Chapter 19: Petrifying Martial Soul

A massive ancient tree appeared in Luo Hao's line of sight. The tree, which required ten people to encircle, stood several dozen meters tall, its branches and leaves covering the sky.

Luo Hao suddenly stopped, letting go of Mu Yudie. He gazed at the ancient tree with a solemn expression, his face fluctuating as if he was about to make a significant decision.

Zhao Xin, Di Yalan, and Hu Long approached the ancient tree, their faces also changing slightly, as if they all knew that this place was extraordinary.

Shi Yan frowned, staring at the massive skyward tree without a word.

Luo Hao took a deep breath, turned to face everyone, and said in a deep voice, "The path to the right of the skyward tree has very few beast attacks. Most merchant caravans and martial artists who pass through the Dark Forest choose this path. It's very safe; even if you encounter a beast, it's usually a low-level one, like a Level 1 or Level 2. Moreover, this path is closer to the Merchant Alliance, only about ten days' journey."

Zhao Xin and the others nodded lightly, clearly understanding the situation.

After a pause, Luo Hao's expression turned serious, and he continued, "But the path to the left of the skyward tree is completely different! Not only is it much longer, but it's also infested with beasts, and there are many reckless martial artists and mercenaries. Those who dare to take this path are not good people. In the long-term crisis, these people act without any restraint, and if we take this path, we must be cautious not only of the beasts but also of the crazy martial artists and mercenaries, especially since we have two beautiful girls in our group..."

"Hmph! If anyone dares to have designs on me, I'll cut off all their thoughts!" Di Yalan made a cutting motion with her left hand, her beautiful eyes gleaming with a cold light.

"Uncle Luo, what do you mean?" Zhao Xin asked cautiously.

"Taking the safe path on the right, the 'Dark Abyss' people will catch up with us again in at most a day. When that happens, we'll have to fight another bitter battle," Luo Hao said with a grim face, looking helpless. "We can't be so lucky next time, and they might have reinforcements. If we encounter them again, we might be in grave danger..."

"What about the left path?" Hu Long asked.

"On the left, there are many beasts and ruthless martial artists and mercenaries. Taking this path, we will face beasts and possibly be attacked by those who are almost driven mad by pressure. However, the 'Dark Abyss' will also face the same dangers. 'Dark Abyss' has a bad reputation; in the Empire of Blazing Fire, few dare to challenge them, but in that area, there will be many who will cause them trouble. If they encounter a high-level beast, they might be completely wiped out..."

Luo Hao slowly explained the situation and then gave his opinion: "Taking the right path, we won't face beasts or other martial artists, but we will have to deal with the major threat of 'Dark Abyss.' On the left, we will face beasts and martial artists, but 'Dark Abyss' might suffer even more. For us, the left path might offer a better chance of survival."

"Let's take the left path!" Mu Yudie decisively made the decision.

"Alright." Luo Hao immediately nodded and finally looked at Shi Yan, saying, "Little brother, you still have time to leave. If you don't go now, it will be too late."

"I'll go with you." Shi Yan had already made up his mind. He had a wild side to his personality; otherwise, he wouldn't have spent ten years indulging in extreme sports, a game of death.

When Luo Hao talked about the dangers on the left path, he couldn't help but feel excited.

Nodding, Luo Hao waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's go. From now on, everyone must be extra cautious!"

...

An hour later.

Mo Chaoge and the Mo family martial artists also stopped in front of the skyward tree.

"Second Uncle, which path will they choose?" Mo Yan Yu asked.

"I'll go from the right. If I'm not back in two hours, you follow. If I don't catch up with them in two hours, they must have taken the left path," Mo Chaoge thought for a moment and instructed everyone to wait here while he flew off alone to the left.

An hour and a half later, Mo Chaoge returned with a gloomy face. "I didn't see a single shadow. These people actually dared to take the left path. Be careful! The left path is infested with beasts and madmen. Don't be careless. Remember, don't easily make enemies with those martial artists and mercenaries. Those who dare to make money from beasts are reckless and fearless. Don't provoke them."

"Yes!"

"Let's go!"

...

Three saber-toothed rhinos slowly paced by the stream. The saber-toothed rhino is a Level 3 beast, with a silver-shining back and sword-like fangs at the corners of its mouth. Its large, brown eyes glowed with ferocity. The rhino's hide was covered in hard, muddy armor, which was so tough that even ordinary blades couldn't cut through it.

The three saber-toothed rhinos occasionally drank from the stream, their fierce eyes scanning the surroundings as if looking for prey.

Not far from the saber-toothed rhinos, Luo Hao made a gesture, signaling everyone to be silent.

When the three saber-toothed rhinos slowly moved away, Luo Hao let out a sigh of relief and said, "The saber-toothed rhino is a Level 3 beast, equivalent to a martial artist at the Human Rank. This beast is swift and has extremely sharp fangs. If a low-level martial artist encounters it, they will either die or be severely injured!"

Shi Yan's cold eyes followed the slowly disappearing saber-toothed rhino, showing a keen interest in a confrontation.

"Our goal this time is to protect Little Yudie, not to hunt the beasts here. Remember this and don't cause unnecessary trouble," Luo Hao said, as if he had read Shi Yan's thoughts, giving a casual reminder.

Shi Yan smiled and nodded, indicating that he understood.

"Let's go. We need to be cautious here. Don't rush, and pay attention to the surroundings. Try to avoid encountering beasts and martial artists to reduce unnecessary trouble," Luo Hao reminded everyone again before leading the way forward.

...

Night fell quietly.

Beside a large tree with dense foliage by the stream, Zhao Xin and the others spread out, vigilantly watching the surroundings to ensure no beasts would suddenly appear.

Shi Yan sat solemnly on the wet ground.

A desire for slaughter enveloped his heart like a cloud, making him feel an urge to vent. The essence he had obtained from the two Dark Star Envoys was at a critical stage of purification, and he felt restless.

Luo Hao stood beside Mu Yudie, frowning and watching Shi Yan, afraid that he might do something unusual.

Mu Yudie's expression was indifferent. She watched Shi Yan for a while, noticing his increasingly fierce expression, and then slowly sat down, placing her ancient zither on her graceful knees and began to play.

As the zither music began, the violent thoughts in Shi Yan's heart seemed to be dissolved by a cool, strange force, gradually fading away.

Holding his breath, Shi Yan silently circulated his essence, beginning his cultivation.

An hour later, a warm current surged from his acupoints.

Shi Yan was suddenly startled.

Shi Yan felt his body was extremely thirsty. The strange force that emerged from his acupoints, before it could converge in his lower abdomen, was absorbed by his muscle cells and bones. The warm current flowed into his flesh and bones, taking root in his body.

In just a few breaths, the strange warm current from his acupoints spread throughout his flesh and bones, leaving him amazed.

Feeling a sudden impulse, Shi Yan tried to sense the warm current in his flesh and bones.

"Boom!"

A loud noise echoed in his mind. In the next moment, Shi Yan suddenly felt a strange change in his body.

Shocked, he opened his eyes and was horrified to see that his exposed arm was slowly turning a stone-gray color.

Petrification!

Shi Yan was stunned and quickly stopped thinking about his body's abnormality, withdrawing his mind from his body.

Focusing his attention, Shi Yan noticed that Luo Hao and Mu Yudie were whispering behind a nearby tree and hadn't noticed him.

Relieved, Shi Yan's eyes sparkled with joy, and he inwardly laughed with delight.

The signs of petrification clearly indicated that the Shi family's "Petrifying Martial Soul" had awakened!

This martial soul was unique to the Shi family. As one's realm improved, this "Petrifying Martial Soul" would become increasingly powerful, eventually making the body impervious to blades and even resistant to the surge of essence.

Shi Yan had initially thought he was naturally lacking this martial soul, but after breaking through to the Innate Realm, it had suddenly awakened, filling him with joy.

This "Petrifying" martial soul was extremely useful in battle. After petrification, the body would be as hard as stone without losing agility, significantly enhancing his strength.

In addition to "Petrification," he had already confirmed that his body possessed a "Deathless Martial Soul" that could self-heal. The two martial souls complemented each other, and if cultivated to their peak, the wonders his body could achieve were beyond his imagination.

"But that's strange!" Shi Yan frowned, pondering, "Don't martial souls usually manifest shortly after birth? At seventeen, it's unusual for a martial soul to awaken. Could this be related to the strange energy flowing from my acupoints?"

He vaguely realized that the awakening of his "Petrifying" and "Deathless" martial souls might be related to the blood from the blood pool and the changes in his acupoints.

The strange warm current from his acupoints seemed to be able to awaken "martial souls" in the body. The thought of this possibility made his heart race, and he almost wanted to howl with excitement.

"Martial souls" are innate and generally only strengthen as one's realm improves. There are almost no other ways to enhance them.

"Martial souls" are the most proud talent of martial artists and a key factor in determining their strength. Martial artists strive to break through and improve to enhance their "martial souls." However, even with realm improvements, the growth of "martial souls" is limited and constrained.

In the Divine Grace Continent, even legendary Divine Alchemists can only勉强炼制出对常见“武魂”有效的丹药，这些丹药可以说是神恩大陆上最稀有、最珍贵的神物，只存在于传说之中。

然而，即使是那些丹药，对“武魂”的增强幅度也非常有限，“武魂”是天赋，这不是可以轻易改变的。

但石岩身体穴道内溢出来的奇异暖流，却似乎违背了天地常理，仿佛真的可以催化“武魂”，增强这种天赋能力！

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However, even those legendary Divine Alchemists can only勉强 create pills that are effective for common "martial souls," and these pills are the rarest and most precious treasures in the Divine Grace Continent, existing only in legends.

However, even those pills have very limited effects on enhancing "martial souls," as "martial souls" are innate talents that cannot be easily changed.

But the strange warm current from Shi Yan's acupoints seemed to defy the laws of nature, as if it could truly catalyze and enhance "martial souls"!

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