Chuxue straightened up, her heart in turmoil.

She had lived for thirteen years, cultivating spirit arts for seven of them, yet this was the first time she had witnessed such a scene.

It was said that when a Spirit Master achieved sudden enlightenment, or when their spirit thought achieved perfect clarity, in the instant their divine soul connected with heaven and earth, their potential could be awakened, causing their soul power to surge and their cultivation realm to elevate. Furthermore, this phenomenon was extremely common among Spirit Masters with higher innate talent.

Thus, in the cultivation of Spirit Masters, aside from daily accumulation through practice, extreme importance was placed upon 'enlightenment' and 'spirituality.'

But at this moment, Zong Shou was not just emitting wave after wave of powerful soul energy; there was also an inexplicable pressure that radiated outward with his long cry, sweeping across the hundreds of feet surrounding them, enveloping the entire area.

It was as if, in the span of a single breath, his soul power realm had crossed an entire level!

It took a full dozen breaths before Zong Shou’s cry gradually subsided. The emotions churning in his chest were also slightly vented.

"Is this the Night Roaming Realm?"

He tentatively raised his hand, and in the next instant, he saw balls of spirit energy gather in his palm.

First, countless fire energies converged into a single flame. Then, as it dissipated, it was replaced by water energy—a small sphere of liquid hovering three feet above his palm.

This manifested naturally, without any incantations, talismans, or aid from magical artifacts.

This was clearly the Night Roaming Realm, where nurturing the spirit had been successful, allowing one to command the energies of heaven and earth solely through the Nascent Soul!

"Tsk, I never expected that after the reincarnation of me, Sword Emperor Tan Qiu, my highest achievement now wouldn't be in the martial path. Instead, it’s this Nascent Soul that first reached the Night Roaming level—"

Shaking his head slightly, Zong Shou felt utterly speechless.

A Night Roaming Spirit Master could already stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a Prenatal Martial Master; for anyone else, this would be cause for great excitement and delight. Yet, for him, it was impossible to be happy.

"It’s not just the surge in soul power; the injuries within my Sea of Souls also seem to have healed. Fine! With the spiritual cultivation of the Night Roaming Realm, I will at least have some power to protect myself. That’s better than being casually slain by others later—"

Thinking of this, Zong Shou secretly found himself amused, feeling that he was indeed being somewhat overly sensitive.

Today’s Nascent Soul sublimation was, for him, not just a joyous event, but a turning point.

The pressure that had accumulated in his chest for so long had finally been pried open by a sliver. At the very least, he was no longer completely defenseless.

After today, no matter who tried to lay hands on him, it would be a fight to the death. Although in his past life he only practiced the martial path, controlling a sword with his soul seemed to be something he was exceptionally good at.

The liquid in his hand also scattered, dissolving into fine, pure spirit energy, vanishing into the air around him.

Then, a flicker of electric light appeared in his hand. The lightning flashed, and something inside his body seemed to resonate, causing this sliver of electric light to instantly expand into a streak of violet lightning that coiled around his arm, emitting a sizzling sound.

"Indeed, my control over lightning far surpasses that of other elemental spirit energies. Is this due to the sealed violet lightning, or the mental core and origin imprint absorbed from that Thunder Roc egg?"

He recalled that the pills refined by the sect in his memory did not have this effect. In that sect, there were only a few Spirit Masters skilled in lightning arts.

He also had a vague feeling that his method of Devouring Heaven Primordial Transformation to absorb the essence of the egg was perhaps a way more suited to seizing the essence of the Thunder Roc egg than refining pills.

However, the specifics still required verification.

Zong Shou spaced out for a moment, and in the next instant, a bitter smile crossed his face again.

He had almost forgotten the main business. Would the obsession of that 'Zong Shou' finally vanish after this matter was concluded?

A faint sadness resurfaced in his heart, and just as he was about to look towards Gong Xinran, Zong Shou suddenly let out an exclamation of surprise.

"Hmm? This Sickle-Tailed Lion—"

The giant lion he had forcefully subdued to bring them here now had spirit energy so dense around its body that it had become almost tangible. Its aura was faintly comparable to his own.

"A Fourth-Tier Obscure Shadow Lion? This fellow has quite the good fortune. Right, and Little Jin too—"

The bloodline mutation of this Sickle-Tailed Lion, breaking through the Fourth-Tier barrier, was most likely due to the insights gained from his battle with that Prenatal Martial Master.

At this moment, the lithe figure of the lion seemed to have vanished into the darkness and moonlight.

However, Zong Shou was too preoccupied to pay it any mind right now. He finally remembered that his first guardian spirit beast seemed to have reached a critical juncture as well.

Turning his head, Zong Shou looked towards his shoulder. The shattered shell fragments of the Thunder Roc eggs had completely disappeared. And Little Jin looked utterly gorged, lying limply on his shoulder.

Its body was still silver-white, but there were now patterns resembling lightning etched across its surface. The spirit energy gathered within its body had increased by about sevenfold. Resting on his shoulder, it felt slightly heavier. The metallic texture of its exterior was also more pronounced—this was likely the result of him continuously feeding it various metals every day.

It had clearly already entered the Third Tier, but the energy contained within the Thunder Roc eggshell was simply too immense, and Little Jin was currently unable to fully digest it.

"These patterns, are they Thunder Marks?"

Zong Shou was slightly stunned. Little Jin's evolution this time was slightly different from what he remembered from his past life.

However, he didn't necessarily have to make the little fellow follow the path chosen by that person in his previous life.

Moreover, judging by the current situation, this was not a disadvantage; rather, it seemed extremely beneficial to it.

With a slight thought, faint wisps of lightning flickered around Little Jin’s body. They were also purple, but the color was much paler. The mental link between them also strengthened considerably at that instant.

Zong Shou smiled; perhaps this little fellow had gained some new ability. With another flick of his finger, Little Jin's body 'melted' once again, returning to coil around his arm.

Just then, the aura of the Obscure Shadow Lion finally stabilized. It showed no intention of retaliation or backlash; instead, it slowly walked over and prostrated itself fifty feet in front of him.

Its lion eyes were filled only with reverence and fear.

Zong Shou was momentarily surprised but didn't dwell on it. Instead, he gazed into the distance towards the two Secret Martial Masters, who were currently fleeing in separate directions. One was still entangled with the Cold Nether Tiger, while the other was already nearing the edge of his sight.

Previously, he could do nothing about them, but now, a mere thought could end their lives.

Zong Shou did not strike. Instead, purple lightning flashed again in his eyes, piercing with a sharp glint: "Xue'er, I leave those two to you. No matter what means you use, you must kill these two before you return—"

Having cultivated the Spirit Master's doctrine, one must have a guardian spirit and a protector.

He certainly did not wish for his physical body to be destroyed while his Nascent Soul had left his body to engage in battle.

The incident with Qi Xiao back then, although he hadn't reached the Night Roaming Realm, served as a cautionary example.

Currently, only Chuxue and Yin Yang by his side could be trusted to guard his physical form and altar.

However, Xue'er still required refinement.

Chuxue responded with a soft "Eh," showed only slight surprise, and immediately darted off, her figure agile as a cat, chasing after the one who was nearly out of range hundreds of feet away, without the slightest hesitation.

Zong Shou then turned his gaze to the grassy ground before him. There lay a small porcelain bottle, seemingly dropped from Gao Yi's sleeve, still stained with blood.

"What is this? It looks like a medicinal pill?"

He summoned it with a grasp, and a gust of chilly wind swept the porcelain bottle into his hand. Zong Shou’s expression then became intensely complex and striking.