Chapter Sixty-Three: The Phantom Step of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits

Chapter Sixty-Three

The Initial Use of Li Hao’s Three Souls and Seven Spirits—The Phantom Mirage Step

“What’s going on?” Lin Xueyou noticed the icy coldness in Li Hao’s expression, his gaze sharp and chilling. A sense of foreboding filled her heart, prompting her to question him further.

“It’s hard to say right now, Sister Xueyou. Let’s head over first, then I’ll explain,” Li Hao replied, brushing off her inquiry without further explanation.

“Where is it?” Lin Xueyou pressed.

“About eight hundred li ahead of us, to the left,” Li Hao replied, specifying both the distance and direction. His clarity revealed his growing anxiety. Even as they spoke, the two of them were already speeding toward Lu Yao’s location, covering dozens of li in a matter of moments.

“Then let’s hurry, Brother Li Hao,” Lin Xueyou urged, realizing he wasn’t yet moving at full speed.

“Alright.”

Worried for Lu Yao, Li Hao exchanged only a few words with Lin Xueyou before they both accelerated to their utmost, racing toward Lu Yao’s position.

At this moment, all of Li Hao’s incarnations had left his body, causing his cultivation to regress to the early peak of the Wandering Realm. Lin Xueyou, at the perfected pinnacle of the Wandering Realm, stood six minor realms above him. In terms of sheer cultivation, her speed outstripped his by sixtyfold.

A single minor realm’s difference meant a thousand years’ disparity in lifespan, and a tenfold gap in both strength and speed. A major realm’s difference meant an additional ten thousand years of life and a hundredfold increase in prowess and quickness. Yet this classification was not absolute—abnormal cultivators like Li Hao could not be measured by common standards.

Once they’d reached a mutual understanding, Lin Xueyou and Li Hao’s speed surged in a straight, dizzying line. At first, Lin Xueyou held her pace to the early Wandering Realm, sensing Li Hao was not yet giving his all. She reminded him, and with that prompt, Li Hao suddenly unleashed his full speed. Lin Xueyou was once again astounded by his impossible swiftness.

As Lin Xueyou pushed herself to the perfected Wandering Realm, she felt sure Li Hao had reached his own limit. Only just managing to stabilize her speed, she then saw Li Hao, at full force, exhibit the Phantom Mirage Step. Instantly, his speed leaped to the absolute peak of the perfected Wandering Realm. It seemed as though his figure was still beside her, but in the blink of an eye, he vanished, only to reappear ahead. With each step, another image of Li Hao materialized in front of her, while the ones behind faded away. In a heartbeat, Lin Xueyou was left hundreds of meters behind. Realizing Li Hao was now flying at his true maximum, she chased after him with all her might.

Now, even keeping up with Li Hao proved strenuous for Lin Xueyou. Waves of shock swept through her heart at his breathtaking speed.

Inwardly, she marveled, “The ghostly movement and speed Li Hao displays now must be the Phantom Mirage Step bestowed by Lu Zhengtian.”

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In Lin Xueyou’s eyes, Li Hao was full of mysteries, continually bringing her one surprise after another. It was only when she sparred with him herself that she truly experienced that overwhelming sense of helplessness.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jiu, who accompanied Li Hao and Lin Xueyou, strolled along leisurely, not the least out of breath or flushed. True to his promise, Xiao Jiu acted as per the orders of Li Yang Divine Sovereign: unless Li Hao was in mortal danger, he would not intervene with his divine powers.

Though he stuck to his word, even Xiao Jiu was quietly astonished by Li Hao’s speed. As a ninefold variant divine dragon, Xiao Jiu was unmatched in his realm, yet Li Hao’s speed was already on par with his own. When Li Hao used the Phantom Mirage Step, he was thirty times faster. What startled Xiao Jiu was not the mystical movement art itself, but the fact that Li Hao could reach such speed at his current realm.

Though the Phantom Mirage Step was indeed part of his strength, it was, after all, an external art. Xiao Jiu did not look down on it, for in all his years with the Divine Sovereign, he had seen countless powerful secret arts. Few, however, could rival the Phantom Mirage Step Li Hao now possessed. And to think, this was only the beginner’s stage—who could imagine what feats it would allow once Li Hao mastered it to perfection?

Yet, Li Hao himself seemed unaware of the true value of the Phantom Mirage Step. He regarded the rare opportunity Lu Zhengtian had given him as nothing more than a generous gift.

The message Li Hao had received about Lu Yao had come from his Earth Soul Incarnation.

Li Hao’s nine incarnations were: the Heaven Soul, the Earth Soul, the Fate Soul, the Heavenly Impulse, the Spiritual Wisdom, the Vitality, the Power, the Central, the Spirit, and the Essence Incarnations. The reason there were only nine was that the Fate Soul Incarnation had always resided within the main body, so only nine manifested. These ten incarnations were derived from the division of the three souls and seven spirits inherent to a person, explaining their extraordinary nature.

The Fate Soul Incarnation would require many more years of cultivation to separate from the main body. Only then would all ten incarnations reach true completion.

Divided by yin and yang, the three soul incarnations were yin, while the seven spirit incarnations were yang—a distinction pertaining to the souls and spirits, not to the attributes of the world’s laws.

Among the three souls, the Heaven Soul was yang, the Heaven Soul Incarnation thus yang. The Earth Soul was yin, making its incarnation yin. The Fate Soul, situated between heaven and earth, embodied both yin and yang, and so was rejected by both Heaven and Earth Soul Incarnations. Until the Fate Soul integrated yin and yang, it would remain fragile and unable to leave the main body. More importantly, if the Fate Soul left now, Li Hao would lose control over the other nine incarnations, and each would awaken independent consciousness—no longer under his command.

Thus, at present, Li Hao’s main body and Fate Soul Incarnation were interdependent and inseparable.

As for the seven spirits: Heavenly Impulse and Spiritual Wisdom were yin, forming the Celestial Spirits, and their incarnations, being yin, were controlled by the Heaven Soul Incarnation. Vitality, Power, and Central were a blend of yin and yang—the Human Spirits—and their incarnations, gathering both elements, were governed by the Fate Soul Incarnation. Essence and Spirit were yang, forming the Terrestrial Spirits, and their incarnations were under the Earth Soul Incarnation’s influence.

This explained why, when Li Hao first created his incarnations, the other seven instinctively feared both himself and the two incarnations to his sides.

The yin-yang here represented the intrinsic qualities of the three souls and seven spirits within the human body, not the attributes of external world laws.

Li Hao’s Earth Soul Incarnation radiated an extreme coldness, exuding a sense of ruthless indifference that would chill even the bravest of hearts.

Earlier, under Li Hao’s command, the Earth Soul Incarnation had been searching from the left front of his breakthrough location.

Its flying was not yet adept, appearing awkward and unsteady, as if it might tumble from the sky at any moment.

Li Hao himself had only just broken through to mid-Wandering Realm, but compared to his incarnations, he was far more proficient. Coupled with his mastery of the profound Phantom Mirage Step, honed through frequent training in forests and all sorts of environments, his adaptability far surpassed that of his incarnations.

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Breaking through to the Wandering Realm not only strengthened one’s own power, but also enabled a cultivator to draw upon the world’s laws through the souls in their sea of consciousness.

Cultivators at this realm could use the world’s laws within a certain radius to support their bodies, allowing them to soar through the sky at will. But this ability was like a child learning to walk—their flight was neither high nor fast at first.

Many cultivators, even after reaching the Wandering Realm, needed long practice to master the world’s laws well enough to fly freely.

Li Hao, having just broken through, could already control the world’s laws to support himself in flight. This was not only due to his extraordinary talent and strength, but also to a confluence of other factors that enabled such an abnormal ability.

These factors were: first, his innate Chaotic Primal Force; second, the uniqueness of his Formless Divine Body; third, his intelligence and insight; and fourth, the supreme quality of the Phantom Mirage Step bestowed by Lu Zhengtian.

The Phantom Mirage Step given by Lu Zhengtian was so powerful that even the eccentric elder Wuchang Lingkong, thousands of years old, coveted it fiercely—a testament to its legendary might.

Even without the fusion of Chaotic Primal Force, Li Hao’s Formless Divine Body would still be one of the finest cultivation physiques in existence, capable of accommodating all worldly laws. So long as talent and comprehension were sufficient, one could cultivate all kinds of elemental laws simultaneously.

When Li Hao’s Earth Soul Incarnation was within a hundred li of Lu Yao, it sensed a disturbance in the world’s laws and grew curious, deciding to investigate.

The cause of the disturbance was the Down-and-Out Young Master’s attack on the Sly Youth, which triggered the unrest in the world’s laws. However, by the time the Earth Soul Incarnation arrived at the source, the area was shrouded by dense forest, and the violent fluctuations had ceased. The Down-and-Out Young Master had already resolved the threat to Lu Yao.

The Earth Soul Incarnation then descended to the ground to investigate. The scene was appalling—Lu Yao’s clothes were disheveled and in disarray. Just then, the Down-and-Out Young Master, himself ragged and unkempt, withdrew his hand from Lu Yao. Every movement and the nervousness on his face were witnessed by the Earth Soul Incarnation, all perfectly matching the most damning scenario.

Such a scene would convince anyone that the Down-and-Out Young Master was the culprit. The Earth Soul Incarnation was no exception.

“Lecherous villain, prepare to die!” the incarnation cried out, launching an attack at the Down-and-Out Young Master.

At first, the young master’s eyes flickered with excitement upon seeing the Earth Soul Incarnation. But the excitement quickly vanished, and he braced himself to block the incoming fist.

The incarnation had only just broken through to the Wandering Realm, possessing but a fraction of Li Hao’s power and lacking advanced combat skills. Resorting to basic punches and kicks, he was soon at a disadvantage.

Initially, the Down-and-Out Young Master intended to explain, but upon realizing this was not the person he’d hoped for, he abandoned the idea and fought back instead. What stunned him was that this black-clad youth, clearly six minor realms below him, possessed such ghostly movement that he felt utterly powerless in the confrontation.