Chapter 27: Divine Soul Carp

“This is an Abyssal Golden Bangle, with one primary and one secondary. Put them on,” Madam Lu instructed as she handed over the bracelets, which floated before Qin Shu and Lu Yixi.

Qin Shu took the secondary bangle, while Lu Yixi received the primary one. This way, any monsters slain by Qin Shu would be equally attributed to both of their counts.

The pair accepted the golden bracelets and naturally slipped them onto their wrists.

Lu Yixi looked at Qin Shu. “Shall we begin?”

Qin Shu nodded, and a golden light enveloped them, instantly transporting them into the abyss.

This was still Qin Shu’s first time teaming up with someone else to venture into the abyss.

Indeed, for him, it was just another instance of “clearing” the abyss, akin to tackling a dungeon.

Lu Yixi appeared somewhat anxious, scanning her surroundings upon arrival. “Qin-gongzi, I’ll be relying on you from here on out.”

“Understood!” Qin Shu affirmed. “Just make sure to protect yourself.”

“Yes!” Lu Yixi acknowledged.

Curious, Qin Shu asked, “What form does your spiritual soul take?”

“It’s this!” A beam of golden light illuminated, revealing a Karmic Carp circling above Lu Yixi’s head. “It’s a Karmic Carp. Aside from bringing good fortune to me and my family, it doesn’t significantly enhance my battle prowess.”

Hearing her sigh, Qin Shu couldn’t help but marvel, “Honestly, your spiritual soul transcends mere potential rankings! Now I grasp why the Lu Family went to such lengths to have someone accompany you through the Abyssal Tribulation. It’s all about guiding your soul step-by-step towards its transformation into a Karmic Gold Dragon, isn’t it?”

“Mm-hmm!” Lu Yixi nodded, not denying it. After all, when her spiritual soul awakened, everyone in Nine Yong City knew about it.

Moreover, representatives from all the major clans in the city had promptly descended upon the Lu Clan’s threshold, each seeking marriage proposals with the hope of bringing Lu Yixi into their fold.

But how could that be possible? A special spiritual soul like Lu Yixi’s was invaluable to her entire clan, no less significant than a seven-colored divine soul.

As she grew older, her good luck koi would bring prosperity to the entire family, let alone if she successfully transformed into an auspicious dragon.

Although the chances of such transformation were slim, there was always a possibility, wasn’t there?

“Give me your hand for a moment,” Qin Shu suddenly said to Lu Yixi.

“What is it?” Confused, Lu Yixi extended her hand and blinked once.

Qin Shu grasped it gently, rubbing his fingers together as he said, “Touching some koi for a bit of auspiciousness.”

“Pfft!” Lu Yixi chuckled at his jest, suspecting him of taking advantage before swiftly pulling her hand away.

Qin Shu hadn’t exerted much force, so Lu Yixi easily withdrew her hand.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing—taking advantage! Sharing some fortune now, aren’t we?” Qin Shu then asked, “Are you still nervous?”

Lu Yixi realized what he meant and responded, “Oh, indeed I’m not nervous anymore.”

“That’s good. Let’s go. The environment here seems rather inhospitable, almost like an ancient battlefield from primeval times,” Qin Shu observed his surroundings.

The God Soul Continent was divided into three distinct eras:

The first era was known as the Ancient Gods and Demons Era. The second era marked the Dawn of Destiny Era. The third era represented the Chaos of Antiquity Era.

This current age was the fourth - the Order Era.

Merely the Order Era had already endured for millions upon millions of years, let alone the previous three epochs combined.

In the Chaos Era, technology had yet to be unlocked, making life exceedingly difficult for ordinary individuals. Coupled with this were frequent conflicts between powerful beings vying for destiny essence to transform their spiritual souls, resulting in untold deaths across the land.

It wasn’t until the waning days of the Chaos Era that the first generation of transcendent beings returned from beyond the heavens. They reestablished order, took away each great faction’s ruler, and left behind what they called “seeds of technology.” Only then did the God Soul Continent finally emerge from chaos and restore peace.

Qin Shu sensed the lingering aura of bloodlust around them; this place was undoubtedly an ancient battleground—one that had witnessed invasions from the Abyssal depths.

Upon hearing it might be an ancient battleground, Lu Yixi felt a wave of anxiety wash over him once more. “Will there be zombies?”

“Probably not,” Qin Shu shook his head, but quickly added, “However, bane corpses will definitely exist—perhaps even entire armies of them.”

This was no joke meant to scare Lu Yixi.

Lu Yixi shuddered involuntarily, clutching at Qin Shu’s clothes. “Don’t frighten me like that!”

“I’m just saying, as a Foundation Establishment awakened being, you shouldn’t be bested by ordinary banesouls, okay? Pull out those magical artifacts you have for self-defense.”

Qin Shu felt that Lu Yixi had been sheltered too much.

“Oh!” Following Qin Shu’s advice, she hastily produced a glass pagoda from her robes and placed it above her head. “It’s only a spirit artifact—will this suffice?”

The item in question wasn’t just any spirit artifact; it was a seventh-rank high-grade one, worth millions of spiritual soul coins.

Qin Shu’s expression darkened momentarily. “More than sufficient,” he admitted, feeling a twinge of envy.

With such defense, provided one had ample true essence, even common third-rank monsters would struggle to break through!

Considering the Abyss’s environment, where ordinary awakened beings couldn’t recover their true essence, the Lu Clan hadn’t equipped Lu Yixi with offensive spirit artifacts.

Offensive spirit artifacts, if not handled carefully, consumed vast amounts of energy. Refining medicinal pills took time, so having reliable defensive measures seemed more practical.

Qin Shu didn’t hold high expectations for Lu Yixi; she’d have to rely on herself entirely. The best outcome would be if she simply avoided causing trouble.

“Which way should we go?” Lu Yixi asked.

Qin Shu sensed his surroundings and said, “Let’s head towards where the Blood Fiend and Metal Fiend energies are strongest.”

With that, he stepped forward.

Lu Yixi hurried to catch up. Her courage was limited; several times she tried to grab Qin Shu’s clothes.

“Listen,” Qin Shu said with a hint of exasperation, “you’re protected by the Glass Tower. Nothing will happen to you, so there’s no need to be so scared.”

“But I just don’t feel safe!” Lu Yixi replied, her voice tinged with a childlike whine.

Qin Shu could only engage her in conversation to alleviate her fear. He asked, “So how did you overcome the Qi Refinement Abyssal Tribulation?”

Lu Yixi’s eyes lit up as she explained, “My grandmother gave me a Thunderbolt. I threw it far away, and after it blew up all the monsters, I immediately teleported out.”

“A Thunderbolt—a disposable secret treasure that seals lightning magic?” Qin Shu inquired curiously.

“That’s right!” Lu Yixi nodded affirmatively.

This type of one-time use attack secret treasure was more powerful than talismans.

First-order talismans cost between one to six soul coins each, with an equivalent attack power to first-order spells.

But Thunderbolts were a different beast entirely. They cost as much as a first-rank magical item—hundreds of times more than a first-rank talisman.

To put it in perspective, that was millions of ordinary currency units! Outrageously expensive!

This also explained why even Bronze spiritual soul awakeners had about a ten percent chance of surviving the Abyssal Tribulation—a feat bought with mountains of money.

Talismans took time to activate and weren’t terribly powerful either. Their blast was akin to a grenade explosion, barely enough to take down first-rank abyssal monsters.

Only secret treasures like Thunderbolts could serve as game-changing weapons capable of resolving all issues at once.

However, such rare items came with astronomical price tags and were virtually impossible to find on the market. Whenever the Money God Shopping Mall managed to stock some, they’d be snatched up within seconds.

There was no help for it; even large clans boasted numerous awakened beings with Bronze spiritual souls.

As Lu Yixi trailed behind Qin Shu, they occasionally exchanged words to ease the mounting tension.

The blood fiendish aura around them grew thicker by the moment.

“Want to come inside?” Lu Yixi extended the glass tower’s protective barrier slightly.

“No need. Just focus on protecting yourself,” Qin Shu replied, scanning their surroundings with divine sense.