Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

He hovered there, his breath faint, with only a barely perceptible glimmer occasionally flashing in the depths of his half-closed eyes.

"Old man, tell me your background." Su Baichen crossed his arms, his tone still icy.

He examined the remnant soul, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

This soul... is surprisingly intact, unlike the broken and dilapidated souls of ordinary fallen powerhouses. However, the soul power is weak and dim, as if the lamp oil is about to run out. This is very unusual!

"I... heh, am just a rogue cultivator from the mountains who was fortunate enough to glimpse some of the power of heaven and earth and was given the nickname 'Saint of Creation'."

The old man's illusory voice carried a hoarseness from a distant past; he paused, as if reminiscing.

"That was... a long time ago."

He spoke slowly, his voice echoing in the quiet bamboo hut, his narration straightforward yet carrying a sense of vicissitude.

He said that when he traveled to the "Beast Realm" back then, he clashed with the "Stone Clan," a powerful Dou Di family that dominated the continent at the time, because of a rare "Nine-Transformation Soul Grass."

In a fit of anger, he severely injured a direct descendant of the Shi clan, thus forging a deadly feud.

The Stone Clan was furious and dispatched their Third Elder, who was already a late-stage Three-Star Dou Sheng, to personally cross realms to hunt him down.

Although he was also at the Dou Sheng realm, how could he possibly contend with the powerful figures meticulously cultivated by such a behemoth?

After a bloody battle, fleeing and retreating, he finally escaped into a hidden little world that he had discovered and managed for many years in the Beast Domain before he was exhausted—the "Battle Saint Ruins" that would be rumored in later generations.

“That place was originally my secluded cultivation spot, which I had prepared for many years and had a backup plan. Unfortunately… the third elder of the Stone Clan was too powerful. Even with the advantage of the location, I could only barely keep him outside the core.”

"My injuries are beyond repair, my very essence has collapsed, and I know my time is coming to an end."

The phantom of the Creator Saint swayed slightly, and the weariness and helplessness in his tone were extremely genuine.

"I was unwilling to let all my knowledge end here, so before I passed away, I sealed all my life's collection, cultivation techniques, and even some insights into the Dao of Creation into the core of the ruins."

"I have drawn this diagram showing the path to the ruins and the method to break the key restrictions. I will send it out of the ruins along with the 'key' to open the core, and let it drift away with the current. I hope that someone destined will find it and inherit my mantle, so that my life of cultivation will not have been in vain."

After the story was finished, the room fell silent.

The phantom of the Creation Saint seemed to have faded a bit. He looked at Su Baichen, his tone filled with earnestness and hope: "My old soul has lingered on until now, my mind is mostly muddled, and only this obsession remains."

"I just saw your two disciples. They have extraordinary talent and seem to be kind-hearted. Especially the girl in blue, whose soul perception is quite sharp. She is truly an excellent candidate to inherit my 'Great Creation Technique'."

"If you allow it, I am willing to impart everything I know to her, so that she may at least... hope to reach the Saint rank in the future."

His words were sincere, and his soul leaned slightly forward, like a lonely old man who had finally found his successor. In his weary eyes, the light of hope was faint yet persistent.

Su Baichen listened quietly, his face expressionless.

Only after the other person finished speaking did a slight smile slowly appear on his lips.

That smile was cold, playful, and even had a hint of...evil.

"hehe."

A low chuckle filled the room.

"Old man, you don't actually think I'd believe this kind of story you tell kids, do you?"

Su Baichen raised his eyes, his gaze as dark as an abyss, utterly calm.

Before he finished speaking, he pointed forward with his right hand, fingers pointing like a sword, without any warning!

There was no earth-shattering display, only a refined, almost imperceptible gray-white sword aura that quietly bloomed from his fingertips.

The moment the sword energy appeared, the temperature in the entire room plummeted, and a chilling cold that penetrated to the very soul filled the air. It wasn't just coldness, but a sense of death, a feeling of the annihilation of all things and the withering of spirituality.

Nine Swords of Spirit Severing - Soul Severing!

Specializes in severing souls and destroying true spirits!

The gray-white sword energy was silent and stealthy, yet faster than thought could perceive, piercing straight for the illusory figure of the Creation Saint's brow!

"You—!" The phantom of the Creation Saint roared in shock and anger. The weariness and hope vanished instantly, replaced by a ferocity and rage that had been completely exposed!

He didn't expect that the other party would not even try to test him, but would directly attack him deadly!

The phantom suddenly unleashed a powerful soul force far exceeding what it had just displayed. The pale blue light flickered violently, and at the critical moment, it condensed into a simple, ancient shield phantom covered with mysterious patterns in front of its brow.

Ding!

A soft, yet sharp sound that struck the very depths of the soul.

The gray-white sword energy struck the small soul power shield, causing it to tremble violently. Cracks spread like a spider web, and finally, with a "poof," it shattered and dissipated into specks of light.

The sword energy dimmed considerably, but it still had enough power to penetrate and strike the illusory soul of the Creation Saint.

"Ugh—!"

Amidst the piercing screams, the Creation Saint's soul twisted violently, becoming almost transparent and barely visible. Its aura weakened to the extreme, like a candle flickering in the wind, about to be extinguished at any moment.

His gaze toward Su Baichen was filled with resentment, fear, and a hint of disbelief.

"Oh? A shield formed from soul power? Or rather, a rather sophisticated soul defense technique... Interesting."

Su Baichen raised an eyebrow, revealing a genuine look of surprise.

"After a thousand years of erosion, even a remnant soul can still unleash soul power approaching the Heavenly Realm. Creation Saint... In your previous life, you were probably more than just a Battle Saint, weren't you?"

"You must also have considerable expertise in the realm of the soul, such as the Heavenly Realm Soul!"

"I bet you also got your hands on that Stone Clan's Third Elder!"

Chapter 277 Slaying the Saint of Creation!

The Creation Saint's expression darkened further upon hearing Su Baichen's words.

Seeing this scene, Su Baichen's guess became even more real, and the killing intent in his eyes intensified, becoming icy and chilling.

"So, you've been hiding such strength and fabricating such a story, your ambitions must be considerable."

"Give my apprentice a chance?"

Su Baichen slowly shook his head, his tone mocking: "I'm afraid the opportunity to take your life is more likely. Since you have no good intentions, then... just disappear completely."

He pointed again!

The second "Soul-Severing" sword aura suddenly appeared, even more solid than the first one, swirling with a grayish-white death aura, locking onto the already fragile remnant soul of the Creation Saint, cutting off all possibility of evasion.

"You bastard! This saint has planned for a thousand years! How could I let myself perish at your hands! I curse you..."

The Creator Saint let out a roar of extreme unwillingness, his soul burning wildly in an attempt to make a final struggle, but under the deathly sword energy that specifically countered the soul, all resistance was in vain.

A sword aura swept past.

The roar abruptly stopped.

The pale blue phantom that had existed for countless years vanished silently into the air, like dust that had been wiped away, leaving no trace.

Only the lingering soul fluctuations within the room testified to what had just transpired.

Su Baichen's expression remained unchanged. He raised his hand and made a grasping motion. A wisp of extremely pure primordial soul power, radiating a faint, luminous white light, was forcibly refined and condensed from the void and landed in his palm.

This is the core essence of the remnant soul of the Creation Saint, containing part of his memories and soul imprint.

Without hesitation, Su Baichen's fingertips glowed with a faint light, enveloping the ball of soul power, and he began to forcibly refine and read the information within it.

A moment later, the eerie light dissipated, and the primordial essence of the soul vanished completely.

Su Baichen slowly opened his eyes, a complex expression flashing across his deep eyes, a mixture of realization, mockery, and a faint sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection).

“What a ‘Saint of Creation,’ what a brilliant… masterful scheme to steal the heavens and change the world,” he muttered to himself.

From the fragments of memories he had refined, he glimpsed part of the truth.

The first half of the story is largely true.

He did indeed offend the Stone Clan for some reason, and he was indeed hunted down to the brink of death by the Stone Clan's Three Elders, a late-stage Three-Star Dou Sheng.

However, the ending was not as he described, where he "passed away peacefully awaiting the right person."

That ruin was actually a carefully laid deadly trap!

He had long studied the characteristics of the Stone Clan's powerful members: unparalleled physical bodies but relatively weaker souls.

During the pursuit, he deliberately led the Three Elders into his small world, which he had cultivated for many years. With absolute control over the restrictions within and a pre-arranged, insidious array specifically targeting the soul, he launched a sudden attack. At the cost of severe injury and near death, he managed to kill the arrogant Three Elders of the Stone Clan in the core of the ruins!

The three elders perished, their immense blood and the essence of a Dou Sheng were locked by the restrictions of the ruins, and a trace of their undying fighting spirit was sealed within their bones.

In the Creator Saint's plan, the skeleton, nourished by the special energy within the ruins over the years, will form a perfect Golden Battle Saint skeleton.

The Creator Saint himself was indeed at the end of his rope after setting up the trap.

However, he did not truly pass away. Instead, he used an extremely secret and forbidden technique to forcibly seal most of his remaining essence, foundation as a Dou Sheng, and even the shattered power of the Dou Sheng space into his own corpse, thus maintaining its "activity".

If nothing unexpected happens, after years of being nourished by the special energy within the ruins, it will also form a "special Battle Saint skeleton". The skeleton is immortal and contains a vast essence and residual Battle Saint rules, making it invaluable.

At the same time, he actively separated the relatively complete main soul and entrusted it to the "Beast Soul Map" made with a special secret method. He also bound the ruin map and the so-called "key" to the Beast Soul Map and sent them out of the ruin together.

His purpose was never to find a successor.

He was waiting for a "destined person" to take the map, undergo "tests," and finally reach the core of the ruins to see the "special Battle Saint skeleton" that radiated an alluring glow and the treasures "left behind" around it.

When the visitor, attracted by the treasure, lowered their guard and even touched the skeleton…

His main soul, which was lurking in the Beast Soul Diagram, would quietly activate, either by directly seizing the body of the newcomer, or, even better, by activating the backup plan he had left in the core of the ruins, and by re-injecting all of his sealed origin into that perfect golden skeleton (the three old skeletons of the Stone Clan), so that he could be perfectly reborn!

At that time, he will not only regain his strength, but also inherit some of the powerful traits of the three old skeletons of the Stone Clan, making him even stronger than before!

And the "destined person" who painstakingly searched for treasure and brought him the map and key naturally became the best offering and nourishment for his resurrection.

The so-called inheritance of mantles is nothing more than a tempting bait to lure people in.

The Beast Soul Diagram itself is not only a container for souls, but also a medium for monitoring and control, ensuring that the "destined person" follows the route it has set.

Among the fragments of memory, there was even a blurry image of his remnant soul whispering and sneering on the map after he sent it out: "A thousand years of waiting, one day... I, the Saint, will return in a stronger form! Stone Clan... once I merge with this skeleton and advance to the fifth star, I will make you pay the price!"

"Humph."

A cold snort broke the silence in the room.

The last trace of emotion in Su Baichen's eyes faded, leaving only a sharp, cold glint.

"As expected, none of those who can reach the Dou Sheng realm as rogue cultivators are easy to deal with. They are all cunning, ruthless old foxes."

His gaze swept over the map on the table, which had now completely turned into an ordinary leather scroll.

"That old devil really did leave two backup plans in the map and in those ruins."