Soul Emperor Martial God-Chapter 19 - 18: Demon Beast Statue

Purple Cloud Cave, located at the deepest part of the Xiao Mansion, was perpetually guarded by the family’s powerhouses, and outsiders could only dream of entering.

Even Xiao Family disciples couldn’t approach it on normal days.

At a certain distance from the Purple Cloud Cave, all the clan members, including the elders and deacons, stopped in their tracks. Only the disciples who had obtained a cultivation slot were allowed to proceed.

Xiao Yi, Xiao Ruohan, Xiao Zimu, Xiao Zhuang, and the other ten people, amidst the hopeful and expectant gazes of their clan members, took their steps one by one.

They represented the most outstanding youngsters of the Xiao Family; they would be the future martial artists tasked with upholding the honor of the Xiao Family.

All clan members silently blessed them, hoping they would gain something from their time within the Purple Cloud Cave.

All but one, the Fifth Elder.

That deeply masked malicious gaze was firmly fixed on Xiao Yi’s back.

"You little waste, enjoy your moment of pride! As long as my plan goes undisturbed, when my son Ruohan emerges from the Purple Cloud Cave, it will be time to completely erase you from the Xiao Family."

The Fifth Elder had long prepared a series of malevolent plans.

On the other hand, Xiao Ruohan, who was proceeding with Xiao Yi and the other disciples, also gave Xiao Yi a sidelong glance, secretly smug. "Hmph, allowing you to shine today won’t matter. I’ve been at the Mortal Realm Seventh Layer for a long time, and I’m about to break through to the Eighth Layer. After ten days of cultivation in the Purple Cloud Cave, I have a good chance to break through to the Postnatal Realm. Then, your end will come."

The Purple Cloud Cave opened once every three years, and each time, the family disciples who went in to cultivate would see great increases in their cultivation, even possibly jumping several layers.

Xiao Yi keenly caught Xiao Ruohan’s gaze and felt the thorn-like scrutiny on his back, but he did not mind, laughing it off unconcernedly.

"This scheming father and son duo, they must be up to no good," Xiao Yi thought to himself.

If it was the old Xiao Yi, he would have been miserably dealt with by them long ago. But now, he simply saw them as clowns.

"Hmm?" Xiao Yi suddenly paused in his steps, his gaze fixating on something in the distance.

There stood a huge statue, entirely red, and strikingly lifelike.

At first glance, it seemed to be an unknown demon beast, somewhat like a lion, but it was much larger, with a frightening horn atop its head, and a pair of wings on its back.

No one in the entire Xiao Family knew the name of this demon beast statue. They only knew that it had been placed there by the Patriarch of the Xiao Family a hundred years ago.

It had existed since the Xiao Family had established their clan in Purple Cloud City.

Every Xiao Family disciple, before their Martial Soul awakening, would come here to observe it.

The Martial Souls that martial artists awoke came from everything in this world.

From a young age, martial artists would observe various things, etching them into their eyes and conveying them to their hearts. The more one felt towards an object and the deeper the impression, the more likely they were to awaken such a Martial Soul.

For example, constant observation of grass might awaken a Grass Martial Soul.

Constant observation of a sword might awaken a Sword Martial Soul.

Naturally, many major clans or sects would prepare some formidable items for their young to observe over the years.

The Xiao Family was no exception, and it was said that the most precious thing in the family was this statue.

However, the more extraordinary and higher level the object, the more difficult it was to awaken.

Take a Supreme Divine Sword, for instance, those with poor talent might only awaken a rather sharp sword; those even less endowed might awaken the most ordinary iron sword.

Of course, there were those with exceptional talents who could awaken a formidable Sword Martial Soul.

The Xiao Family was no different; no one had ever awakened the Martial Soul of this demon beast statue.

And evidently, the demon beast of the statue was a Fire Attribute beast.

Therefore, almost everyone in the Xiao Family awakened Martial Souls related to the Fire Attribute.

Xiao Ruohan’s Fire Cloud Python, Xiao Shi’s Fire Wolf, Xiao Xingyang’s Wildfire Bull, and so on.

The young Xiao Yi, with extremely poor talent, had awakened the most rubbish Fire Control Beast.

Xiao Yi sneered to himself, "If only I had traveled to this place a few years earlier, maybe I would have awakened the Martial Soul of the demon beast depicted in this statue. I really want to see what this beast is and how powerful it is."

Just as this thought crossed his mind, his body suddenly shook violently, a sense of crisis like never before spontaneously emerging.

He felt as though he was being targeted by a Supreme Fierce Beast, his body numb, unable to move.

It was as if he saw the absorbing, bell-like gaze of the demon beast statue, staring intently at him, intending to devour his spirit.

He felt powerless, panicked; he found that under this sensation, he was naturally without any power to resist.

Suddenly, there was another bout of restlessness within his body, and the Ice Phoenix Sword Soul suddenly burst into bright light, enveloping his body with an aura filled with sharpness that seemed to be unstoppable.

Following the emergence of the Ice Phoenix Sword’s aura, the sense of crisis instantly faded, and his body returned to normal.

"What’s going on, was it an illusion?" Xiao Yi bit his teeth, realizing that the clothes on his back were already drenched in sweat.

Xiao Yi didn’t have time to think through the problem as he was interrupted by a rough voice.

"Xiao Yi, what are you dazing out for, hurry up and follow."

"Uh, oh, okay." Xiao Yi snapped out of his daze and quickly caught up.

The one who had called out to him was Xiao Zhuang.

"Xiao Yi, thanks for the other day," Xiao Zhuang said quietly as he walked up beside Xiao Yi.

"It was nothing, no need to thank me," Xiao Yi shrugged.

Xiao Yi had only recently found out that the young disciple bullied by Xiao Jie and Xiao Shi that day turned out to be Xiao Zhuang’s brother.

Xiao Zhuang, true to his name, was tall and burly, with a presence like a bull. He shook his head and said, "It wasn’t nothing, I will definitely repay this favor if I get the chance."

"Suit yourself," Xiao Yi indifferently responded.

Several minutes later, the group finally arrived in front of Purple Cloud Cave, and by then, the Second Elder was already waiting for them there.

The so-called Purple Cloud Cave was nothing more than a section of several hundred meters centered around a demon beast statue.

Younger family disciples, even as spectators, could only stand a kilometer away.

Only during the once-every-three-years opening of the Purple Cloud Cave could the chosen disciples approach within these few hundred meters.

"All disciples, step forward," the Second Elder commanded authoritatively without any unnecessary words.

Ten disciples stepped forward simultaneously.

As they took this step, Xiao Yi immediately showed a look of surprise.

Because the aura around them had completely changed. It was clearly perceptible that the Spiritual Energy nearby was frighteningly dense.

The Spiritual Energy around them was more than ten times denser than outside. Even without actively absorbing it, the Spiritual Energy was automatically flowing into their bodies.

"This truly is an excellent place for cultivation," Xiao Yi exclaimed in surprise.

And moreover, this was the purest Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, without any impurities and without any need for worry, much more effective than consuming Elixirs.

Xiao Yi turned around to look behind him; the Second Elder stood just one step behind them.

It was incredible that the environment could change so drastically with merely a step’s distance.

Xiao Yi guessed that there must be a formidable power here, sealing the rich Spiritual Energy within these few hundred meters, preventing any of it from leaking out, not even a single step.

At that moment, the Second Elder, only a step away, gave a stern instruction, "Pay attention. The Xiao Family statue exerts a considerable oppressive force; the closer you get, the greater the pressure. Within fifty steps is your maximum limit. Beyond fifty steps, even a Martial Artist in the Postnatal Realm would find it difficult to withstand."

"Remember, no one is to step beyond fifty steps, or it will pose a risk to your life."

"We will heed the Second Elder’s instructions," ten disciples replied respectfully.

The Second Elder nodded, gave his firm instructions, then went several steps further back by himself, sat down crossed-legged, and began to cultivate.

He truly lived up to being called a Martial Arts Fool, never wasting even a moment of cultivation time.

The disciples continued to walk forward; the closer they got to the statue, the greater the oppressive force became, but the denser the contained Spiritual Energy was, and naturally, the faster the cultivation progressed.

Of course, as long as they kept within fifty steps, there would be no danger.

According to the rules, Xiao Yi walked to the forefront, stopping precisely at fifty steps.

Five steps behind him stood Xiao Ruohan.

Then after him, the places were decided by the ranks in the family martial competition.

Within the fifty-step range, with each person spaced five steps apart, ten people separately began their cultivation.

The distance of five steps was just right, ensuring that they would not interfere with each other’s cultivation or take the Spiritual Energy from around others, affecting their practice.

Xiao Ruohan clenched his teeth in hatred as he watched Xiao Yi’s back ahead of him; Xiao Yi was in the position with the densest Spiritual Energy, the most conducive spot for cultivation, so naturally, he was envious.

Xiao Yi was well aware of his gaze but couldn’t be bothered. Right now, what mattered most was to quickly cultivate and enhance his Cultivation.

Under the absorption of his Dual Martial Souls, the Spiritual Energy from around him surged over like a tide. Especially the terrifying absorbency of the Ice Phoenix Sword, Xiao Yi immediately felt his Cultivation rising at a frightening speed.

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