Volume 13, Chapter 857 – Mutation Power

Huang Hua… or rather, the Heavenly Surge Soul of Huang Hua turned its head mechanically toward Cheng Hongling. Its eyes bulged as if they were about to burst from their sockets, pupils trembling violently with shock. It was difficult for him to imagine just how powerful this woman was. She could subdue a cultivator at the Incarnation Realm with Divine Sense alone.

Bao Hu coughed up blood repeatedly, but he still didn’t make a sound, as if he still had something to rely on.

Swish!

At that moment, a chain of soul energy shot out like lightning from the distance, aiming to rescue Bao Hu.

“Trying tricks in front of me? How foolishly overconfident.”

Cheng Hongling let out a cold snort. Her immense killing intent burst forth, condensing into a sharp sword that cleanly severed the soul chain.

“Killing intent? That’s impossible…”

Bao Hu stared at Cheng Hongling in utter disbelief. He truly couldn’t understand how a cultivator could wield killing intent.

Cheng Hongling withdrew her Divine Sense and yanked Bao Hu in front of her. Her beautiful eyes were clear and icy, like ten-thousand-year-old black ice. “Don’t talk? Then die!”

“Wait… wait… I’ll talk… I’ll talk!”

Bao Hu no longer had any will to resist. He stammered out his answer, “This so-called mutation power… it’s the power of the Mutation Heavenly Dao.”

“Mutation Heavenly Dao?”

Cheng Hongling repeated the phrase slowly, carefully tasting its meaning. She found no impression of it in her memory, so she continued asking, “What does it do? Why are you trying to get it?”

Bao Hu glanced at the nearby Heavenly Surge Soul of Huang Hua. A look of unwillingness flickered across his face.

“Not talking? Judging by your tone earlier, I assume there are quite a few who know of this matter on Qiling Planet, right? Killing you wouldn’t cause much loss, would it?”

Cheng Hongling increased the pressure of her Divine Sense.

“PFFT!”

Bao Hu spat out another mouthful of blood, then began pleading, “Spare me, Fairy, I’ll talk… I’ll talk… The mutation power can sever the symbiotic link between the Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Souls and the Life Soul. It can also sever the link between the Seven Corporeal Souls and the physical body.”

“That’s why his Heavenly Surge Soul turned into a spirit?”

Cheng Hongling looked at the Heavenly Surge Soul of Huang Hua. Her delicate frame trembled almost imperceptibly. She had searched so long, and finally, today, found the answer she sought.

“Yes! Yes!”

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Bao Hu nodded rapidly.

“That’s enough. You can leave now.”

Cheng Hongling released her Divine Sense.

Bao Hu, as if granted a royal pardon, hurriedly fled without a second glance.

“Tell me, where is the mutation power? And how do I use it?”

Cheng Hongling turned to question the Heavenly Surge Soul of Huang Hua.

Shivering in fear, he clenched his teeth and said nothing.

“Let’s make a deal. You give me the mutation power, and I’ll take you away from Qiling Planet to a place with no cultivators and an abundance of Yin energy. I guarantee you’ll live out the rest of your days in peace.”

Cheng Hongling offered her terms.

“…Huh?”

The Heavenly Surge Soul’s expression shifted. He hadn’t expected this terrifyingly powerful woman to actually propose a deal. But the words sounded too unbelievable. Leaving this planet? Was that even possible for a mere mortal?

“I don’t understand what you’re hesitating for. First of all, Bao Hu hasn’t gone far. The moment I leave, he’ll come back, and then there’ll be no escape for you. Second, the cultivators on Qiling Planet are powerful. Before long, the Yin energy here will be completely gone. When that happens, you’ll scatter into nothing.”

“It’s just… just that I don’t know how to trust you. Leaving this planet sounds like a fairytale no matter how I think about it.”

The Heavenly Surge Soul spoke cautiously.

Cheng Hongling didn’t waste any words. Her Divine Sense swept him up, and her figure vanished like a ghost.

The Heavenly Surge Soul felt a blur in his vision. When he could see again, he was already suspended in space. Before his eyes stretched out a vast, boundless starfield, with no place to stand.

Like a drowning man grasping for reeds, he flailed about, trying to grab onto something. But the beautiful woman beside him seemed like a mirage… untouchable, ethereal. He could only spin awkwardly in place.

“Do you believe I have the capability now?”

Cheng Hongling’s expression was blank.

“But how do I know you’ll keep your word?”

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The Heavenly Surge Soul hesitated.

“Work with me, and you have a chance to survive. Refuse, and you’ll die for certain. Do I really need to remind you?”

Cheng Hongling said with deliberate patience.

The Heavenly Surge Soul wrestled with his thoughts, struggling intensely. After a long pause, he finally clenched his jaw and said, “Fine! I’ll cooperate.”

“Good. So you’re not entirely foolish.”

A flicker of satisfaction passed over Cheng Hongling’s face.

“Fairy, I do know how to use the mutation power, but it’s bound to my physical body. After I died, my body was taken away by one of the souls. I haven’t been able to find any trace of it.”

The Heavenly Surge Soul began explaining.

“You haven’t contacted your other soul fragments?”

Cheng Hongling frowned.

“I have, but just like Bao Hu said, the mutation power is a treasure all cultivators dream of. Whoever possesses it holds a mountain of gold. No one will tell the truth.”

The Heavenly Surge Soul shook his head helplessly.

“No matter.”

Cheng Hongling remained expressionless. Her powerful Divine Sense instantly enveloped all of Qiling Planet and began rapidly scanning it.

Not long after, she discovered something unusual in an ice cave deep in the polar region.

Inside was a spirit that looked exactly like Huang Hua, only with the character for “Qi” on his forehead, clearly indicating he was Huang Hua’s Corporeal Soul of Qi.

More importantly, on an ice bed beside the Qi Soul lay a corpse wrapped in a faint silver light. Judging by its appearance, it was unmistakably Huang Hua’s body.

Cheng Hongling didn’t bother speaking to the Qi Soul. With a flick of her intent, she swept the corpse away.

It took a long while before the Qi Soul noticed the missing body. He looked around blankly, eyes filled with confusion and shock.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Surge Soul of Huang Hua had been waiting. Just as he was starting to grow impatient, a shadow suddenly appeared before him. When he looked closely, he froze—

It was his corpse.

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“That should be your body, right?”

Cheng Hongling gestured toward it.

“Yes… yes, yes, yes! Where… where did you find it?”

The Heavenly Surge Soul asked in confusion.

“Your Qi Soul brother was hiding it in an ice cave in the polar region.”

Cheng Hongling gave a brief explanation.

The Heavenly Surge Soul was increasingly stunned. What shocked him wasn’t that the Qi Soul was selfish, it was the sheer strength of the woman before him. She had found his body across such a vast planet. How powerful did her Divine Sense have to be?

“Are… are you an immortal?”

The Heavenly Surge Soul asked cautiously.

Cheng Hongling didn’t answer. Instead, she cut straight to the point. “That silver energy surrounding the body, that’s the mutation power, right? Tell me how to absorb and use it. I’ll honor my word and take you to a safe place.”

“Yes, Immortal!”

The Heavenly Surge Soul no longer dared to refuse. He obediently told her how to use the mutation power.

Cheng Hongling activated her cultivation method, drawing the mutation power from Huang Hua’s corpse into her own body, transforming it into her own Mutation True Qi.

Looking inward, Cheng Hongling discovered this Mutation True Qi was distinct from both Five Element True Qi and Assimilation Qi. It resided primarily in the upper abdomen’s Youmen acupoint.

With that, Cheng Hongling now possessed five types of power within her:

Killing Intent in her Sea of Consciousness

Yin Energy in her heart

Mutation True Qi in her Youmen acupoint

Profound Ice True Qi in her Qi Sea

Assimilation Power in her Guanyuan acupoint

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Among them, the Yin Energy in her heart wasn’t something she cultivated or accepted willingly. It came from a shriveled heart fragment belonging to Lu Yao and couldn’t be expelled.

“The Life Soul and the Three Ethereal and Seven Corporeal Souls only need to absorb a certain amount of mutation power to break free from their symbiotic bond. That way, even if the body or a single soul perishes, the others remain intact.”

The Heavenly Surge Soul explained in detail.

“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t that mean one would essentially become multiple souls? Wouldn’t that lead to split personality?”

Cheng Hongling’s face revealed a trace of concern.

“No, not at all. Aside from severing the symbiosis, the mutation power doesn’t alter anything else. The hierarchy between the Life Soul, the Three Ethereal Souls, Seven Corporeal Souls, and the main body or doppelgängers still remains intact.”

The Heavenly Surge Soul quickly reassured her.

“Good.”

Cheng Hongling relaxed slightly. She already had someone with a split personality around her, she had no desire to repeat that ordeal.

With everything clear, Cheng Hongling activated a teleportation gate and set off for home.

This was an enormous planet, its size several hundred times greater than Lishui Planet. It was shrouded in thick Yin energy, which even leaked into the atmosphere to form a strange, ghostly planetary ring.

Beyond the dense Yin clouds, the world below was lush with life, plants like ghost tomatoes and other shade-loving flora thrived. Countless fiendish spirits roamed freely, making it seem as though hell had descended upon the mortal realm.

Somewhere on a vast plain of this planet, an immense city sprawled like an ancient black dragon… heavy, majestic, and brimming with oppressive power.

At the heart of the city stood a grand black palace. Guards were stationed everywhere, literally one every three steps and a sentry every five. Each fiendish creature entering or exiting had to pass through multiple layers of security, far more stringent than even the imperial palaces of the mortal realm.

Inside one of the palace’s bedchambers, a curvaceous figure lay on a large bed. Even the thin blanket couldn’t hide her alluring body. Her gourd-shaped silhouette was fully on display, a sight enough to stir any man’s blood.

Unfortunately, a slick, glossy black tail hung lazily off the edge of the bed. From time to time, it would rise and sway like a cobra, revealing that she was anything but an ordinary person.

“Demon Lord, your subordinate has urgent news to report.”

A man’s voice suddenly came from outside the door.

“I’ve said it before, no one is to disturb me while I sleep.”

The sultry figure on the bed spoke slowly.