Devouring Soul Emperor

"You Yun, if you’re not going to make a move, then we have to run!"

Chu Qingyun shouted.

Hearing this, You Yun didn’t hesitate. She turned and fled.

"Damn it!"

Chu Qingyun didn’t dare to linger for another moment and quickly followed You Yun in her escape.

The Ice Demon Ape was blind and in a state of fury, so their escape went rather smoothly. They sprinted wildly until they could no longer hear any commotion before finally stopping.

"You Yun, those were two Ice Demon Apes, and you didn’t even help me," Chu Qingyun complained.

You Yun pouted. "They’re just Tier Two Demon Beasts. I couldn’t be bothered to act. Besides, you’re the one who needs the Demon Cores, not me. Who can you blame but your own lack of strength?"

Chu Qingyun was speechless. He sighed and said, "It’s getting late. Let’s get some dinner and rest."

While there was still light, Chu Qingyun hunted a small beast, skinned and gutted it, and roasted it for their dinner.

After nightfall, Chu Qingyun and You Yun suddenly heard the rumble of thunder, and then it began to rain.

Streaks of lightning continuously lit up the forest, making it seem terrifying and bizarre.

However, Chu Qingyun was growing excited.

"You Yun, I remember we came across a tall mountain not long ago, right?" Chu Qingyun said, his excitement showing.

You Yun nodded. "What about it?"

"My Thunder Sword Manual requires a spark of Thunder Power to practice the first form. There’s even a special Thunder-Attracting Chapter for drawing in that power. On a stormy night like this, it’s easiest to successfully attract thunder from a high place."

After Chu Qingyun finished his explanation, the two of them headed back into the rain to find that mountain.

The path was difficult to find, but the mountain was easy to spot. Under the intermittent flashes of lightning, the two of them quickly located it.

The mountain path was rugged, and the combination of darkness and heavy rain made it even harder to traverse.

But with Chu Qingyun being a Martial Artist and You Yun a Martial Spirit, the trek wasn’t difficult, even if they weren’t exactly flying up the path. They soon reached the summit.

On a protruding boulder at the peak, Chu Qingyun sat cross-legged. He began to Calm his Heart and Concentrate his Spirit, executing the Thunder-Attracting Chapter from the Thunder Sword Manual to draw in the Thunder Power.

Soon, another bolt of lightning tore across the sky.

Using the Thunder-Attracting Chapter of the Thunder Sword Manual, Chu Qingyun drew down a sliver of Thunder Power from the heavens.

Succeeding on his very first try was incredibly encouraging for Chu Qingyun.

But as the thunder entered his body, flowing into his meridians along with his Primordial Power, he felt a wave of pain.

The thunder between heaven and earth was incredibly fierce and violent, fundamentally beyond what human strength could control.

That sliver of thunder rampaged through his meridians, continuously releasing its wild Thunder Power to corrode and destroy them.

Chu Qingyun’s face flushed red with pain, but he gritted his teeth and persevered.

According to the Thunder Sword Manual, drawing thunder into the body was no simple feat.

Chu Qingyun had succeeded on his first attempt purely through good luck. Naturally, he didn’t want to give up this opportunity and release the Thunder Power.

Mobilizing a large amount of Primordial Power from his Qi Sea, Chu Qingyun used it to envelop the strand of thunder and circulate it through his meridians, attempting to refine it just as he would refine Primordial Power.

However, the difficulty of Refining the thunder far exceeded Chu Qingyun’s imagination.

Even after circulating it for nine full cycles, the strand of thunder remained incredibly violent, completely beyond his control.

The continuous attempt at Refining had already caused considerable damage to his meridians; the speed of his Primordial Power’s repairs couldn’t even begin to keep up with the thunder’s rate of destruction.

’A king-rank Sword Technique... Cultivating it is certainly not easy,’ Chu Qingyun sighed inwardly, but he continued to endure the pain, gritting his teeth and pressing on with the Refining.

After another nine cycles, the strand of thunder finally grew much more docile under the Refining of his Primordial Power. The damage to his meridians also lessened considerably.

By now, however, Chu Qingyun’s nine meridians were already battered and bruised. The mere flow of Primordial Power through them made him gasp from the pain.

’As long as I can refine this strand of thunder, it will all be worth it!’

Chu Qingyun gritted his teeth, preparing to continue.

Just then, a colossal bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. It was so enormous it seemed to split the firmament in two.

As if sensing the violent and powerful lightning outside, the strand of thunder inside Chu Qingyun’s body once again grew wild.

All his previous efforts were undone in an instant!

Chu Qingyun was so frustrated he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

What he didn’t know was that anyone who obtained such a Sword Technique would certainly have a powerful expert acting as a Protector when they first started cultivating with thunder, helping them refine it.

But Chu Qingyun had no one to help him. Even You Yun was powerless to assist.

Although she was much stronger than Chu Qingyun, she was only a low-level Martial Spirit. Faced with the power of thunder, a force of Heaven and Earth, she could only watch helplessly.

His meridians were a mangled mess. It seemed he had no choice but to give up. But just then, Chu Qingyun suddenly thought of something: his Devouring Martial Soul!

When he broke through to the Martial Artist realm, it was the Devouring Martial Soul that had forcibly devoured the Heaven and Earth Primordial Power to help him stabilize his Qi Sea.

When he was with Ning Xue, it was also the Devouring Martial Soul that had forcibly seized that essence, allowing him to jump two levels and become a Tier Three Martial Artist.

Furthermore, after all his Martial Souls had advanced to Tier Three, the Ten-star Vine Martial Soul and the Shadow Martial Soul were still forced by the Devouring Martial Soul to cower in a corner of his Qi Sea.

So, could he use the Devouring Martial Soul to deal with this damn strand of thunder?

The more Chu Qingyun thought about it, the more he wanted to try.

So, at the risk of his Qi Sea bursting, he cautiously guided the strand of thunder into it.

Although he had decided to take the risk, Chu Qingyun still gathered an immense amount of Primordial Power around the thunder. If things went wrong, he would immediately use the Primordial Power to suppress it.

Upon entering the Qi Sea, the strand of thunder seemed to be at a loss, drifting about aimlessly.

But the Devouring Martial Soul discovered this intruder at once.

In its view, this Qi Sea was its territory, and no intruders were allowed!

Even the Ten-star Vine Martial Soul and the Shadow Martial Soul, two underlings it had personally created, could only cower obediently in a corner.

Guided by Chu Qingyun, the thunder slowly moved toward the center of the Qi Sea.

The Devouring Martial Soul felt provoked and gradually began to react.

The chaotic mass of the Martial Soul began to collapse in the center, gradually forming a whirlpool shape that spun slowly. A Devouring Power emerged from the vortex.

The strand of thunder seemed to sense that something was wrong and tried to flee, but it was too late.

The Devouring Power erupted, yanking it rapidly toward the vortex. It was soon pulled inside and vanished without a trace.

The vortex, too, gradually slowed, soon returning to its chaotic, formless state.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

"It’s... gone?"

Chu Qingyun was stunned into silence. ’Did the Devouring Martial Soul just... eat the strand of thunder?’

He used his Intent to probe the Devouring Martial Soul but found nothing. He even manifested the Devouring Martial Soul outside his body, but still came up empty.

Just as Chu Qingyun was about to give up, a small, snake-like bolt of thunder drilled its way out of the Devouring Martial Soul.