met free 498. To the best of one's ability
498. To the best of one's ability
After all the trials of the Heavenly Talent Ranking were over, there were less than two months left before the Pill Gathering, and Xiao Yan was extremely busy.
Xiao Yan felt that he thoroughly enjoyed the unique and rich learning atmosphere of the Pill Tower. There were so many masters in the Pill Tower! Especially in the fields of alchemy and soul power, it was a veritable treasure trove for a young man like Xiao Yan who was in the golden age of his ability growth.
Xuan Yi's tireless guidance on alchemy, Su Huo's profound understanding of soul power and soul skills, and Yuan Chen's rich experience in the art of pill making were all selectively absorbed by Xiao Yan. Therefore, Xiao Yan's time was incredibly fulfilling, though he still occasionally encountered considerable trouble.
Inside his cultivation room, Xiao Yan's eyes were closed, his brows furrowed, and his expression somewhat unnatural due to what he was doing. An inch in front of his forehead was a thin needle, about the length of a finger, gray in color, unremarkable in appearance, easily overlooked if one wasn't paying attention—a needle formed from condensed soul energy.
At Xiao Yan's brow, his soul power spread out like a fine spiderweb, only to suddenly dissipate just before it was about to fully coalesce, the defeated soul power scattering in all directions. A bead of cold sweat slid down Xiao Yan's forehead, and he slumped helplessly to the ground, panting heavily.
This was his fourth failed attempt to cultivate the Hidden Shadow Needle technique today, a process that had lasted for ten days. The repeated failures had almost exhausted his soul power, and waves of weakness and fatigue washed over Xiao Yan's mind. However, Xiao Yan did not allow himself to rest for too long. He circulated the basic part of the Heavenly Thunder Forging Spirit Technique, absorbing some spiritual energy to alleviate his weakness.
"Soul transformed into needles, concealed and invisible..." He repeated the contents recorded on the scroll of soul skills in a low voice, his fingertips trembling slightly. The essence of the Hidden Shadow Needle lies in compressing soul power into a needle-like point as thin as a hair, and completely concealing any fluctuations. Even if the opponent is a powerful expert with keen soul perception, they will not be able to detect it at all before the needle releases its power. However, Xiao Yan's soul power was too vast after entering the Spirit Realm, and it was not so easy to control. Each compression was like forcibly stuffing a surging river into the eye of a needle. If he was not careful, it would go out of control and backfire.
laugh--
Another soul needle condensed in his palm, but this time the failure was even faster. Before the Hidden Shadow Needle was fully formed, its tip suddenly exploded into a distorted ripple. Xiao Yan groaned, a metallic taste rising in his throat, his ears ringing like thunder. The simple protective array surrounding the secret chamber flickered erratically from the aftershocks, causing the entire chamber to tremble slightly. He had to withdraw his soul power, and in his rapid breathing, a brief darkness even appeared before his eyes.
"It's still too brutal..." He gritted his teeth, wiping away the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. When he opened his palm, a wisp of purplish-red remnant soul was still throbbing restlessly. The cultivation of the Hidden Shadow Needle was a hundred times more difficult than he had anticipated. The vast soul that he had previously forged with heavenly lightning and tempered by strange fire had now become a burden—like carving a jade hairpin with a giant axe, the slightest force would destroy both jade and stone.
Outside the secret chamber, Mu Qingluan was protecting Xiao Yan. She could clearly sense the violent soul fluctuations inside, like a trapped beast repeatedly ramming against its cage.
"Senior brother, aren't you afraid of losing control of your soul by acting so recklessly?" she murmured, frowning, but couldn't help but sigh softly. Before meeting Xiao Yan, she prided herself on her extremely diligent cultivation, but faced with Xiao Yan's fanatical cultivation, she realized where the gap between her and Xiao Yan came from.
……
Almost at the same time that Xiao Yan was practicing the Hidden Shadow Needle, Wei Jiangyuan was also watching with great seriousness the tiny needle-like points that were constantly forming in front of him.
As the needle-like energy gradually took shape, a faint green flame also surrounded it, emanating the life force of all things reviving. "Ding!" With a piercing sound, the needle-like energy that Wei Jiangyuan had condensed also shattered and dissipated.
"The difficulty is indeed considerable; completely concealing the soul within the spirit realm is an insane requirement."
"But after successfully condensing them, I was able to store three in my mind. No wonder my teacher said that the Pill Tower has something worth visiting no matter what. I, Wei Jiangyuan, will never step out of this secret chamber until I successfully cultivate it!"
Wei Jiangyuan is unconventional and cynical, but his success in the field of alchemy is also due to the strengths of his personality. He finds little interest in easy tasks, but becomes increasingly interested in challenging ones. It is this relentless drive to achieve his goals that earned him the favor of his teacher, a titan among alchemists.
……
Within the secret chamber occupied by the Spirit Clan, five figures were imprisoned. Their skin clung tightly to their bones, their eye sockets hollow like gnawed fruits, and only intermittent chest movements proved they were still alive. Pale green battle aura flickered across their bodies—the marks of wood-attribute cultivators whose life essence had been completely drained.
Ling Zhuo sat shirtless in the center of the group of five. Before his heart was a palm-sized crystal, its interior filled with fine lines. It was greedily absorbing the emerald light that had been peeled away from the outside. As the light flowed within the crystal, faint traces of blood could be seen.
The crystal's tail gushed forth a vibrant green light, all of which flowed into Ling Zhuo's mouth. With each inch it flowed, Ling Zhuo's soul power surged.
This crystal is the "Source Spirit Pattern Crystal" that Ling Zhuo obtained at the auction. It's a supreme treasure of the wood attribute, naturally capable of extracting the most primal life essence from all things in the world. The four Dou Zong and Dou Huang members collected by the Ling Clan were all individuals with the purest wood attribute Dou Qi, and the life essence they extracted was excellent nourishment for their souls. This was also the fastest way for Ling Zhuo to enhance his soul power, since he also possessed a trace of wood attribute Dou Qi, and he absorbed this energy, primarily the source of life, very smoothly.
The five people who were absorbed initially had the strength to struggle, but as their life essence was continuously extracted by the Source Spirit Crystal, they are now just living dead, clinging to life only because of their strength.
After absorbing to a certain limit, Ling Zhuo opened his eyes, his greedy gaze still not satisfied. The Spirit Clan had originally set their sights on a Dou Zong (Battle Master) with wood-attribute Dou Qi from Yin Valley, but unexpectedly, that person was already dead when they arrived. This slightly lowered the overall quality of this group, and his improvement was still somewhat imperfect.
However, Ling Zhuo was equally captivated by this powerful force: "Xiao Yan, soon I will show you true despair, just wait and see, hahahahaha!"