Chapter 740: Chapter 165: Point of Time Origin
Zhou Yan’s soul possessed the Soul Slash Supreme Dao and had undergone multiple transformations through a combination of twelve souls, resulting in a composite form of the soul. This form of soul combination generally does not change, and Zhou Yan had never thought about changing it.
However, this time, he suddenly discovered that following the soul form of the giant axe man during the Heavenly Tribulation, the soul could be recombined after forming a Rune Soul Sequence.
As for what abilities the combination would grant, or whether it would lead to annihilation and shattering, Zhou Yan did not know.
However, at this moment, Zhou Yan was not making a complete change, but only modifying one part to test the changes, benefits, and disadvantages to the soul.
Should there be any anomalies, he would immediately sever that part of the connected soul to ensure the integrity of the overall soul.
...
Xiao Fei suppressed the shock in her heart and gradually calmed down. Only then did she realize that Zhou Yan, whom the Palace Master had described as accomplished only in inheritance aspects and useless in others, shone brighter than talented Spiritualists like Guanghua when facing the Tai Chu Heavenly Tribulation. Although he did not know what achievements he had made, he had seen Guanghua’s performances—he couldn’t withstand a single move and had died.
In comparison, Zhou Yan could actually be proud.
But he wasn’t; instead, he was more focused and invested in analyzing the changes in Heavenly Tribulation, not blindly repairing his soul to deal with the next tribulation. If he were to summarize failures without ceaselessly performing Soul Slash to confront the Heavenly Tribulations, even if the Soul Slash Supreme Dao were powerful, Xiao Fei would be very disappointed with him for squandering the Soul Slash Supreme Dao.
Now, her views were completely reversed. Xiao Fei suddenly thought, maybe this man wasn’t as bad as she had thought.
Without realizing it, Xiao Fei’s senses began to evolve in a direction she couldn’t foresee.
...
As the soul transformed in a peculiar way, Zhou Yan gradually felt a very strange sensation, but the moment this sensation emerged, it drew his soul towards an enormous vortex with great attracting force.
This terrifying force of attraction, once unleashed, made Zhou Yan feel as though his entire soul was being sucked in, leading to annihilation in an instant without any chance to struggle.
Zhou Yan’s soul chilled almost instantly, and without hesitation, he performed Soul Slash, severing the part of the soul that was changing and escaping from this terrifying attraction.
However, at that moment, it seemed a more rapid energy interrupted everything, allowing Zhou Yan’s soul to stabilize and evade the dreadful peril.
Zhou Yan’s soul involuntarily shuddered; moments later, Zhou Yan regained his calm. But upon sensing his condition, he shuddered violently.
"How, how is this possible? I clearly performed Soul Slash, but my soul shows no damage and I didn’t feel the pain of Soul Slash..."
"What exactly happened before?"
Zhou Yan felt an inexplicable fear, finding it very difficult to calm. Having slashed the soul but not perceiving any cut to the soul seemed as if the soul had lost its most fundamental ability! There could hardly be anything more stirring in this world.
After a brief contemplation, Zhou Yan immediately sat up straight, returning to his previous state, ready to alter the state of his soul again.
He wanted to test once more to understand what exactly had happened.
But at this moment, before anything had begun, the Golden Armor man within the Dantian, Xuanyuan Ancestor, suddenly transmitted telepathically, "This Dao, you should give it up; it isn’t for you, nor should I even touch it."
"Xuanyuan Ancestor, are you saying..."
Zhou Yan’s heart was terrified.
"Exploring the immortality of the soul, uncovering the divine secrets of the immortal soul, is the way of immortality. Touching it now will only degrade the soul level."
"A soul can be seen as a bamboo tube holding water, comprised of ’Three Souls and Seven Spirits’ in ten segments. Touching such a Supreme Dao now results in the bamboo tube being cut segment by segment from the nodes, until finally only one segment remains, without you realizing it. Previously, I reverted your actions to their original form using the Time Trace Method, not because you were safe from danger."
Xuanyuan Ancestor said solemnly.
"But... Ancestor, didn’t you say you couldn’t interfere with my affairs in the outside world?"
Zhou Yan and Xuanyuan Ancestor, having no mental defenses against each other, immediately voiced their doubts.
"It is not permissible to intervene in reality, yes, but here... here it is different. This is a Land of Enlightenment, a space-time rift; it’s just that all cultivators here are unaware of it."
"If the Time-Space Reincarnation Tower is a stream, this place is a river, an ocean. This place has the same nature as the Time-Space Reincarnation Tower, only it is more vast and broad."
"However, the place where you are now is on the very outer layer, not the inside. The reason the Time-Space Reincarnation Tower is connected to the Netherworld is because of this ’space-time rift.’ The Time-Space Reincarnation Tower is just the tip of the iceberg, a part that was unintentionally separated."
Xuanyuan Ancestor explained to Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan felt somewhat dumbfounded; he had never imagined the mystery of soul levels to delve so deep into the high levels of immortality.
At the same time, this series of information was indeed overwhelming; not only was there the Supreme Dao of immortal souls here, but the very nature of this place was abnormal.
"Xuanyuan Ancestor, then is there an Extreme Cold Ice Soul Stone here? The kind that contains the divine essence of a soul?"
After his surprise, Zhou Yan quickly calmed himself and asked.
"This item... is indeed extraordinary. If it were anywhere else, it would not be easy to obtain. Here, however, it shouldn’t be difficult. This place, with howling cold winds and perpetual snow, is like an icy cave environment, likely a very ancient rift site. If you find the point of Time Trace, perhaps you can step into it and witness a scene from the Ancient, Tai Chu, or even Primordial era. If that’s really possible, you could completely eradicate your ’Heavenly Man’s Five Decays.’
That means, when facing Heavenly Tribulation, you won’t need to worry about weakness. You could transform all the drawbacks brought by Heavenly Tribulation into beneficial aspects, undergoing the greatest scale of tempering."
"A point of Time Trace?"
Zhou Yan was somewhat confused; even the memories of his brother Lee Ran and Lei Yan King, did not understand these.
"Yes, the point of Time Origin. For now, it’s better not to discuss this too much. When you’re about to encounter it, you’ll naturally have a telepathic sense. Now, as that girl said, slicing souls to combat Heavenly Tribulation is indeed greatly beneficial to you. Apart from not reassembling the soul, whatever you understand, whatever sudden insights you have, just go with it."
Xuanyuan Ancestor earnestly instructed Zhou Yan. It seemed that since Zhou Yan removed the mark from the Sword Burial Ancestor Star, Xuanyuan Ancestor had completely changed his attitude, guiding Zhou Yan wholeheartedly. Any slight doubt, as long as it could be answered, he spared no effort.
Zhou Yan was grateful in his heart and listened seriously to Xuanyuan Ancestor’s words, giving up the action of reassembling the soul—although in his heart, he was still somewhat reluctant and keen to try, but he refrained from doing so.
This seemed like a potent poison, which often displays an extreme allure, tempting one to dive in, only to lead to an irrevocable outcome. Had it not been for Xuanyuan Ancestor, Zhou Yan might have had his soul devoured by that attraction, and by now might have turned into an energy entity within this space-time rift.
"What exactly is a point of Time Origin?"
Zhou Yan was filled with anticipation.