The sinister eroding wind rarely appeared, but there were exceptions for everything, such as when geniuses with unique physiques broke through.
Perhaps that was the workings of the natural law: to have a sort of trial for the geniuses to stop their advancement if they failed to overcome the calamity. Their failure might even result in death.
Unaware of the workings, Xiang Shaoyun was under attack by the sinister eroding wind, and he sensed that his soul power was on the verge of falling apart. If his soul power did fall apart, he would no longer be able to ignite his fate star, and he would no longer be able to enter the Skysoar Realm.
The sky darkened as the sinister eroding wind blew past.
"Damn it! What in the world is this?" Xiang Shaoyun cursed.
He could curse all he wanted, but it would not change the fact that the sinister eroding wind was assaulting him. He needed to think of a way to break free from it. The sinister eroding wind seemed to be everywhere, and no matter how hard he tried, the wind followed him, slowly eroding his soul power bit by bit.
"Young master! You have to survive! If you can, you will reap a great harvest!" said Devouring Ghost.
Only the cultivator attempting the breakthrough could solve a calamity such as this, and no outsider could help. Thus, both Devouring Ghost and Du Xuanhao could only watch on anxiously.
When Xiang Shaoyun was on the verge of complete collapse, he suddenly thought of Ye Chaomu, who had just parted with him not long ago. He recalled the promise they had made to meet after seven years, and he roared, "I, Xiang Shaoyun, am an absolute genius. How can something like this stop me? Piss off!"
With his roar, a resolute faith surged out of his mind, and his physical body that had remained on the ground seemed to react to it. His soul power erupted, once again reforming his soul high up in the sky. His soul became solid, assuming a form that was the same as his physical body, and continued soaring up while ignoring the sinister eroding wind.
His soul had been cleansed by the soul spring, granting him a formidable soul power. And with his Nether Soul Domain and soul raising stone, he possessed a soul power that was far above his peers'.
The soul he had first sent flying to the sky had not been formed of the entirety of his soul power, but the desperation he felt under the sinister eroding wind's assault had helped him unleash all his soul power.
The sinister eroding wind continued corroding his willpower, but his soul was now incomparably solid, and not even the sinister eroding wind could stop his soul from forcing itself through the wind.
"Haha, what can a mere sinister eroding wind do to me?" Xiang Shaoyun howled with laughter. He did not waste any time and continued soaring into the sky.
"Good! Good! The young master has broken through the sinister eroding wind!" Devouring Ghost cried out in excitement. But immediately after, a completely different power appeared near Xiang Shaoyun again.
"What the hell is it this time?" Xiang Shaoyun muttered doubtfully. The newly appeared power was a clump of scarlet cloud looking like a fireball. It kept changing its shape while ceaselessly emitting a scorching temperature.
"Why is this happening? Why is a scarlet flame cloud appearing?" Even Devouring Ghost was overwhelmed with shock.
"That's a scarlet flame cloud!" Du Xuanhao cried out in alarm as well.
The scarlet flame cloud was even bigger of a threat than the sinister eroding wind—capable of torching any soul power it touched. This was a calamity that would usually only appear when one was breaking through into the Emperor Realm.
Xiang Shaoyun was only breaking through into the Skysoar Realm at the moment. It was quite unbelievable that he had attracted such a calamity at this stage. Both Devouring Ghost and Du Xuanhao sank into despair.
Xiang Shaoyun could sense that there was something weird about the red cloud. Without any hesitation, he increased his flying speed, but he was still too late as the scarlet flame cloud had already reached his side. It started torching him.
"AHHH!"
As he cried out in pain, his soul was instantly damaged severely. The flame's might was even scarier than the sinister eroding wind's corrosive power. After all, the power of flame was what soul power feared most. The scarlet flame cloud covered all of Xiang Shaoyun's soul, setting him on fire.
Xiang Shaoyun sank into complete despair as he couldn't think of a way to break free. At the moment of crisis, the power of his third star, which had soared to the sky with his soul, suddenly started pulsing. An absorption force erupted from the volcano as it forcefully drew in the scarlet flame cloud.
The volcano's devouring force was extremely terrifying and, in the blink of an eye, consumed half of the scarlet flame cloud, greatly reducing Xiang Shaoyun's pressure.
"It's Yun Flame! Well done!" Xiang Shaoyun cried out with pleasant surprise.
With Yun Flame's help, dealing with the scarlet flame cloud became much easier. After all, he once stayed for an extended period of time in a volcano, and his soul was still rather resistant to heat.
He wasted no time and ignored the scarlet flame cloud before continuing to soar to the sky. He held firm to his faith, squeezing more soul power out of his body, and finally, he went beyond the sky above.
Beyond the sky was a wide expanse of twinkling stars. The expanse was boundless and endless, and a human seemed so miniscule before it all. This was the shocking sight one saw after transcending the sky and leaving the Nine Gods Dominion. It could stun anyone.
Xiang Shaoyun was completely dazed. He could sense the river of stars' boundlessness, the mystery of space, and the vastness of the universe. At this moment, the powers from the nine stars accompanying his soul started emitting an intense excitement, reminding him that it was time to ignite his fate stars.
Nine stars from nine different directions amid the vast river of stars started shining brightly, telling Xiang Shaoyun where they were. The nine stars corresponded to the nine stars in his body. If one paid attention, one would notice that the nine stars formed the shape of a dragon when joined together, looking incomparably majestic.
Unfortunately, the dragon still looked rather weak at the moment. It was barely visible amid the river of stars, seemingly awaiting the day when it could finally display its overbearing might, soar above the Nine Gods Dominion, and look down upon the world below.
"Ignite, fate star," said Xiang Shaoyun as he fully unleashed his power, releasing the purple dragon, white tiger, volcano, and the powers of the remaining stars, sending them toward the nine stars.
Bang! Bang!
One after another, the nine stars were ignited, forming a silvery river of radiance that became the brightest existence amid the river of stars. The nine stars erupted and started shining upon Xiang Shaoyun's soul and inner body.
His soul returned to the space within his head, and nine majestic mysterious beams of different colors shone down on him from the sky above. Resplendent, they wrapped around Xiang Shaoyun, making him look like an august son of heavens who had descended upon the mortal world.
"The young master has ignited his fate star!" Devouring Ghost cried out in excitement, and Du Xuanhao waved his fists, feeling happy and excited for Xiang Shaoyun.