In the Ginseng Spirit Realm, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on a blue stone, his eyes closed, his mind focused inward. On the surface, he appeared to be cultivating, but within his body, a terrifying Spiritual Strength, like a raging Xiao Yan, was surging!
Xiao Yan Xiao Yan hadn't expected that the Spiritual Strength contained within Qing Mu's wisp of Soul Origin would be so terrifying, far surpassing the Spiritual Strength he possessed when refining and devouring Hei Mu!
Although Hei Mu was once Yuan Zong powerful figure in the Origin Sect at his peak, his Spiritual Strength has been worn away by the passage of Suiyue over the years, and he is indeed somewhat inferior to Qing Mu. However, this can be considered an unexpected surprise for Xiao Yan.
Refining the remnant soul of the Hei Mu allowed Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength to advance by leaps and bounds. Now, Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength alone is already unmatched among alchemists of the same level. If he were to devour these Soul Origin now, it remains to be seen whether Xiao Yan's soul realm could also break through in one fell swoop.
Calming his mind, Xiao Yan carefully sensed the Soul Origin power within his body's energy vortex. With a thought, a cluster of dazzling Heavenly Flames rose from within him, slowly enveloping the Soul Origin.
As the Soul Origin was enveloped, it seemed to sense something. The milky-white Soul Origin, like clouds and mist, churned rapidly under the influence of the Heavenly Flames, as if trying to find a breakthrough within the Heavenly Flames.
However, the Heavenly Flames completely enveloped it, and after a long while without any effect, this mass of Soul Origin could only curl up like a little squirrel.
In a short while, the milky-white Soul Origin, originally the size of a fist, rapidly condensed. Although it became slightly smaller, Xiao Yan sensed that the power within the Soul Origin was becoming increasingly concentrated. This caused Xiao Yan to raise an eyebrow. Sure enough, the concentration of Spiritual Strength could make it stronger. Although its appearance was not as good as before, the power it contained was far greater than before.
"Heh... no wonder alchemists can condense something like Soul Bead. It seems they've refined their Spiritual Strength in the same way they would Dou Qi qi!"
Seeing this, Xiao Yan was slightly surprised. He smiled to himself and stopped paying attention. No matter how condensed the Soul Origin was, it was destined to be refined by Xiao Yan today!
In cultivation, time flies, and the refinement of the Soul Origin requires even more care. In the blink of an eye, three days passed quietly, and within Xiao Yan's body, the Soul Origin, which was originally the size of a fist, was gradually refined down to the size of a pill.
At the same time, Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength was also becoming increasingly stronger. The vast Spiritual Strength was like a vast ocean, with surging soul waves churning endlessly within Xiao Yan's body. Coupled with his equally full Dou Qi, for a time, Xiao Yan found it difficult to suppress the increasingly powerful force within him.
Xiao Yan frowned deeply. He hadn't expected that the improvement in his Spiritual Strength would also trigger the Dou Qi within his body. If things continued like this, he might not be able to break through today.
At this moment, Xiao Yan was like a fully inflated balloon, and what was most terrifying was that this balloon was still expanding. The inevitable result of this expansion was a sudden explosion. While this wouldn't kill Xiao Yan Xiao Yan, it was certainly not something he wanted. The way to stop the balloon from expanding further was to release some of the air inside...
"Buzz..."
Suddenly, Xiao Yan, who was sitting cross-legged on the blue stone, opened his eyes, which had been tightly closed. The moment he opened them, it was as if the fighting Dou Qi in Xiao Yan's body had found an outlet. Two dazzling beams of Dou Qi shot out from Xiao Yan's Xiao Yan and disappeared into the void in front of him.
After the pillar of light disappeared, Xiao Yan seemed to feel that it was not enough. He looked up at the sky, and with a thought, the Dou Qi in his body's vortex roared out like a wild horse, surging rapidly to Xiao Yan's throat. Then, Xiao Yan opened his mouth wide, and a terrifying pillar of Dou Qi, hundreds of feet wide, shot out into the void tens of thousands of feet high.
Such a terrifying display naturally alarmed many people in the Ginseng Spirit Realm. When the Ginseng Spirit Clan looked up at the void, they saw a terrifying pillar of Dou Qi shooting into the sky with unstoppable force, shattering the void, and finally disappearing into the endless Void Space.
Seeing this, some Ginseng Spirit Clan strength was at the Half-Emperor level, couldn't help but feel surprised. Just as they were curiously about going forward to take a look, a shout came down from the sky, echoing between heaven and earth like thunder.
"A bunch of brats, just practicing Dou Technique, what's so interesting about that? Get out of the way!"
Hearing Elder Luo's voice, although these Ginseng Spirit Clan were unwilling, they had no choice but to obey. As for those Ginseng Spirit Clan with stronger abilities, they narrowed their eyes and glanced at the imposing pillar reaching the sky, pondering something.
High in the sky, Elder Luo squinted at the terrifying pillar of Dou Qi before him, a deep look of astonishment in his cloudy old eyes.
This level of bombardment was nothing to him, but for Half-Emperor, it would be considered extremely terrifying.
"Tsk tsk... No wonder this kid was able to fight Six-Star Half-Emperor head-on, despite being two stars weaker. The level of refinement in his Dou Qi is something I couldn't even compare to back then!"
At this moment, even Elder Luo couldn't help but exclaim in amazement at Xiao Yan's strength, while Xiao Yan had already immersed himself once again in the intense refining process...
As the pillar of Dou Qi in front of him gradually dissipated, Elder Luo turned his gaze to Xiao Yan below. After sensing the immense Dou Qi within the latter's body, Elder Luo couldn't help but frown slightly. Judging from Xiao Yan's current condition, he was clearly on the verge of breaking through, yet he stubbornly suppressed the surging Dou Qi within him, seemingly unwilling to break through.
"Hey, this kid is really an anomaly in the cultivation world. Everyone else is looking forward to breaking through, and once they touch that barrier they're about to break through, they all try their best to break through. But you're forcibly suppressing yourself from breaking through. If word gets out, I wonder how many people will want to have a good talk with you..."
Noticing Xiao Yan's current condition, Elder Luo raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. However, he quickly understood. With Elder Luo's shrewdness, he could naturally see that the reason Xiao Yan wasn't in a hurry to break through was that he wanted to find an excellent place to cultivate, so that his strength could be fully consolidated while breaking through. Needless to say, Elder Luo immediately thought of that place: the Void Lightning Pool!
"However, judging from the current situation, this kid is probably refining his Soul Origin. Heh, what a lucky kid..."
While probing the surging Dou Qi within Xiao Yan's body, Elder Luo also naturally sensed the Soul Origin power that Xiao Yan was refining with focused concentration. However, the almost non-existent aura emanating from it prevented him from recognizing that it was Qing Mu's Soul Origin power...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, five days had passed since Xiao Yan began refining the Soul Origin. Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength was also rapidly increasing at a terrifying speed in the eyes of ordinary people. With his current Spiritual Strength, Xiao Yan was practically invincible among Second-Tier Alchemist!
"Call..."
As the last wisp of Soul Origin was completely refined and absorbed by Xiao Yan Xiao Yan, his dark eyes, which had been closed for five days, slowly opened.
The instant Xiao Yan opened his eyes, an invisible arrow suddenly shot out from his deep gaze, and an invisible force roared out, instantly distorting the void in front of Xiao Yan.
Immediately, accompanied by a muffled thud, an invisible force shot out from in front of Xiao Yan like a cannonball. Along its path, the lush green earth was blasted into a deep trench several meters deep by its terrifying power. The next moment, a mountain a hundred meters away from Xiao Yan exploded with a deafening roar, sending debris flying. The entire mountain was blasted open by this single blow, leaving a dangerous crack...
Seeing this, Xiao Yan was not surprised. The power of Spiritual Strength was not much different from that of Dou Qi, it was just more troublesome to cultivate. With Xiao Yan's current Spiritual Strength, if he were to use it in battle, he could probably easily face an ordinary Three-Star Half-Emperor. Therefore, the commotion in front of him was indeed nothing.
"Hmm, not bad. Your Spiritual Strength has now reached the late-stage peak of the Emperor Realm Soul, and you're only one step away from the Emperor Realm Great Perfection. This level of Spiritual Strength is enough for you to sweep aside other alchemists of the same level."
Xiao Yan's growth in strength also filled Gu You, who was inside him, with admiration. Unexpectedly, during their last trip to the Ginseng Spirit Realm, Xiao Yan not only survived the Hei Mu attack but also turned misfortune into blessing. Not only did his physical strength reach the Peak of the Late Three-Star Half-Emperor Stage, but his Spiritual Strength also reached the Late Emperor Realm, just one step away from the Emperor Realm Great Perfection. Even Gu You couldn't help but sigh in amazement at such a terrifying growth rate.
In response, Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression subtly shifting as his hand beneath his sleeve slowly clenched and then relaxed. A resolute glint flashed deep within his eyes. He paused, then murmured softly:
" Late Emperor Realm, I wonder... if he were to condense Soul Bead... would he be able to succeed?"