Chapter Fifty-Two: A Breakthrough of the Soul

Just as the heart demon was about to devour the core of Chen Yi’s soul, a streak of azure light suddenly emerged from the depths of his spirit. The heart demon, upon seeing this light, reacted as if it had encountered its natural nemesis, and fled in terror. However, the azure light seemed unwilling to let the heart demon escape. It spread rapidly throughout Chen Yi’s sea of consciousness, encircling the fleeing heart demon completely. Where the inky blackness of the demon met the azure radiance, it melted away instantly, like snow before fire.

In a single encounter with the azure light, most of the heart demon was dissolved, and it let out a wretched, piercing scream. While the heart demon was not a living person, it possessed all the basic emotions of humanity—it was, after all, the embodiment of human evil desires. It had all the passions and cravings that people do, though it usually did not display emotion. Yet now, the heart demon was afraid—terrified of the azure light—a phenomenon almost beyond belief.

If anyone outside had witnessed the events unfolding in Chen Yi’s consciousness at that moment, their jaws would have dropped in utter shock. Throughout history, there had never been any account of a method that could truly destroy a heart demon. For any cultivator, the invasion of the heart demon typically spelled certain death.

No one knew what that mysterious azure light was, capable of restraining the heart demon so completely. Chen Yi, it seemed, was a man of great fortune. At the very brink of crisis, providence had bestowed upon him this extraordinary radiance.

Not only was the azure light mysterious, but its power was also astonishing. In less than a moment, it had nearly eradicated the heart demon. With the final wisp of black vapor extinguished, Chen Yi’s crisis of demonic invasion was thoroughly resolved. Having completed its task, the azure light then receded deep into the core of his soul.

Blessings and misfortunes are ever intertwined. After overcoming this disaster, Chen Yi’s fortune blossomed anew. With the destruction of the heart demon, a vast amount of purified soul force was left behind in his sea of consciousness.

This pure soul force was, in fact, the essence of the heart demon itself, now cleansed by the azure light. The heart demon had been born from the myriad evil thoughts of humanity, and such thoughts were themselves a kind of soul power—albeit one tainted with impurities and distractions.

The azure light had refined all the evil and chaotic intent from the heart demon, leaving behind only pure soul force—an unexpected boon for Chen Yi. After the heart demon’s assault, Chen Yi’s soul had been left gravely weakened, and this unclaimed, purified soul force was perfectly suited to heal his wounds.

The soul force left behind by the heart demon was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If Chen Yi could absorb it all, not only would his wounds be healed, but his spirit might even grow stronger.

Within his sea of consciousness, Chen Yi’s weakened soul began to slowly absorb the heart demon’s soul force. His spirit, visibly frail, gradually recovered. By the time he had absorbed half of the available force, his soul was fully restored.

Yet even after his soul was healed, Chen Yi did not stop absorbing the remaining power. When his soul was halfway restored, his consciousness had already broken free from the obsessions of his previous life and returned to his own spirit.

With full control over his soul once more, Chen Yi realized the extent of his injuries: his spirit had been nearly torn apart. But he also noticed the vast reservoir of pure soul force in his sea of consciousness, which his soul was greedily absorbing.

Though he did not know what had transpired in his absence, Chen Yi’s guiding principle was never to let an opportunity slip by. Summoning all his strength, he did his utmost to absorb every last drop of that immense soul force.

A thunderous boom echoed from the depths of his soul as Chen Yi absorbed the last vestige of the heart demon’s power. The flame of his spirit began to swell, growing larger and larger until it stood a foot tall, at last ceasing its expansion.

Yet the transformation was not over. The flame of his soul began to coalesce, its shape shifting into that of a human figure identical to Chen Yi himself—like a twin born of fire.

Traditionally, a cultivator’s soul before the Golden Core stage existed only as a soul flame. Only after reaching the Golden Core would the soul’s origin swell, and the flame take on a human form. Yet Chen Yi, who had not even reached the Foundation Establishment stage, had miraculously condensed his spirit into human shape.

This unprecedented feat was made possible by a combination of fortuitous events. First, Chen Yi had awakened the memories of his past life, doubling the strength of his soul. Then, the ordeal of the demonic invasion had tempered him, greatly increasing his soul’s resilience, setting the stage for absorbing the heart demon’s power.

Had his spirit still been at the level of a mere Qi Refining cultivator, absorbing such a vast, Foundation Establishment-level soul force would have shattered him. Now, having taken it all in, Chen Yi’s soul origin had doubled yet again—his spirit was now four times that of an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator.

Thus, it was no wonder he could form a human-shaped soul; in fact, his spirit now surpassed even peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, and was on par with those at the Golden Core stage.

Once his spirit had condensed into human form, Chen Yi opened his eyes at last. Golden light flashed within them—a sign of his greatly enhanced soul. Gazing around at the world, he felt an overwhelming sense of beauty, of the preciousness of life itself.

As his spirit ascended, Chen Yi was able to recall everything that had happened. Realizing that he had been oblivious to the heart demon’s invasion of his own body, he could not help but break out in a cold sweat.

When he saw, in his memories, that at the very moment the heart demon was about to consume him, a streak of azure light had emerged from his soul and, with almost effortless ease, annihilated the demon, Chen Yi was utterly astonished.

Amazement was soon joined by confusion. He had no recollection of possessing such a mysterious and powerful azure light within his spirit. Probing deep into his soul, he sought the source of that radiance, recalling that after destroying the heart demon, it had retreated back into the depths of his being.

Extending his consciousness to the core of his soul, he indeed found the mysterious azure light. He sent his awareness into it, eager to uncover its true nature.