Devouring Soul Emperor

"Sir, based on my friends’ and my own experiences, we suspect the rooms in this passage follow a pattern."

"The deeper you go, the better the treasures in the rooms, but by the same token, the stronger the guardians you’ll encounter."

"Even a Level 9 Martial Artist could make it through the first few rooms at the entrance."

"But for the rooms here, I had to risk my life just now to shatter that puppet."

"So, sir, you must be careful. Know your limits and don’t go in too deep."

The man shared his theory with Chu Qingyun out of gratitude.

"Alright, thank you!"

Chu Qingyun turned, cupped his hands with a smile, and then continued walking deeper inside.

In the few steps he had just taken, he noticed the ring on his finger was gradually growing warmer.

With every step he took deeper inside, the ring’s temperature continued to rise.

Clearly, the ring was guiding him to a specific room in the passage.

Along the way, Chu Qingyun saw many untouched rooms and even some where fights were in progress.

Although he could have gone in and played the part of the fisherman reaping the rewards, Chu Qingyun remained unmoved, simply focusing on the ring’s temperature as he walked toward the room it indicated.

The deeper he went, the fewer people he encountered, and the more untouched rooms there were.

But the people this far in were all exceedingly strong.

No one was a fool. Others had surely started to notice the same pattern the man from before had discovered.

Along the way, Chu Qingyun even encountered several individuals whose auras alone made his heart pound with dread. Those few were definitely Martial Artists at Level 5 or above.

But everyone was in a rush to snatch treasure.

Chu Qingyun appeared to have nothing on him. Since he didn’t start trouble, no one bothered to cause any for him.

After walking for a while, the ring on his hand grew very hot. Chu Qingyun took another ten or so steps forward, only to find the ring’s temperature dropping.

’The room it was pointing to is just back there, not far!’

Chu Qingyun’s heart thumped with excitement. It was obvious the room he was looking for was nearby.

Guided by the ring’s temperature, Chu Qingyun moved slowly until he finally confirmed a room. At this room’s entrance, the ring’s temperature was at its peak.

Whether he moved forward or backward, the ring’s temperature would decrease.

’This is it!’

Chu Qingyun burst through the door, his eyes suddenly widening in disbelief.

The room wasn’t small, nearly a hundred square meters.

The entire room was spacious and completely bare. There was nothing at all, except for a burly, two-meter-tall humanoid Puppet in the very center!

’This is... a room with only a Guardian and no treasure!’

A stampede of a thousand curses ran through Chu Qingyun’s mind.

He had gone to such lengths, passed up so many opportunities, and followed the ring’s guidance, only to be led to a room like this!

However, after standing in the doorway for a moment, Chu Qingyun felt that something wasn’t right.

Though the Puppet was facing him, it remained perfectly still, showing no intention of attacking.

’Could it be...’

Chu Qingyun’s heart suddenly leaped as a guess began to form in his mind.

He cautiously walked up to the Puppet and touched it lightly. As he suspected, the Puppet was like an inanimate object, showing no reaction whatsoever.

It was a masterless Puppet!

Following the same method he had used for the Storage Ring, Chu Qingyun pricked his finger and dripped a drop of blood onto the Puppet’s forehead.

The blood was slowly absorbed. Chu Qingyun felt a sense of control over the Puppet, and he also received a piece of information about it.

This was an advanced Puppet that used Upper-Grade or Top-Grade Primordial Stones as its Energy Core.

However, its core was slightly damaged. Now, a full-power strike was only equivalent to an attack from a peak Level 7 Martial Artist.

’A strike from a Level 7 Martial Artist!’

Chu Qingyun raised an eyebrow, inwardly overjoyed.

Even he probably couldn’t withstand a single blow from a Level 7 Martial Artist at his current level.

Originally, with his Realm as a Level 1 Martial Artist and combat power barely reaching that of a Level 4 Martial Artist, he could only hang around the outer areas of the Martial King’s Tomb.

But now, with this Puppet, as long as he had enough Primordial Stones, he was finally qualified to explore the depths of the tomb!

’Thank goodness for this Storage Ring,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, just getting this Puppet out of here would be a problem.’

After stowing the Puppet in his Storage Ring, Chu Qingyun left the room and once again headed deeper into the tomb.

He hadn’t gone far before the ring’s scalding temperature quickly faded to a simple warmth.

But after Chu Qingyun had walked nearly another hundred meters, the ring started to grow hot again.

A smile appeared on Chu Qingyun’s face once more, his heart full of anticipation.

The first signal had led him to a Puppet with the combat power of a Level 7 Martial Artist. He wondered what kind of surprise this next one would bring.

With his previous experience, Chu Qingyun found the room the ring was indicating much more quickly this time.

With a flash of Primordial Power in his hand, Chu Qingyun blasted the door open.

Instantly, a dense wave of Primordial Power Qi rushed to meet him, and Chu Qingyun was once again rooted to the spot.

’This... this is all Primordial Stones!’

’Upper-Grade, Upper-Grade, Upper-Grade... and even Top-Grade! Heavens, the worst of them are Upper-Grade Primordial Stones!’

Chu Qingyun was shocked. The entire room was filled with piles of pigeon-egg-sized Primordial Stones. Piles and piles of them, and the lowest quality among them were Upper-Grade Primordial Stones!

In his entire life, Chu Qingyun had never seen, nor even imagined, so many Primordial Stones being laid out before him.

For a moment, he truly felt as if he had been knocked dizzy by happiness.

But he snapped out of it just a moment later.

He immediately dashed over to the Top-Grade Primordial Stones, scooping them up by the handful and tossing them into his Storage Ring.

’I’ll take them, I’ll take them, I’ll take them all! All of these Primordial Stones are mine!’

Chu Qingyun put the full strength of a Martial Artist on display, his hands moving so fast they became a blur. The pile of Primordial Stones, which stood half as tall as a person, shrank at a rate visible to the naked eye.

After a full five minutes, Chu Qingyun had finally loaded all the Top-Grade Primordial Stones into his Storage Ring.

But then, without pausing for a moment, he started grabbing the Upper-Grade Primordial Stones and stuffing them into the Storage Ring.

Half an hour later, Chu Qingyun’s hands were aching from exhaustion. He had packed away most of the Primordial Stones in the room, with only one pile left.

Just then, Chu Qingyun’s ears twitched. He suddenly heard a sound approaching.

The sound grew clearer and clearer. Someone was coming.

’Men die for wealth as birds die for food,’ Chu Qingyun thought. ’I have to be on my guard...’

With a thought, Chu Qingyun released the Puppet from before.

Looking at the tall Puppet, Chu Qingyun felt slightly more at ease. He grabbed a handful of Primordial Stones, shattered them with a jolt of Primordial Power from his hand, and directed all of the resulting power into the Puppet. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Infused with Primordial Power, a glimmer of light flashed in the Puppet’s eyes, and it began to radiate a faint yet heart-pounding aura.