A sliver of silver-black throwing knife, barely two inches long, rested between his fingers. Zong Shou did not spare his True Qi, using it over and over again to assist his Soul Power, relentlessly washing over the blade.

Almost every two quarter-hours, Zong Shou would absorb a Beast Soul Stone and a Beast Crystal to replenish the vital essence and spirit he expended.

Furthermore, he anointed the blade with a special beast oil, preventing the throwing knife from suffering any damage under the continuous forging of his True Qi and Soul Power.

The flying knife in his hand was primarily refined steel, but the auxiliary materials used were not just red copper; obsidian and a trace of Profound Iron had also been incorporated.

The blade itself was slightly broader than his previous willow-leaf style knives. It felt a touch awkward to wield, but was still functionally usable.

This entire process of blade tempering had now stretched for a full four days, consuming nearly three hundred first-tier Beast Crystals and Soul Stones from Zong Shou. The purpose was to bring these three black willow-leaf throwing knives to a state of perfect spiritual resonance with him in this short span.

For the final pass, he wiped the blade with beast oil, bringing the knife—which had grown scalding hot from the impact of his True Qi and Soul Power—back down to a normal temperature.

Zong Shou then reached out with his spiritual sense, observing the talisman-blade in his grip. It trembled slightly.

It seemed as though with the slightest push, it could leap right from his palm.

Knowing the moment was ripe, Zong Shou immediately bridged the connection with his spiritual (Soul Thought). He linked this knife to a sliver of the Startling Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword Intent residing within his Dantian. Then, with practiced ease, he imprinted a minuscule thread of that ‘Sword Intent’ into the metal.

With the experience of the previous attempts, Zong Shou was even more proficient this time. In a mere moment, the throwing knife in his hand underwent another transformation; beneath the black spine, faint patterns began to emerge, as if clouds and mist were churning within the metal.

“Done! With these three knives, I finally have some means of self-preservation. But that person—”

Recalling the gaze that had spied upon him in Little Origin City, Zong Shou still felt a chilling cold penetrate to the bone.

It was a pity that in these few short days, even possessing a profound technique like the Heaven Devouring Primordial Transformation Great Art, his Qi refinement cultivation had not seen significant progress, leaving him feeling insufficiently prepared.

Conversely, his Soul Power, thanks to the Heavenly Mirror Soul Reflection Technique and the might of the Twelve Heavenly Talismans, had surged to the peak of the Spirit Settling Realm the previous night as the clouds dispersed. This had thoroughly stabilized his sea of Soul Power.

The next stage of cultivation was Soul Observation. As the name implied, this involved meticulously surveying every corner within one’s own spirit, understanding the very structure of one’s divine soul.

This was crucial to prevent injury to his Yin Soul should he reach the Soul Projection stage later; even if it were scattered, he could devise a means to reassemble it. However, achieving this level of comprehension required at least the Day Roaming Realm.

All this training demanded time, yet there was no way to achieve rapid advancement right now.

However, there was a shortcut he had only just devised these past few days. Whether this method carried any latent risks, he truly did not know, which was why he still hesitated.

As soon as he tucked the throwing knife into his sleeve, Xue’er entered, beaming with unconcealed joy. “Uncle Yin just checked! We’ve finally shaken off those tailing us! The Young Master is clever; taking this route was indeed something no one else would have thought of. And that Wind Controlling Talisman Array from before—those Spirit Forgers scoffed, saying it was nonsense and gibberish. But look! The speed of the Cloud Tumbler is now a full seventy percent faster than before!”

Hearing this, Zong Shou’s expression grew heavier instead.

Shaking off the pursuers was entirely within his expectations. The modified Wind Controlling Talisman Array in the carriage now not only manipulated wind-element spiritual energy to reduce the Cloud Tumbler’s weight to almost nothing, but it also allowed the Cloud-Treading Steeds at the front to harness the air stirred up by the carriage body. Their speed, rather than being hindered, was enhanced by thirty percent beyond their full gallop.

If only he could find steeds here that were several ranks stronger than the Cloud-Treaders—steeds that excelled in wind control. Otherwise, the Cloud Tumbler could easily ascend a hundred zhang and soar through the sky.

But in this boundless wilderness—a marshland riddled with mud pits that could swallow one whole—even these eighteen Cloud-Treading Steeds were more than enough to leave any trackers far behind.

Yet, even though those people were evaded, why did that deep-seated sense of crisis in his soul persist, growing colder still?

Zong Shou frowned slightly and rose to his feet, his mind instantly discarding any further hesitation. With sharp, decisive movements, he systematically arranged dozens of Soul Stones and Beast Crystals inside the carriage, all of them second-tier or higher. Following this, he used Beast Blood, all sourced from the purest and most spiritually potent third-tier young beasts—items that were themselves quite valuable.

Zong Shou sketched and drew rapidly; in the blink of an eye, he completed a pattern spanning two zhang in area.

“Is this an Altar?”

Chu Xue watched silently nearby. She wasn't entirely certain until Zong Shou set up the incense table, lit the White Wax Sandalwood incense, and she confirmed that what lay before them was indeed a proper Altar.

Zong Shou’s arrangement differed slightly from the common style of altars used by Spirit Cultivators today, yet the distribution of spiritual energy coalescing around it seemed, inexplicably, more balanced and harmonious.

Zong Shou positioned himself in the center of the diagram. Reaching out his right hand, a creature emerged—a small, viscid beast, entirely silver-white, resembling a droplet of water.

“Little Gold, Little Gold, whether your master escapes this calamity today depends entirely on you! If I die today, you won’t survive either—do you understand?”

Little Gold paused, giving a small bounce in his palm. Zong Shou hadn’t expected it to understand anyway; he simply placed the little creature in the center of the incense table.

He formed a hand seal and muttered an arcane sound. A moment later, he opened his eyes slightly, causing threads of cyan smoke and yellow light to emanate from all the surrounding Beast Soul Stones and Crystals. These streams then flowed along the talismans Zong Shou had drawn, converging upon the incense table.

Little Gold, which had been hopping around, now stilled. It allowed these currents of True Essence and Soul Power to envelop its small body.

Then, without prejudice, it absorbed everything. Its entire form began to swell as if inflated like a balloon.

Originally the size of two fists, it now bulged several times larger.

As all the Soul Stones and Beast Crystals shattered one by one, Little Gold’s tiny body seemed on the verge of bursting. A sharp gleam flashed in Zong Shou’s eyes.

He swiftly snatched the top of Little Gold’s head, and instantly, a sucking force erupted from his palm, penetrating deep into the creature’s core.

In a mere instant, a massive influx of vital essence and soul power was drawn out. Once in his palm, the energy immediately and distinctly separated into two streams. One flowed toward his Dantian, while the other shot directly into his Shenxiao Acupoint between his brows.

“With Little Gold’s body acting as a sieve for preliminary purification, the vital essence and soul power absorbed are countless times purer than drawing directly from the Soul Stones and Crystals! It’s almost ready for immediate use, and the effect is even better than my primary induction technique. If I had to convert and refine all this True Essence and Soul Power myself, I would likely explode right now—”

Still cautious, Zong Shou dared not take chances. He activated the Twelve Heavenly Talismans and the eighteen strands of Startling Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword Intent, coordinating them with his internal induction method to further purify this collected essence and soul power.

Only when the impurities within were almost completely purged did Zong Shou allow the refined energy to settle.

In his sea of soul, several colossal storms immediately brewed. They subsided only after the diameter of the vortex had nearly doubled.

And all the refined vital essence, Zong Shou directed with focused, multi-tasking concentration, intentionally channeling it toward his abdomen, allowing it to seep in bit by bit, beginning the process of strengthening the second wheel of Fetal Respiration there!