# Chapter 3706: The Soul-Suppressing Clan
After leaving the Heavenly Court, Zhang Ruochen immediately extended his perception outward, using the Way of Truth to deduce the celestial mechanisms and the Path of Fate to predict fortune and misfortune.
The celestial mechanisms were chaotic, making it difficult to distinguish good from bad.
However, at the very least, he could prevent Yu Dongxuan and the others from acting unpredictably, ambushing him midway and catching him off guard.
After seeing Shang Tian's demon corpse, Zhang Ruochen suddenly understood many things that had previously been incomprehensible, giving birth to a bold conjecture in his heart. But for now, he could only set aside this conjecture. Heading to the Soul Realm was the priority.
The Soul Realm was located in an extremely remote position within the Western Universe, far from the Heavenly Court, situated at the junction of the Western Universe, the Southern Universe, and the Hell Realm Universe.
Of course, the Hell Realm Universe was vast. Apart from the Yellow Spring Star River, other regions were cosmic deserts, existing in eternal cold and darkness. Crossing a million billion miles, it was difficult to find even a single star or a life-bearing planet.
The Soul Realm was far from the Yellow Spring Star River, far from the core interest conflict zones of the Heavenly Court and Hell.
This distance was not measured in "billions of miles" but in "light-years."
The most special aspect of the Soul Realm was that its boundary connected to Lihentian, and multiple tributaries of the Santu River flowed through it. Precisely for this reason, the heaven and earth rules were peculiar, and the Yin Nether Qi was dense, making it very suitable for soul cultivation.
Not only did souls come from the Santu River, but the souls of cultivators from various realms of the Heavenly Court after death were also sent here.
Of course, these were all souls of cultivators below the God realm.
These souls belonged to the category of "living souls," fundamentally different from "undead spirits." Originally, they could no longer cultivate. However, in the Soul Realm, they could walk the path of the Ghost Clan's undead, continuously growing stronger.
Once they condensed a sufficiently stable physical ghost body, they would be no different from the Saint realm cultivators of the Ghost Clan. They could leave the Soul Realm and continue cultivating.
The Lord of the Soul Realm had reached the Great God level step by step in this manner.
He was a representative figure of living souls living a second life.
In the Soul Realm, besides these living souls and undead spirits, there was another force known as the "Soul-Suppressing Envoys."
When the Heavenly Court was still the Saint Realm, the Soul-Suppressing Envoys already existed, responsible for maintaining order in the Soul Realm, monitoring the Santu River, and defending against the invasion of remnant souls from Lihentian.
The inheritance of the Soul-Suppressing Envoys was extremely ancient. Over countless eons, they gradually developed into the Soul-Suppressing Clan.
At this moment, Feng Yan and Lian Xi had descended to the Soul-Suppressing Clan and were paying respects to the clan leader, Feng Jin.
He was also Lian Xi's divine father.
According to tradition, every generation of the Soul Realm's Realm Venerable was held by the Soul-Suppressing Clan's leader.
One hundred thousand years ago, Lian Xi's grandfather fell in a divine war, and the Soul-Suppressing Clan declined. If not for Feng Jin seeing the unfavorable situation and immediately defecting to the Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader, sending countless divine stones and cultivation resources, and joining the Heavenly Realm Faction, the Soul-Suppressing Clan would likely have been replaced by now.
For this reason, Feng Jin had always been quite proud of himself, believing he had far-sighted vision and could discern the situation amidst danger.
However, the Heavenly Realm Faction clearly did not trust him that much, nor did they let him enter the core circle. Instead, they supported the Lord of the Soul Realm as the Realm Venerable for the past one hundred thousand years.
Looking at Lian Xi standing below, Feng Jin did not have a good expression.
Because not long ago, he had received a divine thought from the Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader: "Do not think the child is arrogant; calamity is about to arrive."
He naturally understood that the "child" referred to Zhang Ruochen.
Feng Jin was very clear that the Cult Leader was reminding him not to choose the wrong side just because Zhang Ruochen and the Kunlun Realm were currently gaining momentum.
The death of the Lord of the Soul Realm was a warning.
This "calamity is about to arrive" referred not only to Zhang Ruochen but also to him.
Feng Jin was too aware of how powerful a force the Heavenly Realm Faction was, and even more aware of how many forces Zhang Ruochen would offend by what he had done in the Heavenly Court. Like a blazing fire cooking oil, flowers clustered in splendor—after this, he would likely be left with no bones to bury.
After making up his mind, Feng Jin became even more displeased with Lian Xi. This daughter had not only made him lose face, becoming a laughingstock among the Heavenly Court's gods, but had also prevented him from entering the core circle of the Heavenly Realm Faction.
Now, she was even bringing disaster and calamity to the Soul Realm.
As for Feng Yan, the current head of the Wind Clan, Feng Jin also did not have a good expression.
Even if the Wind Clan was strong, they were far away in the Eastern Universe.
And he was just a junior, a Heaven Mending realm god at that!
The most crucial point was that Feng Yan was Zhang Ruochen's sworn brother. If he got too close to him, and word reached the Cult Leader, wouldn't he be in deep trouble?
The Order Palace Palace Master was standing right there!
The Order Palace Palace Master was a God Venerable level powerhouse who had "escorted" Lian Xi to the Soul Realm and was responsible for presiding over the coronation ceremony.
After Lian Xi paid respects to Feng Jin, she walked out of the Soul-Suppressing Palace together with Feng Yan.
Feng Yan's expression was ugly. "Your father is truly short-sighted. Now that the Heavenly Venerable has the determination to unify the thoughts and will of all realms in the Heavenly Court, he will first take action against the Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader and some gods of the Heavenly Realm Faction. Even the Array Destruction Palace Palace Master has fallen, yet he remains unalert."
Feng Yan's gaze fell on a black soul divine locust tree not far away, beneath which was a zhang-high green stone.
On the green stone were carved the four characters "Bi Luo Yellow Spring."
Each character was striking, the strokes like swords.
"Back then, Duke Dayu was so heroic and brilliant, befriending figures like Bi Luozi and the Five Elements Temple Master. Who would have thought his son would be so worthless?"
Feng Yan looked at Lian Xi and said apologetically, "Sorry, I simply had to say it."
Lian Xi wore Radiant Divine armor, her graceful figure elegant, but her eyes were extremely cold. "It doesn't matter. He was scared out of his wits one hundred thousand years ago. Although he has Great God cultivation, he is nothing more than a timeserver who bullies the weak and fears the strong, living only to survive."
Feng Yan smiled bitterly.
Being evaluated like this by his own biological daughter—what kind of mood must Feng Jin be in?
Perhaps he wouldn't have any mood at all.
He wished he could expel this daughter, who had made him lose face, from the Soul-Suppressing Clan.
Lian Xi bowed to Feng Yan. "Thank you for escorting me all the way. Now that we've arrived at the Soul Realm, when will the clan head leave?"
Feng Yan looked up at the nine yin moons in the sky. "Do you think returning to the Soul Realm means you're safe?"
Lian Xi's heart was heavy, and she looked toward the Soul-Suppressing Palace.
How could she not sense the abnormality? She could even feel the strong danger. How could the Order Palace Palace Master, such an exalted figure, escort her back to the Soul Realm for no reason and even preside over her coronation ceremony?
"Is the Radiant Divine Temple's target really him? But... how could I be qualified to be that pawn? I am nothing more than... not even a maidservant to him..."
Lian Xi's mind conjured Zhang Ruochen's heroic figure, and her heart ached slightly.
She was too clear about her position in Zhang Ruochen's heart—she had none at all.
Zhang Ruochen was now a figure who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Twenty Heavens, bearing titles like Lord of the Sword Realm and Young Ancestor, interacting with beings like the Heavenly Mother and Feng Tian. What was she?
She was originally just an ant in the dust—how could she dare to harbor delusions?
...
Feng Jin ordered people to bring up box after box of resources and rare treasures, offering them to the Order Palace Palace Master.
Then, he took out a cyan soul bottle and flatteringly handed it over. "Great Palace Master, these are soul pills refined from living souls. It takes one hundred million living souls to refine a single pill. There are eighty pills in total."
The Order Palace Palace Master was dressed in white like snow, possessing the Angel Clan's innate handsomeness and nobility. He said displeasedly, "Only eighty? The soul pills you send to the Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader are never less than a hundred, are they?"
Feng Jin was pressed down by the divine might emanating from him, barely able to lift his head. He quickly explained, "I just paid tribute to the Cult Leader not long ago! These eighty pills were gathered by emptying the Soul-Suppressing Clan's reserves."
"I, this Palace Master, did not force you to capture souls and refine pills!"
The Order Palace Palace Master put away the soul pills. "What you are doing violates the heavenly laws. If gods from other great worlds find out, they will surely kill you."
Feng Jin nearly knelt to the ground. "Great Palace Master, don't scare this minor god!"
The Order Palace Palace Master said, "Your Soul-Suppressing Clan is a branch of the Kunlun Realm's Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan, right?"
Feng Jin revealed a proud expression. "We are the orthodox lineage of the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan. In the primordial era, our ancestors herded the entire Ghost Clan for the Nether Ancestor on the Santu River."
"Enough nonsense. Bring out your clan's inherited 'Soul-Controlling Divine Scripture.' I, this Palace Master, wish to read it." The Order Palace Palace Master said.
Feng Jin looked troubled. "The 'Soul-Controlling Divine Scripture' can only be read by successive clan leaders. The ancestral decree cannot be violated..."
"Boom!"
A divine thunder exploded beside Feng Jin's ear.
The Order Palace Palace Master said coldly, "Don't think I don't know that the Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader has already read the 'Soul-Controlling Divine Scripture.' What ancestral decree cannot be violated? Are you saying that my methods are inferior to the Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader's? Do you know how the Lord of the Soul Realm died?"
Feng Jin was suppressed by the Order Palace Palace Master's divine might and rule divine patterns, kneeling to the ground, his entire body trembling.
"Hua!"
A ripple of space spread out in the Soul-Suppressing Palace.
The Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader appeared at the center of the ripple, wearing a green robe, with white beard and white hair, thirteen skulls hanging from his body. He laughed, "Great Palace Master, why bother arguing with him? The so-called 'Soul-Controlling Divine Scripture' is nothing but a false reputation. It can only control souls below the Great God level—utterly insignificant."
The Order Palace Palace Master was not the Radiant Palace Palace Master Yu Dongxuan. He quickly stood up and went to greet him, bowing. "Why has the Cult Leader come personally? A mere Feng Yan, I can suppress him with a flip of my hand."
The Order Palace Palace Master could see that the Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader was different from usual. The green robe and thirteen skulls on his body were all battle treasures comparable to divine artifacts.
This was a posture ready to meet a great enemy!
The Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader did not explain further. He looked at Feng Jin, who was still kneeling on the ground. "Summon all the gods of the Soul Realm and all the array spirits of the divine formations. Also, hand over the Soul-Controlling Ghost Seal to me!"
"The Soul-Controlling Ghost Seal!"
Feng Jin's expression changed. "That is an ancestral divine artifact, capable of commanding the Soul Mother and controlling the entire Soul Realm. It can only be handed over with an order from the Heavenly Palace."
The Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader furrowed his brow, his gaze becoming much sharper.
Feng Jin knew that the last thing left by his ancestors could no longer be kept. He quickly put on a fawning smile. "This minor god will go fetch it immediately!"
After Feng Jin left, the Order Palace Palace Master asked cautiously, "Is Zhang Ruochen really coming?"
The Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader smiled coldly. "It's highly probable! In any case, let's set up a heaven-encompassing net first. Killing this young ancestor will surely yield many supreme treasures."
"What about Feng Yan?" the Order Palace Palace Master asked.
The Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader said, "Anyone who knows the truth must die."
"In that case, I want the Pure Yang Divine Sword first," the Order Palace Palace Master said.
The Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader naturally also wanted the Pure Yang Divine Sword, but he knew the Wind Clan was not to be trifled with. Even if he took it, he couldn't use it openly. If it were exposed in the future, the loss would outweigh the gain.
So, he nodded slightly, not arguing with the Order Palace Palace Master over it.
(End of this chapter)