Chapter 146: Soul Splitting

Senior, I just wanted to ask how much time is left before the Land of Immortal Herbs opens? Yin Tianfang asked.
At least another three years, the golden true dragon replied.
Hearing this, Yin Tianfang's heart instantly settled. Three years would be more than enough; during this time, his cultivation would undoubtedly reach the next level.
Since he had decided to muddy these waters, Yin Tianfang asked no more questions. Sitting cross-legged in the cave, he flipped his wrist, and a jade bottle appeared in his palm. Inside the bottle, a crimson medicinal pill emitted a faint, pleasant fragrance. This crimson pill was none other than the Soul-Dividing Pill that Yin Tianfang had spent months refining.
The Soul-Dividing Pill was an essential elixir required to practice the Art of the Threefold Soul. Once ingested, the consequences were irreversible: either he would succeed, splitting his divine soul into three, or he would fail, shattering his soul and perishing.
Even with the Soul-Dividing Pill in hand, cultivating the Art of the Threefold Soul demanded immense courage.
Holding the pill, Yin Tianfang stared at it quietly for a long time. Finally, resolving himself, he threw his head back and swallowed it.
The pill melted the moment it touched his tongue, and a strange, wondrous power spread through his body, eventually surging entirely into his sea of consciousness to envelop his divine soul.
A miserable scream suddenly tore from Yin Tianfang's throat. The agony of having one's divine soul torn apart was something even someone with a will as unyielding as iron could scarcely endure.
Beads of sweat as large as peas rolled down his forehead, and moments later, his clothes were completely soaked through. Sitting cross-legged in the cave, Yin Tianfang clenched his teeth tightly as wave after wave of soul-splitting torment washed over him, submerging him entirely.
Within his sea of consciousness, his soul was merely a gentle, warm ball of white light.
A cultivator who had not yet reached the Nascent Soul realm possessed a soul without a fixed form. Only upon attaining the Core Formation realm did the soul merge with the golden core; when the core shattered to form the infant, the soul took residence within the Nascent Soul, thus acquiring a human shape. Once the Nascent Soul grew to a certain degree, it transformed into the Primordial Spirit.
At this moment, inside Yin Tianfang's sea of consciousness, that warm ball of soul light was enveloped by a bizarre energy. Under its influence, the light sphere slowly began to divide. To split a complete soul into three—whether for an ordinary person or a cultivator—could only ever lead to one definitive end: death.
Dividing the soul was no child's play.
Fortunately, Yin Tianfang had ingested the Soul-Dividing Pill beforehand. Even as his soul was torn apart, it would prevent him from perishing body and soul. The mysterious energy within the elixir guaranteed that his soul would remain intact even after the division. Such was the miraculous nature of the Soul-Dividing Pill.
Yet the pain during the process of soul division was beyond what ordinary people could endure. Nevertheless, this was a torment Yin Tianfang had to bear. He could not afford to lose consciousness; once he fainted, he would never wake again.
On the golden longsword, ripples of golden light stirred. The previously dormant golden dragon materialized, staring fixedly at Yin Tianfang, a trace of solemnity evident in its golden pupils.
To dare cultivate even this technique—this kid is truly beyond bold. But wasn't this technique long lost to the ages? the golden true dragon muttered to itself, its gaze seemingly piercing through everything to observe the state of Yin Tianfang's sea of consciousness directly.
It seems those old fellows are not completely dead yet. This is getting interesting.
With a murmuring voice and a look of profound significance, the golden true dragon glanced at Yin Tianfang once more before dissolving back into the golden longsword. The sword soared straight up from the ground, transforming into a streak of golden light that plunged into Yin Tianfang's glabella and entered his sea of consciousness.
The golden longsword hovered within his sea of consciousness, radiating a faint golden glow like a miniature golden sun.
The golden light shone down upon Yin Tianfang's soul, bathing it in warmth and alleviating a fraction of the excruciating agony.
Sitting cross-legged in the cave, Yin Tianfang endured the intense pain, maintaining his clarity of mind throughout. His soul was separating, bit by bit.
Time flowed like water, and months passed in the blink of an eye. Within the Snake-People Tribe, ever since Yin Tianfang had escaped from Yue Mei's clutches days ago, countless individuals had scoured the surrounding mountains for his whereabouts. However, after a month of fruitless searching without a single trace of Yin Tianfang, the tribe gradually abandoned the pursuit.
After all, failing to find him after a full month led them to believe he had already fled beyond the borders of their territory. The Divine Medicine Mountain Range was boundless; trying to find a single person there was undoubtedly like searching for a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, they could not afford to waste excessive manpower on hunting down Yin Tianfang.
As time progressed, an increasing number of cultivators entered the Divine Medicine Mountain Range, making the entire region far livelier than before. Yet, for the Snake-People Tribe, this was hardly good news.
The purpose of these people entering the mountain range was glaringly obvious. As the guardian race of the immortal herb, the tribesmen naturally felt an immense wave of pressure.
In the central territory of the Snake-People Tribe stood an ancient stone mountain. Viewed from afar, the peak did not appear particularly tall. Yet every member of the tribe knew of the mountain's miraculous properties.
The closer one approached, the taller the mountain seemed to grow. When one finally stood at its foot and looked up, the peak soared into the clouds, its summit entirely invisible.
This stone mountain was a forbidden zone for the tribe, a symbol of their spiritual heritage, and an exceptionally powerful magical artifact.
Within the tribe, a rumor had long persisted that this stone mountain was an immortal artifact left behind by an immensely powerful immortal, designed to ensure the survival of the Snake-People Tribe so that they could generation after generation guard the immortal herb nestled within the mountains.
Although the Snake-People Tribe had once been widespread across the continent, their women's enchanting beauty had led to them being hunted and captured by numerous nobles, rendering them extremely rare in the present day and forcing them into hiding within this mountain range. Nonetheless, through endless ages, the core of the tribe had always adhered to the ancient covenant, remaining rooted in this land.
On this particular day, the stone mountain trembled. From the previously unremarkable peak, wisps of immortal Qi drifted forth. A vicissitudinous and mighty will emanating from the ancient stone mountain instantly swept across the entire Snake-People Tribe.
In that instant, throughout the mountains, countless snake-people—regardless of whether they were in the middle of cultivation or attending to other matters—sensation of this powerful will caused them to drop to their knees in reverent kowtow, looking toward the central stone mountain with fanatical expressions.