Purple, black, black, black.
Beyond the four soul rings, a new soul ring formed, its base color also black.
This soul ring's energy resonated with the "Seal" rune on the Mountain River Scroll, clearly bestowed by this very rune.
Yun Ming watched this scene with a sense of disbelief.
What was this?
Through his perception of the surrounding heaven and earth, Yun Ming could definitively confirm that the essence of this soul ring was the "Seal" character, not the paper spirit!
It wasn't because the paper spirit had broken through to ten thousand years and granted Xu Yuan his fourth soul ring.
Yun Ming found this sight incredibly rare.
So, soul rings could be obtained in this manner?
But then, what determined the age of this soul ring?
Just as this thought crossed Yun Ming's mind, many other ideas followed.
That's how human thoughts worked—various notions would emerge simultaneously without order.
"Could this be considered similar to the way Tang Wulin's fifth soul ring was formed?"
Xu Yuan's previous fourth soul ring for the Heaven Origin Five Elements Spear was actually granted by Jue. Jue's body contained the essence of living metal, which condensed into that fourth soul ring.
But Tang Wulin's fifth soul ring was different—it appeared out of thin air, as if bestowed by heaven and earth.
The fifth soul ring Xu Yuan was currently forming seemed to follow the same principle.
Yun Ming carefully pondered, then shook his head, dismissing his own guess.
Tang Wulin's fifth soul ring was more akin to the Golden Ancient Tree's soul ring. It was provided by the tree itself while it remained alive, offering a soul ring to Tang Wulin.
It still adhered to the fundamental principle of soul beasts generating soul rings, except in this case, the "soul beast" was the Golden Ancient Tree itself. The soul ring was created by consuming the tree's power rather than killing it.
However, Xu Yuan's situation was different.
He was entirely relying on his own strength to evolve this rune, and the rune then granted him the fifth soul ring for his Heaven Origin Brush martial soul.
Yun Ming took a deep breath and carefully observed this process.
Meanwhile, Xu Yuan remained focused on evolving his first rune.
"Spiritual power, soul power, and blood qi are all under the soul master's control because they inherently contain the soul master's will. The fusion of these three forces hinges on the soul master's will. By refining the will within essence, energy, and spirit through the Seven Forbidden Techniques, I've already achieved a preliminary fusion of these three forces."
"The fusion of these three forces manifests as willpower, which integrates into the rune. This is the Heavenly Rune I seek—not merely a soul-guided formation but a living, intelligent, and growable rune connected to heaven and earth."
"The soul ring happens to provide such conditions."
Martial souls were extraordinary—they were the nexus where a soul master's soul and physical body fused, inherently the core of essence, energy, and spirit integration.
Soul power originated from the martial soul, spiritual power was linked to the martial soul, and blood qi resonated with it as well.
Before reaching the Soul King stage, strengthening the body accelerated soul power growth because blood qi enhancement influenced soul power through the martial soul. After reaching the Soul King stage, soul power growth began to affect spiritual power.
Layer upon layer of mutual reinforcement.
Of course, if one had exceptionally strong spiritual power from birth, it could drive soul power cultivation, which in turn could enhance blood qi cultivation.
Similarly, one could possess both strong spiritual power and blood qi, with both driving soul power growth simultaneously.
Through the existence of the martial soul, these three forces coordinated with each other, with the stronger force leading the weaker ones to achieve harmony.
And the soul ring was another core aspect of the martial soul—a bridge for soul masters to harness their martial soul's power and a medium for further integration of essence, energy, and spirit.
Moreover, soul rings were even connected to the external heavens and earth!
Based on this understanding, Xu Yuan had finally developed the rune he envisioned.
Seal!
Infused with essence, energy, and spirit, carrying his insights through willpower, invoking the power of heaven and earth, and even communicating with the underlying laws of the universe, Xu Yuan used the soul ring as a foundation to condense and solidify the essence of this rune.
From this point on, this rune was the soul ring, and the soul ring was this rune. Simultaneously, the rune communicated with heaven and earth, receiving its blessings.
---
"Teacher."
With the Seal rune fully formed, Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes and called out to the distracted Yun Ming.
Yun Ming snapped back to attention, his gaze complex.
After calming his emotions, he finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind.
"Little Yuan, what was that rune just now? Did you just spontaneously condense a soul ring? Will this affect your martial soul cultivation?"
These questions had been troubling him for a while.
Xu Yuan didn't rush to answer. Instead, he released his martial soul and felt the newly acquired fifth soul ring.
Yun Ming also carefully observed Xu Yuan's fifth soul ring, noticing that it was different from ordinary soul rings—there were intricate patterns within it.
Xu Yuan activated his soul skill.
Instantly, Yun Ming felt as though Xu Yuan's fifth soul ring had transformed into a rune.
The character Seal dominated his vision.
To be precise, it wasn't just dominating his vision—it was overwriting his perception, making him instinctively understand that this soul ring was the Seal rune.
Xu Yuan controlled the soul skill, refraining from unleashing its full effect.
He activated the soul skill again.
This time, Yun Ming no longer felt the overwhelming presence of the previous activation. It was still a ten-thousand-year soul ring, but the soul skill functioned normally.
This time, Xu Yuan unleashed the sealing power.
Yun Ming carefully sensed it, quickly furrowing his brow.
"This is a power you already mastered."
Indeed, it was the Seven Forbidden Techniques!
You condensed your self-created soul skill into a soul ring?
Yun Ming looked at Xu Yuan, slightly puzzled.
"Teacher, I integrated the soul-guided formation of the sealing technique, and the effects are different. Moreover—" Xu Yuan didn't rush to explain but instead closed his eyes to feel the effects, confirming they matched his expectations before opening his eyes with a broad smile. "With this soul ring, my connection to the laws of sealing in heaven and earth has become much closer. My comprehension has become at least twice as easy."
Yun Ming's gaze sharpened.
Hearing this, all his doubts vanished.
The mere boost to his comprehension of this ability was enough.
However, Xu Yuan clearly wasn't finished.
"Furthermore, this rune contains my will, and its main body is the soul ring, yet it also receives feedback from heaven and earth. As my comprehension deepens, the feedback from heaven and earth allows the soul ring's age to grow synchronously. And as the soul ring's age increases, it feeds back into my will, simultaneously boosting the three forces of essence, energy, and spirit."
At this moment, Yun Ming's mind was reeling.
Why do I feel like I understand every individual part of what you're saying, but when I put it all together, I start doubting whether I've misunderstood?
Can soul rings really work like this?
It took Yun Ming three deep breaths to fully accept this reality.
After accepting this heavenly rune-turned-soul ring, he asked the question he was most concerned about.
"Can this rune of yours be replicated?"
Can others cultivate it?
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