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

Chapter 342: Boil the flesh into soup?
Chen Ye felt he had entered a very mysterious state.

Even when his soul shattered into a thousand pieces, Chen Ye remained a single entity; in his mind, there was only one self. Therefore, he was able to reassemble and ultimately master the first level of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.

But now Chen Ye clearly feels that there are two selves: one is himself, and the other is the bystander.

The thought, once it arose, split into two strands.

One Chen Ye was pondering, while the other Chen Ye was laughing.

I'm not laughing at my own foolishness, but at my own ingenious idea, which is truly unprecedented and unparalleled.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Chen Ye couldn't help but think, "Am I really that narcissistic?"

No, that's not right. I reflect on myself day and night and never dare to slack off. I should be considered humble and diligent...

Countless thoughts flowed through Chen Ye's mind. His own thoughts arose, were sensed by the "observers," and then returned to himself. Often, a single thought would instantly transform into hundreds of feelings.

For the first time, Chen Ye felt that his thoughts could change so quickly.

But this did not cause confusion; instead, it gave Chen Ye a strange sense of "clarity."

So that's what I was thinking.

It's a strange feeling. How can a person not even know what they are thinking?
But that's the reality. In the course of life, people are influenced by the many loves, hates, and grudges of the mortal world, and sometimes they lose their minds and can't see their own thoughts clearly.

This time, Chen Ye had an additional observer's perspective, as if he had been given a pair of heavenly eyes. Although these heavenly eyes could only be used to contemplate himself, they saw things more clearly than Chen Ye himself.

Many sorrows and unfulfilled desires are now re-examined from a different perspective.
Chen Ye suddenly had many insights.

Chen Ye suddenly muttered to himself, "I and the Emperor of Fengdu were originally one. If I were to merge him into myself and take his place, I could probably achieve immortality in an instant."

The phantom of the Fengdu Emperor appeared, still majestic. However, at this moment, Chen Ye activated the Great Art of Transformation and used it on the Fengdu Emperor.

Originally, the deity, formed by the power of incense offerings, was neither sad nor happy, and would only act according to the rules designed by Chen Ye. But now, the Emperor of Fengdu seemed to have become much more lively. His illusory face kept evolving and began to take shape, eventually becoming a face that was 90% similar to Chen Ye's.

But it didn't last long before the face vanished into nothingness.

Chen Ye shook his head, as if trying to cast aside the desire in his heart.

The Emperor of Fengdu is a deity of the Yellow Springs Sect, not one that Chen Ye can control alone; this was a rule established from the beginning. Chen Ye's supernatural powers have now been fused with the Emperor of Fengdu, rendering him unable to cultivate. Driven by greed, he nearly reintegrated this deity into himself.

In this way, he might be able to reclaim those supernatural powers and secret techniques for his own use, but this would break the rules that Chen Ye himself had set.

If the Emperor of Fengdu is controlled by someone else, then what fairness is there in the Yellow Springs Sect?

"I almost ruined everything. It seems I am not as selfless as I thought. Human greed can never be eradicated, and we must always keep that in mind."

Chen Ye secretly rejoiced, thankfully this Great Art of Transformation was not an evil technique, allowing him to see his true nature at any time. Just as greed arose, Chen Ye noticed something amiss from an observer's perspective and quickly suppressed the thought.

Calming himself down, Chen Ye began to cultivate the Great Law of Transformation and Freedom again. This time, he wanted to bring out all his thoughts and distractions and study them carefully.

If Qu Heng were here, he would probably be surprised by Chen Ye's reckless behavior, and at the same time, he would be shocked, because Chen Ye's soul is transforming at an incredible speed.

The so-called "transformation into a spirit" actually refers to a spiritual soul that is strong enough, that is, it just needs to meet the strength standard.

The Nirvana Sect's Soul Soup Cultivation Method does not require disciples to separate their souls; instead, the entire person is placed in the pot to be boiled, which strengthens the soul.

Chen Ye is in the same boat now. Although he doesn't know what he is practicing, he is constantly eliminating the huge amount of distracting thoughts in his soul through self-sensing.

Just now, Chen Ye eliminated a trace of his hidden greed, a trace of greed that disregarded the life and death of the Yellow Springs Sect in order to achieve immortality.

After eliminating that thought, his soul became a little purer.

However, this method of cultivation is extremely dangerous.

Looking inward at one's own heart sounds simple, but who can guarantee that this observation will lead to a positive outcome?

If one's will is not firm, one will feel wronged while observing, and all sorts of evil thoughts will arise. The more one observes, the more one feels that one is suffering. This results in double the suffering. Originally, one could still bear it, but after this doubling, one will directly go astray.

This isn't how one practices the Great Law of Transformation; even celestial beings might not be able to control themselves if they did it this way. But Chen Ye seems to be different; he can truly dig out those insignificant distracting thoughts from his soul bit by bit, and then eliminate or suppress them with a truly objective perspective.

This caused Chen Ye's soul to become increasingly pure, as if it had been boiled in the Nirvana Sect's soul soup cauldron.

In that mysterious and profound moment, Chen Ye suddenly felt a sense of disorientation, and he felt the onlookers clapping and laughing, reciting:
"A single thought can illuminate the true nature, and the heavenly eye can see through delusion and dust."

"The sea of ​​greed must eventually be cut off, and the true nature of Dharma will be revealed in the clear pool reflected in the jade."

"Laugh at the joys and sorrows, for they are all self-sufficient; only then can one know that suffering and happiness are companions."

"He transforms into a thousand shadows in the human world, only then do I realize that I see twins reflected in the mirror."

Chen Ye felt a sudden lightness in his soul, as if every word and line of the poem had relieved him of a thousand-pound burden. He felt his body growing lighter and lighter, as if he were about to float away.

When Chen Ye opened his eyes, he found himself strangely floating in the air, but he had not used any cloud-riding magic.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Ye was shocked to discover that he was now in the form of a divine soul.

"Did my soul leave my body?"

Chen Ye couldn't believe it. When his body was immobilized by the Buddha's palm and his soul was trying to escape, he was in excruciating pain. But now, he had easily freed his soul.

The separation of the soul from the body is considered the first step in the Nascent Soul Realm. As long as one can separate the soul from the physical body, one can strengthen the soul in various ways until one can possess another body without damaging the soul, thus stabilizing one's realm.

"I never expected that eliminating distracting thoughts could allow the soul to leave the body so easily. This Transformation Technique is truly amazing."

Chen Yegang felt fortunate, but when he looked down, he was completely stunned.

"Wait, where's my physical body?!"

In the empty underground palace, only Chen Ye's soul floated in the air; there was no physical body to speak of.

Not only was his physical body lost, but the protective robe that Chen Ye was wearing was also gone.

"Could someone have stolen my body while my soul was out of my body?"

Chen Ye was extremely shocked. Only Qu Heng and he could enter and exit this underground palace. Qu Heng would never play such a joke on him. Could it be that an enemy had secretly infiltrated the underground palace?

Looking up again, Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief. The ginseng fruit was still there; it seemed the thief hadn't stolen the treasure.

But that makes things even more strange. Even a blind person knows that the most important treasure in this underground palace is this ginseng fruit. What use would stealing Chen Ye's body be? To take it back and make soup?

Confused, Chen Ye summoned the Emperor of Fengdu and began absorbing the power of incense offerings to keep his soul from dissipating.

At this moment, Chen Ye's physical body is missing, and he has not yet truly entered the Nascent Soul realm. Without the nourishment of a physical body, his soul will surely be damaged. This incense offering and the power of vows have become the only remedy to prolong his life.

Chen Ye was somewhat bewildered by the changes in himself; who would lose their physical body after cultivating the separation of the soul from the body?

"This is troublesome. Should we find a lame beggar to possess?"

Although the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts can transform anything, even losing a leg or going blind doesn't matter, Chen Ye doesn't want to possess another body; his original physical body is definitely the best.

This physical body that came with him not only rejuvenated him, but also became in harmony with his soul. How could he bear to give it up so easily?
However, after searching the underground palace repeatedly, no trace of the physical body could be found.

A careful inspection of the entrance revealed no trace of external intrusion.

Something's not right, something's very wrong.

Chen Ye hovered above the jade Buddha in the underground palace, carefully pondering everything that had happened.

Where did my physical body go?
Even if the physical body exploded because the soul left the body, it should have turned into a pool of golden liquid like before. But the place where Chen Ye was meditating just now only had a futon and nothing else.

"Wait a minute..." In a flash of inspiration, Chen Ye suddenly had an absurd thought: "Could it be that my physical body has also transformed into a divine soul form?"

(End of this chapter)