Chapter 1543: Hellsoul (Part One)

In the end, driven by desperation, the three of them began to search the evil cultivator’s Cave Residence. They eventually found a cultivation method and learned that the evil cultivator was actually a mysterious Soul Cultivator.

Furthermore, because his cultivation was only at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation, he had not yet cultivated a soul imprint. Otherwise, the three of them might have perished along with him.

This very reason also brought them immense joy, as they marveled at the cultivator’s strength.

The eldest possessed an Earth Spirit Root, which would have qualified him as a core disciple even in a major sect.

Therefore, when he was captured, the eldest’s cultivation had also reached the fifth layer of Qi Condensation, while the second and third brothers were at the third layer.

Yet, thinking back on their battle with that evil cultivator, all three of them were terrified.

The three of them, working together, hadn’t even lasted three breaths before an excruciating pain pierced their Divine Souls, causing them all to lose consciousness and be captured.

This showed just how powerful that soul cultivation method was.

After taking the cultivation method, the three immediately fled far away. Later, relying on that method, they cultivated all the way, continuously advancing.

These three could be considered heaven-defying geniuses; they had no trouble cultivating the immortal manual.

The path of martial arts was, in essence, a form of cultivation that borrowed the power of heaven and earth. It was just that even if one could split mountains and crack rocks, it was only a breakthrough of one’s own physical limits.

But with their profound foundation, their understanding of cultivation methods, combined with their original martial arts manuals and the initial immortal manual they cultivated, they slowly began to have new ideas.

While researching the cultivation method, the three would take breaks from cultivation to visit various markets, searching for other cultivation methods for reference.

Upon their return, they researched year after year. The three would constantly gather to exchange their various ideas and the results of their modified tests, continuously communicating, modifying, and slowly improving and perfecting the art.

And this was the initial prototype of the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art”!

The eldest and the third brother contributed the most. One martial, one civil, they continuously revised and perfected the Yang Po and Yang Hun Daoist arts.

The second brother, on the other hand, was fond of the Dao of formations and spent half of his time on it.

Even so, the three of them only managed to cultivate to the Golden Core Realm. As they tried to continue cultivating, they were unable to advance any further.

They felt that Nascent Soul Formation was a distant dream, and their lives might end at the Golden Core Realm, eventually passing away in meditation.

Moreover, because the three of them spent a long time researching cultivation methods and only occasionally went out to take on missions or hunt demonic beasts for cultivation resources, their Spirit Stones were also limited. Obtaining higher-level cultivation methods for research was already beyond their means. Thus, they once again embarked on the path of seeking immortality.

Since they had already become true cultivators and were quite familiar with the Cultivation World, they spent their later years specifically collecting and searching through various unofficial histories and jade slip records to find the ruins of ancient cultivators’ Cave Residences.

What truly changed their immortal fortune was when they found a valley. There, they made a discovery, recognizing traces of an ancient cultivator’s presence.

During that exploration, they unknowingly triggered some mechanism and were teleported away.

They ended up in an underground location, and it was there that they obtained a cultivation method left behind by a Spirit Transformation cultivator. And to their surprise, it was also a soul cultivation method.

All of this seemed to be fated for the three of them.

From then on, the cultivation of the three began to advance by leaps and bounds. Many years later, the three of them founded the “Hellsoul Clan”!

The meaning behind the name was threefold:

Soul, the foundation of cultivation, the ancestor of the Great Dao.

Hell, a prison for the soul. This could be understood as one’s own soul being as solid as a prison, inaccessible to others. It could also be understood as completely sending the souls of others to the underworld.

Clan, the three hoped to be the founding ancestors, and that their future disciples would be like them—never abandoning each other, sharing life and death, becoming a clan of cultivators, and allowing this lineage to flourish forever.

By this time, the three were already aware of the fear and disgust other types of cultivators had for Soul Cultivators. Once their identities were known, they would become a target for everyone.

Thus, they wanted to make Soul Cultivators powerful. But they were few in number. Only when their disciples were spread across the world could they truly be untouchable. That was why they named it a clan.

At the same time, as their cultivation deepened, they once again began to continuously merge and improve the cultivation method they had previously set aside.

When they completed the initial version of this method, they named it the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art”! A unique soul cultivation method was thus created.

During this period, the Hellsoul Clan also gradually grew stronger, but they remained hidden until they were truly powerful.

In a certain year, the Demon Clan invaded, causing heavy casualties among the cultivators on their home continent, the Verdant Continent. But at the beginning, it did not affect the Hellsoul Clan.

However, as the Demon Clan advanced triumphantly, continuously pressing into the heartland of the Verdant Continent, they liked to plant demonic plants wherever they went, causing Demonic Qi to spread.

The Hellsoul Clan, which had remained hidden, saw that the cultivators of the Verdant Continent were no match and could only retreat and consolidate. They knew that once the Demon Clan’s invasion was complete, they too would be enveloped in Demonic Qi.

Thus, the three began to discuss the matter. The First Ancestor and Third Ancestor both insisted on leading their disciples to exterminate the Demon Clan.

Otherwise, under a fallen nest, how can there be any intact eggs? In a chaotic world, how can one remain untainted? The foundation they had worked so hard to build would be destroyed.

But the Second Ancestor, who was immersed in cultivation and the study of formations, was unwilling to get involved.

He felt that they were not natives of the Verdant Continent and there was no need to sacrifice many disciples for it. They should take the opportunity to return to the Desolate Moon Continent.

However, the other two felt that this was not a viable option. Even if they returned to the Desolate Moon Continent, they would inevitably have to compete with other sects for cultivation resources again.

In that situation, there would still be fighting and casualties, and the resources might not be as good as what they had now.

Seeing the persuasion of the two, the usually taciturn Second Ancestor no longer argued. He chose that he and his personal disciples would not participate in this battle.

As for everything else, he would let the other two do as they pleased.

In the end, the First Ancestor and Third Ancestor led a host of disciples to participate in the great war against the Demon Clan.

And the moment they acted, they shocked both the cultivators of the Verdant Continent and the Demon Clan.

The unpredictable attack methods of the Soul Cultivators rendered the Demon Clan’s greatest asset—their powerful physical bodies—useless.

Soul Cultivators always attacked the soul directly, leaving the physical body as nothing more than an empty tortoise shell. This dealt a major blow to the Demon Clan.

It was precisely because of the appearance of the Hellsoul Clan that the Verdant Continent’s side began to gradually gain the upper hand. The Demon Clan could only relinquish the territories they had previously occupied and continuously retreat.

In the end, with the help of the Hellsoul Clan, the cultivators of the Verdant Continent pursued them all the way, launching a counterattack onto the Forsaken Continent.

But the Demon Clan did not admit defeat. They were even gathering their forces to prepare for a counter-offensive, so the great war was still ongoing.

After arriving on the Forsaken Continent, the Soul Cultivators, with their strange arts, frequently ventured deep into the Demon Clan’s territory to assassinate their important generals, causing significant casualties.

This made the Demon Clan hate the Soul Cultivators to the extreme. Finally, after careful planning, they set a death trap, not hesitating to sacrifice countless lives.

The Hellsoul Clan, due to their smooth sailing, had also become complacent, although some disciples had died, their overall casualties were not severe.

They believed that the Hellsoul Clan was the strongest clan and cultivator group in this world, and that even the mighty Demon Clan were merely their defeated foes.

One day, when the Hellsoul Clan received another piece of enemy intelligence, they launched a stealth attack. In the initial phase, they did indeed assassinate two Demon Clan generals.

But since the Demon Clan had paid such a heavy price, how could they let them get away? The Hellsoul Clan eventually fell into a huge trap, and what followed was a world-shaking, decisive battle.

That battle was so fierce that the heavens changed color, corpses littered the ground, and blood flowed like rivers. Both sides suffered extremely heavy casualties.

In that single battle, the Demon Clan lost one Demon Marshal and as many as nine Demonic Generals. The number of Demonic Soldiers who died was countless; they fell in droves like harvested wheat.

But the Demon Clan was also ruthless. Despite such losses, they succeeded in trapping the First Ancestor of the Hellsoul Clan’s three brothers, along with more than two hundred of his disciples.

The First Ancestor stayed behind with his men to cover the Third Ancestor’s retreat. In the end, his fate, and the fate of all the Hellsoul Clan disciples who stayed behind with him, was unknown.

The Third Ancestor was also seriously injured during the breakout, escaping the battlefield with only a dozen disciples. Among those dozen disciples were two of the First Ancestor’s personal disciples.

That battlefield had previously been an obscure place. But this time, because too many cultivators had died, the resentment and killing aura were so heavy that countless vengeful ghosts and vicious souls appeared.

Unwilling to accept their fate and filled with a sky-high killing intent, they refused to enter the cycle of reincarnation. This turned the place into a ghostly domain that no one dared to approach.

It was not until countless years later that the resentful souls and vicious aura there slowly dissipated…

After the Third Ancestor led his men back to the clan, the Second Ancestor heard the news from his disciples and immediately went out to greet them, only to see the mere dozen who had returned.

His own twin brother had not come back. His eyes immediately turned red, and he began to question the Third Ancestor why his elder brother had not returned.

The Third Ancestor didn’t even check the sect’s Soul Lamps to confirm if his brother was still alive.

This was because of their shared experience. They knew all too well the terrifying and painful fate of having one’s soul fall into the hands of others.

After being captured and tortured by that evil cultivator, a great shadow had been left in their hearts.

Therefore, in the sect, only the disciples had Soul Lamps. The three of them had agreed not to leave their own, lest they fall into the hands of others.

With tears streaming down his face, the Third Ancestor recounted what had happened, choking on his sobs.

After hearing the story, the Second Ancestor asked some more questions in a stern voice. Then, ignoring the Third Ancestor’s attempts to dissuade him, he furiously left the Hellsoul Clan and secretly entered the Forsaken Continent by himself.