Chapter 183
Chapter 183: The Transformation That Occurred After Seclusion!
Fan Yu thought that he was seeing things when Huo Yuhao’s body slightly moved. After all, he had waited too long. It was half a year! Huo Yuhao had sat there without moving for half a year.
However, Fan Yu soon realized that he wasn’t seeing things. That’s because he saw the dust on him falling to the ground.
He had sat there for half a year. No one dared to touch him either for fear of disrupting his cultivation. Huo Yuhao wasn’t just covered in dust. He was coated with an oxide layer.
He was like a clay figure.
Fan Yu stood up hurriedly and took a few steps forward. He stared at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao indeed moved. His body slightly trembled and dust kept on falling from him. The oxide layer on him also started to crack.
Fan Yu was a little nervous. He retrieved a jade bottle. It was his first time seeing someone enter deep meditation for half a year. Elder Xuan once instructed him not to offer Huo Yuhao any food or water immediately after he awoke. He had to consume the medicinal fluid contained within this bottle to strengthen himself first as his body was at its weakest condition at this point.
His body starting to tremble more violently. He seemed to be trying to open his eyes but didn’t have the strength to.
Fan Yu didn’t dare to touch him. He could only hold his breath and watch. Huo Yuhao had grown much thinner after half a year such that he resembled a branch. After all, his body wasn’t nourished as he sat there. He could only deplete his body reserves like a wild beast that hibernated.
Huo Yuhao’s body became still after a while. Not only was Fan Yu astonished, he was also extremely anxious and didn’t know what to do. Huo Yuhao let out a slight groan.
“Ah……” He groaned, and his body shook suddenly. The oxide layer on his body cracked and he finally opened his eyes.
Even though only a slit was formed, and dust flew around his body, the tent suddenly surfaced with a layer of weird light.
That was a dim golden color. Fan Yu only heard a buzzing sound in his mind that resonated.
Huo Yuhao’s body moved again and he finally managed to lift his head slightly. Fan Yu managed to see his eyes now.
Beautiful eyes! Amidst the clear golden, his eyes emitted a gentle light. Although it was just a pair of eyes, Fan Yu felt as if he was looking at an ocean.
Fan Yu was completely shocked. He couldn’t help it as he said, “Yuhao.”
Huo Yuhao’s lips moved slightly. His lips had already stuck together after such a long time. He struggled a little before tearing them apart. A layer of dry skin was peeled off and revealed his flesh.
“Teacher.” Huo Yuhao shut his eyes after muttering one word. His body also fell to the side like he was a statue.
Fan Yu couldn’t let him fall and quickly supported him. He could sense Huo Yuhao’s rigidity, but his cold body had developed some warmth by now.
Fan Yu rushed to break the jade bottle. He carefully poured the fluid into Huo Yuhao’s mouth. While Huo Yuhao was very weak now, his mind was clear. He struggled as he swallowed the fluid that reeked of a heavy medicinal smell.
The fluid quickly circulated around his body. A wave of heat swept and caused Huo Yuhao to feel much better.
In fact, he had already awoken when his body first jerked. It was just that he was in a tormented state then.
Huo Yuhao felt extremely weak when his mind returned to his body. He was so weak that he couldn’t even lift a finger. His body was pitch-dark, and he couldn’t even see a shred of soul power. The blood in his passageways was circulating at an unbelievably slow speed. His muscles were also as stiff as a rock.
Deep meditation should have increased my abilities! However, why am I in such a pathetic state? Huo Yuhao felt very helpless now. It wasn’t his first time entering deep meditation for a long time. The last time he did so was in the Sea God’s Pavilion. As he recalled now, the deep meditation that he did in the Sea God’s Pavilion didn’t cause any burden on his body. It was possibly because of the Golden Tree. With the nourishment of the Golden Tree, the internal courtyard disciples that underwent deep meditation didn’t experience such a problem.
Fan Yu also didn’t dare to pour his soul power into Huo Yuhao’s body to help him readjust. He knew that Huo Yuhao’s abilities had increased after seeing the expression in his eyes. It was just that his body wasn’t in good condition right now, but he could only rely on himself to readjust. Any external interference might lead to problems since his body was very weak.
He carried Huo Yuhao as this wasn’t a suitable place for him to recuperate. Fan Yu carried him and left the place.
“Teacher……immerse…hot water…” Huo Yuhao’s lips moved slightly. After consuming the medicinal fluid, a warm feeling soon engulfed his body. He managed to restore some of his energy and muttered a few words.
Fan Yu immediately understood what he meant. He quickly brought him back to his dormitory room and filled his bathtub with hot water. After that, he placed Huo Yuhao inside the bathtub without stripping him. It was only his head that was out of the water.
His body was soaked in the warm water and the oxide layer was slowly broken down. After a while, the water had already turned black. Huo Yuhao’s body seemed to soften as he soaked in the warm water.
Fan Yu changed the water before removing his torn and tattered clothes. Huo Yuhao was immersed in the water again.
With the medicine circulating and warm water soaking his body, Huo Yuhao felt much more comfortable. His body wasn’t as stiff as before and he sat more relaxedly.
The water was changed five times. After an hour, Fan Yu fed Huo Yuhao another bottle of medicine again. This enabled him to lie straight in the bathtub and his breathing became more and more normal.
Fan Yu was also soaked in perspiration and snapped, “Rascal, you deep meditated for half a year. I was almost killed by the fatigue from taking care of you.”
Huo Yuhao could open his eyes now. The golden in his eyes had dissipated and was restored to black.
“Teacher, thank you.” Huo Yuhao’s voice was shaking slightly. Tears also started to stream from his eyes.
After half a year, Fan Yu appeared to have gone through a lot and his beard had grown in a disheveled manner. He seemed to have grown much older.
Fan Yu chortled and said, “Alright, I’m just whining. I’m pleased since you’re awake. How are you? Do you feel better?
Huo Yuhao sobbed as he said, “I’m much better.”
“I’m just a little hungry.”
“Hungry? Even if you’re, you’ve to bear the hunger. Elder Xuan said that you can’t eat anything for three days after you awake from your deep meditation. You can only consume some medicinal fluid and you can drink a little water tomorrow. You can only start a liquid diet after three days.”
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly, “Teacher, I’m not that weak right?”
Fan Yu said, “Look at yourself. You’re almost a bag of bones now.”
Indeed, it was clear to see that Huo Yuhao had grown much thinner after the dirt on his body was scrubbed off. Fortunately, he was initially very developed. Even though he had become much thinner, it only made his muscle definition clearer. While he still couldn’t use his strength, his body wasn’t as stiff as before.
Fan Yu helped Huo Yuhao to clean his body. He lifted him out of the bathtub before drying him and putting him onto his bed.
“Alright, have a good sleep. I’m relieved that you’re awake. I’ll also go and take a bath.”
Huo Yuhao couldn’t hang on any further and immediately entered deep sleep after Fan Yu left.
Fan Yu wasn’t lying to him. In the next three days, he wasn’t given any food. He was only offered some water and medicine. In the meantime, Fan Yu only told He Caitou about this. He didn’t tell anyone else that Huo Yuhao had awoken.
Huo Yuhao could finally sit up after three days. He sat cross-legged as he meditated. His soul power also slowly restored.
Huo Yuhao immediately discovered that there was coagulation in his passageways. Not only did his cultivation not improve, it even seemed to have fallen. Fortunately, he already had four rings. At that level, he just needed to smoothen out his passageways before his cultivation could restore.
He took even longer to recover than what he expected. When he returned to his dormitory room secretly, it was already six months later.
After he smoothened out his passageways, he discovered that his body was different from before. The half a year’s worth of deep meditation wasn’t wasted. Although his soul power didn’t increase temporarily and only restored to half its peak six months ago, he realized that his passageways, muscles, bones and even fluid were all coated with a layer of dim golden. This golden aura was similar to his Spiritual Sea.
This also meant that his Boundless Ocean had combined with his body once. The most evident change of this combination was that his soul power circulation had been boosted.
As Huo Yuhao’s second martial soul was the Ultimate Ice, the burden on his body was quite huge. Furthermore, it was much purer than ordinary soul power. That’s why his soul power circulation was greatly restricted during his cultivation process. This was also the reason why Huo Yuhao’s cultivation increased very slowly even though he had a stable foundation.
After his body was baptized by the Boundless Ocean, he seemed to have become a new person. Not only was his life power extremely great because of the Life Gold’s nourishment, he was also more resilient now. In this way, his cultivation speed during meditation increased as he circulated his soul power. Although it wasn’t comparable to the cultivation speed of a normal soul master, this enhancement was sufficient to reduce the time taken for him to reach Rank 50 by a third with his twin martial souls and hard work!
As compared to the changes in his body, Huo Yuhao was most pleased with the increment in his spiritual power and the progress of his spiritual sea. He didn’t need to deliberately use his soul power anymore; his spiritual power was able to detect any movement around him up to a diameter of fifty meters. Once he used his Spiritual Detection, this diameter increased to eight hundred meters. If he used it unidirectionally, he could detect up to three kilometers away. Even the slightest of things could be detected, which allowed him to reach the Totality stage of the Purple Demon Eyes.
Huo Yuhao also discovered that three out of his four soul rings became much darker in color. The only exception was his hundred year soul ring which still remained white. The other three turned black. According to his judgement, they had all passed forty thousand years. This was evidently the benefit of absorbing thirty percent of Skydream’s spiritual origin.
The Skydream Iceworm knew that his body couldn’t withstand it if his soul rings were too high of a level. Otherwise, the three seals that were unsealed were powerful enough to increase three soul rings to the hundred thousand year level.
After half a year had passed, the crisis in the Illustrious Virtue Hall had already been averted. When Huo Yuhao found Xuan Ziwen and was brought into the Illustrious Virtue Hall again, he received a lot of attention in the underground base. However, he became much more low-profile than before. He silently walked towards a new laboratory desk that he was assigned to and started to create and research on soul tools. To the others, he didn’t seem much different from how he was half a year ago. However, trouble still came……
Huo Yuhao left the Illustrious Virtue Hall after he completed one day of research. As he walked towards the dormitory, he thought over what he had gleaned today. He realized that his mental calculations and analytical ability had improved after his spiritual sea transformed. His understanding of soul tools had also deepened after his knowledge was enhanced. This was definitely good news. Even though he couldn’t research on the metallic man now, consolidating his capabilities as a soul engineer was much more beneficial for his future research.
When he was about to enter the dormitory, he was alarmed by something. Huo Yuhao’s left toes pointed to the ground and he stopped. He turned his body towards another direction.
“Ji Juechen?”
From the dark and quiet corner, Ji Juechen walked out slowly as he held the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword. He appeared as cool and aloof as ever. As compared to half a year ago, his aura seemed to be much sharper now.
“You can tell that it’s me?”
Huo Yuhao laughed slightly and said, “Your sword intent is unique.”
Ji Juechen nodded his head at Huo Yuhao and said, “Thanks.”
“For what?” Huo Yuhao asked.
Ji Juechen replied, “After that day, I entered deep meditation once I returned. My understanding of my sword has deepened because of you. That’s why I’m thanking you.”
Huo Yuhao was stunned as he asked, “You also entered deep meditation? I’ll have to congratulate you then. You don’t have to thank me though. I only just awoke from my deep meditation. Come to think about it, it’s fate. We both benefited greatly from that fight.”
Ji Juechen revealed a look of annoyance apart from his usual indifference, “My deep meditation only lasted for a month, but yours lasted for half a year. Today, I shall see how much you’ve improved after half a year.”
“Alright.” Huo Yuhao neither rejected his proposition nor asked any questions. There wasn’t any meaning in talking too much with someone like Ji Juechen. Furthermore, Ji Juechen was already grabbing his sword with both hands. It seemed like he didn’t care whether Huo Yuhao was going to follow along with his suggestion.
Huo Yuhao didn’t prepare. He watched Ji Juechen with his sparkling eyes as he walked step by step towards him.
A weird scene was revealed. Every time Huo Yuhao made a step, another layer of golden would be coated on his body. His eyes sparkled with golden too. He would even leave golden footprints everywhere he went.
Ji Juechen was indeed different from how he was half a year ago. His sword intent wasn’t all-engulfing anymore. It manifested only as a streak now, but this streak was much fiercer and vicious than before. It was an extremely strong sword intent now, as if it was a dragon.
However, this streak of sword intent couldn’t stop Huo Yuhao. It was only destroyed.
Ji Juechen hadn’t even stabbed out his sword even when Huo Yuhao reached him. When the both of them were only two meters apart, Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks. Right now, his entire person had already turned golden. There wasn’t any aura that came from him. No one would feel pressured as they stood beside him.
However, Ji Juechen’s forehead was already filled with perspiration. Beads of his perspiration started to stream down his cheeks. His hands that were holding onto the sword started to tremble slightly.
Huo Yuhao placed his hands behind his back and said, “You’re on the right path. You’re focused, and your entire life has been dedicated to your sword. You’ll achieve great success if you continue on like this. In terms of focus, even I’m not your match. However, I have an advantage in terms of talent and fortune. I have a great teacher. You’ll have to chase me your entire life if you want to defeat me.”
After he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao lowered his hands again. He turned and left. Every time he took a step, the golden on his body would dim a little.
When he reached where he’d stood originally, all the golden light had dissipated from his body. He slowly walked into the dormitory block.
When Huo Yuhao disappeared, Ji Juechen groaned. He stuck the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Sword in the ground and was perspiring profusely. His sword intent disappeared instantly.
The two of them didn’t physically clash. However, there was an intense clash between their intents.
Ji Juechen’s sword was all about its sword intent. Once he suppressed his opponent, his opponent would be easily defeated no matter how strong he was. While his seven-ringed cultivation was superior to Huo Yuhao and he even attained the Martial Soul True Body, he still lost to Huo Yuhao because he couldn’t suppress him in terms of his aura.
When Huo Yuhao walked towards him, he could clearly sense that he was like an imposing sovereign. Every step he took made him even more imposing. The sovereign-like aura managed to defeat his sword intent on the spiritual level. He couldn’t strike with his sword even when Huo Yuhao reached him. Huo Yuhao managed to use his spiritual power to suppress and control him. Huo Yuhao was aware of that, thus he placed his hands behind his back.
Ji Juechen knew that he had lost as Huo Yuhao stared at him silently. He even lost by a greater margin than the previous time. Huo Yuhao was far ahead of him in the pursuit of the intent that he desired.
“You’ll have to chase me your entire life if you want to defeat me.” This sentence was stuck in Ji Juechen’s head. His body started to tremble slightly as he thought of it.
He stood there quietly for fifteen minutes. When he lifted his head up again, a determined look filled his eyes.
“I’m on the right path. Even if I’ve to chase my entire life, I’ll do so. He’s the target that I’m finding.” After he finished speaking, an excited flame rose in his eyes. He took a deep look at where Huo Yuhao disappeared from. After that, he turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
Huo Yuhao couldn’t help but shake his head slightly as he entered the dormitory block. It wasn’t a relaxed encounter previously. He also realized that Ji Juechen had found a way of fusing his spiritual mind, sword intent and soul power. Although it’s different from the Descent of the Sovereign, it was still unique. If he continued like this, he might be able to produce another Descent of the Sovereign.
Ji Juechen didn’t appear to be very strong in terms of his talent. Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that, but Ji Juechen managed to carve out a path for himself using his own hard work, determination and resolve. Even the increase in his soul power might have something to do with his own cultivation method. Otherwise, it wasn’t possible for him to reach this level at such an age.
If they went all out to fight, Huo Yuhao knew that it’s unlikely for him to emerge victorious. The gap in their cultivations was too great. Furthermore, Ji Juechen’s sword was extremely swift and fierce. However, Ji Juechen was chasing something from him that was different. That’s why he conceded defeat twice. It seemed like he needed to work even harder. While he didn’t seem to be sacrificing lesser than Ji Juechen, he was pursuing more goals than him. This meant that he had to work even harder so that he wouldn’t disappoint his unique talents!
“It’s still not over?” Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows as he looked in the forward direction.
“Your senses are very acute.” A faint voice sounded. A lady walked out from the corner. It was Na Na, who once begged Huo Yuhao to return her spirit in his room.
Huo Yuhao knew why she came. He was a little apologetic as he said, “Sorry, I was in a special situation earlier.”
“Follow me. I’ll return your spirit now.”
After hearing his words, Na Na appeared much more relieved. For some reason, she trusted him. It might be because of his embarrassment the other time. Na Na’s face turned hot as she thought of that incident. After she pondered over the matter, she realized she was too desperate. It was just that……
Just as her thoughts were a little messy, she followed Huo Yuhao into his room.
Huo Yuhao didn’t ask her to sit down as a form of polite gesture. He was still reeling from that incident! He was awkward as he saw Na Na again.
Huo Yuhao said, “Your spirit was indeed sealed by me. My martial soul is spiritual-type and your soul skill has some form of spirituality in it. That’s why I could repress it. Try to use your Avenging Spirit less frequently in the future. While it’s powerful, you’ll be in deep trouble if your opponent curbs you. After all, it’s not going to be a simple sparring when you fight outside after you graduate.”
“Okay.” Na Na nodded her head and seemed very obedient.
Huo Yuhao didn’t want her to stay for too long either, in case he was reminded of what he shouldn’t have seen. He shut his eyes and muttered an incantation. His right hand pressed against his head before a small ball of golden light was released from his forehead under the guidance of his index finger.
“Focus, relax, don’t resist.” Huo Yuhao said.
Na Na quickly relaxed her body and shut her eyes. She waited quietly.
Huo Yuhao’s index finger pointed forward and the ball of golden light was shot towards her forehead. She jerked suddenly and couldn’t help but tremble. A layer of golden extent extended from her head down to her toes before it rose all the way to her head again.
Huo Yuhao retracted his right hand and took a careful look at her. Elder Yi was the one who taught him such a method to return her spirit, but it was his first time using it. He was also a little anxious.
Fortunately, Na Na recovered quickly. When she opened her eyes again, a golden glow flashed across her eyes.
“It’s done?” Huo Yuhao asked.
Na Na nodded her head hurriedly and was excited, “My spirit feels much more condensed and even my martial soul has been enhanced. Thanks. How did you do it?”
Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment and replied, “This is my secret. I can’t tell you.” He couldn’t tell Na Na that her spirit was kept within his spiritual sea for some time, thus it managed to transform along with his spiritual power and gained an increase as he reached the level of the Boundless Ocean.
Na Na didn’t probe further. However, she looked at Huo Yuhao in a different way now.
Huo Yuhao said, “Alright, I’ve returned your spirit back to you. If there’s nothing else, go back and rest early. You must meditate and cultivate when you get back so that you can stabilize your spirit.”
“Okay.” Na Na acknowledged his words before leaving the room.
Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows slightly. After all, he returned her spirit back readily. However, she didn’t even say a word of goodbye to him. Even so, it was still a good thing that she left. He finally managed to settle this matter.
However, he was quickly wide-eyed.
That’s because Na Na didn’t leave the room as she got to the door. She shut the door that he had intentionally left ajar and even locked it. Huo Yuhao could clearly recall that she stripped naked in that position!
“What’re you doing?” Huo Yuhao was frantic as he reached in front of Na Na and grabbed her shoulder.
Na Na shook her body and stepped to her side. Huo Yuhao grabbed hold onto nothing. Huo Yuhao wasn’t Na Na’s match in terms of speed, since she was an agile-type Soul King from the Active Control Soul Tool Department. Her Spectre was also very effective in increasing her speed.
Just as Huo Yuhao was alarmed and was ready to take action, Na Na did something unexpected.
As she avoided him, she quickly collapsed to her knees. Huo Yuhao missed as he tried to grab her hand.
“What, what are you doing?” Huo Yuhao retreated two steps quickly and was shocked as he looked at Na Na.
Na Na’s eyes turned red, “Huo Yuhao, please help me.”
“Get up first.” Huo Yuhao turned away and wouldn’t accept her behavior.
Na Na shook her head forcefully. She also started to tear, “Let me kneel as I speak. I……”
Huo Yuhao said decisively, “If you continue acting like this, I’ll chase you out.” As he said, he quickly walked to the door.
“No!” Na Na grabbed hold onto his legs and stuck her body to them. She sobbed while speaking, “Don’t chase me out. I’ll stand up to speak.”
As she spoke, she stood up as she used Huo Yuhao as her support. She lowered her head in tears, as if she had committed a mistake.
Huo Yuhao’s heart softened and he pointed to a chair on the side, “Take a seat.”
Na Na walked towards the chair obediently and softly said, “Can you listen to my story?”
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly, “Will you leave if I don’t let you tell me?
Na Na blushed and said, “I came from a noble family. My father is a baron from the Sun Moon Empire, considered as the lowest among all nobilities. Although we don’t have land, we have some estates and shops. We’re quite well-off. My father’s innate martial soul has no soul power, thus he couldn’t become a soul master.”
“My parents met because of a coincidence. My father was out on a leisure travel and bumped into my mother, who was critically injured after hunting soul beasts. My mother fainted when she saw my father. He saved her and helped her to escape danger. However, he had no choice but to bring her back because her injuries were too serious.”
“She recuperated for a month before she fully recovered. My father’s meticulous care touched her. On the day she was supposed to leave, he made her stay and expressed his love for her. However, she told him that she’s an inauspicious character. Making her stay will only cause harm to him. He was stubborn and told her he wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t a superstitious person.”
Na Na’s look in her eyes became obscure as he recounted the memories of the past. Huo Yuhao was also listening seriously to her.
“My mother was moved after interacting with him for a month and sensing his meticulous care towards her. After hesitating, she decided to stay. Their relationship blossomed, and they eventually got married three months later. After a year, I was born.”
“While my father is a nobility, he’s a kind person. He’s very nice to all our tenants. After my mother married him, she stayed at home. Before I was six, we led a happy life. It was until someone…”
Na Na’s tears flowed again as she reached this point.
“I was six then. One day, my mother told my father that she was going out. I was still small and pestered my mom to follow her. I only found out later that she went hunting for soul beasts. Her soul power had reached a bottleneck and she needed a soul ring to achieve a breakthrough. My mother was born ordinary and her cultivation was self-achieved. When she was small, she attended an elementary soul master academy and learned some simple knowledge. She didn’t continue her education after that as she was broke. However, she managed to reach Rank 40 based on her own abilities when I was six years old and she became a Soul Ancestor. For an ordinary person, that was a very rare thing.”
“My father encouraged my mother, but she was gone for half a year. She returned with a dismal look on her face after half a year. My father was too delighted then and didn’t realize anything amiss. She managed to obtain her soul ring. My martial soul also awakened then. Like my mother, my martial soul was a Spectre.”
“Not long after she returned, a bunch of strangers came to our house one day. I don’t know what they say to her, but she left with them. My father tried to stop them, but he couldn’t. From that day on, it became a nightmare for my family. My mother kept on leaving the house and she left for a long time each time she left the house. She always appeared very dismal when she returned, but her abilities kept getting stronger and stronger. I was sent to a soul master academy to study. At the start, I wasn’t clear about what was going on at home. However, I realized some valuable items were missing from my home when I returned one day. My father seemed much older and my other rarely came home.”
“I asked him what happened. However, he didn’t say anything and only sighed. I tried to ask my mother, but I didn’t even see her. When I was twelve, someone came to the academy to tell me that my father had passed away.”
As she spoke till here, Na Na was almost inaudible from the crying. Huo Yuhao also couldn’t grasp what she was saying. He stood up and passed her some tissue.
After a moment, Na Na finally managed to calm down. She continued, “I ran home like a maniac, but it was too late. He died with his eyes opened. Even though he had passed away, his eyes were still filled with a look of disbelief. It was as if he had seen something he couldn’t understand.”
“Who? Who killed daddy? There was an obvious fatal wound on his chest. Who’s so cruel enough to kill daddy? I kept on shouting ‘Daddy, Daddy!’, but he couldn’t hear me. He didn’t wake up. What about mummy? Where did my mother go to? He’s dead, but she’s not around.”