Chapter 10: Fate

At this moment, the jade pendant emitted a strange phenomenon. Jiang Li regained his composure and looked down.

The pendant depicted the yin and yang fish, which then emerged and rushed towards the black mist. The black fish slapped it apart with its tail, while the white fish took the opportunity to devour the scattered mist.

The black mist, as if facing a formidable enemy, rolled frantically, trying to evade this fierce attack, but all in vain. In the blink of an eye, it was reduced to the size of a fist.

Seemingly unwilling to be completely consumed like this, the black mist seized an opportunity and rushed straight towards Jiang Li, diving into his body, with the black and white fish following closely behind.

Jiang Li lay there helplessly, watching them invade his body, feeling utterly powerless, his heart filled with anxiety.

In an instant, Jiang Li felt as if a storm had erupted within his body.

A cold force rampaged through his meridians, bringing an excruciating pain like being cut by a knife wherever it went.

The black mist seemed to have found a new battlefield within him, struggling and churning wildly, trying to contend with his blood and soul energy, attempting to take control and claim his body as its own.

After entering the body, the black and white fish immediately took action.

The black fish emitted a chilling force that, like chains, wrapped around the black mist, restraining it and preventing it from further ravaging; the white fish released pure white threads that traversed the meridians, repairing the damage caused by the black mist while also cooperating with the black fish to besiege the mist.

Jiang Li's spirit was nearly overwhelmed by the chaotic energy, almost fainting again.

[Pain, it hurts too much.]

It felt as if his body was not filled with blood but with knives. The black mist rampaged through his meridians, the black fish was forceful and direct, brutally expanding the meridians, and although the white fish was repairing, it was indeed causing intense pain.

Gritting his teeth, he endured the severe pain, trying to mobilize his originally weak soul energy to join the battle within his body and assist the black and white fish.

However, his soul energy seemed so insignificant in the face of these powerful forces.

Every time he managed to gather a wisp of soul energy to strike at the black mist, it would be effortlessly deflected, and he would even be counter-shocked, causing damage to his meridians. A mouthful of blood welled up in his throat, almost spilling out.

"No, I can't let it take control like this!" Jiang Li roared inwardly. If he allowed the black mist to succeed within his body, he would become a mere wandering spirit.

[I just learned the Human Yuan True Scripture yesterday, which mentions the return of the human soul to its origin.]

Jiang Li endured the excruciating pain in his meridians like a knife cut, striving to calm his thoughts and seek a moment of clarity amidst the chaotic energy storm within his body.

He closed his eyes, discarding all external distractions, and focused entirely on the guidance of the "Return of the Human Soul" technique from memory, beginning to introspect his meridians and the depths of his soul.

Despite the dire state of his internal condition.

He concentrated all his attention on this consciousness, using it as a focal point to gather his soul energy.

As he focused, the originally scattered soul energy began to slowly converge towards the core of his soul.

Seizing the moment, Jiang Li took advantage of the instant when the black fish tightened its cold force to bind the black mist again. He forcefully sent his condensed soul energy towards the intersection of the black mist and the black fish's power.

This time, he did not attack forcefully but instead, like a gentle breeze, skillfully blended into the black fish's cold force.

Since Jiang Li's soul energy carried the unique mark of his own soul, it established a subtle connection with the black fish the moment it merged with its power.

The black fish seemed to sense Jiang Li's intention, paused slightly, and then, as if gaining some assistance, its cold force became even more compact, tightening its grip on the black mist.

Seeing this, Jiang Li was delighted that his strategy had worked. He quickly continued to guide his soul energy, slowly seeping into the black mist along the power pathways connected with the black fish.

As his soul energy continuously penetrated, Jiang Li began to suppress the black mist with a force on the soul level, forcibly injecting his will into it.

At first, the black mist resisted Jiang Li's will very strongly, constantly wriggling and struggling, trying to break free from the constraints of Jiang Li's soul energy.

But Jiang Li kept injecting his soul energy into it, like water wearing away stone, gradually eroding the black mist's resistance.

The black fish eventually released its force, and the black mist could not withstand it and dispersed. However, the black fish did not consume it but let the fragments of the black mist flow towards Jiang Li's spirit.

Jiang Li felt a strange yet powerful force surge into his spirit, and with the infusion of this force, his spirit seemed to undergo a baptism.

His originally weak consciousness, nourished by this force, burned more vigorously.

As the fragments poured in, Jiang Li's consciousness gradually immersed in a wonderful realm.

He seemed to see the inside of his body, with every meridian and acupoint clearly visible.

The soul energy flowed smoothly through the meridians, constantly nourishing his body and soul. As more spiritual energy accumulated, Jiang Li felt his body becoming somewhat swollen and slightly uncomfortable.

At this moment, the reinforcements brought by Fox Three arrived. The old red fox, experienced and knowledgeable, recognized this as a spiritual awakening and shouted,"Guide the spiritual energy to gather at the heart, then expand it to the whole body's meridians, and finally let it flow into the spirit."

[How do I guide it? I've never learned any cultivation techniques!]

But at this moment, feeling unbearably swollen, he gritted his teeth and sensed the spiritual energy, trying to squeeze it towards his heart. He found that the spiritual energy moved according to his will, but it was slow, and every inch it moved, the meridians that had just been repaired by the white fish felt as if they were being cut open by a knife.

The pain made Jiang Li's body tremble slightly, but he never let out a single groan, his gums bleeding from clenching his teeth.

He tightly closed his eyes, focusing all his energy on guiding the spiritual energy towards his heart.

With every inch of progress, the pain intensified.

[I must not stop!]

As the spiritual energy slowly moved, fine beads of sweat appeared on Jiang Li's forehead, and his body began to emit wisps of white vapor, his face turning pale.

Continuing to guide it towards the meridians, when the spiritual energy from all directions rushed through the pathways into his heart, Jiang Li felt as if he was soaking in the vast spiritual spring, an uncontrollable sense of comfort spreading throughout his body, and a hot sensation condensed in his lower abdomen. At this moment, Jiang Li felt a mighty force settling in his Dantian, like a star about to burst.

The soul energy in his body's meridians kept circulating.

The barrier had long since disappeared, and other foxes tried to approach but were all stopped by the old red fox.

"Do not disturb the young master's cultivation. This is his fortune. You all go back, I will help the young master guard his practice."

In this way, Jiang Li sat in the same spot, not moving an inch for half a month. During this time, he relied entirely on the old red fox to transfer spiritual energy to help maintain his body.

Jiang Li's soul energy aura kept rising.

From the initial stage of soul birth, to the middle stage, to the high stage, to the great perfection, and finally breaking through to the initial stage of soul scholar, he stopped just in time.

Thus, he achieved the way of the soul.

The Path of the Soul.

It is based on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to shape one's powerful spirit and soul.

All things in the world possess spiritual energy; plants contain life, mountains and rocks harbor essence, water nourishes all things without contention, and fire illuminates the ages without end.

However, only by sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and transforming it into soul energy can one embark on the path of soul cultivation.

The realms of soul cultivation are called the Soul Realms, divided into nine major stages.

From low to high, they are: Soul Birth, Soul Scholar, Soul Master, Soul Lord, Soul King, Soul Saint, Soul Immortal, Soul Sovereign, and Soul Deity!