The Art of Chaotic Divinity

Chapter 748: Blood Soul Pearl

At the center of Wuxi Town stood a heavily guarded earthen fortress. 

This had originally been the city lord's residence, but after the Blood God Cult's influence spread here, the city lord was promptly deposed and became a devout follower—what the waiter had called a "Summoner."  

Of course, with the despicable donkey's demon emperor-level cultivation, the branch temple's security might as well have been nonexistent.  

Easily bypassing the outer guards, the donkey soon slipped into the core area of the branch temple.  

In the central hall of the earthen fortress, a shifty-eyed man in gray Taoist robes held a blood-red pearl, seemingly infusing some sinister power into a group of followers. This person was likely the so-called direct disciple of the "Blood Sword Heavenly Lord."  

As the bloody light from the pearl merged into the cultists' bodies, their auras surged dramatically. However, in exchange, their soul essence source seemed to be partially drained, leaving their eyes frighteningly hollow.  

"What kind of evil artifact is this, capable of directly plundering mortals' soul essence source?"  

The donkey watched in shock. While these Blood God Cult followers had indeed gained power, the stolen soul essence source could never be recovered. Over time, they would become nothing more than mindless puppets.  

Moreover, that sinister energy seemed to be altering their very life essence, transforming them from humans into neither-human-nor-demon abominations!  

"Hahaha!"  

After extracting the last follower's soul essence source, the gray-robed Taoist burst into laughter. "The Blood Soul Pearl bestowed by our great lord is truly formidable! Soon, Wuxi Town will yield tens of thousands of Blood Spirit soldiers!"  

"Blood Spirit soldiers?" The donkey's eyelids twitched. The Blood God Cult's ambitions were far from simple—they actually sought to turn ordinary mortals into monsters capable of rivaling martial practitioners!  

While such creatures might struggle against high-tier martial artists, their sheer numbers would prove devastating. Most terrifyingly, they knew no fear and were utterly vicious.  

"Human lives mean little to this divine beast, but the Tianbai Empire was after all founded by that old man..."  

The donkey curled his lips. He wasn't entirely indifferent to the Tianbai Emperor's spiritual manifestation—after all, it was the Tianbai Emperor who had personally hatched him from his divine beast egg. In his heart, that figure still held significant importance.  

"Even I haven't caused trouble here yet! How dare some Blood God Cult stir up chaos on this turf!"  

With that thought, the donkey kicked the doors open and swaggered into the hall, planting himself between the gray-robed Taoist and a dozen cultists.  

"Who goes there?"  

The Taoist's pupils constricted as he stared at the donkey, though the large cloak obscured the intruder's features.  

"You stinking Taoist priest! How bold of you to deceive people and establish this ridiculous cult!" The donkey snorted disdainfully.  

"How dare you blaspheme the Sacred Blood God!"  

The gray-robed Taoist glared coldly before suddenly grinning. "Ah, you must be from a nearby sect. Perfect! These Blood Spirit Corpses forged from ordinary mortals have limited power. Only those refined from martial practitioners can achieve true strength."  

"Come, open your heart and believe in the Blood God! You shall gain eternal life!"  

The Taoist's voice carried a bewitching quality as he cackled sinisterly.  

"I believe in your grandmother!"  

As a dignified demon emperor, the donkey could not be so easily deceived. With a sweep of his hoof, a surge of black demonic qi erupted, tearing a massive hole through the earthen fortress's roof.

"First I'll take your lousy pearl, then I'll deal with your so-called lord!"  

The donkey smirked. That "Blood Soul Pearl" in the Taoist's hands seemed like an interesting novelty.  

Seeing the donkey's terrifying power, the gray-robed Taoist broke into cold sweat and shouted, "Summoner Cao, stop him! All faithful followers, execute this heretic! Execute him!"  

"Heretic my ass!"  

The donkey rampaged through the cultists, each powerful kick sending them flying. Enslaved by the corrupting force, they were beyond salvation, so he showed no mercy. In mere moments, he had scattered them all, then stomped down to pin the fleeing Taoist beneath his hoof. With a swift motion, he seized the Blood Soul Pearl.

The pearl indeed contained an incredibly sinister energy—even more malevolent than his own demonic qi, and impossible to dispel.  

Soon, the donkey realized the Blood Soul Pearl was merely a vessel storing vast amounts of soul essence source, likely meant to repair some artifact or cultivate some evil technique.  

Thud!  

The donkey pressed down, crushing the Taoist into the ground. "Speak! Who is your cult leader? Where's your main temple?"  

"Heh heh heh..."  

The gray-robed Taoist glared maniacally. "Our great lord shall reign supreme! As a faithful follower, I will achieve immortality! Heretics like you... will soon perish! Hahaha!"  

"This is insane!" The donkey scoffed. Seeing no way to get any useful information from the fanatic, he simply stomped down, crushing the gray-robed Taoist into dust.

"Even if you won't talk, this divine beast will find your dog fart leader!"  

The donkey examined the Blood Soul Pearl and grinned. "Vile as this thing may be, the soul essence source inside… hehehe…"

Emperor-level experts, also known as those who have reached the Creation Realm, shift their cultivation focus from the physical body to the soul. For beings at this level, soul essence source was an incredibly rare and potent supplement!  

Hence, evil cultivators devised methods to plunder it directly from mortals. However, such practices were deemed too inhumane and strictly forbidden by orthodox sects—any caught using them would be executed as heretics.  

This was partly because soul-plundering techniques often triggered catastrophic "Inner Demon Tribulations," which were almost always fatal—deterring most cultivators from ever attempting them.  

However, the Blood Soul Pearl appeared to bypass this risk. Since the wielder wasn’t directly extracting soul essence, no inner demon tribulation would manifest.

"Looks like the Blood God Cult's leader has something even more powerful than this Blood Soul Pearl."  

The donkey let out a low chuckle. He had no intention of using the pearl to harvest living souls, but the essence already stored within was far too valuable to waste.