"Soul Extremity: guard the heavenly spirit, draw in spirit and forge the soul."
"Xiao Yan" spoke softly. Before him, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm quietly muttered the words. Tiny specks of spiritual light rose and sank around him, gradually merging into his plump baby silkworm body.
"When I first obtained this method, it could only sense spiritual Qi, not help you absorb it. Fortunately, although I can't remember exactly when, I used my own knowledge to improve and develop the method, allowing it to absorb spiritual Qi while sensing it, helping your soul power grow."
"Xiao Yan" seemed to be speaking to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, yet also seemed to be talking to himself. After so long, he could finally walk in the real world in a physical body again. How could he not be excited? "Xiao Yan" stretched several times, circled the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm a few times, and poked his round silkworm belly. Then he chuckled.
"Stop fooling around, Yan Xiao," Xiao Yan urged helplessly from within the soul space. Yan Xiao nodded, but his hands did not stop playing with the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's soft, big head.
Yes, at this moment, Yan Xiao was in control of Xiao Yan's body.
Half a day earlier, Xiao Yan had fought a battle with Di Tian that had left every being present shaken to the core. After the battle, he had first received treatment from Bi Ji, then personally met the so-called "nearly million-year Soul Beast" he had long wanted to get to know: the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
"This Sky Dream Ice Silkworm is weak to the extreme, hardly worth a laugh. My lord, why...?" Di Tian asked in bewilderment.
"Di Tian, judging by strength on the surface, I'm afraid I wouldn't last a single exchange beneath your claws."
Xiao Yan replied casually. Di Tian froze for a moment, then abruptly bowed deeply.
"I stand corrected."
Indeed, even though he had grown solely by eating and sleeping, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was still a great Soul Beast with nearly a million years of cultivation. Although he could not use the energy within him, it was still at a level approaching a million years. His species excelled in Mental Attribute power, but the Douluo Continent lacked methods to cultivate soul power and put it to use in actual combat.
Only Xiao Yan, who came from another world, knew what a terrifying level the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm could reach once he mastered those methods. After all, his spiritual power could already reach the threshold of a Heaven Realm soul with considerable effort.
When it came to spiritual power, or rather, soul power, Xiao Yan's cultivation was still far below Yan Xiao's. It was therefore best to leave the teaching of such a vital specialized skill to Yan Xiao. Yan Xiao was also happy to come out for some air and touch the round, soft baby silkworm.
"This is... a method for cultivating spiritual power. You really do always manage to pull out something interesting." A familiar woman's melodious voice rang out like a tinkling spring. The pretty girl with delicate features like a porcelain doll had finally finished cultivating.
Yan Xiao's face lit up at the sight of Gu Yuena, but he suddenly seemed to remember something and inevitably grew a little awkward. He coughed lightly, then said to Xiao Yan with a serious expression, "Your good friend is here. Talk to her yourself." With that, he dashed back into the soul space as if fleeing, without another word, and returned control of the body to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan did not know what had happened; after all, he was a consciousness that had grown anew. But it was different for Yan Xiao. As his memories gradually became clearer, the thought of the consequences of flirting with other women in another world made him break out in a cold sweat, his heart pounding with fear.
Xiao Yan looked toward the source of the voice. At first glance, Gu Yuena's appearance had not changed much, except that her features had become a little more delicate and she had grown considerably taller, as if she had matured a great deal in a short time. Her figure had also become more proportionate and full. Much like the growth of a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast after taking human form, Gu Yuena's growth was fundamentally rooted in the increase of her strength rather than her age. Now that her strength had risen once more, her body had naturally grown as well.
Xiao Yan gazed at her gently. Then, as though he had remembered something, he ruffled her long silver-white hair. Only when he saw Gu Yuena merely knit her brows and look at him in confusion did he say with relief, "You're not the Silver Dragon King. That's good. You have no idea how frightening it was when she suddenly appeared in you." He could not help laughing when he finished, and Gu Yuena smiled with pursed lips.
"You've improved quite a bit this time, haven't you?"
"Indeed." Gu Yuena nodded gently, and a long silver-white spear appeared in her hand. The dragon spear had graceful lines, and held in Gu Yuena's hand, it looked utterly natural.
Before this, Gu Yuena and the Silver Dragon Spear could only be considered master and weapon. From the energy fluctuations Xiao Yan had sensed when he first met Gu Yuena, her connection to the Silver Dragon Spear had been far weaker than his connection to the Heavy Xuan Ruler. At the time, she had merely been relying on the weapon's sharpness. Now, however, Xiao Yan could clearly sense that the Silver Dragon Spear had become a complete part of Gu Yuena's body, an existence comparable to a Martial Soul. If Gu Yuena were a living white dragon, then the Silver Dragon Spear was her claws and her wings.
Now, she and the Silver Dragon Spear were linked in mind to a state of perfection. Their bond was so deep that it not only far surpassed Xiao Yan's connection to the Golden Dragon Spear, but probably even surpassed his connection to the Heavy Xuan Ruler.
It could be said that, to Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon Spear could now be considered something like a core life treasure. That was good news for Xiao Yan.
After all, it was always more comfortable to spend time with the expressive and lovable Gu Yuena than with the ambitious Silver Dragon King, who was full of hatred for humans. If the Silver Dragon King took the lead, the only outcome for humans and Soul Beasts would be a fight to the death. But if Gu Yuena led the Soul Beast race alongside Xiao Yan, there should still be a chance for things to turn around.
Now, Gu Yuena's strength was growing, and her connection to the Silver Dragon Spear was becoming closer. This signified that her share of the entire soul existence known as the "Silver Dragon King" was increasing. Given time, even the Silver Dragon King herself would be unable to look down on her. Given time, she might be able to share authority with the Silver Dragon King. To Xiao Yan, this was a rare piece of good news.
"What's wrong? Staring in a daze?" Gu Yuena tapped Xiao Yan's head with the shaft of the dragon spear, interrupting his thoughts, and chuckled.
"Yes. It's been so long since I saw you. How could I not miss you?" In a good mood, Xiao Yan let the playful words slip out. In truth, he really had missed her somewhat. Ever since entering the Star Dou Great Forest, he had been alone. Though he occupied the position of their shared ruler and no one dared touch him, wolves surrounded him on every side, and experts appeared one after another. If a Soul Beast hated humans so deeply that it attacked him, he would inevitably be injured, and might well lose his life here outright. The long period of fear and painstaking thought had made him miss his friends all the more, including Gu Yuena.
The young man and woman chatted happily until the sun sank behind the western mountains, their laughter ringing without pause like little bells. Before they knew it, another half day had passed.
After half a day of cultivation, the dust of soul essence throughout the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body had been fully absorbed, and his soul power had firmly reached the Heaven Realm. He had now mastered some simple methods of applying soul power. With the might of a Heaven Realm soul, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, whose former combat strength would probably have struggled even against a powerful ten-thousand-year Soul Beast, was now approaching the level of a human Titled Douluo. Given time, if he truly advanced to a million years of cultivation, his power would probably rise another step. By then, using these methods of applying soul power, he should be able to reach the upper-middle ranks of hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts.
Of course, for that goal to be realized, there was one more thing Xiao Yan had to do.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's plump white body landed on the ground. Having just made his breakthrough, he looked a little dazed. After several seconds, he shook his big head vigorously, and then tears glimmered in his round eyes.
The next moment, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rolled his body, like a long piece of white dough, over to Xiao Yan. Clinging to Xiao Yan's leg, he cried through his tears:
"Waaaaaah, my lord! I never thought-I never thought this bro would see the day he could finally turn his life around! Boo-hoo-hoo! From now on, even if I can't win a fight, I'll definitely be able to escape! I won't be squeezed dry anymore!"
Seeing this, Xiao Yan could not help smiling. He rubbed the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's big cheek and said, "Even if you had failed to cultivate your soul power, I had already given the order that no Soul Beast was to draw the origin power of heaven and earth from you again."
With that, Xiao Yan raised a hand. A palm print that flickered in and out of sight, shifting between solid and insubstantial, appeared in the air. It slammed hard into the ground, blasting out a deep pit in a single strike. This simple blow was already quite powerful to an ordinary Soul Beast.
Specks of light sparkled in the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eyes. As one of the foremost Soul Beasts in the cultivation of spiritual power, he could sense that Xiao Yan's strike had used nothing but spiritual power, or what Xiao Yan called soul power. The strike had not consumed much, yet its might had far exceeded what it appeared to be. Most importantly, his new lord's soul power was no greater than his own; it was even a little weaker. In other words, he too could easily use this offensive skill, which was immensely important to him!
"Tian Meng, this move is called the Soul Hand Seal. You know where I come from. This move is a 'Soul Skill' from another, distant world-a skill used with soul power. It is rooted in the soul and acts directly upon the soul, making it particularly useful to you."
"Your soul power is strong, and only a minority of the Soul Beast Clan cultivate their souls. Most Soul Beasts have nothing but powerful bodies, while their souls are terribly weak. This move is remarkably effective against them. My orders can protect you for a time, but if you want to fundamentally change your current situation of being exploited by other Soul Beasts, and even become one of the strongest beings in the world, a genuine million-year Soul Beast, learning this move will bring you closer to that goal."
"Now, I'll pass this Soul Skill on to you."
When Xiao Yan finished speaking, a point of light wrapped in soul power flew from between his brows, straight into the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's head.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was still weeping bitterly, moved by Xiao Yan's words, and crying while clinging to his leg. Clearly, having suffered so much bullying, this was the first time he had received such help and support. And that support came from the most exalted and honored existence among Soul Beasts-their shared ruler. On the other hand, being able to protect himself among these powerful Soul Beasts and no longer be exploited by them was something he had never dared dream of before. Now that this goal was close to being realized, how could he not be moved?
After the point of light entered Tian Meng's head, he fell straight down again, just as he had when cultivating soul power with the nameless soul art. Clearly, he had fainted outright. It was hardly surprising. For this Mental Attribute Soul Beast who had only recently begun cultivating soul power, the powerful Mental Attribute energy within him had instead placed many burdens on his cultivation, becoming a heavy load. Fortunately, the harder the cultivation, the richer the rewards.
Ever since Xiao Yan's soul power had broken through to the Spirit Realm and he had met Gu Yuena, who possessed an innate, extraordinary talent for cultivating spiritual power, he had gained some new understanding of the spiritual power of this world. Clearly, this world's spiritual power and the soul power of the Dou Qi Continent's plane were both rooted in a person's spirit and will. They were similar powers with the same roots and origin, but over tens of millions of years of evolution, they had taken different paths.
Unlike the soul power of the Dou Qi Continent's plane, which could be used directly against enemies, the spiritual power of the Douluo Continent's plane could only serve some simple supporting functions. Even using a simple spiritual shock to attack an enemy was already a rare offensive method, but such a crude application was clearly of little use in a contest between experts.
Apart from races born with a talent for spiritual attacks, such as the Evil Eye Tyrant King Di Tian had mentioned, who could use powerful Mental Attribute attacks, other races found it difficult to turn spiritual power directly into combat strength. But after Xiao Yan discovered the connection between spiritual power and soul power, he became confident that he could use the ancient Soul Skills passed down on the Dou Qi Continent-offensive Soul Skills and soul-forging Soul Skills-to gradually transform the spiritual power of Mental Attribute experts on the Douluo Continent's plane into soul power, allowing them to use it to attack enemies and send their combat strength soaring. And after combining soul power with Soul Skills, their combat strength would rise another level.
That was Xiao Yan's goal. Before that, however, he needed to find a Mental Attribute expert to test whether the idea would work. The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, whose spiritual power was strong but whose combat strength was so weak that other Soul Beasts exploited him, was the best choice. This move had both confirmed Xiao Yan's conjecture and rescued the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm from his misery, gaining Xiao Yan a devoted Soul Beast confidant. In the future, if he and the Silver Dragon King ultimately had no choice but to part ways, there would surely be forces among the Soul Beasts that supported him.
"Now it's only a matter of time before the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm becomes a powerful Soul Beast through the cultivation of soul power and Soul Skills. With that, I can rest easy." Xiao Yan sighed in relief. He knew that this discovery and the method of cultivating soul power might completely change the Soul Master World. The simplest example was that support-type Soul Masters could cultivate spiritual power to improve their support abilities while also gaining combat strength no weaker than that of Battle Soul Masters.
In time, this would inevitably change the order that had existed on the Douluo Continent for millions upon millions of years. However, Xiao Yan did not yet have the ability to overturn the rules established by the Soul Master nobles, so this new cultivation system, which might change the world, could only be set aside for now. Keeping his composure was the surest path to victory.
Xiao Yan looked around the Star Dou Great Forest. He had stayed here for a long time and gained a great deal.
Now, it was time to go home.