World of Cultivation

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Chapter 113: Exotic Spiritual Energy

Half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn after Ye Yun entered the white mist-filled space, a flicker of light and shadow materialized at the broken stairway entrance, followed by a faint silhouette.

"The fifth layer… I’ve finally reached the fifth layer!" A voice trembling with exhilaration echoed as a young man stepped from the light. Had Ye Yun lingered outside the mist, he’d have recognized the newcomer as Hua Yicheng, who’d entered Hualun Hall ahead of him.

Hua Yicheng stood at the fifth layer’s entrance, staring at the swirling white fog with unbridled triumph. "The first three layers held little of worth—only a medium-grade spiritual weapon, a hundred Spirit Gathering Pills, thirty Spirit Nourishing Pills, and a few exotic herbs. The fourth layer was bafflingly empty, even the stairs ruined. Without my Hua family’s secret cultivation techniques, I’d never have ascended here." His eyes gleamed as he studied the mist.

Instead of charging forward, Hua Yicheng lingered, brow furrowed. "To traverse White Sha mist, one must seal all pores and acupoints. Letting it invade the body would spell disaster. Thankfully, our clan’s archives warned of this." He flicked his wrist, summoning a purple light shadow that cascaded over him like a gauzy curtain, tinting his skin crimson-purple. Shielded thus, he stepped into the fog.

Ye Yun drifted through the pale haze. Though the mist seemed thin, it blurred his vision beyond three zhang. He moved cautiously, breath held.

The previous layer had yielded four treasures: Spirit Gathering Pills, Blood Jade Celestial Crystal, Thunder Sound Metamorphosis ring, and an enigmatic key. While the key’s purpose eluded him, the others were priceless for a Qi Refining cultivator. This layer’s rewards should surpass them.

Ye Yun strained his senses—catching faint sounds, scents absent, eyes scouring the three-zhang radius. Yet after half an hour’s trek, nothing.

Spatial array. The vault’s master, a Golden Core expert, had woven spatial restrictions into every inch. Hualun Hall wasn’t vast—thirty minutes should’ve let him circle it ten times. But the mist stretched endlessly.

A prickle. Strange spiritual energy seeped into his body through an acupoint, then vanished. Ye Yun froze, scrutinizing every fiber. Nothing. He pressed on.

Another wisp invaded, disappeared. Then more—streams of alien energy piercing his defenses, dissolving without trace. He halted, focusing.

This energy differed from ordinary spiritual or elemental forces—cold, foreign. If accumulated, it might freeze his meridians and soul instantly. Beads of sweat formed. How much had seeped in? Enough to turn him to ice?

Exploration halted. Survival demanded expelling this chill.

Fire element surged through him, tendrils probing every crevice. But the flames dissipated like mud in water, leaving emptiness.

Dread gripped him. Fire element—rare, coveted—was dissolving. If lost…

Spiritual power surged rapidly within Ye Yun as he desperately sought traces of the fire element. Yet it seemed the fiery energy had never existed, vanishing like fragments of a forgotten dream.

He knew this wasn’t illusion. Since the fire element had disappeared within him, it must still linger – devoured or concealed by some exotic spiritual energy. Eliminating this invasive force would reclaim his fire element.

But despite exhaustive searching, no trace of foreign energy surfaced. This mysterious power defied his comprehension, remaining utterly undetectable.

Calmness replaced panic. If fire failed, ice would hunt next. Should ice falter, lightning would become his final gambit. Losing any element proved unacceptable, making their sacrifice equally dire.

Ice element surged through his meridians. Pale blue frost crawled across his skin, encasing him in crystalline armor within moments. From fingertips to soul, every fiber chilled as the ice element conducted its meticulous search. Any hidden energy would freeze into visibility.

Within minutes, Ye Yun became a human ice sculpture. Sunlight would have revealed dazzling refractions across his frozen form.

*Crack!*

The ice prison fractured into cobweb patterns before exploding outward. Frost shards littered the ground as Ye Yun emerged scowling. Even after freezing his own bones and soul, the invasive energy remained elusive.

His ice element too had vanished. Only the glittering debris proved its brief existence.

The lingering mist showed no further energy fluctuations – every wisp had infiltrated his body. Quantity mattered less than location now. Recovering fire and ice elements demanded rooting out this parasite.

Indecision gnawed at him. Preserving the lightning element meant retaining Thundercloud Lightning Sword’s devastating power. At sixth-layer Connecting Orifices stage, his spiritual power already dwarfed most Qi refining initiates. With lightning, he could challenge third-level Qi refining experts. Fire and ice elements combined with Fire Flame Explosive Cloud and Ice Spirit Soul Lock medium-grade spiritual weapons might even let him survive mid Qi refining stage encounters.

Losing all three elements would reduce him to raw spiritual power – barely sufficient against novice Qi refining disciples.

Yet hesitation meant danger. This invasive energy threatened permanent, uncontrollable Ice Sealing.

Gritting his teeth, Ye Yun unleashed the lightning element. Thunder boomed as electric snakes writhed around him. Lightning – heavenly punishment given form. Even seasoned cultivators trembled before its primal fury.

Crackling energy ravaged his meridians. Any ordinary Qi refining novice’s body would’ve disintegrated instantly. But Ye Yun’s enhanced physique endured as lightning intensified, pain flaring through familiar pathways.

The electric maelstrom grew, enveloping him in sizzling luminescence. Then –

A bone-deep chill erupted within. Ghastly white vapor seeped from his crown, coalescing into… a massive spectral skull!