Xiao Ming didn't stay long in the Herb Warehouse and left after finding what he was looking for - a few rare ingredients that could be used to refine the Spirit Nourishment Powder.
His harvest was quite good, as there were indeed some medicinal materials in the warehouse that could be used to refine the Spirit Nourishment Powder. Xiao Ming didn't take too much of them, only three types of medicinal materials that were relatively hard to find.
After all, although the Eight Great Elders had the authority to take the medicinal materials, the ingredients used to refine the Spirit Nourishment Powder were extremely precious. It was not appropriate for him to use too many of them before he officially assumed the position.
After registering with the warehouse elder, Xiao Ming left with those medicinal materials.
...
Returning to his residence, Xiao Ming went straight to his room.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he took a moment to adjust himself before grabbing a scroll in pale grey color - This was the scroll given to him by Qiu Ling earlier.
Opening the scroll, an invisible wave of energy emanated from it. This wave was familiar to every alchemist - the aura of a soul imprint.
There were no words on the scroll, only some slightly distorted invisible creases.
Seeing this, Xiao Ming pondered for a moment before placing the scroll on his forehead.
As soon as the scroll touched his forehead, an immense surge of information flooded his mind like a tidal wave. Once the influx of information subsided, he gently placed the scroll down and concentrated on organizing the peculiar stream of information.
The sorting process lasted for quite some time, and only after his slightly closed eyes gradually opened did a faint glimmer appear in them. The stream of information was none other than the information about the Soul Spirit Lock.
In ancient times, Soul Skills and Dou Techniques were both divided into four classes - Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang. The Soul Spirit Lock was a Low Di Soul Skill, not the highest class, but still quite good. Moreover, unlike Dou Techniques, due to the rarity of Soul Skills these days, they could be surprisingly effective.
Of course, the most important thing was that the Soul Spirit Lock could gradually help him understand how to maximize the use of his soul power, instead of relying on the raw strength of his soul to fight like before. If Xiao Ming had a variety of high-class Soul Skills, he might be able to contend against a Dou Venerate with his Soul Realm alone. Many Dou Venerates' Soul Realms have not even reached the Spirit Realm yet.
After using the Soul Spirit Lock, the soul power could be condensed into a soul chain to whip and restrain the enemy's soul, similar to the attacks of the Soul Palace's Protectors.
'This Soul Skill... is really different from the way Dou Techniques are launched...'
As Xiao Ming pondered over the Soul Spirit Lock, he realized that while only a select few Dou Techniques required specific hand seals, the effective use of this Soul Skill was entirely dependent on hand seal coordination. Moreover, as the hand seals changed, the soul power needed to converge along a specific trajectory that followed the movements of the seals. However, as the adage goes, "All roads lead to Rome." This Soul Skill shared many similarities with Dou Techniques.
Other than that, Xiao Ming was pretty good at forming hand seals, so this thing wasn't difficult for him.
"Hoo..."
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Ming gradually concentrated his mind, and his palm slowly extended, then began to change slowly according to the hand seals in his mind.
Xiao Ming's hand seals changed quite slowly, but he had a serious expression on his face. The soul power between his eyebrows also surged out slowly and condensed with the changes in the hand seals.
In the room, Xiao Ming tirelessly practiced the hand seals over and over again. Although this kind of cultivation was boring, it was necessary. After all, whether it was practicing Soul Skills or Dou Techniques, the only way to thoroughly master them was through diligent practice.
During his practice, a faint murmuring sound escaped from the lips of Xiao Ming as he repeated the mantra, "Reach the peak of the soul... Embrace stillness in meditation... Clear the mind of all distractions... Absorb the soul into emptiness... Temper the soul and purify the heart."
Under the guidance of this mantra, the space in the room began to ripple slightly. Gradually, wispy strands of pale spiritual energy seeped out from the surrounding space and flowed into Xiao Ming's brow.
...
Two days had passed, and the sun was shining brightly outside Xiao Ming's room.
Venerable Tian Huo, dressed in his bright red robe, knocked on the door.
"Please come in!" Xiao Ming responded.
With a creak, the door opened, and the bright sunlight flooded the room, dispelling the darkness within.
Venerable Tian Huo saw Xiao Ming standing there, looking energetic and not at all tired from his two-day seclusion.
Beside him, six ethereal chains as thick as arms extended from his body and writhed like pythons.
"Is that a Soul Skill?" Venerable Tian Huo had a keen eye and recognized the chains on Xiao Ming's body.
"Yes, it's a Soul Skill I obtained from the Pill Tower," Xiao Ming smiled slightly and said, "Senior Yao, care to give it a try?"
"Haha, sure!" Venerable Tian Huo didn't refuse.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ming suddenly formed a series of hand seals. With each seal, his vast soul power burst out from his forehead like lightning. The six chains shot towards Yao Tian Huo like venomous snakes, interweaving to block all his escape routes.
However, Venerable Tian Huo did not back down. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the vast, invisible force that swept through the air. With a swift motion, he raised his right palm, and a surge of fiery red energy spurted out.
Bang!
A loud bang resounded through the room as the invisible soul chains collided with Yao Tian Huo's right palm, which was wrapped in Dou Qi. The impact caused a low muffled sound to echo in the small space. Despite the collision, there was no energy ripple.
As Venerable Tian Huo struck out with a palm, his expression changed slightly. The force on the soul chain was not very strong, but he still felt a faint pain and dizziness in his head during the collision, causing him to stagger back a step.
"Are you okay, Senior Yao?" Xiao Ming asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," replied Venerable Tian Huo, steadying himself and shaking his head.
Although Venerable Tian Huo's soul was also in the Spirit Realm and his cultivation was higher than Xiao Ming's, he was still staggered by Xiao Ming's attack, which made him feel a bit emotional.
"Your Soul Skill is truly remarkable. If used against someone below the level of a Dou Venerate and with a Soul Realm below the eighth rank, their soul would be directly pulled out, leaving them unable to resist."
Xiao Ming nodded, pleased with the attack power of his Soul Skill.
After retracting the remaining soul power, he inquired about the reason for Venerable Tian Huo's visit.
"Senior Yao, what brings you here?"
"I came to inform you that I have restored my strength to that of a five-star Dou Venerate."
"The Fungus Green Pill has proven to be effective. Congratulations," Xiao Ming congratulated him with a smile and stood up.
"In that case, it's time for us to leave the Holy Pill City and go on a journey."
"Where are we going?"
"Well, let's first head to the Falling Thunder Mountain Range and then find Xian'er and Qing Lin."
Xiao Ming didn't stay long in the Herb Warehouse and left after finding what he was looking for - a few rare ingredients that could be used to refine the Spirit Nourishment Powder.
His harvest was quite good, as there were indeed some medicinal materials in the warehouse that could be used to refine the Spirit Nourishment Powder. Xiao Ming didn't take too much of them, only three types of medicinal materials that were relatively hard to find.
After all, although the Eight Great Elders had the authority to take the medicinal materials, the ingredients used to refine the Spirit Nourishment Powder were extremely precious. It was not appropriate for him to use too many of them before he officially assumed the position.
After registering with the warehouse elder, Xiao Ming left with those medicinal materials.
...
Returning to his residence, Xiao Ming went straight to his room.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he took a moment to adjust himself before grabbing a scroll in pale grey color - This was the scroll given to him by Qiu Ling earlier.
Opening the scroll, an invisible wave of energy emanated from it. This wave was familiar to every alchemist - the aura of a soul imprint.
There were no words on the scroll, only some slightly distorted invisible creases.
Seeing this, Xiao Ming pondered for a moment before placing the scroll on his forehead.
As soon as the scroll touched his forehead, an immense surge of information flooded his mind like a tidal wave. Once the influx of information subsided, he gently placed the scroll down and concentrated on organizing the peculiar stream of information.
The sorting process lasted for quite some time, and only after his slightly closed eyes gradually opened did a faint glimmer appear in them. The stream of information was none other than the information about the Soul Spirit Lock.
In ancient times, Soul Skills and Dou Techniques were both divided into four classes - Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang. The Soul Spirit Lock was a Low Di Soul Skill, not the highest class, but still quite good. Moreover, unlike Dou Techniques, due to the rarity of Soul Skills these days, they could be surprisingly effective.
Of course, the most important thing was that the Soul Spirit Lock could gradually help him understand how to maximize the use of his soul power, instead of relying on the raw strength of his soul to fight like before. If Xiao Ming had a variety of high-class Soul Skills, he might be able to contend against a Dou Venerate with his Soul Realm alone. Many Dou Venerates' Soul Realms have not even reached the Spirit Realm yet.
After using the Soul Spirit Lock, the soul power could be condensed into a soul chain to whip and restrain the enemy's soul, similar to the attacks of the Soul Palace's Protectors.
'This Soul Skill... is really different from the way Dou Techniques are launched...'
As Xiao Ming pondered over the Soul Spirit Lock, he realized that while only a select few Dou Techniques required specific hand seals, the effective use of this Soul Skill was entirely dependent on hand seal coordination. Moreover, as the hand seals changed, the soul power needed to converge along a specific trajectory that followed the movements of the seals. However, as the adage goes, "All roads lead to Rome." This Soul Skill shared many similarities with Dou Techniques.
Other than that, Xiao Ming was pretty good at forming hand seals, so this thing wasn't difficult for him.
"Hoo..."
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Ming gradually concentrated his mind, and his palm slowly extended, then began to change slowly according to the hand seals in his mind.
Xiao Ming's hand seals changed quite slowly, but he had a serious expression on his face. The soul power between his eyebrows also surged out slowly and condensed with the changes in the hand seals.
In the room, Xiao Ming tirelessly practiced the hand seals over and over again. Although this kind of cultivation was boring, it was necessary. After all, whether it was practicing Soul Skills or Dou Techniques, the only way to thoroughly master them was through diligent practice.
During his practice, a faint murmuring sound escaped from the lips of Xiao Ming as he repeated the mantra, "Reach the peak of the soul... Embrace stillness in meditation... Clear the mind of all distractions... Absorb the soul into emptiness... Temper the soul and purify the heart."
Under the guidance of this mantra, the space in the room began to ripple slightly. Gradually, wispy strands of pale spiritual energy seeped out from the surrounding space and flowed into Xiao Ming's brow.
...
Two days had passed, and the sun was shining brightly outside Xiao Ming's room.
Venerable Tian Huo, dressed in his bright red robe, knocked on the door.
"Please come in!" Xiao Ming responded.
With a creak, the door opened, and the bright sunlight flooded the room, dispelling the darkness within.
Venerable Tian Huo saw Xiao Ming standing there, looking energetic and not at all tired from his two-day seclusion.
Beside him, six ethereal chains as thick as arms extended from his body and writhed like pythons.
"Is that a Soul Skill?" Venerable Tian Huo had a keen eye and recognized the chains on Xiao Ming's body.
"Yes, it's a Soul Skill I obtained from the Pill Tower," Xiao Ming smiled slightly and said, "Senior Yao, care to give it a try?"
"Haha, sure!" Venerable Tian Huo didn't refuse.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ming suddenly formed a series of hand seals. With each seal, his vast soul power burst out from his forehead like lightning. The six chains shot towards Yao Tian Huo like venomous snakes, interweaving to block all his escape routes.
However, Venerable Tian Huo did not back down. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the vast, invisible force that swept through the air. With a swift motion, he raised his right palm, and a surge of fiery red energy spurted out.
Bang!
A loud bang resounded through the room as the invisible soul chains collided with Yao Tian Huo's right palm, which was wrapped in Dou Qi. The impact caused a low muffled sound to echo in the small space. Despite the collision, there was no energy ripple.
As Venerable Tian Huo struck out with a palm, his expression changed slightly. The force on the soul chain was not very strong, but he still felt a faint pain and dizziness in his head during the collision, causing him to stagger back a step.
"Are you okay, Senior Yao?" Xiao Ming asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," replied Venerable Tian Huo, steadying himself and shaking his head.
Although Venerable Tian Huo's soul was also in the Spirit Realm and his cultivation was higher than Xiao Ming's, he was still staggered by Xiao Ming's attack, which made him feel a bit emotional.
"Your Soul Skill is truly remarkable. If used against someone below the level of a Dou Venerate and with a Soul Realm below the eighth rank, their soul would be directly pulled out, leaving them unable to resist."
Xiao Ming nodded, pleased with the attack power of his Soul Skill.
After retracting the remaining soul power, he inquired about the reason for Venerable Tian Huo's visit.
"Senior Yao, what brings you here?"
"I came to inform you that I have restored my strength to that of a five-star Dou Venerate."
"The Fungus Green Pill has proven to be effective. Congratulations," Xiao Ming congratulated him with a smile and stood up.
"In that case, it's time for us to leave the Holy Pill City and go on a journey."
"Where are we going?"
"Well, let's first head to the Falling Thunder Mountain Range and then find Xian'er and Qing Lin."
