Chapter 488: Statue

Chapter 488: Chapter 488: Statue

The gap grew ever smaller, so much so that Shen Hao could no longer straighten his back. He lowered his head slightly, closed his eyes, and remained utterly still.

"Soul power, soul, sea of consciousness, energy, perception... everywhere!"

Suddenly, Shen Hao’s body started to tremble ever so slightly. A force like newborn power erupted from his sea of consciousness, as though pent up for far too long, now breaking out in a torrent. In the blink of an eye, it filled the cramped space within the barrier, then—"bang"—brutally shattered the invisible restraints crowding around him!

"Is this soul power? Is my soul power really this strong?"

This wasn’t some newly born strength, but something Shen Hao already possessed: the power of his soul. It was simply the first time he’d ever unleashed it.

Soul power had always manifested in the sea of consciousness, but to exert it outward required methods like the Soul Suppressing Skill—skills acting directly upon the soul. When had it ever interfered with the material world like this?

According to the "Soul Power First Volume·Upper", soul power can be wielded much like True Qi, but its effects are even more subtle. Just as the ring of invisible barriers that confined Shen Hao a moment ago had been deployed through soul power in a special way. For cultivators whose soul power was weaker than his, or who couldn’t project soul power outward, it was nearly impossible to counter.

Of course, the barrier that trapped Shen Hao hadn’t truly concentrated a high level of soul power, only served to test whether he could master soul power in a short time.

"This skill is powerful!" Shen Hao was both shocked and overjoyed. Shocked because the strength of this skill was definitely Earth Level, and perhaps even Celestial Level! Delighted, because the so-called "soul power" described here suited him perfectly.

How strong was Shen Hao’s soul? To give a rough comparison, it was at least on par with a cultivator at the Primordial Pill Realm First Layer—a whole Great Realm across! Within his own realm, it was virtually impossible to find a cultivator with comparable soul strength, let alone one stronger—an absolute impossibility. Because with each Small Realm breakthrough, Shen Hao had always pushed soul strength’s ceiling, accumulating over time to a degree far beyond the norm—an anomaly.

So what happens when an anomaly can wield soul power externally in combat?

With Shen Hao’s current soul strength, who at Primordial Pill Realm and below could be his match? Throw a soul power shield at someone, and if their soul is weaker, he could simply squeeze them apart. He could even coat himself in a layer of soul power—what physical attack could touch him then?

Of course, these were only thoughts for now; there were likely still limitations to how soul power could be used, and it definitely wasn’t invincible. Shen Hao would have to puzzle that out for himself later.

But this is only "First Volume·Upper"—does that mean there’s a "Middle Volume", "Lower Volume"? Perhaps each volume splits into several parts?

With those thoughts, Shen Hao found himself with new hopes besides "finding food for the Black Beast Tattoo".

Quickly composing himself, Shen Hao continued along the corridor, but his mood had changed—not anxious anymore, but tense with anticipation.

Yet, unfortunately, in the latter half of the corridor, no mechanisms blocked him again. It seemed as if he’d passed the test, and so the path was clear.

The corridor was indeed long. Even at Shen Hao’s brisk pace, it took nearly half a stick of incense to reach the end. Then, in the torchlight, rows and rows of dwellings appeared, their doors all shut tight, looking like thick stone gates. Within the line of sight, a dozen or so could be counted—farther ones, he could not tell.

But besides these dwellings, what drew the eye most was that outside every stone gate stood a statue the size of a Zhenren. Each statue was in a different posture—some standing, some sitting or crouching, some holding swords, some with hands behind their backs gazing upward...

But all these statues depicted the same person.

The ages appeared varied, but it was unmistakably one and the same individual. Some statues looked young, others aged—clearly the same person at different points in life.

With handsome features, whether youthful or old, even from the stone likenesses alone, one could sense the phrase: "brimming with heroic spirit!"

But every statue bore a half-smiling, half-mocking expression, as if sneering at someone—or perhaps at everyone?

Who could this be? Hardly a mystery—almost certainly the owner of the tomb, the ancient unrivaled strong person from a thousand years ago, Sword Emperor Feng Bubai.

Shen Hao remained cautious. Upon stepping out of the corridor, he felt the difference between this place and outside—a kind of indescribable, killing air.

No need to look far—the ground beneath his feet was crossed with cracks of varying depth, telling how many fierce battles had taken place here.

"Screee..." Shen Hao dragged his Yanji Saber hard across the floor, but it wouldn’t so much as scratch the surface. It screeched like nails on glass, leaving the floor untouched and leaving Shen Hao dumbfounded.

He’d thought the floor’s ashen blackness made its material unclear, and with so many cracks, he wanted to see if he could leave a similar mark, to gauge the battle’s intensity. In the end... he’d overestimated himself.

He tried several times and found that unless he used Black Cut, he couldn’t even scrape a sliver from the surface.

As for what material the floor was made from, Shen Hao simply couldn’t tell.

There was nothing else to discover... for now.

Cautiously, Shen Hao approached the nearest dwelling. He examined the statue outside—arms folded, wearing a cold smile; vivid in every detail, looking very young, not even twenty. After a short glance, Shen Hao got the distinct feeling the statue’s gaze was sizing him up with disdain.

If Feng Bubai had actually looked at people with such a sideways glare in his lifetime, surely many would have disliked him.

Taking a few steps closer, Shen Hao noticed writing on the door: Sword One.

Sword One? What does that mean?

As Shen Hao puzzled over it, the Black Beast Tattoo on his chest grew restless, and a strong sensation of hunger rose again. It clearly signaled its desire for Shen Hao to go through the gate, as if it sensed "food" behind it.

"Are you sure?"

Shen Hao muttered under his breath, instinctively. Of course, there was no reply—he could only suppress the hunger while quickly scanning around.

The door was made of the same material as the floor. Aside from the words "Sword One", there was nothing else—not even trace lines of array formation, nor any energy fluctuations. It seemed like an utterly ordinary stone gate.

Yet, with the floor scarred and battered, the stone gate remained pristine, which really wasn’t normal—further proof of its uniqueness.

Truth be told, Shen Hao didn’t want to go inside. But he’d come this far; with the arrow drawn, it would be wrong not to see what lay ahead.

So Shen Hao reached out and pushed the stone gate—no movement at all. He considered, then channeled True Qi into his palm and attempted a fresh blow.

This time there was a reaction. But it wasn’t from the stone gate; it was from the statue outside.

"Kakaka..." The statue’s neck gave a mechanical twist as it began moving, its half-smiling, half-mocking gaze fixed on Shen Hao, whose hair stood on end in alarm as he entered full vigilance.