After watching Ye Guyi swallow another portion of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue and seeing that Columbina's power kept her from showing any signs of discomfort, Xu Tianming felt somewhat reassured. He then used the Soul Guidance Phone Kong Deming had left behind before departing to summon him back.
After hearing the call, Kong Deming reappeared in Xu Tianming's room in less than thirty seconds.
Feeling how much stronger his nephew's body had become, Kong Deming smiled with satisfaction. Then, somewhat puzzled, he glanced at Ye Guyi, who was meditating on the floor nearby.
Seeing this, Xu Tianming briefly explained Ye Guyi's current condition.
Kong Deming had no objections to the girl taking Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue. He was simply surprised that Xu Tianming's Frost Moon Martial Soul could also help others suppress negative effects within their bodies.
Fortunately, he had grown much more resilient, and quickly adjusted his mindset.
"Tianming, are you sure you can absorb your Second Soul Ring now? Your uncle still has plenty of good things from the treasure vault. Why don't you take some more and refine them all before absorbing your Second Soul Ring? At least that would be safer."
Kong Deming's suggestion was reasonable, but after careful consideration, Xu Tianming still politely declined his kindness.
The reason was simple. On Douluo Continent, apart from the Immortal Herbs clustered around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, most wild treasures of heaven and earth had more or less some side effects.
Take the Whale Rubber Xu Tianming had just consumed, for example. Although it could temper a Soul Beast's body and raise the maximum age of the Soul Ring a Soul Master could absorb, its side effect was that it made one's yang fire burn fiercely. Without special preparations beforehand, there was a chance that the Soul Master taking it would suffer damage to their source and a sharp drop in Soul Power.
And yet, this was still one of the mildest side effects among such treasures. Some with more severe side effects could directly raise a Soul Master's cultivation after consumption, but would damage their foundation.
The Soul Masters of the Sun Moon Empire were a case in point.
To wield more powerful Soul Tools, most Soul Masters of the Sun Moon Empire would recklessly consume large quantities of wild treasures of heaven and earth during the early stages of cultivation. Although this quickly strengthened their cultivation, once they broke through to Titled Douluo at most, they could no longer make the slightest progress.
For this reason, the entire Sun Moon Empire had not produced a single Super Douluo with Soul Power of at least Level 95 for several thousand years.
Not until Kong Deming, more than a decade in the future.
With the rare advantage of possessing two god-level Martial Souls, Xu Tianming naturally wouldn't do something that would damage his foundation.
But as he thought about this, another idea suddenly came to him.
There seemed to be Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well that could cleanse the marrow and heal hidden injuries in the body. If he could get a few for his uncle, then without hidden injuries limiting him, his uncle might not reach Level 99, but surely he could break through to Level 98 or 97.
According to the original setting, Kong Deming could stand toe-to-toe with Xuan Zi, who would later reach Level 99 Soul Power, despite having only Level 95 cultivation. Just how much more formidable could the greatest Soul Engineer on the continent become with even higher Soul Power?
For now, though, he could only think about it.
Although Xu Tianming knew where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was, he had no way to get in anytime soon.
According to the setting, before ascending to the Divine Realm, Tang God King had laid a spatial formation around the outskirts of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Anyone who wasn't a Tang Sect disciple practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill couldn't penetrate the poisonous miasma surrounding it and reach the spring. The formation also had a built-in detection function: as soon as anyone tried to force their way through, Tang God King in the Divine Realm would immediately receive a warning.
The old trick of turning public property into private property...
So, to obtain the Immortal Herbs inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the first thing he needed to do was pass through that spatial formation without Tang God King sensing him.
As for how to get through...
Xu Tianming thought it over carefully, but could come up with only two ways.
The first was to disguise his identity and join the Tang Sect. Once he learned the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he could find a way to enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and "restock."
As for the second way...
If he remembered correctly, the power of the Goddess of the Three Moons was on a par with that of the Four Shades of the Heavenly Principles, who each wielded one of the four authorities: "life, death, time, and space."
Since Columbina had already gathered the power of all three moons within herself, she might also have the power to control space—and be able to break through the spatial formation Tang God King had set up!
At this thought, Xu Tianming immediately asked:
"Columbina, can you control space with the authorities you currently possess?"
Though Columbina didn't know why Xu Tianming was asking, she answered directly:
"My power isn't complete yet... but on the night of a full moon, perhaps I could try."
Xu Tianming hadn't expected much, but when he heard her answer, excitement surged within him.
"Really? Columbina, what do you think you could manage? Are you confident you can break a god-level spatial formation?"
Columbina thought carefully for a moment.
"If it were a god-level formation from the Teyvat Continent, my current power might not be enough. But I haven't felt how powerful the gods of this world are yet... Oh, the moon says... All right, I understand... The moon just told me that on the night of a full moon, my power can help you."
Once he got Columbina's definite answer, Xu Tianming felt at ease.
After all, he had no interest in concealing his identity and joining the Tang Sect.
Just as Xu Tianming was starting to relax and preparing to settle down and absorb his Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, he suddenly remembered something else.
Of the four authorities—"life, death, time, and space"—he had only thought of space just now.
And since Columbina could even call upon the power of space, didn't that mean she could use the other three authorities as well?
If so, why go out of his way to consider all those other options?
"Columbina, my uncle has some hidden injuries. Take a look for me in a moment and see if your power can heal them."
"Mm, I'll try."
After hearing Columbina's reply, Xu Tianming took hold of Kong Deming's wrist.
Kong Deming was somewhat surprised, but didn't pull away. He simply let his nephew hold on, confident that he would give him a reasonable explanation soon.
But just as that thought crossed his mind, a stream of gentle moonlight flowed into his body where their wrists touched, and Kong Deming suddenly felt a warm sensation spread throughout him.
At first, he thought it felt pleasant, but didn't notice anything else unusual.
Soon, however, his relaxed expression gave way to astonishment, and his eyes widened.
Unless his senses had failed him, the hidden injuries that had built up in his body over decades had just been healed, in part, by that gentle power!
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