Chapter 395 – Suppressing the Ancient Fiend's Remnant Soul

“What… what kind of magic treasure is this!”

Feeling his True Spirit being suppressed, the Thousand-Year Elder—or rather, the ancient Celestial Being known as Black Taisui—truly understood fear for the first time.

Had it been any other magic treasure, he might not have reacted so strongly.

But the Soul-Suppressing Bell, derived from the Soul-Gathering Bell, was the very treasure that countered him most effectively.

Though this damned little bell couldn’t directly suppress his True Spirit,

it could still restrain his True Spirit to the point where he couldn’t move easily.

One must understand that what he faced now wasn’t just Lu Chen’s Soul-Suppressing Bell, but also the overwhelming Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation and the Samadhi True Fire.

These two Great Divine Powers were equally effective against ancient Celestial Beings like him.

What capability did he, Black Taisui, possess to withstand these two Great Divine Powers along with this pseudo-Celestial Artifact, the Soul-Suppressing Bell, all at once?

Within the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, Lu Chen’s Sword Qi fell like a violent storm, continuously severing Black Taisui’s Physical Body.

Although Black Taisui’s Physical Body possessed astonishing regenerative abilities,

almost every time Lu Chen severed one of his tentacles, the fierce Samadhi True Fire would immediately follow.

Under the influence of the Samadhi True Fire, Black Taisui had to expend massive amounts of magical power

just to heal a single wound.

Originally, relying on his cultivation level far surpassing Lu Chen’s,

Black Taisui held an absolute advantage in this battle of attrition.

But with the appearance of the Soul-Suppressing Bell,

Black Taisui felt his thoughts becoming sluggish, and the circulation of magical power within his body growing extremely difficult.

He knew clearly that this was because his True Spirit was affected by the Soul-Suppressing Bell.

If not for his sufficiently powerful True Spirit that could resist the treasure’s power,

this single Soul-Suppressing Bell alone would have been enough to neutralize seventy to eighty percent of his abilities.

Even so, he could now barely exert ten to twenty percent of his full cultivation level.

He was being severely countered by the Soul-Suppressing Bell.

However, the root cause was that he had no knowledge of Lu Chen possessing this pseudo-Celestial Artifact, the Soul-Suppressing Bell.

Otherwise, he would never have given Lu Chen the opportunity to deploy this pseudo-Celestial Artifact.

He could even have preemptively cast some protective spells and Divine Abilities to shield his True Spirit.

But Lu Chen’s move was too sudden, too treacherous,

catching him completely off guard.

Feeling the rapid dissipation of his split soul within his body, Black Taisui’s mindset shifted from initial arrogance to genuine fear.

“Damnable Azure Clouds beast! You, a dignified Sword Immortal, actually resort to such despicable methods! Relying on magic treasure power—what kind of skill is that!”

Facing Black Taisui’s impotent rage, Lu Chen—who had transformed into the Law of Heaven and Earth—remained utterly calm.

It was nothing more than the barking of a mad dog.

Seeing that most of Black Taisui’s Dharma Body had already been severed, Lu Chen knew the time was almost right.

“Diting.”

“Woof!”

Answering Lu Chen’s call, Diting immediately emerged from Lu Chen’s Mountains and Seas Scroll.

Though Black Taisui didn’t understand what capabilities this creature—neither quite dog nor quite lion—possessed,

he knew that at this critical moment, Lu Chen wouldn’t summon it without reason.

This little dog must have some special purpose.

And soon, Black Taisui understood why Lu Chen had summoned Diting.

He watched as Diting ran to the top of the Soul-Suppressing Bell and seated itself upon it.

Then, under Black Taisui’s horrified gaze, Diting’s body began to grow translucent, eventually transforming into a sculptural relief of Diting on the surface of the Soul-Suppressing Bell.The Innate Nine Qi, formless and invisible, is the root of all things and the spirit of heaven and earth.

It is true that Lu Chen’s Soul-Suppressing Bell is a pseudo-Celestial Artifact.

But this is not due to any lack in the quality of the Soul-Suppressing Bell itself.

Rather, it is because the Soul-Suppressing Bell lacks a powerful artifact spirit.

Through normal means, Lu Chen would need at least several thousand to tens of thousands of years to nurture an artifact spirit within the Soul-Suppressing Bell.

But by employing alternative methods, this process could undoubtedly be greatly accelerated.

This method involves using something else to temporarily substitute for the Soul-Suppressing Bell’s artifact spirit.

What Lu Chen chose for this purpose was Diting.

Diting’s innate Nine Qi destined it to perfectly harmonize with the Soul-Suppressing Bell without any rejection.

Moreover, Diting’s current six-palace-level fate also qualified it to serve as the Soul-Suppressing Bell’s temporary artifact spirit.

Under these conditions, only with Diting present could the Soul-Suppressing Bell unleash its full power.

As Diting completely merged with the Soul-Suppressing Bell,

Black Taisui fell into despair.

Because he horrifically discovered that the previous stalemate between himself and the Soul-Suppressing Bell

was completely broken the moment Diting appeared.

“Wait, wait! I possess great treasures! I know many secrets! Spare my life, I promise—”

Watching as over half his body was already being sucked into the Soul-Suppressing Bell,

Black Taisui abandoned all dignity as a Celestial Being and began pleading pitifully.

Unfortunately, Lu Chen remained completely unmoved by these words.

After all, once Black Taisui was refined,

both his treasures and other ancient secrets would equally become Lu Chen’s possessions.

As for whether Black Taisui had any means to prevent Lu Chen from obtaining these,

Lu Chen wasn’t concerned.

With the Creation Pill Art—an Immortal technique—Lu Chen could even refine the great Dao itself,

let alone the remnant soul of an ancient Celestial Being who had been dead for who knows how many years.

“Capture.”

Granting Black Taisui no chance to resist,

Lu Chen’s Soul-Suppressing Bell soared high and completely enveloped Black Taisui’s entire form.

Amidst a whirlwind, Black Taisui’s body along with his True Spirit were drawn into Lu Chen’s Soul-Suppressing Bell.

At this point, Black Taisui was destined to cause no further trouble.

For a time, the previously chaotic Great Wilderness Pagoda returned to tranquility.

Lu Chen dispersed his Law of Heaven and Earth form and gazed at the Soul-Suppressing Bell hovering above his palm.

Because Black Taisui needed to be suppressed, Diting couldn’t yet separate from its Fusion state with the Soul-Suppressing Bell,

remaining seated atop the bell as its temporary artifact spirit.

Although Lu Chen had now subdued Black Taisui,

subduing him was one matter—completely eradicating him was another.

While Lu Chen’s methods were particularly effective against these ancient Celestial Beings,

completely killing a Celestial Being was still no easy task.

Celestial Beings who had devoured the Dao and transformed themselves into the Dao

were, in a sense, truly coeval with heaven and earth.

As long as the Dao they had devoured still existed between heaven and earth,

no matter how many times Lu Chen killed this Celestial Being, they would always resurrect at an appropriate time.

In this regard, Celestial Beings were no different from other Immortals.

The phrase “life span equal to heaven” wasn’t merely metaphorical—it was the hallmark of Immortals.

For now, he had only trapped Black Taisui; there remained considerable distance before he could refine him, let alone completely eradicate him.Moreover, Lu Chen suspected that this fellow likely had further contingencies.

It was entirely possible that this old undying creature had left behind soul fragments elsewhere to facilitate his Rebirth.

This wasn’t mere speculation on Lu Chen’s part—he had concrete reasons for thinking so.

After all, the Clone that Black Taisui had left behind in the Great Thousand Mountains was currently occupying the position of ‘Head Venerable’.

A Clone at the Transformation Soul Stage was clearly no ordinary duplicate.

Furthermore, Lu Chen even suspected that the ‘Five Crane Ascension Platform’ deep within the Great Thousand Mountains and the Flesh Lingzhi beneath it were both connected to Black Taisui.

Taking it to the extreme, perhaps that Flesh Lingzhi was Black Taisui’s true original form—the source of all his power.

The Thousand-Year Elder currently appearing in the Immortal Alliance was merely one of his more important Clones.

Upon careful consideration, if the Thousand-Year Elder were truly Black Taisui’s original form,

Lu Chen didn’t believe he would dare to come alone to the Immortal Alliance.

That would be completely inconsistent with his cautious and meticulous character.

But if it were merely a Clone, then everything made perfect sense.

Regardless, subduing a remnant soul of an ancient immortal like Gu Xian still offered Lu Chen considerable benefits.

If nothing else, once he fully refined this soul fragment,

Lu Chen would not only uncover many ancient secrets but also advance his Soul-Suppressing Bell further.

This was the greatest advantage of the Soul-Suppressing Bell as a Celestial Artifact.

“Now that the matter of the Great Wilderness Pagoda is resolved, the remaining task is how to handle the aftermath.”

“After all, the situation in the Immortal Alliance is growing increasingly unpredictable, and I must first deal with the probing from the Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital.”

“However, now that I know the origins of the Nine Luminaries Celestial Capital, resolving this matter shouldn’t be too difficult.”

With this in mind, Lu Chen channeled a portion of the Samadhi True Fire into the Soul-Suppressing Bell, further accelerating the refinement of Black Taisui.

Simultaneously, he stored it away and erased all traces of his battle with Black Taisui.

Of course, completely concealing the commotion here from outsiders was unrealistic.

But as long as he prevented interested parties from accurately discerning what had occurred, it would suffice.

After completing the cleanup, Lu Chen immediately departed from the area and headed toward the space where Xiao was.

Meanwhile, almost the instant Lu Chen used the Soul-Suppressing Bell to subdue Black Taisui,

the Head Venerable in the Great Thousand Mountains seemed to sense something. He abruptly ended his secluded cultivation, a look of astonishment on his face as he gazed in the direction of the Immortal Alliance.

‘Who? Who possesses such means to completely refine my Clone, to the point where I can no longer sense its existence?’

‘Weren’t Zuoqiu An and the others already dispatched to the Immortal Alliance and, according to plan, entered the Great Wilderness Pagoda?’

‘Unless a Great Vehicle Stage expert intervened, with my Clone’s strength and the Buddha Mother’s Treasure, even if multiple Transformation Soul Stage cultivators attacked together, my Clone should have been able to escape successfully.’

‘What unknown events have transpired in all this?’

‘Or have those few Mahayana Mortal Realm Immortals in the Immortal Alliance detected my arrangements and forcefully suppressed it?’

‘But I received no news of those old monsters beforehand—they shouldn’t have known about this.’

The more Black Taisui pondered, the more he felt that this plan had encountered far too many unforeseen variables.

He had clearly expended numerous soul fragments to calculate this thread of heavenly opportunity,

yet in the end, it had all been for nothing—like drawing water with a bamboo basket.

Not only was his Clone completely lost within the Immortal Alliance, its whereabouts unknown,

but he had also lost the Buddha Mother’s Treasure, forfeiting that crucial Primordial Qi.Inside and out, he had truly suffered a loss of epic proportions this time.

Although he felt some heartache over the losses incurred,

Black Taisui understood the principle of cutting losses in time.

Even though he clearly knew his Clone should still be somewhere within the Immortal Alliance,

he would never set foot near the Immortal Alliance again.

Seeking stability within stability, taking no risks whatsoever—

this was precisely how he had managed to survive from the great calamity until now.

It was worth noting that during that great heavenly and earthly calamity back then, there were countless ancient immortals and Immortals far more powerful than him.

Yet those fellows either perished or fell into slumber.

Instead, it was him—this utterly ordinary minor immortal—who had survived to this day.

“The current situation is treacherous; I absolutely must not act rashly again.”

“It’s better to wait until things become clearer before making further plans.”

As these words fell, a command swiftly issued forth from Crane Head Mountain.

The command was not complicated: it demanded that the five mountains of the Great Thousand Mountains remain behind closed doors,

especially forbidding any approach to the Immortal Alliance.

This showed the magnitude of the losses—Black Taisui had become somewhat like a startled bird.

Upon careful reflection, even his Clone had been suppressed.

The other three Revered Ones who entered the Great Wilderness Pagoda most likely fared no better.

Only Feather Venerable, who remained outside the city, might have a chance of returning safely.

Calculating this way, their Great Thousand Mountains had suffered the loss of four Transformation Soul Stage Revered Ones in this single event.

Such losses had reached a level severe enough to damage their foundation,

not something that could be recovered from in just a day or two.

And everything unfolded largely as Black Taisui had anticipated.

Not long after Lu Chen suppressed Black Taisui’s Clone within the Great Wilderness Pagoda,

the remaining Body Venerable and Foot Venerable were also successively suppressed.

Although these two possessed considerable abilities, they were ultimately operating on the Immortal Alliance’s home turf,

facing prepared high-level cultivators of the Immortal Alliance.

Their suppression was therefore to be expected.

With the events within the Great Wilderness Pagoda concluded,

the million-strong demon army outside the city completely withdrew.

Feather Venerable’s purpose this time had merely been to divert the Immortal Alliance’s attention from the three Revered Ones inside the Great Wilderness Pagoda,

preventing effective reinforcement.

In this regard, he had done everything within his power.

As for the rest, it was beyond his control.

Overall, this assault by the Great Thousand Mountains was all thunder but little rain—

not only failing to gain any advantage but also suffering casualties and losses,

leaving behind three high-level cultivators at the Transformation Soul Stage.

It was a thorough and decisive defeat.

Yet the outside world remained completely unaware of these events.

Just before the Great Thousand Mountains launched their attack, the Barren Wilderness Academy had preemptively cut off the live broadcast and teleported the audience away from the scene.

The official explanation given was that the battle between Lu Chen and Jiang Dongliu had been too intense, causing some damage to the Arena’s Formation within the Great Wilderness Pagoda that required urgent repairs.

Naturally, this explanation was full of holes—

after all, Lu Chen and Jiang Dongliu’s battle had clearly already concluded by then.

But even though people sensed something amiss,

the uninformed public of the Immortal Alliance still chose to believe the official account.

To divert public attention, the Immortal Alliance also intensified publicity for the Dao Academy competition,

particularly showering finalists Lu Chen and Jiang Dongliu with massive media resources.

For a time, even those old monsters who had been in seclusion for years came to know about these prominent figures in the Immortal Alliance.Even those outside the Immortal Alliance had come to know of it.

Take, for instance, the Corpse Fiend Cave located in the Forbidden Land known as the Ends of the Earth, east of the Immortal Alliance.

Deep within the colossal oceanic trench that spanned the horizon like an abyss,

an enormous coffin floated silently.

Within this coffin, comparable in size to a small continent, lay a world of its own.

A man whose features were indiscernible, exuding an aura of death from head to toe, silently perused a newspaper in his hands.

The headline prominently featured a black-and-white photograph of Lu Chen.

Gazing at the image, the man fell into deep contemplation, remaining wordless for a long time…

(End of Chapter)