Nine Astra Skies

Chapter 240: Soul Pearl

“To think that such cruel technique exists in the world,” Ye Chen said, feeling agitated. To fulfill their selfish desires, some people would resort to such cruelty to create Human Puppets. It was too inhumane!

“Even this Human Puppet technique isn’t the cruelest technique there is.” Great Emperor Mingwu frowned. If Ye Chen had seen for himself how some people had sacrificed tens of thousands of lives just to strengthen themselves, then he would not have said that.

“To create Human Puppets, apart from these conditions that need to be fulfilled, the person who casts the technique has to be far stronger than the ones which the technique is being cast on. Only then would the technique work,” Great Emperor Mingwu continued.

“What rank does one have to be to create a top Mystique Venerable rank Human Puppet?” Ye Chen asked.

“You would have to attain at least Godly Venerable Rank, even as far as achieving the peerless power in the legends to do so,” Great Emperor Mingwu said, suddenly realizing something. A look of astonishment came upon his face as he looked at Ye Chen and asked, “You’re saying that the two top Mystique Venerable Rank fighters guarding the Exclusion Zone are Human Puppets?”

Ye Chen nodded with a heavy look upon his face.

“So, that’s why they were able to stand guard at this place regardless of the circumstances. I’d thought that the Tribunal Hall had assigned people taking shifts routinely. It seems that I was wrong, I didn’t think that they’d be Human Puppets.” Great Emperor Mingwu suddenly realized. The mystery that had been troubling his mind had finally been solved. The tales were true – such a technique existed in the world. He only wondered how Ye Chen had found out.

When they thought of the process of creating Human Puppets, Great Emperor Mingwu and Ye Chen fell silent. Only someone who was extremely ruthless would create something like a Human Puppet. The Tribunal Council had always obeyed the Primordial God and they were the ones who had set the laws. Could it be that there was another side to them that no one knew of?

“This information mustn’t be spread around,” Great Emperor Mingwu whispered after he had composed himself.

“Hm.” Ye Chen understood as well. They did not know just how much influence the Tribunal Council had. If they had carelessly spread the information about the Human Puppet and the Tribunal Council found out, who knew how they would react to it. If the news they heard about the Tribunal Council holding extremely large influence was true, then at the present, it would be wise for them to avoid confronting them.

Why would the Tribunal Hall send two Human Puppets to guard this place? This was also very puzzling.

Whenever Ye Chen was at the Exclusion Zone, he felt very uneasy and he did not know why.

The diameter of this isolated island was quite large.

The restrictive spell that had enveloped the skies around the Exclusion Zone did not have any effect on the Astral Body.

Ye Chen used his Astral Body to extend into the central parts of the island. He scouted the entire island and within the thick forests there were no signs of any mystical beast. There were only some birds and common beasts.

If not for the fact that this was a battleground for fighters to duel to the death, any common person who saw the scenery would mistake this place for a secluded haven!

Ye Chen’s Astral Body did not detect anything abnormal.

Maybe Ye Chen was just being too paranoid.

‘Let’s remain here for five days. After five days, when the Exclusion Zone opens, we can decide what to do after we enter.’ Ye Chen thought about it as he helped the others set up the tents.

Everyone had settled down on the field outside the Exclusion Zone. They did not know if the people of the Nanman Kingdom were here yet as they would enter the Exclusion Zone from another entrance.

Everyone silently cultivated in preparation for the big battle. Great Emperor Mingwu even unhesitatingly gave out a Purple-Gold Divine Pill to each Earthly Venerable Rank fighter.

The Exclusion Zone was extremely quiet. The two top Mystique Venerable Rank Human Puppets made no movements as they only stood still like a statue.

Ye Chen stilled himself and felt the Celestial Chi around him. He had entered a form of trance in his cultivation state.

It was as if all the air around them remained still as well.

The restrictive spell around the Exclusion Zone was very strange. Usually, restrictive spells would at least slightly disrupt the flow of Celestial Chi. However, the restrictive spell around the Exclusion Zone seemed to not have any effect on the Celestial Chi. There were still some exceptions especially during nighttime where the Celestial Chi would have some slight fluctuations but it was very light and almost negligible.

Three uneventful days passed by quickly. The only thing that Ye Chen felt strange about was that there would always be a large flock of birds searching for food on the island during the day. When it was nighttime, they would fly in groups and leave this place.

Ye Chen found it strange that the birds would not choose to rest here during the night but instead, fly somewhere else.

Nightly, Ye Chen would use his Astral Body to investigate the situation in the Exclusion Zone. At nighttime, the forest was extremely quaint and there were no signs of any abnormalities.

Even though Ye Chen felt that something was off, he just could not make out just what it was.

In the silent night, from his tent, Ye Chen could hear the sounds of the wind blowing and the waves slapping against the shore.

Little Tanuki was swallowing and spitting an Illusionary Pearl. She looked like she was practicing some sort of special technique.

Ye Chen, on the other hand, repeatedly entered the space within the Heavenly Astra Seal. He unleashed his Astral Body to spar with the Purple-fire Astra Lion again and again, further honing his Astral Body each time.

Thinking of the Heavenly Astra Master Seal, a hint of worry came to Ye Chen but he quickly calmed down.

Ye Chen had thought of just tossing the Heavenly Astra Master Seal to the bottom of the ocean. That way, he could rid himself of these troubles forever. When he thought about it again, it would not do. The Heavenly Astra Master Seal was the symbol of the Ye Clan and it was very important. At this point, he would just have to brace whatever that came his way. No matter what kind of mystical beast was sealed inside the Heavenly Astra Master Seal, he would worry about it when it happened. It was unnecessary for him to be worrying over that now.

After Ye Chen had cultivated for some time, his Celestial Chi still did not elevate. Ye Chen knew he was getting agitated. He tried to relax and refined some medicinal pills. Then, he retrieved a few items from his armguard space to look at them. The Black Pearl, the tooth of a mystical beast, and the mysterious tiny cauldron – he tried to figure out how these items can be utilized.

The three items sat still on the floor. Ye Chen was just about to unleash his Astral Body when he noticed that the Black Pearl sitting on the floor was vibrating with a hum. It radiated a black glow. Even in the pitch-black darkness of the night, it could be seen clearly.

The black glow it radiated was different from the darkness of the night. Its color, brightness, and contrast was similar but it was more captivating and dazzling.

Ever since Ye Chen had found the Black Pearl in the Sunken Jade Tower, he had not been able to find out its secrets. Observing its strange behavior today, Ye Chen was confused. Why was it that when he took out the Black Pearl in the past, it did not have any reaction? Even if he used his Astral body to inspect it, he still did not know its secrets. Yet today, he saw such a bizarre reaction.

Could it be that it had to meet a certain condition to be activated?

What could it be that had activated the Black Pearl?

Ye Chen pondered silently. Could it be that there was something in the Exclusion Zone that caused the Black Pearl to react?

Ye Chen condensed his Astral Body and tried to enter the Black Pearl slowly. When he came into contact with the dazzling black glow, his Astral Body fluctuated where waves of spiritual energy were hitting his Astral Body like a flood.

Ye Chen’s Astral Body was almost broken apart by these waves of spiritual energy. Still, he gritted his teeth and pressed onward. If he stopped now, he might never be able to find out the secrets of this pearl.

Bang, bang, bang! His Astral Body had withstood heavy hits repeatedly. He had only barely to peek inside to make out the words – Soul Pearl.

The words came booming toward Ye Chen like a flood.

Boom!

The words exploded on Ye Chen’s Astral Body and it was instantly blown into pieces.

In his mind, Ye Chen felt like he had been violently punched and as if his head was about to be blown apart. Right then, the Flying Dagger in his mind came forward with a hum, blinding with its ray of light. Upon coming into contact with the radiant light of the Flying Dagger, the Black Pearl’s glow was instantly devoured like a firefly that came into the moonlight.

The Black Pearl kept buzzing and jumping around as if it was trembling in fear. Its light suddenly vanished as it reverted to its ordinary form.

Ye Chen continuously channeled his Celestial Chi. The Astral Energy in Celestial Chi had rejuvenated his Astral Body bit by bit as it was slowly restored. Only then, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He did not expect that the Black Pearl would contain such an overwhelming Psyche Energy enough to destroy his own Astral Body. It still gave him lingering thoughts.

When Ye Chen had picked up the Black Pearl, he did not feel the previous energy anymore. It felt like it was just a regular pearl.

Ye Chen still could not understand its secrets.

Little Tanuki seemed to have sensed what had happened. After swallowing the Illusionary Pearl, she blinked a few times and looked at Ye Chen. While she was in her base form, she could not speak the human language due to some issues concerning her vocal cord. Instead, she sent a message to Ye Chen using her Astral Body to ask what had happened.

“Little Tanuki, what’s a Soul Pearl?” Ye Chen asked. He had developed a profound interest in this Soul Pearl.

Little Tanuki shook her head as she did not know either. Her conscience was deep inside the Illusionary Pearl, trying to ask her ancestors in the tanuki clan in the Illusionary Pearl to see if they knew about it.

After some time, Little Tanuki’s conscience was drawn out of the Illusionary Pearl and she nodded.

Ye Chen called Little Wingsy over to have him help translate.

Little Tanuki said something in beast language and Little Wingsy translated, “Big Sister Tanuki said that according to the legends, spirit arcana originated from the Great Eastern Continent. They were different from regular spirit artifacts. Within the high tier spirit artifact, there were artifact spirits. However, artifact spirits required the user to channel energy into it to exert its power. Spirit arcana, on the other hand, had their own consciousness. Some powerful beings had instilled their consciousness into the high tier spirit artifacts to create spirit arcana. Their conscience had remained inside the spirit arcana and would continue cultivating itself. Therefore, all spirit arcana had a strong will of its own. Some may even attack humans, take the Illusionary Pearl and the Soul Pearl for example. To gain control of the Spirit Arcana, it would entirely depend on the will of the spirit arcana.”