Half a month later.

Yuan Ming returned to Wangyue City and after surveying for a while, learned that Chang Chun Temple's team had successfully captured Pu Zhengqing and returned to Da Jin. With the Sha Hao incident settled down, he reopened the Spiritual Fragrance Shop with Hu Tu and Mu Yang within Wangyue City.

After taking care of the shop's related affairs, he then returned alone to his cave mansion.

Business at the newly opened store was much quieter than before, but Yuan Ming now had an ample supply of Spirit Stones and elixirs, and running the shop was just meant to be a steady trickle of income. Therefore, in terms of operation and promotion, he only asked Hu Tu and the other to do what they were capable of, not as invested as before.

If everything went as expected, the legacy left by Sha Hao should support his cultivation until the late stages of Foundation Establishment. For the foreseeable future, he planned to stay and cultivate in seclusion, unless something significant came up.

His past experiences had given him a greater longing for an increase in strength. Whether in the Southern Border or in Da Jin, only absolute power could grant one absolute authority. The so-called fairness applies only when power is equal.

If he remained stuck in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, he might not be considered weak among ordinary cultivators, but he would be nothing compared to real powerhouses. He certainly didn't want a repeat of the incident where he was forced to leave his homeland because he hesitated to use his magic artifacts after killing Master Yu Hu.

The incense needed for the shop would also be handled by Lei Yu after they were made; he wouldn't leave the cave mansion easily himself.

As Yuan Ming contemplated his future plans, he took out a stick of Black Incense.

A few days before, he had already confirmed that his parents were safe through a possession by the Black Incense. This time, however, he wanted to check on Xi Ying's situation.

Whether it was the news of Sha Hao's death or the acceptance of the entire legacy of the Great Elder, Yuan Ming had accumulated a mountain of things he wanted to share with Xi Ying. Sadly, with mountains and seas between them, his words could never reach her ears.

On the Stealing Heaven Tripod, the Black Incense burned slowly, and amidst the drifting smoke, Yuan Ming's vision gradually shifted, transferring to Guoguo.

Splash—

Just as the possession completed, Yuan Ming hadn't yet adjusted when a splash of waves hit him in the face. The salty sea water drenched Guoguo from head to toe, not a single hair remained dry.

"Meow!"

Guoguo cried out as if complaining, but the waves continued to wash over its body mercilessly, forcing it to squint and pitifully cling to the scales beneath with its paws, pressing its body—which had shrunk due to the wet fur—closely against the creature.

Although its eyes were closed, once Yuan Ming calmed his mind, he began to observe the surroundings through the power of Divine Sense.

Not far in front of Guoguo, Xi Ying stood on the back of the beast, enveloped by a faint white light that kept the incoming sea water at bay.

Yet, whenever a wave hit her, Xi Ying would shout excitedly, her eyes brimming with eagerness and anticipation.

Beneath her and Guoguo lay a giant fish, several zhang in length, covered in solid blue scales. Its back was flat like a long table, with eight pairs of fins on each side, shaped like cattail fans.

The strange fish leaped and darted across the sea surface, its powerful fins stirring up wave after wave. Its massive body sometimes dove into the water and sometimes leapt above the surface, offering its passengers a thrilling ride.

Yuan Ming noticed the vast blue sea and sky around and guessed that Xi Ying must have left the Southern Border and reached somewhere in the East Sea. Unfortunately, the distance from Wangwangyue Mountain Range to the East Sea remained vast, and the Sound Transmission Talisman likely useless.

After some time, the antics of the sea creature attracted the attention of others. A green light swiftly passed through the sky, stopping just above the head of the fish.

However, upon seeing this, Xi Ying didn't seem surprised at all. She pinched a spell, causing the sea creature beneath their feet to come to a halt.

"Senior Xiao, my master is growing impatient. You should hurry over," said a female cultivator dressed in light green, standing on a Magic Artifact, bowing slightly to Xi Ying.

"There's plenty of time, no harm in her waiting a bit longer," Xi Ying waved her hand dismissively, clearly reluctant.

"Senior Xiao…" The woman in green smiled wryly, opening her mouth as if wanting to persuade further.

"Meow—" At that moment, Guoguo suddenly let out a weak mew.

Xi Ying furrowed her brows, picked up Guoguo, and grumbled, "Usually you can't even walk straight when you see fish, but now you can't handle being on a fish's back for a short while? As punishment, you're not allowed to eat fish for a month when we get back!"

Hearing this, Guoguo mewed again but showed no intention of leaving Xi Ying's embrace.

Yuan Ming, who was possessing Guoguo, could sense its vague thoughts—it seemed Guoguo disliked getting wet more than it hated missing out on fish.

Xi Ying placed Guoguo inside her robe, dismissed the sea creature, then trod upon the air, flying straight up into the sky.

"Alright, I'm off. You better catch up quickly," she said.

With that, Xi Ying's figure flashed, stepping onto a gourd-shaped Magic Artifact, and flew eastward, without waiting for the woman in green.

Seeing this, the woman in green could do nothing but hastily propel her artifact to follow.

The place Xi Ying was heading to was not close by. Before Yuan Ming's Black Incense burned out and the possession ended, she hadn't yet reached her destination.

However, Yuan Ming was only there to confirm her condition, and now that he saw she was safe and sound, there was no longer anything to worry about.

After withdrawing his thoughts, Yuan Ming calmed his mind, discarded any stray thoughts, and delved into cultivation.

...

Time flew by, and five years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the cave mansion, the fluctuations of spiritual power around Yuan Ming had already reached the level of mid-stage Foundation Establishment, still a distance away from the peak.

With the elixirs left by Sha Hao, the Purple Mysterious Incense he refined himself, and the Gathering Spirit Formation he later exchanged for with spirit stones, Yuan Ming had been cultivating day and night without rest. He broke through to the mid-stage more than four years ago, and under the continuous support of the elixirs, his mana kept making rapid advances, steadily moving towards the peak of mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

In addition, with the daily nourishment of the Divine Soul by the Stealing Heaven Tripod and the nightly practice of the Moonlight Technique, Yuan Ming's Divine Soul also saw considerable improvement. Today, he finally arrived at the edge of the Moonlight Technique's Fourth Level.

With the breakthrough imminent, he did not dare to be negligent and specially took out a stick of Spirit Incense from his Storage Ring.

Over the years, he often reviewed the cultivation insights from the Great Elder, from which he gained a lot.

The insights mentioned an elixir that could help overcome the bottlenecks faced by Soul Cultivators. Although Yuan Ming was not adept in alchemy, through analysis and research, he managed to create a stick of Spirit Incense with similar effects.

This incense could stabilize a cultivator's mental state, dispelling stray thoughts while also slightly enhancing the strength of the Divine Soul. It could not only assist Soul Cultivators in their breakthroughs but was also very beneficial for the cultivation of regular cultivators.

Yuan Ming named this incense "Soul Nourishing Incense," and planned to sell it in the Spiritual Fragrance Shop in the future, but there was no rush for now.

As he lit the Soul Nourishing Incense, he immediately felt a cool sensation in his head, clearing away all trivial matters. His nervousness about the impending breakthrough also gradually eased.

Following that, Yuan Ming silently began to circulate the Moonlight Technique, and the Soul Power in his Sea of Consciousness started stirring little by little, quickly becoming like raging waves crashing through his Sea of Consciousness and all rushing towards the divine shadow in the center of the Sea of Consciousness.

With the entry of the Soul Power, Yuan Ming's Divine Soul gradually filled up, reaching its limit soon after; nonetheless, the surging Soul Power in the Sea of Consciousness continued unabated, showing no signs of stopping.

Soon, Yuan Ming's Divine Soul began to swell and twist unnaturally.

Yuan Ming sensed that outside his Divine Soul, there seemed to be some indescribable constraint preventing further growth and development.

But this was not due to external forces; it was a natural restraint for every cultivator.

The Great Elder had mentioned this in his insights, referring to it as "Soul Constraints." It is the key that truly differentiates Soul Cultivators from ordinary cultivators. Starting from breaking through this restraint, the cultivation path of Soul Cultivators will gradually diverge from that of regular cultivators, ultimately widening the gap between them.

In the Sea of Consciousness, Yuan Ming's Divine Soul no longer retained its original appearance. However, the restraints that bound him still existed, and no matter how much he circulated the Moonlight Technique, he could not break free.

Gradually, the Soul Power in the Sea of Consciousness was depleted, the surging waves slowly calmed, and a hint of anxiety flashed in Yuan Ming's mind. Although it was soon soothed by the smoke of the Soul Nourishing Incense, it could not change the fact that the breakthrough was about to fail.

But just then, the mark of the Stealing Heaven Tripod on Yuan Ming's arm suddenly lit up, and the familiar warm current appeared once again, rushing toward the Sea of Consciousness within Yuan Ming.

However, this time, when the warm current reached the Sea of Consciousness, Yuan Ming discovered that there was suddenly a shadow of the Stealing Heaven Tripod in front of his Divine Soul's phantom.

He hadn't figured out what was happening when he saw the shadow of the Stealing Heaven Tripod fiercely collide with his Divine Soul.

A sharp pain shot through Yuan Ming's forehead, causing him to feel disoriented. Before he could recover his senses, another loud noise echoed within the Sea of Consciousness as the shadow of the Stealing Heaven Tripod collided with his Divine Soul once again.

Under the violent impact, both the shadow of the Stealing Heaven Tripod and the phantom of the Divine Soul developed fine cracks.

With his Divine Soul damaged, Yuan Ming felt dizzy, and the Moonlight Technique he had been running also halted for an instant. However, at that very moment, the shadow of the Stealing Heaven Tripod collided with the Divine Soul for the third time, shattering both into pieces.

Yuan Ming felt darkness before his eyes and fainted.

Though he had lost consciousness, he had completed the final step in breaking through the Soul Constraints.

The previously restrained Soul Power that had flooded into his Divine Soul did not disperse despite the lack of external constraints; instead, it operated independently, absorbing the shards of the Stealing Heaven Tripod and the fragments of the Divine Soul before rapidly recondensing into a human form, transforming the newly-formed Divine Soul phantom into something more solid. While far from being fully formed, it showed a slight indication of taking on a physical form.

Inside the cave mansion, after an unknown amount of time, Yuan Ming slowly regained consciousness, propped up his head, and sat up. As he recalled the experience, he immediately inspected his Sea of Consciousness with Inner Observation, anxious to see the current situation.

When he saw the somewhat solidified faint yellow shadow in the center of the Sea of Consciousness, he was first taken aback and then overjoyed.

He immediately released the soul crows, and as expected, the number of soul crows he could control had increased by two, and the range of their Far Travel had been extended to forty li.

In addition, his soul crows had awakened a new ability called "Crow Cry," capable of emitting Divine Soul Sound Waves to attack enemies.

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