Chapter 76: The Illuminating Soul Realm
Perrin lay on the black gravel with a look of despair in his eyes.
“Something must be wrong,” Perrin said to himself. He was confused about what was happening.
Yet, he couldn't figure out what the issue was.
When Perrin was at the Luo Clan, he made tremendous progress as he had consumed one of the only two Magical Pills owned by the clan. After he joined Cloud Sect, Perrin became acquainted with the Wang Clan. He then used Yan to acquire benefits from Vale. In this way, he had reached the level of nature creature in a short time.
From among the members of the Luo Clan, Zen's father, Mike, had been the only one to attain the status of a nature creature.
Once his father and uncle assumed control of the clan, Perrin had naively imagined that his future would be bright and smooth.
He had compelled the elders in the clan to allow him to consume a Magical Pill as he had envisioned using his new strength to revitalize the Luo Clan and earn the reputation of being the most influential clan in C County.
But today, Zen had defeated Perrin after only a few rounds. His dream had shattered.
“I'm a nature creature. Why am I so vulnerable? How could I be defeated by a person who is only at the marrow refining level?” Perrin muttered to himself. He stared at Zen with vacant eyes.
“All your achievements are useless. The only reason you have reached this far is because of the power of pills,” replied Zen. A cold smile danced on his face for a brief moment. Then, sadness reflected in his eyes.
Among the noble clans, many people like Perrin had reached high refining levels by taking pills, but they lacked practical experience. They would lose when confronted by cultivators like Zen who had been in actual combat.
After saying that, Zen turned his head and rapidly blinked his eyes. He didn't want the others to see his emotions.
If his father hadn't been killed, Zen would never have hurt Perrin. After all, Perrin was his cousin. They were both children of the Luo Clan.
But, Zen's uncles, blinded by power and greed, had led the revolt within the Luo Clan and in the process, murdered Zen's father. Ever since Zen had sworn to avenge his father's death.
“Billy, I have defeated Perrin. Are you going to avenge him?” Zen turned to Billy and asked. On the day of the initial exam, Billy had helped Perrin by instigating four men to kill Zen. From that day on, Zen disliked Billy.
Billy was ready to charge at Zen, but Vale stopped him. Surprised, Billy pouted and said, “Brother, this bloke is so arrogant. He not only defeated Perrin, but he has also dared to challenge us. Are we just letting him go?”
Vale shook his head before walking toward Zen. “Though you are only at the marrow refining level, you have shown commendable courage. Very good! You are truly Yan's brother! Both of you are equally gifted,” Vale praised Zen. Billy's mouth gaped open when he heard Vale.
Vale had just bowed to Zen three times. And now, he was praising Zen. Billy knew that Vale was enduring Zen's hostility for Yan's sake.
Zen had scolded Vale, but Vale had pretended as though he hadn't been offended. In view of Vale's reaction, Zen believed him to be a very calculating person.
“But,” Vale's soft tone rose, and his gentle eyes sharpened at once.
At this time, Vale began to release his homicidal intent of lotus. The soft rays of light on Vale's body became sharp and stiff, like a hedgehog's quills. Then Zen felt a prickling sensation.
“As Yan's brother, you can't go to the top of torture Mountain, let alone rescue her. There are only a handful of people in Cloud Sect who can help Yan escape from Hell Mountain. And I, Vale, am one of those people. I would like to know why you said that I am not good enough for Yan,” said Vale.
At the same time, the homicidal intent of lotus emanating from Vale's body pressed toward Zen. Had Zen's soul not been strong, it would have been difficult for him to withstand the attack.
“You are great, but what can you do to me?” asked Zen fearlessly. Then, with a shake of his head, Zen continued, “Yan is my sister. Of course, I will rescue her. I don't want to bother others with our problems.”
Hearing what Zen said, Vale chuckled and replied, “You're only at the marrow refining level. Perrin is at the first grade of the nature level. It is fantastic that you were able to defeat him. However, you are as weak as an ant in front of me. Be humble, okay? If you were not Yan's brother, I wouldn't even be talking to you,” said Vale scornfully.
As he spoke, a delicate flower bud appeared on Vale's shoulder. Within moments, it blossomed into a beautiful pink lotus.
After the lotus bloomed, an intense white light shone from Vale's body.
By now, the sun had set, and darkness descended over the mountain. The light beam from Vale illuminated one side of torture Mountain.
Everyone was attracted to the light.
Even the dedicated cultivators on Hell Mountain cast an astonishing look toward this light.
“Who is burning his life vitality? It seems like he is powerful!” claimed a man.
“He is a cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm! What astounding skills he has! What is he doing here on Hell Mountain?” asked the other.
“At Cloud Sect, the disciples dressed in purple are the top-notch who have special masters to teach them. And that man in the white robe is an outer disciple,” replied an experienced man among them.
“It's impossible. How dare an outer disciple be so bold? It would be easy for a cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm to kill an outer disciple. Oddly enough, he is burning his life vitality against a weak outer disciple.”
The people on Hell Mountain whispered among themselves. They were greatly concerned about what was happening.
It was rumored that a person at the Illuminating Soul Realm
was a more powerful life-being than a nature creature!
From among the hundreds of thousands of disciples at Cloud Sect, only a small number of people could reach this realm. And each was a purple-robed disciple.
The onlookers couldn't figure out why the man at the Illuminating Soul Realm needed to display such power when dealing with a weaker opponent.
Generally speaking, a cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm could kill an outer disciple with only one finger.
“That poor outer disciple must be frightened to death,” stated one of the bystanders.
After Zen had left, Master Su secluded herself in a pavilion at Drizzle Peak and watched his every move on the picture slab.
Through the picture slab, Master Su was able to get a better understanding of everything that was happening with Zen.
“You brat! You are a real troublemaker,” Master Su murmured even though Zen was not around to hear her. Master Su looked northwest and frowned. Even from this distance, she could see the light column emitted by Vale.
“I don't care whether you survive or not. Since you think you're so good, figure out a solution to the situation in which you find yourself! He's such a pain in the neck,” Master Su said to herself angrily.
Zen was a talented disciple, but he was stubborn and refused to heed her advice.
In fact, none of the masters of Cloud Sect had much control over their disciples. In general, there was no tangible mentoring relationship between masters and disciples at Cloud Sect. Only some special disciples could be taught by masters personally.
Therefore, Zen didn't have to listen to Master Su. Her anger at Zen's disobedience was due to her temperament.
Master Su gritted her teeth as she glared at Zen's resolute face in the picture slab again. After a few seconds, she left the pavilion and took a flying chariot to Perdition Mountain.
On a peak of torture Mountain, Yan sat on a rock and played with her slingshot. She was immersed in happy memories, and a sweet smile danced on her lips.
Since her imprisonment on Hell Mountain, Yan had little else to do. Her childhood memories were her greatest treasure on such days.
All of a sudden, a white light illuminated the mountainside. Yan turned in the direction of the light.
'Is Vale burning his life vitality? Is he fighting with someone?' Yan focused her eyes on the light and frowned.
Although the distance was long, Yan was able to see every person on the mountainside.
First, she glanced at Vale. Then she moved her eyes from Vale to the man standing in front of Vale.
'The man is in a white robe. Is he an outer disciple? Who dares to challenge Vale so boldly?' Yan wondered.
When Yan saw the face of the outer disciple, her eyes widened in astonishment.
To her surprise, the outer disciple was her beloved elder brother, Zen. “Brother!” Yan couldn't help shouting though she knew that Zen wouldn't be able to hear her from that distance.
Even though she hadn't met Zen in years, how could she forget her brother's appearance?
'My brother is on Hell Mountain. What is he doing here? When did he arrive?
My cousin, Perrin, did not tell me that Zen was coming to Perdition Mountain. Perrin didn't even mention that my brother is at Cloud Sect. Why didn't he tell me?
And what's happening between my brother and Vale?'
Yan's mind filled with questions. However, she had no time to consider.
The most pressing problem was that Zen was confronting Vale who was at the Illuminating Soul Realm. As Zen was just an outer disciple, the pressure of Vale's life vitality would kill him soon.
Thinking about this, Yan became anxious and couldn't sit still.
“No, no! Don't hurt my brother!” cried Yan.
Without hesitating, she jumped down.
The moment Yan jumped off the cliff, an energy junction connected by several hexagons appeared under her.
The energy junction quickly formed a semicircular wall that blocked Yan.
“Oh, no! The six-pointed star array!”
Yan shouted in disappointment.
Yan knew that a six-pointed star array constrained her on Hell Mountain.
Since Yan had never thought of escaping she had never actively triggered the six-pointed star array before. At a time of crisis, she did not expect to be stopped by the array.
Yan glanced at Vale and Zen again nervously. Since he was just an outer disciple, Zen couldn't hold on for long. She had no choice but to rescue her brother.
“I'm gonna tear it apart,” said Yan with a determined look.
After a deep breath, Yan focused her energy on her fingertips. Then she stretched her long, slender fingers and poked the hexagonal energy junction.
Although it seemed as though her action was gentle, she had actually used a tremendous amount of power.
“Kirik!”
The three connected hexagons broke up at once after Yan's action.
However, the six-pointed star array was a very strong defensive array.
As soon as it had broken, another three hexagons formed, which blocked the gap immediately.
'Darn it! What shall I do?' Yan thought with despair.
She was absolutely frantic by now.
With no other alternatives, Yan repeatedly tried to break the array. However, the six-pointed star array repaired itself again and again.
No matter how many times Yan tried, the energy emitted by the array didn't diminish. It seemed as though the array could repeat this cycle endlessly. This situation baffled Yan as she had no way to free herself and aid Zen.
All this while, Zen stood rooted in his spot. He calmly faced the enormous pressure from Vale. Even though an ordinary disciple would have been crushed, Zen stood erect with no sign of yielding.
Zen realized this kind of pressure had gone beyond the scope of life energy. It was even stronger than the life vitality of a nature creature.
'Vale is only releasing a small amount of pressure. And yet, I am having trouble enduring this pressure. He may have surpassed the level of nature creatures, ' Zen thought.
Zen didn't know that Vale was a strong cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm until now.
“Have you not realized the gap in the strength between you and me? I can kill you with just one finger. Despite my power, it's challenging for me to rescue Yan from Hell Mountain, let alone you. You can't even get to the top of Mountain. It's funny that you are so self-righteous,” Vale teased Zen.
Several pink lotuses bloomed and withered at Vale's feet, as though in an endless cycle, as he spoke.