The Witch Hunter System -
Chapter 1137: Second Encounter With the Ghostly Demonic Woman
Upon closer observation, Vaan noticed his connection to the original soul was limited to a single, tiny fragment, in contrast to its collective whole. Yet this minuscule connection was enough to make him unrivaled in learning.
Without the soul power supply from this original soul, how could his powerful learning ability support its own energy consumption?
A great vessel wouldn’t move without fuel.
The myriad of calculations and thought processes had been supported by this tiny fragment of the original soul all this time.
It wasn’t until Vaan entered the mythical Astral Soul Realm and discovered his connection to the original soul did he finally realized this. Before this, he only had some suspicions but couldn’t confirm them.
’Just a tiny fraction of soul power from the original soul is enough to surpass True Divinities. No wonder even a being like Empyrean Oceanheart couldn’t compare to me,’ Vaan thought.
However, Empyrean Oceanheart was an Empyrean God of the Magic Path, not the Soul Path. Thus, such a comparison was flawed from the beginning.
That said, if Vaan wanted to draw more soul power from the original soul, he figured out that it wouldn’t be possible unless he repaired the existing cracks that separated each soul fragment.
Considering the original soul possessed millions of fragments, a full recovery was undoubtedly a gargantuan task.
’Even if I want to restore the original soul, I must first figure out how to do it,’ Vaan pondered in thought.
From what he could observe thus far, absorbing the pure soul essence of the Astral Soul Realm didn’t help the original soul in any way—or at the very least, the amount was too minuscule that it virtually made no difference.
Ultimately, he still needed to initiate Soul Master Cultivation and acquire its universal abilities.
Only then could he start tackling the gargantuan task of restoring the original soul.
’As far as I know, there were no records of Soul Resonance guaranteeing entry to this mythical Astral Soul Realm. In fact, there weren’t any mentions between Soul Resonance and the Astral Soul Realm...’ Vaan recalled his vast knowledge.
Within his sea of information on Soul Master Cultivation, it only stated that achieving Soul Resonance was required to initiate it. At no point did it mention that Soul Resonance could grant access to the Astral Soul Realm.
In fact, the Astral Soul Realm was extremely difficult to enter, even for Soul Masters.
’That’s why it is considered a legendary and mythical place... The fact that I managed to stumble into this place on my first Soul Resonance can’t be attribute to luck and chance. This is obviously the work of my original soul,’ Vaan understood.
Of course, the contribution of the Ode of Pain and Joy couldn’t be denied.
Without its miraculous effects to condition his body and mind to enter the hyper relaxation state required for lucid dreaming, the chances of astral projection would have also been lowered.
Even so, the decisive factor for gaining entry to the Astral Soul Realm was connected to the original soul.
Since it was so difficult and rare to enter the Astral Soul Realm, Vaan definitely wasn’t in a hurry to leave, though a small part of him truly wished to. After all, the encounter with the ghostly, demonic woman was just too horrifying. ᚱАℕоʙÊS
He could still feel the lingering fear from the experience.
’Does everyone else also encounter such a deathly being when they enter the Astral Soul Realm?’ Vaan seriously wondered.
He still couldn’t figure out how that thing immobilized him.
It was like an invincible god, depriving him of all means of resistance. Only his thoughts were still his own. Still, such absolute power and authority left him feeling utterly helpless.
If not for the protection of the original soul, he would have most likely been devoured by it.
’Hm... Other beings entering the Astral Soul Realm for the first time wouldn’t have such divine protection... How do they live to tell the tale if they were killed by such dreadful beings?’ Vaan suddenly thought.
After a moment of contemplation, he realized getting devoured by the ghostly, demonic woman wouldn’t have resulted in his death.
’Most likely, what that thing tried to devour wasn’t my soul but my qualification to enter this mythical realm. This must be why most lucky beings who could even stumble into this place only get one chance...’ Vaan figured.
Without any special means of protection or offense, waiting to be slaughtered would be the only outcome once people encounter those deathly beings in the Astral Soul Realm.
’It is truly ill-fated to enter the Astral Soul Realm without foreknowledge and preparation,’ Vaan thought.
As Vaan freely explored the vast plains of the Astral Soul Realm, absorbing the seemingly endless pure soul essence that emerged from the ground, he also studied various ways to control it.
However, in his current astral form, he was but a mere mortal, stripped of all his abilities and powers. Not even his superintelligence and superior learning qualities were retained.
As such, when he absorbed the surrounding pure soul essence, it could only be done through direct contact. There were no other means currently available to him.
That said, even after a notable amount of absorption, he still couldn’t feel any changes in his original soul or his current astral form. It was like trying to fill a broken bucket with water: no matter how much water was poured in, it would never fill the bucket.
Of course, he only felt this way because his original soul was incomparably vast, while his rate of absorption was extremely poor—It couldn’t even be considered adding a drop in the ocean, but more like adding a speck of dust to the universe.
’At this rate, I am just wasting time... However, I cannot even feel the concept of time in this place... Perhaps I’m simply incapable of sensing it in my current circumstance...’ Vaan suspected.
As he spent more ’time’ wandering the vast plains of the Astral Soul Realm, he began to believe that even if he could absorb sufficient soul essence, it still wouldn’t be enough to restore his original soul.
The Beyond True Divinity Realm was far out of his current reach. A soul of this level would be incomparably intricate and complex.
How could a supply of soul essence energy be sufficient for its restoration?
Suddenly, Vaan became even more curious about Soul Master Cultivation. He had already achieved Soul Resonance, even entering the mythical Astral Soul Realm, and yet he still couldn’t acquire Soul Master abilities through his own effort.
Was it an unchangeable truth that one could only officially enter the doors of Soul Master Cultivation if one had a Soul Master as a teacher?
Was there no other way? If that was the case, how did the first Soul Master come about?
Vaan suddenly felt there were hidden dangers regarding Soul Masters.
Since Soul Masters could practically rewrite souls and transform other beings into their puppets, accepting a Soul Master teacher to enter Soul Master Cultivation possessed a certain level of risk.
Even if the Soul Master teacher didn’t have any malicious intent to control him, he would still be at a great disadvantage or even in great danger if they showed the slightest interest in his memories.
After all, being at the mercy of a Soul Master, it would be too easy for them to scour his memories.
Once they learned his secrets, his situation would become precarious.
’This won’t do. I have to rely on myself to enter the doors of Soul Master Cultivation,’ Vaan firmly decided.
He couldn’t afford to put his fate in the hands of others. The consequences would be too disastrous.
Suddenly, a familiar chill coursed through Vaan’s entire being.
It was the same terror when the previous ghostly, demonic woman appeared and deprived him of his movements and voice, attempting to devour him.
Fortunately, he was aware of the original soul’s divine protection. Thus, the intensity of the terror wasn’t as strong as before. Most of the fear came from the unknown. Now that he knew better, his fear was naturally manageable.
Vaan carefully observed a new ghostly, demonic being manifest from a gathering of soul essence, adopting the form of another humanoid woman.
’Is this supposed to be the general form of my greatest fear?’ The corner of Vaan’s mouth twitched in thought.
Nevertheless, he hoped to learn something new from this second encounter.
Perhaps he could comprehend the ghostly, demonic woman’s ability. Even if he couldn’t learn anything, he had to be sure to observe everything in detail.
After all, once he returned to reality, he might gain some insights by reviewing everything with his superintelligence.
"Come at me. I’m not afraid of you!" Vaan proactively provoked the ghostly, demonic woman.
Swish!
In that instance, their eyes locked, and Vaan lost control of his movements and voice once more, becoming paralyzed and muted. Similarly, his body soon floated, flinging toward the opponent.
However, Vaan continued to stare boldly at the ghostly, demonic woman, like as if they were having a showdown. He confronted his fear and burned every detail into his eyes.
Unexpectedly, as he flew across a couple of hundred meters, closing the distance between, his resolute expression quickly turned strange when he noticed the ghostly, demonic woman shrink in size.
Ultimately, the ghostly, demonic woman was reduced to the size of a watermelon by the time he arrived at her location. As such, he became a towering figure, looking down on the small being.
More importantly, the ghostly, demonic woman became too weak to maintain her absolute control over his movements and voice.
As such, Vaan easily broke free from her control.
Unfortunately, the ghostly, demonic woman did not appear to be an intelligent lifeform but rather some sort of law manifestation protecting the Astral Soul Realm. Otherwise, he figured she would have already expressed signs of dumbfoundedness in this current situation.
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