Leaving the Heavenly Tomb

Xiao Xuan restored his power to its peak.

Then he rose into the air.

A soul force as unfathomable as the sea surged out of his body!

It shot toward a certain direction within the Heavenly Tomb!

A moment later, a colossal face spanning ten thousand zhang appeared in the sky.

Its features were filled with a strange, indifferent expression.

"Xiao Xuan, we've always minded our own business. Are you trying to break our agreement today? I am the Heavenly Tomb! If you don't want to die, stop at once and admit your mistake! Perhaps I'll even spare your life!"

The Soul of the Heavenly Tomb's cold voice, edged with a hint of menace, boomed through the Heavenly Tomb like a peal of thunder.

Xiao Xuan smiled faintly. "You're nothing but a remnant soul condensed within the Heavenly Tomb, yet you dare call yourself the Heavenly Tomb! Hand over your Soul Origin!"

"Since you're asking for death, I'll grant it!"

The Soul of the Heavenly Tomb's enormous face suddenly twisted.

An extremely violent Soul Storm blasted from its mouth, transforming into a thousand-zhang-long spike that shot toward Xiao Xuan!

"Snap. Shatter!"

Xiao Xuan snapped his fingers, and the spike instantly burst apart.

Right after, Xiao Xuan flicked a finger. A pitch-black orb of light shot out, transforming into a prison tens of thousands of zhang across and enveloping the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb.

Terror appeared on the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb's face, and its voice carried a note of fear. "Xiao Xuan, we've lived together for a thousand years. How about we each take a step back?"

Xiao Xuan ignored it.

The Soul of the Heavenly Tomb roared, "Since that's how it is, I'd rather self-destruct than let you benefit from this!!"

"Break!"

Xiao Xuan swept his sleeve, sending countless needles of pure Dou Qi flying.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft...

The needles stabbed into the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb again and again. Its body, which had swelled up moments before, quickly shriveled like a deflating ball!

The Soul of the Heavenly Tomb took the opportunity to transform into a humanlike figure. Its blood-red, furious eyes fixed on Xiao Xuan.

It brimmed with murderous intent.

"Xiao Xuan!! You and I are sworn enemies!"

The Soul of the Heavenly Tomb formed hand seals.

A soul spear hundreds of zhang long shot from its mouth, smashing through the barrier Xiao Xuan had formed before rushing toward him.

Xiao Xuan raised his hand and tapped the air with a fingertip. Ripples of Dou Qi spread outward!

The soul spear, trailing a sharp sonic boom, was effortlessly dispelled by those ripples!

"Xiao Xuan, I was wrong. I'm willing to acknowledge you as my master. Please spare me."

When the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb saw its attack vanish into thin air once again, it finally panicked and cried out for mercy.

Its voice trembled.

"No need. Soul-Absorbing Palm!"

Xiao Xuan chuckled softly as a terrifying suction force took shape in his palm.

Then he swung it at the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb!

A sudden, violent disturbance rippled through the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb's mouth, as though something were being forcibly dragged out of it!

"Ah! Xiao Xuan, I'll fight you to the death!"

The terrified Soul of the Heavenly Tomb struggled frantically.

It was no use.

It immediately decided to self-destruct its soul and take Xiao Xuan down with it!

Xiao Xuan swept his sleeve, and a terrifying gust of wind once again enveloped the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb.

It could no longer move at all.

Then a translucent ring of light, about a zhang across, was pulled out of the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb's body.

This was the Soul Origin of the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb.

It contained extremely pure soul force, the perfect nourishment for repairing his soul!

The Soul of the Heavenly Tomb, which had been shouting and making threats all along, was also smashed to pieces by Xiao Xuan's palm, vanishing completely from the world.

"Come!"

Xiao Xuan drew in the ring of light with a wave of his hand, and it came to hover before him.

[ Ding! Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb. Converting and repairing your soul body...]

[ Ding! Congratulations, host. Your soul body has been fully repaired. Reward: Method for Restoring the Physical Body. Please claim it yourself.]

[ Ding! The Soul Origin of the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb is exceptionally pure. Restoring the host's soul force. Estimated time (time within the Heavenly Tomb): three years. Please wait patiently...]

He immediately sat down in midair.

And so, another three years passed!

On this day, Xiao Xuan's tightly shut eyes suddenly opened.

At the same time, the space of the Heavenly Tomb began to tremble violently.

An energy fluctuation, as if it belonged to the ruler of heaven and earth, spread out from Xiao Xuan's body!

The Soul Origin of the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb had been far too pure.

Not only had it completely repaired Xiao Xuan's soul body, it had even returned his soul force to the Emperor Realm!

With his current soul force, Xiao Xuan could contend with an eight-star Dou Sheng without falling behind!

Moreover, since he had refined the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb, this space created by a Dou Di in ancient times now belonged to him.

Everything within the Heavenly Tomb was within his perception.

Now, with a single thought, he could enter the Heavenly Tomb from anywhere on the continent.

As for everyone else, without his permission, even a nine-star Dou Sheng capable of tearing through space could not enter.

It was practically a mobile sanctuary.

[ Ding! The host has successfully returned to an Emperor Realm Soul. A soul-technique gift pack has been prepared. Please claim it yourself!]

Xiao Xuan eagerly opened it for a look.

These soul techniques were terrifyingly powerful. Some of them, if unleashed, would rival high-tier Dou Techniques!

As expected, the system really was incredible!

With his soul repaired, all that remained was to reforge his physical body!

Xiao Xuan opened the system's options and saw that it had provided him with three ways to restore his physical body!

The first was the method Yao Lao had prepared for refining a physical body.

This method wasn't too difficult. It only required refining a pill, obtaining a physical body suited to his preferences, and using three kinds of Heavenly Flames.

With his current strength, meeting these three requirements would be no trouble at all.

The second was to find a physical body of suitable strength and seize it through possession.

Now that he had an Emperor Realm Soul, he could possess anyone whose soul force had not reached the Emperor Realm.

Gu Yuan and Hun Tiandi were both excellent choices, but their strength was too great. He could easily end up paying for it himself.

As for anyone else...

He hadn't thought of a suitable body yet.

The third was to continually devour powerful souls, medicinal herbs and treasures containing the energy of heaven and earth, and Heavenly Flames.

This path would be difficult.

But—

Using these energies as a base and the method of refinement the system had given him, he could turn them into a body of flesh and blood.

Once his physical body was complete, his strength would recover to the peak of the nine-star Dou Sheng level!

He might even reach the Half-Step Dou Di level.

Xiao Xuan stroked his chin and thought for a while before deciding that the third option would be his first choice, followed by the first. As for the second...

He'd wait for an opportunity.

Perhaps there was a suitable body in the north or south of the continent?

Now, aside from the dense energy of heaven and earth, there were no other energy bodies left in the Heavenly Tomb for Xiao Xuan to devour.

In the days that followed, Xiao Xuan practiced all kinds of soul techniques within the Heavenly Tomb!

He practiced almost one soul technique a day!

In just over a month, he had mastered every soul technique from the system's latest reward.

I wonder if Nalan Yanran, Hun Tiandi's lifelong nemesis, has gone to Wutan City to break off the engagement yet. And is Gu Yuan still going to send Gu Xun'er to the Xiao Family as in the original story, waiting for a chance to seize the Ancient Jade of the Xiao Clan?

Never mind. I'll go out and see for myself first.

Xiao Xuan sighed, then raised his hand and lightly traced a line through the empty space before him. A spatial rift appeared.

Without looking back, he stepped into the rift and vanished.

He was curious to see the spectacular expressions on Hun Tiandi and Gu Yuan's faces when they saw him again!