Chapter 34

With a shock, the white fox stepped back and looked up at the increasing white light, which was so blinding that it completely overshadowed the natural glow of its body. The overwhelming pressure made the white fox tremble in shock.

As if in an instant, the strong wind circling around the ancient tree had vanished, leaving only the white light enveloping it. In a moment, the spiritual energy from the ancient tree itself surged rapidly, continuously pouring into the tree hollow, as if controlled by the consciousness of the white stone.

As the white light extended, the area within dozens of miles of the ancient tree became as bright as daylight. Inside the tree hollow, around the body of the white stone, a phantom-like figure appeared, its face similar to the white stone, enveloping it like a halo, but without any blood color. It had its eyes open, seemingly gazing forward, though it was unclear where exactly it was looking.

The moment the white stone fully catalyzed the soul in his consciousness, his tightly closed eyes suddenly opened. There seemed to be a hint of vitality in his eyes, but in reality, it was a kind of power. This power made his body, which was floating in mid-air, suddenly spread its hands. When his palms stirred the void, a rumbling sound echoed, and the ancient tree, under the impact of the power, exploded with a loud bang!

The tree trunk flew out, and the white stone, still sitting cross-legged in mid-air, had a thin stream of spiritual energy gather and transform into a light pillar like a small snake, piercing through his body.

With the possession of his own soul, although Bai Shi's strength remained at the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment stage, his power and physical load had increased several times. Therefore, in the current flow of spiritual energy, he did not feel the pain as before, but rather a sense of enjoyment.

As the spiritual energy flowed, the face of the soul enveloping Bai Shi seemed to gain a hint of vitality. This vitality started from the top of his head and spread downward like a thread, making Bai Shi clearly feel a surge of powerful energy in his body.

As the vitality spread, at the point where the magical illusion disappeared, which was at Bai Shi's wrist, a blinding golden light suddenly seeped out. This light pierced through the blinding white light, forming a circle of golden halos in mid-air, emitting a rumbling sound, as if calling out.

It was precisely because of this rumbling sound that the soul spreading over the soul, like the meridians and blood vessels in Bai Shi's body, gradually turned the phantom into a tangible form.

In Bai Shi's consciousness, a bottleneck was about to be broken, making his eyes open with excitement!

This was a bottleneck, an easily breakable one, because of the power of the soul. As Bai Shi raised his palms again, he let out a light shout, and his open palms suddenly clenched, emitting a rumbling sound. In the echo, the eighth white line appeared, complete and flawless!

With the sudden appearance of the eighth white line, the thick power continued to flow through Bai Shi's body. This flow of power was not controlled by his own consciousness but was infused from the outside spiritual energy, further catalyzing another breakthrough bottleneck with the emergence of the soul.

"Foundation Establishment stage, ninth level... I'm coming!"

As the spiritual energy poured in, it seemed like the last light pillar of spiritual energy stirred at the top of Bai Shi's head, and the last trace of vitality in the soul was infused. Bai Shi let out a muffled shout, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, a hint of madness. His hands suddenly spread, and a massive force erupted, striking the invisible force that had not yet completely dissipated, creating ripples like waves.

Under the rumbling sound, the ninth white line appeared outside the eighth white line, rapidly forming and linking together as Bai Shi clenched his fists again, releasing a powerful force.

In the rumbling, Bai Shi could clearly feel every cell in his body rapidly pulsating, and even the bones seemed to be restructuring. In the rumbling, a mysterious force seeped out from Bai Shi's brain, a force that came from his body, stirring the iron sword on the ground. The iron sword, which had been stationary, slowly floated up.

Bai Shi caught the iron sword, and the moment he gripped it, a stronger force surged through him. He swung the sword with force, and a white sword shadow struck a maple tree opposite.

Although the maple tree was not tall, it was not thin. Under the attack of the sword shadow, it exploded with a loud bang.

At the same time, the golden light at Bai Shi's wrist became even more dazzling, as if because Bai Shi had his own soul and the vitality from this soul, it seemed to activate some kind of heavenly law, making the rumbling sound even more piercing.

As the rumbling sound spread, in the morning mountain range, where the Dongchen Village was located, a violent tremor occurred in the back mountain. This tremor made Dongchenzi, who was in the wine cellar, change his expression and look at the stone door.

In his anxiety, Dongchenzi opened the stone door. The moment it opened, a blinding green light burst out, along with a thick pressure, forcing Dongchenzi to step back several paces.

Through the blinding light, Dongchenzi could vaguely see the sword on the stone platform, which was now trembling slightly, as if about to break free from the invisible force binding it, and in the trembling, it emitted a rumbling sound like a dragon's roar!

Light pillars circled around the sword, stirring up strong winds that blew Dongchenzi's robe and made his lips tremble, but it was more a tremble from the heart, a tremble of fear.

In the wine cellar, there was another person, Su Xuan.

Su Xuan was not particularly shocked by what was happening but was more puzzled. He had been in the wine cellar for a long time and did not know about the existence of the stone door or the Dragon Roar Sword.

But from the current situation, he saw the shock on Dongchenzi's face and did not ask too many questions, but directly asked, "Uncle Dongchen... what's happening?"

Dongchenzi's gaze did not leave the Dragon Roar Sword, and his shock did not diminish. His body was motionless, like a puppet, as if stunned by the invisible pressure. He shook his head heavily, as if not knowing what to say, but also understanding something, his tone somewhat long: "I don't know... but it proves one thing, Bai Shi is still alive!"

In this almost silent conversation, Su Xuan and Dongchenzi exchanged a glance and watched the trembling Dragon Roar Sword, waiting to see what would happen.

At this moment, in the Xichen Village, the eight swords on the stone platform were also trembling slightly under the invisible force. In the trembling, they emitted a strange light, illuminating the entire cave, and in the brightness, a chaotic sound emerged, like a complaint or a wail!

Xichenzi was sitting in the hall, seemingly enjoying the warmth of his tea, but at this moment, the teacup in his hand accidentally fell to the ground and shattered.

With a frown, Xichenzi felt a strange unease in his heart. Driven by this unease, he left a trail of afterimages as he rushed to the cave on the cliff, seeing the scene before him and feeling the same shock as Dongchenzi in the chaotic sound.

"No... it's impossible!" Xichenzi's lips trembled, and his mind, like at this moment, echoed with a rumbling sound. His consciousness was momentarily dazed. After a brief pause, he transformed into a rainbow of light, heading towards Dongchen Village, as if to verify the impossible.

However, in the maple forest, Bai Shi, who was enjoying his strength breakthrough, was unaware of what was happening. His body, which had been floating in mid-air, landed on the ground. He held the iron sword in his hand, examining it, and as he incorporated the soul into his body with his consciousness, he lightly leaped onto a maple tree, looking out over the vast maple forest, searching for any unusual discoveries.

For a cultivator at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment stage, although one leap could not cover much distance, standing on the branches of a maple tree was not difficult. After a moment of observation, Bai Shi took another step forward, moving along the branches of the maple tree.

As the first rays of the sun rose, Bai Shi had already advanced about fifty miles. This speed was undoubtedly a cause for celebration for someone who had just reached the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

The maple forest had many swamps, so there were not many strange beasts. However, if you encountered one in the maple forest, you were lucky, because their strength was at least at the Cave Profound stage!

For Bai Shi, this was indeed a stroke of luck. He knew that only by challenging strange beasts stronger than himself could he improve his strength, which would greatly help his cultivation. Moreover, their bones and sinews could fetch a good price in the market.

Therefore, as he moved through the forest, Bai Shi was constantly observing for any strange beasts and then taking the initiative to attack.

Although the maple forest was vast, after advancing another few dozen miles, Bai Shi could see some mountains beyond the forest. He knew that this was the closest place to 'Xingcheng City.'

Even though 'Xingcheng City' was extremely prosperous and one might find some desired herbs within the city, it was the territory of the 'Demon Blade Sect' and the 'Northern Staff Village.' Without any exchange, it was impossible to obtain herbs.

Thus, Bai Shi decided not to rush to 'Xingcheng City' but to hunt some strange beasts in the maple forest first before proceeding.

Bai Shi stood on a branch, his body almost completely hidden by the dense leaves. He scanned the surroundings, trying to find the traces of strange beasts in the swampy area.

As he looked around, Bai Shi's brows suddenly furrowed. Not far ahead, he could vaguely see some maple trees shaking. This shaking was not caused by a strong wind but seemed to be hit by an invisible force.

His body leaped again, and Bai Shi quietly landed on a more concealed maple tree ahead.

What appeared before Bai Shi's eyes was a fierce battle between a human and a strange beast!

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