Three days later, Xue Yuheng ran out of Creation Points. With no other choice, he had to perform Martial Soul Fusion and dual cultivation with Rou.
He was back to the miserable routine of gaining one point of the Power of Creation every hour.
Come on, strike me with lightning!
This also made Xue Yuheng feel a little as though he were betraying Xiao Xiao. He had clearly promised her he wouldn't cultivate through Martial Soul Fusion with any other girl.
Ahem, Xiao Xiao, this really was an accident.
Fortunately, this girl was Rou.
To perform Martial Soul Fusion with Prince Gan! This was fate... This was her destined one... This was...
Rou had already started letting her imagination run wild.
Seeing how unsurprised His Highness looked, he must have realized long ago that they could perform Martial Soul Fusion. This time, he'd only pretended not to care so she could find out for herself.
Sure enough... Prince Gan liked her.
But why was he pretending not to care?
Xue Yuheng had no idea that Rou, across from him, had already picked out names for their future children.
Time passed without them noticing.
Xue Yuheng and Rou had already spent two months in the storm space of the First Heaven.
Before coming, after learning about the layout of the space beneath Dragon Suppression Cliff,
the nine of them had each prepared plenty of supplies, so even if they were separated, they wouldn't have to worry about food.
Yesterday, Yue, who had gone with Xiao Xiao, returned and said that Xiao Xiao had surpassed her and gone on to the Twenty-Fifth Heaven.
The storms of the Twenty-Fifth Heaven were already stronger than those of most ordinary Titled Douluo. Physical strength and comprehension of the Laws weren't Yue's strong suits.
So the Twenty-Fourth Heaven was already her limit.
But Xiao Xiao, with a God-Level Martial Soul and body, had managed to set foot in the Twenty-Fifth Heaven by relying on Goddess Transformation.
Yue teased Xue Yuheng and Rou, saying she'd never seen such a beautiful woman.
She was like a goddess descended to the mortal world.
Rou naturally realized that Yue was saying this on purpose for her to hear. She felt down for a while, but after more than a month of Martial Soul Fusion, she was now a little giddy and losing sight of her place.
When a girl complimented another girl's looks,
either she was being sarcastic, or the other girl's beauty really was heaven-defying.
Xue Yuheng thought it was the latter, because he had seen what Xiao Xiao looked like after she'd "grown up."
Even so, Xue Yuheng chose to stay with Rou on the First Heaven. After asking about the progress of the other five women, he began meditating again.
The wind Xue Yuheng now commanded was already comparable to the force produced by a seventh- or eighth-level Wind-type Soul Master.
As for the First Heaven's upper limit—level ten—
he still had a little way to go.
And that little gap would require a geometrically greater amount of study and effort.
Meanwhile, in the Twenty-Fifth Heaven,
the void was torn apart by blue-black gales.
The endless currents and pitch-black spatial rifts had shredded the stones into tiny fragments, leaving nowhere to set foot.
Xiao Xiao skillfully wielded the Law of Wind, hovering in the void with the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron braced before her. Its surface was already covered in tiny cracks and worn spots.
In her Goddess Transformation state, she had shed her usual sweet charm and become a cold, breathtaking beauty.
The gales had cut off her long hair, and her green dress had been ripped to shreds, left in tatters. Yet Xiao Xiao's expression remained remarkably calm.
Her Soul Power was draining away. Every time a gale struck her body, it sent sharp pain through her meridians.
The wind here was no longer mere force.
It was a Law—the manifestation of the source of the Law of Wind, capable of tearing everything apart.
Xiao Xiao had managed to hold on this long only thanks to the God-Level body granted by the Four Symbols Cauldron and the boost from Goddess Transformation.
But all defenses had their limits.
A gale carrying a spatial rift slammed hard into the cauldron.
Crack—
The fissures widened at once, and her Goddess Transformation nearly fell apart.
Xiao Xiao grunted, a thin line of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"I'm almost there..."
She murmured to herself, her gaze unwavering.
This was the first time she had left Xue Yuheng behind and gone forward alone.
Xiao Xiao didn't want to remain someone who was always protected. She wanted to grow stronger—strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
The gales struck again, more violent than before.
The void split open wider, and pitch-black rifts swallowed everything.
Xiao Xiao's defenses were on the verge of collapse, and her Soul Power was almost exhausted. If she lost her Goddess Transformation state, she would have to retreat to the Twenty-Fourth Heaven.
The gale closed in at once, tearing her sleeve and leaving several bloody gashes on her arm.
Xiao Xiao smiled brightly. She had finally figured out the movement patterns of the wind on this level. Instead of resisting, she began guiding the power of the gales.
Phantoms of the Golden Crow and Xuanwu emerged from the cauldron as Soul Power spread outward.
The raging gales actually began to flow slowly under her guidance.
Using her own Soul Power as a guide, Xiao Xiao drew the force of the wind into the cauldron.
The Xuanwu phantom steadied its core, while the Golden Crow phantom dispelled the gales' ferocity, gradually taming and controlling them.
The power of the two symbols, with the Law of Wind as their medium, achieved a perfect fusion for the first time.
The light of Goddess Transformation grew brighter, and her figure steadied amid the currents.
The gales were no longer her enemy. They had become Xiao Xiao's aid.
Xiao Xiao rode the wind's currents, weaving between the spatial rifts.
Every dodge was precise. Every time she guided the wind, her understanding of the Law of Wind deepened.
She gradually brought the currents in the void under her control.
Standing at the heart of the storm, Xiao Xiao's cold face revealed a hint of madness.
She took out an inner core that was pure white jade in color.
The White Tiger Inner Core of the White Tiger Duke Mansion.
Xiao Xiao intended to use the impact of the gales to fuse the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron with it!
The White Tiger Inner Core fell into the cauldron, radiating tremendous power and Soul Power. It clashed violently with the turbulent gales inside the Four Symbols Cauldron.
Cracks spread across the cauldron. The pain made Xiao Xiao tremble all over. Her Soul Power had long since neared exhaustion, and blood kept dripping from the corner of her mouth, but her gaze remained firm and she showed no sign of backing down.
The gales and the power of the inner core completely spun out of control.
The violent energies crashed wildly inside the cauldron. The Four Symbols Cauldron let out a piercing hum, and the light of Goddess Transformation dimmed in an instant. It looked ready to burst.
At this desperate moment, Xiao Xiao suddenly raised her hand, and a streak of green light appeared at her waist.
A long flute, emerald green like bamboo, materialized.
Her Second Martial Soul!
The Nine Phoenixes Flute!
Ignoring the tearing pain in her meridians, Xiao Xiao poured the last trace of her Soul Power into the flute and pressed her lips to its mouthpiece.
A clear, rousing melody burst forth, cutting through the wind!
The flute's song grew louder and louder, carried on the wind. Every note brimmed with unyielding resolve, sweeping through the entire void in an instant.
The turbulent gales were actually soothed by the flute's song, while the violent power of the White Tiger Inner Core gradually subsided. Guided by the melody, the two energies surged toward the Four Symbols Cauldron.
The cracks in the cauldron healed rapidly. The White Tiger phantom gradually took shape, forming a triangle with the Golden Crow and Xuanwu phantoms. Their power surged higher and higher!
The White Tiger Inner Core had been successfully fused.
Only the final ingredient, Dragon Clan Essence, remained. Once Xiao Xiao obtained it, her Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron would be complete.
By now, Xiao Xiao's understanding of the Law of Wind had reached a state of consummate mastery!
This was the heaven-defying comprehension of the Laws granted by a God-Level Martial Soul.
And deep within the eye of the storm in the Thirty-Three Heavens,
a streak of blue dragon breath passed through the void. A hint of approval shone in its green dragon eyes as it quietly watched the figure at the heart of the storm, steadfast despite the little cauldron and flute floating around her.
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