Yin Yang Pearl Acquired, Seclusion

"You've taken a liking to it, little guy?"

Cang Wu chuckled and teased him. Little Marten gave an awkward laugh at that. His demonic spirit was still very weak, and if he had to recover on his own, who knew how long it would take?

The weaker a demonic spirit—or a soul—was, the harder it was to recover. As its strength grew, its recovery would gradually speed up.

Cang Wu waved a hand indifferently. He wasn't interested in it, and a demonic spirit like this was of no use to him anyway. After all, he had no taste for eating demonic spirits or demonic beasts.

"I'll give it to you, since you helped him wake me up."

As he spoke, Cang Wu's expression grew a little more serious. Though he had awakened from his slumber, he was still only a remnant soul, and he had burned through his Reincarnation earlier, greatly weakening his power.

Before he obtained a physical body, the limit of the power his remnant soul could recover to was roughly equivalent to the Primal Core Realm Great Perfection. That was about the same level as the Azure Water Demonic Python before them.

Still, even with only the power of the Primal Core Realm Great Perfection, Cang Wu could bring out strength far beyond that level.

Cang Wu swept both hands through the air, and countless fine black threads shot from his palms, weaving into a net that completely trapped the Azure Water Demonic Python's demonic spirit.

Perhaps sensing danger, the Azure Water Demonic Python's demonic spirit, which had been slumbering inside the deep-blue orb of light, woke up.

The moment its demonic spirit flew out of the deep-blue orb, the fine black threads around it had already begun to coil around it. Waves of immense suction burst forth, continuously draining the Azure Water Demonic Python's energy.

The Azure Water Demonic Python was startled at first. But when it realized the black threads weren't attacking it too fiercely, it whipped its tail at them.

"Whoosh!"

The python's tail swept through the air and knocked down a swath of black threads. The Azure Water Demonic Python let out a hiss, sounding rather pleased with itself, as if it thought the threads were too weak to pose any threat.

Lin Dong's expression changed at the sight, and he even took several frightened steps back. Cang Wu glanced at him and chuckled.

"Kid, watch closely and learn!"

Lin Dong was taken aback. The Azure Water Demonic Python lashed its tail again, preparing to attack, only to find that the black threads it had knocked down hadn't snapped. Instead, they had wrapped around its tail.

When the threads had been knocked aside, they had released a force that stung the python's tail. Then, taking advantage of the pain, they began to siphon off the Azure Water Demonic Python's energy.

"Hiss!"

The Azure Water Demonic Python roared and whipped its tail even harder, trying to break free of the strange black threads.

But the more it thrashed, the more threads wound around it. They were neither sharp nor tough; they didn't cut the python's tail or restrain it. Instead, they clung to it like the patterns on its scales.

At one point, Cang Wu suddenly raised his palm toward the Azure Water Demonic Python. Then he clenched his open hand and gave a low shout.

"Bind!"

At Cang Wu's command, all the black threads snapped taut. After struggling for so long and having much of its power drained, the Azure Water Demonic Python's demonic spirit could no longer fight back. In an instant, the threads imprisoned it.

Cang Wu raised his hand and drew it in. The Azure Water Demonic Python's demonic spirit once again became a small orb of light and landed in his palm.

"Here you go, little guy."

He casually tossed the demonic spirit to Little Marten, then took a deep breath and stepped forward to the three Yin Yang Pearls. His eyes filled with excitement and anticipation.

Cang Wu casually chose the Yin Yang Pearl with the most abundant energy and tossed the other two directly to Lin Dong. Then he said, "Kid, I need to go into seclusion at the bottom of this pool for a while. Try not to get into trouble while I'm gone. I don't want to come out of seclusion and find you dead."

"Rest assured, Senior. I won't disturb your seclusion."

Lin Dong gave an awkward smile. He grabbed Little Marten, who was beside him, happily hugging the demonic spirit, and started to pull him along.

"Kid, don't drag Lord Marten around! Lord Marten can go back by himself!"

Little Marten swatted Lin Dong's hand away. Then he swallowed the Azure Water Demonic Python's demonic spirit, which could no longer put up any resistance, and slipped into Lin Dong's body, returning to the Ancestral Stone Space.

At last, the Ancestral Stone Space belonged to Lord Marten alone again!

After watching Lin Dong leave, Cang Wu turned his attention to the Yin Yang Pearl before him.

His illusory body sat cross-legged inside the cave, while the Yin Yang Pearl hovered near his dantian, drawn there by his power.

"Buzz!"

Then, waves of strange power surged from Cang Wu's body and flowed into the Yin Yang Pearl.

That strange power was also black and white, just like the Yin Yang Pearl. But it wasn't Yin Yang Qi—it was Life and Death Power.

Among the Eight Great Ancestral Talismans, Cang Wu had never been the wielder of the Life and Death Ancestor Talisman. Even so, the Way of Life and Death was the power he was second-best at wielding.

The reason was that the Devouring Ancestral Talisman and the Life and Death Ancestor Talisman shared an unusually close connection. The Devouring Ancestral Talisman had been born first because it naturally possessed the Devouring Power.

Among the Eight Great Ancestral Talismans, the Life and Death Ancestor Talisman had been the hardest to bring forth, because its Life and Death Power was so profound and powerful. It had even come close to remaining incomplete.

At the final moment, the Devouring Ancestral Talisman took the Life and Death Ancestor Talisman into itself and nurtured it with its own power, allowing it to be born successfully.

As a result, the Devouring Ancestral Talisman had already been infused with a trace of Life and Death Power. Moreover, although Cang Wu and the Lord of Life and Death were known as senior sister and junior brother, they were actually brother and sister. They were close and had spent more time together than with anyone else.

Later, when the great war between heaven and earth erupted, Cang Wu was the strongest. He also had the greatest range of methods and fought the hardest, so he was often wounded. The Lord of Life and Death frequently used the Life and Death Ancestor Talisman to heal him. She even entrusted it to Cang Wu so he could use its source power to recover.

Through all of this, Cang Wu attained an extremely high level of mastery over the Way of Life and Death. That was why he could be reborn without the Life and Death Reincarnation Pill, relying solely on his own Life and Death Power and Yin Yang Qi.

The Life and Death Power flowed into the Yin Yang Pearl, drawing wisps of Yin Yang Qi out from within it.

Countless strands of black-and-white Yin Yang Qi emerged from the Yin Yang Pearl, one after another, circling Cang Wu. Gradually, they interwove, slowly enveloping his illusory figure.

Before long, a figure woven from black and white had appeared in the underground cave. As time passed, a faint trace of vitality gradually radiated from it.