Inside the secluded cultivation chamber of the black fortress.
Wang Yu sat cross-legged on a golden-yellow cushion, holding a yellow Jade Slip in both hands as he silently studied its contents. Beside him stood a bronze incense burner with a black incense stick planted inside. A strange fragrance with a faintly fishy tang drifted from it, invigorating the mind and leaving anyone who inhaled it refreshed and clearheaded.
Wang Yu opened his eyes and turned his palm over, making the yellow Jade Slip vanish. Then he murmured an incantation, formed seals with both hands, and repeatedly pointed all ten fingers into the empty space before him.
Pop! Pop!
Pale silver spell seals streamed continuously from his fingertips, transforming into translucent gray spell patterns.
These talisman patterns churned and gathered in the air, sometimes forming a pale gray chain, sometimes condensing into a sphere of talisman patterns. It was a wondrous sight.
But this strange spectacle lasted only an incense stick's worth of time before Wang Yu's face paled and he released the seals in his hands.
All the talisman patterns dissolved into specks of gray light and vanished in a flash, as though they had never appeared.
"Soul-Subduing Art... guardian soul patterns..."
Wang Yu rested with his eyes closed for quite some time before opening them again and murmuring those two phrases.
The secret art he had just performed was none other than the spirit soul secret art bestowed upon him by Heaven Toad Ancestor, the Soul-Subduing Art. It could refine Demon Beast souls into guardian soul patterns, producing various wondrous effects, including expanding divine sense, strengthening mental intent, and protecting the spirit soul.
The translucent gray talisman inscriptions he had manifested were the means this secret art used to bind and refine beast souls. Once a Demon Beast had