Chapter 5502
His eyes held a resolute look, as if he had lost hope in these people.
“Master Hu, let’s go,” Kai said to Hu Mazi beside him.
Hu Mazi was stunned for a moment, then realized that Kai had given up.
He looked at the monks still cursing, shook his head helplessly, and followed Kai back to a corner outside the Soul Gathering Altar.
They stood there, watching the unfolding events on the altar in silence, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.
Seeing that Kai had stopped attacking, the golden-robed monk smiled triumphantly.
He shouted to the crowd, “See? This spy is guilty! Everyone, stay focused and don’t let him distract you. In a few moments, it will be time for everyone to break through!”
As he spoke, he raised the jade ruyi again, muttering something to himself.
The jade ruyi once again radiated a soft, hypnotic light, and the black runes beneath the platform lit up again, the cracks slowly healing.
The repulsed monks hesitated for a moment before actually closing their eyes again, sinking back into the state of “listening to the teachings.”
Pale blue soul threads drifted from their brows once again, flowing toward the groove.
Like tiny streams, the soul threads converged within the groove, as if eloquently expressing their ignorance and sorrow.
Hu Mazi’s teeth clenched in anger, his fists clenched. “These people… are truly foolish!”
He couldn’t understand how these monks could be so easily deceived by the golden-robed monk, willing to sacrifice their souls for a illusory “breakthrough opportunity.”
Kai watched silently, his eyes calm.
He could see that as the soul threads flowed into the groove, the soul urn deep within it continued to expand. He could faintly hear the clearer cries of souls within, filled with despair and pain. It must have contained the souls of many monks.
Those souls struggled within the urn, uttering silent cries, but no one could hear them.
As time passed, the jade ruyi’s radiance grew brighter, and the black runes beneath the dais seemed to come alive, flickering with an eerie, shimmering light.
The soul threads emanating from the brows of the cultivators who closed their eyes in concentration grew thicker, their once pale blue threads gradually tinged with a grayish-white hue, a sign that their very essence was being drained.
These grayish-white threads, like polluted streams, carried an ominous aura.
After about an incense stick of time, the golden-robed cultivator abruptly retracted the jade ruyi, and the runes beneath the dais dimmed.
The soul urn deep within the recess had now expanded to half a person’s height, its surface covered in twisted soul patterns, resembling faces in agony.
The soul cries emanating from within were muffled and agonized, as if countless wronged souls were struggling within.
The sound echoed throughout the Soul Gathering Altar, sending a chill through the air.
“Fellow Daoists, congratulations on your breakthrough!” the golden-robed cultivator plastered a false smile and bowed to the group.
His smile shone with a sinister smugness, as if he were admiring his own masterpiece.
The monks opened their eyes one after another, feeling light and airy. The spiritual energy within them seemed to flow more smoothly than before, and they actually believed they had broken through a bottleneck.
They were immersed in the joy of this breakthrough, completely unaware of the preciousness they had lost.
A monk in coarse shorts excitedly pumped his fist: “Thank you, Immortal Master, for your guidance! I feel like my bottleneck has truly been loosened!”
His face beamed with joy, as if he envisioned a glorious future of rapid advancement.
Another middle-aged monk was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes: “I’ve been stuck at the peak of the Earthly Immortal Realm for three years, and today I’ve finally broken through! Immortal Master, your kindness will be forever unforgettable!”
He fell to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly to the golden-robed monk, as if he were his adopted parent.