Chapter 2

After returning to the Bai residence, Bai Ye received news that Ye Qian had issued a challenge. She would set up a platform in ten days, and if a member of the Bai family could defeat her, she would marry into the Bai family. However, if she were to defeat them, they would have to renounce their cultivation.

Given Ye Qian's status in the Ye family, winning her would mean securing the position of the Ye family's head.

This news spread quickly, and the younger generation of the Bai family was extremely excited. It was a golden opportunity to rise to prominence. Although the consequences of failure were severe, people often lost their rationality in the face of such a tempting prize.

From this, it was clear that Ye Qian not only wanted to take revenge on Bai Ye but also to use this as a bait to lure the Bai family members into battle, thereby weakening the Bai family. After all, she had dual celestial souls, making her invincible among her peers.

Bai Ye's residence was in a secluded corner of the Bai family estate. It consisted of a house and a courtyard, with a few wooden poles in the yard for practicing boxing. Apart from that, there was nothing else, making it quite barren.

"Today has been really unlucky," Bai Ye muttered, brushing off the dust from his clothes. After entering the house, he set up a stove and began to boil medicine.

He poured ingredients like the Bug-Eating Flower, Five-Leaf Green, and Dark Water Grass into a stone pot.

After the medicine was boiled, he drank it. The scalding and bitter liquid burned his throat as if he had swallowed a bowl of lava.

He put down the bowl and took deep breaths, beads of sweat covering his face as the medicine began to take effect.

"I should be prepared enough!" Bai Ye murmured, taking out a piece of leather paper from his pocket.

This leather paper contained a cultivation technique called "Indestructible Vajra." A few years ago, a fierce battle had taken place outside Luocheng, resulting in many deaths. The citizens of the city had scavenged the bodies, and Bai Ye had obtained this "Indestructible Vajra" from an old beggar.

Ordinary people could awaken their celestial souls at the age of twelve, and those who failed to do so by fourteen were considered to have no affinity for the soul path. This was even more true for Bai Ye, who was already eighteen, and he had often been looked down upon because of it. However, the "Indestructible Vajra" contained an ancient method to awaken a celestial soul, which reignited his hope.

Nine stones in the stove were heated to a red-hot state. Bai Ye picked them up with a pair of tongs, moved them to his chest, and, gritting his teeth, pressed them down.

Sizzle!!!

The stones burned the Spirit Martial Point on his chest, causing intense pain that made his arms tremble. The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh.

Fortunately, he had been practicing boxing for years, and although his body was thin, it was resilient enough to endure the burning pain.

The nine stones corresponded to nine acupoints. When all nine stones were in place, a wave of heat surged through his body. The effects of the medicine he had taken earlier mixed with this heat, forming a fiery energy that rushed toward his soul palace, located below his heart.

Bang!

Puff!

He opened his mouth and spat out blood, the intense energy from the impact nearly tearing him apart.

But it wasn't over yet.

Bang!

Puff!

Another impact.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang...

He felt as if his insides were being churned, as if someone was continuously hitting his organs with a stick, and he almost vomited all his blood...

Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed in his mind.

Bai Ye's spirit trembled, and he quickly focused his attention on his soul palace.

A strange phenomenon occurred!

The unusually large soul palace suddenly exploded, and a dark, shapeless entity leaped out. It let out a deep roar and charged at the energy attacking the soul palace. It opened its large mouth, which was like a black hole, and instantly swallowed the energy. At the same time, a beam of light shot out from Bai Ye's head, revealing a strange and fierce soul mark.

The moment this soul appeared, a fierce and angry roar echoed in Bai Ye's mind, shaking his soul!

Bai Ye's heart raced.

What is this? A celestial soul?

He endured the pain in his body and examined his soul palace. He saw that the soul palace had completely shattered, and a massive soul mark was floating inside. The fiery energy had vanished, and everything had returned to calm.

"It's indeed my celestial soul!" Bai Ye finally came to his senses, feeling a surge of excitement.

Eighteen years! Finally awakened!

He eagerly examined it.

This celestial soul resembled a male lion, covered in scales, with two large horns on its head. It looked ferocious, but what was most striking was its large mouth, which extended to its armpits. If it opened, how enormous would it be?

"Hmm?" Bai Ye frowned.

The soul palace had just shattered, and this celestial soul should be a newborn one. Why... does it not have the soul halo of a newborn celestial soul?

Could it be that this celestial soul has some special qualities? He remembered that the family's ancient books had recorded a method to test celestial souls!

Bai Ye raised his hand and tapped a few acupoints. The celestial soul immediately awoke, arching its body and continuously providing soul power. The surging soul power flooded his body, filling his frail frame with strength.

This is soul power? So refreshing!

Bai Ye groaned, not wanting to waste time. He took the opportunity to channel some soul power back into the celestial soul, testing it by the speed of the soul power's absorption.

A moment later, he was shocked.

"This celestial soul is not a newborn one! It has been awakened for eighteen years, meaning it is the same age as me... If so, did it awaken when I was born? What's going on?"

Bai Ye was stunned for a moment, then got up and rummaged through his belongings, quickly finding a book about celestial souls on the continent.

However, after flipping through it, he found no information about his celestial soul.

Just as Bai Ye was about to give up, a blurry image on the last page caught his eye.

The image closely resembled the celestial soul in his body, and next to it were two large characters:

Taotie!

"This celestial soul requires nourishment with essence blood for ten years."

A simple message was written, with no further details.

Bai Ye suddenly understood.

"It seems my celestial soul is the Taotie celestial soul, which requires nourishment with essence blood for ten years... At birth, there was no essence blood to feed it, so it couldn't be satisfied until now."

Bai Ye laughed bitterly, never imagining that his difficult fate over the past few years was due to this celestial soul. The celestial soul had been sleeping in the soul palace, which explained why it took so long to awaken.

He put down the book, sat down again, and closed his eyes to meditate.

No matter what kind of celestial soul this is, now that it has awakened, I can cultivate the soul path like any other celestial soul user.

First, let's see what grade this celestial soul is.

He focused his mind and directed his consciousness toward the celestial soul.

Instantly, his consciousness shifted, and the surroundings turned dark. Gradually, points of starlight appeared in the darkness, each representing a celestial soul.

This is the Ninth Heaven! It exists both in the sky and in the mind.

Among the starlight, the Taotie celestial soul was particularly prominent.

Bai Ye scanned the surroundings and was momentarily stunned.

"A Fourth Heaven celestial soul? This celestial soul... is actually in the Fourth Heaven!"

Most ordinary celestial soul users have First Heaven celestial souls, and those with slightly better aptitude have Second Heaven. In Luocheng, exceptional individuals might awaken a Third Heaven celestial soul. Once a Third Heaven celestial soul is awakened, it would cause a sensation, drawing attention from all sides. Ye Qian, for example, initially awakened a Third Heaven celestial soul, the Snow Fox, becoming a well-known prodigy in Luocheng. Yesterday, she awakened her second celestial soul, the Flower Butterfly, in the Second Heaven, officially becoming a dual celestial soul user, unmatched in beauty and talent.

Now, Bai Ye had a Fourth Heaven celestial soul. Once this news spreads, it will cause a huge stir.

"My celestial soul awakened at birth, so it has already been alive for eighteen years, making it different from the celestial souls of ordinary users."

Bai Ye pondered for a moment, his expression turning serious. He controlled the massive Taotie celestial soul to charge upward.

Fifth Heaven!!

Let's try!

After consuming essence blood for eighteen years, it should have some power!

The celestial soul shot like a meteor through the Fourth Heaven.

Bang!

The massive body of the Taotie celestial soul collided with the seal of the Fifth Heaven, causing it to vibrate. The celestial soul trembled, and Bai Ye's body shook along with it.

A terrifying pressure descended from the Fifth Heaven, suppressing the Taotie celestial soul.

The celestial soul roared wildly, struggling and charging, its soul power like a sharp sword thrusting forward.

As the celestial soul advanced, Bai Ye felt as if he were right there, as if a single moment of relaxation would crush him into pulp by the seal of the Fifth Heaven.

"Ah!!!!!!"

He roared, feeling his soul almost shatter, but the sense of impending breakthrough kept him from stopping. The Taotie celestial soul released astonishing soul power at this moment.

The seal of the Fifth Heaven was pushed inward, and the Taotie celestial soul's soul power grew stronger, deepening the indentation.

Just a little more!

Bai Ye focused intently.

Finally!

Bang!

The seal loosened, and a crack appeared in the Fifth Heaven's seal. The Taotie celestial soul instantly broke through and entered, and the seal quickly healed, the soul power of the Fifth Heaven enveloping and transforming the Taotie celestial soul.

Success!!

Bai Ye was stunned, filled with joy.

He opened his eyes, breathing heavily, and noticed that his fingers had pierced his palm.

With the celestial soul entering the Fifth Heaven, a new phenomenon occurred. A beam of light shot out, spreading in all directions.

The high-ranking cultivators hidden in Luocheng looked up, their faces filled with shock.

Fifth Heaven!

This was something many soul users could only dream of.

A Fifth Heaven newborn soul cultivator would cause an unprecedented impact on Luocheng.

He continued to meditate, advancing to the Fifth Heaven. The Taotie celestial soul was enhanced, and the benefits of the Fifth Heaven continuously flowed through the soul to his body, making his soul power several times more refined.

However, Bai Ye did not stop. After a brief rest, he controlled the celestial soul to charge directly toward the Sixth Heaven.

If anyone else were here, they would be stunned.

This was something only a madman would do. Ordinary people would prepare thoroughly and proceed cautiously when advancing their celestial souls. No one would act as recklessly as Bai Ye. If the advancement failed, the celestial soul would be injured, affecting the user's strength, with severe consequences.

But Bai Ye felt differently. The previous impact had made him realize that his potential had not been fully unleashed. Moreover, the same feeling surged again, making him unwilling to stop.

Was this confidence from the celestial soul?

Boom!

The Taotie celestial soul, which had just calmed down, charged at the seal of the Sixth Heaven!

Bai Ye's gaunt face twisted, his eyes tightly closed, and his heart tightened as the Taotie celestial soul hammered the seal of the Sixth Heaven.

The seal was much stronger than that of the Fifth Heaven, and the terrifying pressure directly affected his body.

Rip.

Bai Ye's clothes tore, his breathing became rapid, and veins bulged on his face and arms.

Whoosh!

A wave of energy spread from his body, followed by a transparent beam of light shooting out of his crown. This beam did not emit much light, and ordinary people would not notice it, but if observed closely, one could see the patterns of myriad celestial souls within it.

The soul power bursting from Bai Ye's body had already damaged the house, and a series of cracking sounds came from his body.

As the sun set and night fell, a faint beam of light shot into the sky, forming a massive lotus imprint above Luocheng...