At his brow's Ancestral Aperture, Qi Xiu cradled the Black Gold Imperial Seal in one hand, as strands of grey-black mist, resembling human shapes, streamed through his forearm and converged into a colorfully resplendent and terrifying vortex above his head.

Indifferent to the losses, he crushed the remnants of fierce ghosts using the Hunyuan Star Absorption Skill, turning them into pure Divine Soul Force.

It was as if a downpour of sparkling points of light cascaded down.

In an almost extravagantly wasteful manner, they baptized his soul.

And continuously refreshed his proficiency with [Yama's Golden Chapter]!

90%...

93%...

97%...

100%!

The moment the progression of Yama's Golden Chapter reached 100%, Qi Xiu's eyes suddenly snapped open. A palpable spiritual pressure caused the void in front of him to violently sink downward, as if countless massive forces were relentlessly squeezing, producing a chilling creaking noise. In the next instant, Qi Xiu's soul began to condense continuously, and an inexplicable epiphany rose in his heart.

He felt within his soul a mysterious and profound suction force.

Sensing this, Qi Xiu's lips curved into a faint smile.

With a wave of his hand, two silhouettes, one black and one purple, whooshed into existence from the depths within his body.

The Purple Tiger!

The Mo Jiao!

The two essences, long unseen, still harbored strong animosity towards each other.

Qi Xiu's Hunyuan Dragon Tiger Scripture Mystery had initially sought to draw from Hunyuan by colliding and tempering the energies of yin and yang.

Therefore, even though he controlled both yin and yang forces simultaneously, they had never truly merged.

They had always remained as opposing existences.

"Today is not the time for fighting. Come quickly and lend me a hand," Qi Xiu said as he tapped the Purple Tiger and Mo Jiao, who were baring their teeth and preparing to tangle again. He then sat down cross-legged, hands resting on his knees.

After glaring at the Purple Tiger, the Mo Jiao let out a long chant. Having undergone a qualitative change after devouring the Dragon Ball, it coiled itself around Qi Xiu's shoulders and upper body.

With a dissatisfied growl, the Purple Tiger stepped forward and lay beside Qi Xiu, lifting his feet.

Wrapped in a great dragon, feet resting upon a tiger!

Of Hunyuan's Ten Thousand Laws, I am the Master!

The Mo Jiao shrouded him, protecting his soul. Harnessing the strength of the Purple Tiger, Qi Xiu then directed the boundless vital blood essence to infuse into his soul.

Yin and yang merged!

Leaping from life to death!

In an instant, the exterior of the soul radiated brilliantly with colors.

A feeling of indescribable pleasure and warmth emerged.

The soul was nourished by the vital energy of the blood essence and the force of the soul's essence.

Yin and yang harmonized, and there began a transformation from the ethereal to the tangible.

The soul, though previously solid, had always had a sense of intangibility.

It slowly gained a feeling of reality.

The concentration of the soul and its own strength underwent slight metamorphoses under this change.

At that moment, the soul suddenly moved.

A sharp pain erupted in Qi Xiu's brow's Ancestral Aperture, as if it were being split and chopped by an axe.

Qi Xiu furrowed his brow slightly.

That intense pain was severe and sudden, nearly jolting him out of his concentrated meditative state.

Following this intense pain, his soul quivered repeatedly.

Vital blood surged, marrow squirmed, and sensations of itching, pain, and pricking all at once overwhelmed him, wave after wave.

These sensations did not originate from the physical body.

Instead, they extended from deep within the soul.

It was as if the soul had sprouted flesh and blood.

As if it had developed the sensations of a physical body.

Strange and bizarre, yet with a sense of rebirth.

I understand now. The so-called True Spirit Phase is about truly mastering the essence of the soul and the spirit. The soul and the physical body nourish each other. In doing so, to seize a body and be reborn is but a single thought away, Qi Xiu thought as an epiphany struck him. He then dismissed any hesitation or concern and continuously channeled the infinite vital blood essence in his body into his soul.

Waves of "physical essence" flooded into his brow's Ancestral Aperture like a tide. Qi Xiu even felt his Hunyuan Apertures slightly trembling, as if they wanted to ascend and merge into his soul.

The soul continued to expand and grow.

The sense of power and fulfillment was so profound that it eclipsed the severe pain.

When Qi Xiu's soul-form had grown to a state identical with his physical body, a fierce gust of yin wind suddenly swept up at his brow!

This gust was different from the cold, bone-chilling breath that accompanied the manifestation of his soul on ordinary days.

Today's wind also carried a blood-tinged heat.

A beam of light shot forth from the frontal bone at Qi Xiu's brow.

Realm of True Spirit of the Soul!

He had achieved it!

In the instant he achieved Divine Soul True Spirit, a tremendous current of air suddenly arose beside Qi Xiu, with various vague phantoms appearing within it.

Dark clouds surged, thunderclouds shaking and roaring. Towering waves thundered, as if to capsize the vast oceans. A Glazed Gourd hung suspended in the sky, brewing killing intent. A figure clad in a kasaya appeared, the visage of an enraged White Bone Demon...

Finally, it all coalesced into a scene of a dragon and tiger locked in battle, exuding an ancient and majestic array of colors.

In the moment these phantoms stilled, Qi Xiu's soul also emerged step by step from the changing, tumultuous phantom of breath.

This feeling, it was as if transitioning from illusion to reality.

It was also like a person in a painting stepping out into the world.

It gave one a sense of creation and extinction, from nothingness to existence.

Marvelous beyond compare!

Mysterious and profound!

At this moment, not only had his Divine Soul Force greatly increased, but his soul had completely separated from his body and was capable of existing independently, even without a physical vessel.

He could also snatch the flesh of others, taking another body for himself, until his natural life was exhausted.

After the soul steps into the True Spirit Phase, the power it can wield is terrifying. A mere thought can lift tens of thousands of pounds of boulders. The range of exploration extends nearly fifty miles in every direction! Facing those with weaker souls, it can capture their minds in an instant, transforming them into puppets to be commanded at will. And now, the soul can exist separately from the body, not requiring fusion with the flesh to freely use bodily Dharma Gates.

Feeling the changes after entering the True Spirit Phase, Qi Xiu nodded repeatedly.

After reaching the Realm of True Spirit of the Soul, it was as if he had completely broken free from physical constraints.

If he wished, he could discard this body at any time, carrying all his Dharma Gates and their power to inhabit a new one.

But the price was the loss of two-thirds of his current power.

And until the soul and the body were fully merged, he would be extremely vulnerable. Both his soul and body would be incredibly fragile.

Once attacked, he would face the brink of direct death.

The might of the True Spirit Phase is probably not limited to this. I have just broken through and will need time to settle before I can fully comprehend its true mysteries.

Not sinking too long into the joy of reaching the True Spirit Phase, Qi Xiu slowly stood up.

Only four days remained of the ten-day deadline before the Flood Dragon King would use the Water Monarch Seal to unleash the great tide of the Nu River.

He now knew the approximate location of the Dragon-Slaying Banner—deep within the Dragon Prison. However, the journey to the lower levels of the prison and finding the banner itself would take time.

I must hurry.

With a focused gaze, Qi Xiu turned to glance at the dragon humanoid prison guard, then slowly bowed deeply to him.

This old prison guard had remained loyal to his post until death, a loyalty worthy of admiration.

It was because he left behind the Dragon Binding Rope that Qi Xiu now had the means to venture to the lower levels of the Dragon Prison.

Though this was not his original intent in leaving the rope.

But if this act could lead to the successful acquisition of the Dragon-Slaying Banner, saving the hundreds of millions of the Human Race from the floodwaters of the Nu River, then the old guard deserved this bow from Qi Xiu.

Quickly leaving the prison guard's hall, Qi Xiu's mind sank slightly as he recalled the maze-like map of the Dragon Prison in his mind.

To get to the lower levels, he had to activate the Riding Dragon Grand Array at the southeast corner of the maze!

This was the only entrance to the deeper levels of the Dragon Prison.

After organizing the route to the Riding Dragon Grand Array, Qi Xiu took a deep breath, and suddenly a thunderous heartbeat erupted from his chest.

Five Thunders Entrapment!

A torrent of Lei Mang burst forth directly inside Qi Xiu's heart. The massive thunderous power triggered an intense current, stimulating the heart's blood supply. Along with the suddenly surging blood flow, this power instantly rushed into every organ, every muscle, and every nerve throughout his body.

BOOM!

Dazzling Lei Mang flashed in his eyes. With one step, Qi Xiu exploded with a series of tangible circular shockwaves under his feet.

He vanished on the spot!

The immense backlash from his physical body invoked a terrifying speed. Amidst sparks and lightning, looking down from high above, a rapidly rushing thunderous silhouette could be seen blazing through the maze corridors at an appalling speed. It left behind a trail of luminous afterimages flashing with electric light!

THUMP! THUMP!

THUMP! THUMP!

THUMP! THUMP!

With his heart beating at an extreme load, Qi Xiu's face turned crimson, blood spurting uncontrollably from his mouth and nose.

Fortunately, he had cultivated the Blood-Stained Realm, and within his Spinal Palace sat the Immortal Blood Body, which would transfer the burden of any physical injury upon itself.

Otherwise, Qi Xiu would have already exploded into a mist of blood due to overwhelming physical strain.

While injuries could be transferred, the agony could not be exempted.

The unending currents of lightning and electricity roamed through his veins, tendons, organs, and even nerves. The pain was as if countless tiny knives, needles, and awls were simultaneously cutting and stabbing inside his body.

And just as Qi Xiu was about to succumb to the torment, his fingertips would subtly twitch.

A Suppressing Talisman, suffused with golden light, would then materialize out of thin air,

helping him to suppress his nearly collapsing spirit and will, maintaining clarity and preventing loss of control.

As the Riding Dragon Grand Array drew closer, no sooner had Qi Xiu turned a corner than several cold and sinister dragon heads, filled with resentment, floated into view at the path's end.

These dragon heads had been killed and built into towers by the old prison guard. Filled with endless grudges, they had now revived and were scattered throughout the Dragon Prison maze.

They would rip to shreds any living being that entered their sight,

to vent their boundless, turbulent hate!

"Return my life to me!"

The moment they caught sight of Qi Xiu, several dragon heads roared and lunged forward.

These dragons were terrifyingly strong in life; even now, reduced to mere heads, they were not something those in the Blood-Stained Realm could contend with.

Nie Biao, at the peak of the Blood-Stained Realm, had been forced to detonate his protective golden armor and expend several blood bodies to barely escape alive,

a testament to their dreadfulness!

In an instant, the dragon heads were nearly upon him, their gaping maws poised to snap shut.

But in the next moment, the golden True Dragon formed by the Dragon Binding Rope on Qi Xiu's back suddenly opened its eyes. A phantom True Dragon soared into the air. Its brilliant, blazing eyes locked onto the onrushing dragon heads as it roared with suppressing might,

"How dare you!"

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