Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

Walking across the vast land of the Second Level of the Heavenly Palace, Wen Yu calmed himself. While casually harvesting Level 2 Demon Fiends and dead spirits from the Universe of Immortals and Heroes along the way, he continued his conversation with the Almighty Demon Vine.

”Are there any other locations we need to explore up there?”

”None on the third layer, but there’s one on the fourth, and even more above that!”

”There are many treasures within the Heavenly Palace, but they are primarily concentrated in the uppermost layers. Given your current strength, I recommend you go to the sixth layer to enhance your power before advancing further.”

”I think I can go to the seventh layer and hunt Level 7 Demonic Beasts to increase my strength.”

Wen Yu had a clear assessment of his own strength: a Peak Level 7 physique was 20,000 points, a threshold that was not insurmountable for him.

”What I’m suggesting is a reasonably balanced approach to risks and rewards. Going to the seventh layer now would likely be quite difficult.”

”Just calculate how strong you would be at Level 7, and you’ll get an idea of how high the combat power of the strongest Level 7 beings can be!”

”If you encounter those beings, you might not even be able to escape!”

”I must remind you that the Universe of Immortals and Heroes once contended with the Demon Tribe, and powerful experts emerged from it endlessly. In fact, we might encounter danger by the time we reach the fifth layer.”

We could encounter danger as early as the fifth layer...

In other words, on the Fifth Layer of the Heavenly Palace, there would be beings whose strength was comparable to Wen Yu’s.

Wen Yu had always been self-aware. If he could reach such heights at Peak Level 5, why couldn’t the Demon Tribe or the Universe of Immortals and Heroes achieve the same?

The world doesn’t revolve around me alone.

So.

”Let’s head up first; we can decide specifics later. By the way, you mentioned earlier that there’s a place worth exploring on the fourth layer. Where is it?”

”A plantation, a spirit herb garden—call it what you will. It’s simply a place where spirit herbs and Immortal Herbs are cultivated.”

Spiritual Medicine? Immortal Herbs?

Upon hearing the Almighty Demon Vine’s words, Wen Yu immediately recalled scenes from the cultivation novels he had read online before the apocalypse.

Suddenly, a conjecture sprang to Wen Yu’s mind.

”Those Spiritual Medicines, they’re all plants, right?”

”Yes.”

The Almighty Demon Vine’s answer was quite certain.

”Then tell me, could they mutate? Could the Immortal Herbs cultivated on the fourth layer transform into a mutated plant and suddenly jump to a higher tier?”

This was just a simple hypothesis from Wen Yu, akin to casual small talk—like discussing ”How’s the weather today?” when two people are walking together.

However, the Almighty Demon Vine’s response made Wen Yu suddenly consider another possible truth behind the entire matter.

”Impossible!”

The Almighty Demon Vine’s answer was very definite.

”Those are item-class plants recognized by the Dominator. They’ve already lost certain characteristics of life forms and, with them, the potential for Evolution!”

Lost certain characteristics of life forms...

Outwardly, Wen Yu remained expressionless, but inwardly, his mind was in turmoil.

He quickly replayed everything that had transpired in his mind.

The Almighty Demon Vine... it’s very similar to the vines I encountered in HL Town. But one is a mutant creature, and the other is an item...

Where did the essential difference between the two lie? Soul... Does that mean...

But that doesn’t make sense either. The Faceless also lacks a Soul, yet it was still classified by the Dominator as a living organism and could be contracted by me.

The endless conjectures bubbling up in his mind left Wen Yu’s thoughts in a complete tangle!

”We’re here.”

A Spiritual Fluctuation from the Almighty Demon Vine interrupted Wen Yu’s speculation.

Looking at the Almighty Demon Vine beside him, Wen Yu’s expression remained unchanged. While rapidly processing all the known information, he slowly stepped into the teleportation array formation.

No matter the truth, speculation is ultimately just that—speculation. What I should do now is take the benefits offered by the Almighty Demon Vine, enhance my strength, uncover the truth, and figure out the Almighty Demon Vine’s true objective. I’ll just play it by ear—that’s been my strategy ever since I entered this place!

With a flash of teleportation light, Wen Yu arrived at the Third Layer of the Heavenly Palace in the blink of an eye.

Slightly damp air, refreshingly cool, wafted towards him, and the comfortable temperature made Wen Yu feel at ease.

”There’s nothing noteworthy here; let’s continue upward.”

There was nothing of importance on the third layer—the Almighty Demon Vine had informed him of this long ago, and Wen Yu had no particular interest in the modest benefits it offered.

After entering the Ten Heavens Palace Treasure Land, Wen Yu had roughly surmised the nature of this treasure land—it was like a combination of a large-scale treasure warehouse and a training ground. Clearly, the primary function of the third layer was to provide points and magic crystals for professionists of Level 3 and above.

From a certain perspective, points and magic crystals could also be considered treasures in their own right.

”We’ll go that way.”

The Almighty Demon Vine surveyed the surroundings and then decisively indicated the passage for Wen Yu to continue upward.

This time, Wen Yu was very lucky.

In less than ten minutes, Wen Yu had already found the path to the Fourth Level of the Heavenly Palace.

He quickly estimated the progress of the professionists below. Apart from a few lucky individuals, likely no one was progressing faster than him!

Even with the combined strength of Tang Haofei and the military, they were likely still on the Second Level of the Heavenly Palace, busy with large-scale clearing operations.

After briefly assessing his current progress and considering his potential competitors, Wen Yu decisively stepped into the teleportation array formation.

The fourth layer corresponded to Level 4.

Under the current Level Five Cap, the importance of Level 4 was self-evident.

For Level 5 professionists wishing to increase their strength and earn magic crystals and points, Level 4 Demon Fiends were ideal hunting targets, especially considering safety. Even for Wen Yu, Level 4 was not a tier to be underestimated—the flesh and blood of Level 4 Demon Fiends would significantly enhance his physique.

The Almighty Demon Vine’s words also made Wen Yu realize that his true test was about to begin!

”The three layers below were mostly used by the Universe of Immortals and Heroes as training grounds for new recruits. The battle intensity there was generally not high, nor was the scale large. However, starting from the fourth layer, battles transitioned to large-scale group operations. I must also remind you that there were some special individuals in the former Universe of Immortals and Heroes.”

”You can think of them as the direct disciples of various sects; they generally possessed the ability to break through limits. In my memory, there were three young individuals on the Level 4 battlefield who were powerful enough to dominate an entire region.”

”You can compare their standing to your and Tang Haofei’s current status on Earth.”