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Deep within the Five Dragons Sea, before the spatial rift known as "Hope".

Led by Su Ning and Xiang Zhili, the Nascent Soul cultivators, along with more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators whose lifespans were nearing their end but who were determined to fight to the death, took one last look back at their homeland with resolute eyes.

They then transformed into dazzling streaks of light, resolutely plunging into the chaotic, lightning-filled spatial currents!

The anticipated devastating impact did not arrive immediately.

As soon as they entered the rift, they felt a powerful yet gentle spatial force enveloping them, as if an invisible passage was guiding them forward.

The surrounding area was filled with bizarre, distorted, and shattered spatial storms, enough to easily tear apart Nascent Soul cultivators. However, these Nascent Soul cultivators, with their pre-prepared protective magic treasures, felt that the pressure was much less than they had imagined.

"Huh? This node is so stable?" Old Monster Feng transmitted his voice in surprise and uncertainty.

“Indeed…it’s more stable than any place I’ve explored before!” Xiang Zhili was both surprised and delighted, and his belief in Su Ning’s judgment grew even stronger.

Hu Laomo, Bai Laozu, and the others were secretly relieved, feeling that this choice might really have been the right one.

Only Bingfeng frowned slightly. She was naturally sensitive to the power of space and vaguely felt that this guiding force seemed too "orderly" and did not seem to be a naturally formed spatial turbulence.

I don't know how long I traveled through the bizarre and dazzling passages; it might have been a moment, or it might have been years. Time lost its meaning here.

Suddenly, a dazzling exit appeared ahead!

"We've arrived!" someone shouted excitedly.

Everyone's spirits lifted, and they all activated their magic power, speeding up their rush toward the exit!
Suddenly, everything became clear!
A surge of pure, rich spiritual energy, almost tangible, rushed towards me, making every pore on my body open up and feel incredibly comfortable!

Looking around, one sees blue skies and white clouds, misty mountains, babbling springs, and exotic flowers and herbs everywhere. In the distance, palaces and pavilions appear and disappear in the clouds, and streaks of auspicious light fall from the sky...

What an ethereal, otherworldly sight!
"This...this is the spirit world?!"

"Such abundant spiritual energy! It's more than a hundred times stronger than that of the human realm!"

"Haha! We did it! We've successfully ascended to the Spirit Realm!" A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was so excited he almost danced with joy.

Even seasoned Nascent Soul cultivators like Xiang Zhili and Hu Laomo couldn't help but show their joy and let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if they had finally reached the other shore after going through countless hardships.

However, just as everyone was immersed in the immense joy and relaxation of "successful ascension"...

A sudden change occurred!

The entire world seemed to tremble slightly, and an invisible yet vast and incomparable will that transcended everything suddenly descended!

This will, cold and majestic, like the very essence of Heaven, instantly enveloped everyone present!

"what happened?!"

"What a terrible pressure!"

Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they all tried to use their magic power to resist, but they were horrified to find that in the face of this will of heaven and earth, their Nascent Soul magic power, which they had cultivated for thousands of years, was like fireflies compared to the bright moon, becoming sluggish and difficult to mobilize!
They seemed to have gone from being lofty and powerful deities to being trapped mosquitoes in amber, where even moving a finger became extremely difficult!

"No! This isn't the Spirit Realm!" Ice Phoenix was the first to react, exclaiming in shock. She sensed the "incompleteness" and "being controlled" of the laws governing this world!

But it's too late!
Su Ning, who had been silent all along, slowly rose into the air and hovered between heaven and earth.

His eyes became incredibly deep, as if a galaxy were disappearing within his pupils.

He calmly looked down at the horrified crowd below and slowly raised his hands.

"Welcome, everyone, to my world—the Realm of Emptiness."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap from the heavens, resounding deep within everyone's soul!

"Your world?!"

"The Void Realm?!"

"Su Ning! What do you want to do?!" Xiang Zhili was both shocked and furious. He tried to struggle, but found that even his nascent soul was imprisoned by an invisible force!
"Old Demon Su, I will definitely kill you!" Old Demon Hu's eyes were bloodshot with rage as he frantically unleashed his demonic power, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea!
Su Ning did not answer. His hands began to form ancient hand seals that were extremely complex and contained the profound mysteries of the soul path.

As he moved, the energy of the entire Taixu Realm converged towards him, and the stars in the sky seemed to be arranged according to his will!

"In my name, I forge your loyalty! Soul Seal... sealed!"

He let out a low shout, and countless tiny, almost invisible gray runes, containing the absolute will of domination, fell silently into the brows of every Nascent Soul and Core Formation cultivator present, like spring rain, ignoring any defenses, and were directly imprinted on their soul origins!

"Do not--!"

"Suning! You're despicable!"

"Ah! My soul! What have you done to my soul?"

The crowd roared and screamed in terror and resentment, but they were powerless to stop the soul imprint from falling.

The soul imprint, like the most primal law, rapidly merged with their souls, altering their perceptions and distorting their will.

The process lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

As Su Ning slowly lowered his hands, the terrifying pressure between heaven and earth gradually dissipated, and the struggles and roars of the people below also gradually subsided.

Their eyes gradually shifted from initial fear, anger, and resentment to confusion, and then slowly transformed into an absolute, soul-deep awe and submission.

Their gazes toward the figure in the green robe in the air were filled with fanaticism and worship, as if that was the sole meaning of their existence, the supreme god!

The Soul Imprint is complete!
Su Ning slowly landed, looking at the group of top human forces who had been completely controlled, his heart as calm as a still pond.

The first step of the plan has been perfectly achieved.

He spoke calmly, his voice carrying an undeniable authority: "Gentlemen, how do you feel? Have you noticed any changes deep within your souls?"

Xiang Zhili bowed first, his tone filled with piety: "Our Lord is infinitely powerful! To be loyal to our Lord is our greatest honor!"

At this moment, in his heart, it was only natural to die for Suning, and all his past scheming had long since vanished.

Hu Laomo, Feng Laoguai, Bai Laozu, Bingfeng, and others also bowed and saluted, their eyes filled with fervor: "We are willing to die for our lord!"

Even those few late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators were so excited that they trembled all over, feeling that becoming Su Ning's servant was an immense opportunity.

“Very good.” Su Ning nodded. “I told you earlier that this place is the Spirit Realm, and that was not a lie, but it is not the whole story. This place is inside one of my spatial treasures, and we have not yet truly stepped into the Spirit Realm.”

He abruptly changed the subject, beginning to deliver his prepared speech: "The reason we've gone to such lengths is that the situation in the Spirit Realm is far more complex and dangerous than you imagine. The Spirit Realm is teeming with myriad races, where the strong prey on the weak! And we humans are merely a small, vulnerable race in the Spirit Realm, constantly facing bullying from the giant demon races, making survival a difficult struggle!"

His gaze swept over the crowd: "Going it alone, after ascension, you'll be nothing more than fish on someone else's chopping block. Only by uniting as one and pooling our strength can we carve out a place for ourselves in this spirit realm and win a glimmer of hope for humanity! I've gathered you all here and planted soul contracts not to enslave you, but to ensure absolute loyalty and unity, so we can work together for a great cause! Do you understand?"

"Our lord is wise and far-sighted! We understand! We are willing to follow our lord, even if it means going through fire and water, we will not hesitate to die!" The crowd responded in unison, their faces filled with anticipation for the future and fervent dedication to the "great cause of humanity".

The power of the Soul Imprint has made them fully accept this setting.

"Hmm." Su Ning nodded in satisfaction. "Since you understand, then come with me to the true spirit realm!"

With a thought, the power of the entire Taixu Realm gathered once more, enveloping everyone and instantly tearing through the void, launching an attack on that real, extremely dangerous spatial node!
This time, it's a true spatial turbulence, violent and destructive!
However, with the protection of the power of the Taixu Realm and the assistance of these "servants" who had been imprinted with soul seals and were willing to contribute their magic power to resist, the process, though dangerous, was far safer than smuggling alone.

It was as if everyone was sitting in a spaceship, looking at the storm outside through a "transparent glass window".

After an unknown amount of time, when everyone worked together to survive the last terrifying spatial storm, the scene before them changed once again!
An even more ancient, vast, and boundless spiritual energy of heaven and earth, yet also carrying the aura of blood and slaughter, surged into my senses!

Beneath my feet lay the desolate ruins of an ancient battlefield, and in the distance stretched an endless, towering, wild mountain range. In the sky, enormous, unseen demonic birds swept by, emitting cries that could shatter gold and split rocks...

A completely different, complete pressure of the laws of heaven and earth descended upon them!

This is the true spirit world!

Su Ning sensed the aura of heaven and earth that was completely different from both the Taixu Realm and the Human Realm. Looking at the group of top Human Realm cultivators behind him, whose eyes were filled with fanaticism and who had been completely controlled, a cold smile finally appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Spirit Realm, here comes Su Ning.

And my rise to power will begin with you.

……

The dizziness from the spatial shift gradually subsided, and the power of the Void Realm surrounding them receded like a tide. An unprecedented surge of primal, desolate, yet incredibly vast and pure spiritual energy instantly engulfed everyone.

Beneath my feet was scorching hot sand, and all I could see in the distance was an endless expanse of yellowish-brown desert.

The gale whipped up sand and dust, forming a massive tornado that stretched from the sky to the ground, while the distant horizon was distorted and deformed by the heatwave.

The sky was a deep azure, yet two "suns" of different sizes, radiating scorching light, hung in the air, indicating that this place was no longer the human realm.

An ancient and heavy pressure permeated the air. This was the natural suppression of those who ascended from the lower realm by the complete and powerful laws of heaven and earth. It made it difficult for Xiang Zhili, Hu Laomo and others who had just escaped the protection of the Taixu Realm to breathe, and their internal magic power also became slightly sluggish.

"This... is the real Spirit Realm?" A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator who had been imprinted with a soul mark murmured to himself, his tone filled with shock and a hint of barely perceptible fear.

Even though he was influenced by the Soul Imprint and was loyal to Su Ning, he still felt instinctively uneasy in the face of a completely unfamiliar world with immense pressure from its laws.

"How desolate... The spiritual energy is dense, but it carries a chilling aura." Bingfeng frowned slightly, keenly sensing the endless slaughter and traces of time that might be buried beneath this land.

"My lord, where are we?" Xiang Zhili asked Su Ning respectfully, his attitude extremely humble.

The power of the Soul Imprint made him regard Su Ning as a god, but the unfamiliar environment before him still made him feel confused.

Su Ning stood with his hands behind his back, his powerful Nascent Soul stage divine sense spreading rapidly in all directions like mercury spilling onto the ground.

The stability of the spirit realm far surpasses that of the human realm, and the range of his divine sense was greatly compressed, but it was still far more powerful than that of cultivators of the same level.

After a moment, he withdrew his divine sense and pointed in a direction: "This place should be a desolate desert on the edge of the Spirit Realm. Ten thousand miles away, there seem to be faint fluctuations of spiritual energy and traces of man-made structures, perhaps a city. We need to go there to understand the specific situation of this realm."

Upon hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted slightly.

Having a goal is good.

The journey ahead seemed rather long and frustrating for these beings who could command the winds and rains in the human realm.

The gravity in the spirit world is greater and the space is more stable, so they cannot tear through the void at will to travel long distances as they can in the human world; they can only rely on flight.

The raging sandstorms and the strange, poisonous insects and monsters hidden underground or in the dunes forced them to be on high alert.

This made them truly realize the dangers of the spirit world and their own insignificance.

If it weren't for the fact that everyone was traveling together and looking out for each other, one or two people alone would probably find it difficult to make any progress in this desolate place.

After several days of arduous trekking and repeated scanning with divine sense, an ancient city, yellowish-brown in color and built of massive rocks, finally appeared on the distant horizon.

The city walls are covered with mottled marks from sword and axe cuts and magical bombardments, exuding an aura of vicissitude and resilience.

On the city wall, one could vaguely see monks in standard armor patrolling.

"Anyuan City." Three ancient characters are engraved on a weathered stone tablet at the city gate.

After paying some spirit stones, which are considered rare in the lower realm but seem to be just ordinary currency in this realm, the group was able to enter the city.

Cultivators of various races came and went in the city. Besides the majority being human, there were also some half-demons and even short, dark-skinned "Yaksha" cultivators.

These cultivators generally possessed high levels of cultivation, with Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators being commonplace, and occasionally one could even sense the aura of a Deity Transformation cultivator passing by.

The materials, elixirs, and magical artifacts sold in the city's markets and shops were of such high quality and variety that they broadened the horizons of cultivators in the human realm. Many of them were rare treasures they had never heard of before, and of course, the prices were also astonishingly high.

Through subtle inquiries and some publicly available jade slip information, they quickly learned that this place was on the edge of the Tianyuan Realm, one of the three realms and seven lands of the human race, and Anyuan City was just a small outpost fortress town to resist the invasion of the demon race.

The true core city of the human race is Tianyuan City, which is far away!

That is where the main force of the human race fights against the demon race, and it is also the place where ascended cultivators are usually assigned.

They also learned that the human race's situation in the spirit world was indeed not optimistic, just as the "Lord" had said, with powerful enemies on all sides, especially the endless struggle with the demon race.

These ascended cultivators at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm might be able to serve as guards in Tianyuan City, but in the grand scheme of the entire Spirit Realm, they are still just high-level cannon fodder.

The harsh reality quickly cooled the excitement that everyone had just felt from "ascension," replacing it with heavy pressure and worries about the future.

The Soul Imprint makes them loyal to Suning, but it does not deprive them of their ability to think.

Just as everyone was feeling conflicted, Su Ning gathered them in the guesthouse room where they were temporarily staying.

He glanced at the various expressions on the faces of the crowd and slowly said, "You have a basic understanding of the situation in the Spirit Realm. It is fraught with danger, but also full of opportunities. Blindly following me will make you like hothouse flowers, unfit for great use."

Everyone was startled when they heard this.

Su Ning continued, “I grant you your freedom. Go your separate ways and use your own methods to gain a deeper understanding of this world, to hone your skills, to compete for resources, and to become stronger! Only when you truly witness the vastness and cruelty of the Spirit Realm will you understand that following me and uniting as one is the only hope for us human cultivators to establish ourselves and even rise in the Spirit Realm!”

He paused, then revealed his ultimate goal: "A hundred years from now, no matter where you are, you must all gather in Tianyuan City! I will be waiting for you there. I hope that when we meet again, you will all have been transformed, and you will not disappoint me."

"We will obey the Lord's decree!" Xiang Zhili, Hu Laomo, Feng Laoguai, Bingfeng and the others immediately bowed and accepted the order.

The existence of the Soul Imprint ensures that they will not question Su Ning's orders and will only carry them out resolutely.

There's no need to worry about them revealing the secrets of the Void Realm, since Su Ning has great confidence in his soul imprint.

Moreover, deep down they genuinely yearn to explore this wondrous yet dangerous new world for themselves.

The group took their leave, each with their own thoughts, and quickly disappeared in all directions of Anyuan City, beginning their solitary journey in the spirit world.

Inside the room, only Su Ning and the White Ancestor of the Taiyi Sect remained.

Bai Laozu looked at Su Ning with a complex expression, a mixture of relief, shock, and an indescribable sense of estrangement and awe.

Along the way, Su Ning's methods, scheming, and unfathomable strength have made him, as her "master," feel unfamiliar and alarmed.

Especially that bizarre ability to control other people's souls...

Su Ning turned around and looked at Old Ancestor Bai. The stern look on his face softened slightly, revealing a rare and heartfelt respect: "Master."

Old Ancestor Bai sighed: "Su Ning, you are now a Nascent Soul cultivator, and even more so... alas, there's no need to call me Master anymore."

Su Ning shook his head: "A teacher for a day is a teacher for life. Without Master's protection and support in the Great Jin Dynasty, I might not be where I am today. I will always remember that bond between teacher and student."

He looked at Old Ancestor Bai and explained sincerely, "Master, I hope you don't misunderstand! What I did to Fellow Daoist Xiang and the others before was truly out of necessity. The Spirit Realm is treacherous, and people's hearts are unpredictable. To achieve great things, sometimes one has to resort to extraordinary means. But Master has been kind to me, and Su Ning is by no means an ungrateful person. Therefore, I did not plant that soul imprint on Master."

Upon hearing this, a hint of emotion flashed in Bai Laozu's cloudy old eyes.

He could sense the sincerity in Su Ning's words.

Upon learning that he was not being controlled, a huge weight was lifted from his heart, but at the same time, a complex mix of emotions welled up within him.

Although his apprentice was ruthless and unpredictable, he still valued their past relationship.

"So what are your plans next? And where should I go?" Old Ancestor Bai asked.

“Master is free to move about as he pleases, and may also accompany me,” Su Ning said. “However, Su Ning suggests that Master go to Tianyuan City first. It is the core of the human race, relatively safe, and rich in resources, making it more suitable for quiet cultivation to familiarize oneself with this world. After I have dealt with some trivial matters, I will go to Tianyuan City to meet Master.”

Old Ancestor Bai pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Very well. Then I will go to Tianyuan City first. Su Ning, please be careful."

He still habitually gave that one last piece of advice.

"Take care, Master." Su Ning cupped his hands in greeting.

After seeing off Elder Bai, Su Ning stood alone by the window, gazing at the unfamiliar and vast sky of the Spirit Realm with a deep look in his eyes.

His grand plan has successfully taken its most crucial first step, gaining a large number of highly promising and absolutely loyal subordinates.

Next, he needs to improve his own strength as soon as possible and find opportunities to gradually erode and control the power of the human race in the spirit world.

And perhaps the first step could begin in this small border town, or...

Head straight to the place where the winds of change gather – Tianyuan City.

His journey in the spirit world has officially begun.

...(End of chapter)