Chapter 43: Xu Yuan: I Have Found the Shoulders of Giants!

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"Just now..." Xu Yuan recalled the scene from earlier, his heart racing. "Did I manage to separate just a tiny bit of the spear form?"

"The Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique—the five elements aren't from the Tianyuan Brush's five elements but from the Five-Element Spear Spirit!" Xu Yuan had an epiphany.

Instead of using the Tianyuan Brush to draw in external elemental forces, he channeled the power of the Five-Element Spear Spirit into his body to execute the Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique. Then, by fusing it with the devouring aspect, he established a reverse connection with the Five-Element Spear Spirit.

Next, he merged the Five-Element Spear Spirit with the Tianyuan Spear and then transformed it into the Tianyuan Brush form. Through the connection between his internal organs and the Five-Element Spear Spirit, he pulled at the essence of the spear form.

Though it was merely the transformation of shadows within the meditation space, Xu Yuan could distinctly feel that he had genuinely perceived the essences of both forms during this process.

If he could completely extract the spear form within the meditation space, it would mean that he had truly located the spear form essence within his martial soul through perception.

Of course, the so-called "extraction" didn't mean splitting the two essences of the martial soul. Everything in the meditation space was merely the concrete manifestation of his perception of the martial soul. Extracting the spear form in the meditation space meant that his perception of his martial soul had become refined enough to untangle the two interwoven forms.

Xu Yuan wouldn't rush things.

After all, he was still just a low-level soul master.

Creating a new martial soul was impossible—it was the domain of gods. Xu Yuan was well aware of this. Any wild ideas that attempted to achieve what only gods could do were bound to fail.

No matter how bold his plans were, they still involved various detours, ultimately relying on clever methods to integrate the spear form into his blood and qi cultivation.

Extracting the spear form to become a separate martial soul?

Xu Yuan felt that this was akin to gambling, and the resulting martial soul would likely be incomplete.

Instead, infusing the spear form into his blood and qi cultivation would assist in his blood and qi training while also attempting to grant his blood and qi the ability to truly condense a blood and qi soul ring.

Of course, there were numerous steps involved, each fraught with immense danger.

For now, Xu Yuan was still in the exploratory phase.

If the risks were too high, he wouldn't take them.

After his enlightenment in the Sea God Pavilion, Xu Yuan had already broken through the first bottleneck.

"My stomach feels a bit hungry." Xu Yuan checked the time and realized he had unconsciously meditated for two days.

He ate the food Shen Yi had brought over the past two days and activated the Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique.

The current version of the technique, enhanced with devouring properties, significantly improved the efficiency of digestion and absorption of food.

"There's one more day left. Cultivating soul power here is the most wasteful use of this environment. Thinking through key issues is the best way to maximize its benefits."

Xu Yuan continued meditating, pondering more concrete ideas for his plan to merge man and spear.

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

Xu Yuan opened his eyes, suppressing the multitude of thoughts in his mind, and followed Shen Yi downstairs.

Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan were already waiting below.

"Let's go. The three of you should have gained quite a bit over these three days," Shen Yi said, leading Xu Yuan and the others out of the Sea God Pavilion.

No guidance or offers of apprenticeship?

Xu Yuan was momentarily stunned.

Soon, he chuckled inwardly, realizing he had overthought things.

Indeed, he had overthought it.

The three of them were only seven years old, with no prior accumulation. Offering guidance at this stage wouldn't yield significant progress and might even devalue the teaching. Unless someone had explicitly decided to take them as disciples, formal guidance wouldn't be given in such a solemn setting as the Sea God Pavilion. Even if someone wanted to say a few words, they would do so privately.

Xu Yuan didn't know how Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan had performed over these three days, but he knew his own performance hadn't been overly flashy. It was normal that neither the elder masters nor Yun Ming had taken notice of him.

His gains were significant, but his movements were subtle.

"To minimize risk, I still need to focus on spirit soul contracts."

Back in his dormitory, Xu Yuan dialed his uncle's number on the soul-guided communicator.

"Hello? Xiaoyuan? What's up?" Xu Shengqun's voice came through the communicator.

"It's about my martial soul cultivation."

"Go ahead."

Knowing there was no one else around, Xu Yuan immediately explained his thoughts.

"A spirit soul contract with blood and qi cultivation?" Xu Shengqun groaned at Xu Yuan's idea.

You already have such great talent—don't mess around.

Xu Yuan could sense his uncle's frustration and quickly reassured him. "Don't worry, Uncle. I won't attempt anything without absolute certainty."

"Sigh… Your father researched this as well. I'll send you the relevant materials," Xu Shengqun sighed, repeatedly warning Xu Yuan not to experiment recklessly.

"If you're really ready, let me know in advance. Also, inform your uncle Zhen Hua. We'll go to his place when the time comes."

Listening to his uncle's reminders, Xu Yuan was momentarily stunned.

My father researched this too?

"Father studied these things?" Xu Yuan asked in surprise.

"Of course. Your father explored many projects in pursuit of cultivation. However, the blood and qi-soul contract research was his private project, conducted in collaboration with the Body Sect."

The Body Sect?

Xu Yuan was bewildered.

So these paths had already been thought of and attempted by predecessors.

"And it's not just research—there's already a template," Xu Shengqun hinted meaningfully. "Your uncle Zhen Hua isn't a body-type martial soul user, but he's still considered a disciple of the Body Sect."

Xu Yuan picked up on his uncle's "hint."

"He may not be cultivating blood and qi soul rings, but something similar. His martial soul has fused with his blood and qi, allowing him to train using the sect's secret techniques to enhance his blood and qi and even evolve his martial soul. That's how he became a divine craftsman."

Xu Yuan was deeply intrigued.

This was the first time he realized that even the supporting characters in the original work might have incredibly legendary cultivation paths.

"Uncle, don't worry. I won't try anything reckless. I'll visit Uncle Zhen Hua in Tiandou City in half a month to discuss this further."

After making his assurances, Xu Yuan ended the call.

He exhaled deeply.

At this moment, he felt an immense sense of relief.

Previously, he had felt like everything was the wild imagination of a tiny soul master, burdened by enormous pressure.

Now, he felt like he had found the shoulders of giants.

Uncle had said there was a large amount of material to send over, which would take some time. Xu Yuan wasn't in a rush and began meditating.

"My father's research direction overlaps quite a bit with mine."

After skimming through the materials, Xu Yuan quickly analyzed the research, brimming with excitement.

"The symbiotic spirit soul isn't entirely reliable. While drawing inspiration from Ji Juechen's cultivation path, Father also discovered that Uncle Zhen Hua was an imitator. After becoming familiar with him, Father discussed this topic with him and learned about the process of integrating blood and qi into the martial soul."

"Father's research into spirit soul contracts is indeed profound. I'll need to study more theoretical knowledge in this area to fully understand it."

"..."

Standing on the shoulders of giants, Xu Yuan grew more confident and threw himself into his research with renewed vigor.

At the same time, he eagerly anticipated the fruits of his upcoming trip to Tiandou City in half a month.

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