Chapter 37: The Conditions for a New Soul's Birth

Qin Luan actually overcame his heart demon, astonishing those watching.

For someone at the Foundation Establishment Stage to break through a heart demon—such a feat was unheard of across the entire Nine Provinces. They were all at the same stage, yet the gap between them was so vast?

Song Ying blinked rapidly, filled with joy.

After Jiang Li’s lesson, their sweet dreams had turned into nightmares, and no one dared to maintain their unusual forms any longer. The Kunpeng reverted to human form, the Heaven and Earth Dharma Form was withdrawn, and the Chasing Sun Clan members returned to their human appearances.

Before entering the mystic realm, Qin Luan had noticed Jiang Li standing alone and had taken the initiative to approach him, offering his company. Back then, Jiang Li had already seen his kind nature. Now, his ability to break through his heart demon only further proved his outstanding temperament.

In Jiang Li’s view, Qin Luan was indeed worthy of being a candidate for Human Sovereign—his talent and character were both exceptional.

As for whether he could truly become a Human Sovereign candidate or even the Human Sovereign himself, that would depend on his future fortune.

Jiang Li asked, “What was your heart demon?”

“When I was a child, my master often left me alone in the Daoist temple. It was pitch dark, like it was haunted. I was terrified.”

“So your heart demon was a ghost?”

“No, my heart demon was my master, Yuan Wuxing. The heart demon took his form just now, and I gave him a good beating.”

Jiang Li couldn’t help but laugh to himself. So it’s you and your master again. Yuan Wuxing had stopped him outside Qing City’s gates, and Qin Luan had stopped him at the mystic realm’s entrance. Are you two master and disciple determined to cross paths with me or what?

“For you, I won’t call it guidance—just a piece of advice. Being steady and composed is good, but at your age, you should have a bit more youthful vigor.” Jiang Li had noticed that in his dream trial, Qin Luan had only been calmly deducing his next realm, making him seem overly mature.

Of course, this was just a suggestion. Being mature and composed wasn’t a bad thing, and having more energy wouldn’t necessarily make cultivation any smoother.

“The trial is over. Based on the performance in these two rounds, I will be rewarding the top thirty participants,” came Meng Chun’s voice, signaling that the mystic realm was about to close.

Everyone immediately bowed toward Jiang Li in unison, saying, “Thank you for your guidance, Human Sovereign! We will remember it always!”

Compared to the rewards of the mystic realm, receiving guidance from the Human Sovereign was worth ten times more.

The reward distribution process would separate everyone to prevent others from seeing each other’s rewards and attempting to steal them once outside.

“Senior Meng, enjoying the show?”

Jiang Li smiled as he met Meng Chun again.

Meng Chun pouted. “Not at all. I thought I’d finally get to witness the legendary Mahayana Stage in action, but you didn’t even use your real strength!”

“Haha, well, what could I do? Aside from that little one who transformed into a True Dragon with a body at the Tribulation Stage’s level, the rest were at most at the Soul Formation Stage. I couldn’t possibly use my full strength on them—it’d leave them with lasting trauma. If I became their heart demon, their cultivation would suffer.”

Jiang Li laughed as he explained.

The mysteries of the Tribulation Stage were far beyond the comprehension of those just beginning their cultivation journeys. The best they could imagine was a rough approximation of the Soul Formation Stage. Even Li Litong, who had once reached the Nascent Soul Stage, struggled to understand what the Tribulation Stage truly entailed—at best, he could only picture himself at the peak of the Soul Formation Stage.

Only the one who had transformed into a True Dragon had managed to barely touch upon the essence of the Tribulation Stage through sheer physical strength.

Meng Chun chuckled. “That makes sense. Then how about letting me test the power of the Mahayana Stage?”

She was a peak powerhouse, just a step away from the Tribulation Stage. Having seen many great Tribulation Stage cultivators in action, she could easily imagine their strength.

Jiang Li grinned. “Go ahead, Senior Meng.”

…

Within the dream realm, Meng Chun unleashed the Dao of Dreams and the Dao of Illusions. Combining the two, she could invert Yin and Yang, turn illusions into reality, and weave endless layers of mysterious spells.

Yet even so, she was ultimately defeated by Jiang Li with just one hand.

“As expected of a Mahayana Stage cultivator—rarer even than those who ascend to immortality. Truly formidable.”

It was well known that above the Tribulation Stage lay the Mahayana Stage.

Back when the Stairway to Immortality still existed, one only needed to cultivate to the Tribulation Stage to ascend. There was no need to remain in the Nine Provinces and push further into the Mahayana Stage—why struggle when one could ascend to the Celestial Realm and cultivate with celestial energy?

But after the Stairway to Immortality disappeared, cultivators were forced to reexamine the Mahayana Stage.

And they discovered that reaching the Mahayana Stage was far more difficult than ascending.

In fact, since the disappearance of the Stairway to Immortality, only Jiang Li had managed to reach the Mahayana Stage!

“Jiang Renhuang, you are the first-place winner. According to the reward rules, you may request anything from me. So, what is it? My cultivation technique, The Great Dream of a Thousand Autumns? A story about the past? Or… do you want me?”

【Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission.】

Jiang Li chuckled and ignored Meng Chun’s teasing. “Senior Meng, you flatter me. I already disrupted the rules of the mystic realm just by coming here. It wouldn’t be right for the Human Sovereign to compete with Foundation Establishment juniors for opportunities. Why don’t you remove me from the ranking and let second place take first, third take second, and so on?”

“Since you’ve chosen not to hold me accountable for entering the mystic realm, as a return favor, why don’t you let me help you with something instead?”

Meng Chun was momentarily disappointed that Jiang Li ignored her teasing, but his next words lifted her spirits.

Her eyes lit up with hope. “Can you help me leave the mystic realm and return to the Nine Provinces?”

Jiang Li thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Not yet.”

“…I see,” Meng Chun sighed, but then her eyes widened. “Wait—’yet’?”

Jiang Li explained seriously, “Senior Meng, you understand your own condition. Right now, you are just a lingering will tethered to this mystic realm. To leave, you must first gather your three souls and seven spirits.”

“Jiang Renhuang, there’s no need to console me. My original body failed its tribulation and has entered the cycle of reincarnation. How could I possibly gather my three souls and seven spirits?”

Jiang Li wouldn’t offer false hope. If he said something, it meant he had some level of confidence.

“Your lingering will is the clearest and most self-aware I’ve ever encountered. Based on my research, if you maintain this state for another two hundred years, a new soul will naturally form from the void, allowing you to become a new being independent of Master Dreamer.”

Jiang Li spoke with unwavering certainty, igniting hope in Meng Chun’s heart.

Most souls are born through the cycle of reincarnation, but exceptions exist. When an entity absorbs enough spiritual energy, sun and moon essence, and other substances rich in spiritual nature over time, it can develop intelligence—and eventually, a soul.

However, this process usually takes tens of thousands of years. But since Meng Chun’s lingering will already possessed intelligence, the time required could be drastically shortened!

This was a conclusion Jiang Li had reached while researching the mysteries of the underworld’s gates, alongside a series of other theories on souls.

When soul-nurturing cultivators heard this, they were so overjoyed that they nearly worshiped Jiang Li as their sect’s reviver.

“In two hundred years, I will be here to protect your path.”

“Thank you, Human Sovereign.”