Chapter 125 From the Psychic Realm to the Starburst Realm
The Red Spider Lily was also known as the gentleness of the devil.

Legend had it that it was a flower that voluntarily threw itself into hell and allowed itself to be dispatched by numerous devils. Bodhisattva, unable to bear seeing it drifting along the road to hell, agreed to let her blossom on both sides of the Reincarnation Bridge. She was to serve as a comfort for the souls leaving the Human World and guide them. She also became known as the “greeting flowers” that bloomed along the banks of the River of Three Crossings.

This flower, which bloomed only in hell, could awaken the memories of the departed souls. It was the only scenery along the road to the Reincarnation Bridge in hell.

Red Bean recognized this flower. It was described in her clan’s records as such: “Bloody Curse of the Red Spider Lily is an absolute curse that members of the Devil Race would make alongside their oath. If one breaks his oath, the bloody curse would break out. The moment the Red Spider Lily blooms, the cursed person would be drawn to hell.”

Perhaps, even in his death, Yan Se wouldn’t know that when the devil of their generation walked out of the Mountain Valley of Pure Blackness and left, the oath that the Elder of the Valley had him engrave to memory truly existed.

They existed for the sake of awakening the Devil Lord.

Their sole priority was to benefit the Devil Lord. Any who entertained thoughts of betraying the Devil Lord would suffer the punishment of purgatory.

Earlier, Yan Se must have said something that triggered the Bloody Curse and got himself killed by the Red Spider Lily.

Ye Que and Red Bean exchanged looks after seeing Yan Se die with his eyes wide open, both at a loss. Their questioning wasn’t over, so how could Yan Se drop dead just like that?

“What should we do next?” Red Bean asked, frowning. “We mustn’t allow these hunters to succeed. If we let them collect all 350,000 military souls, only heaven knows what god forsaken scheme they would commit.”

“I think they’re trying to resurrect some sort sinister existence.” Ye Que recalled Yan Se’s words earlier. The latter kept bringing up the “Devil Lord” during the interrogation.

Red Bean’s mission involved searching for the hunters and avenging her clansmen. Ye Que also needed to find the devil and question him about the cause of Ye Zhengru’s death. Moreover, he had the feeling that this was all intricately connected to him. After all, the Demon Race ought to be the one ambushing Luoyang. There was never any mention of a devil.

Everything had changed now. Ye Que must carefully consider his future and if the preparations he made earlier would have to be adjusted.

The wind had risen, bringing forth the rain. The night had come!

Ye Que could feel the immense pressure on him.

“There must be more than one moving man within the borders of You Prefecture, but with Yan Se dead, where do we even start looking? Let’s say he’s right. Nearly six days have passed since the start of the battle. If we don’t make haste, they would very likely wipe out all the soldiers and collect all 350,000 military souls,” Red Bean said anxiously. She didn’t care if others live or die, but she couldn’t allow the plan of the hunters to succeed.

Ye Que bent down and crouched next to Yan Se’s body. He reached out to close Yan Se’s wide-open eyes and then started searching his body.

“What we need to do now is finding a countermeasure as soon as possible,” Red Bean said confusedly after seeing what Ye Que was doing. She reached out her hand, preparing to drag him up. “What are you doing? How can you have the mood to search his body?”

Lifting a hand to indicate for her to keep calm and quiet, Ye Que continued what he was doing. Soon, he finished searching Yan Se’s body. In his hand was a letter.

He gently wiped the letter with a wave of his hand, pouring his Spiritual Force into it.

The letter trembled. Five tiny words written with a bold, powerful manner in seal script slowly emerged from it.

“Pavilion of Wind and Thunder!”

Staring at the words floating midair, Ye Que snapped his fingers and said, “This is our clue: Pavilion of Wind and Thunder. Since he stole the physical body of a disciple of the Pavilion, there must be other devils hiding there. I also have reason to believe the Pavilion is the first stronghold of devils or the Orthodox cultivation sect that the devils have invaded.”

“I remember him mentioning a captain earlier. That’s our next target. We should also try our best to snatch some white banners. These moving folks rely on those magic treasures to gather the military souls. If we seize enough white banners, then they won’t be able to gather enough souls.”

Ye Que had just finished speaking when his expression suddenly changed.

Without stopping to explain himself, he sat down on the floor and instantly entered a state of meditation.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why are you going into meditation to cultivate?”

“Now isn’t the time to cultivate.”

Red Bean was bewildered by Ye Que’s series of actions, but she soon stopped speaking for Ye Que’s body was beginning to emanate dots of starlight.

“Advancing from the Psychic Realm to the Starburst Realm?”

“He made a breakthrough at a moment like this?”

Red Bean wasn’t the only surprised. Even Ye Que was caught off guard.

In the span of a few minutes, the 13 Mother and Children of Spring and Autumn Swords that Ye Que kept in his Spiritual Sea—of which only 11 spiritual swords remained—were inexplicably targeted by the divine tool, the River Soldier. After being chased around, none of the 11 Spirit Swords survived. The River Soldier swallowed them all up.

Like a starving child who finally had a full stomach, the River Soldier willfully wandered his Spiritual Sea in satisfaction.

While wandering, the divine tool began to pour an incomparably pure Spiritual Force into his Spiritual Sea.

Part of the Spiritual Force was filled with Sword Qi, while the other part seemed to be carrying the faint breath of a departed spirit.

If his assumption was correct, this Spiritual Force was the by-product of the 13 Mother and Children of Spring and Autumn Swords and the departed spirits within the white banners that the River Soldier consumed. Since the divine tool couldn’t digest them, it gave it to its host, Ye Que.

Thanks to the change in that one page in the Divine Book, Ye Que’s cultivation had reached the critical point in the Psychic Realm after exiting the ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum. He was just waiting for the right timing to enter the Starburst Realm.

15 minutes later.

Finally, the starlights scattered completely.

Ye Que stared at the River Soldier that was swimming in his Spiritual Sea, finding the whole thing both joyful and humorous. Even though he was the host of the divine tool, the River Soldier would sometimes disobey him. No matter what, the 13 Mother and Children of Spring and Autumn Swords were still Level 2 Spirit Swords. It ate them all up without leaving anything behind.

Moreover, the message that the River Soldier sent him while eating seemed to say, “How are these shabby swords of iron and copper worthy of swimming in the Spiritual Sea I’m in? These things are only good enough as food. I’ll eat them for your sake, lest they offend your eyes. I, the River Soldier, am good enough as your weapon. What’s the use of keeping these Spring and Autumn Swords around?!”

Ye Que sighed and opened his eyes helplessly. If he thought about this clearly, he had picked up the Spring and Autumn Swords at the drinking banquet anyway. It wasn’t such a pity to lose them now. He couldn’t have new things if he didn’t get rid of the old, after all.

To be fair, the River Soldier was indeed far stronger than the Spring and Autumn Swords. If not for it, he wouldn’t be able to deal with Yan Se with such ease. The River Soldier was meant for battles; he had experienced this himself.

He rose to his feet and patted away the snow on his body. Flashing a smile at Red Bean, he said, “Let’s go and see what scheme is brewing in the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder. It’s an Orthodox sect with more than a hundred years of history. How could it be so unsightly?”

The wind was still on the mountain.

The falling snow was beginning to gather.

The jade sword led the way.

With Red Bean on his back, Ye Que gradually walked farther and farther away.