Chapter 334

Chapter 334: Three Failed Attempts

Lou Yun was not a reckless person, nor would he foolishly go to his death without understanding the situation.

Because his current innate senses were astonishing,

so even when he was at the volcano’s rim long ago, he had already seen clearly.

Although the volcano’s interior was filled with boiling lava everywhere seen,

in reality, the lava inside was like a pond.

Since there was a pond, it naturally had banks.

Around the lava pond, there was a ring of red rocks.

The area was not very large, but it was absolutely sufficient for a single person to stand.

And Lou Yun wanted to give it a try, to see if those rocks could shelter him.

Lou Yun piloted the Dream Emperor Sword to fly at a slow pace.

Although he descended straight down,

he still had to dodge the billowing smoke clouds that erupted upwards periodically.

Moreover, he had never been inside a volcano before,

so he did not know what other unknown dangers might lurk beyond the surging lava, rising smoke, and rolling flames.

When his feet finally stepped onto the red rocks,

his entire face had turned bright red from the intense heat all around.

His clothes became soaked through, dried, soaked through, and dried again in an instant.

At the volcano’s core, the temperature was extremely high.

Even for someone like Lou Yun, who cultivated with fire,

it felt a bit unbearable.

Standing on this rock that had been baked by the lava for countless years,

and gazing at the dark red molten lava only a meter away—bubbling, rolling, and spitting flames—

any fear had vanished from Lou Yun’s mind,

and he became unusually calm.

Now it was Chang Xiang who started worrying.

Though inside Lou Yun’s body,

his strong spiritual senses had detected that the rocks around the lava pond seemed indestructible after so many years.

But in truth, their roots had long been eroded away by the lava.

They could not bear much weight at all,

and might collapse into the lava at any moment.

Naturally, Lou Yun standing atop them would also tumble in.

Although Lou Yun’s body contained two heavenly flames inside,

and the active fire in this volcano had a lower temperature than heavenly flames,

Lou Yun’s power was not yet sufficient to unleash the full strength of a heavenly flame.

Neither Chang Xiang nor Lou Yun knew,

and probably not even Mr. Commoner himself if he appeared,

whether Lou Yun’s body could withstand the lava’s heat at that moment.

Of course, there was no way to answer that question for now.

They could not let Lou Yun personally jump into the lava to test it.

Chang Xiang elevated his entire mind to an unprecedented intensity.

He was ready at all times so that if the rock beneath Lou Yun’s feet shifted even slightly,

he would immediately get Lou Yun out of that perilous place without hesitation.

Lou Yun stood on this rock that could plunge him into the boiling lava at any moment,

staring at the lava under his feet,

and he appeared utterly serene.

After staring blankly for a short while,

Lou Yun suddenly seemed to come to his senses.

His body trembled,

and then he sat down cross-legged.

As he sat,

the rock beneath him wobbled lightly.

Though the movement was very subtle,

both Lou Yun and Chang Xiang perceived it.

However, the two men reacted completely differently.

Chang Xiang’s whole heart was tied to that rock.

When it shook,

his heart seemed about to leap from his throat.

But although Lou Yun noticed it,

he acted as though he felt nothing.

After sitting down and crossing his legs properly,

he slowly closed his eyes.

Almost instantly, his entire being immersed itself within his own body.

When he saw this,

Chang Xiang finally could not help but sigh deeply again.

However, that sigh held more than helplessness;

it also carried a hint of joy.

Lou Yun was about to block out all distractions within the volcano,

with the roiling lava around him,

and focus every bit of his energy.

He was now exploring an entirely new path in his cultivation.

Lou Yun did not immediately start pondering methods for practicing his soul or directly cultivating his magical weapon.

At that moment,

he was extremely tranquil and composed.

He slowly observed every part of himself,

as if conducting a thorough and accurate self-review.

The first thing he looked at was naturally his dantian.

The magical weapon Dream Emperor Sword, grown from there,

was crucial for him to reach this point.

It was currently at the third star of the profound stage in the magical weapon realm.

Inside the Dream Emperor Sword,

there dwelled two heavenly flames that Lou Yun had absorbed.

One was Fusang Fire with healing capabilities,

which had already transformed into a complete Fusang Tree.

Its roots were deeply embedded in the Dream Emperor Sword,

while its trunk grew within Lou Yun’s body.

Its branches and leaves spread almost everywhere,

covering his entire body.

The other was Thunderstorm Fire,

which had the strongest offensive power.

But at that moment,

Thunderstorm Fire was not in the dantian.

It resided in Lou Yun’s heart.

Due to its lightning properties,

it continually generated small sparks.

These sparks fell onto the Fusang Tree,

turning into spiritual energy for Lou Yun’s use.

In addition,

Lou Yun took pride in his physical body.

According to the Ten Refinements of the Body taught by Chang Xiang,

he had already completed four refinements successfully.

His meridians, blood vessels, bones, and muscles had been strengthened to some degree.

Lou Yun believed these should represent the internal power his master had mentioned.

Precisely because of that internal power,

he could challenge opponents far above his realm while lagging behind in his magical weapon stage.

However,

his master had said that the key to truly unlocking internal power was the soul.

Lou Yun gazed at the small, lightly glowing crystal prism hanging in his mind.

He finally began earnestly considering how to practice cultivating it.

Although Chang Xiang suggested Lou Yun search through the vast collection of techniques left by Mr. Commoner

for any references on soul cultivation,

Lou Yun had no intention of looking.

He was certain nothing would be there.

Mr. Commoner had said that after finding the soul,

things like soul power and soul fire would need Lou Yun to discover step by step on his own.

If he said that,

it clearly meant he had left behind no methods for soul cultivation.

The crystal soul was visibly right before Lou Yun’s eyes,

but Chang Xiang could not see it.

This implied that the soul had no substance,

yet it somehow had a real presence.

Such a contradictory description of the soul did not strike Lou Yun as strange at all.

However,

even for real physical entities,

cultivation methods varied greatly.

For example,

a substantial common weapon could be tempered using soul fire.

A tangible dantian and magical weapon could be cultivated by absorbing spiritual energy.

But for things without substance,

there seemed to be no specific cultivation paths.

Take spiritual senses for example;

they could only improve as one’s cultivation grew.

So how should one cultivate something like the soul—which had both a physical form and none,

was everywhere yet nowhere visible?

As he pondered that question,

Lou Yun began his experiments.

Instantly,

all pores on Lou Yun’s body opened wide.

The surrounding spiritual energy, tinged with scorching heat,

gushed into his body nonstop.

Lou Yun was actively absorbing spiritual energy.

But this time,

it did not flow into his dantian along the usual meridian paths.

He fiercely directed it toward the soul in his consciousness.

However,

when such a massive amount of spiritual energy reached the soul,

it simply passed right through.

It formed a faint mist that shrouded the soul,

but Lou Yun could confirm it had not merged into the soul.

Once it had gathered around and covered the soul,

this spiritual energy dispersed aimlessly in his consciousness

after losing Lou Yun’s conscious guidance.

Even though Lou Yun had expected this outcome,

it still brought him a small flicker of disappointment.

It also deepened his understanding of one truth:

the soul—only its rightful master could see it.

If that spiritual energy had eyes or awareness,

it still could not see or sense the soul.

If it could not see or sense it,

it could never merge.

Clearly,

trying to cultivate the soul using spiritual energy was wrong.

Lou Yun abandoned the spiritual energy method,

and moved on to a new experiment.

This time,

he switched to the heavenly flames.

First was Fusang Fire.

Lou Yun urged the Fusang Tree,

making its branches extend upwards continuously,

until the topmost branch reached deep into his mind.

But this branch, like the earlier spiritual energy,

passed right through the soul, failing to touch it.

Plainly,

the Fusang Tree could not sense the soul’s existence either.

Next was the experiment with Thunderstorm Fire.

The result, however, turned out exactly the same as the first two attempts.

Even though all three different experiments had failed,

Lou Yun was not disheartened.

These were all situations he had anticipated.

If the soul could truly be cultivated that way,

either his master or Chang Xiang would have explained it to him.

From the start of his journey to that moment,

Lou Yun had only practiced three cultivation methods.

As a result,

he felt utterly drained and could not even think of a fourth way to try for the soul.

But the three failed attempts made him clearly realize one fact:

apart from himself,

no person, no entity, could see or sense his soul’s existence.

While reflecting on this point,

a thought suddenly flashed through Lou Yun’s consciousness.

It was too hazy and fleeting for him to grasp completely,

but he did catch a small tail of it.

Invisible!

Visible!

In his mind,

those two phrases—six characters total—kept churning.

This was the tip of that instantaneous, vanished idea.

He felt sure this tiny clue would help him trace back to that thought,

so he pondered those six characters unceasingly.

Suddenly,

Lou Yun’s eyes lit up.

He had successfully seized that thought.