Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 329 All Supernatural Powers Have Been Lost

Inside the Yellow Springs Palace, Qu Heng glared angrily, his finger almost poking Chen Ye's nose.

"Hundreds of rogue cultivators have joined my Yellow Springs Sect in Fengdu City. Your desk is piled high with official documents. You, as the sect leader, are already shirking your responsibilities, yet you still have the leisure to harass your grandmaster?!"

Chen Ye took a half step back and said with a grin, "Grandmaster, please calm down. After all, cultivation is the most important thing. We expected that rogue cultivators would come to join us. After the Yellow Springs Sect is established, people will naturally come to become disciples. Anyway, the sect rules have been set, so we just need to follow the rules."

The Yellow Springs Sect's apprenticeship process is actually quite simple. Passing the first test means enduring the tortures of hell to prove your innocence and lack of sin. Even if you are deeply sinful, it doesn't matter; you can atone for your sins in hell, which also counts as passing the test. However, how long you have to endure it is up to you.

Moreover, this hellish torture doesn't allow you to back out from the start; the Yellow Springs Sect won't let a cultivator burdened with sins leave the Northern Frontier.

Because of this rule, although it seems that a hundred people have come to join, not many are actually willing to accept it. Most of the independent cultivators are still observing and waiting to see if the Yellow Springs Sect will change the rules.

He also wanted to see if the Yellow Springs Sect was worth the risk.

Chen Ye then said, "Grandmaster, if I don't ask you about matters of cultivation, am I supposed to ask my master?"

Upon hearing this, Qu Heng slapped his thigh and said, "That's right, how could I forget that we have your master as a disciple? It's time for our lineage to have more successors. Although Mo Ci's talent for cultivation is average, his eye for taking on disciples is really good. We should let him recruit disciples."

Chen Ye never expected that a single sentence would get his master into trouble, but it didn't matter. It was common for disciples of the Demonic Sect to betray their masters and ancestors. As long as his cultivation went smoothly, that was all that mattered.

He immediately chimed in, "Grandmaster is wise! My master is the best at taking on disciples, so leaving this to him is sure to be the right thing to do." Then, he changed the subject, pretending to be troubled and frowning, "But Grandmaster, please give me some pointers on how to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. I've been cultivating these past few days, and I feel like I'm missing something."

Qu Heng's anger, which had just subsided, flared up again. He roared, "What the hell are you talking about! You've only been in the Profound Realm for a short time, and you're already dreaming of breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm? Do you really think cultivation is as simple as eating and sleeping?! You're being overly ambitious and courting death!"

Counting the days, it's been a little over a month since Chen Ye became Mo Ci's apprentice, which is still a little over two years.

This kid is actually about to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm?

Qu Heng himself had lived for hundreds of years, wasting many years in the Nascent Soul Realm, and only a few months ago did he barely step into the Void Return Realm.

Qu Heng snorted coldly and questioned, "What you should be doing now is perfecting the Eighteen Levels of Hell Divine Power! Haven't you only reached the fourth level?"

"This supernatural power has undergone some changes."

Chen Ye pondered for a moment, then slowly explained, "A few days ago, when I was in seclusion, I suddenly had a whimsical idea and integrated all my knowledge into the deity Fengdu Emperor. As a result, it seems that I lost this supernatural power."

Originally, Chen Ye only wanted to take a few days of quiet cultivation before establishing his sect, as a form of rest.

But in a flash of inspiration, he remembered the method of "reducing to seek emptiness" that Qu Heng had mentioned. Only by severing all karmic ties could one truly transcend worldly constraints and ascend to the immortal realm.

Chen Ye decided to give it a try, but things went wrong.

Chen Ye raised his hand and waved it, and the phantom of the Fengdu Emperor suddenly appeared, his divine power overwhelming, even Qu Heng couldn't help but frown.

When he founded his sect, Qu Heng was only concerned with monitoring the area inside and outside Fengdu City to prevent retaliation from the Mirage Sect, so his attention was not on the ceremony, nor did he pay close attention to what the Emperor of Fengdu looked like at that time.

Now, upon closer inspection, this deity seems abnormally powerful.

Chen Ye could only explain, "I refined this deity as a magical artifact. Initially, I simply incorporated the effects of the Myriad Souls Banner into it, and the deity's robes transformed into the shape of the Myriad Souls Banner. Then I tried to refine the supernatural powers of the Eighteen Levels of Hell into it as well, and the result..."

Under his control, the Emperor of Fengdu flipped his right hand, and a gigantic crimson fire serpent coiled around him, its tongue flicking and flames roaring, turning the entire hall blood red. The deep purgatory enveloped the surroundings like an array, and behind the fire serpent appeared the beast-mouthed bronze bell, which transformed into two rows of chimes beside the Emperor of Fengdu. Countless ferocious ghosts brandished wooden mallets and struck the bells, producing a mesmerizing and captivating sound.

These are the Fire Serpent Hell and the Bronze Bell Hell. As for the remaining two layers, the Illusory Hell and the Karmic Mirror Hell, it is not appropriate to show them, because these two layers either reflect the desires in the hearts of sinners or reflect their sins onto themselves.

With only Qu Heng in front of him, Chen Ye couldn't very well use his own grandmaster to test the power.

Qu Heng stared intently at the Emperor of Fengdu, even summoning his own Crimson Dragon Buddha. The two deities faced each other from afar. Although the Crimson Dragon Buddha was lifelike, it was overshadowed in terms of imposing presence by the illusory Emperor of Fengdu.

Qu Heng's realm was two levels higher than Chen Ye's, and the Fengdu Emperor was even more unstable. Yet, the two treated each other like subordinates meeting their superiors. No matter how strong the Crimson Dragon Buddha was, he was still inferior to the Fengdu Emperor.

This is not surprising. Ever since the Fengdu Emperor was created by Chen Ye, Qu Heng has relinquished the position of the main god. In Fengdu City, the Fengdu Emperor is naturally the most respected.

However, this deity has changed its appearance. Qu Heng observed it carefully for a long time and came to a strange conclusion: "Your supernatural powers have been stripped away and you have become a magic weapon on the body of the Fengdu Emperor."

Chen Ye said helplessly, "I just tried it out, and this is how it turned out. The supernatural powers of the Eighteen Levels of Hell are no longer for me to cultivate, but are deduced by this deity on its own."

Chen Ye couldn't say whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. He had only put all his knowledge into the deity Fengdu Emperor because he was not good at fighting, but the effect was so good that he even lost his supernatural powers.

If Chen Ye wants to cultivate the Eighteen Levels of Hell Divine Power now, he will have to start all over again.

The Crimson Dragon Buddha and Qu Heng are one, but in the end, he must be abandoned by Qu Heng in order to break through to the Dao Integration Realm.

The same goes for the Emperor of Fengdu. Right now, he seems inseparable from Chen Ye, and the divine powers of the gods are Chen Ye's divine powers. But when it comes time to separate them later, wouldn't Chen Ye be throwing away his own divine powers for nothing?
Qu Heng frowned and pondered for a long time, finally he could only sigh: "You kid are really reckless. If others cultivated like you, they would have gone mad from their cultivation long ago."

Chen Ye remained calm and smiled, saying, "I also pulled back from the brink. I haven't fully integrated the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique yet, but this divine power is too profound. Reaching this level in the Profound Realm is already the limit. If I want to continue my arduous cultivation, I can only reach the Divine Transformation Realm."

The most difficult part of learning the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts is that it requires the assistance of spiritual objects from heaven and earth during cultivation. The first challenge is to perfectly fuse the soul and body, making them truly inseparable. Achieving this is considered a minor success, granting the possibility of free transformation.

But after the soul merges with the body, how does one cultivate in the Nascent Soul stage?

Without breaking through his cultivation level, Chen Ye could no longer improve his Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, leaving him stuck in this awkward situation. His cultivation became merely accumulating spiritual energy, which was almost entirely futile.

Qu Heng pondered for a long time before saying to Chen Ye, "I also switched to the method of becoming a god through incense offerings halfway through my studies, and to be honest, I'm not very good at it. This is a Buddhist skill, and I don't know for the time being whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. As for the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, I've never practiced them either, and it won't be easy to comprehend them in a short time."

"The one who tied the knot must untie it. Since the problem lies with the Buddhist methods, we should ask the Buddhists for advice."

Chen Ye asked, "Does Grandmaster mean for me to go to Cixin Temple?"

Qu Heng shook his head and said, "No, these monks have completely severed ties with the Nirvana Sect. They may look similar, but they are actually on completely different paths. The cultivation method I am passing on to you is still the path of the Nirvana Sect."

Chen Ye immediately felt troubled and said helplessly, "The Nirvana Sect has disappeared without a trace. Even if I have to figure it out myself, it's still too late."

Qu Heng didn't speak, but only showed a strange expression.

Seeing Qu Heng's appearance, Chen Ye couldn't help but ask, "Grandmaster, you wouldn't happen to know where the remnants of the Nirvana Sect are, would you?"

(End of this chapter)