filled with killing intent and sorrow.
A young boy, dressed in tattered clothes and with a face covered in soot, knelt before a middle-aged man whose eyes held boundless hatred.
"I want to join you as well."
The boy's voice was hoarse, yet filled with determination. "I want power. I want revenge…"
The middle-aged man paused for a moment before uttering two words.
"You will die."
"Heh."
The boy let out a bitter laugh. His high-pitched laughter sounded especially grating in the darkness.
"My life is already more painful than death. As long as I can take revenge, I'm willing to go to the eighteenth layer of hell."
Staring at the young man before him, the middle-aged man's eyes seemed dazed for an instant.
But he quickly regained his composure. The eyes that had witnessed the ups and downs of life seemed to see straight into the depths of the boy's soul.
After a period of silence, he nodded lightly.
"Since you have decided to join us," his voice was low and solemn,
"then follow after me."
"With a wounded body, I shall bear the darkness. Suffering is my bond, and the blade is my guide—"
The boy recited in a hoarse yet powerful voice, word by word.
"In the name of the sun, we punish evildoers and eradicate evil."
"All evildoers shall be punished!"
Those who break the covenant shall be secretly devoured!
When the boy finished reciting the final line, a small bottle containing blood-red medicine appeared in the middle-aged man's hand.
The liquid glowed eerily in the bonfire light, like coagulated blood.
"There is still a chance to regret."
The man handed the medicine to the boy.
The boy grabbed it, his eyes sharp like a wounded lone wolf.
"But I don't want to regret anymore."
The middle-aged man nodded lightly.
"The oath you just made must be engraved into your flesh, blood, and marrow. If you survive this trial, you will be reborn."
The boy tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.
In the next instant, an ear-piercing scream suddenly tore through the darkness.
The boy curled up on the ground, writhing in pain. The veins all over his body bulged, as if millions of ants were gnawing at his marrow.
Yet amid the screams, the light in the boy's eyes grew stronger and stronger.
It was an almost mad obsession, a willingness to risk even his own life.
The people around watched silently. No one stepped forward.
Because… they too had come this far, one step at a time.
It was unclear how much time had passed, but the screams gradually subsided.
The boy lay on the ground, breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, as if he had just returned from the brink of death.
The middle-aged man crouched down, helped him up from the ground, and patted his shoulder lightly.
"Welcome to the Sun Sect!"
And so, some people built graves for this now-empty village.
Whoosh——
Suddenly, a dark shadow flapped its wings across the sky. A slightly sharp, urgent, and cold voice rang out from above.
"Found it! Thirty kilometers northeast!"
Everyone present looked up at the same time. New killing intent ignited in their eyes.
The middle-aged man looked away and said in a low voice,
"We… we have to go!"
...
Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Where the extremely cold spring and the extremely hot spring converged, mist lingered year-round, enveloping this medicinal garden like a fairyland.
Lin Yang sat cross-legged on a large blue stone beside the spring. His eyes were lightly closed as he breathed long and deep, following a unique rhythm.
Within his body, soul power surged like a tide. With every breath, the viscous flow of the tide seemed to gradually solidify.
The entire process was long and tedious. There was no room for impatience.
Lin Yang had maintained this state for a full six months.
For more than half a year, his cultivation level had not advanced at all.
But only he knew how terrifying the soul power accumulated within him had become.
If his Demon God Body had not appeared after the second awakening, his body would have already collapsed and exploded.
Every meridian and every piece of flesh in his body contained immeasurable soul power.
And now, the situation had reached a critical juncture.
Even the slightest additional burden would cause him to burst like a punctured balloon.
"The time has come…"
When Lin Yang opened his eyes, two sharp rays of light shot out from his black pupils.
Within his dantian, the originally abundant liquid soul power had been compressed into a sphere the size of a fist.
Faint cracks covered its surface, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.
This was the most crucial moment.
If he succeeded, everything would go smoothly. But if he failed, even if he didn't lose his life, all his efforts over the past six months would be in vain.
Lin Yang took a deep breath and focused his mind. His spiritual energy wrapped around the sphere like threads, and the final compression began.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Every rotation and compression brought intense pain.
It felt as if a knife was mercilessly torturing him from within his dantian.
The veins on Lin Yang's forehead bulged, but his breathing remained steady and unhurried.
Lan Qin stood beside him, equally anxious, but there was little she could do except pray silently.
It was unclear how much time had passed, but suddenly, a terrifying aura that pierced the sky erupted from Lin Yang's body!
Invisible air waves surged outward, carrying a chillingly sharp force.
The mist above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was instantly torn apart, revealing the deep blue sky above.
Lan Qin had been fully prepared. The moment the attack began, the medicinal garden was already covered by a dense net of vines.
The sharp metallic force instantly severed the blue-silver vine net, but it quickly regrew and spread.
If one layer wasn't enough, two layers. If two layers weren't enough, ten layers.
The essence of the Blue Silver Emperor lay in its endless cycle of life.
At that moment, a golden soul core quietly floated at the center of Lin Yang's dantian, slowly rotating.
With every rotation, pure soul power overflowed, circulated throughout his body along his meridians, and then returned to condense once more.
The cycle repeated endlessly, and life continued without end.
The Ultimate Gold Soul Core was complete!
But that was not all.
In that instant, the soul power he had accumulated suddenly erupted and flowed into his soul core.
The soul core indiscriminately absorbed all of this soul energy.
Lin Yang's cultivation level also skyrocketed like a rocket.
Level 56.
Level 57.
Level 58.
In just a few breaths, Lin Yang's soul power broke through the barrier of level 59 before finally stabilizing.
A trace of regret flashed in Lin Yang's eyes.
Without the Ultimate Gold, he might have already reached level 60.
But even if he couldn't reach the peak, could he still condense a soul core?
That was the question.