Fusion of a Spirit Beast Core

Looking at the grayish-white ball of light before him, within it coiled and roared an Earth Spirit Stone Python shrunk countless times over. Its ferocity and brutality made Liu Bai frown.

"The greatest danger in fusing with a Spirit Beast Core is the beast consciousness that remains within it. If you cannot suppress that consciousness, it may even seize control of you, turning you into a puppet under its command..."

The higher the grade of the Spirit Beast Core, the greater this danger became. Someone like Ji Xuan in the original story had even allowed an Ancient Heavenly Dragon Eagle to reside within his Divine Soul space, nearly allowing it to successfully perform Body Snatching in the end.

Of course, this Earth Spirit Stone Python was merely a Heavenly Beast ranked seventy-fourth on the Earth Ranking. Even as a fully mature specimen, it had only barely reached the initial Heaven Fusion Realm and was not particularly strong. Thus, the difficulty of fusing with it was even lower than that of the Northern Nether Golden Patterned Eagle.

Liu Bai held the ball of light in his hands and placed it against the Sea of Qi in his dantian. The Spirit Wheel within him began spinning rapidly, and under the guidance of his spiritual energy, the ball of light slowly merged into his body.

After the Earth Spirit Stone Python's spirit core light ball was absorbed into his Sea of Qi space, it immediately seemed to find an outlet. The spiritual energy contained within the core surged toward Liu Bai's Divine Soul like rivers flowing into the sea.

Seeing the dense grayish-white radiance instantly envelop his Divine Soul, Liu Bai was secretly startled. Immediately afterward, intense spiritual light erupted from within his Divine Soul, blocking a small snake hidden in the grayish-white glow that had been preparing to launch a sneak attack.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

After being blocked, the little grayish-white snake immediately began baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, releasing angry hisses without pause.

The corners of Liu Bai's lips curled slightly. His tiny Divine Soul raised both hands and rapidly formed seals. In the next moment, vast earth element spiritual energy seeped out from the void and condensed into a great mountain, directly suppressing the little grayish-white snake beneath it.

Only after doing all this did Liu Bai finally relax slightly.

At this moment, he could also sense the vast spiritual energy within his Sea of Qi continuously expanding, to the point that the Sea of Qi space itself was beginning to struggle to contain it.

This was all the spiritual energy contained within a Heavenly Beast's core, so it was naturally immense. Liu Bai hurriedly controlled the enormous Spirit Wheel in his Sea of Qi to spin rapidly, absorbing and devouring all that spiritual energy.

During this process, Liu Bai also had to divide his attention, using his Divine Soul to control the power of his soul and delve into the consciousness sea of the little grayish-white snake suppressed beneath the divine mountain, preparing to erase the Earth Spirit Stone Python's remaining consciousness.

This process could not be completed overnight. Yet while extinguishing the Earth Spirit Stone Python's consciousness, Liu Bai discovered that the power of his own soul was actually stronger than that of the Earth Spirit Stone Python. Did that not mean that although his cultivation was still at the Divine Soul Realm, the strength of his soul was already comparable to the Heaven Fusion Realm?

This was the first time he had discovered such a thing.

Still, it was not really his fault. He had never encountered knowledge related to the soul before. This was something cultivators could only make simple use of after condensing a Divine Soul. Unless under special circumstances, ordinary cultivators had almost no need for soul power until they reached the Three Heavens Realm.

Since he had never needed to use it, he naturally had no way of knowing whether it differed from others'. Liu Bai had always thought he was the same as everyone else. Now, it seemed he had been sitting on a treasure mountain without realizing it.

With his soul being so powerful, erasing the Earth Spirit Stone Python's remaining consciousness became much simpler. In roughly four hours, the entire Spirit Beast Core had become incomparably pure.

Looking at the little grayish-white snake floating before him, Liu Bai's Divine Soul played with it for a while using its translucent fingers. Then, with a thought, he arrived in the earth element spiritual energy space of his Spleen Aperture.

The instant he arrived, Liu Bai noticed that the previously quiet little grayish-white snake had become extremely excited. Flicking its tail, it headed straight toward the divine mountain before it.

Liu Bai did not stop it and merely watched quietly.

Very soon, after the little grayish-white snake reached the divine mountain, it let out a roar and revealed the true form of an Earth Spirit Stone Python dozens of zhang long. Its entire body then coiled around the mountain peak. Raising its head high and opening its jaws, it began inhaling and exhaling toward the earth element spiritual energy drifting above the divine mountain.

As it breathed in and out, the originally yellowish-brown earth element spiritual energy rapidly turned grayish-white. This color, like the rocks of the earth, gave Liu Bai's earth element spiritual energy an additional sense of indestructibility.

"Very good. With the Earth Spirit Stone Python's core strengthening it, my earth element spiritual energy now possesses not only unparalleled defense, but also a measure of sharp, indestructible force."

Liu Bai nodded in great satisfaction.

This was why cultivators at the Divine Soul Realm could truly unleash their full combat strength only after fusing with a Spirit Beast Core. The purification and enhancement of their own spiritual energy were the most important parts.

After an entire day, Liu Bai had finally gained complete control over the Earth Spirit Stone Python's core. The spiritual energy in his Sea of Qi had also been fully refined, and his realm naturally broke through to the Divine Soul Realm Late Stage.

This did not surprise Liu Bai. What did surprise him was that aside from the change in his cultivation, none of the other entries on his status panel had changed.

In particular, the Mountain God Art had not gained any Experience Points because his cultivation had improved.

Liu Bai had considered the possibility that it would not rise to the fifth layer. After all, based on the level of the Mountain God Art, if it advanced to the fifth layer, his cultivation would surely have risen directly from the Divine Soul Realm Middle Stage to the peak of the Divine Soul Realm.

But he had not expected the Mountain God Art's Experience Points to remain entirely unchanged.

The Mountain God Art required eighteen thousand Experience Points to advance from the fourth layer to the fifth. Now that his cultivation had risen to the Divine Soul Realm Late Stage, it should have gained at least eight or nine thousand Experience Points, shouldn't it?

Yet the truth was that it had not changed at all. The number at the front was still zero!

After thinking carefully for a moment, Liu Bai came up with one possibility.

The Mountain God Art enhanced his Spleen Aperture Earth Element Spirit Wheel, while the Spirit Beast Core's spiritual energy had previously been absorbed by the main Spirit Wheel in his dantian Sea of Qi. Though the two influenced one another, the main Spirit Wheel, which gathered both earth and fire elements, could not in turn enhance the Five Elements Spiritual Wheels. That was why this situation had occurred.

This was also why, despite cultivating two Cultivation Methods and gaining two special Spirit Wheels, Liu Bai's spiritual energy had only become more abundant than that of others at the same realm instead of becoming excessively stronger.

In other words, what affected his cultivation was the level of his Cultivation Methods, not the number of Cultivation Methods he possessed.

Just as now, Liu Bai's cultivation had risen because he had improved the Mountain God Art. Even though the Blazing Sun Art had currently stagnated, it did not prevent his cultivation from increasing, though it did affect the amount of fire element spiritual energy he possessed.

Divine Soul Realm Late Stage should be enough for me to achieve a good ranking in the Northern Cang Realm assessment. I won't need to raise my cultivation any further for now, Liu Bai thought.

Before entering the Northern Azure Spirit Academy, remaining at the Divine Soul Realm was his best choice.

For one, this would allow him to gain full Experience Points from killing high-grade Spirit Beasts, while killing Heavenly Beasts would grant double Experience Points. Once he entered the Northern Azure Spirit Academy, he could also take advantage of his abundant spiritual energy to challenge the Divine Soul Ranking. Then he could reap another wave of benefits and obtain more Spirit Value, which he could use to exchange for the Cultivation Methods he urgently needed.

Mm, the plan is set!

Perfect!

Since he could not raise his realm, he would continue accumulating spiritual energy instead. That could likewise enhance his combat strength.

With that thought, Liu Bai did not hesitate and directly began upgrading the Blazing Sun Art.

The eighth layer required 4,350 Experience Points; the ninth layer required 9,000 Experience Points.

Yet even the ninth layer of the Blazing Sun Art was only comparable to the Divine Soul Realm Initial Stage. This showed just how poor the value of such low-grade Cultivation Methods truly was.

After thinking it over, Liu Bai also raised his two spirit-grade high-tier attack spiritual arts to the Great Accomplishment realm. With this, even if he faced a Heavenly Beast, he would no longer be able to harm it only by relying on spirit arrays.

Player: Liu Bai

Realm: Divine Soul Realm Late Stage

Profession: Spirit Array Master (Third-grade Spirit Array Master)

Spirit Veins: Three Earth Veins (50/1000)

Physique: Spirit Muscle Jade Bone

Cultivation Methods: Blazing Sun Art (Ninth Layer 0/13500); Hundred Scrolls of Array Dao: Upper Volume (Minor Accomplishment · Heart Array Intermediate 0/3000); Low Grade Body Tempering Divine Art · Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art (Great Accomplishment 1000/30000); Mountain God Art (Fourth Layer 0/18000)

Skills:

...Spirit-grade High-tier Great Sun Sea Burning Palm (Great Accomplishment 0/6000); Spirit-grade High-tier Mountain Shaking Divine Fist (Great Accomplishment 0/6000)

Arrays:

...

Experience Points: 3830

Beast Soul Points: 92

Liu Bai stretched lazily, glanced at the massive python corpse still lying in the Underground Cave, then directly stored it in his Mustard Seed Bracelet.

Though it had lost its Spirit Beast Core, the corpse of a Heavenly Beast was still an invaluable treasure.

Especially for a Spirit Beast like the Earth Spirit Stone Python, whether its scales, the single horn on its head, or even the python tendons inside its body, all were excellent materials for crafting Spiritual Artifacts. With the system, perhaps once he encountered the art of artifact refining, he could become a Spiritual Artifact forger in the blink of an eye.

After walking out of the cave, he happened to see An Ran sitting cross-legged on a rock in meditation.

By now, sunlight had crossed the mountain ridges and shone upon the girl. Reflected by the icy mist around her, it actually glimmered with seven-colored radiance, instantly making her seem dreamlike and illusory, like a fairy descending into the mortal world.

"You're out of seclusion?" Sensing someone's gaze, An Ran quickly opened her eyes. When she saw the young man staring at her, a faint shyness immediately rose in her heart.

Liu Bai smiled and nodded, withdrawing his gaze without showing any reaction. "Things here can be considered settled. Next, I'll return to the camp. Tomorrow is the day I agreed upon with Li Jing. What are your plans, An Ran?"

Liu Bai was the one making the deal with Li Jing, so An Ran had no reason to get involved. Besides, she already possessed a Level Seven Mark, so there was no need for her to take further risks by participating in the hunting of Heavenly Beasts.

Yet upon hearing Liu Bai's question, the girl clearly hesitated.

After all, the two of them had helped each other twice now and could be considered friends. If she simply left now, would that not seem a little heartless?

Liu Bai saw through her thoughts and immediately smiled. "All right, you don't need to make things so difficult for yourself. A Level Seven Mark is already enough for you. Rather than spending the remaining time on anything else, you might as well cultivate more. Besides, you've only just fused with the Northern Nether Golden Patterned Eagle's core and still cannot fully control it. That is also extremely important and cannot be delayed."

An Ran was not one of those monstrous geniuses who had emerged from the Spirit Road. A Level Seven Mark was already the limit of her capabilities. This could be seen from the fact that even three years later in the original story, she had only reached the initial Heaven Fusion Realm. Her talent could only be considered ordinary before Heavenly Ranking powerhouses like Li Jing, and there was no need to force her growth.

Through their interactions over this period, An Ran had come to understand Liu Bai somewhat. Therefore, she did not think he was deliberately looking down on her. He was simply speaking the truth.

Moreover, during their earlier battle, she had indeed noticed that she was still somewhat unfamiliar with the Northern Nether Golden Patterned Eagle's core. This had a significant effect on her, preventing her from displaying her full strength. She truly needed more time to resolve this issue.

"All right, I'll listen to you. I'll remain at the camp to cultivate for the time being. If you need any help, you can come find me at any time!" An Ran said solemnly.

"No problem!"

Liu Bai snapped his fingers and left her with a bright smile.

Half a day later, Liu Bai and An Ran returned to the camp surrounded by mountains. Seeing the bustle here, the two bid each other farewell. Liu Bai headed once more to the trading area to see whether he could find any good items, while An Ran went elsewhere to find a quiet place to set up her tent.

After making a full circuit, he did not encounter any good treasures, but he heard quite a bit of news.

Two pieces in particular interested Liu Bai. The first concerned Zhou Fan, who was somewhat connected to him. After having the Northern Nether Golden Patterned Eagle's core snatched away by a mysterious Spirit Array Master, Zhou Fan once again joined forces with the Zhou Gang to hunt down an Ice Profound Spirit Flood Dragon. After absorbing its core, he successfully broke through to the Heaven Fusion Realm!

The Heaven Fusion Realm... This was the first powerhouse from this Northern Cang Realm to break through to the Heaven Fusion Realm.

It had to be said that Zhou Fan's talent and strength were indeed terrifying. As expected of a monstrous genius capable of becoming king on the Spirit Road.

But...

"Ice Profound Spirit Flood Dragon? Could it be the one that appeared in the original story? Could the Northern Cang Realm I'm in be the same one Mu Chen entered in the original story?" Liu Bai silently pondered.

Still, it was not a big deal. After all, both he and Mu Chen came from the Northern Spirit Realm. Perhaps the destinations that the Teleportation Array could send people to were fixed...

Liu Bai did not pay much attention to this. With his appearance, whether Mu Chen would still develop as he had in the original story was uncertain anyway. Besides, something with such little influence was not worth worrying about.

What truly concerned Liu Bai was the news that Zhou Fan had broken through to the Heaven Fusion Realm. After all, if Zhou Fan learned that Liu Bai was the one who had snatched food from the tiger's mouth, he definitely would not let the matter rest easily.

As for the second piece of news, it interested Liu Bai even more.

Rumor had it that the Spirit Crown Holder from this Spirit Road had appeared, and the name was an "old acquaintance" to him: Li Xuantong, second on the Heavenly Ranking in the original story!

He was also the first top Heavenly Ranking powerhouse to attack Mu Chen, a new student, because of Luo Li!