"The Soul Stone is keeping a thread of life alive?" Bei Bei asked urgently.
Qingshuo nodded slightly. "It's not exactly a secret. According to legend, Chief God Purple Thorn was born from the Purple Crystal Mountain Range." As he spoke, Qingshuo glanced at Lai Sijing.
Lai Sijing didn't mind the look and nodded. "That's right. It's true. The Purple Crystal of the Purple Crystal Mountain Range all contain soul energy, and the Purple Crystal Divine Beast born from the entire mountain range naturally possesses formidable soul strength. The Purple Crystal Divine Beast also produces an energy essence—the Soul Stone! A Soul Stone is extremely difficult to nurture, and it is the most precious treasure of any Purple Crystal Divine Beast. Take me—I am nurturing a Soul Stone, but that's my life-saving treasure. Of course I could never bear to give it away."
"My mother is a Chief God, nourished by a Chief God's power, and having existed for an impossibly long time—she could extract one or two Soul Stones." Lai Sijing sighed. "The Soul Stone is an absolute treasure for soul protection. It might not help against a Chief God's attack. But... with a Soul Stone, one need not fear a Highgod's soul attack."
Lai Sijing looked toward Lin Lei.
Bei Bei understood.
The Purple Crystal Divine Beast was the crystallized essence of the Purple Crystal Mountain Range. And the Soul Stone was the energy essence of the Purple Crystal Divine Beast itself. A single Soul Stone was countless times more precious than ordinary Purple Crystal. Its power was easily imaginable.
"But my boss?" Bei Bei said, anxious.
"Lin Lei..." Lai Sijing said helplessly. "Sigh. Magnus has achieved Grand Completion in the Law of Destiny—he's the strongest there is in soul arts. And he wielded a Chief God of Destiny's power to execute that move. Its destructive force has reached the absolute limit of what a god can produce! Even a Soul Stone..." Lai Sijing was losing confidence.
A Soul Stone was hailed as an incredibly powerful artifact. But this opponent was simply too monstrous.
"Lin Lei's condition is extremely grave," Qingshuo said solemnly. "Magnus's soul attack has already penetrated deep into all four of Lin Lei's divine souls. The Soul Stone's energy is the only thing still staving it off, keeping Lin Lei's soul from completely shattering. This situation is far too dangerous—far too dangerous."
Unconscious, without awareness.
In Bei Bei's memory, Dilia had gone through this, and so had Olivier.
"Dilia and Olivier both experienced this before, and they both pulled through," Bei Bei said quickly. "And Olivier even underwent a soul mutation because of that coma."
Qingshuo shook his head and sighed. "I know about Dilia's case. The attacker then was merely a Life Laws expert who hadn't even reached the Commander level. But the one who struck Lin Lei was Magnus! You could say this—no Highgod in existence surpasses Magnus in soul attacks. At best, they could match him."
"They say attacking is easy, but healing is hard. No one can undo Magnus's strike," Qingshuo said, shaking his head.
"What about Chief Gods?" Bei Bei asked immediately.
"Useless," Lai Sijing said, shaking his head. "Truth is, Chief Gods are more powerful than Highgods primarily because their wills are more formidable and their divine might is overwhelming. That's what makes them invincible. But when it comes to the profound mysteries of the Laws, they don't necessarily surpass Grand Completion."
Lai Sijing's own mother was a Chief God, so he knew this better than anyone.
Chief Gods, too, had to study the Laws.
Becoming a Chief God had nothing to do with mastering the Laws. Of the seventy-seven Chief Gods, only a tiny fraction had ever achieved Grand Completion! However, a Chief God's strength far exceeded that of a Grand Completion Highgod. The reason was simple: one was a "Chief God," and the other was a "Highgod."
This was a difference at the most fundamental level.
A Chief God's divine might was too powerful. It was authority bestowed by heaven and earth itself—insurmountable.
"Moreover, Magnus, as someone at Grand Completion, infuses his attacks with a special 'might'—the will and might of Grand Completion. While it doesn't rival a Chief God's divine might, healing isn't a contest of whose power is greater," Lai Sijing said helplessly. "Healing a soul is painstakingly delicate work. And given that Magnus is at Grand Completion... there's simply no one who can save Lin Lei."
Bei Bei was wracked with anxiety.
"No one can save him," Qingshuo confirmed, shaking his head. "Unless a Sovereign were to intervene. But Sovereigns are manifestations of the laws themselves—why would one act for the sake of a single individual? It's impossible."
Bei Bei felt a wave of despair creeping in.
"But Olivier—he was unconscious for a long time too, and he survived!" Bei Bei said quickly. "He even experienced a soul mutation!"
"That's true. This kind of deep coma can indeed trigger a soul mutation," Qingshuo said with a bitter smile. "But Bei Bei, do you understand... while trapped in a coma, the probability of death is far, far greater!"
Bei Bei was horrified.
"Then why does a coma lead to soul mutations?" Bei Bei pressed.
"I don't fully know the real reason," Qingshuo said, shaking his head. "But here's one thing—take Olivier, for example. Before his coma, he was already using two types of energy: Darkness and Light. Once he fell into a coma... if the soul mutation succeeded, he could fuse those two energies. But if the mutation failed, he would die."
"People who undergo soul mutations are extremely rare," Qingshuo sighed. "Those who possess two divine clones—meaning they wield two types of energy—and who undergo a soul mutation... some of them have survived, but the survival rate is terrifyingly low! As for those with three divine clones, across all the countless planes combined, you can count them on one hand. In the Nether, there is only one."
Qingshuo looked at Bei Bei. "Think about it. How many people are there in the Nether? And how many years has it existed? Over countless ages, only a single soul mutation survivor with three clones has ever emerged. How high do you think the death probability is?"
Bei Bei's body trembled.
"What about someone with four divine clones?" Bei Bei asked in fear—because Lin Lei had four divine clones. Lin Lei wielded four types of energy.
"Across all of history, across all the countless planes combined, not a single person with four divine clones has ever survived a soul mutation." Qingshuo's expression was grim. "The survival probability is zero!"
Bei Bei's face drained of all color in an instant.
"Not every coma leads to a soul mutation," Lai Sijing said quickly, trying to comfort him. "Didn't you say Dilia was once comatose as well? She recovered, and she didn't experience a soul mutation."
"That's because Dilia only had one divine clone," Qingshuo said in a low voice. "Of course, possessing divine clones and falling into a coma doesn't necessarily lead to a soul mutation. That outcome is just exceedingly rare."
Lai Sijing had nothing left to say and could only smile bitterly.
The ones struck by Magnus's attack were Lin Lei's original body and three divine clones. The only one spared was his Fire System divine clone back on the Yulan Continent. If the original body and three clones were destroyed... Bei Bei understood—Lin Lei would almost certainly never reach the peak again. Bei Bei knew that deep in his heart, Lin Lei dreamed of cultivating to the absolute pinnacle.
This was Lin Lei's wish.
In truth, it had also been Derinkoort's wish.
When Derinkoort had been teaching Lin Lei, he had placed his own hopes upon the young man, hoping that one day Lin Lei would reach the pinnacle. Of course, back then, Derinkoort's expectation had been that Lin Lei might one day reach the level of the Martial God or the High Priest. And now, Lin Lei had far surpassed those heights.
But the pursuit of the pinnacle was already woven into Lin Lei's very bones.