I Am Overlord c1-962
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Xiang Shaoyun started dashing toward the entrance. He moved rapidly, instantly arriving before the entrance. He thought he would be able to escape, but the repelling force had reappeared and blocked his path of escape. The nether prison devil puppet arrived before him and threw a heavy punch at him.
Sphhlt!
Xiang Shaoyun felt like his waist had snapped from the punch as his body flew away before crashing heavily on the ground. He coughed blood without stop, dyeing the ground around him red. That punch was akin to a collapsing mountain that had crushed him under its weight. This was a strength surpassing the Emperor Realm, a power of a Sovereign.
Xiang Shaoyun could no longer get back on his feet, but he still maintained his consciousness and knew that his opponent had no intention of really destroying his body. The nether prison devil puppet rushed over and gave him a kick.
Xiang Shaoyun felt like his internal organs were going to burst apart from the impact of the kick. Without any hesitation, he released his Nether Soul Domain. If not even his Nether Soul Domain could stop this puppet, there was nothing else he could do. He had thought that he would be able to obtain some inheritance from this trip to further increase his strength and trump cards, but everything had progressed differently from his expectations. He had instead thrown himself into danger.
After the Nether Soul Domain spread and enveloped the entire area, Xiang Shaoyun's soul started attacking the nether prison devil puppet. A total of 49 chains shot out and wrapped around the nether prison devil puppet's body before tightening up around it, trying to crush it. Unfortunately, the chains as powerful as the attack of an eighth-stage Emperor was not enough to deal with this puppet.
"Roar!"
The nether prison devil puppet roared and shook its body, instantly breaking all the chains. Even the space around it started warping.
"Nether Soul Domain? This is a divine ability of our clan. Surprisingly, a mere King like you is actually capable of displaying the strength of an Emperor. Unfortunately, you have yet to fully comprehend the essence of this ability. Break it!" said the remnant soul with astonishment.
Bang!
With one punch, the nether prison devil puppet smashed the Nether Soul Domain into pieces. It was at this time that the 8,000 ghostrunes flew out from the broken pieces as they no longer had any place to hide.
"What is happening, master?" Gui Qi asked nervously.
The ghostrunes had been residing comfortably in the Nether Soul Domain. Suddenly, after some intense shaking, the domain had disappeared. That caused them to be worried about Xiang Shaoyun. After all, he was their master.
"A-attack the statue...," Xiang Shaoyun commanded weakly. He had already suffered a serious injury. If the nether prison devil puppet attacked him one more time, he would be dead for sure.
When the remnant soul saw the ghostrunes, it cried out in alarm, "Quickly kill these ghostrunes!"
The Imperial Nether Clan had absolute command over the Ghostrune Clan, but it was a pity that this remnant soul was no longer a complete person. Thus, it had no way of exerting any control over these ghostrunes. Instead, it greatly feared the soul attacks of the ghostrunes.
If its soul was destroyed as well, it would cease to exist. At the command, the nether prison devil puppet attacked, blasting the ghostrunes with a dreadful punch that turned more than 10 ghostrunes into mincemeat.
However, there were too many ghostrunes, and it would take some time to kill them all. Gui Qi and the other ghostrunes started blasting the remnant soul in the statue with a barrage of soul attacks. The ghostrunes had much higher sensitivity toward anything soul related than any other races.
"AHHHH! AHHHH! Kill them! Kill them now!" The remnant soul wailed miserably.
The nether prison devil puppet was extremely powerful. In only a few seconds, nearly 1,000 ghostrunes had been killed. Even so, the ghostrunes were able to kill a remnant soul much faster.
This particular remnant soul had been existing here for many, many years, and it had barely any strength remaining. Like a tiny wisp of flame, a gentle breeze was enough to erase it.
Under the attack of so many ghostrunes, the remnant soul was completely helpless. With a final wail, it was finally destroyed. And with the destruction of the remnant soul, the symbol on the puppet's forehead faded. The puppet stopped moving and stood there motionless. This was proof that the remnant soul had been completely destroyed and that its control over the puppet had been relinquished.
Xiang Shaoyun fainted. He had suffered grave injuries, and his Nether Soul Domain had been destroyed on top of that. One could say that these injuries were all fatal. Fortunately, the Nether Dragon Soul Headband had protected his soul from destruction. That was what had given him the chance to recover.
Several drops of lightning liquid in his body dissolved and started nourishing his injured body. It was also at this moment that Yun Flame finally started refining the final bit of the devil flame seed's power in his astral cosmos sea.
Chapter 500: Blood Essence Fusion
Xiang Shaoyun had sustained heavy injuries. The nether prison devil puppet had broken his lower spine and crushed his inner organs. Any other person would be dead by now.
However, Xiang Shaoyun was able to barely hang on to life, thanks to his tough body and his soul power. Because of that, after using several drops of lightning liquid, he started recovering from his fatal injuries.
Electrical currents swirled around his lightning bone, slowly rejoining the spine. At the same time, his inner organs were also being restored. Despite the recovery process, he did not regain consciousness. Rather, his soul floated out of his body.
If anyone saw this, that person would have thought that Xiang Shaoyun was dead for sure. That was understandable, as generally, when one died, one's soul would leave the body and slowly disperse, finalizing the death.
But for Xiang Shaoyun, his soul had not left his body only because of his injuries. Another contributing reason was that his Nether Soul Domain had shattered, but the main reason was that he still felt something calling to him from the statue.
He believed that this calling no longer came from that remnant soul. Rather, there was something else in the statue. His soul went inside the statue and was able to see what was contained in it. Apart from a simple and crude chakram and a jade dish, there was nothing else in the statue.
The chakram had lost its luster and had naturally failed to attract Xiang Shaoyun's attention. However, the sparkling red liquid in the jade dish had attracted him. With one look, he knew what these two were. The chakram was definitely the remnant soul's weapon, while this liquid was the remnant soul's blood essence extracted when alive.
After taking over Xiang Shaoyun's body, the blood essence here would be used to cleanse his body to increase the resonance between the body and the new soul, allowing the new soul to adapt to the body within the shortest time frame.
Unfortunately for the remnant soul, it could no longer make use of the blood essence. However, the blood essence would still be useful for Xiang Shaoyun. The lightning liquid was unable to immediately heal all his injuries, but the blood essence was definitely capable of that. After all, both of them had the bloodline of the Imperial Nether Clan.
Initially, Xiang Shaoyun was distressed about the existence of the Imperial Nether Clan's bloodline in his body, but he no longer felt the same. After all, during the fight over the devil edge grass, the Dark Devil Sect's old Emperor and the red-haired youth had definitely found out about the existence of the Nether Soul Domain. However, apart from fear, the two had not displayed any actual hatred toward him.
From that, Xiang Shaoyun could conclude that the Imperial Nether Clan was most likely rather powerful on the surface world and that they had not suffered the rejection of all other surface races. Having figured that out, he no longer minded his Imperial Nether Clan blood that much.
What he needed to do now was feed his body the blood essence in the dish. Only then could he thoroughly activ
ate his bloodline and make use of the power in the bloodline to restore his body. However, this statue was forged of an extremely rare material that was no lower than the sovereign grade. It was almost impossible for him to create an opening on the statue.
His soul flew out of the statue and stared at the immobile puppet as he muttered, "Looks like I can only rely on you."
Without any hesitation, his soul charged into the puppet's brain. Although his soul looked incomparably solid, it was still a soul and would have no problem phasing through obstacles. After entering the puppet, he found that there was no vitality left in the puppet. However, the inner organs and bones of the puppet were still well-preserved. In fact, the puppet was exactly the same as a living nether prison devil, with the only difference being the lack of a soul.
With his soul in the puppet's brain, he instantly received a clear picture of the puppet's structure. He spread his consciousness around the puppet, trying to control it. Sure enough, the puppet started moving in accordance to his will.
Bang!
Under Xiang Shaoyun's control, the puppet punched the air, releasing a massive impact that caused the entire castle to shake.
"Haha, what an amazing body. This body is comparable to a Sovereign's!" Xiang Shaoyun howled with laughter. This nether prison devil puppet was equivalent to an additional insurance for him. In the future, he would not be completely helpless when encountering a Sovereign.
He had a feeling this puppet had a combat prowess comparable to a top-tier Devil Sovereign. Of course, with the complete lack of vitality and blood in this body, it would be hard for it to attack with devilish energy. Even so, it still had the strength of a late-stage Sovereign and would be able to easily kill regular Sovereigns.
Xiang Shaoyun familiarized himself with the puppet in excitement before finally unleashing a punch at the statue. However, the statue remained standing. Evidently, this was a statue built with sovereign materials. He was not discouraged. He rained punches on the statue, and finally, cracks started appearing on it.
"Break!" Xiang Shaoyun yelled and punched once again.
Bang!
The statue crumbled. Xiang Shaoyun quickly grabbed the chakram and the jade dish. His soul then left the puppet and returned to his body with the jade dish before feeding his body the blood essence. After doing that, his soul returned to his body. Only with a soul would one's body be complete and be able to properly digest anything one consumed.
With the return of his consciousness to his body, he started fusing the blood essence with his own blood. Since his blood and the foreign blood had the same origin, they quickly blended together. His blood started boiling, and an abundant vitality started coursing through his body. The lightning liquid had already rejoined his broken spine. As for his damaged meridians, veins, and organs, they started restoring under the nourishment of the abundant vitality.
Xiang Shaoyun's bloodline fully came alive. Different from the situation when he absorbed devilish energy in the past, after blending with the blood essence, some information regarding the Imperial Nether Clan started awakening in his mind.
Scenes of the Imperial Nether Clan at the deepest layers of the Devil Domain appeared in his mind. The men of the clan were tall, bold, powerful, and heroic. Each of them had a wild mane of hair and a pair of gray pupils and a high intimacy with nether energy. The women were extremely beautiful, their figure perfect, and their outfits seductive.
Men or women, all were incredibly noble and majestic. They had access to numerous inconceivable abilities, as if they had won the lottery of creation, loved by the heavens. With their remarkable talent, the imperial nethers created the ghostrunes, a new species created with their soul power. As for the nether prison devils, nether yin devils, and so on...these were all branch clans sharing the same bloodline with the imperial nethers. All of them were under the control of the Imperial Nether Clan.
The history of the Imperial Nether Clan started awakening in Xiang Shaoyun's mind with the power of his bloodline. At the same time, some Imperial Nether Clan's innate abilities started awakening in his mind as well.
Chapter 501: Extorting the Old Nether Prison Devil
At the same time Xiang Shaoyun fully recovered from his injuries, Yun Flame had also completed the refining process of the devil flame seed in the astral cosmos sea. The fusion of the two powerful flames gave birth to a brand new high-level flame.
A tinge of black could be seen in the initially crimson Yun Flame, making it look even more bewitching and vivid than before. The power of flame had also increased to a brand new level. The power of flame caused the temperature in the astral cosmos sea to increase greatly, the heat attracting Xiang Shaoyun's attention.
When he shifted his focus to the astral cosmos sea, he found that under the nourishment of the power of flame, the blaze flower was growing even faster, undergoing clear changes. Before long, it would be ripe. The previous ripe blaze flower had been given to Du Xuanhao.
This stalk of blaze flower was a newly grown one. Although it had been growing nicely, it should have taken much longer to ripen. Now, after absorbing the devil flame seed, Yun Flame's power had grown to a brand new level. Even the blaze flower had benefited from the increased flame power.
"Boss, it's hot as hell here. Let me out," Money started protesting.
Xiang Shaoyun satisfied his request and let him out of the astral cosmos sea. At this time, he also sensed that the Yun Flame was demanding to return to the flame star to refuse with his body.
But after a slight hesitation, Xiang Shaoyun decided to not immediately send Yun Flame back to the flame star. Currently, Yun Flame was filled with power. If it returned to the flame star, his cultivation level would definitely start growing once again.
That was supposed to be something good, but Xiang Shaoyun had no intention to increase his cultivation level so soon after his previous advancement. His current focus was to temper his newly gained strength from his recent advancements. After stabilizing and suppressing his foundations, he would then let Yun Flame return at a suitable time to make the best use of its new power.
After making up his mind, Xiang Shaoyun placated Yun Flame, telling it to remain in the lava and continue nourishing the blaze flower. He believed that before long, he would be able to put the blaze flower to use. A high-tier emperor medicine like this would be very useful during his breakthrough into the Emperor Realm.
Xiang Shaoyun shifted his focus back to his body and found that he had fully healed from his injuries. His body was currently filled with power. He could feel that his bloodline had once again strengthened his body. In fact, his physical body was now comparable to even the strongest of Kings. Although his cultivation level remained the same, his strength and vitality had changed massively.
He could also sense that a faintly discernible symbol had appeared on his forehead. The symbol looked ancient and noble, and it made his handsome face look rather bewitching. Any maiden would be smitten at the sight of the current Xiang Shaoyun.
He stroked the symbol and muttered, "Is this the proof of the Imperial Nether Clan's bloodline?"
Although he looked rather cool with the symbol on his forehead, he did not like to have it visible like this. Without any hesitation, he willed for the symbol to fade away. It was still not the time to let others know that he had the Imperial Nether Clan's bloodline. He was more willing to continue carrying himself as a pure human.
After his recovery, Xiang Shaoyun did not continue moving straight away. Rather, he continued his seclusion, trying to rebuild his Nether Soul Domain. The Nether Soul Domain had been destroyed by the nether prison devil puppet, causing his soul to drop greatly in power. But with the increase of his bloodline power, his soul power had not only recovered, but it had even grown stronger.
Even so, he still needed to personally rebuild his Nether Soul Domain. Although the Nether Soul Domain had been destroyed, he still had the soul raising stone and the soul spring. With the further awakening of his tale
nt as an Imperial Nether Clan member, it wouldn't be hard for him to rebuild a brand new Nether Soul Domain. All he needed was time.
Xiang Shaoyun spent about one month at the site before leaving. When he stepped out of the castle once more, he was much taller than before. His bearing became even more elegant and graceful, and his long wavy jet-black hair fluttered about wildly, making him look carefree and heroic.
The repelling force of the castle could no longer block his exit. It was not that he had become so strong the castle couldn't do anything to him, but it was due to his newly obtained chakram. It contained a unique power within, allowing him to control the castle.
Outside the castle, the old nether prison devil appeared before him. With an ugly smile on his face, he deferentially said, "Congratulations, Lord Ming Xiao for your rebirth."
Xiang Shaoyun blanked out slightly, then a crafty smile appeared on his face. "Hehe, yes, ahhhh, it feels good to be alive once again."
"Lord Ming Xiao, is your esteemed self returning to the clan immediately? This lowly one is willing to serve you with my life," asked the old nether prison devil with a bow.
"There is no rush. I need some time to get used to this new body," said Xiang Shaoyun. "This body is too weak. I need to restore my strength as quickly as possible. Bring me all the cultivation resources of your clan. Upon my return to the clan in the future, you will be amply rewarded for your contribution."
Xiang Shaoyun understood that the old nether prison devil was aware of the remnant soul in the castle, and he also understood that the old nether prison devil had only allowed him in there so the remnant soul could steal his body.