Soul Cultivation in the Footsteps of a Venerable

Some quick announcements guys

Firstly, the thing about posting another chapter with sufficient power worked very well as we reached 4th place in the power stones ranking for some time so I'm going to do the same today so please, if you can, give me your power stones because if we reach another 100 power stone after this chapter is published I will post one more today

and I would also like to recommend that everyone read :

Reverend Insanity- Mystery Prying Demon Venerable by Moist_BedBugs

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In a dimly lit room, a handsome young man is seen sitting on a cushion, deeply meditating. However, to any Gu master who witnessed this scene, the young man would be the least of their concerns, as the room itself can only be described in one way: extravagantly luxurious.

The reason for this description is simple and would be obvious to any Gu master. The entire room, from the stone and wood used in its construction to the cushion the young man is sitting on, exudes a strong aura of Rank 5 Gu materials.

But the young man in the room doesn't care about any of this. He has a satisfied smile on his face as a large amount of black Qi with a deathly aura gradually gathers around him, strengthening his soul bit by bit.

"Ahhh, Primordial Origin is truly one of the greatest geniuses of all time... The Qi Path has limitless depths," Chen Wei says with a certain depth in his eyes, as all the black Qi with the deathly aura that surrounded him has now disappeared after greatly strengthening his soul.

For a long time, he wondered how Gu masters refined their souls before Spectral Soul created the Soul Path, as he had neither seen nor heard of a conventional Gu for the Soul Path when he was in the He An Clan.

But now he knows the answer, which is incredibly obvious when he thinks about it, since the Venerable creator of the Enslavement Path, which demands the most from the soul, must have created a method to solve the problem of soul weakness.

Moreover, according to Kuang Luo To, even without the methods of the Qi Path to increase the strength of Spirit Qi also known as the soul, there are methods of the Refinement Path that are even older and more efficient but require high proficiency in refinement.

And although he is far above average in terms of refinement, according to Kuang Luo To, he is still not at the level that would make the Refinement Path method for strengthening the soul more efficient than the Qi Path.

"Kekekekeke, of course he is, as he was the first Venerable... Some even say that the Qi Path is broader than the Rule Path created by Limitless," Kuang Luo To's will, which was observing Chen Wei's soul cultivation session, says with great admiration in his voice when thinking about Primordial Origin.

"Indeed, that opinion is not entirely wrong... The concepts of Blood Qi and Spirit Qi will be of great help in my cultivation," Chen Wei says, using the Rank 5 Qi Inspection Gu to sense a large aura of Qi originating from what they call spirit Qi, but which he rationalizes as the soul of a Gu master.

"Well, your spirit Qi is now a thousand times the amount a normal person has... And since you don't cultivate the Qi Path and only have Rank 3 cultivation, this would be your limit if it weren't for the new Gu you created," Kuang Luo To says with true admiration when recalling Chen Wei's revolutionary creation.

"Right... but my genius would never have been put to use without the master's help," Chen Wei says sincerely, as only a fool would be arrogant enough to believe that Kuang Luo To's help wasn't fundamental to his development.

This is especially true when Chen Wei remembers that it was said in the novel that a mortal Gu master of the Soul Path, focusing entirely on soul cultivation day and night, could take up to twenty years to obtain the soul strength of a thousand men. Yet, Chen Wei achieved this in just half a month.

And although it is possible that the soul cultivation speed using the Qi Path is several times faster than what is described in the novel, Chen Wei believes that the true reason for his rapid progress is the high quality of all the Qi he used in this half month for soul cultivation, which were among the highest quality even among Rank 5 Qi, as well as the various high-quality methods he obtained from Kuang Luo To.

"Well, I still have a long way to go to see if this Gu will be viable... but if it is, it will be a great achievement," Chen Wei says as he looks at a Rank 3 Soul Path Gu shaped like a black beetle, which floats happily in the sea of Primeval Essence filling 99% of his aperture.

After saying these words, he uses the infinite Primeval Essence provided to him by Kuang Luo To to continuously activate the Soul Path Gu, causing his Spirit Qi to diminish at an incredibly fast rate but simultaneously become much more condensed and of higher quality.

"Kekekekeke, this Soul Grinder Gu is truly impressive... You're not only increasing the quality of your Spirit Qi but doing so much more efficiently than the Qi Path itself," Kuang Luo To's will, observing from the side, comments with great excitement in his voice.

"That little girl will revolutionize the emotional aspect of the Wisdom Path, and you're doing the same with this aspect of the Qi Path... kekekekeke," Kuang Luo To's will laughs exaggeratedly as he watches what any dedicated cultivator would find emotional, witnessing the most talented person of an era laying the foundations of a new Path before their eyes.

"The soul is not an aspect of the Qi Path... but only the Qi Path has comprehended part of the Soul Path's depths that I will cultivate!" Chen Wei declares with great emotion, feeling his soul now reduced to a tenth of its previous size but of twice the quality after using the Soul Grinder Gu.

Of course, despite this potentially arrogant-sounding declaration, he still holds the greatest admiration for Primordial Origin, who pioneered the creation of a Path that would only be fully cultivable millions of years in the future after Fate Gu was injured by Red Lotus.

In fact, from both his own observations and what he heard from Kuang Luo To about the incredible methods of the Qi Path to increase the soul strength of a Gu master or immortal, Chen Wei feels that the only reason Primordial Origin didn't create the Soul Path was because of Fate Gu's interference.

"Sure, this Qi Path method also has the flaw of being heavily dependent on Qi Path methods, which are in great decline in the current world," Chen Wei murmurs as he sees a problem ahead that will prevent him from continuing this type of soul cultivation after reaching the immortal realm.

This is actually the main reason why Chen Wei believes this method is not shown during the novel's era when the Qi Path is going extinct, and even after it starts to resurge in the Great Era, the new methods created by Spectral Soul were more efficient and didn't conflict, as they were different paths, which is why these Qi Path methods were never shown in the novel.

"Indeed, it's a pity but also a blessing, as it forces you to be a pioneer when exploring this Soul Path you aim for... kekekekeke," Kuang Luo To's will says with great conviction, as if being the pioneer of a Path is the greatest honor in the world.

"Well, I'll set these thoughts aside for now, as it's time to cultivate! I have no time to waste!" Chen Wei declares with conviction, signaling Kuang Luo To's will, who knows him well, to release more Rank 5 Spirit Qi so that Chen Wei can continue his cultivation.

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*Early Morning*

"Ahh, sometimes I wish I could be lazier..." Chen Wei murmurs as he wakes up from his one hour of sleep after a night of soul cultivation that left him exhausted and with dark circles under his eyes.

"Kekekekeke, you're really a workaholic... If it weren't for the need to sleep to calm your soul, you wouldn't even take this one hour," Kuang Luo To's will appears in front of him right after Chen Wei wakes up, as if he had been eagerly waiting for this moment.

"Yeah, it's quite possible..." Chen Wei says, imagining how incredible it would be to take the Pacifying Soul Soup, but for that, he would have to go to the Bewitching Lake inside the Door of Life and Death.

Chen Wei quickly gets out of the bed in his cultivation room and heads to the corridor, making his way to a specially designed room for safe and controlled Gu testing.

"...Hey, I wouldn't recommend passing by your room, you know... that scary little girl is really angry that you spent the whole night cultivating and left her to sleep alone," Kuang Luo To's will murmurs softly so only Chen Wei can hear.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Wei turns back and takes a different route, which, although longer, avoids his and Wang Mei's bedroom door.

"Thanks..." Chen Wei murmurs to Kuang Luo To's will, as in his sleepy state, he had almost walked towards one of the few things he doesn't want to face in this life: his angry wife.

Well, it's not like he hasn't explained to her repeatedly how every second wasted would be a lifetime regret, but she seems to be more emotional than rational about the little time they spend together, especially when they don't sleep together.

"Kekekekeke, missing the single man life already?" Kuang Luo To's will, floating above Chen Wei's shoulder, teases him like a mischievous friend.

"Not really..." Chen Wei replies as his once blue eyes turn a scarlet red.

Of course, this change isn't just aesthetic, as Chen Wei now sees all the blood within kilometers, even under cover or using mortal methods to hide.But of course he can't see even the slightest trace of Kuang Luo To's main body's blood.

But now his focus is on three blood amalgamations detailed in his sight, forming the shapes of three girls in the same cave as him: one lying asleep in her bed, who he knows is Wang Mei, one in a part of the cave where many plants grow, who he knows is Yu Lian, and the last, Feng Hua, in a study room.

Note the difference between 'knows' and 'imagines,' as the Rank 5 Gu Beholder's Blood Eyes provides Chen Wei with detailed information about those he observes, such as blood type, sex, race, age, blood flow speed, health condition, level of kinship, cultivation level, blood quality, physical strength, etc., a significant advancement from when this Gu couldn't even detect someone's blood if there was a wall between them.

"Ahh, well, I'd better make use of this time before I have to deal with an angry Wang Mei..." Chen Wei murmurs as he reaches his destination and enters the room designed for safe testing of new Gu.

"Kekeke, I'm really excited to see if this new Gu you've invented will work... If it does, along with that BloodSoul Baby Gu, you could even kill someone several ranks above you easily," Kuang Luo To's will, mentioning the Gu that Chen Wei never spoke about, doesn't impress him, as he firmly believes the immortal had a hand in the 'accidental' refinement of the BloodSoul Baby Gu.

"With the Blood Path and if I succeed in the Soul Path... I would truly become an unparalleled killing machine..." Chen Wei says as he reaches out towards a pig on the other side of a thick glass made of Gu materials, preparing to use a black scorpion-shaped Gu in his aperture.

"Oink!!! Oink!!! Oink!!!" The pig starts running frantically, trying to escape the excruciating pain from invisible hands tearing and scratching its soul relentlessly. Its attempts to flee are futile, as it dies within moments without any physical wounds, its soul completely destroyed.

"This is an impressive power for a Rank 2 Gu... It must be amplified by my soul's strength equivalent to three thousand men..." Chen Wei murmurs after seeing a hundred beast king with Rank 3 strength die in moments without being able to defend itself properly.

"Kekeke, I don't know if I should be impressed or scared by your ability to create a way to attack Spirit Qi so easily using this Soul Path method," Kuang Luo To's will says with a hint of fear, as he sees how even a common Rank 6 immortal could be killed without being able to defend against a Rank 5 version of this Gu used in a powerful killer move.

Kuang Luo To's will's fear is not unfounded, as until now, the Qi Path had always used Spirit Qi as a support aspect without attack methods, and the same applies to the Refinement Path, which lacks attack methods. But Chen Wei's new creation not only doesn't lack strong attack methods, it seems to exist solely to kill.

"Well... let's give this new creation a simple and self-explanatory name... How about Soul Scratch Gu?" Chen Wei speaks simply, as if the Gu in his hand was something nothing out of the ordinary and not a Gu that shocked even a rank 8 immortal.