Fang Yuan's soul drifted through the Valley of Falling Spirit.
He didn't wander far, staying within the vicinity of his physical body.
Here, from time to time, a wave of Soul-Confusing Mist would drift over on its own.
Fang Yuan's soul bathed in the mist, and like a book soaked in water, it gradually began to loosen and scatter.
"The denser a soul is, the harder it is to come apart. After cultivating here for so many days, the density of my soul is more than ten times what it was before — truly rapid progress! But compared to Demon Venerable You Hun, the gap is still as vast as between heaven and earth." Fang Yuan assessed privately, inevitably recalling the battle at Yitian Mountain once more.
Demon Venerable You Hun was the founding ancestor of the Soul Dao. Though he had perished, the soul he left behind possessed the greatest soul dao foundation in the entire world.
The density of Demon Venerable You Hun's soul was truly terrifying.
An ordinary soul was like an illusory phantom — at most it could disturb the mind, but had no effect on pure material substance.
But Demon Venerable You Hun had achieved such extreme density that his soul could shield the sky with one hand and withstand catastrophe head-on. That heaven-propping stature had been deeply etched into Fang Yuan's memory. Even when he had lost his memories due to the Pure Dream True Body, this memory had never faded.
"Most likely, if Demon Venerable You Hun came to the Valley of Falling Spirit, this Soul-Confusing Mist would no longer have any effect on him." Fang Yuan's thoughts wandered, and he sighed inwardly. "When will I ever possess cultivation like that?"
If Fang Yuan's soul had the soul dao foundation of Demon Venerable You Hun, then no matter how powerful the traps on the Immortal Zombie body were, he would have nothing to fear.
The Soul-Confusing Mist drifted in and dissipated, and soon after, the Falling Spirit Wind blew in.
Fang Yuan's soul was immersed in the wind. Each strand was like a steel wire, tearing and slicing his soul apart.
Pain more excruciating than slow execution made Fang Yuan's soul shudder again and again.
But Fang Yuan gritted his teeth and endured, weathering this gust.
This wind wasn't particularly strong, and its duration was short, so Fang Yuan could withstand it.
But if he encountered a strong gale, Fang Yuan would wisely retreat, withdrawing his soul into his body.
With the body's protection, the power of the Falling Spirit Wind would be greatly reduced.
After this gust, Fang Yuan's soul had shrunk by more than thirty percent.
Out of caution, he chose to return to his body.
Guts Gu!
One Guts Gu after another shattered within Fang Yuan's Immortal Aperture, transforming into waves of mysterious and wondrous power that settled upon his soul.
Before long, his soul had grown strong once more.
The weakness and damage from his recent cultivation had completely vanished!
Danghun Mountain and the Valley of Falling Spirit were sacred grounds for soul cultivation.
With these two great tools in hand, Fang Yuan's soul dao cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds. His progress was truly rapid.
And so, wave after wave of Soul-Confusing Mist and Falling Spirit Wind washed over him, and Fang Yuan's soul — like iron and stone subjected to repeated forging and tempering — became more refined and even denser.
The only question was when he would feel confident enough to enter the Immortal Zombie body.
After roughly one hour, Fang Yuan's soul began to feel waves of restless agitation.
Fang Yuan wisely paused his cultivation session. His soul returned to his body, and he walked out of the Valley of Falling Spirit once more.
One hour. That was the personal limit he had discovered through repeated cultivation sessions.
Soul dao cultivation had three major aspects.
Fortifying the soul and refining the soul — these two were known to all.
But beyond these, there was a third aspect: settling the soul.
Fortifying the soul could strengthen and enlarge it.
Refining the soul could temper it, grinding it into something purer.
Settling the soul could soothe it and consolidate one's gains.
The three complemented each other. Emphasizing only one aspect would mean losing sight of the others, and the gains would not outweigh the losses.
Among them, Danghun Mountain and Guts Gu were the best for fortifying the soul. The Soul-Confusing Mist and Falling Spirit Wind of the Valley of Falling Spirit were the finest for refining the soul. And the most effective method for settling the soul was the Soul-Soothing Soup found in the Lake of Soul Confusion.
The Lake of Soul Confusion was located within the Gate of Life and Death. According to legend, after Tai Ri Yang Mang died, his body lay in eternal slumber on the shore of this lake.
"The Gate of Life and Death is inside the Shadow Sect's Blessed Land. And the Shadow Sect's Blessed Land is at Yitian Mountain in the Southern Border, now enveloped by the super dream realm. Otherwise, I might have been able to obtain the Gate of Life and Death and enjoy the convenience of having all three together for soul cultivation!"
Fang Yuan could only entertain the thought.
That massive dream realm was an insurmountable barrier. For now, he clearly had no ability to cross it.
And most importantly, there was Heaven's Will.
Every move Fang Yuan made was under Heaven's Will's watchful gaze.
In the future, even when he took action, Heaven's Will would be the first thing Fang Yuan had to guard against.
Flying along the way, Fang Yuan didn't return directly to his own cloud city.
Instead, he headed toward the Twelfth Cloud City.
Before long, he met the Mao Min Gu Immortal, Mao Twelve.
"Elder Fang Yuan, you're here. This is the Will Gu you asked me to refine — please inspect it," Mao Twelve greeted him warmly and proactively.