Chapter 299: Soul Tempering in the Sea of ​​Resentful Souls

Time quietly passed as Li Fan continued to familiarize himself with Divine Soul.

With the 【Ghost Soul Hairpin】 as a wondrous item, Li Fan's ability to perceive Divine Soul greatly improved.

His success rate for identification nearly doubled.

From one in a thousand, it became two in a thousand, a truly massive leap!

“Hmm, it’s indeed useful. Unfortunately, my original foundation was too poor; to reach a qualified level, I still need to continue strengthening my training.”

Completely immersed in the process of comprehending Divine Soul, the golden light content in the Soul Gathering Pearl rapidly decreased.

Seven days later, when the fifteen lucky individuals who had originally been eliminated all returned to Haunyu Manor, the second phase of closed training officially began.

The Cultivators had more or less heard about Tantai Tao and the others' “accidental” deaths, and their expressions were all somewhat subtle. However, everyone understood that this matter ran deep, and no one discussed it publicly.

The second phase of training, in addition to learning the inner Formation structure of the 【Heavenly Mystery Spirit Locking Array】, was to continue deepening the accuracy of sensing Soul Contract traces. The requirement was to achieve 100% accuracy.

This was quite difficult for substitute members like Li Fan who were originally unqualified. Fortunately, Ji Hongdao also considered this and “thoughtfully” prepared additional special training for these struggling Cultivators.

“You were originally eliminated, but due to some unforeseen change, you have returned here.”

“This is your fate. Although your talent is not as good as others, your fate is better than those Geniuses.”

“Fate… is very important.”

“The reason you were eliminated before was primarily because your perception of Soul Contract marks was substandard. The Soul Gathering Pearl you wasted indicates that you are not skilled in this Dao.”

“Since that’s the case, to ensure you qualify, we can only change the method.”

Ji Hongdao looked at Li Fan and the others expressionlessly, and with a wave of his hand.

From the Void Realm in all directions, several golden chains suddenly extended, binding their hands and feet.

Ignoring the Cultivators’ somewhat stunned expressions, Ji Hongdao said coldly, “This method is extremely dangerous. If you can’t endure it, becoming a mindless idiot is the best outcome. Complete annihilation of body and spirit, or a quick death, are both a release.”

“The reason this method wasn’t used before is that the mortality rate is too high for ordinary Cultivators.”

“However…”

A strange glint flashed in Ji Hongdao’s eyes.

“Since your fate is good, then I imagine enduring it won’t be a big problem.”

He clapped his hands lightly, and the surrounding scenery suddenly shifted.

The sound of surging waves came, and Li Fan and the others were bound by golden chains to the reefs by the sea.

Although their limbs were locked, it did not affect their vision.

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, surveying the “sea” in front of him.

The aura emanating from this sea made him feel a chill down his spine.

Listening closely, the sound of the waves seemed to be mixed with countless wailing and suffering voices.

“This is…” As if realizing something, Li Fan’s expression changed slightly.

“Before you is the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance’s renowned 【Grievance Soul Sea】.”

“For thousands of years, all the Cultivators of the Five Old Men Association who died in battle within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance’s territory, their shattered Divine Souls would be absorbed into this 【Grievance Soul Sea】.”

“Over time, no one knows how many Divine Souls have gathered in this sea.”

“Every drop of seawater could be the collection of several, or even more than a dozen, Cultivators’ Divine Souls.”

“Since you can’t distinguish Soul Contract marks by sensing them one by one, then let’s have more of them.”

Ji Hongdao’s eyes drooped slightly as he said coldly.

With his words, the 【Grievance Soul Sea】 seemed to be summoned.

Waves rose without wind, and billows surged.

Giant waves several feet high suddenly formed, crashing down on Li Fan and the others who were chained to the reefs by the sea.

The moment they came into contact with the seawater, countless images and emotions instantly appeared in Li Fan’s mind.

It didn’t matter whether the other party could accept such a massive amount of information in such a short time.

The condensed Divine Souls spread extremely roughly and eagerly in Li Fan's Sea of Consciousness.

Forcibly occupying all empty spaces.

The immense impact arrived suddenly, catching Li Fan off guard, and he almost lost his composure and his sense of self.

Muttering a curse inwardly, Li Fan struggled to maintain the existence of his true self amidst this Divine Soul tide.

At the same time, the hua dao stone in his mind operated at full capacity, rapidly classifying, archiving, and processing the enormous amount of information mixed within the countless Divine Souls.

And perhaps because of the life-threatening danger, the Mystic Yellow Heart Refining Mantra also accelerated its operation with extreme rarity at this moment.

Absorbing all the negative emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and fear from the Divine Soul.

With both methods working in tandem, it felt like a long time had passed before Li Fan barely managed to pull through.

His peripheral vision caught sight of the surrounding Cultivators; one of them couldn't bear it directly, and his body dissolved under the impact of the 【Grievance Soul Sea】 waves.

His Divine Soul also became part of the seawater.

The vast majority, however, had their eyes occupied by a blank stare.

Only an occasional black eyeball rotation indicated that their sanity had not been completely obliterated.

Like Li Fan, only two or three had recovered from the impact of the Divine Soul tide.

However, the hideous expressions on their faces indicated the pain they were currently enduring.

Also feigning an unbearable expression, Li Fan hadn't had time for too many thoughts when the second wave followed immediately.

Sinking, resisting, recovering, then sinking again.

In this cycle, after an unknown period, the seawater finally calmed down.

The chains disappeared, and everyone, exhausted, collapsed to the ground.

“Indeed, your fates are all good. Out of fifteen people, eleven actually made it through,” Ji Hongdao said with some surprise.

“The Dao of fate is truly profound and mysterious. Though invisible, it genuinely exists. You should know that according to our previous statistics, the survival rate for ordinary Cultivators under the impact of the 【Grievance Soul Sea】 is only one percent.”

“Very good!” Ji Hongdao seemed very pleased.

“Today’s special training is over. You can go back and rest now!”

Everyone couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“Continue tomorrow.”

Ji Hongdao continued.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt lingering fear and their expressions turned grim.

Their survival today was purely due to luck.

Who knew if they could hold on tomorrow?

Inevitably, some people started to back out.

After all, compared to a future in the Formation Dao, their own lives were more important.

However, all these people received was Ji Hongdao’s cold statement: “Want to quit now? It’s too late.”

“How precious is the 【Grievance Soul Sea】? It’s not easy for our Ce Zhen Hall to even apply for one use.”

“Either you endure, or you become a part of it.”

The Cultivator whose request was denied looked ashen, slumping powerlessly to the ground.

Li Fan, however, felt no fear.