Refine the soul

  (5000 words big chapter updated, brothers don't forget to vote for recommended tickets when reading books!)

  "Huoyun Valley is able to become one of the five resource points in the barbaric outer domain because of the existence of a spring called Xuanpin Huoyan. It is said that this fire eye was left over from the great war between the four tribes of immortals, gods, demons, and monsters in ancient times. As the saying goes, 'The valley god is immortal, it is Xuanpin, the gate of Xuanpin is the root of heaven and earth, it has been existing for a long time, and it is not used up even if used constantly...'"

  "Xuān pín huǒ yǎn is one of the original powers of the five elements fire, with it, you can cast all kinds of utensils, refine thousands of elixirs, forge the Fire Spirit Dao body, and cultivate any fire-type spiritual power to achieve a hundred successes. Its value is absolutely not lower than that of a top-grade treasure."

  "But this is just a rumor, after all. In the past thousand years, nearly a million cultivators have entered the Savage Wilds and arrived at Huoyun Valley, yet no one has ever found the Xuanmu Fire Eye. Let's just treat it as a legend to listen to, no need to take it seriously."

  Chu Yidao smiled faintly and said, "Legends aren't always just legends, Lu Shixiong. I didn't expect the Huoyun Nei Valley to be so vast. We've been here for over ten days now, I wonder if we've passed halfway."

  "It's almost time to head back, this trip has been quite fruitful. Since we killed that earth fire snake, more and more cultivators have entered the inner valley. If we stay any longer, I'm afraid we won't gain anything good."

  Lu Wanjian's words obviously also got Wang Bei Kong's recognition, nodded and expressed agreement.

  Xie Pianpian then put on an attitude of letting Chu Yu take charge, these days, this little girl has become more and more inseparable from the latter. However, to be honest, recently Xie Pianpian has restrained her arrogant and spoiled personality, which is really very endearing, at least Chu Yu now thoroughly regards her as his own woman.

  "Lu Shixiong's words are indeed correct, this time in Huoyun Valley, everyone has gained various spiritual materials, the value of which is absolutely over 1 million spirit stones, it should be time to return."

  Chu Yi first expressed her agreement, then turned to Xie and said: "Xie, you can go back to the sect with Lu Shixiong and Wang Shixiong. With them there, I can finally feel at ease."

  Xie Xiangxue's eyes sparkled with intelligence, and upon hearing this, her little nose scrunched up as she pulled on Chu Yu's arm, saying: "Aren't you coming back with us?"

  "I also want to stay here for a while longer, to hone myself and improve my skills."

  Chu Yi's eyes were filled with love as she gently grasped Xie Yun's hand, her soft voice asking: "Do you still remember the first promise I made to you?"

  Xie Xiangxiang revealed a heartfelt smile and nodded her head.

  "What I said must be done. I said I would protect you and not let others bully you, nor let you suffer any grievances..."

  Chu Yi's face turned serious: "But my strength is really poor, not even comparable to yours. How can I fulfill this promise? Cultivate, become stronger, strong enough that no one dares to provoke me, and anyone can be defeated by me. Perhaps only when I reach that level will I have the power to protect you."

  As Chu Yi finished speaking, the girl's thoughts surged like a tide and she buried her head in his chest, her teeth lightly opening to bite hard on his shoulder.

  All along, Xie Pianpian has given people the impression of being a arrogant and unreasonable, spoiled big sister.

  But since meeting Chu Yi, this man with extremely poor cultivation but always able to make surprising moves somehow managed to tame the arrogant young mistress into a gentle and virtuous little woman.

  "Remember you promised me, I'll be waiting for you at Tianxuan Peak in the sect."

  On Chu Yi's shoulder was a row of tight teeth marks, the girl didn't show any reluctance and threw out a sentence before turning around and leaving without any lingering attachment.

  But from her eyes, Chu Yi understood her thoughts, "Fang Fang doesn't want to have any attachments, with her stubborn personality, she can do this, it's really not easy."

  He watched as Lu Wan Jian, Wang Cang Qiong and Xie Pian Pian gradually disappeared into the distance. Chu Yi took a deep breath and shifted his gaze deeper into Huo Yun Gorge.

  ――――――――――――

  In the blink of an eye, another hundred days have passed in a hurry. Inside Huoyun Valley, it is always spring, and the scenery remains unchanged. The only change that has emerged is that there are gradually more cultivators in the valley.

  Recently, dozens of teams of monks have entered one after another, making the valley increasingly lively.

  Fortunately, Huoyun Nei Valley is vast in territory. Even if there were a thousand people inside it at the same time, the chances of running into each other wouldn't be too high. At most, one would just gain less spiritual materials.

  At this moment, a team of more than ten scattered cultivators is heading deep into the inner valley. Due to the fact that many cultivators have entered this place, everyone's gains are not ideal, so they venture deeper.

  Although everyone has already realized that the deeper they go into the valley, the more ferocious the monsters that appear are, and have even begun to threaten the safety of this sixteen-person team.

  But the pay is always proportional to the gain, without taking some risks, how can you reap a lot, wealth and honor are sought in danger, cultivators have never lacked sufficient adventurous spirit.

  "Peng brother, we've gone deep enough. Last time, if we hadn't hidden in time, we would have been wiped out by those two seventh-level demonic beasts. If we continue on, what if..." a cultivator said with concern.

  "King, you should go practice your courage too."

  The surname Peng's cultivator was clearly the leader of this scattered cultivator team, and his cultivation strength had already reached the initial stage of spiritual movement. Upon hearing this, he coldly said: "Before entering the barbaric outer domain, everyone had already agreed that if they didn't earn a few tens of thousands of spirit stones, they would not stop. Now that we've finally arrived at the Fire Cloud Inner Valley, why should we give up?"

  "Brother Peng is absolutely right, Old Wang. For us scattered cultivators to be able to enter the barbaric outer realm is already not easy. Although there are many heavenly materials and treasures here, they can't withstand the large number of people! Only by going deeper can we shake off the main forces and make a big profit."

  "Moreover, if we were to retreat for the sake of safety, what if we were to clash with other cultivator teams over the spiritual materials? Wouldn't that be even more terrible than running into a seventh-grade demonic beast?"

  Among the many cultivators, scattered cultivators are undoubtedly the most vulnerable group. They have no strong backing and not enough cultivation capital, everything has to rely on themselves.

  Now this scattered small team, from the Lingdong period to the Kaiguang period, has all kinds of cultivation. Although there are many people, the overall strength is not even as strong as the original four-person team led by Chu Yi. If it weren't for the fact that they had no other choice, why would they take the risk of venturing deeper into the valley where the demon beasts appear more frequently and the danger is greater?

  "Look quickly, what is it?"

  One of the team members pointed excitedly to a blood-colored giant stone lying across the road ahead, "The color is like blood, and the spiritual energy is rich, this is clearly a spiritual stone!"

  There were over ten people tall and several people hugging the Ling Stone, this discovery made the members of the team excited.

  "Damn it, such a large piece of spirit stone, how much is it worth?!"

  "You know what this stone is called Blood Linglong, it's an extremely rare and precious spirit stone, its value is more than ten times that of ordinary mid-grade spirit stones."

  "Isn't that a fortune..."

  After the adventure, they indeed gained a lot. As one of the decision-makers at the beginning, Mr. Peng was also very pleased and waved his hand: "Old rules, let's divide it on the spot."

  Sixteen loose cultivators flitted about, their figures flashing as they rapidly flew towards that enormous blood-colored spirit stone.

  Just as everyone was approaching the Blood Crystal, a deafening roar suddenly came from behind the blood-colored giant stone.

  But then a giant ape, about three zhang in height, with shiny black fur and a distinctive white tuft on its forehead, suddenly emerged and charged out.

  "It's terrible, it's a Seventh-Order Demon Beast gone berserk - a Violent Ape!"

  As the leading Peng surname cultivator hastily stopped in his tracks, he immediately took out a defensive top-grade artifact and shouted: "Elder Bai Mao, this madly transformed ape is already over a thousand years old, we are no match for it, retreat!"

  As the leader of the small team, Peng surname Shushi was indeed responsible for everyone. Even if the "Blood Linglong" was within reach, when facing a seventh-order demon beast, the only thing everyone had to do was to save their lives, not snatch the treasure.

  But many times, there are always some people who cannot objectively recognize themselves and will stick their heads out, especially under the temptation of "Blood Linglong".

  "Peng, if you're afraid, then hide aside! It's just a beast with a flat head. Are we going to let it take 'Blood Linglong' away from us? Whoever is brave, follow me and get rid of this beast! The more strength you put in, the more you'll get!"

  The one who shouted was a loose cultivator with a cultivation base of the ninth realm. In this team, his strength was second only to that of the Peng surname cultivator, and because he had an ordinary spiritual instrument, in terms of combat power, he was even stronger than the latter whose cultivation base was higher than his.

  "Congratulations, young brother, don't harm everyone." Peng surname repairman heard and couldn't help but angrily say.

  He Xiu's eyes widened as if he had not heard, and then he took the lead, taking out a clock-shaped magic treasure. This ordinary spiritual instrument was called "Ba Jue Duo Xiao Zhong" (Eight Extremes Soul-Stealing Bell), which was his family heirloom that he had spent all his wealth to obtain.

  There were not a few people who rushed forward with Xiu Shi, and their minds were not enough to swallow an elephant. Under the great temptation of "Blood Linglong", these people all had a mind to seek wealth and danger, let alone they had seen the shocking power of "Eight Absolute Spirit Bell" and pointed out that they could follow behind and muddy the water, when it was time to distribute "Blood Linglong", they must have their own share.

  Only four monks obeyed Master Peng's words and retreated, flying away into the distance.

  The Mad Ape is a descendant of the Ancient God Ape, with a hint of ancient blood in its body. It's an existence that can grow into a 9th-tier demon beast, or even a spiritual beast. Its innate divine abilities are far beyond those of ordinary 7th-tier demon beasts.

  This madly enraged giant ape has lived for a thousand years, and with another three to five hundred years of cultivation, it can break through to become an eighth-grade demon beast. This huge "Blood Linglong" is something it regards as its treasured possession, how could it allow outsiders to pry into it?

  The ape howled incessantly, and the body of the violent ape suddenly swelled to a height of about 16 meters, emitting a strong and fierce aura, causing all the beasts within several miles to flee in panic.

  Its entire body was covered in shiny black fur that stood on end, like steel needles. With its massive body, it suddenly took to the air and flew towards the front, where a huge foot with toes as large as round tables trampled down on the cultivator surnamed He.

  Such momentum, such a frantic state, is really chilling.

  At this moment, He Xiu was somewhat regretful of his previous impulsive action. In his haste, he raised the "Eight Extremes Bell" and with a turn of its body, eight strange lights appeared, condensing into a giant bell-shaped shadow that shot upwards.

  Bang

  The mighty and powerful condensed clock shadow was unable to withstand the violent ape's single step of force, transforming into specks of light halo, dispersing in mid-air.

  He Xiu thought that his ordinary spiritual artifact couldn't withstand the frenzied ape's attack, and he swiftly retreated. However, he shouted: "Brothers, let's work together! This beast has been injured by the 'Eight Extremes Soul-Devouring Bell', kill it and we'll split the Blood Lingual...!"

  The remaining ten monks who rushed up did not physically feel the horror of the frenzied ape, and in their opinion, He's retreat was a strategic withdrawal.

  Stimulated by "Ping Fen Xue Ling Long", everyone took out their own treasured skills and recklessly charged towards the crazed violent ape.

  A violent ape descended from the sky, its feet stomping down and causing the earth to shake for hundreds of meters around. Its thick arms, which seemed capable of tearing the earth apart, treated defensive magic tools as nothing, grabbing a cultivator in its hands.

  A slight pinch and one is gone.

  A multitude of monks' densely packed flying swords, magic treasures, and talismanic thunderbolts attacked, but the Violent Ape completely ignored them.

  These cultivators, who are rarely seen even in the Lingdong period, can't be moved by flying swords, let alone magical artifacts. Even ordinary spiritual instruments can withstand their attacks. How could Baoyan care about being hit by a few magical artifacts? It's just like scratching an itch.

  As for Fu Lei, it's even more ridiculous. The Crazy Ape has a few drops of the ancient divine beast "Violent Thunder God Ape" in its bloodline, and its innate divine ability is thunder-based. Those talismans are like mud cows entering the sea on its body.

  "Run..."

  In the time it took to take a few breaths, three monks were killed by the frenzied ape. The remaining ones didn't need to think twice and all staked their lives to flee in all directions.

  Compared to He Xiu Shi, these people were obviously not clever enough. At least the former knew how to use others to buy time for himself to escape. Once no one continued to entangle with the violent ape, this seventh-level demon beast's killing speed was even faster.

  Can't even fly in the vast wilderness outside, can run faster than a five-zhang-tall body with two legs, and is as agile as the wind, what kind of crazy ape is this?

  The answer is naturally affirmative.

  The frenzied ape made several leaps, flying and trampling, one leap over a hundred feet, in an instant the remaining scattered monks were trampled into minced meat, their deaths too gruesome to behold.

  At this time, the Peng surname monk had led the four monks following him to hide in a secluded place in the forest. The only He surname monk left in the violent ape's line of sight had also fled more than half a mile away.

  Killing ten people in a row, the violent ape pounded its chest and let out a loud roar, shocking everyone within several miles.

  He Xiu saw that the crazy ape didn't chase him, and he let out a slight sigh of relief. He also secretly praised his own clever move earlier. If it weren't for those ten ignorant cultivators who had taken the hit for him, he would probably have become a pile of minced meat by now, with not even bones left intact.

  "What a shameless scoundrel, he deserves to die."

  Suddenly a cold hum entered the ear of He Xiu, a young man with his upper body bare, revealing a strong and powerful muscle, flew over to him.

  "Where did this little brat come from, he's simply asking for death."

  The eyes of He Xiu, who had just calmed down, flashed with a fierce light, and the Eight Extremes Bell was taken out again. The bell's shadow was like a mountain, and it went crazy.

  "Destroy"

  That young man didn't dodge or evade, and with a simple punch, he unleashed a terrifying force that seemed to tear the air apart, thoroughly shattering Zhong Ying.

  "Damn it, Enlightenment of the Sixth Realm..."

  At this moment, He Xiu finally realized the strength of the incoming cultivator. Shocked and frightened, he simply released the Eight Extremes Devouring Soul Bell's true body, its power several times greater than before. Not seeking to harm anyone, but only to resist the incoming person, so as to allow himself to choose a path to escape.

  "It's actually a pretty ordinary spiritual artifact, but it can be used to test the results of my cultivation over the past hundred days."

  In the eyes of onlookers, there was a hint of disdain. This time, he didn't even throw a punch, instead directly charging forward with his body, attempting to face the Eight Extremes Devouring Soul Bell's attack head-on with his physical strength.

  The Eight Desolations Bell, although not the strongest in terms of attack power among ordinary spiritual artifacts, is after all a spiritual artifact, its might far surpassing that of magical tools. The bell's body shone with eight colors of strange light, and it collided with the young man who was charging forward at high speed.

  Boom

  The aftermath of this intense collision flattened an area of about thirty zhang in diameter, with eight colors bursting and disappearing instantly, followed by a dull thud of metal hitting the ground.

  "The Eight Extremes Shattering Heaven Bell" shattered into two halves in this intense collision, crashing to the ground with a loud noise.

  Looking back at the young man who had rushed forward with his life, a faint golden light emanated from around him, and he seemed completely unbothered.

  "It's a bit painful, this mouthful of bell indeed has some doorways."

  Mr. He was stunned on the spot, and after witnessing this unthinkable scene, he couldn't even think of escaping.

  At the same time, the Blood Linglong's furious ape, which was pounding its chest and roaring, was also startled by this huge sound. A pair of copper bell-like blood-red eyeballs stared tightly at a distance, standing up on two legs.

  A hole of about one foot deep was trampled on the solid ground, and the violent ape flew away with a body of five zhang, like a small hill rushing past.

  "You big gorilla, no need to rush."

  A young man's eyes flashed with a fierce light, a kind of radiance that only battle-crazed warriors would possess. Born to fight, live to fight, and die to fight!

  He Xing was currently sandwiched between a young man and a frenzied ape, one side with an aura of evil, the other with a fierce battle intent, being stuck in the middle felt terrible, He Xing even felt like he had one foot in the gates of hell, under such oppressive pressure, he couldn't even move.

  "Killing you would sully my hands, destroying one of your precious spiritual artifacts is a lesson. If you want to regain face in the future, remember that I am Chu Yi, the pure and supreme master of the Xuanyang Sect's Chunjun Peak, scram."

  A young man let out a long whistle, and two residual shadows appeared, charging forward at an inhumanly terrifying speed. With a casual motion, he sent the Ge surname cultivator who was blocking his path flying far away.

  Bang

  Bao Yuan and Chu Yi finally collided heavily, the two figures differed greatly in size, but the result of this collision clearly showed that their powers were evenly matched.

  "Is this still human?" exclaimed Peng, a Taoist priest who had been hiding nearby.

  A female cultivator beside him widened her eyes and said, "Brother Peng, that person claims to be a member of the Supreme Profound Yang Sect, one of the nine great sects, with strength far surpassing same-stage cultivators!"

  "I don't understand what you're talking about. As a cultivator, we cultivate divine powers and treasure-refining flying swords. When have you ever seen a cultivator engage in close combat with someone to this extent? Such a person would surely be extremely famous even within the Supreme Profound Yang Sect."

  "Is this really Chu Yat's painting?!"

  "I really can't recall anyone like that in the Supreme Mysterious Yang Sect..." The female cultivator furrowed her brow and shook her head.

  "Never mind all that, Hè's surname has killed so many of our brothers, others may have let him off, but we can't."

  Peng surname cultivator let out a cold snort, his eyes fixed on He surname cultivator who was struggling to get up not far away.

  A flying sword with a bright blue glow was sacrificed, transforming into a blue rainbow that flew out and easily beheaded the defenseless He surname cultivator.

  On the other hand, Chu Yi and Kuang Hua Bao Yuan were in a fierce battle, which had already entered a white-hot stage.

  (5200 words big chapter updated, brothers don't forget to vote for recommended tickets while reading!)