Sun Moon Empire, Hongchen Grand Duke's Mansion.
After Xiao Yan returned, he entered the cultivation chamber.
His current residence was Jing Hongchen's Duke's Mansion, so he did not need to worry about outside disturbances.
Only after activating the defensive Soul Tool formation in the cultivation chamber did Xiao Yan take out the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife. The curse on it had now been completely purified, and it looked like a piece of green crystal.
He had finished purifying the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife a year and a half ago, but he had kept it so that, after becoming a Soul Saint, he could absorb it perfectly and evolve his physique.
That day had finally come, and Xiao Yan could not help feeling a little stirred.
The Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife was Gold of Life.
It could be called one of the finest treasures on the continent, no inferior to a god-level treasure.
The Silver Dragon King used it to heal her injuries, and Electrolux used it to stabilize his divine consciousness. It was useful even to god-level experts, let alone a Soul Saint like him.
In the original story, after Huo Yuhao obtained the Gold of Life, Electrolux used it to repair and nourish his divine consciousness. Huo Yuhao, who got to drink the leftover soup, also gained a tremendous boost.
His Sea of Consciousness expanded, and his rate of growth rose even further. It was easy to imagine how great its effects were.
However, absorbing the Gold of Life was no simple matter.
He also had to guard against the Gold of Life's backlash.
In the original story, the Golden Hawksbill Turtle, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, had secretly slipped into the Lake of Life and taken a bite of the Gold of Life. Not only did she gain nothing, but the Gold of Life absorbed her life force instead. She ultimately perished and became a Soul Spirit.
As the saying went, extremes bred their opposites, because the life force contained in the Gold of Life was simply too abundant.
This small piece of solid Gold of Life in the form of a carving knife took the Star Dou Great Forest roughly two to three hundred thousand years to condense.
If an ordinary Soul Master or Soul Beast swallowed such a highly concentrated crystal of life force, it would be like an ordinary person drinking a ton of water in one gulp. Instead of nourishing the body, it would make them burst.
Xiao Yan, however, knew the original story, so he naturally knew how to use the Gold of Life.
He pressed the Gold of Life against the center of his forehead, between his brows. Then, under the influence of his spiritual power, it rippled slightly.
An incomparably rich, vigorous life force instantly poured through the spot between his brows and into his body.
In that instant, Xiao Yan's entire body was suffused with a green glow. Even his Sea of Consciousness was covered by it.
An unprecedented feeling of comfort spread throughout his body. Boundless energy surged into every cell, nourishing them with that vigorous life force.
Xiao Yan's body was like parched earth welcoming sweet rain after a long drought, greedily drinking in the vigorous life force.
Nourished by the vigorous life force, his body began to transform. His skin gained a finer texture, and his figure and posture became more perfect...
Under the influence of the Gold of Life, Xiao Yan's physique improved rapidly.
In that brief time, Xiao Yan's physical attributes had more than tripled.
Nourished by the rich life force, Xiao Yan's body seemed to return to its innate state, clean and clear as a newborn infant, cleaner than ever before.
Xiao Yan now felt that his body had become light, incredibly light. Every part of him was filled with boundless vitality, and even breathing came more easily.
Moreover, the vigorous life force not only nourished Xiao Yan's body, but also entered his Sea of Consciousness through the spot between his brows, refining his spirit.
Under the influence of the Gold of Life's utterly pure life force, Xiao Yan's Sea of Consciousness became more spacious and purer, and the spiritual power within it grew more condensed.
Another transformation!
Nourished by the Gold of Life's ultimate life force, Xiao Yan underwent an earth-shaking transformation, from body to spirit.
Time flew by, and he did not know how long had passed!
Just as Xiao Yan was immersed in the nourishment of the Gold of Life's vigorous life force, the Nine Fire Heavenly Plate deep within his soul trembled!
As the Heavenly Plate trembled, Xiao Yan abruptly came to his senses.
Xiao Yan immediately moved the Gold of Life away from the spot between his brows.
"Fortunately, the Nine Fire Heavenly Plate warned me. Otherwise, I would have remained immersed in it, just like the Golden Hawksbill Turtle..."
Xiao Yan took a deep breath, unable to help feeling relieved.
He looked at the Gold of Life in his hand. It had not noticeably diminished.
Clearly, the life force that had flowed into Xiao Yan's body was no more than a single hair from nine oxen to the Gold of Life.
Such immense life force could make even a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast burst. How much could a mere Soul Saint like Xiao Yan absorb?
Xiao Yan sensed that his Soul Power had reached level seventy-six.
It was like taking a ride up a mountain. His previously unstable cultivation realm was now as secure as a fortress, far surpassing Soul Masters at the same level.
But he could not absorb any more Gold of Life now. He had to wait until his body had digested the life force hidden within it before he could absorb more.
Otherwise, he would meet the same end as the hundred-thousand-year-old Golden Hawksbill Turtle.
Xiao Yan then put the Gold of Life back into his Soul Tool. He sat down cross-legged and assessed his physical condition. Normally absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring was no longer a problem for him.
The next step of his plan was to add Soul Rings to his Ice Empress Martial Soul and swiftly break through to the Soul Douluo realm.
Xiao Yan then thought of the Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow at the Earth Dragon Sect in Dragon City, both on the must-eat list for anyone who transmigrated to the Douluo Continent.
The Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would be immensely useful even to Xiao Yan, whose cultivation had already reached level seventy-six!
Not to mention, there was more than one Immortal Herb!
In the original story, Huo Yuhao had looted the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and refined the Immortal Herb essence produced by those Immortal Herbs into seven Universe Creation Pills.
Just one of those Universe Creation Pills had been shared among Xuan Zi, Yan Shaozhe, and Xian Lin'er.
It had allowed Xuan Zi to shatter his bottleneck and break through to become a Level 99 Limit Douluo. Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er's Soul Power had also risen by one level.
Another Universe Creation Pill had been divided into more than ten portions and shared among the members of the Tang Sect. One portion had raised Huo Yuhao's cultivation from nearly level eighty-three to beyond level eighty-four, an increase of almost one level.
Although Xiao Yan did not know how to refine such pills, he had Heavenly Flames. Once he had activated a few more, he could use them to burn away the impurities.
Why not make a Douluo version of "Immortal Spirit Liquid"?
Besides, the pill formula for the Universe Creation Pill was in the hands of those Immortal Herbs. Given Xiao Yan's strength, they would surely hand it over.
So Xiao Yan was in no hurry to harvest the Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
He would wait until he had activated a few more Heavenly Flames and reached the peak of the Soul Douluo realm, then go to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and use his Heavenly Flames to refine pills in Douluo.
How could Douluo's Xiao Yan not know how to refine pills?
But Xiao Yan was determined to obtain the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow in the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cavern.
Before setting out, though, he would first go say goodbye to Mengmeng.
Mengmeng was, of course, Meng Hongchen.