Chapter 534: Expansion

All the people in the ten li area outside the valley were absorbed by the valley tribesmen and became part of their clan. As for the Gray-robed Elder, he reluctantly accepted this fact and could not muster any thought of resistance.

More people began to practice the Soul Refining technique, and even the Gray-robed Elder became very interested in it.

Given the increasing number of tribesmen, plus the captives taken when Ouyang Hua and others went out to attack other tribes, the number of males here has now exceeded five hundred, which puts them in a medium position among the nearby tribes.

With so many people gathered together, both inside and outside the valley, it appeared somewhat crowded. In response, Wang Lin personally set up a Formation. This Formation was based on Restrictions and incorporated the valley's Formation and the defensive Formation of the ten li area.

The defensive range of this Formation was about twenty li in circumference, which solved the problem of insufficient space.

Every newly established tribe needed a name. After Ouyang Hua repeatedly asked about it, Wang Lin named it Soul Refining.

The center of this twenty-li wide Soul Refining Tribe was the original valley. At this moment, everyone inside the valley had moved out to live outside. The entire valley was designated as a restricted area, and only Wang Lin resided within it alone; outsiders were forbidden to enter without a summons.

In addition, tribesmen of the Soul Refining Tribe guarded the entrance to the valley, acting like personal guards.

This valley had clearly become the spiritual symbol and the Peak of highest authority for the Soul Refining Tribe. Wang Lin, who resided within it, was revered and respected by everyone in the Soul Refining Tribe.

Wang Lin's rules remained unchanged: there were only those three methods to obtain the Incantation for the next stage.

Everyone in the entire Soul Refining Tribe seized every moment to Cultivate. On normal days, aside from those patrolling, hardly anyone could be seen; they were all sitting in meditation and breathing exercises inside their respective dwellings.

The current Soul Refining Tribe was no longer similar to any other tribe within the Demon Spirit Land. In contrast, it resembled a newly established cultivation School.

Wang Lin’s life was immersed in a long-lost tranquility. He lived alone in the valley. Under his Divine Ability, the previous dwellings inside the valley all disappeared, replaced by a place filled with the fragrance of flowers and the song of birds, resembling a wonderland.

In this wonderland, Wang Lin personally built a wooden house. The house was simple, yet this simplicity contained the Great Dao. If a Cultivator saw this wooden house, they would immediately notice that while the size of each piece of wood making up the house might differ, their weight was exactly the same.

This wooden house was Wang Lin's residence. He sat cross-legged inside the wooden house, quietly breathing in and out.

What he was absorbing was not Immortal Power, but the Demonic Power of this place!

Time slowly passed. In the blink of an eye, it was winter. Winter in the Demon Spirit Land was no different from the outside world; white snowflakes descended from the sky, and everywhere one looked, the entire world was cloaked in silver.

Wang Lin opened his eyes from meditation and walked out of the wooden house. Flakes of snow fell from the sky. He quietly watched the snowflakes drift down, completely immersed in the sight.

A moment later, Wang Lin looked up at the sky and murmured, “It's been two years…”

He had been in this Demon Spirit Land for almost two years; once this winter passed, it would be exactly two years.

He raised his right hand and caught a falling snowflake. As the snowflake landed in his palm, a trace of icy coldness transmitted through. Immediately afterward, the snowflake melted, and at the same time, a slight trace of Demonic Power entered his body through Wang Lin's palm.

“Everything in the Demon Spirit Land contains Demonic Power…” Wang Lin took a deep breath, sat cross-legged on the ground, and closed his eyes.

Snowflakes slowly drifted down, landing on Wang Lin. Gradually, they accumulated, and several hours later, Wang Lin became a snowman.

He remained completely still, quietly absorbing the Demonic Power within the snowflakes. In these two years, the Demon Crystal inside his body had increased from the previous five Jia to thirty-four Jia!

The further one progressed, the harder the increase became. Three Jia of Demonic Power was equivalent to Foundation Establishment, and ten times that was Core Formation. After that, progression continued, with each stage being ten times the previous one.

The fundamental reason Wang Lin condensed Demonic Power was precisely because this Demonic Power could undergo Fusion with Immortal Power, thereby increasing his Immortal Power.

To reach the Late Stage of Nascent Soul Transformation, although Wang Lin currently had a century's worth of Immortal Jade stored up, it was still barely enough. As for the Immortal Jade required for Soul Transformation, that amount was unimaginably vast.

Therefore, to improve his cultivation, he had to find an alternative shortcut. Converting Demonic Power was one of the methods Wang Lin conceived.

If Wang Lin could think of this method, others naturally could too. Now, it was a matter of who absorbed the stronger Demonic Power.

In Wang Lin's view, this Demonic Power was a type of alternative Immortal Jade that could allow his cultivation to improve!

Over the course of two years, the Soul Refining Tribe experienced repeated leaps forward. Driven by the need for the next stage's Incantation, more and more tribesmen left the valley to gain experience. Furthermore, almost every month, teams of tribesmen went out, conquered smaller tribes, captured large numbers of prisoners, and brought back varying amounts of Demon Crystals.

It is worth mentioning that the Formations resisting external invasion were almost useless against the native inhabitants of the Demon Spirit Land. The purpose of these Formations seemed to be limited to resisting the tide of the Demonic Spirit Night and preventing outsiders from entering.

As time went on, the population of the Soul Refining Tribe grew larger and larger, and the twenty li area seemed insufficient.

Consequently, the Formation had to be expanded again. Wang Lin spent three days researching and finally expanded the Formation's range by another twenty li. Just like that, the Soul Refining Tribe, now encompassing a forty li radius, instantly transformed into one of the most powerful tribes within tens of thousands of li nearby!

The increase in tribesmen meant more people were practicing the Soul Refining technique. Wang Lin knew that the souls within the Soul Banner needed to be repeatedly nurtured and sacrificed to maximize their power.

It was inconvenient for him to teach this nurturing method to these people, so he summoned the Exalted Soul Banner. Under his Divine Ability, the banner immediately transformed into a vast expanse of black mist, covering the sky within a forty li radius.

As soon as the black mist appeared, everyone in the Soul Refining Tribe was immediately alarmed. They rushed out of their respective dwellings, and some Cultivators who had achieved success directly manipulated their Soul Banners to wrap around themselves and fly up, wanting to investigate the black mist.

“Release your souls and enter the black mist a fixed number of times daily; this will enhance the power of the souls!” Wang Lin's voice slowly transmitted from inside the valley, echoing throughout the forty li area.

The moment his voice spread, all the tribesmen within the forty li radius immediately knelt down. Without exception, the reverence in their eyes was extremely intense. The direction they knelt toward was precisely the valley where Wang Lin resided.

After this black mist appeared, the forty li area was often shrouded in black mist throughout the day. Within these mists, countless human and beast souls roared and surged.

The people of the Soul Refining Tribe gradually grew accustomed to releasing their souls into the black mist for refining every day. This black mist thus became the unique symbol of the Soul Refining Tribe.

Not everyone in the Soul Refining Tribe practiced the Soul Refining technique. Some were simply unable to Cultivate. They could only act as Hunters, going out to hunt and provide food.

Thirteen was one of those Hunters.

Since his cultivation was crippled, he had not spoken a single word. He was like a mute, devoid of any vitality, seemingly just a body.

Only late every night, when he repeatedly attempted breathing exercises, could another expression be seen on his face—one of deep pain and unwillingness.

He was unwilling. There were now many people in the tribe who had cultivated to the fourth stage, and many who possessed more than ten Soul Banners. Several talented and intelligent individuals had even appeared, completely replacing Thirteen's former position and becoming new powerhouses within the tribe, second only to Ouyang Hua.

All of this constantly stung his heart.

Precisely because of this, when hunting outside, he often disregarded his life and fought desperately. Over time, he nearly died multiple times. If not for the care of his fellow tribesmen, he probably would have died long ago.

Among the companions who looked after him, some knew Thirteen's former status in the tribe. Seeing him reduced to this state, they could only sigh inwardly.

On this day, Wang Lin was staring intently at a piece of wood in his hand inside the valley. The wood was black and emitted faint, eerie light.

This wood was brought back and offered to Wang Lin by a tribesman who, while attacking a small tribe, failed to find a Demon Crystal but discovered this wood placed at the tribe's worship site.

While he was examining it, Wang Lin suddenly raised his head and looked outside the valley. A moment later, Ouyang Hua's aged voice came from outside the valley.

“This Junior has something to report to Old Ancestor!”

The title Old Ancestor naturally spread from everyone's mouths. Wang Lin did not refuse and tacitly accepted it.

“Enter!” Wang Lin lowered his head to look at the wood in his hand.

Ouyang Hua's figure flashed in from outside the valley. He was holding a person in his arms, who was covered in blood and pale-faced.

Quickly arriving beside Wang Lin, Ouyang Hua knelt down, placed the person in his arms aside, and whispered, “Old Ancestor, Thirteen encountered a rare Demonized Beast while hunting. I rushed over immediately after sensing it, but I was still too late…”

If any living creature in the Demon Spirit Land accumulates too much Demonic Power, Demonization will occur. Once demonized, its strength will multiply.

Wang Lin placed the wood in his hand beside him and looked up at Thirteen.

Thirteen looked much older than he had a year ago. Now, he did not look like a young man but rather someone in his twilight years.

“You may withdraw!” Wang Lin said in a deep voice.

Ouyang Hua stood up and respectfully took his leave.

After walking out of the valley, he sighed inwardly, looked back at the valley, and silently thought, “Thirteen, your fortune depends on this…”

Wang Lin looked at Thirteen and fell into contemplation.