Zong Shou's Nascent Soul was indeed riddled with holes, yet the nature of the Devouring Heaven Primordial Transformation Art caused his Sea of Soul to form a vortex. It was not only drawing in the wandering spiritual energy from outside his body, but it was also forcing all his soul power to condense and compress continuously, preventing any outward dissipation.

Naturally, there was no question of swelling or leakage. Though the fissures remained, they caused no hindrance.

As for the dual meridians running in parallel within his body, had the human bloodline been fully stimulated—moving from darkness to light and manifesting completely—it could have thoroughly purged his Celestial Fox blood. However, due to the hidden apertures in his divine soul, this process had become exceedingly perilous.

Now, after integrating the Nascent Soul imprint of the Thunder Luan, it could barely contend against the Celestial Fox, only managing a fragile parity between the two. Thinking thus, Zong Shou’s face was etched with deep resignation.

Though this predicament could perhaps be considered provisionally resolved, his path of cultivating spiritual arts remained ten, even a hundred times more dangerous than for others. “It truly was a sequence of unfortunate errors.

Heh! I, Tan Qiu, pride myself on being clever, yet I ended up making a complete blunder—” Had he not been overly ingenious in cultivating soul power to suppress the conflict between the vital energy and blood within his physical body, this dual-meridian constitution inherently held the potential to transition into a single meridian.

Now, instead, he was hesitant to move for fear of consequences, needing to exert every ounce of effort simply to maintain the equilibrium between the two bloodlines within him. It was truly a case of lifting a rock only to drop it on one’s own feet.

“The Lu family that dominates the eight hundred worlds? What exactly is the origin of this family?

And what kind of bloodline do they possess? It is terrifyingly potent—” Gazing thoughtfully at the two divine beast imprints within his Sea of Soul, Zong Shou’s heart surged with violent tempests.

The primeval Thunder Luan ranked within the top hundred among divine beasts. And the Seven-Tailed Celestial Fox was also a descendant of divine beasts, moreover, his lineage held the potential for further advancement.

The fusion of the bloodlines of two divine beasts resulted in only a power that could merely contend with the other. The sheer horror of it could be vaguely perceived— If his guess was correct, the numerous flaws in his body were most likely connected to them as well.

He recalled the memories of Zong Shou’s childhood that he glimpsed when mesmerized by Zhao Yanran’s Song of the Yellow Springs Underworld months ago. The legendary Lu family had vanished after ten thousand years, its whereabouts unknown; legend suggested they had opened up new, greater worlds.

Later generations could only experience the might of this formidable family within the God Emperor game. But even in that virtual environment, the family remained difficult to grasp fully.

The setting data within the game was also prone to inaccuracies. After all, the designer of this God Emperor had never truly experienced that era firsthand.

They could only glean fragmented clues about the numerous figures and events of the God Emperor era from historical annals and the records of various sects, which were then processed by the smart core. Furthermore, even by the time he seized the Cosmic-Grade Book of World Fate, no player had yet made direct contact with this Lu family.

Zong Shou frowned slightly, withdrawing his consciousness from his Nascent Soul. He then sat stunned upon the lion’s back, lost in deep thought.

The hidden dangers within his Nascent Soul were these concealed fissures. He could devise ways to mend them later; he remembered several suitable prescriptions, whether formulas or elixirs.

But what defect lay within his physical wheel structure that Long Ruo had pronounced him incapable of breaking through to the Innate stage? Zong Shou attempted to circulate the third set of inner breathing guidance techniques, only to find all nine meridians of his body wheel unimpeded, with nothing noteworthy to observe.

Yet, the gloom in his heart deepened. If it wasn’t these nine wheel meridians, then the only possibility lay in that other area.

It was truly the most troublesome hurdle, no wonder Lingyun Longruo had immediately abandoned him without a second thought back then. Sighing, Zong Shou temporarily pushed all these vexing matters aside and began purely to savor the joy of his Nascent Soul achieving the out-of-body state.

He felt as if the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was a boundless ocean enveloping him, with none of the prior sense of barrier. Ordinary spirit masters, upon first entering this state, usually experienced a sense of suffocation before this vast sea of spirit energy, often taking months to adapt.

Zong Shou felt nothing of the sort; he was like a fish in water, his will able to swim freely within this ‘sea.’ All surrounding spiritual energy behaved like liquid, available for him to use at will. Especially the electrical spiritual energy drifting between heaven and earth, which he could summon with a mere thought.

Zong Shou was suddenly inspired, gathering a spark of intent in his palm. Then, wisps of purple lightning began to form, finally expanding into a fist-sized sphere emitting a faint purple glow.

“I wonder what the might of this lightning force is? Legend says the ultimate of Cloud Realm lightning techniques belongs to the Shangxiao Profound Spirit Sect, which occupies the Third Spiritual Mansion.

The legendary Shangxiao Purple Extreme Calamity Lightning Art, when cultivated to its apex, can shatter a cloud continent in a single strike—unfortunately, I don't know the cultivation method. Speaking of which, now that my divine soul can leave my body, I should choose some Dao techniques to learn.

Right, I also need a spirit artifact flying sword; that matter is quite troublesome—” In the world, whether for Martial Masters or Spirit Masters, the implements used for combat assistance were divided into three tiers: Talisman Artifacts, Spirit Artifacts, and Magic Treasures. All Talisman Artifacts could be forged by Spirit Forgers.

But to reach the level of Spirit Artifacts, they required refinement by Spirit Alchemists. Spirit Forgers were common, but most Spirit Alchemists were recruited by sects and powerful families.

The remaining rogue cultivators often produced artifacts of subpar quality. In the Eastern Cloud Realm, there were also some large cities where they could be purchased.

However, whether the item would be suitable, comfortable to use, or able to harmonize with one’s spirit depended purely on luck. Suddenly sensing something, Zong Shou snapped back to attention and looked behind him.

He perceived that Chuxue’s vital aura had finally stabilized to an even flow. With a light chuckle, he recalled Little Jin, who had tired itself out from bouncing around.

Just as Chuxue’s eyes lit up and she was about to leap onto the lion’s back as well, he suddenly remembered something and smiled faintly, “Oh, right! Xue’er, remember you said before that you needed to cultivate your body wheel and break the Yin Lock before we could be intimate.

Now that you’ve taken the Human Extreme Elixir, it should only take about three months, correct?” Chuxue’s internal energy flow seized up, and she plummeted from mid-air. Fortunately, her movements were agile, and she managed not to fall.

After a moment, she leaped back onto the lion’s back but kept her head down, not daring to look Zong Shou in the eye, stammering, “No! Earlier, Lord Sovereign said I might only be able to break through the body wheel after I turn eighteen.

Now it’s much sooner, but if the Young Master wishes intimacy, let’s wait until Xue’er is eighteen. The Spirit Emperor Inner Scripture states that intercourse too early can lead to an unsteady vital pivot, a deficiency of vital energy and blood in later life—in short, it’s not allowed!” Zong Shou burst out laughing.

A deficiency of vital energy and blood? What nonsense was that?

He didn't recall the Spirit Emperor Inner Scripture mentioning anything of the sort. Then, seeing Chuxue’s eyes darting sideways, she became curious, “Young Master, you really don’t want that Seven Spirit Ring?

Leaving it in the Blood Valley might not be good. Although it is a demonic item, I’ve heard that its use depends on the user—used rightly, it’s righteous; used wrongly, it’s evil—” Zong Shou paused, thinking the girl had developed some cunning, actually trying to change the subject.

However, his expression turned serious, and he shook his head slightly: “That item is too cruel; I cannot bear to use it. But I am unwilling to simply let Gao Yi go, so I might as well give it to someone else.

While the logic you present is sound, the reason the demonic path is called demonic is not that simple!” He offered no further explanation, merely guessing privately at the background of that Innate Martial Master. Without knowing their background, his only recourse was to destroy the corpse and erase all traces.

Though self-assured, he was not so arrogant as to deliberately create such a powerful enemy for himself.