The world was vast and endless and there were countless immortals. Many lost their lives every day but even more rose to fill the ranks. Such an important book that every new Spirit Lord needed remained so tightly controlled because of a single reason, human greed.
Every mortal wanted to become a spirit lord and at the same time, every immortal at the higher realms also wanted the new spirit lords for themselves. Any Spirit King or higher cultivator could easily teach the contents of the book but they would only do so for their disciples. The Immortal Association was no different and the book was a ploy to try and gather loose cultivators under their banner.
Chen Wentian ended up owing Gong Liyun a favor for the book, but this didn't mean he would be subject to her whims. If she requested something too distasteful from him then he would simply pay the borrowing fee and ignore her. Still, having a supporter in the association was convenient even if that support was ambiguous.
The book was very long-winded and had a lot of mumbo jumbo with it. Chen Wentian slogged through the archaic and mind-numbing paragraphs for days until the key concepts gradually became clear. He was surprised that it was much more straightforward than he expected.
Each immortal realm had what was called the Seven Stages of Spiritual Strengthening. For one that just entered the Spirit Lord Realm or a new immortal realm, they were considered to be at the first stage. Each stage involved improving their spiritual sea through meditation, improving on their Dao, and gathering spiritual energy.
Reaching the seventh stage took six strengthenings while the breakthrough to the next realm was the seventh and last strengthening. This required even more effort and spiritual energy, enough to expand their spiritual sea many times wider. Once this happened, one would receive a huge boost to their lifespan and power. The whole process was then repeated all over again in the new realm.
Seven was a powerful number in the world of cultivation. There were seven immortal realms; lord, king, emperor, overlord, master, saint, and demigod. There were seven colors in the rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet. Seven Stages of Spiritual Strengthening… Seven days were in a week… There were also myths and legends of the seven heavens and the seven hells. Nobody knew why but everyone accepted these coincidences.
Chen Wentian was extremely powerful he was still at the first stage and had barely cultivated at all since entering the Spirit Lord Realm. Spiritual energy improved and increased after each stage but it did not always correlate to combat power. That still ultimately depended on experience, mastery of martial arts, and the power of one's immortal Dao or bloodline.
For example, Mei Qiaofeng, the snake lady, most likely reached the higher stages but she was still weaker than Chen Wentian. It was unclear what stage Murong Aiyin and Fen Jue had reached but it could not have been high considering their pitiful performances. There were always strong cultivators out there in the world but Chen Wentian still had not found anyone in the Spirit Lord Realm that could match him.
Chen Wentian did not want to spent years meditating and gathering spiritual energy. His treasure weapons and armor didn't really help him cultivate. He also did not have enough spiritual crystal, not at the amounts needed for a breakthrough. But he didn't have to worry for long because he realized his heaven-defying soul art already had the answer…
Chen Wentian finished with the book and immediately returned to the sect. He entered his private cultivation room and prepared to undergo his first strengthening. He laid down a myriad of shadow anchors and sealed the room so no one would bother him. The most complex cultivation array was drawn, supported by all the remaining orange spiritual crystal he had. And the resources needed? It had already fallen into his hands inadvertently.
He closed his eyes and entered his soul space, the endless black void filled with tiny stars. His body materialized in front of two foggy masses floating in empty space.
One was split apart into many tiny strands, spinning around the center randomly. It emitted soft moans of anguish and despair like an eerie song.
"Son… son…"
The other was solid and looked like a person. It was furiously struggling against invisible bindings.
"Chen dog, release me! Ahhhh! I'll make you pay!" It screeched when it saw him approach.
Chen Wentian stared steadily at the two. They were none other than the souls of Fen Jue and Murong Aiyin and they would serve as the fuel to power his breakthrough!
Fen Jue had self-imploded and his soul was partially destroyed. Chen Wentian was only able to collect some fragments as the majority had already dissipated. Murong Aiyin had still been alive and he forcibly captured her whole soul, killing her in the process.
Human souls did not behave well as weapon or armor souls because they were too rebellious. He also did not want to add these two detestable souls to his collection for no reason. He had to constantly exert soul power to keep them trapped all these weeks but it was worth it in the end.
He began with the remnants of Fen Jue and locked in place with his spiritual energy. Numerous stars in the surrounding suddenly exploded in brightness and shot rays of colorful energy into Fen Jue.
"Nooo… nooo…"
The ghost moaned softly as the remaining its foggy body gradually evaporated into pure spiritual energy. It was a slow process as even in a remnant form, Fen Jue struggled and resisted.
However, the struggle was futile as more and more of the soul was refined and turned into extremely potent spiritual energy. This energy was then captured by Chen Wentian and smoothly absorbed.
And after many hours… there was no more Fen Jue in this world.
Chen Wentian moved on to Murong Aiyin who still struggled but to no avail. Rays celestial light once again emerged and aimed at her soul.
"No, you bastard rapist. Don't do this to me… This is impossible… Nooooo!"
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Chen Wentian opened his eyes after ten days, having finally refined and absorbed the spiritual energy of both souls. He sensed his spiritual sea was finally finished with its first strengthening. Boundless energy erupted from his body, mind, and spirit. He flew out of the room, his aura blazing a fiery trail as he launched into the air.
He laughed joyfully at the clear blue sky; he was now at the 2nd Stage of the Spirit Lord Realm!