Battle Through the Heavens: I Can Solidify All Talents

The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake let out a furious roar, but threads of fear began to rise within its heart.

This was an Earth Rank movement technique, far more precious than cultivation methods or combat techniques of the same level!

The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake hesitated no longer. Seeing its strike miss, it raised its enormous tail again, bringing down even more violent power upon Xiao Qing's head like a mountain!

At the same time, the scales all over its body opened and closed as its Devour power erupted at full force, trying to disrupt the energy flow around Xiao Qing and slow his movements.

Xiao Qing's gaze sharpened. Dou Qi frantically gathered at his fingertips, and a Will of Nirvana that seemed capable of withering all things abruptly emerged!

Earth Rank Low-grade combat technique—Finger of Nirvana!

As his shout fell, a gigantic energy finger several zhang long condensed out of thin air. Its tip was entwined with a heart-palpitating gray aura of decay, as though it had reached out from ancient desolation itself, carrying destructive fluctuations as it fiercely struck at the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake!

The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake hissed as dark Dou Qi surged out, forming a thick barrier in an attempt to withstand the blow head-on.

Boom—!

The giant finger crashed violently into the barrier, erupting with a deafening blast!

Terrifying energy ripples spread like a storm, battering the surrounding space. The ground cracked, and broken stones flew everywhere.

However, the power of an Earth Rank combat technique far exceeded expectations!

The force of the Finger of Nirvana tore through the dark barrier by sheer force. Though greatly weakened, it still struck the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake's hard scales with ferocious force.

Bang!

Scales exploded apart, and a force imbued with the essence of Nirvana penetrated its body. The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake let out a pained hiss as its massive form was sent sliding backward.

Once the lingering energy waves gradually dispersed and the dust settled, man and snake faced each other from afar once more.

The murderous aura filling the air had nearly solidified into substance.

Another Earth Rank combat technique!

That previous head-on clash had merely been Xiao Qing's touchstone for testing his own combat strength.

Now, he had a clear understanding of it...

It was time to end this!

Dou Qi isn't my only means.

Xiao Qing's thoughts were cold.

My Late Mortal Realm Soul Power is my true killing weapon!

Late Mortal Realm Soul Power was enough to make even many Dou Zong experts take notice!

Suddenly, an invisible yet vast and majestic pressure spread from Xiao Qing's body!

A faint light flickered between his brows as powerful Soul Power surged forth, rapidly gathering and compressing in the space before him!

In the blink of an eye, an arrow roughly a foot long took shape. It was completely transparent, yet it radiated fluctuations that made souls tremble!

Mysterious runes seemed to flow faintly across the arrowhead, locking onto the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake's Soul Origin!

Black Rank Mid-grade soul technique—Soul-Extinguishing Arrow!

"Wait! Kid, what are you trying to do?!!"

The instant the Soul-Extinguishing Arrow formed, the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake's enormous body abruptly stiffened!

A terror originating from the deepest depths of its soul instantly seized it!

It was a premonition of death even more terrifying than the destruction of its physical body!

Its blood-red pupils shrank to pinpoints as it let out a horrified, desperate hiss!

Though it could not see the soul arrow, it could sense an unprecedented lethal threat from that invisible projectile!

It finally understood that this human's strongest weapon was not his strange flame Dou Qi at all, but this impossible-to-guard-against soul attack!

As the transparent arrow radiating fatal soul fluctuations was about to fully solidify, terror and madness intertwined in the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake's blood-red pupils!

It could clearly sense that if this arrow was fired, its soul would suffer grievous injury—or might even be annihilated entirely!

It had to force Xiao Qing to interrupt his soul technique and defend or evade!

The slightest distraction would cause Xiao Qing's condensed Soul-Extinguishing Arrow to collapse, perhaps even subjecting him to backlash!

But it was already too late!

Xiao Qing's soul attack came even faster than it had imagined!

Soul-Extinguishing Arrow, go!

A cold gleam flared in Xiao Qing's eyes as the mental force locked onto the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake's Soul Origin suddenly exploded!

The Soul-Extinguishing Arrow suspended in the air, condensed from his immense Late Mortal Realm Soul Power, had already issued a silent declaration of death!

With a soundless shriek, it vanished into the air instantly!

It was not physical, yet it was more deadly than any physical attack.

The arrow ignored the hard scales, the immense dark Dou Qi, and every physical defense and energy protection the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake possessed!

Like an illusory streak of light, it directly pierced through the barriers of matter and energy, entering the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake's head with absolute precision in an instant and stabbing straight into its Soul Origin!

It had not vanished through physical speed, but had pierced directly through the distance of space to strike at the depths of its soul!

"No—!!!"

The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake only had time to release a soul-shriek filled with utter terror before the destructive soul arrow plunged into its head!

An invisible Soul Storm raged within its skull, destroying the source of its consciousness!

"Pfft—"

A faint sound, as though something had shattered inside, softly rang out.

The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake's massive body suddenly stiffened, frozen in midair as though struck by a binding spell.

Its blood-red eyes instantly lost all their light, rapidly dimming and scattering at a visible rate, leaving behind only boundless pain and emptiness.

Its enormous body stiffened in midair, its descending tail hanging limply, while its gaping, bloody maw remained frozen open, never to close again.

The next moment, the massive snake body, dozens of meters long and stripped of its soul's control, crashed toward the ground like a puppet with severed strings, carrying a heart-palpitating weight!

Boom!!!

The earth shook violently, and dust shot into the sky...

The Black Rank Mid-grade soul technique—Soul-Extinguishing Arrow—had succeeded in a single strike!

A Tier 6 Magical Beast, the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake, equivalent to a human Dou Emperor, had fallen just like that!

Its ambitions and its guardianship of the Soul-Calming Moon-Evening Grass had all been reduced to nothing beneath that single soul arrow.

For a time, the valley fell deathly silent. Only the mournful wind blowing through the ruins and the gradually dissipating soul fluctuations proved what a thrilling, cross-level execution had just taken place.

Standing alone amid the ruins, Xiao Qing slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and turned his gaze toward the dark, deep cave.

The obstacle had been cleared!

Making a Peak Tier 6 Spirit-Nourishing Pill!

Deep within the cave—

The nest that had once belonged to the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake had now changed hands.

Though the air still carried a faint fishy stench and chill, the suffocating pressure had already vanished, replaced by a subtle medicinal fragrance.

Old Yao's soul form floated in midair, his bright gaze sweeping across the cave as he discovered more than a dozen precious medicinal herbs growing nearby.

These herbs had rich medicinal fragrances and were clearly no Mortal Grade goods. Among them were several herbs of exceptionally high quality.

"Tut, tut. I never expected this demon snake to have such a plentiful stockpile."

A trace of surprise and satisfaction appeared on Old Yao's illusory face. He lightly swept his Soul Power over the herbs, sensing the pure medicinal potency contained within them.

"Judging from these energy fluctuations, they are all rare herbs that can serve as the main ingredients or crucial supplementary ingredients for pills of Tier 5 and above! This demon snake occupied this place for many years and collected quite a few good things."

For an alchemist, Heavenly Flames, high-grade medicinal herbs, and rare treasures that could nourish the soul were undoubtedly the greatest temptations.

The value of these dozen or so herbs was immeasurable.

"It worked hard guarding this place for years, only for us to benefit from it now."

Xiao Qing chuckled and stepped forward, skillfully harvesting the herbs one by one.

Sure enough, every herb had been preserved exceptionally well and was brimming with medicinal potency. Among them was the Soul-Calming Moon-Evening Grass, radiant as moonlight, with leaves shaped like crescent moons!

This was precisely one of the herbs he would need to refine a Tier 6 Spirit-Nourishing Pill next.

He carefully placed every herb into jade boxes he had prepared beforehand, then swept them all into his Storage Ring.

This haul had far exceeded expectations!

After leaving the cave, Xiao Qing's gaze fell upon the massive snake corpse.

A Tier 6 Magical Beast was treasure from head to toe!

He skillfully split open the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake's hard skull and removed a fist-sized Magical Core. It was pitch-black throughout, with what seemed like a vortex slowly turning within it. The energy inside was immense and strange, carrying a distinct Devour attribute.

Next, using a special method, he extracted several drops of the purest origin blood essence from the snake corpse's still-warm blood and stored them in a jade bottle.

The blood essence was dark red with a faint black gleam. Holding it in his hand, he could even feel a weak pulling force, as though it wished to Devour even light itself.

Xiao Qing held the jade bottle containing the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake's blood essence, his eyes flickering as he fell into thought.

The most unusual thing about this Heaven-Swallowing Demon Snake is its strange Devour power... Though still rudimentary, it is fundamentally an exceptionally rare and powerful Talent.

A thought became increasingly clear in his mind.

The Mysterious Book can extract the Talents of all living things and solidify them...

If this Devour attribute can be successfully extracted and solidified as my own [Talent], it may bring unexpected effects...

Whether weakening an opponent's combat techniques in battle, assisting cultivation by accelerating energy absorption, or even in the future... could it Devour other, more profound things?

At that thought, a trace of determination and anticipation flashed through Xiao Qing's eyes.

He decided to try extracting and solidifying this [Devour] Talent!

Perhaps this would become another powerful trump card for him after the Law of Fire.

The valley was quiet and lush with greenery, yet a solemn atmosphere quietly spread through it at this moment.

This was a secluded valley the master and disciple had deliberately sought out.

Old Yao floated in an open area, his expression grave.

With a gentle flick of his sleeve, a medicine cauldron entirely black and ancient in design appeared out of thin air. It landed heavily upon the ground with a low hum.

Lifelike flame totems covered the cauldron's body. The flame patterns seemed to flow slowly, radiating an ancient and profound aura.

This cauldron was the Black Demon Cauldron, ranked eighth on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking!

Its extraordinary nature lay not only in the runes on its body that assisted alchemy and improved efficiency; legend also said that it contained a trace of the mysterious power of the world's Dark Origin.

Xiao Qing had already chosen a spot some distance away. Holding his breath, he watched with blazing eyes, ready to observe.

He knew full well how rare an opportunity it was to watch the former greatest alchemist of the Central Plains personally refine a Peak Tier 6 Medicinal Pill. It would provide immeasurable benefits to his alchemy skills.

Old Yao extended a slightly illusory hand and gently stroked the cold body of the Black Demon Cauldron. Complex, indescribable emotions appeared in his eyes—both the familiarity of reuniting with an old friend after a long separation and a trace of estrangement brought by the passage of time.

He murmured softly, as though speaking to an old companion. "Old friend, it has been a long time... After lying dormant for so many years, you and I will finally fight side by side again today!"

Hum—

The Black Demon Cauldron seemed to understand its master's words. Its body trembled almost imperceptibly, releasing a faint, nearly cheerful chime, while the black radiance around it seemed to soften somewhat.

Old Yao composed himself, his gaze recovering a master's calm and sharpness as he looked at Xiao Qing. "Watch carefully from here on. Every step in refining a Tier 6 Medicinal Pill determines success or failure, especially the precise control of Soul Power and the ever-changing heat..."

"This will help you quickly become a Tier 6 Alchemist!"

"Yes, Teacher!" Xiao Qing answered respectfully, then settled himself upon a bluestone, fully focused.

Old Yao took a deep breath, his Soul Power restrained yet immense.

Though refining a Peak Tier 6 Medicinal Pill had been effortless for him in his prime, he was now only a soul form and had no choice but to devote his full attention to it.

The next moment, his gaze sharpened, and the bone-white Bone Chilling Flame leaped from his fingertips.

At the same time, the Black Demon Cauldron seemed to awaken. The black glow around its body surged brightly, yet it was not dazzling. Instead, it gave off a deep, bottomless feeling, as though it could contain all things!