"I personally think you should adapt yourself to the way of life here, to understand the cruel reality of this city and learn to not show any mercy to your enemies. Through slaughter, you can prove your strength. There are numerous Bloodsin Arenas for different cultivation levels in the city. At a King Realm arena, you can challenge the various experts of the city and battle the numerous captured devils as well. Through battle, you can increase your combat prowess. After reaching late-stage King Realm, you can enter the Devil Domain," said Devouring Ghost.
"Bloodsin Arena? There is something like that here?" Xiang Shaoyun asked in astonishment.
"Any battle on a Bloodsin Arena is one where your life will be placed on the line. You will have to rely on yourself in the arena, young master," said Devouring Ghost. He looked at Du Xuanhao and continued, "You are already a top Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator so you can directly enter the Devil Domain and do battle there. You will encounter many fearsome devils and know just how much more you need to grow. When you have finally mastered the saber steering phase of your saber intent, you will then be qualified to try for Saber Devil's inheritance."
Du Xuanhao did not say anything and instead looked at Xiang Shaoyun for a decision. After all, he now considered himself a follower.
Xiang Shaoyun looked at him and said, "Big Brother Du, just go to the Devil Domain. Don't worry about me. I still have Jin Wo and Badar by my side. You can only help me in the future if you can grow strong enough."
Du Xuanhao replied, "Stay safe, young master."
"Young master, since you are no longer guarded by a powerful Emperor, you have to be very careful in the city. If you are really pushed to desperation, you can always seek shelter here," said Devouring Ghost. "But I hope to see you slaughter a bloody path to the pinnacle yourself, young master. Back then, this was where the previous master had made his name. I believe you will be able to achieve the same."
"Don't worry. I know what to do," said Xiang Shaoyun with a nod.
"Take this medal. If the Ghostface Sect creates trouble for you again, just show it to them," said Devouring Ghost as he handed Xiang Shaoyun a medal.
Xiang Shaoyun took the medal and found that a ghost face was carved into it. It emanated a sinister and dreadful aura.
Devouring Ghost offered an explanation, "The Ghostface Sect might have some sort of relationship with me. Before I regain my strength, try to avoid having conflicts with them."
"Sure. I know what to do," said Xiang Shaoyun.
After telling them a bit more about the Devil Domain and Devil Blood City, Devouring Ghost began his seclusion. Xiang Shaoyun, Du Xuanhao, and Jin Wo moved outside to have another discussion.
"Big Brother Du, before leaving for the Devil Domain, I need you to help me take over the Skeleton Gang," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"They have three ninth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm experts. It will be hard with just us," said Du Xuanhao.
"Don't worry. I will find you a reliable helper," said Xiang Shaoyun with a confident smile.
Instead of leaving, Xiang Shaoyun took the time to seclude himself in a random room. Inside, he took out the soul elevation grass he had just purchased. He needed to further increase his soul power, so the ghostrune emperor could grow more.
Only when his soul power grew would the nether soul energy in his Nether Soul Domain undergo an upgrade, which would allow the ghostrune emperor to grow stronger. At that time, with the ghostrune emperor helping Du Xuanhao, it wouldn't be hard for them to kill any ninth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm expert they encountered.
Xiang Shaoyun was aware that to establish a footing in the Bloodsin City, he alone was not enough. An organization that wasn't the strongest yet not the weakest would be perfect to help him gain a footing.
This was a plan he had devised ever since he had subdued Badar. Now, it was time to put his plan into action. He knew very well it would be very hard to take over the Skeleton Gang with just Du Xuanhao and Jin Wo. Therefore, he had to borrow the ghostrune emperor's strength as well.
Xiang Shaoyun swallowed the soul elevation grass and, as soul power started pouring into his soul, immediately activated the soul restoration mantra of the Nether Dragon Soul Headband.
His soul power was already strong enough to be comparable to a top-tier King's, so with the assistance of the soul elevation grass, his soul power immediately grew to a level equivalent to that of a peak King.
With the growth of his soul power, the Nether Soul Domain started expanding, and the nether soul energy within became thicker. Unfortunately, just the soul elevation grass alone was not enough to push his soul power to a level comparable to an Emperor's. He took out a mid-grade king soul medicine and tossed it into his mouth.
This mid-stage king medicine had an even stronger medicinal power. Xiang Shaoyun possessed a soul that had once been cleansed by a soul spring, and he was being constantly nurtured by the soul raising stone he kept in his Nether Soul Domain. With the help of the massive amount of soul power he was getting from the herbs, he immediately broke through the barrier of the King Realm, pushing his soul power to the level of an Emperor's.
After reaching this level, his soul started solidifying, looking more and more lifelike. It was at this moment that a great change occurred in his Nether Soul Domain. It started expanding rapidly while thick clumps of nether soul energy flooded it.
At the same time, the devilish aura drifting about in the sky above the Bloodsin City suddenly started seeping into the ground noiselessly. The devilish aura arrived above Xiang Shaoyun and gradually entered his Nether Soul Domain, providing a great boost to his nether soul energy.
As for the ghostrunes, they went mad with joy. They started devouring the nether soul energy like hungry wolves that had stumbled upon the most delicious food. And as they devoured the nether soul energy, they started growing in strength.
However, they couldn't directly utilize all the newly absorbed energy. They had to further enhance their bloodline. And thus, they started consuming the weaker ones among them again. This was an incredibly odd phenomenon, one that other races would find hard to understand.
As the ghostrunes consumed their own, their numbers underwent a steep decline. Of the initial over 40,000 ghostrunes, only about 20,000 remained. Even so, this number was still plummeting rapidly as their strength was growing swiftly.
Xiang Shaoyun was too busy to pay attention to what was happening to them. Currently, his blood had suddenly stirred as he seemed to have formed a sort of intimate connection with his Nether Soul Domain. Numerous ancient and abstruse symbols started appearing in his soul.
These symbols represented an ancient inheritance, a memory inheritance for all who had the blood of the Imperial Nether Clan. In fact, these symbols were the characters of a language used exclusively by the Imperial Nether Clan.
Xiang Shaoyun did not know where these symbols had come from. However, he did feel as if these symbols were something that came naturally to him. He did not even need to do anything as all the knowledge contained within the symbols started pouring into his mind. As time passed, more and more of the ancient symbols appeared in his soul. None of them harmed him. Instead, he benefited greatly from their appearance.
Imperial Nether Prison.
This was an innate ability unique to the Imperial Nether Clan, and it had now awakened in Xiang Shaoyun's mind.