The field was instantly under the influence of the Tianshi Zhu's power; under the sway of its mysterious force, secret techniques that absolutely required the use of the Divine Soul were rendered completely ineffective.

A Huaxing Tianshi and an Bagua Tianshi suddenly tumbled from the void, landing in a heap, bruised and battered, looking utterly miserable.

Xue E and the other masters of the Yaksha Tribe dragged Galo’s body down hard onto the ground. Galo’s already shattered body was bleeding from all seven orifices; the cracking sound of his bones suggested he was reaching the absolute limits of his endurance.

Snap, snap.

Without hesitation, Xue E scrambled rapidly to his feet. Paying no heed to the scene behind him, he grabbed Galo’s frame and roared at the Yaksha masters, "Don't stop! Come with me and take the Young Master back to the tribe!"

The skilled fighters of the Yaksha Tribe instantly adopted grave expressions. Not a single one looked back at what was happening behind them; instead, they carved a path forward, scrambling and rolling as they rushed ahead.

The Northern Barbarians bolted in the lead, with the masters of the Great Chu Kingdom and the Water Cloud Kingdom fiercely pursuing from behind. The Tianyuan Zhu drifted to the very rear. As its power radiated outward, those closest to it felt the influence most strongly. Bai Qingya, Chu Shanxin, and the others, dragged at the back, were deathly pale, trembling violently, staring in terror at the Tianyuan Zhu suspended in the void.

Unable to utilize the power of the Divine Soul for flight, the Northern Barbarians’ powerful physiques immediately gained the upper hand. Furthermore, being at the forefront meant they were farthest from the Tianyuan Zhu and thus felt its influence most weakly. Focusing solely on escape, they gradually pulled away from the masters of Great Chu and Xuanyuan Valley trailing behind them.

As for Ji Changkong’s party, at this juncture, he naturally stopped worrying about the Northern Barbarians’ Tianshi. The change wrought by the Tianyuan Zhu had utterly stunned him. He immediately wheeled around and rushed back towards the artifact. He only managed to instruct Xiao Poshan and Han Feng to be careful in handling the Northern Barbarians’ flight, cautioning them not to press their advantage too zealously lest they be injured by the fleeing foe.

He himself was affected by the Tianyuan Zhu's power; his Divine Soul was equally thrown into chaos and disarray, making it impossible to borrow the strength of his soul to regulate his own Yuan Force fluctuations, thus precluding any ability to fly through the air.

Fortunately, Ji Changkong’s physical body remained stronger and more resilient than even the Northern Barbarians’. The power of his bloodline remained unaffected by the Tianyuan Zhu. Letting loose his speed, he still moved like lightning, racing back until he stood before the Tianyuan Zhu.

The Tianyuan Zhu shone brilliantly, floating silently in the void. Threads of power, like wisps of smoke, emanated from it. These forces seemed to tug at the very threads of everyone's souls; their distorted movements left people’s Divine Souls tangled like chaotic yarn, impossible to unravel.

With a thought, Ji Changkong calmed his Divine Soul and began to invoke the Xingyun Lianhun Shu (Nebula Soul Refining Art), causing his soul to spin and circulate according to the Art’s method.

In an instant, the force affecting his soul vanished without a trace. The wispy power emanating from the Tianyuan Zhu seemed to become extensions of his spiritual awareness; he felt a wondrous, seamless connection between them.

The Tianyuan Zhu was referred to as a holy object by the members of the Aoluo Divine Cult; it must have deep ties to the cult. Trying to control the Tianyuan Zhu by utilizing the Aoluo Divine Cult’s Xingyun Lianhun Shu proved to be the correct approach! As his soul slowly shifted and rotated according to the Art, it immediately ceased being affected by the Tianyuan Zhu. His body once again stabilized firmly in the void. Concurrently, the changes in his soul seemed capable of stirring those misty tendrils of power emanating from the artifact. As long as his intent shifted, those strange, wispy forces also slowly began to change.

Attempting to straighten those hopelessly tangled wisps, he suddenly discovered that the pale, beautiful faces of Chu Shanxin and Bai Qingya beside him immediately regained their rosy complexion. Their Divine Souls, which had been so affected they were almost uncontrollable, gradually returned to their command.

When Ji Changkong had smoothed out all the wispy energy flowing from the Tianyuan Zhu, those afflicted by its influence gradually returned to normal, regaining full control over their Divine Souls.

Controlling the power of the Divine Soul!

Ji Changkong gasped in shock, suddenly realizing that the Tianyuan Zhu might be exhibiting another function due to its recent, excessive consumption of soul power. Previously, the Tianyuan Zhu could only absorb the power of the Divine Soul and convert it into Yuan Force for Ji Changkong’s use.

Now that it had absorbed enough soul energy, its deeper secrets were beginning to surface.

The ability to control the Divine Soul—wasn't that the same effect as the Qushi Hunji (Soul Skill of Command) within the Xingyun Lianhun Shu?

Having repeatedly used the Soul Skill of Command to defeat foes in the Endless Star Domain, he intimately understood how terrifying that phantom technique was. Could it be that the Tianyuan Zhu, once powerful enough, could directly manipulate the Divine Souls of those nearby, turning them into his slaves, subject to his command?

Ji Changkong’s expression shifted slightly; he suddenly grasped the sinister nature of this capability.

If this were true, he could instantly annihilate an entire sect of Tianshi or a Tianshi family on the Five Elements Continent simply by releasing the power within the Tianyuan Zhu!

Imagine: utilizing the Tianyuan Zhu's power, he could seize control of the Divine Souls of a sect's masters. Even a brief moment would be enough time to issue a command for suicide. If those individuals killed themselves instantly, a sect or a family could be reduced to a desolate, silent ruin in a very short time. The resulting soul power from those suicides would then be absorbed by the Tianyuan Zhu, further amplifying its strength and making its soul-bewitching power ever more potent.

Once the Tianyuan Zhu's ability to control the Divine Soul grew powerful enough, it could even command the souls of Bagua Tianshi, or even Jiugong Tianshi! Consider the sheer ease and delight of being able to use the Tianyuan Zhu's power to turn one’s enemies’ strongest fighters against another enemy faction.

Ji Changkong’s face darkened as he stared blankly at the Yuanzhu suspended in the air. Suddenly, his expression changed: "Little Poison!"

He had not sensed the life form of the Origin Poison!

The Origin Poison, which should have been deeply hidden within the Tianyuan Zhu, seemed to have vanished into thin air. He extended his sensory awareness but could not detect the existence or aura of the Origin Poison within the artifact. Had the Origin Poison been destroyed within the Tianyuan Zhu?

Ji Changkong suddenly grew anxious. He opened his mind and used the specialized method of the Aoluo Divine Cult’s Xingyun Lianhun Shu to try and draw the Tianyuan Zhu closer.

The artifact, which had been persistently hanging in the void, began to gradually drift toward him under the influence of his mental power...

When the Tianyuan Zhu settled back into Ji Changkong’s hand, an immense and boundless surge of power immediately flooded his senses! Within the artifact, there was an incredibly dense power, far exceeding all the strength the Tianyuan Zhu had previously contained!

The trip to the East Sea had allowed the Tianyuan Zhu to devour numerous souls. Recently, within these continuous mountain ranges, it had consumed the soul power of many Northern Barbarian experts. All the souls recently consumed were from powerful Tianshi of the Dantian, Qixing Tian, and Bagua Tian ranks. Coupled with the fact that he hadn't used the power within the Tianyuan Zhu for a long time due to his own advancement in realm, the power accumulated inside had grown ever larger, finally leading to a qualitative change: the Tianyuan Zhu had transformed.

Fine, intricate patterns had appeared on the Tianyuan Zhu. Upon close inspection, these dense lines strikingly resembled the creases of a human palm, intricately interwoven.

Faint wisps of aura flowed out from the artifact. These auras were soft and radiant, and in his palm, they seemed to flow slowly. The auras instantly enveloped his hand, and to Ji Changkong’s surprise, they instantly solidified, transforming into a strange gauntlet that entirely covered his left hand, extending all the way to his elbow joint.

The Tianyuan Zhu remained in his palm, though it too was now covered by the gauntlet.

It was a somewhat ferocious-looking gauntlet covering Ji Changkong’s left arm. His hand now appeared like the gaping maw of a giant python! As his left hand opened slightly, the gauntlet was covered in bizarre spikes, extending all the way up his arm, making it look terrifyingly savage.

Ji Changkong froze, staring curiously at the bizarre gauntlet on his left hand, and tentatively threw a punch forward.

Suddenly, an incomparably violent, surging power erupted from the Tianyuan Zhu held in his left palm. This power instantly merged into his fist, saturating the bones and meridians of his left hand, granting it an unimaginably destructive force!

The furious power exploded from his left hand, charging forward. It smashed the five men hugging a large tree until the tree burst apart. The terrifying fist energy was irresistible, advancing with destructive might until it vanished into the distance.

Boom!

Like a massive earthquake, an earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted from the distance. Even though they were far away, everyone heard it clearly. They saw smoke swirling in the distance where a mountain several dozen zhang high suddenly broke apart halfway up its slope. Rocks flew everywhere, and dust and gravel obscured the sky like sand.

Bai Qingya was dumbfounded.

Chu Shanxin was equally stunned.

Chen Qisen, Xiao Xing, and the others who had just arrived froze on the spot. They looked at the small mountain exploding in the distance, then back at Ji Changkong, whose brow was furrowed in confusion. These people suddenly found it hard to process what they were seeing.

The power of that single blow was actually slightly greater than the power contained in Galo’s mace!

This was absolutely not strength that an Bagua Tianshi should possess. Only Tianshi who had broken through to the Jiugong Tian realm could wield such terrifying, mountain-toppling power!

What was happening?

Xiao Xing, Chen Qisen, and their group exchanged puzzled glances. They thought that if he could unleash such terrifying power, Galo would never have escaped previously. The power of the Jiugong Tian master infused in Galo's mace had already been greatly weakened; it certainly couldn't withstand this ferocious attack from Ji Changkong that caused a small mountain to collapse.

Looking utterly bewildered, Ji Changkong stared blankly at his left hand, at the fist covered by the gauntlet, finding it hard to believe that the power just unleashed originated from his own hand.

Just now, he hadn't even utilized the Yuan Force within his body; he had only merged his Divine Soul with the gauntlet. The source of the gauntlet's power, however, came from the Tianyuan Zhu!

With that single punch, his Divine Soul merged with the gauntlet, the gauntlet merged with the Tianyuan Zhu, and the three entities achieved a momentary, intense cohesion, unleashing that surge of power directly, causing a small mountain to collapse. This level of power was utterly terrifying!

Everywhere his left hand was covered by the gauntlet, his muscles and meridians swelled, and his bones ached. After that single strike, his entire left arm still faintly tingled and felt slightly stiff.

He understood this was because the gauntlet's power was too great. Only his freakishly durable body could withstand it. Otherwise, if another Bagua Tianshi tried to wield the power within the gauntlet, perhaps before the supremely violent energy could even be fully unleashed, his arm would succumb to the backlash and shatter first.

This gauntlet could only have its power unleashed in the hands of someone with a body as monstrous as his. Anyone else misusing its power would likely be (vibrated to death) before the force even fully manifested.

As he mused over this, he suddenly sensed the power of the Origin Poison again. At that very moment, the gauntlet covering his left arm slowly transformed back into light auras and was gradually drawn back into the Tianyuan Zhu.

Only after all the light auras had vanished back into the artifact did the Origin Poison slowly emerge from the Tianyuan Zhu, looking weak as it faced Ji Changkong, saying, "Kong Kong, thank goodness you struck that punch with the World-Ending Gauntlet, otherwise, I would have been trapped forever."

"World-Ending Gauntlet? Trapped?" Ji Changkong stared at the Origin Poison and said gravely, "What exactly happened?"

"That gauntlet you just used is called the World-Ending Gauntlet, one of the three divine weapons within the Tianyuan Zhu!" You have already tested its power. It was automatically triggered because the soul energy within the Tianyuan Zhu reached a critical saturation point. Besides this World-Ending Gauntlet, the Tianyuan Zhu seems to contain two other divine weapons. I don't know what they are, but it seems they will only manifest after the Tianyuan Zhu absorbs more soul energy."

"I know this much because I was previously sucked into a confined area within the Tianyuan Zhu—a place of imprisonment—where I was locked down and unable to break free. But after you struck that blow with the World-Ending Gauntlet, the power of that confinement weakened, allowing me to take the opportunity to escape. That was close! This Tianyuan Zhu truly contains too many bizarre things."

The Origin Poison exclaimed, alarmed.

"Two other divine weapons?" Ji Changkong was stunned.

One World-Ending Gauntlet was already this terrifying. How formidable would the other two divine weapons within the Tianyuan Zhu be? And how much soul energy would need to be consumed before they appeared?