Chapter 20: Cultivating the Soul

"Found it!" Jiang Li was overjoyed in his heart. He quickly focused his spirit and, following the method from just now, continued to guide his soul energy to explore other suspected spiritual orifices.

After a difficult search, Jiang Li finally managed to locate several hidden spiritual orifices.

At this moment, his physical form was enveloped in the radiance of his soul energy, resembling a luminous cocoon, with flickering light, and inside his body, his divine soul was trembling slightly with an intense desire for the external soul energy.

Jiang Li recited the mantra from the "Human Yuan True Scripture" once again:"Perceive the soul as a thread of silk, gently gathering it into my being."

This time, as he chanted the mantra, he slowly introduced the spiritual energy from the universe into his body, while guiding the condensed soul force on the surface through the newly opened spiritual orifices, pouring it into his inner divine soul.

At first, the integration of spiritual energy and soul force was not smooth. They collided and rubbed against each other at the spiritual orifices, creating a strong, stabbing pain. Once the soul force penetrated through the orifices, it caused an all-over body ache, with the divine soul being particularly severely affected.

Jiang Li couldn't help but gasp in a breath of cold air, constantly adjusting the flow and intensity of the two forces to gradually achieve harmony.

Suddenly, a tremendous force seemed to be pulling at his divine soul, as if violently tearing it into fragments.

At this moment, he felt as if he was in the hell, with demons and ghouls surrounding him, their shrill screams unceasing, as if they were about to devour his soul.

Then, the illusion changed again, and he seemed to be falling into a place of tenderness, with beauties as numerous as clouds, gentle songs and graceful dances, trying to bewitch his mind.

But Jiang Li remained unmoved, firmly holding onto his core self.

As the soul force continued to penetrate, the pain endured by his body and divine soul became increasingly intense.

The sensation of stinging was like a myriad of needles piercing through, with an a headache that was about to split, and all kinds of feelings welling up in his heart. But he had a steadfast belief in his heart, and that was to break through the predicament and take control of his own destiny.

Then, Jiang Li felt his body beginning to decay, with flies and maggots crawling on his body, and his bones exposed in segments, utterly terrifying.

However, amidst this horrifying spectacle, he grasped the impermanence of life and death, and the fear in his heart gradually dissipated.

"Although life and death are predestined, my destiny is in my hands, not in the hands of heaven!" Jiang Li roared defiantly in his heart.

Just as he felt he could hardly hold on, the force that tugged at his soul appeared once more, as if it wanted to pull his soul into the void.

Jiang Li exerted all his strength, mobilizing all his soul energy to fight against it.

In this intense tug-of-war over the soul, Jiang Li's soul gradually became resilient amidst the pain and struggle.

He continuously drew strength from the mantras of the "Human Yuan True Scripture," trying to find a way to break through.

"The soul is formless, its gathering and dispersing are governed by my heart," Jiang Li repeatedly recited in his mind, and suddenly, a thought struck him, and he thought of a possibility.

He attempted to guide the condensed soul energy outside his body towards his divine soul, rather than absorbing it directly with his physical body.

This was also an extremely dangerous attempt; the slightest carelessness could lead to uncontrolled soul energy and damage to the divine soul. But Jiang Li had no other choice; he had to take a desperate gamble.

Under Jiang Li's meticulous guidance, the soul energy slowly approached his divine soul.

With every inch it drew closer, he could feel an immense pressure. Gritting his teeth, he persevered, driven by his tenacious will and his dedication to cultivation, until he finally managed to channel a portion of the soul energy into his divine soul.

In that instant, Jiang Li felt a surge of immense power erupt within his divine soul. It seemed as if his divine soul had been nourished, beginning to grow rapidly.

His physical body also began to undergo subtle changes under the influence of this power.

The pain gradually subsided, replaced by an unprecedented sense of comfort. Jiang Li knew he had successfully taken a crucial step.

"So, this is the essence of defying one's fate," Jiang Li was filled with emotion and realization.

He exhaled deeply, feeling the dampness on his back; the intense pain he just experienced would have knocked out an ordinary person.

Daring not to be the slightest bit negligent, Jiang Li knew this was a critical moment to consolidate his achievements and further enhance his cultivation.

Once again calming his mind, he exerted all his soul energy, guiding that pure and powerful force to continuously flow towards his divine soul.

As time passed, the spiritual energy and soul force finally successfully integrated within the spiritual orifice, flowing towards the divine soul like a gentle stream.

Jiang Li felt a warm and powerful force surge into his divine soul in an instant, the sensation of his soul being nourished returned, and it was even more intense and pure than before.

His divine soul seemed to undergo a rebirth under the nourishment of this force, the originally somewhat dim light becoming dazzlingly bright, and his soul force becoming increasingly refined and powerful.

His consciousness was immersed in a state of emptiness and clarity, with heightened sensitivity to everything around him.

Nourished by the soul force, his thoughts became exceptionally clear, and he gained a deeper understanding of the cultivation methods in the "Human Yuan True Scripture."

Even those formulas and mental techniques that were once obscure and difficult to grasp gradually became clear in his mind.

Immersed in this state of cultivation, he lost track of time. It was unknown how much time had passed before he finally sensed that his divine soul had reached a state of saturation, unable to absorb any more soul force.

He slowly concluded his practice, opening his eyes to find that both the intensity of his soul force and his comprehension of the cultivation techniques had made a qualitative leap.

"High stage of Soul Scholar, now I can finally release my soul consciousness, the Jiang Mansion... One day, I will change everything here because of me," Jiang Li looked out the window, clenching his fist.

Thinking that he had not yet tried to release his soul consciousness, he went to the side of the bed and sat cross-legged.

He began to form hand seals, focusing his mind, attempting to release his soul consciousness.

For the first time, lying on the bed with his eyes tightly closed, he was able to clearly see the situation in the room.

[So this is the release of soul consciousness? It's really amazing!]

He continued to extend his soul consciousness outwards, and was able to probe up to the entrance of the courtyard.

Trying to go further out, he felt a dense, sharp pain coming from the depths of his mind.

Before he could react, his soul consciousness was forcibly pulled back into his body.

"Ahhh!"

The pain this time caused Jiang Li to let out a sudden cry of agony. Upon introspecting his divine soul, he found that it had actually developed cracks; his divine soul was injured!

He didn't have anything to repair his divine soul, and such injuries were irreversible. At this moment, his regret was even greater than the pain, regretting his reckless attempt.

Just then, his divine soul suddenly emitted a burst of white light. The half piece of white jade that had gone missing was actually inside his divine soul, now emitting a soft glow. The light turned into thin threads, stitching and mending the cracks, and in a short while, it was restored to its original state.

This jade pendant actually has such an effect! Last time it was used to repair my meridians, and this time it can repair my divine soul.

Why is it said that cultivating the soul is not easy, because the soul is easily injured, and once injured, without those heavenly materials and earthly treasures, it would be a lifelong trauma. I actually have such a divinely effective thing, if this were to get out, even Jiang Zhen Ting would not be able to resist the urge to kill and take the jade.

Such a treasure must only be known to himself, and he must not reveal it to anyone.

As for why his divine soul was damaged just now.

"It must be because my soul force is too weak. It seems I still need to practice diligently!"

Using cultivation to replace sleep, he continued to practice the "Human Yuan True Scripture" for another night!