Book 19, Metamorphosis – Chapter 49, The Line Between Life and Death
“The Soulstone is providing a hint of life?” Bebe hurriedly asked.
Bluefire nodded slightly. “This isn’t a big secret. According to legend, the Redbud Sovereign was born from the Amethyst Mountains themselves.” As he spoke, Bluefire looked towards Reisgem.
Reisgem didn’t mind either. He nodded. “Right. This is the truth. The amethysts of the Amethyst Mountains all contain spiritual energy. The Amethyst Godbeasts which are born from the Amethyst Mountains naturally contain powerful souls. And Amethyst Godbeasts are able to give birth to a purified form of energy...Soulstones! The process of producing a Soulstone is a very arduous one, and so it is an important treasure of us Amethyst Godbeasts. For example, although I myself have produced a Soulstone, I use it to protect my life; of course I’m not willing to give it to others.”
“My mother is a Sovereign. With Sovereign power surrounding her and with the passage of countless years, she’s able to hand out one or two Soulstones.” Reisgem sighed. “This Soulstone is an absolute treasure for protecting the soul. Perhaps it isn’t able to help in protecting against the attack of a Sovereign, but...with a Soulstone, there shouldn’t be any reason to fear the soul attacks of Highgods.”
Reisgem looked towards Linley as he spoke.
Bebe understood as well.
Amethyst Godbeasts were born from the essence of the Amethyst Mountains themselves. As for the Soulstone, it was the energy essence of the Amethyst Mountains. A single Soulstone was trillions of times more valuable than an amethyst. One could imagine how powerful it was.
“But my Boss...?” Bebe said frantically.
“Linley, he...” Reisgem said helplessly. “Alas, that Magnus is a Paragon of Fate, and his soul is very powerful. He also used Fate-type Sovereign power to execute that attack. The strength of that attack has already exceeded that of ordinary Deities! Even the Soulstone...” Reisgem was rather uncertain as well.
He had bragged so much about how powerful the Soulstone was, but the enemy was too powerful this time.
“This time, Linley’s situation is dire.” Bluefire said solemnly. “Magnus’ soul attack has already penetrated into all four souls of Linley’s body. The energy of the Soulstone is constantly reinforcing Linley, making it so that his souls aren’t completely destroyed. This situation is too dangerous, too dangerous.”
Unconscious and fainted.
Bebe had memories of both Delia and Olivier experiencing this.
“Delia and Olivier encountered this in the past as well. They both came back to life.” Bebe said hurriedly. “And Olivier, when he fainted, his soul mutated.”
Bluefire sighed and shook his head. “I know about Delia. That expert was just an expert of Fate who wasn’t even at the commander level. But the one who attacked Linley was Magnus! I can put it to you like this...amongst Highgods, there is not a single person who is superior to Magnus. At best, they are on par with him.”
“As the saying goes, hurting is easy, healing is hard. There is no one who can save someone who Magnus attacked.” Bluefire shook his head.
“Sovereigns?” Bebe said hurriedly.
“Useless.” Resigem shook his head. “Actually, Sovereigns are more powerful than Highgods, primarily because their Will is formidable, which makes them powerful and undefeatable. But in terms of profound mysteries, they aren’t necessarily comparable to Paragons.”
Reisgem’s mother was a Sovereign, so Reisgem knew this very well.
The Sovereigns also trained in the profound mysteries of the Laws.
The process of becoming a Sovereign had very little to do with the profound mysteries. Of the 77 Sovereigns, only a very small number of them had been able to become Paragons! However, the power of Sovereigns still vastly outstripped that of Highgod Paragons. The reason was that one was a ‘Sovereign’ while the other was a ‘Highgod’.
They were simply on different levels.
The power of a Sovereign was simply too great. This was an authority which the universe bestowed upon them that couldn’t be bridged.
“In addition, Magnus is a Paragon; his attacks are also infused with his own special ‘power’, the power of a Paragon’s Will. Although it isn’t as powerful as that of a Sovereign, when it comes to healing, it’s not a matter of a power competition.” Reisgem said helplessly. “To save a soul is a very meticulous task. In addition, Magnus himself is a Paragon...there’s no one who can save Linley.”
Bebe was completely frantic.
“Indeed, we cannot save him.”
Bluefire shook his head. “Unless an Overgod intervenes. But Overgods are the personifications of the Edicts. How could they intervene to save someone? That’s completely impossible.”
Bebe was rather helpless.
“But that Olivier, he was fainted for so long. He still came back to life.” Bebe said hurriedly. “And his soul mutated.”
“Indeed, when one is in this sort of unconscious state, it’s more common for soul mutations to occur.” Bluefire couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “But Bebe, do you know...that the chances of dying in the unconscious state is even higher!”
Bebe was terrified.
“Then why will some people have their souls mutated when they are unconscious?” Bebe asked hurriedly.
“Even I don’t understand the true reason.” Bluefire shook his head. “However, there is one thing. If that Olivier had only trained in darkness and light when he fainted, once he fainted...when he successfully underwent his soul mutation, he ended up fusing these two types of energy. But if his soul mutation failed, he would have died.”
“Very few people can become Soul Mutates.” Bluefire sighed. “People who have two divine clones use two types of divine power, and can become Soul Mutates. There are some who survive, but the chances of surviving are still terrifyingly low! Only a single person in the endless history of the entire Infernal Realm has survived a soul mutation with three divine clones.”
Bluefire looked at Bebe. “Think about it. How many people does the Infernal Realm have? And how long has it existed for? Over the course of the countless ages, the Infernal Realm has only produced a single person who succeeded in a soul mutation with three clones. How high are the chances of death?”
Bebe’s body was shaking.
“Then what about four divine clones?” Bebe was now truly frightened, because Linley had four divine clones. Linley was able to use four types of divine energy.
“Throughout the countless years of the universe, throughout the countless planes, there hasn’t been a single person who held four divine clones who successfully underwent a soul mutation.” Bluefire’s expression was solemn. “The chance of success...is zero!”
Bebe’s face instantly turned completely white.
“But just because a person is unconscious doesn’t mean they will undergo a soul mutation.” Reisgem hurriedly consoled him. “Like you said, that Delia fainted as well, but came back to life without undergoing a soul mutation, right?”
“That’s because Delia only has a single divine clone.” Bluefire said somberly. “But of course, it’s also possible that someone with divine clones who faints won’t necessarily undergo a soul mutation. Only a very small number do.”
Reisgem wasn’t able to say anything else. All he could do was laugh bitterly.
Linley’s original body had suffered the attack, along with his three major divine clones. Of the four divine clones, the only lucky ‘survivor’ was the divine fire clone back in the Yulan Plane. If the original body and the three clones were all finished...Bebe understood that it would be virtually impossible for Linley to once more reach the pinnacle of power. Bebe understood very well that in the bottom of Linley’s heart, he still desired to reach the pinnacle.
This was Linley’s most primal desire.
Actually, it was also the desire of Doehring Cowart.
When Doehring Cowart had provided Linley with guidance, he had also entrusted his own hopes and desire to Linley. He hoped that Linley would one day reach the pinnacle of power. What Doehring Cowart had hoped, back then, was that one day, Linley would reach the same level as the War God and as the High Priest. But now, Linley had vastly surpassed them.
Still, the desire to pursue perfection had been engraved into Linley’s bones.
“Then...then what should we do?” Bebe was panicked.
“There’s nothing we can do.” Bluefire shook his head. “The supreme technique of a Paragon. No one can save someone hit by it. We’ll just have to wait and see what Linley can do. If Linley’s soul doesn’t undergo a soul mutation, there’s still a chance of survival. But...as soon as Linley’s soul begins to change, then...it can be said that he is dead for sure.”
Bluefire sighed.
For someone who had four divine clones to undergo a soul mutation...the chances of success were zero!
“Others might not succeed, but that isn’t necessarily true for my Boss.” Bebe said hurriedly.
Bluefire shook his head slightly. “Let’s find a place to rest. As to whether or not Linley’s soul will mutate successfully or fail, that’s up to fate.”
The Yulan Plane.
Dragonblood Castle.
“Linley, what is it?” Delia looked at a red-robed Linley.
The fire Linley had a terrible look on his face. Shaking his head, he said, “My original body and my three major divine clones have already lost their consciousness.” His soul was divided into five parts, each of which could sense the other. But right now, his divine fire clone could no longer sense the consciousness of his original body and his other divine clones. The situation was very dire.
“What!” Delia’s face changed.
“Just now, even I thought that my original body and three divine clones had died, but the strange thing was, after suffering that attack from Magnus, they didn’t die. The situation is still terrible, though. Those four souls are very weak; they could be extinguished at any moment.” The fire ‘Linley’ had a solemn look on his face. His original body and his three major divine clones had lost consciousness. Linley naturally didn’t know that this was because the Soulstone was providing him with a hint of life.
Delia’s face was ashen. She was extremely worried.
“Linley, you and your three divine clones won’t die, right?” Delia knew very well that if that happened, that represented that Linley’s future was destroyed. The surviving divine fire clone was just a weakling. Delia understood...that Linley had a heart which wanted to pursue personal strength. He wouldn’t be willing to be a weakling.”
“I don’t know.”
The fire Linley closed his eyes and said, “Whether it is life, or death...”
The Planar Battlefield was as silent as ever, with the occasional sounds of battle peppering it.
Within a desolate mountain.
Reihom had been contacted by Reisgem through Sovereign power long ago and had returned. Bluefire, Bebe, Reihom, and Reisgem were all together in the living room, while Linley was in a nearby room, lying on a bed quietly, not a hint of life in his body.
“It has been seven full days. Linley hasn’t moved at all.” Reisgem said, frowning.
“Mr. Leylin, take another look.” Bebe said hurriedly.
Of the four, only Bluefire dared to go investigate Linley’s soul; after all, Linley’s soul was currently extremely weak, weaker than even an ordinary person’s soul, so weak that if someone was not careful, it was possible that Linley’s soul would be completely erased.
“I’ll take a look.”
Bluefire stepped into the room.
“I hope the Boss can improve. I hope the Boss can improve.” Bebe said repeatedly.
Moments later, Bluefire stepped out, his forehead furrowed.
“What is it?” Bebe hurriedly asked.
Bluefire shook his head slightly. “The Fate-type Sovereign power which has flooded Linley’s soul has weakened greatly already. But similarly, that Soulstone has shrunk dramatically as well.” The Soulstone was formed from the distilled spiritual essence of the Redbud Sovereign. The more of its energy was used up, the smaller it would naturally become.
Once its energy was used up, the Soulstone would vanish.
“The Soulstone has shrunk dramatically?” Bebe lowered his head, chewing on his lips, not knowing what to think.
The Fate-type Sovereign power which permeated Linley’s soul was disappearing, but the Soulstone was shrinking as well.
The fifteenth day of Linley’s coma.
Within the cave.
“The Fate-type Sovereign power is almost gone.” Bluefire had a rare hint of a smile on his face. “But there’s still a bit of the Soulstone left. It will definitely be able to persevere to the very end. I expect that the Sovereign power of Magnus’ soul attack will dissipate today.”
Bebe’s face had a rare, surprised smile on it.
“However, even after the Fate-type Sovereign power dissipates, it is hard to say if Linley will wake up or not. With the soul having lost consciousness, it is hard to say how long this sort of situation will last.” Bluefire shook his head.
Bebe nodded slightly.
“Everyone, let’s be happy. At least there’s hope for Linley to wake up.” Reisgem laughed merrily.
“Right. There’s a hint of hope.” Bebe nodded heavily.
Just as Reisgem and Bebe were waiting expectantly, suddenly, everyone sensed a hint of a ripple from Linley’s room. “Can it be that the Boss is waking up?” Bebe was delighted.
“What’s going on?” Bluefire was the first to charge into the room.
Bebe, Reisgem, and Reihom followed him in. Within the room, Linley himself was lying there calmly, not a hint of life coming from his body.
But his body was now covered with all sorts of elemental essences. Earthen yellow earth essences, blazing red fire essences, faint green wind essences, azure-green water essences...a large amount of elemental essences of these four types were being attracted by Linley’s body, and they swirled around him.
Although Bebe didn’t know whether or not Olivier’s body had attracted large amounts of two types of elemental essences when he was unconscious, Bebe knew one thing...Linley was most likely undergoing a soul mutation.
“A soul mutation?” Bluefire had never seen a soul mutation either, but seeing this, he had a guess.
Bebe stared at the unconscious Linley, tears welling in his eyes.
Undergoing a soul mutation with four divine clones? To date, not a single person had ever succeeded.