Chapter 36

This smoky substance, though separated from the giant insect's body, remained quite active, continuously emitting a strange vibration, as if it were sending out some kind of message, subtly trying to influence Ning Yue's mind.

Ning Yue's will had been tempered through countless trials; even the eternal river could not sway him, and the three mountains and five peaks could not crush him. This subtle influence was nothing more than a gentle breeze to him.

Ning Yue used over ten different methods to test this smoky substance, gradually gaining some understanding through various secret techniques. The structure of a life soul is in harmony with the principles of nature, somewhat like the legendary inner dan, or the inner dan of mythical creatures, but it is different from the legendary inner dan. It has an extremely faint consciousness, capable of only the simplest reactions, which is somewhat similar to the Daoist Yin Spirit.

Yan Jifeng's martial arts were close to Daoism, and he had a deep understanding of the Daoist theories of the Golden Elixir and Yin and Yang Spirits. If he had studied Daoism, he would certainly have been a top Daoist master of his time. He knew that although the inner dan technique was mysterious, it was impossible to truly cultivate an inner dan and ascend to the heavens. He also knew that the techniques of Yin and Yang Spirits could not make the soul transcend and remain in the world, with consciousness unextinguished. Many of the Daoist theories were more like the brilliant ideas of geniuses, but there were no methods to achieve them. Most of the inner dan techniques, visualization techniques, and methods for the Yang Spirit to leave the body could not be practiced by anyone.

After entering the other world, Yan Jifeng discovered that the life soul combined the wonders of the inner dan and the Yin Spirit. He was greatly enlightened and studied it in detail, finding it infinitely profound. He integrated Daoist thought into it and created many unique martial arts, with countless ingenious ideas, far surpassing the natives of the dark world in the utilization of the life soul.

Ning Yue used the Ten Directions Illusion Annihilation Technique to erode this smoky substance extracted from the giant insect, and the process was exceptionally smooth. In less than ten breaths, he erased its faint consciousness.

He spread his hand, and the smoky substance merged into his palm, traveling through his meridians and settling in the Zhongtan point on his chest. After settling in, it began to expand and contract at a strange frequency, as if breathing, absorbing energy from Ning Yue's body, refining it, and then expelling it, making the energy even purer.

One of the three crystal screens that had been circling Ning Yue suddenly vibrated, and a new line of information appeared.

Acquired Life Soul "Smoke Escape": Can transform into smoke to escape, and can also transform into a smoke state to nullify most attacks and heal some injuries.

Ning Yue couldn't help but smile wryly. He was now certain that the divine crystal fragments still had some spiritual nature, which was why they had such human-like behavior. The data changes on the crystal screens clearly borrowed from the increasingly popular online game templates in the main world.

Ning Yue quietly jumped to the ground. After the sudden attack by the strange insect, he was very worried that there might be other fierce creatures hidden here. To ensure his safety, he began to explore the ancient castle again.

The battle just now, though swift, had Ning Yue firmly in control, but he did not dare to be complacent. No one could guarantee that there wouldn't be other strange creatures with unpredictable abilities.

Ning Yue did not want to die from an unexpected attack. The ancient castle was quite large, but apart from the giant insect, there were no other creatures hidden. Ning Yue searched around and found only a few skeletons of unknown age, with no valuable items.

These skeletons had various injuries and were surrounded by weapons, clearly belonging to martial artists. Ning Yue examined them, and everything was decayed except for a person with two rusted hammers, whose satchel, though rotten, contained a fresh animal skin scroll.

The scroll had a few human postures and several strange sentences that Ning Yue could not read. However, with his extensive knowledge, he knew that this scroll likely recorded a soul technique in the form of a soul imprint. Anyone who practiced this technique could reactivate the imprint on the scroll, revealing the entire secret method.

Ning Yue, already well-versed in many techniques, did not covet this soul technique and simply put it away without much attention.

Yan Jifeng found a relatively intact room in the ancient castle, tidied it up, and planned to rest for three days to condense the Void Dragon Phantom. Although the pursuers of the Great Xia Dynasty were still chasing him, it was not the best time to practice secret techniques, but without strength, even if he fled far, he would not be safe. Only with formidable power could he ensure his safety. If he restored his peak martial arts, he would be more at ease even in the midst of a thousand troops.

If Ning Yue had entered the dark world under normal circumstances, with his previous accumulation, he could almost instantly break through any power to the tenth stage. With a few months of refinement, combining the strongest life soul diagrams, breaking through to the super-stage phantom would not be difficult.

However, being sent to the Nine Heavens by the divine crystal, he lost all his strength, and without centuries of accumulation, he had to start from scratch. Despite this, Ning Yue's progress was still remarkably fast.

After staying in the ancient castle for a day and a half, Ning Yue broke through the Tai Qing Heart Method to the twelfth level, mastered eight of the eighteen killing moves of the Ten Directions Illusion Annihilation Technique, and opened all nine first-stage life souls on the Void Dragon life soul diagram, ready to condense the phantom at any time.

This speed was not entirely satisfactory to Ning Yue, but the laws of the Nine Heavens were different from those of the dark world. Even if he wanted to progress faster, he was helpless.

One evening, Ning Yue left the castle to hunt for food. After searching for a while, he suddenly felt a sense of caution and quickly activated the Ten Directions Illusion Annihilation Technique, expanding his mental energy. After ten breaths, his expression changed.

A group of people was rapidly approaching from the southeast. Although Ning Yue could not see dozens of miles away, he could guess that they were the subordinates of the Grand Administrator of the Military Temple, Yuwen Yi.

The Great Xia Dynasty implemented the system of Three Dukes, Four Palaces, Nine Ministers, and Nine Temples. The Nine Ministers were high officials in the court, managing major affairs, while the Nine Temples were responsible for royal matters. The Military Temple was the powerful institution in charge of the four royal guards. The four royal guards of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Imperial Guard, the Divine Strategy Army, the Tiger Guard, and the Flying Bear Army, were all under Yuwen Yi's control, at his command.