Nine Deaths White Bone Claw, Martial Soul Recovery

After blocking the Dark Night Fierce Mantis's sinister light, Xing Tian immediately shifted his stance, and a bestial roar erupted from within his body out of thin air.

Even a creature as savage as the Dark Night Fierce Mantis was shaken by this roar; its body stiffened, and it began to suffer from hallucinations.

A dark green, horned, lizard-like beast with a gaping maw appeared before it, threatening to swallow it whole, flesh and bone alike!

Taking advantage of the Dark Night Fierce Mantis's momentary daze, Xing Tian thrust his right hand forward. The mist surrounding his body condensed into a giant hand, which lunged toward the beast and reached it in the blink of an eye.

This move was the Impermanence Journey from the Nine Deaths White Bone Claw.

When the Impermanence sets out, it is to carry out the King of Hell's decree to reap souls.

If the King of Hell demands a man die at the third watch, who dares keep him until the fifth? Naturally, no one could block the Impermanence Journey.

"Caught you." Xing Tian's voice was cold as ice.

Nine Deaths White Bone Claw -- Impermanence Soul Hook!

The Dark Night Fierce Mantis snapped out of its trance only to find itself seized by a giant hand, dragged toward Xing Tian, and unable to break free.

Just as the Dark Night Fierce Mantis was pulled within range, Xing Tian deactivated the Impermanence Soul Hook. His hands moved like lightning, grabbing the joints of the beast's two forelimbs and twisting them violently.

The Dark Night Fierce Mantis let out a wail of pain, resentment, and fury. Its joints had been dislocated, and with its most important weapons rendered useless, it became a fish on the chopping block, left to Xing Tian's mercy.

"It's a good thing I've been practicing the Tendon-Splitting Bone-Dislocating Hand."

Xing Tian secretly rejoiced that he had learned the Tendon-Splitting Bone-Dislocating Hand while training his claw techniques and had kept up with it over the years. Otherwise, relying solely on the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art, which had only just passed its first death tribulation, would have made dealing with the Dark Night Fierce Mantis quite difficult.

Nine Deaths White Bone Claw -- Limb Severing Decapitation, activate!

Xing Tian condensed and compressed the true energy of the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art into his claws, lunging at the neck of the Dark Night Fierce Mantis and tearing outward to both sides.

The Dark Night Fierce Mantis was instantly decapitated. Thick, disgusting bodily fluids did not spray from the neck, as they were blocked by the dense mist, which even began to invade the wound.

This move was among the most powerful in the Nine Deaths White Bone Claw, but because Xing Tian's cultivation level was insufficient, he could not use it many times, and it required a brief charge-up before both claws could strike the same spot simultaneously.

That was why he had needed to use the Tendon-Splitting Bone-Dislocating Hand to buy time and aim for the most vulnerable neck.

However, the Dark Night Fierce Mantis was an insect-type soul beast; even after being decapitated, it would not die immediately, and its body could even move on instinct.

Although the recovery power of the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art was peerless in the world, capable of circulating endlessly on a single breath of martial energy, Xing Tian had only just passed his first death tribulation. Using the Nine Deaths White Bone Claw repeatedly in such a short time placed a heavy burden on him, leaving him somewhat overdrawn.

"Not dead yet? Perfect. Soul Seizing Spirit Snatching!"

The dark purple mist on Xing Tian's hands quickly enveloped the Dark Night Fierce Mantis. The next moment, the beast's body shriveled rapidly, and the mist flickered in waves, as if turning into a rushing river flowing into Xing Tian's body.

Xing Tian once again felt that familiar sense of comfort. The true energy he had consumed was restored, and even the fatigue from the battle vanished, though his cultivation level did not increase at all.

This was Xing Tian's principle of cultivation: using the plundering of others' cultivation to improve oneself was the lowest form of practice.

When only an empty shell remained of the Dark Night Fierce Mantis, Xing Tian withdrew his mist.

Pale purple light spots gradually emerged from the corpse, condensing at a height of three feet to form a pale purple ring.

"Kid, you're a monster. At level ten soul power, without even using your martial soul, you managed to kill a top-tier thousand-year soul beast so easily." Dugu Bo appeared instantly by Xing Tian's side.

Xing Tian replied modestly, "It was luck. My abilities are just a bit strange and happened to counter it."

Dugu Bo said expressionlessly, "You clearly haven't attached a soul ring yet, so how did you use so many skills just now? Self-Created Soul Skill? How old are you? I absolutely do not believe it!"

"Your Excellency Dugu, the difference between people is often greater than the difference between a man and a pig. Besides, the skills I just used are essentially just the external projection and control of soul power." No matter what, Xing Tian could not reveal the cultivation art he practiced.

"But this volume of soul power projection and such high-precision control is definitely not something a level ten soul master could achieve, not even those two seniors..."

Dugu Bo's doubts remained, but he finally sighed and said, "Very well, everyone has secrets. I won't pry further, but there is one thing you must do!"

"Please speak."

Dugu Bo's expression became exceptionally serious. "You just devoured the life force, spiritual power, and soul power of the Dark Night Fierce Mantis. Such methods are harmful to the natural order and easily lead one to become a Fallen One. Fallen Ones are a taboo among soul masters and the common enemy of all soul masters on the continent. Every faction has the responsibility to capture them, and they can be dealt with at will."

"Fortunately, you only used it for recovery, not for cultivation, and you didn't target other soul masters, but you are undoubtedly walking on the edge of the law."

Dugu Bo leaned down, his emerald eyes staring fixedly at Xing Tian. Nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—appeared, his killing intent fully exposed.

"So remember, in the future, you are absolutely forbidden from devouring soul masters to cultivate, nor can you devour soul beasts on a large scale to become a Fallen One. Otherwise, don't blame me for being heartless and killing you with my own hands!"

Xing Tian said solemnly, "I swear here by my martial soul and my future path of cultivation that I will never become a Fallen One. If I break this oath, may heaven and earth destroy me!"

"Good. Hurry and absorb the soul ring; it can only persist for one hour. Sit cross-legged, focus on your martial soul, and use your soul power to guide it to absorb it. Remember, no matter how the soul ring impacts you, you must not waver in the slightest."

"Yes!" Xing Tian sat cross-legged and began to absorb the soul ring as Dugu Bo instructed.

The moment the soul ring settled onto his body, the Nine Deaths Reincarnation Evil Art began to circulate involuntarily. Dark purple mist spread rapidly, completely shrouding Xing Tian, to the point that even Dugu Bo could barely see his figure.

A phantom of a mantis flickered within the mist; it was Xing Tian's yet-to-be-defined martial soul.

Following that, the essence of the Dark Night Fierce Mantis contained within the soul ring, carrying a rich aura of darkness and death, surged through Xing Tian's dantian and meridians.

The impact was indeed powerful, but the pain it brought was not even half of what Xing Tian had endured during his death tribulation.

As the essence of the Dark Night Fierce Mantis was absorbed, the previously blurry phantom of his martial soul began to clarify bit by bit from the chaos.

First came the patterns on the wings, then the sharp edges of the carapace, and then the curve of the forelimbs...

The mist gradually dissipated, and Xing Tian's martial soul finally stabilized completely.

It was a mantis, dark purple all over, a head taller than Xing Tian, brandishing its claws behind him.

Its carapace seemed to have a layer of black, transparent glaze, and the edges of every plate were wreathed in a faint black glow, as if it could devour the surrounding light.

Its mouthparts were exceptionally ferocious, filled with sharp teeth, with upward-curving fangs growing on both sides.

Most terrifying of all were the pair of large, sickle-like forelimbs, covered in twisted black patterns. Even looking at them from afar made one's soul tremble, and the sickle blades seemed forged from death energy and pure evil—pitch black as night, without a single reflection.