Chapter 1000 The Second Experience
Shortly after realizing he had entered the Astral Soul Realm, Leon understood what he had to do right away.
"According to the last experience, there's a fixed time before the realm guardian appears and banishes me from the Astral Soul Realm. Thus, before that happens, I only have a limited time to absorb the pure soul energy of this place."
Leon recalled.
Nevertheless, he didn't feel much pure soul energy in his present location. He had to reach the surface quickly and absorb the pure soul energy in a richer area.
Once Leon understood that, he immediately left the ice warehouse.
However, the entrance to the underground space was already sealed the last time they left the Radiant Heaven Realmship.
Furthermore, Leon couldn't contact the realmship to teleport him to the surface in his astral form. They weren't in the same dimension.
Even though they were spiritually connected, Leon couldn't feel Tak-si's existence at all while he was in the Astral Soul Realm.
Even worse, Leon couldn't use any of his previous abilities.
Leon knitted his brows as he sought a solution in the underground space.
"This is the world of souls. Thus, everything is operated by the power of the soul…" Leon mused before his eyes suddenly brightened with a sharp light.
In that instance, Leon's astral body started to float in the air.
"As expected, the power of the soul is the power of one's will. My will dictates my movements in the Astral Soul Realm," Leon muttered.
The Astral Soul Realm was a spiritual realm. As such, it wasn't bound by physical laws.
After Leon's started floating, he flew straight at the underground ceiling with narrowed eyes and phased through the earth as he had hoped.
Within moments after reaching the surface, Leon narrowed his eyes again as he made another discovery about the Astral Soul Realm.
The sky within the Astral Soul Realm was not filled with dark clouds like he would have expected the sky within the realmship to be.
Instead, the monochrome world of the Astral Soul Realm had a clear sky of the vast void, filled with countless souls traversing towards the same destination, the grey core region.
"I see… According to my point of entry, the surrounding changes. However, the overall Astral Soul Realm will always be the same," Leon understood.
In other words, the surrounding region of realmship was formed based on the memory of his last location.
"Did I unconsciously replicate the realmship's western region with my soul power in this realm?" Leon wondered.
Nevertheless, Leon quickly shook his head and pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
"I'm wasting precious time. It's not too late to think about it after the guardian kicks me out of this place," Leon said to himself.
Shortly after, Leon quickly found himself a spot on top of a hill, allowing him to see more of the western region in the west and the Bone Sea in the east.
However, Leon didn't see all of them. The land only extended to a certain point before it was cut off by the boundless void.
In other words, the current land Leon was situated on was like a giant cut-off landmass floating in the vast void of the Astral Soul Realm.
If he didn't enter the Astral Soul Realm, the entire land would not have existed. But because he did enter the Astral Soul Realm, the land suddenly existed.
Thus, even if Leon hid in the underground space, the realm guardian would still be attracted to investigate the land.
Leon quickly extended his senses and pulled in all the pure soul energy he could muster with his power of will.
He absorbed hundreds of pure soul energy wisps and immediately felt the benefit; his power of will became more potent, and his mind gained greater clarity.
Leon couldn't quite explain the feeling, but if he had to put it into words, it felt like a dull star lighting up and illuminating the dark void around it.
His soul was growing without a doubt. However, it was more than just the growth of his soul.
It was like…
"My existence is being recognized… But by what? By the universe itself?" Leon mused, but he didn't stop absorbing the pure soul energy from the surroundings for even a moment.
Alas, all good times will eventually have to come to an end.
A grey shooting star flew over and crashlanded on the ground at the bottom of the hill.
Shortly after, the grey orb of pure soul energy transformed into Leon's late father, the Divine Medicine King, Heinrich Escladus.
"Using my late father's appearance again… You are truly asking for a beating…!" Leon spat with a gloomy look.
It wasn't so bad if the realm guardian mimicked his father's normal appearance.
However, what the realm guardian mimicked was his father's bloodied and fragmented appearance moments before his death.
This invoked the most painful memory in Leon's life and also infuriated him.
The realm guardian was practically making fun of his late father!
"Dammit, if you weren't so powerful, I'd definitely sock the sh*t out of you!" – is what Leon said, but he would also feel conflicted hitting his father's face.
Nevertheless, the realm guardian gave Leon no further time to absorb the boundless pure soul energy of the Astral Soul Realm.
It raised its hand and made a grasping gesture at Leon before he helplessly flew over into its grasp like a powerless doll.
Leon stared at the realm guardian dead-set in the eyes with defiance and spat, "Don't think that I will go down as easily as last—"
Before he could finish speaking, the realm guardian's mouth expanded and devoured Leon's astral body whole in an instance.
Darkness blotted out his consciousness.
By the time Leon regained his senses, he had already returned to reality, lying in the broken white bed with Faelyn sleeping in his arms.
'F*ck!' Leon inwardly cussed.
He didn't think he would be killed by the realm guardian so quickly.
'It seems like as I grow stronger, the realm guardian will also grow stronger alongside me… Is the realm guardian supposed to be an impossible obstacle to overcome?'
Leon frowned in wonder.