King of Creation
Chapter 195 - 192: The Secret of the Ninth Layer

Chapter 195: Chapter 192: The Secret of the Ninth Layer

"Spirit Light Shadow Transformation Secret Technique!"

Under the guidance of his Divine Sense, six large characters instantaneously transferred from the Jade Talisman into Ye Zhen’s mind.

"Another secret technique, fantastic!"

In his elation, Ye Zhen swiftly removed the Jade Talisman from his forehead and stored it in his Storage Bracelet.

Having already tested the formidable power of secret techniques, with True Essence Sword Finger before and the Ice Fiend Qi after, both of which helped Ye Zhen to kill enemies and claim victory.

The Spirit Light Shadow Transformation Secret Technique he had just obtained was certainly no exception.

However, time was of the essence now; wasting even a few breaths might mean missing out on the War Soul Blood Flag, which is why Ye Zhen had momentarily shifted his focus from the flag.

"Mid-grade Black Wind Armor, Spirit Light Shadow Transformation Secret Technique... My gains this time are considerable, but compared to Hero Meng’s direct acquisition of the Vital Vein Forging Divine Ability, I still fall far short..."

Frankly speaking, if Ye Zhen were willing, with his massive stockpile of Demon Soul Blood Crystals, he could explore every hall in the eighth layer of the Demon Soul Hall.

The higher the floor in the Demon Soul Hall, the less it had been explored, the more treasures there would be. It was certain that if Ye Zhen decided to be ruthless, he could definitely find something else.

But ultimately, the conviction to obtain the War Soul Blood Flag as soon as possible suppressed all of Ye Zhen’s greed.

As he poured a thousand Demon Soul Blood Crystals into the next hall’s door, Ye Zhen stepped in, searching for the teleportation passage.

Bad luck struck at this moment; the second hall of the Demon Soul that Ye Zhen entered also had people in it.

Ye Zhen grew even more anxious. If quite a few people had reached the eighth layer, then was someone close to reaching the ninth floor?

However, once the War Soul Blood Flag was captured, it would cause a phenomenon. For the moment, Ye Zhen still had a bit of time.

"Are you Black Water Kingdom’s Ye Zhen?"

As Ye Zhen entered, on guard, the martial artist in the hall suddenly showed a look of joy.

"I recognize you, Senior Brother Ye. I am Shi Liang from Gu’an Kingdom. Before we left, Elder Huo specifically instructed us to coexist peacefully with the brothers from Black Water Kingdom. The Sword Origin Nation and the Southern Barbarian Tribe are our common enemies!"

Shi Liang had a sweet mouth and was quick to express his eagerness to ally with Ye Zhen.

"Hmm, our elder also instructed us. Don’t worry, I won’t attack you. I’ll leave right now..." Ye Zhen, still on guard, headed toward another stone door.

Shi Liang, on the other hand, was not in a hurry, "Senior Brother Ye, actually, after I barged in here, I ran out of Demon Soul Blood Crystals. Could you possibly donate a thousand to me, to aid my departure from this place..."

"Sorry, I don’t have many left..."

This request from Shi Liang left Ye Zhen momentarily dumbfounded. Did he, Ye Zhen, look that stupid?

To donate your Demon Soul Blood Crystals so you can try your luck, and if you’re lucky enough to reach the ninth level before Ye Zhen, wouldn’t that mean Ye Zhen had his head caught in a door?

While speaking, Ye Zhen kept moving towards the opposite door.

"Senior Brother Ye, please, do me this favor. Without the Demon Soul Blood Crystals, I’ll be trapped and die here..." Shi Liang was almost on the verge of tears out of desperation.

In his persistent pleading, Shi Liang slowly closed the distance to Ye Zhen.

"Trapped and die here?"

Yet Ye Zhen almost laughed at this. Was he being treated like a three-year-old? The idea was ludicrous.

A warrior who came to challenge the hall, how could they possibly be trapped to death here? Once the War Soul Blood Flag was taken, these people would be automatically set free.

"Sorry..."

Ye Zhen politely refused once more. At that moment, Shi Liang had closed the gap to ten meters, and suddenly, his face turned fierce!

Raising his fists, Shi Liang pounced towards Ye Zhen, and a tiger-shaped phantom roared forth from his clenched fists!

Swoosh!

The piercing sound of Sword Light cutting through the air rang out sharply as Ye Zhen leaped backwards, evading with a flash of Wind Cloud Sword Qi!

Slash!

The Blood Light exploded. Shi Liang, who hadn’t expected Ye Zhen to counter faster than his own attack, was abruptly cut in two by Ye Zhen’s sword.

"Hmph, I knew you harbored ill will. You really think I’m a three-year-old child?" Looking at Shi Liang’s corpse, Ye Zhen snorted coldly.

After years of experience in Jianghu, Ye Zhen was no longer the naïve young lad he once was. With his abundant experience in the martial world, how could he fall for such tricks so easily?

From the moment he entered the hall, Ye Zhen’s hand had silently rested on the hilt of his sword, and as this guy’s flattery increased, so did Ye Zhen’s vigilance.

What a pity, Shi Liang still chose to make a move in the end.

Had he not attempted a sneak attack on Ye Zhen, Ye Zhen might have left the hall untouched, sparing him his life.

A martial artist at the Peak of Spirit Summoning Realm typically has a Storage Bracelet or ring as standard gear.

Upon examining Shi Liang’s Storage Bracelet, Ye Zhen revealed a look of surprise; there were still one thousand eight hundred Demon Soul Blood Crystals inside Shi Liang’s bracelet.

These included one Thousand-man General’s Demon Soul Blood Crystal and eight Hundred-man General’s Blood Crystals.

Clearly in possession of Demon Soul Blood Crystals, why did he play the victim and even attempt a life-endangering sneak attack to snatch more from Ye Zhen?

"Something’s fishy..."

Beyond that, Shi Liang’s Storage Bracelet contained a good amount of Low Grade Spirit Crystals, Pills, gold, and silver. However, at this moment, Ye Zhen no longer had time to tally them up. He tucked the Storage Bracelet into his chest, spilled out a thousand Demon Soul Blood Crystals, and stepped forward.

This time, fortune favored Ye Zhen.

In the newly entered hall, though empty of treasures, there was a teleportation channel.

"The ninth level is just ahead..."

With a heart full of excitement, Ye Zhen stepped through the teleportation channel, and after a flash of Blood Light, he wasn’t met with the familiar sight of a hall door, but an empty platform instead.

The platform was covered with lines and inscriptions, which looked to be part of a Formation.

This left Ye Zhen bewildered.

There was nothing like this in what Elder Zhong had told them. Ye Zhen assumed that after entering the ninth level of the Demon Soul Hall, like the previous eight levels, there would be a door, and you could simply insert Demon Soul Blood Crystals into the slot.

But contrary to what he had imagined, Ye Zhen was somewhat dumbfounded.

Actually, it wasn’t Elder Zhong’s fault, because over the years, martial artists from the Black Water Kingdom had never made it to the Ninth Layer, leading to a complete lack of experience in this area for the kingdom.

The other countries had experience, but each kept it exceedingly secret, so it was normal for the Black Water Kingdom to be unaware.

"Formations are generally driven by Spirit Crystals,"

Ye Zhen knew that much at least.

The formation in front of him was laid out in a Bagua pattern, with eight inlaid points on the edges and one in the center.

Ye Zhen certainly never lacked the courage to try.

Nine Spirit Crystals were immediately embedded onto the formation, but strangely, there was no reaction at all.

"Could it be that it requires a Demon Soul Blood Crystal?"

Nine Demon Soul Blood Crystals were placed in order, yet there was still no reaction, and Ye Zhen was driven mad by this.

In front of him, there was only one formation platform, surrounded by endless void. Ye Zhen could ascertain that the formation on this platform was the only passage into the Ninth Layer of the Demon Soul Hall.

But how should this formation be activated?

"Don’t panic, I mustn’t panic, observe carefully!"

Ye Zhen took a deep breath and calmed his thoughts. As soon as he did, he immediately found a flaw.

To open the doors of the previous eight layers, one thousand Demon Soul Blood Crystals were required. Therefore, it was impossible to activate this formation with only nine ordinary Demon Soul Blood Crystals.

With that thought, Ye Zhen placed nine Blood Crystals belonging to Ten-man Generals on it, but still, there was no reaction!

"Hundred-man General!"

Whoosh!

The moment the first Blood Crystal from a Hundred-man General was placed, a thin Blood Light immediately rose.

"That’s it!"

After nine Blood Crystals from Hundred-man Generals were placed, Ye Zhen felt dismayed as the formation still seemed not to have been activated.

The ninth!

When he placed the first eight Blood Crystals from Hundred-man Generals, Blood Light rose, but when the ninth Blood Crystal from a Hundred-man General was placed, there was no change.

"Is the ninth piece the Formation Eye, requiring a higher-grade Demon Soul Blood Crystal?"

Without any hesitation, a Blood Crystal from a Thousand-man General was placed in the Formation Eye of the formation!

Whoosh!

A pillar of Blood Light burst forth from the formation, slowly starting to rotate.

It actually required a Blood Crystal from a Thousand-man General to completely activate the teleportation formation.

In an instant, Ye Zhen had an epiphany!

That’s why Shi Liang, despite having Demon Soul Blood Crystals, still fought to get more. He was saving them for the Ninth Layer!

Luckily, Ye Zhen had enough Demon Soul Blood Crystals in his possession; otherwise, even if a martial artist from the Black Water Kingdom could make it to the Ninth Layer, they could only look on helplessly.

As far as Ye Zhen knew, the highest grade of Blood Crystal in the hands of the Third Prince and others was only from Hundred-man Generals.

Stepping into the formation, the Blood Light turned illusory, and as the radiance swirled, Ye Zhen’s figure appeared in the imposing hall of the Commander Hall.

Before his eyes was a huge blood-colored War Banner, prominently displayed on the main wall of the Commander Hall, with a character for ’War’ written in the center that was as fierce and bold as golden geese and iron horses!

Boom!

As Ye Zhen’s gaze fell upon the ’War’ character, it instantly enlarged, filling his entire field of vision, transforming into a torrent of thousands of troops charging towards Ye Zhen.

...

Outside the Battlefield of Demon Souls, at the campsite halfway up Demon Soul Mountain.

After waiting nearly twenty days, with the month-long period of the Battlefield’s continuous opening drawing to a close, the elders and tributors leading the teams from the various countries and sects, seemed to grow restless.

Rarely, the elders and tributors of the Five Countries, including those from the Southern Barbarian Tribe, gathered in a circle and even started to drink together lightly.

This scene, if seen by ordinary people, would surely be shocking.

Among the Five Countries, the Four Countries and the Southern Barbarians were sworn enemies. Within the Four Countries, the Sword Origin Sect and the Black Water Kingdom were sworn enemies, while the Phantom Divine Kingdom and the Gu’an Kingdom were also at odds with each other. Yet now, these elders were able to sit together and drink.

In fact, it couldn’t be more normal.

These elders and tributors, being the top echelon of their respective countries’ martial powers, had known each other for many years and some even had good private friendships.

Sitting together for a few drinks was quite normal, but the verbal sparring was anything but.

When the elders from the Five Countries gathered, the most discussed topic was the ownership of the War Soul Blood Flag this time.

"Zhongli Jing, Lik Shi, it isn’t that I’m being nosy, but your Black Water Kingdom really has no need to participate in the Five Countries Conference. For over a hundred years and more than twenty times, when has your kingdom ever captured the War Soul Blood Flag?"

"I estimate that you probably don’t even know the secrets to opening the Ninth Layer, do you?"

During their light drinking session, Zou Zhi, an elder of the Sword Origin Sect, ruthlessly mocked Zhongli Jing and Lik Shi.

"Is the method of entering the Ninth Layer of the Demon Soul Hall different from the other layers?" The expressions of Zhongli Jing and Lik Shi both turned ugly.

"Of course! Don’t you even know this much?"

"Not knowing this and still participating in the Five Countries Conference, hoping to seize the War Soul Blood Flag, is simply a pipe dream, haha..."

Yua Gaobo, an elder from the Sword Origin Sect, laughed heartily after choking on his drink.

The expressions on Zhongli Jing’s and Lik Shi’s faces turned even uglier! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)