Chapter 299: Soul Tempering in the Resentful Soul Sea
Time quietly passed as Li Fan continued to familiarize himself with the soul.
With the Ghost Hairpin as a Foundation Treasure, Li Fan's sensitivity to the soul was greatly enhanced. His success rate of identification almost doubled. From one in a thousand to one in five hundred, it was a huge leap!
"It's indeed useful. Unfortunately, my original foundation was too poor. To improve to a qualified level, I still need to continue training."
As Li Fan wholeheartedly immersed himself in comprehending the soul, the golden light content in the Soul Gathering Bead rapidly decreased.
Seven days later, after fifteen originally eliminated lucky individuals all returned to the Huan Yu Courtyard, the second phase of closed training officially began.
The students more or less heard about the "accidental" deaths of Tantai Tao and others, and their expressions were somewhat subtle.
But everyone understood that this matter was quite deep, and no one openly discussed it.
In addition to studying the inner formation structure of the Tianxuan Spirit Lock Formation, the training in the second phase focused on deepening the accuracy of sensing Soul Contracts.
It was required to reach one hundred percent accuracy.
For substitute members like Li Fan who were originally not up to standard, this was somewhat difficult.
Fortunately, Ji Hongdao also took this into consideration and "thoughtfully" prepared additional special training for these lagging students.
"You were originally eliminated, but due to some changes, you returned here."
"This is your fate. Although your talent is not as good as others, your luck is better than those geniuses."
"Luck... is very important."
"Most of you were eliminated earlier because your sensing of Soul Contracts was inadequate. The wasted Soul Gathering Beads indicates that you all are not proficient in this aspect."
"Since that's the case, to ensure your qualification, we can only try a different method." Ji Hongdao looked at Li Fan and the others expressionlessly, waving his hand.
Suddenly, several golden chains stretched out from all directions in the void, binding their hands and feet.
Ignoring the somewhat astonished expressions of the students, Ji Hongdao said coldly, "This method is extremely dangerous. If you can't hold on, becoming a senseless idiot is the best outcome. Death would be a blessing in the worst outcomes."
"The reason why this method wasn't used before is because for ordinary cultivators, the death rate is too high."
"However..." There was a hint of color in Ji Hongdao's eyes.
"Since your luck is good, then it shouldn't be a problem to hold on." With a gentle clap, the surroundings suddenly changed.
The sound of surging waves came, and Li Fan and the others were bound by golden chains on rocks by the sea.
Although their limbs were bound, it did not affect their field of view.
Li Fan squinted his eyes, surveying the "sea" ahead. The aura emanating from this ocean was eerie.
Listening carefully, amidst the sound of the waves, there seemed to be countless cries of pain mixed in. "This is..." Li Fan realized something, and his expression slightly changed.
"In front of you is the famous Resentful Soul Sea of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance."
"For thousands of years, all fragmented souls of Five Elders Association cultivators who died in the territory of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance have been absorbed into this Resentful Soul Sea."
"Day by day, month by month, who knows how many souls have been gathered in this sea over time."
"Every drop of seawater may contain the souls of dozens of cultivators."
"Since you all cannot discern the Soul Contracts by comprehending one by one, then quantity must be the solution."
Ji Hongdao said in a cold voice, his eyes slightly downcast.
With his words, it seemed like the Resentful Soul Sea responded to the call.
Tumultuous waves arose, despite the lack of win.
Suddenly, waves several dozen meters high formed and rushed towards Li Fan and the others who were bound on the rocks by the sea.
At the moment of contact with the seawater, countless scenes and emotions instantly appeared in Li Fan's mind.
Ji Hongdao had no consideration for whether they could accept such immense information in such a short time.
The condensed souls violently and eagerly spread in Li Fan's mind.
They forcefully occupied all the blank spaces.
The massive impact suddenly arrived, catching Li Fan off guard, and almost causing him to lose his focus and sense of self.
Cursing inwardly, Li Fan struggled to maintain his consciousness amidst this tide of souls.
At the same time, the Dao Transformation Stone in his mind operated at full capacity, quickly sorting and processing the immense amount of information contained in the souls.
Perhaps due to the danger to his life, the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Mantra at this moment also accelerated its operation rate.
It absorbed all the emotions such as joy, anger, grief, and fear from the souls.
With both methods employed, a long time passed before Li Fan barely managed to endure.
Glancing at the surrounding cultivators from the corner of his eye, Li Fan saw that one of them couldn't bear it and dissolved directly under the impact of the waves from the Resentful Soul Sea.
Their soul also became part of the seawater.
The rest all had blank eyes.
However, the occasional movements of their eyeballs indicated that their consciousness had not completely faded.
There were only two or three people like Li Fan who had managed to recover under the assault of the soul tide.
However, the terrifying and ferocious expressions on their faces indicated the pain they were currently enduring.
Li Fan didn't have much time to think before the second wave followed immediately.
Sinking, resisting, recovering, and then sinking again in this cycle, it was unknown how long had passed before the seawater finally calmed down.
The chains disappeared, and everyone slumped down, exhausted, and sat on the ground.
"Indeed, all of your fortunes are not bad. Out of fifteen people, surprisingly, eleven managed to hold on," Ji Hongdao exclaimed, somewhat amazed.
"Fate is truly mysterious. Although invisible, it truly exists. You should know that according to our previous statistics, the survival rate of ordinary cultivators under the impact of the Resentful Soul Sea is only one percent."
"Very good!" Ji Hongdao seemed pleased. "Today's special training is over. You all can go back and rest!"
Everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"We will continue tomorrow," Ji Hongdao continued.
Upon hearing this, everyone felt lingering fear and looked grim.
Their ability to hold on today was undoubtedly thanks to luck. Who knew if they could endure tomorrow?
Some couldn't help but consider giving up.
After all, compared to the prospects of becoming a Formation Master, their own lives were more important.
However, all these people were halted by Ji Hongdao's cold statement: "Thinking of quitting now? It's too late."
"The Resentful Soul Sea is precious. It's difficult for our Formation Hall to apply for it. Either endure it or become part of it."
The rejected cultivators looked lifeless.
But Li Fan didn't feel any fear.