The merit wheel behind Yun Zhongyu spun wildly in reverse at this moment. Instantly, it transformed into raging karmic flames, burning fiercely. Yun Zhongyu was immediately enveloped by a robust force of sinister karma as if an invisible blade was cutting down his fortune—heralding disaster and reducing his lifespan.Wei Ji, Shangguan Hao, and others watched Yun Zhongyu in shock. Any cultivator aiming for a higher realm would consciously or unconsciously accumulate merit. Merit brought many benefits, most importantly, it could lessen the power of heavenly tribulations—tribulations that were far from trivial.From breaking the Golden Core to form the Nascent Soul, facing the Nascent Soul tribulation, the Deity Transformation tribulation, the Astral Projection tribulation, and so on—surviving these meant becoming a great power, living freely for hundreds to thousands of years. Failing meant becoming dust, with one's body and path utterly destroyed!It was not surprising for Yun Zhongyu,

In the future, when Chu Xuan progressed from breaking his Golden Core to forming his Nascent Soul, he would inevitably need to craft his own elixirs. His proficiency in alchemy wasn't as stellar as in formation setting or artifact refining. He couldn't even produce a high-grade Heaven Patching Pill on his own and had to entrust others, staying watchful beside them during the process to prevent poisoning. Now, able to refine elixirs himself, he no longer needed to worry about such matters.Chu Xuan looked pleased and turned his attention to the second piece of acquired jade, which appeared dull and ordinary. "So plain," he mused. "Feels like it might be a low-grade spiritual body; I wonder if it'll conflict... Should I absorb it?"Rubbing his chin in thought, Chu Xuan considered that possessing multiple spiritual bodies could be good or bad, depending on the situation. If the spiritual bodies did not conflict and could complement and balance each other, their combined effect could be g

The cultivators around looked towards Wei Ji in utter shock.Wei Ji then stood up and stated calmly, "The one who killed Yun Zhongyu is Huikong, a Golden Core monk from the Mystic Azure Star's Golden Dragon Temple. The upper sect has issued a bounty: anyone with information on Huikong will be rewarded with fifty thousand small spiritual stones and three Soul-Breaking Spikes. Whoever captures Huikong alive will receive one hundred fifty thousand small spiritual stones and a bottle of Deity Nurturing Elixir."Clang!In that instant, teacups clattered to the floor. Even after Wei Ji had left the tea house, the cultivators remained immersed in shock.Yun Zhongyu was truly slain by a Golden Core cultivator? A mighty Nascent Soul expert had fallen to a mere Golden Core—such news, if spread, would surely be the butt of jokes!Yuan Zichu's body swayed, his eyes wide in astonishment. Huikong? He remembered that name. Wasn't he the one who was initially considered for a position as a venerated

Wang Zhenxu nodded repeatedly, "Yes, that's me. But immortal, truly, you haven't changed at all in all these years."Chu Xuan remained composed, "Your report, is it true? Has someone really managed to merge two body refining techniques?"Wang Zhenxu replied respectfully, "Indeed! The boy is an orphan from our Black Blade Central City branch. His name is Liu Mengde. As soon as I heard the news, I had him brought from the Central City branch to the East Lake headquarters."Naturally, the headquarters of Black Blade was located in East Lake City. Branches had been established in various cities, with the most remote ones even reaching the Antarctic and Arctic Circles.Chu Xuan nodded, "Bring him to me.""Yes!" Wang Zhenxu nodded vigorously and immediately departed.Chu Xuan felt a sense of joy. He had planted seeds without much thought, and surprisingly, they had borne fruit. Indeed, among the billions of people on Blue Star, there were those with exceptional talent.The body refining tec

But the Husbandry Faction never treated them as humans, merely as livestock. The male Soul Star people were required to mate at least five times a day to spread their seed and produce new Soul Star people.If one could mate with a beautiful female each day, it would not be so bad. But the attractiveness of their mating partners was not theirs to decide.The Soul Clan's only standard for valuing female Soul Star people was their fertility.The more fertile, the more valuable. If a male Soul Star person failed to achieve five matings a day, they faced the lash of the Husbandry Faction's Soul Clan.However, if they exceeded the daily quota and reached ten times, then they could rest for a day. Many Soul Star people, after being reared for a long time, lost their reproductive ability, both male and female.A few days ago, they seized an opportunity and escaped from the Husbandry Faction's city through the sewers.But they had not gotten far before they were discovered by the Husbandry Fac