69novels Chapter 9: A Strange Martial Soul!
Chapter 9: A Strange Martial Soul!
Zhang Qingxuan slowly approached the 100,000-year-old green willow, and the sight before him made him gasp.
The trunk was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, the widest of which almost tore the entire tree apart.
The thousands of willow branches that once hung like a waterfall all broke off and scattered on the ground, some still bearing the marks of charred electricity.
The branches and leaves had long since turned to ashes, and the once rich, almost liquefied life force had vanished, leaving only the acrid smell of lightning in the air.
"How could it have been chopped so hard..."
"I reckon even the soul bone was probably destroyed. What a waste."
Zhang Qingxuan couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
He crouched down and carefully searched through the charred tree trunks and broken branches scattered on the ground.
Lightning-struck wood from a 100,000-year-old willow tree is an excellent material for crafting magical artifacts and talismans. Lightning-struck wood of this quality is extremely rare, and finding a complete piece would be incredibly difficult…
However, a quarter of an hour later, Zhang Qingxuan straightened up dejectedly and patted the black ash off his hands.
We found nothing.
The mental probe revealed that the inside of the tree trunk was already carbonized, and it would crumble into dust with the slightest force.
The broken branches were brittle and turned to powder at the slightest touch.
"Alas, what is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force."
"I thought I was going to find a treasure, but it turned out to be a waste of time."
He shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Zhang Qingxuan took one last look at the once-standing willow tree, now reduced to charred remains, sighed softly, and turned to walk towards the edge of the forest.
Shortly after his figure completely disappeared into the woods—
A faint wisp of blue light slowly drifted out from the deepest crack in the charred tree trunk.
The azure light condensed in the air, gradually transforming into a blurry humanoid phantom.
The figure's face was indistinct, only its general outline was visible. Its entire body was composed of cyan light spots, and one could vaguely discern that it was the shape of a woman.
She gazed in the direction Zhang Qingxuan had left, and after a long while, her illusory figure trembled slightly, uttering a whisper as soft as a breeze rustling willow leaves:
"Thank goodness...we were almost discovered."
"The aura emanating from that human... is terrifying. Those two things within him can even devour the very essence of the lightning tribulation..."
The phantom remained silent for a moment, seemingly still shaken.
"We can't delay any longer; we need to recover as soon as possible."
The cyan phantom slowly sank and retreated deep into the tree trunk.
In the very center of that charred, carbonized wood core, there was a small, palm-sized piece of wood, as green as jade.
The surface of the wooden block was wrapped with fine silver arcs of electricity, and a blue light flowed slowly inside.
This is the last bit of essence that the Green Willow of Life condensed after undergoing the tribulation of lightning—a 100,000-year-old wood core.
The wood heart trembled slightly, absorbing all the illusory images. Then, its radiance subsided, transforming into a seemingly ordinary piece of charred wood, and it fell into complete silence.
……
The outer edge of the Starry Sky Forest.
As Zhang Qingxuan traveled, he used his inner vision to study the two "well-fed" martial spirits.
The Yin-Yang symbol floated quietly in the center of the dantian, slowly rotating, with black and white colors flowing endlessly, exuding a profound Daoist charm.
The Green Leaf Sword leaned against the Yin-Yang diagram, its blade radiating a green light, with occasional glimpses of tiny sword energies flashing by.
Most strikingly, each of the two martial souls had a deep black soul ring floating around it.
The spirit ring had a deep, rich color and a restrained radiance, clearly indicating a quality of over 50,000 years.
"Strange..." Zhang Qingxuan tried to activate his soul ring, but he didn't feel any soul skills being activated.
He pondered this for a long time and finally understood.
These two spirit rings were not obtained by hunting spirit beasts, but were formed by the martial spirit absorbing the thunder of heaven and earth.
They did not grant Zhang Qingxuan any specific "soul skills," but they caused the martial soul itself to undergo a fundamental evolution.
The Yin-Yang symbol now inherently possesses the power of "Yin-Yang balance".
This ability may seem ordinary, but it is priceless to Zhang Qingxuan, who possesses three martial souls—it can perfectly harmonize the different types of energy cultivated from the three martial souls, preventing backlash and demonic possession due to energy conflicts.
The Green Leaf Sword became even purer and sharper.
Zhang Qingxuan could sense that the "essence" of this sword had now far surpassed that of ordinary weapon spirits, and seemed to be... closer to the manifestation of a certain "Dao".
"These two are less like martial spirits and more like... a kind of existence manifested through the vessel of martial spirits?" Zhang Qingxuan pondered.
What bothered him most was that these two martial spirits seemed to possess sentience.
Its behavior during the tribulation after awakening clearly showed that it had its own consciousness.
"However, since he only feels close to me and has no ill intentions, there's no need to worry too much."
Zhang Qingxuan tried to summon them a few more times, but the two martial souls no longer had the "proactive response" feeling they had before; they simply obeyed commands like ordinary martial souls.
It was as if, after absorbing the essence of the lightning tribulation, they had fallen into some kind of dormancy or digestion state.
Shaking his head, Zhang Qingxuan stopped worrying and quickened his pace toward the edge of the forest.
……
Wuhun City, the Pope's Palace.
Qian Xunji sat on the ornately decorated papal throne, with memorials and account books piled up in front of him.
He rubbed his temples, his handsome face revealing his exhaustion.
Several years ago, thanks to the reward of the "Angel God Trial", his cultivation level soared, and he broke through to the Soul Douluo realm ahead of schedule, officially taking over the position of Pope and taking charge of the Spirit Hall.
However, only after actually sitting in this position did he understand what it meant to "not know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt when you're not in charge of the household."
"Why does everything cost money..." Qian Xunji looked at the latest financial report and felt a chill run down her spine.
The Spirit Hall is the most powerful spirit master organization on the entire continent, with tens of thousands of spirit masters under its command.
Everything required for a Soul Master's cultivation is extremely valuable.
Both empires can maintain their rule with ordinary armies, while Soul Masters are only a small elite force.
The Spirit Hall is different; its foundation is the Spirit Masters, and each high-level Spirit Master is a "money-devouring beast" that requires a large amount of resources to build up.
"Your Holiness the Pope."
A respectful voice came from outside the hall. A middle-aged man in a white robe strode in; he was Yingyan, one of Qian Xunji's confidants and the intelligence chief of the Spirit Hall.
"What is it?" Qian Xunji raised her head.
"We just received a secret report that it's related to the Haotian Sect and the Li family of Tiandou." Shadow Eye lowered his voice.
"Oh, tell me about it!" Qian Xunji became interested when he heard that it was related to the Li family of Tiandou.
It should be noted that the Li family is quite remarkable. In less than twenty years, they have risen rapidly and are almost on par with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School in the business arena.
Even the Spirit Hall has gained huge profits from its business cooperation with the other party!
Even he himself extended an olive branch to the Li family on multiple occasions!
"According to the scouts, an hour ago, Tang Zhen, the Grand Elder of the Haotian Sect, returned to the sect and suddenly convened a meeting of elders, launching a fierce attack on the Li family."
Qian Xunji's eyes narrowed: "What exactly did they say?"
"Well, the specific details are unknown, but after the meeting, Tang Zhen personally went to the Po Clan's residence and gave the Po Clan's patriarch a thorough dressing down."
Shadow Eye paused for a moment, then continued, "The patriarch of the Broken Clan did not refute the entire conversation, but simply listened with his head down. I suspect... there has probably been some conflict between the Clear Sky Sect and the Li Family that we are unaware of."