Chapter 83 - 82: Splitting the soul

Chapter 83: Chapter 82: Splitting the soul

Chen Yuan stopped before the collection and looked over the various materials. From time to time, Chen Yuan’s gaze would linger on certain items longer than he intended, and Chen Haoran caught them almost instantly.

Chen Haoran cleared his throat and began introducing them one by one, "These seven are the most valuable materials we found."

He pointed toward a red crystal first.

"This is the Scarlet Sun Crystal. It’s a peak second-grade Heaven-and-Earth material with a strong fire attribute."

"Even without being refined, it naturally produces heat that is comparable to a second-grade fire attribute spiritual technique."

Next, he pointed toward the small piece of jade beside it.

"This is the Frostheart Jade. Its coldness is extremely concentrated, and Qi Condensation realm cultivators would have difficulty holding it for long without protection."

His finger then moved toward the dark, irregular stone.

"And this is the Void-Eroding Stone. It’s rather strange. The Family’s records didn’t contain much information about its origin, but they noted that it possesses a faint spatial nature."

Chen Yuan’s eyes lingered on the stone for a moment.

"Spatial..."

Chen Haoran continued.

"The next one is the Thunderheart Ore. It contains a powerful lightning attribute and occasionally produces lightning on its own."

He pointed toward a dark green root.

"This is the Verdant Life Root. Its vitality is unusually strong, even for a second-grade material."

Then came a deep crimson metallic substance.

"Bloodsteel Marrow. Its metallic nature is extremely dense, and it is commonly used for refining weapons."

Finally, Chen Haoran pointed toward a heavy grey stone.

"And this is the Ninefold Mountain Stone. Its main characteristic is its extraordinary weight and stability. It is said that a piece of it can withstand tremendous force without breaking."

Chen Yuan looked over the seven materials. All seven were peak second-grade and each one of them possessed a completely different nature.

He nodded slightly.

"These seven will do."

Chen Haoran glanced toward the remaining materials before continuing, "There is one more that I think Ancestor might find interesting, although its grade is lower."

He reached toward a small fragment sitting among the other materials and picked it up.

It was only the size of a fingernail, dark red in color, with a faint orange light occasionally flickering across its surface.

"This is the Emberheart Fragment. It’s only a low second-grade material, and its flame attribute isn’t particularly powerful. It was found inside the remains of an ancient volcanic region."

Chen Yuan took the fragment from him and almost immediately, a tiny spark jumped across its surface. His expression changed slightly.

Unlike the Scarlet Sun Crystal, which contained a concentrated and continuous flame nature, this material felt strangely different.

Its fire did not seem to burn but rather, it sparked. Over his sight, a tiny burst of heat appeared and vanished almost immediately, only to emerge somewhere else moments later.

Chen Yuan’s gaze remained on the fragment.

"Sparks..."

For some reason, he immediately thought of his Flaming Fireflies technique. The similarity was subtle, but the nature was there.

Perhaps this material could help him improve the technique.

He had always felt that Flaming Fireflies still had considerable room for development.

If he could use the nature of this material as a foundation, perhaps he could eventually turn it into a genuine second-grade spiritual technique.

Chen Yuan placed the Emberheart Fragment beside the other seven materials, "Then, This old an will take this one as well."

Chen Haoran nodded respectfully, "Yes Ancestor. Then these eight should be everything useful that we have found."

Chen Yuan looked over the collection one final time before nodding.

"That’s enough."

He waved his hand, and the eight materials immediately disappeared from the table. Chen Yuan then glanced toward Chen Haoran as his figure slowly began rising into the air.

"Send some people to look around Jade River City in the east."

Chen Haoran’s expression became confused.

"Jade River City?"

Before he could ask why, Chen Yuan’s expression became slightly more solemn.

"The world is changing, Haoran. Be prepared for the upcoming storm."

He left those words behind before turning away.

A moment later, his figure disappeared into the distance, leaving Chen Haoran standing alone in the courtyard.

Chen Haoran stared in the direction the Ancestor had left, his brows slowly knitting together.

"The world... is changing?"

He repeated the words quietly, unable to understand what Chen Yuan meant.

Back inside the inheritance trial cave, Chen Yuan floated above the platform where the sword rested and waved his hand. "Let’s see whether I can do it or not."

He muttered to himself as the eight materials emerged from his sleeve and hovered before him, his gaze drifting over them with careful scrutiny.

Without wasting any more time, he sat cross-legged in midair and once again enveloped the cave in his immense spiritual energy, sealing the surroundings to ensure that nothing would disturb him.

Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he slowly closed his eyes as the eight materials hovered around him from all directions.

"First... the severance..."

He raised his right hand in front of him, studying it briefly before letting out a quiet sigh.

"To detach the physical from the body... I hope it won’t hurt that badly."

He slowly raised his other hand to the side and made a chopping gesture, faint spiritual energy gathering along its edge.

"And let a new one be reborn into this world in a brand-new form."

Slash!

Chen Yuan swung his hand and severed his right wrist in a single motion.

The blood did not spurt out, as he managed to control it in time, but the pain struck almost immediately, causing his body to jolt involuntarily.

Chen Yuan grunted and clutched his right arm as the severed hand floated away from the point where it had been disconnected. The veins along his neck bulged visibly as he struggled to endure the sudden pain.

He endured the pain as best as he could, and kept his breathing steady as his spiritual energy was maintained over the blood flowing from his severed wrist.

Even so, the pain was far more intense that he had anticipated, and even the slightest movement sent a wave of discomfort through his arm.

He clenched his teeth and waited until he had regained some semblance of composure before continuing, "Now... To split the hand soul’s imprint."

Chen Yuan slowly closed his eyes and turned his attention inward, directing his divine consciousness toward the severed hand floating before him.

At first, he could sense nothing unusual.

The hand was still connected to him through the faint remnants of his spiritual energy, and beneath that connection lay something far more fundamental, an invisible imprint that had existed since the moment his body was formed

According to the information he possessed, this was the hand’s imprint within his soul.

Chen Yuan gathered his divine consciousness and began tracing that connection, carefully separating the imprint from the rest of his soul.

The moment he attempted to pull them apart, however, his entire body stiffened.

"Urgh!"

It felt as though something had suddenly reached into the depths of his existence and begun tearing him apart from within.

His fingers curled instinctively, and his face twisted as an unbearable wave of pain crashed through his consciousness.

The pain seemed to come from everywhere at once, spreading through his divine consciousness until even the simple act of maintaining his thoughts became difficult.

Chen Yuan’s vision darkened.

For a brief moment, he nearly lost consciousness.

His divine consciousness wavering so violently that the connection he was trying to sever almost slipped beyond his control.

He immediately stopped, forcing himself to draw a breath while his body trembled in midair.

"Damn it...!"

He had barely managed to steady himself when he realized that stopping halfway had done nothing to ease the pain already lingering in his soul.

It throbbed with every attempt to gather his thoughts, and the slightest movement of his divine consciousness sent another sharp wave through him.

Nevertheless, Chen Yuan gritted his teeth and resumed the process.

Several times, his awareness faded so close to nothing that he could no longer tell whether his eyes were open or closed.

Each time, he dragged himself back from the edge of unconsciousness through sheer determination, refusing to let his divine consciousness lose its hold on the process.

He had never imagined that severing an imprint could be this cruel.

Yet he continued, slowly separating the final remnants of the connection until, at last, something inside him gave way.

Chen Yuan’s entire body shuddered as the invisible connection snapped.

For an instant, he felt as though a part of his very existence had been torn out, leaving behind an unfamiliar emptiness that made his thoughts falter.

He could no longer sense the hand’s imprint within his soul, and the severed hand floating before him had become nothing more than a piece of flesh, completely detached from both his physical body and the soul.

Chen Yuan’s head drooped as he struggled to remain conscious, cold sweat running down his face.

"...Finally."