Chapter 46

A silver-black flying dagger, about two inches in size, was held between his fingers. Zong Shou was not at all stingy with the consumption, repeatedly using his true qi to assist his soul power, continuously washing over the blade.

Almost every two hours or so, Zong Shou would absorb a beast soul stone and a beast crystal to replenish the essence and spirit energy within his body.

He also used a special beast oil to coat the blade, to prevent the flying dagger from being damaged under the continuous tempering by his true qi and soul power.

The flying dagger in his hand was mainly made of fine steel, but the auxiliary materials used were not just red copper; black obsidian and a bit of mystic iron were also added.

The blade was slightly wider than the previous willow leaf dagger, making it a bit uncomfortable to use, but it was still勉强可以使用.

The entire process of tempering the dagger had already lasted for four whole days. Zong Shou had consumed nearly three hundred first-stage beast crystals and soul stones. The purpose was to make these three black willow leaf flying daggers reach a level of mental connection with him in just a few short days.

For the last time, he wiped the blade with beast oil, making the flying dagger, which had become hot due to the impact of true qi and soul power, return to a normal temperature.

Zong Shou then used his soul sense to remotely feel the talisman dagger in his hand, which was now slightly trembling.

It seemed that with just a little more effort, it could fly out of his palm.

Knowing that the time had come, Zong Shou immediately used his soul sense to bridge the gap. He connected the dagger to the惊人神灭剑意 in his dantian. Then, with ease, he imprinted a trace of the 'sword intent' into the dagger.

With the experience from previous attempts, Zong Shou was more proficient this time. In just a moment, the flying dagger in his hand changed again, and some patterns appeared on the black blade, as if clouds were rolling inside.

"Done! With these three daggers, I finally have some means to save my life. But that person—"

Thinking of the gaze that had been watching him in Xiaoyuan City, Zong Shou still felt a bone-chilling cold.

Unfortunately, even with the Swallowing Heaven Primordial Transformation technique, his cultivation of true qi had not advanced much in these few days, and it was not enough to rely on.

On the contrary, his soul power, with the help of the Heavenly Mirror Soul Reflection technique and the power of the Twelve Heavenly Talismans, reached the peak of the Calm Spirit Realm last night when the clouds cleared and the fog dissipated, stabilizing the soul power sea.

The next step in cultivation was to observe the soul. As the name suggests, it involved observing every corner of one's soul, understanding the composition of one's spirit.

This was to prevent the soul from being damaged during the Out-of-Body stage. Even if it was scattered, one could find a way to reassemble it. However, to achieve this level, at least the Day Roaming Realm was required.

These cultivations required time, but there were also ways to speed up the process.

However, this method, which he had just figured out in the past few days, was a shortcut. He did not know if it had any long-term consequences, so he was still hesitant.

Just as he put the flying dagger away in his sleeve, Xue'er walked in with a joyful expression and said, "Uncle Yin has already checked, and those people have finally been shaken off! It's the young master who is smart; taking this route, no one else could have thought of it. And the previous Wind Control Talisman array, those spirit forgers were talking nonsense. In the end, the speed of the Cloud Turning Chariot increased by a full seventy percent!"

Upon hearing this, Zong Shou's expression became even more solemn.

Shaking off those people who were following behind was within his expectations. The modified Wind Control Talisman array in this chariot not only controlled wind elemental energy, reducing the weight of the Cloud Turning Chariot to almost nothing.

It also allowed the Cloud Stepping Horses in front to use the wind generated by the chariot to run faster, increasing their speed by thirty percent even when at full speed.

Unfortunately, in this small place, it was impossible to buy Wind Riding Horses that were several times faster than the Cloud Stepping Horses. Otherwise, the Cloud Turning Chariot could even rise a hundred feet and fly through the air.

However, in this vast, muddy swamp, even with just these eighteen Cloud Stepping Horses, they were enough to shake off all those who were following behind.

But if they had already shaken off these people, why did the deep-seated sense of danger still linger, making him feel even more chilled?

Zong Shou frowned slightly, stood up, and without any hesitation, began to place dozens of soul stones and beast crystals, all of which were second stage or higher, in the four corners of the chariot. He then added some beast blood, taken from the purest and most powerful third-stage young beasts, which were also quite valuable.

Zong Shou drew and painted, and in a moment, a pattern two zhang in diameter was formed.

"Is this a ritual platform?"

Chuxue watched quietly from the side. She was unsure until Zong Shou set up the incense altar and lit the white sandalwood incense, confirming that it was indeed a ritual platform.

Zong Shou's setup was slightly different from the commonly used ritual platforms of current spirit cultivators, but the distribution of the gathered spiritual energy was more balanced and harmonious.

Zong Shou stood in the center of the pattern, and with a reach of his right hand, a silver-white, water-drop-like creature appeared in his hand.

"Xiao Jin, Xiao Jin, whether your master can escape this great calamity today depends entirely on you! If I die today, you won't survive either, do you understand—"

Xiao Jin was taken aback, then bounced in his palm. Zong Shou naturally didn't expect it to understand, and placed the little guy in the center of the incense altar.

He made a hand seal and recited secret incantations. After a moment, he opened his eyes slightly, and the soul stones and beast crystals around him emitted wisps of green smoke and yellow light, which then followed the talisman patterns Zong Shou had drawn, converging toward the incense altar.

Xiao Jin, who had been bouncing, now became still, allowing the true essence and soul power to envelop its body.

It then greedily absorbed all of it, and its body swelled like a balloon.

Originally, it was only the size of two fists, but now it had grown several times larger.

As the soul stones and beast crystals shattered one by one, Xiao Jin's small body seemed about to burst. Zong Shou's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

He reached out and grabbed the top of Xiao Jin's head, and immediately a suction force from his palm entered Xiao Jin's body.

In an instant, a massive amount of essence and soul power was drawn out by Zong Shou. It flowed into his palm, clearly dividing into two streams. One part flowed into his dantian, while the other entered the Shenxiao acupoint between his eyebrows.

"With Xiao Jin's body as a sieve, the essence and soul power, after being buffered and purified once, are indeed much purer than directly absorbing them from the soul stones and beast crystals! They are almost ready to use, and the effect is even better than my first set of guiding techniques. If I had to convert and refine all this true essence and soul power myself, I would probably die immediately—"

Zong Shou did not dare to be overconfident and again activated the Twelve Heavenly Talismans and eighteen strands of惊人神灭剑意, using the internal guiding technique to purify the essence and soul power once more.

Only after all the impurities were removed as much as possible did Zong Shou allow them to return to their original positions.

In the soul sea, several huge storms immediately arose. The vortex grew to nearly twice its original diameter before stopping.

Zong Shou, using his mind to control multiple tasks, deliberately directed all the essence to his abdomen, gradually seeping into it, beginning to strengthen the two wheels of fetal breathing!