Chapter 987 : A Wisp of Will in the Blood Sea

"To be each other's tribulation..."

Eldrin Chen felt the intent of the Heaven and Earth Will [the collective consciousness and ordained fate of the world], yet he remained silent, standing there in profound stillness.

After a long while, he suppressed the swirling thoughts in his heart and continued speaking softly, "My disciple's soul has scattered to the winds. I wonder if there is still any chance for salvation."

The Heaven and Earth Will remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "In ages past, Sylas Ye made a great vow: he would not ascend to immortality until the Blood Sea [a vast, malevolent ocean of blood and malice] was cleansed. A wisp of his will remains anchored within the Eastern Wilderness [the vast, untamed eastern continent] and the Blood Sea."

"However, his True Spirit [the core, indestructible essence of a being's spirit] has likely already descended into the Netherworld [the underworld, realm of the dead]. To rely on this faint, insignificant wisp of will to call his True Spirit back and thereby reconstitute his Primordial Spirit [the unified spiritual core formed from the three souls]... that will be no easy task."

Upon hearing this, Eldrin Chen's brow furrowed slightly. All living beings in heaven and earth possess three treasures: the physical body, the soul, and the True Spirit.

The physical body is precious, serving as the vessel for consciousness within the mortal realm. It carries a cultivator's Divine Soul [the unified consciousness and spiritual essence] and Primordial Spirit, acting as an indispensable raft to ferry one across the worldly sea before achieving the Dao and immortality.

The Divine Soul is where the consciousness of all beings resides, with the Life Soul [the soul of life and vitality] as its primary component. When merged with the Heaven and Earth Souls [the celestial and terrestrial souls], it forms a cultivator's Primordial Spirit.

This Divine Soul is the seat of a cultivator's Dao Fruit [the culmination of one's cultivation path and enlightenment] and is the very foundation of their being. Once the Divine Soul is lost, the remaining flesh is but an empty shell.

Therefore, a cultivator's Divine Soul is of paramount importance. As long as it is not utterly annihilated, even if only a remnant soul falls into the cycle of reincarnation, there remains a possibility to recover one's memories and reclaim one's true self. Continue your cultivation journey at audio–novel.com.

Among the Three Treasures [the three fundamental aspects of a cultivator's being: Essence, Qi, and Spirit], the True Spirit [the indestructible, primordial core of a being's existence] is the most mysterious and truly indelible existence.

Legends speak that the True Spirit is immortal and imperishable; not even a Great Luo Golden Immortal [the highest realm of immortal cultivation] could utterly erase it. Even if a cultivator's soul is scattered to the winds, a single wisp of their True Spirit can enter the cycle of reincarnation and eventually nurture a new Divine Soul [the spiritual consciousness and identity formed around the True Spirit].

Yet, this newly born Divine Soul bears no connection to its past incarnation. Even if it were to achieve immortality and enlightenment once more, it would no longer be the person of before, its former memories forever lost.

In that battle, Sylas Ye's Divine Soul was utterly annihilated. Only a single strand of his True Spirit entered the Netherworld [the underworld, the realm of the dead and reincarnation]. Should that True Spirit one day reincarnate, it would not be the Sylas Ye they knew.

It was precisely for this reason that Eldrin Chen was filled with such profound grief.

Now, hearing the Heaven and Earth Will [the collective consciousness or ordained fate of the world itself] declare that a wisp of Sylas Ye's will was anchored within the Eastern Wilderness Blood Sea, Eldrin Chen could not help but reveal a flicker of wild hope.

However, relying solely on the power of a mere wisp of will to retrieve Sylas Ye's True Spirit from the depths of the Netherworld would be a task as difficult as scaling the heavens themselves.

Even though Eldrin Chen could now be considered an Immortal walking the mortal realm, he likely lacked the power to accomplish such a feat.

Yet, even so, this was the only chance Eldrin Chen saw in his eyes.

"Perhaps there is still a chance."

Eldrin Chen murmured, his expression grave as he spoke, "If we could use that wisp of will to call back the remnants of Qingfeng's soul..."

"...and then, with a world-shaking method, reshape his Divine Soul [the highest spiritual essence of a cultivator], perhaps we could find for him a single chance at the Reincarnation Tribulation [the perilous process of reincarnating with one's memories and cultivation base intact]."

The Heaven and Earth Will [the collective consciousness and governing force of the world] trembled slightly upon hearing this. After a moment, it replied helplessly, "To retrieve his True Spirit [the core, indestructible spirit of a being] relying on merely a wisp of will... I fear not even an ordinary Earth Immortal Progenitor [a supreme cultivator who has attained immortality while remaining on earth] could necessarily accomplish it."

"Your Law of Life [the supreme principle governing vitality and creation], while it is among the mightiest of the Laws of the Dao [the fundamental cosmic principles that govern reality], ultimately still has its limits."

"I understand..."

Eldrin Chen whispered in agreement, then nodded. "That is why I must become stronger. If I can comprehend five Laws of the Dao, and wield the power of the Primordial Chaos Limitless Law [the ultimate art born from the fusion of multiple cosmic laws], perhaps I can wrest his True Spirit back from the grasp of the Lord of the Netherworld [the realm of the dead and departed souls]."

"The Primordial Chaos Limitless Law!"

Even the supremely impartial Heaven and Earth Will seemed to pause for a moment, as if struck by a flicker of astonishment.

It remained silent for a long while before speaking again, its voice measured. "His True Spirit has made its Initial Entry [first, irrevocable step] into the Netherworld. It will be cast into the cycle of reincarnation swiftly, within a century, or slowly, within a Millennium [a period of one thousand years]. Your time is short."

"It is enough."

Eldrin Chen murmured to himself, and then his Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] transformed into a streak of light and departed. Between the spinning of heaven and earth, he returned to his physical body.

After his return, Eldrin Chen immediately went into the Eastern Wastes Blood Spring and sought out a wisp of will left by Sylas Ye.

Thereafter, he turned and flew deep into the endless earth, finding Lyra Jiang who was recuperating from her injuries within the boundless Netherworld [a dark, underworld realm].

"Husband!"

Seeing Eldrin Chen, Lyra Jiang was quite moved.

Eldrin Chen shook his head, then channeled the power of the Law of Life [a fundamental principle governing vitality and creation] to heal her. Read the full novel exclusively on audio-novel dot com.

In this battle, Lyra Jiang had been gravely wounded. Her Lunar Immortal Physique [a rare, moon-aligned cultivation constitution] was severely damaged. Even with Eldrin Chen's Law of Life, he could not fully restore her in a short time.

Only after her injuries had stabilized did Eldrin Chen withdraw his hand.

A long while later, Lyra Jiang's wounds were mostly healed. Gazing at Eldrin Chen's white hair, her heart ached, and she asked tenderly, "Husband, what shall we do next?"

"Comprehend the Dao, and ascend to Immortality!"

Eldrin Chen was utterly serene, stepping forward with an air of tranquil detachment.

Having secluded himself in cultivation for several centuries, Eldrin Chen had not only perfected the Primordial Indestructible Golden Body but had also seized the opportunity to comprehend the power of the Primordial Celestial Metal Law. He was now merely A Step Away from grasping five distinct Laws of the Dao.

To simultaneously cultivate five Laws of the Dao and awaken the power of the Primordial Chaos Limitless Law—his foundational accumulation was more than sufficient. All that remained was the final, elusive spark of enlightenment. Now, Eldrin Chen felt a profound intuition; that final step was no longer distant.

With this thought, he drew a deep breath and took Lyra Jiang's hand. "Walk with me," he said. "Let us see the mortal world together, one last time before ascending to immortality."

"Yes…"

Lyra Jiang nodded, her grip on his hand tightening.

Eldrin Chen led Lyra Jiang towards the Myriad Ruins Continent. Unnoticed by time, they arrived before a nameless ancient cliff on Verdant Chariot Mountain.

Gazing at the solitary, unnamed precipice, Eldrin Chen smiled at Lyra Jiang. "I remember, in my youth, I would come here at dawn and midnight every day to draw in the energies of the morning mists and moonlight, refining them into Primordial Essence [the purest, most fundamental form of spiritual energy]."

"Who would have thought that in the blink of several Millennium [a period of one thousand years], heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers would change, people would come and go, yet this humble ancient cliff remains utterly unchanged."

"Silas has been most thoughtful," Lyra Jiang said, her eyes softening with a hint of emotion before she sighed. "I heard that for these past Millennium, she has visited this place every year, nurturing the mountain itself with her Mana [the refined spiritual power wielded by high-level cultivators]."

Upon hearing this, Eldrin Chen's eyes flickered slightly, but in the end, he said nothing more.

The two descended Verdant Chariot Mountain, passing by familiar places like Spirit Isle Lake, Yuyang Market, and Verdant Ink Mountain along the way. Before they knew it, they had arrived at Celestial Ruins Mountain.

Though this mountain had long since changed beyond recognition, Eldrin Chen could still faintly discern the old visage of the former Celestial Ruins Mountain.

And within this vast and untamed Great Wilderness, snow had begun to fall at some unknown moment, seemingly recreating the scene of days long past.

Recalling that this was where they had first met, where their story had begun, Eldrin Chen could not help but chuckle wryly. "I still remember back then, you were already the foremost Purple Mansion [the third major realm of cultivation, where one forms a spiritual mansion within their dantian] expert in the Chu Kingdom, while I was merely a minor Qi Refinement [the foundational realm of cultivation, focused on refining one's vital energy] cultivator."

"I truly never imagined then that you and I would end up walking this path together."

Lyra Jiang unfurled a paper umbrella, her grace and bearing now surpassing what they had been a thousandfold in the past. She took Eldrin Chen's hand and soared with him to the peak of a nameless, desolate mountain.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with him, gazing upon the solemn, silver-clad Vast and Boundless Wilds, she finally spoke with a smile. "I, Lyra Jiang, have always lived by my own heart's desires. Why should I care about differences in cultivation or status?"

"Looking at today, the choice I made back then was not wrong."

Speaking to this point, a wave of inexplicable emotion washed over her. "We cultivators spend our lives in pursuit of the Dao. A fleeting few Millennium [a period of one thousand years], or even tens of thousands of years, are but a wisp of smoke before our eyes. What is most precious is never forgetting one's original intent."

"Looking back now, I have fulfilled that vow." Experience the full epic at audio-novel*com.