When his consciousness returned to clarity, the scroll his fingertips touched emitted a faint warmth.
"Soul Profound Seal Palm, that demoness is quite generous..."
Sorting through the information in his mind, Chen Xiao was quite surprised by Cao Ying's gift.
The so-called Soul Skill was actually a strange method created by Ancient Alchemists after much thought, in order to maximize the power of soul force.
It was a pity that the detailed classification standards for Soul Skills, soul cultivation methods, and soul realms like the Spirit Realm and Mortal Realm had been lost.
But one thing was certain: in ancient times, there must have been a hierarchy of levels, which could be seen from when he pre-borrowed the Nine Nether Soul Scripture.
Getting back to the main point...
The stronger the soul force, the more powerful the Soul Skill would be after use, not inferior to Dou Skills at all.
In fact, it was even more bizarre and difficult to guard against.
However, like soul cultivation methods, this kind of Soul Skill was extremely precious on the current Dou Qi Continent, most of them had become extinct and lost, and few people had the opportunity to learn them.
In Chen Xiao's original plan, after completing the follow-up to pre-borrowing the Heavenly Demon Puppet, pre-borrowing a Soul Skill was also an alternative option.
After all, his soul strength was not bad to begin with, and after cultivating the Nine Nether Soul Scripture, this advantage was further amplified.
However, having grown up from the bottom, he had a decent soul force but was unable to utilize it, which made him quite dissatisfied.
Now it was good. With this Soul Profound Seal Palm, Chen Xiao's strengths could be brought into play, and his need for Soul Skills in the future was no longer so urgent, allowing him to use the pre-borrowing opportunity for other things.
Eager to cultivate it and test the power of this Soul Skill, Chen Xiao immediately got up and went downstairs. After saying goodbye to Hai Bo Dong and Cao Xi, he headed straight for the mountain range behind.
Arriving at the familiar mountain hollow, Chen Xiao could see the figures of Little Fairy Doctor and Zi Yan from afar.
Among them, Zi Yan sat on a mountain peak watching the show.
Little Fairy Doctor's delicate body hovered in mid-air. She lightly closed her eyes, her aura condensed. When she suddenly opened her eyes, a cold glint appeared in them. She saw her slender, jade-like hands suddenly reach out. At the same time, a chilling gray mist surged and rose around her body, and a heart-palpitating sensation that made one's back feel cold instantly spread.
Under Chen Xiao's gaze, the strange poisonous gas around Little Fairy Doctor rolled and entwined like living creatures, finally condensing in her palm, forming a surging poisonous cloud. Immediately after, she swung her palm without hesitation, striking out with a devastating force.
*"Boom!"*
The palm force brought up a chilling ripple of poisonous gas in the air, landing on the distant mountain peak.
In an instant, the ground shook and the mountains swayed, and rocks flew everywhere. A huge palm print appeared on the mountain peak, and the poisonous force spread, causing the surrounding lush forest sea to lose its original color at a speed visible to the naked eye, from emerald green to withered yellow.
Until finally, it was a barren wasteland.
Little Fairy Doctor nodded in satisfaction, quietly forming a seal with her hand. Streams of gray airflow were drawn back from the mountain and slowly entered her body.
After a brief pause to collect herself, Little Fairy Doctor's figure was as graceful as a startled swan. She spun around and tapped her foot, soaring through the air, and in an instant, she had lightly landed in front of Chen Xiao.
A gentle smile played on her lips, her eyes flowed, and her red lips lightly parted: "Is it pleasing to the eye?"
Chen Xiao chuckled, nodded and praised: "In half a month, you can use the Myriad Poisons Heart-Devouring Palm freely. It's more than just pleasing to the eye, it's already very impressive."
In the past half month, he had been immersed in cultivation, and Little Fairy Doctor and the others had not been idle either.
Medusa Queen had gone back to the inner courtyard, while Little Fairy Doctor was cultivating the Earth Rank Dou Skill she had obtained from Mo Tianxing.
Looking at it now, she had already achieved some success.
Listening to Chen Xiao's unreserved praise, Little Fairy Doctor's eyebrows curved into crescent moons, and even her eyes sparkled with laughter.
"It's not as exaggerated as you say. It's simply because this Dou Skill is very easy to cultivate. The only thing to be careful about is not to hurt others while also hurting yourself, but for me, this hidden danger can be completely ignored."
Chen Xiao nodded slightly. This was another benefit brought by the Calamity Poison Body.
"I told you earlier that I had good news to tell you. Why don't you guess?"
Seeing him deliberately keeping her in suspense, Little Fairy Doctor gave him a slightly charming glare, with a hint of anticipation in her smile: "Is it about the poison body?"
Since it was a good thing for her, it wasn't hard to guess.
At present, this was the only problem she urgently needed to solve.
Chen Xiao nodded and smiled: "Indeed, Cao Ying will soon have the three Heavenly Flames gathered. The Bodhi Transformation Saliva is already in hand. Now, we are only short of a Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast Magic Core. After we finish dealing with the matters here in Demon Flame Valley, we can go to Central State and condense the Poison Pill for you!"
Hearing this, Little Fairy Doctor's breathing suddenly quickened, her chest heaved violently, and she tightly clutched the corner of her clothes to barely stabilize her surging emotions.
Although she had been mentally prepared for a long time, she was still inevitably excited when success was truly within reach.
Chen Xiao stepped forward. Seeing her tightly clutching the corner of her clothes, he used his fingertips to pry open her tense fingers little by little, and then held her hand. Warmth spread along their touching palms.
"Now, we can both breathe a sigh of relief. After Cao Ying successfully helps you condense the Poison Pill, I will have fulfilled my promise. It's just a pity that I am not an alchemist and can only rely on others. In my heart, there is still a lack of completeness."
Little Fairy Doctor did not resist at all, obediently letting his palm envelop hers, letting the cool warmth spread along her fingertips. She unconsciously tightened her fingers, firmly holding this sense of security in her palm, and slowly moved towards the mountain peak where Zi Yan was.
"We've known each other for almost eight years, haven't we?"
Chen Xiao didn't understand what she meant. He turned his head and glanced at her, but still nodded slightly.
When he was nine years old, he entered Green Mountain Town for the first time for the resources in the stone chamber in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Now, he had been an adult for a long time.
Little Fairy Doctor's lips curved into a gentle arc, her smile like the warm sun in spring: "You spent so much time helping me gather the materials, it's time to rest. How can the moment of condensing the Poison Pill compare to this?"
Hearing this, Chen Xiao couldn't refute.
Indeed, most things only require looking at the result, but there are some things where the process is more important than the result.
Chatting and laughing, the two drifted down onto the peak.
Zi Yan's figure came into view. She was propping her chin with one hand, a sly smile on her lips, her gaze fixed like nails on their clasped hands, looking exactly like a little fox who had sniffed out gossip.
Meeting Zi Yan's gossipy eyes, they simultaneously withdrew their hands, their postures relaxed and casual, their brows still carrying a leisurely smile, making this sudden separation seem utterly normal.
Not understanding why they were so natural, Zi Yan shook her head and cast aside her distracting thoughts, asking about something that interested her.
"Chen Xiao, when are we going to Central State?"
Clearly, Zi Yan had also heard their conversation high in the air.
"We'll go after we deal with Demon Flame Valley."
"What if Earth Demon Old Ghost never comes looking for trouble?"
"Wouldn't that be even better? It gives us ample time to improve our strength. Then we can just go knock on their door."
Chen Xiao replied with a smile. After speaking, he shook his head again. "It won't be too long. Dragging it out for about half a year is probably the limit. Earth Demon Old Ghost is much stronger than Mo Tianxing. Although the strength we've shown isn't bad, it's not enough to make him fear us."
Zi Yan nodded her small head as if she understood, and didn't ask any more questions for now.
She had no interest in trying to figure out the enemy's thoughts.
Anyway, with so many people around, she could leave the thinking to others. Her only job was to fight.
And, to collect spoils of war.
After sitting on the mountaintop and chatting with Little Fairy Doctor and Zi Yan for a while, Chen Xiao then swept into the valley and began to seriously cultivate the Soul Profound Seal Palm.
Perhaps because his soul power was already decent, and he knew how to cultivate it with the help of video instruction, Chen Xiao immediately found that this Soul Skill was incredibly simple and easy for him to cultivate.
Following the cultivation method deep within his memory, Chen Xiao's fingertips danced, forming mysterious seals.
In an instant, the soul power dormant deep within his sea of consciousness surged like a tide, completely drawn out through his brow, condensing into a trembling ball of faint light in his palm. It seemed as if countless starlight flowed and flickered within it.
Although the soul handprint was formless and intangible, the immense pressure it carried was as overwhelming as if it were substantial.
This heart-pounding sense of oppression made everything around them tremble, even from a distance.
Little Fairy Doctor and Zi Yan on the distant mountaintop bore the brunt of it. It was as if an invisible giant hand had gripped their throats, their breathing becoming stagnant. They felt as if the air within a hundred zhang radius had been instantly sucked out. The intense feeling of suffocation forced the two of them to suddenly look up and gaze towards Chen Xiao's location.
*"Bang!"*
The soul palm print that suddenly erupted from Chen Xiao's palm shot out like a phantom. This invisible palm print swept through the air, causing ripples in space wherever it passed, and finally landed heavily on the barren mountaintop that Little Fairy Doctor had previously created.
However, the expected earth-shattering explosion did not occur. Instead, there was a dull, heavy thud.
But when the three of them looked closely, they were all simultaneously dumbfounded.
They saw that the mountain peak struck by the invisible palm print, accompanied by a violent tremor, was suddenly torn apart by a crack as black as ink from the summit. It was like the earth had opened a giant mouth that devoured everything, wanting to suck in the surrounding clouds and mist.
The roaring sound of the mountain rocks cracking came later, startling countless shattered stones to fall rustling down.
Chen Xiao, the 'instigator', stared blankly at the black crack that had torn the mountain apart, his Adam's apple unconsciously bobbing.
He slowly lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on his slightly warm palm. There were no marks there, but the lingering aftertaste of surging soul power remained.
He knew that soul power had infinite uses, and once he learned a Soul Skill, he could definitely use it as a trump card.
But the power of this one palm strike had greatly exceeded his expectations.
The feeling this palm strike gave him was no less than the combined strike of the Mountain Splitting Seal and the Sea Flipping Seal. Coupled with the strangeness of the Soul Skill, it was enough to threaten a Dou Zong expert!
Of course, this didn't mean that the Soul Profound Seal Palm was more powerful than the Emperor Seal Technique. It only indicated one thing.
His soul power was much stronger than he had originally anticipated!
"As long as one's soul is in the initial Spirit Realm, one strike can at least rival a high-level Dou Zong. My strike is enough to threaten a Dou Zong expert. Does this mean that I am not far from the Spirit Realm?"
At this moment, Chen Xiao's emphasis on soul power instantly increased by several levels!
Thinking back to how he could unconsciously influence the emotions of those around him while cultivating his soul recently, Chen Xiao became even more certain that the ethereal Spirit Realm was already within reach!
Just as Chen Xiao was rejoicing at having gained a powerful new trump card, he saw a purple light sweep towards him. Immediately after, Zi Yan's cute face came into view.
"Chen Xiao, I want to learn this!"
She looked up, her big eyes sparkling.
From the change of ownership in Maple City until now, with the help of the Purple Firmament Pavilion and under Hai Bo Dong's management, Chen Xiao and his group had exchanged countless resources.
Those useless spoils of war, such as Dou Skills and cultivation techniques, were all exchanged for those that matched their attributes, as well as countless medicinal herbs, pills, poisons, and so on.
It was under this kind of supply that the group no longer worried about resource issues, and everyone was rapidly improving.
Even Hai Bo Dong had obtained a suitable Earth Rank low-grade ice attribute cultivation technique, replacing his original Ice Emperor Scripture. Coupled with the Earth Rank Dou Skill Heavenly Frost Palm, his configuration had been raised by several levels.
Only Zi Yan, she only liked medicinal herbs and pills, and had no interest in those Dou Skills. She felt they were too flashy and troublesome to use.
Until now, seeing Chen Xiao casually strike out a palm with such power, she finally became interested.
This kind of Dou Skill that was simple to execute and had considerable power was what she truly wanted!
Meeting Zi Yan's gaze, Chen Xiao chuckled.
"What's suitable for me may not be suitable for you. I'll give you the Nine Nether Soul Scripture to cultivate first, raise your soul power, and then I'll teach you this Soul Skill."
Saying that, Chen Xiao took out the scroll of the Nine Nether Soul Scripture and handed it to Zi Yan.
There was no need to be stingy with this girl.
But honestly, he wasn't optimistic.
After all, Zi Yan's true form was a Void Ancient Dragon, and demonic beasts had always been weak in terms of soul power.
The same Soul Skill, when used by a human compared to a demonic beast, would have a world of difference in power. He just needed to let her try it, and perhaps she would retreat upon realizing the difficulty.
Furthermore, the copyright for the Soul Profound Seal Palm wasn't his. If he were to teach it to others, he would need to inform Cao Ying.
Although it was highly likely she wouldn't mind, it was the least bit of respect.
"Can I cultivate with Sister Little Fairy Doctor?" Zi Yan took the scroll, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Of course."
Little Fairy Doctor possessed the Woeful Poison Body and actually didn't need to spend too much time cultivating her soul; Dou Qi cultivation was her advantage.
"What about Sister Cai Lin?"
"She can too."
The Medusa Queen's issue was the same as Zi Yan's.
They weren't outstanding in terms of soul power.
"Hehe, then I understand. I'll go back and cultivate with Sister Little Fairy Doctor first. You continue."
Zi Yan chuckled foolishly and happily ran towards Little Fairy Doctor, eager to go back and cultivate.
Before hitting a wall, she was always this enthusiastic.
Little Fairy Doctor was a bit helpless about Zi Yan's suggestion but didn't want to dampen her spirits. She gently nodded towards Chen Xiao from afar before being pulled by Zi Yan towards Purple Firmament City.
Chen Xiao watched the two leave. However, just as he withdrew his gaze and prepared to continue cultivating, he suddenly sensed a chilling aura quietly condensing in the shadows behind him.
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