Chapter 629 - 566: Body in Darkness, Heart Towards the Light

Chapter 629: Chapter 566: Body in Darkness, Heart Towards the Light

"Do... as I please?"

Chu Mu’s brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes. Do as you please."

"Do not suppress any desires in your heart, nor any of your darker aspects. You must actively perceive and provoke them."

"Only by doing so can you stir up the taint left by the Sand-tailed Scorpion’s spiritual corrosion."

Yun Qianshan was perfectly calm.

"This applies to all passions and desires."

"Of course, you must also hold fast to your true self. If you don’t, and you sink into your desires, then you can forget about Soul Purification or Purifying Heart."

Chu Mu was lost in thought. ’Based on what this so-called senior brother of mine just said, everything is undoubtedly quite clear.’

’A "Scorpion Egg" could be called a Demon Seed, or even a Divine Split...’

’But going by Yun Qianshan’s words, perhaps... describing it as a Heart Demon would be more appropriate.’

’It’s carried by the Divine Soul and reflected in one’s spirit.’

’But it remains hidden, suppressed as if in a cage. Therefore, one can only search for it within one’s true self, exposing the flaws in one’s own spirit to provoke that taint and actively... become Fallen into Demon!’

’In the end, it means falling into darkness along with that taint, plunging into an eternal dream formed by spiritual filth.’

’A single instant in the outside world could be a thousand years in that dream.’

’Though my body will be in darkness, my heart must strive for the light.’

’If I can persevere until the clouds part to reveal the moon and cleanse the filth from my spirit, then I will naturally have cleansed the root of this Scorpion Egg.’

’Soul Purification is Purifying Heart...’

Chu Mu pressed his lips together, an indescribable helplessness welling up in his heart.

’To wait bitterly for sixty years, only for it to end like this...’

’This kind of suicidal mission, like a moth to a flame, was likely something everyone in the Ancient Celestial Palace would have desperately tried to avoid.’

’Among the hundreds of thousands of Cultivators memorialized in this hall, there were probably very few volunteers.’

’Most, I imagine, were either coerced or lured here.’

’This might also explain why the Celestial Palace, which had ruled the Cultivation Immortal Realm for countless eons, collapsed so quickly after the calamity wrought by the Sand-tailed Scorpion Mother—or rather, the Celestial Derivation Holy Beast—had ended.’

’Eight hundred years of the Spring and Autumn Period marked the... eternal slumber of hundreds of thousands of Cultivators.’

’Considering the terror of the Celestial Derivation Holy Beast and the sheer scale of a calamity that nearly annihilated the Cultivation Immortal Realm, how many "370,000-plus Cultivators" could the realm possibly have had left afterward?’

"Junior Brother, you needn’t worry so much. Soul Purification is also Purifying Heart. All who overcome this tribulation, without exception, emerge with a Heart Spirit like a torch and a will of steel. Their Immortal Path transforms from a treacherous chasm into a wide, open road, setting them upon a highway to the heavens."

"This Palace also offers unimaginably generous rewards for any disciple who successfully completes Soul Purification..."

Yun Qianshan spoke slowly, as if comforting Chu Mu, but perhaps also comforting himself.

"If I may ask, Senior Brother," Chu Mu said, abruptly changing the subject, "how many disciples undergoing Soul Purification are currently on Purifying Soul Mountain?"

"At present, there are 3,892 disciples remaining on the mountain."

"Some, like you, Junior Brother, have only recently arrived on Purifying Soul Mountain. Others have lingered here for many years, still searching for their spiritual filth..."

"Furthermore, there are over one hundred thousand Attendants on the mountain. Once you are settled, Junior Brother, we will arrange for Attendants to be sent to your residence to take care of your daily life. This should also make it easier for you to find your spiritual filth..."

Chu Mu’s gaze shifted slightly as he nodded. He glanced around at the flickering candlelight. Through the doors and windows, he could clearly see the endless mountain ranges and the towering pavilions and terraces.

Just then, Yun Qianshan added,

"If you have too many worries, Junior Brother, you could also leave behind a bloodline. Every Attendant on this mountain has been meticulously selected by specialists dispatched by the Palace..."

"According to Palace regulations, regardless of whether you succeed in your Soul Purification, and regardless of your heir’s innate talent, they will enjoy the treatment of an inner-palace disciple from the moment they are born."

Hearing this, Chu Mu froze, a look of bewilderment on his face.

Then, as if remembering something, he slowly said, "May I ask, Senior Brother, I have a Spirit Beast that entered Purifying Soul Mountain with me. Does this Spirit Beast... also need to undergo Soul Purification?"

As he spoke, Chu Mu slapped the Qiankun Bag at his waist. Wangcai materialized, its pale golden Demon Body still spattered with blood.

Upon seeing Wangcai, Yun Qianshan seemed to freeze as well. His previously smiling face became visibly grave.

"Junior Brother, why did you bring a Spirit Beast in here?"

"Did the Palace not tell you? Those with incomplete Spiritual Wisdom are forbidden from this place!"

Chu Mu’s heart sank, and a dreadful premonition washed over him.

"This is a problem!"

Yun Qianshan looked grim. "With incomplete Spiritual Wisdom, how could it ever find its spiritual filth?!"

"Without complete Spiritual Wisdom, it must rely on its master for guidance. This means, Junior Brother, that if you wish to save this Spirit Beast, you must first find your own spiritual filth, and then pull this Spirit Beast into your Spiritual World along with you."

"But if that happens, you won’t just be facing your own spiritual filth, Junior Brother. You’ll have to take on this Spirit Beast’s spiritual filth as well."

"And since a Spirit Beast’s Spiritual Wisdom is incomplete, its spiritual filth is often far stranger and more unpredictable..."

"Back when Purifying Soul Mountain was first founded, a few of our martial brothers also brought their Spirit Beasts here. There were those who tried to save them, but without exception, none of them succeeded..."

At this, Yun Qianshan paused, then advised gently,

"Junior Brother, you are a Mental Realm True Cultivator with a firm Spiritual Will. Based on past experience, Mental Realm True Cultivators have a very high chance of succeeding in Soul Purification..."

Chu Mu forced a smile as he gently stroked Wangcai’s head. He looked down to find that Wangcai seemed to have understood their conversation.

It tilted its head up to look at Chu Mu, its beastly eyes completely devoid of a Demon Beast’s typical ferocity, containing only its usual gentleness.

Even without any restraints or binding spells, it was still so... gentle!

"Don’t worry," Chu Mu said, ruffling Wangcai’s head. His tone was light, but the resolve in his voice was unmistakable. "I’m not going to leave you behind."

’So far on my Immortal Path, he’s the only one who has been with me.’

’If I abandon even him, I’ll truly be all alone in this world.’

"Sigh..."

Seeing this, Yun Qianshan opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end, he could only let out a helpless sigh.

"Junior Brother, please think it over. I will be in Yunfeng Pavilion at the base of the mountain. If you need anything, just send me a voice transmission."

Yun Qianshan patted Chu Mu’s shoulder. With nothing more to say, he turned and walked out of the hall.

Chu Mu’s eyes glinted. He nodded, his gaze following Yun Qianshan until he disappeared from sight.

’An immortal Divine Soul... or an obsession that has yet to fade?’

Chu Mu looked around the hall as he murmured to himself, his voice too low for anyone else to hear.

’The age of the Celestial Palace is a distant memory.’

’It’s highly unlikely that this Purifying Soul Mountain has existed with an unbroken line of succession since ancient times.’

’And judging by Yun Qianshan’s words, his consciousness is clearly still trapped in the era of the Ancient Celestial Palace.’

’Or more accurately, trapped within the eight-hundred-odd years of this Purifying Soul Mountain’s history.’

’But the reality is that the Celestial Palace has long faded into legend, to the point that most Cultivators today don’t even know it existed.’

’Could it be... a spiritual world that has latched onto the Celestial Derivation Holy Beast?’

Chu Mu paced around the hall, his Divine Sense sweeping across his surroundings. The flames of the candles entered his perception, as did the wooden memorial tablets, each bearing a name.

Everything was perfectly clear.

Some tablets were withered like decaying wood, as if they had weathered countless ages, now utterly lifeless. Yet other tablets gleamed with vitality, and he could even perceive the faint fluctuations of a Divine Soul from within them.

Among the withered tablets, some clung to a sliver of life, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be snuffed out at any moment.

He also saw candles suddenly extinguish, their corresponding tablets withering completely...

Hundreds of thousands of memorial tablets were stacked high, lining all four walls of the great hall and lending it a somber air.

Chu Mu completed a lap around the room but detected nothing unusual.

He stopped, and his gaze shifted, landing once more on the glaring crimson mark on his wrist.

’The Sand-tailed Scorpion Mother... or as it’s called, the Celestial Derivation Holy Beast...’

’It seems my theory wasn’t wrong.’

’The truth is even... more terrifying.’

’For more than eight hundred years, hundreds of thousands of Cultivators have thrown themselves into the fray, one after another.’

’And yet, even now, that Desert Sea is clearly on the verge of being completely out of control.’

’I just don’t understand what caused this place, which has been in Concealment since ancient times, to reappear in the world now.’

’Is there some kind of contingency at play?’

Deep in thought, Chu Mu patted Wangcai’s head. He took a single step, which seemed to cover a great distance as if by Shrinking Inches, and walked out of the hall.

The mountain peak was tall, and the great hall upon it was magnificent.

From this high vantage point, he could not see the end of Purifying Soul Mountain.

Everywhere he looked, there were endless mountain ranges dotted with innumerable towering pavilions and terraces.

In front of the hall, there were even many disciples passing by, dressed in... Celestial Palace Robes.

Some with lower Cultivation levels saw him standing there and even stopped to bow in greeting.

He could even overhear some of the Cultivators’ conversations; their topics all revolved around Soul Purification. The glaring crimson marks on their wrists were also perfectly visible.

Everything felt incredibly real.

It was as if he had truly crossed the river of time to the age of the Ancient Celestial Palace, arriving at the Purifying Soul Mountain of that bygone era, and had become a Celestial Palace Disciple about to fulfill a suicidal duty.

"Celestial Palace..."

He exhaled slowly and shook his head, banishing the myriad thoughts from his mind. He started walking toward the Purification Soul Pavilion that Yun Qianshan had mentioned.

Behind the great hall, an Ancient Tower stood tall.

The plaque reading "Purification Soul Pavilion" was hung high on this Nine-Layer Ancient Tower.

The doors to the first floor of the Ancient Tower were wide open, with a constant stream of Celestial Palace Cultivators moving in and out.

’All the Trial Takers are in there...’

Chu Mu subtly glanced at two Cultivators who had just brushed past him. Though they also wore Celestial Palace Robes, he could easily tell that these two were Trial Takers from outside Purifying Soul Mountain.

With a thought, Chu Mu waved his hand. His pale cyan Magic Robe rippled and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a pristine white Celestial Palace Robe.

He returned Wangcai to his Qiankun Bag. Standing there alone, he was now indistinguishable from the other Celestial Palace Cultivators.

And as his Illusion God Mask flickered, his face changed and his aura receded. Now, even someone who knew him well would probably not be able to recognize him...

...