Chapter 49: Between Life and Death
“The Soul Stone is keeping a thread of life?” Bebe immediately asked.
Qing Huo nodded slightly. “It’s not a great secret. Legend says that the Violet Lord God was born from the Violet Crystal Mountains.” As he spoke, Qing Huo glanced at Reisgem.
Reisgem didn’t mind and nodded. “Yes, that’s true. The violet crystals of the Violet Crystal Mountains all contain soul energy. The Violet Crystal Divine Beast born from the entire Violet Crystal Mountains is naturally strong in soul power. And the Violet Crystal Divine Beast also produces an energy essence—the Soul Stone! The gestation of a Soul Stone is extremely difficult, and it is the most precious treasure of the Violet Crystal Divine Beast. Take me, for example. Although I have a Soul Stone within me, it’s for saving my life. Naturally, I wouldn’t give it away.”
“My mother is a Sovereign, nurtured by Sovereign power, and having existed for an extremely long time, she can still take out one or two Soul Stones,” Reisgem said with a sigh. “This Soul Stone is an absolute treasure for protecting the soul. Against a Sovereign’s attack, it might be useless. But… with this Soul Stone, one shouldn’t fear soul attacks from a Highgod.”
Reisgem looked at Linley as he spoke.
Bebe understood now.
The Violet Crystal Divine Beast was born from the essence of the Violet Crystal Mountains. And the Soul Stone was even more so the energy essence of the Violet Crystal Divine Beast. One Soul Stone was billions of times more valuable than violet crystals. Its power was completely imaginable.
“But what about my boss?” Bebe asked anxiously.
“Linley…” Reisgem said helplessly, “Alas, that Magnus was a Paragon of Fate, the strongest in soul power. And he used Sovereign power of Fate to execute that move. Its power had already reached the limit of a god! Even the Soul Stone…” Reisgem felt uncertain.
The Soul Stone had been praised as incredibly powerful. But this opponent was too extreme.
“Linley’s situation is very bad this time,” Qing Huo said solemnly. “Magnus’s soul attack has already penetrated deep into Linley’s four souls. The energy of the Soul Stone is barely holding on, preventing Linley’s souls from completely perishing. This situation is too dangerous, too dangerous.”
Unconscious, without awareness.
In Bebe’s memory, Delia had encountered this, and Olivier had too.
“Delia and Olivier both experienced this before, and they survived,” Bebe said quickly. “And Olivier even underwent soul mutation because of that coma.”
Qing Huo shook his head and sighed. “I know about Delia’s case. The culprit was just a Life Laws expert who hadn’t even reached the Commander level. But the one who struck Linley was Magnus! It can be said… in soul attacks, no Highgod can surpass Magnus. At best, they can match him.”
“Attacking is easy, but healing is difficult. No one can undo Magnus’s move,” Qing Huo said, shaking his head.
“What about a Sovereign?” Bebe asked quickly.
“It’s useless,” Reisgem said, shaking his head. “In truth, what makes Sovereigns stronger than Highgods is their Sovereign will and their overwhelming Sovereign might. That’s what makes Sovereigns invincible. But in terms of profound mysteries of the laws, they might not even match a Paragon.”
Reisgem’s mother was a Sovereign, so he knew this well.
Sovereigns also had to study the profound mysteries of the laws.
Becoming a Sovereign had nothing to do with the profound mysteries. Among the 77 Sovereigns, only a very, very few had reached Paragon status! However, a Sovereign’s strength far exceeded that of a Paragon Highgod. The reason was simple: one was a Sovereign, the other a Highgod.
This was a difference in fundamental level.
Sovereign might was too powerful. It was an authority granted by the universe, insurmountable.
“Moreover, as a Paragon, Magnus’s attack also contained a special power—the will of a Paragon. Although it’s not as strong as Sovereign might, healing isn’t about comparing who has stronger power,” Reisgem said helplessly. “Healing a soul is a very delicate task. And since Magnus is a Paragon… no one can save Linley.”
Bebe was frantic with worry.
“Indeed, no one can save him,” Qing Huo said, shaking his head. “Unless a Sovereign of the Edicts intervenes. But the Sovereigns of the Edicts are manifestations of the rules. Would they act for a single person? That’s impossible.”
Bebe felt a glimmer of despair.
“But Olivier was in a coma for a long time back then, and he survived,” Bebe said quickly. “And he even underwent soul mutation.”
“Yes, this kind of coma can easily trigger soul mutation,” Qing Huo said with a bitter smile. “But Bebe, do you know… in a coma, the probability of death is much higher!”
Bebe was terrified.
“Then why does a coma cause soul mutation?” Bebe asked quickly.
“I’m not entirely sure of the real reason,” Qing Huo said, shaking his head. “But one thing is certain: someone like Olivier was using both Darkness and Light elements before his coma. Once he fell into a coma… if his soul mutation succeeded, he could fuse those two elements. But if the mutation failed, he would die.”
“People who undergo soul mutation are very rare,” Qing Huo said with a sigh. “Those with two divine clones, meaning those who use two elements, have a few who survive soul mutation, but the probability is terrifyingly low! As for those with three divine clones, across countless planes, they can be counted on one hand. In the Infernal Realm, there’s only one.”
Qing Huo looked at Bebe. “Think about it. How many people are in the Infernal Realm? And how many years has it existed? In all those countless years, only one person in the Infernal Realm has succeeded in soul mutation with three clones. How high is the death rate?”
Bebe’s body trembled.
“What about four divine clones?” Bebe was afraid, because Linley had four divine clones and used four elements.
“In countless years, across countless planes, no one with four divine clones has ever succeeded in soul mutation,” Qing Huo said grimly. “The survival rate is zero!”
Bebe’s face turned completely pale.
“A coma doesn’t always lead to soul mutation,” Reisgem quickly comforted him. “Didn’t you say Delia was in a coma before? She survived, and she didn’t undergo soul mutation.”
“That’s because Delia only had one divine clone,” Qing Huo said in a low voice. “Of course, some people in a coma don’t undergo soul mutation. But those are extremely rare.”
Reisgem had nothing to say and could only smile bitterly.
The ones hit by Linley were his main body and three divine clones. The only one spared was his fire-type divine clone in the Yulan Continent. If the main body and three clones perished, Bebe understood that Linley would almost certainly never reach the peak again. Bebe knew very well that deep in Linley’s heart, he dreamed of reaching the pinnacle of cultivation.
This was Linley’s wish.
In truth, it was also Doehring Cowart’s wish.
When Doehring Cowart taught Linley, he placed his hopes on Linley, hoping that one day Linley would reach the peak. Of course, back then, Doehring Cowart’s expectation for Linley was that he would one day reach the level of the War God or the High Priest. Now, Linley had far surpassed that.
But the pursuit of the peak had already been ingrained in Linley’s bones.
“Then… what do we do?” Bebe panicked.
“There’s nothing we can do,” Qing Huo said, shaking his head. “No one can undo the ultimate move of a Paragon. We can only wait and see what Linley himself does. If Linley doesn’t undergo soul mutation, there’s still a chance of survival. But… once Linley’s soul begins to mutate, it can be said that death is almost certain.”
Qing Huo sighed.
With four divine clones, if his soul mutated… the chance of success was zero!
“Just because others didn’t succeed doesn’t mean my boss won’t,” Bebe said quickly.
Qing Huo shook his head slightly. “Let’s find a place for now. As for whether Linley’s soul mutation succeeds or fails, let fate decide.”
Yulan Continent plane.
Inside Dragonblood Castle.
“Linley, what’s wrong?” Delia looked at Linley, who was clad in a fiery red robe.
The fire-type Linley’s face was grim. He shook his head and said, “My main body and three divine clones have lost consciousness.” With five souls split apart, they could sense each other. But at this moment, the fire-type divine clone couldn’t detect the consciousness of the main body or the other clones. The situation was already very bad.
“What!” Delia’s face changed drastically.
“I thought the main body and three divine clones were about to die, but strangely, after taking Magnus’s blow, they didn’t die. However, the situation is very bad. Those four souls are extremely weak and could be extinguished at any moment,” the fire-type Linley said with a serious expression. Since the main body and three clones had lost consciousness, Linley naturally didn’t know that the Soul Stone was barely maintaining a thread of life.
Delia’s face was pale, and she was extremely worried.
“Linley, your main body and three clones won’t die, will they?” Delia knew that those represented Linley’s future. If they died, the surviving fire-type divine clone would only be a weakling. Delia understood… Linley had a heart that pursued strength and wouldn’t be content to remain weak.
“I don’t know.”
The fire-type Linley closed his eyes and said, “Life or death…” Occasionally, sporadic battles occurred.
Inside a desolate mountain.
Lei Hong had long been called back by Reisgem through Sovereign power telepathy. Qing Huo, Bebe, Lei Hong, and Reisgem were all in the hall, while Linley lay quietly on a bed in the adjacent room, without a trace of life.
“It’s been seven whole days, and Linley hasn’t moved at all,” Reisgem said with a frown.
“Brother Qing Huo, please go check on him,” Bebe said quickly.
Among the four, only Qing Huo dared to probe Linley’s soul. After all, Linley’s soul was now so weak that it was even weaker than an ordinary undead soul. The slightest carelessness could cause Linley’s soul to dissipate directly.
“I’ll take a look.”
Qing Huo stepped into the room.
“I hope the boss gets better. I hope he gets better,” Bebe kept muttering under his breath.
After a moment, Qing Huo came out, frowning.
“What’s wrong?” Bebe asked immediately.
Qing Huo shook his head slightly. “The Sovereign power of Fate energy that penetrated Linley’s soul has weakened a lot. But at the same time, the Soul Stone has also shrunk significantly.” The Soul Stone was the soul essence condensed by the Violet Lord Sovereign. The more energy it consumed, the smaller it became.
When the energy was completely used up, the Soul Stone would be gone.
“The Soul Stone has shrunk a lot?” Bebe lowered his head, biting his lip, not knowing what to think.
The Sovereign power of Fate energy that had penetrated Linley’s soul was steadily decreasing. And the Soul Stone was also gradually shrinking.
On the fifteenth day of Linley’s coma.
Inside the cave.
“The Sovereign power of Fate is almost gone,” Qing Huo said, a rare smile appearing on his face. “And the Soul Stone still has a little left. It will definitely last until the end. I estimate that the Sovereign power of Fate from Magnus’s attack will dissipate today.”
A look of surprise and joy also appeared on Bebe’s face.
“But even after the Sovereign power of Fate dissipates, whether Linley will wake up is hard to say. In a coma, the soul is without consciousness. It’s very unpredictable,” Qing Huo said, shaking his head.
Bebe nodded slightly.
“Let’s be a little happier! At least there’s hope for Linley to wake up,” Reisgem said with a smile.
“Yes, there’s hope for him to wake up,” Bebe nodded heavily.
While Reisgem, Bebe, and the others were waiting, they suddenly sensed a fluctuation from Linley’s room. “Has the boss woken up?” Bebe was overjoyed.
“What’s happening?” Qing Huo was the first to dart inside.
Bebe, Reisgem, and Lei Hong followed closely behind. In the room, Linley was still lying quietly on the bed, without a trace of life.
But his body was surrounded by various elemental energies: earthy yellow earth elements, red fire elements, pale green wind elements, and blue-green water elements… The four elements were being drawn to Linley in large quantities, swirling around him.
Although Bebe didn’t know whether two elements had accumulated around Olivier’s body when he was in a coma, Bebe understood one thing—Linley was probably undergoing soul mutation.
“Soul mutation?” Qing Huo had never seen a soul mutation scene before, but seeing this, he guessed the same.
Bebe stared at the unconscious Linley, tears welling up in his eyes.
With four divine clones, soul mutation? To this day, no one had ever succeeded.