177: Chapter 178 Soul Lamp

"Holy crap, that's intense!"

Lu Ming stared dumbfounded at Zhu Zhengran, who had turned into a dried corpse, then at the dimmed Divine Ability Seal in his hand.

"No wonder the latter part of the Cultivation Technique was sealed off. If someone with ill intentions managed to Cultivate it successfully, a one-for-one exchange with a Golden Core Old Ancestor wouldn't be impossible!"

But I have to say, fighting like this is truly exhilarating!

However, as enjoyable as it is, the Lifespan cost is truly outrageous!

A single use almost completely drained the 'deposit' within the Divine Ability Seal.

Perhaps due to the incomplete Cultivation Technique, Lu Ming couldn't precisely control the 'deposit' expenditure.

Six hundred years of Lifespan were used up in an instant!

To release it again, he would have to 'recharge'!

But for Lu Ming, this was no big deal.

He only needed to exert effort; other Fellow Daoists could offer their lives.

By then, if he accumulated ten or twenty thousand years of Lifespan, even if casting spells beyond his rank consumed it exponentially, Lu Ming might even be able to kill a Golden Core with a single Transcending Calamity Dark Light.

As he was thinking this,

From Zhu Zhengran's withered and aged corpse, the crimson magical Seal, the Soul Chasing Curse, flew out.

After splitting into two in mid-air, one rapidly fled, while the other merged into Lu Ming's body.

However, it didn't last long before it mysteriously vanished into the Void Realm.

Lu Ming calmly watched this scene unfold.

He had not changed his appearance. The events that transpired here would undoubtedly be known by the Qingxuan Sect soon.

Having killed two Qingxuan Sect Disciples, Lu Ming didn't believe the Qingxuan Sect would remain unresponsive.

He only needed to wait for the new arrivals.

As for the Soul Chasing Curse, Lu Ming had no interest in carrying it around.

Although his Clone wasn't afraid of death, he also didn't want to be like a stray dog, constantly being chased.

Therefore, since Fellow Daoist Chu Tianlin willingly sacrificed himself to take the blame for him, Lu Ming found it hard to refuse.

As the saying goes, we are in the same boat, but I enjoy the blessings alone.

Lu Ming didn't linger there much longer. He quickly cleaned up the battlefield and then transformed into a streak of light, fleeing into the distance.

Meanwhile,

Qingxuan Sect.

Soul Nurturing Hall.

This grand hall had a long staircase extending from top to bottom, reaching all the way to the front of the hall.

On both sides of the long staircase were layers of stone steps, narrowing from bottom to top.

At the very top of the long staircase were rows of spirit tablets, numbering over a dozen.

And on the stone steps on either side were placed lotus-heart lamps, their crimson flames flickering as if alive.

This was the Soul Nurturing Hall of the Qingxuan Sect, dedicated to the spirit tablets of all previous generations of ancestors since the Qingxuan Sect's establishment a thousand years ago, and also where soul lamps were kept.

Soul lamps were special objects closely linked to Cultivators. A wisp of a Cultivator's essence blood and a trace of their Divine Soul were sealed within the soul lamp using a secret method.

They served to confirm a Cultivator's life and death; when the person dies, the lamp extinguishes, nothing more.

Moreover, soul lamps could partially recreate the scenes a Cultivator saw before their death based on the Soul Chasing Curse.

However, different factions had their own methods, but they all served as a deterrent.

This was essentially a protection for the core members within a faction, making others hesitant to kill them for fear of repercussions.

Once touched, there was no escaping accountability!

The Soul Nurturing Hall was perpetually desolate, with only the flickering soul flames bringing a hint of vitality.

This was also an important area of the Qingxuan Sect. Besides the necessary Formation Restrictions, an Elder of the Soul Nurturing Hall would guard it year-round.

On this day, the Soul Nurturing Hall was as desolate and dim as ever.

Su Hong, the Elder of the Soul Nurturing Hall, was sitting idly in the hall, a chessboard in front of him, playing against himself.

He was advanced in age, and his Cultivation had long since stagnated.

A few years ago, he obtained the position of guarding the Soul Nurturing Hall, and he was content with the leisure, planning to spend the rest of his life here.

At this moment, his expression suddenly shifted.

He turned to look at the stone steps, and in a daze, he seemed to see the soul flame in one of the soul lamps flicker slightly.

He rubbed his eyes, and upon closer inspection, found nothing unusual, and couldn't help but shake his head in self-mockery: "I'm old, my eyesight isn't what it used to be!"

Su Hong had just sat back down in his chair, ready to continue playing chess, when he suddenly felt the light in the hall dim by two points.

He once again suspiciously surveyed the hall, still finding nothing amiss.

But as he lowered his head, a scene flashed through his mind, as if he had remembered something.

He instantly tensed up, cold sweat beading on his forehead, and his stiff neck slowly turned.

However, once he saw clearly, Su Hong's face gradually turned pale.

That soul lamp... had extinguished!

He abruptly stood up, the chessboard on the table overturned, scattering the chess pieces everywhere.

But Su Hong couldn't care less. He scrambled to the soul lamp.

His face was somewhat grim; this soul lamp, belonging to Su Yanran, had truly extinguished!

Yet, before he could investigate the cause,

Not long after, not far beside him, another soul lamp also extinguished.

Su Hong's eyes gradually became vacant, and he continuously mumbled to himself.

"Something's happened, something big has happened..."

Inside the Sect Master's Hall of the Qingxuan Sect.

Sect Master Lu Chengfeng was Cultivating his Cultivation Technique. His Cultivation had already reached the Peak of Foundation Establishment, making him the Cultivator with the greatest hope of achieving the Golden Core Immortal Master realm in the Qingxuan Sect.

Once he became a Golden Core Immortal Master, the glory of the Qingxuan Sect could continue for another five hundred years, remaining a hegemon in the Southern Wilderness Region.

However, these past few days, he had been feeling restless. His spiritual sense gave him a premonition of impending disaster.

In his Cultivation, he frowned slightly as the feeling of unease returned. Helpless, he withdrew from his Cultivation state.

"It's like this again. Is it a Heart Demon arising from my impending Breakthrough?"

Lu Chengfeng was somewhat annoyed. This situation had occurred more than once, yet he couldn't find the root cause.

"Sect Master, something terrible has happened!"

A figure with a panicked expression stumbled into the main hall.

The person's impolite behavior caused Lu Chengfeng's face to darken slightly, but after seeing who it was, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

As the Sect Master, he naturally recognized the person before him.

Elder Su of the Soul Nurturing Hall!

But why would he be here? Leaving his post without permission would result in severe punishment, unless... "Sect Master, something terrible has happened! The soul lamps of Deacon Su Yanran and Elder Zhu Zhengran have extinguished!"

Su Hong didn't have time to beg for forgiveness and recounted what had just happened in the Soul Nurturing Hall.

"What!"

Lu Chengfeng abruptly stood up. His years of self-cultivation failed to keep him calm upon hearing this news.

The Spiritual Pressure around him instantly erupted, causing the ground to crack around him. The furnishings in the hall turned into dust, and the hall looked as if it had been swept by a hurricane, a complete mess.

Elder Su Hong's eyelids twitched. Although the Spiritual Pressure wasn't directed at him, the oppressive feeling, like an abyss or a sea, made him afraid to even breathe.