472: Soul Refining Technique

Xun Xiuyuan stared at the figure in Confucian robes before him, a hint of confusion and caution in his eyes, and asked softly, "May I ask for your name, Senior?"

The figure slowly emerged, his tone carrying a touch of vicissitudes and emotion: "I am the Old Ancestor of Confucian Cultivators in the Blue Star Great Universe, named Zhang Xian."

My original Divine Sense dissipated many years ago; what you see now is merely a weak remnant of my consciousness.

If it weren't for your intense battle with Youming, which greatly exhausted his remnant Soul Power, I fear this remnant of mine would still be suppressed by him, with no day of reappearance."

Xun Xiuyuan frowned slightly upon hearing this and asked, "Who is Youming?"

The figure in Confucian robes nodded slightly, explaining in a solemn tone: "Youming is the person you just fought."

A long time ago, he attempted to forcibly borrow a path through the Blue Star Great Universe. I resisted him with all my might, and in the end, we both suffered heavy losses.

For all these years, his remnant Soul has been lurking here, waiting for an opportunity."

Hearing this, a look of confusion appeared on Xun Xiuyuan's face; he was clearly completely unaware of these secret past events.

He hesitated for a moment before continuing to ask, "What does 'borrowing a path' mean?"

Zhang Xian's remnant consciousness seemed to be recalling the past, his voice becoming distant: "So-called borrowing a path means forcibly opening a channel connecting to other Universes."

But this would cause irreversible damage to the Origin of the Blue Star Great Universe, and we would never allow it.

Because of this, we Cultivators back then entered these vital paths connecting to the outside world, guarding our own Universe at any cost."

"'We?'" Xun Xiuyuan became more and more confused the more he heard, unable to help repeating the word.

He vaguely felt that behind this seemed to hide a secret far more complex and significant than he had imagined, far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Zhang Xian couldn't help but reveal a gentle smile, his tone carrying a touch of nostalgia: "That's right, the five of us."

That was when we first embarked on our journey, with each of us responsible for guarding one channel—five in total, each directly connected to the Blue Star Great Universe."

Xun Xiuyuan felt slightly confused and asked, "But as far as I know, this is clearly the Cosmic Battlefield, and it does not belong to the scope of the Blue Star Universe."

Zhang Xian was slightly stunned upon hearing this, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes: "Cosmic Battlefield? What kind of place is that? I have never heard of it."

At this moment, both realized that there was a certain cognitive gap between them.

Clearly, the era Zhang Xian lived in was far earlier than when the Dao Law Progenitor created the Cosmic Battlefield; at that time, the concept of a "Cosmic Battlefield" had not yet formed.

Xun Xiuyuan quickly understood that it might be due to discrepancies in space-time or information transmission that led to the misunderstanding.

Therefore, he carefully explained to Zhang Xian the Origin and function of the Cosmic Battlefield, as well as its relationship with various Universes, as told by the Dao Law Progenitor.

After listening, Zhang Xian laughed heartily, his expression becoming enlightened: "So that's it!"

The Cosmic Battlefield you speak of is actually the Chaos space that naturally formed around the Blue Star Great Universe.

In our era, we intentionally left it undeveloped, precisely to reserve it for future generations as strategic depth and resource reserves.

The channels connecting to these Chaos spaces were part of the original design; it couldn't be more reasonable."

Xun Xiuyuan's thoughts were racing, and he finally had a sudden realization, slowly speaking: "That remnant Soul of Youming, its strength level, I fear it has already reached the legendary Supreme Realm, right?"

Zhang Xian nodded solemnly in response, his tone filled with affirmation and admiration: "That's correct."

The five leaders from different Great Universes we fought to the death to stop back then were each terrifying existences at the Peak of the Supreme Realm.

Even now, with only a remnant Soul left, its power is far beyond what an ordinary Hongmeng Realm Cultivator can contend with.

Because of this, the fact that you, with the cultivation of an Eight-System Saint King, could confront Youming's remnant Soul head-on without falling behind is truly astonishing—it can be called a miracle."

Xun Xiuyuan was silent for a moment, then turned to look into the distance where Youming's remnant Soul had vanished, his gaze deep as if he were contemplating some deeper issue.

Seeing this, Zhang Xian laughed heartily and said with a free and easy expression: "There is no need to worry about that channel."

During the earth-shattering battle between Youming and me back in the day, the collision of our powers had long since completely destroyed the entire channel; it can no longer be a threat between the two Realms."

Just at this moment, a thought stirred in Xun Xiuyuan's heart, and he suddenly recalled an old matter mentioned by True Person Yuan Ling—the mysterious Soul-Loss Cave in the Wuxiang Realm, whose formation and current state were shockingly similar to the situation of this destroyed channel before him.

Zhang Xian gazed at Xun Xiuyuan, his eyes revealing heartfelt gratification and emotion, and said slowly: "Although I do not know how much time has passed, being able to see a descendant from the Blue Star Great Universe today shows that our choice back then was not in vain."

Xun Xiuyuan, your very existence is a proof of hope. Thank you for appearing here."

As his voice fell, Zhang Xian's figure gradually faded like a candle in the wind, finally turning into specks of light and completely dissipating into the Void Realm.

Xun Xiuyuan stood quietly in the Void Realm, a surge of unspeakable melancholy and awe welling up in his heart.

He clearly realized that this Senior from the Blue Star Great Universe had completely perished, and the traces of his existence were gradually dissipating into the endless space-time, with no possibility of reuniting.

All of this happened so suddenly, yet it carried a certain fatalistic inevitability, causing him to fall into a brief contemplation.

Just at this moment of emotional fluctuation, his consciousness stirred slightly, and he remembered the advanced treasure chest stored in his System backpack.

Without much hesitation, Xun Xiuyuan chose to open it casually. Accompanied by a crisp and mysterious "Ding-dong" prompt, a line of dazzling text appeared on the System interface:

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Soul Refining Technique."

His gaze fell upon this newly acquired skill—"Soul Refining Technique," labeled as having no grade, yet it contained Fire Law, Soul Law, and the Law of Time.

Although the description was extremely concise, only emphasizing that this technique caused great damage to Soul entities and appearing to have a single function, Xun Xiuyuan immediately realized the profound power hidden within it.

Just at this moment, Youming's remnant Soul flashed through his mind; this Soul Refining Technique was simply like providing charcoal in snowy weather, appearing at the exact moment he needed it most.

The corners of Xun Xiuyuan's mouth could not help but lift slightly, and a sharp yet calm light flashed in his eyes.

Xun Xiuyuan looked at the cosmic core fragments in his backpack, speechless to the extreme; there were exactly nine, one short of being able to enter the Guiyi Realm.

The higher the Realm, the fewer fragments he obtained.

Looking at the remaining exotic beast value, Xun Xiuyuan steeled his heart and upgraded the Soul Refining Technique to the Perfection Realm. This was the lowest Xun Xiuyuan's exotic beast value had been in recent years; he couldn't even restore his own state once.