One by one, the True Talisman Spirit Restrictions coalesced under Zong Shou's focused intent. The vortex within his Sea of Souls expanded rapidly in tandem. Just as the ninety-ninth Spirit Restriction was completed, a rune of ever-shifting, elusive color suddenly surfaced from the depths of the Sea of Souls.

Now silver-white, now deep violet, now fiery red, it suddenly flashed an icy blue.

The moment it appeared, it began to intertwine with the other four runes representing lightning, water, fire, and metal. Countless slender threads stretched out, connecting with these runes.

The True Talisman Spirit Restrictions that Zong Shou had previously gathered were drawn in one by one, filling this 'Yun' () Character True Talisman, constantly fortifying it.

The color continued to shift through seven hues, but after a quarter of an hour, the illusory sensation vanished completely. It existed, truly, within his divine soul.

It rested right in the very center of the Mortal Dao True Talisman Spirit Restrictions, not only being the most massive in size—Zong Shou had spent ninety-nine true talismans to successfully condense it—but its position was also a level higher than the four runes of lightning, water, fire, and metal. It seemed like a king, sitting high above. Or perhaps it was inherently symbiotic with those four characters, each representing a Great Dao.

Zong Shou understood inwardly that the reason for its greater size was because the rules and phenomena gathered into this 'Yun' Character True Talisman were more complete than those in the other True Talismans, despite his not yet fully grasping many of them.

As for the higher position, it was because this specific Law naturally transcended the four runes of lightning, water, fire, and metal.

As for those dense, intricate threads, they represented the close ties between them. The various abilities and effects of this 'Yun' Character True Talisman clearly required the implementation of other Laws. In the very instant this True Talisman fully condensed, the entire vortex of the Sea of Souls surged outward once more in a frenzy.

Nearly all the soul thoughts within were constantly splitting and splitting again. Their quality was relentlessly sublimating and condensing, becoming purer.

Whether in the speed of expansion or the intensity of soul power purification, it was almost comparable to the leap he made when advancing from the Out-of-Body Realm to the Night Roaming Realm—an advancement that was fundamentally essential.

Innumerable spiritual energies of heaven and earth were drawn in and gathered by the Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation Art.

They were sucked into this immense vortex; impurities were expelled, leaving only the most refined essence, the primal spirit, to integrate within. Within this vortex, slender structures resembling spiritual meridians seemed to coalesce, each connecting to the five True Talismans above. At their far ends, they spread outward in all directions like a spider's web, drawing in spiritual energy and soul power, pouring them into those five True Talisman Spirit Restrictions.

At this moment, however, a monumental, turbulent surge seemed to rise within Zong Shou’s heart; his emotions could not settle for a long time. To condense spiritual meridians within one's divine soul—this was something that should only be achievable upon reaching the Returning Yang Realm.

Yet now, by merely condensing one 'Yun' Character True Talisman, he had accomplished it. And his current Spiritual Master cultivation was only at the mid-stage of the Night Roaming Realm!

These five slender pathways within the Sea of Souls were clearly the embryonic form of spiritual meridians.

Martial Masters cultivate first by strengthening their physical bodies, training the five viscera, skin, fascia, and tendons. They expand their vital energy and blood to the absolute peak before allowing it to benefit the divine soul. Spiritual Masters are the exact opposite: they first cultivate soul power, continuously strengthening the primordial soul through various means. When all their divine souls have transformed from Yin to Yang, they can use the purest spiritual energy of heaven and earth to reshape their physical form, forging the True Form. At this stage, they can even discard their physical body.

However, both Spiritual Masters and Martial Cultivators must integrate spiritual meridians into their bodies. The only difference is that Spiritual Masters integrate them using True Talismans or even Celestial Talismans, while Martial Cultivators use the body's intrinsic circulation channels as the vessel. The former achieves integration entirely through one's own power after reaching a certain level; the latter must seek out naturally formed spiritual meridians in the world and integrate them into the body. Both methods have their merits and drawbacks, making it hard to judge superiority. Nevertheless, Spiritual Masters are indeed weaker in the initial stages, but their methods are endless. Upon reaching profound heights, they can even control the power of the entire world for their own use.

But while Martial Artists possess formidable early strength, in later stages, if they fail to grasp profound Martial Dao intent, facing a Spiritual Master in combat often leaves them with virtually no power to retaliate.

And the difference in strength between a Spiritual Master who has successfully integrated spiritual meridians and one who has not is like the difference between heaven and earth.

At this very moment, even Zong Shou could not comprehend how these meridians in his Sea of Souls had formed. They had condensed naturally, requiring almost no conscious direction from him. He only knew that the soul energy at the deepest core of the Sea of Souls vortex had become so incredibly pure that it faintly carried the taste of transformation—the transition from extreme Yin to Yang. At this point, although the sheer volume of his divine soul could not compare to that of a Returning Yang Realm Spiritual Master, in terms of sheer quality, it was absolutely not inferior!

“Pure soul energy must be one reason for the formation of spiritual meridians. But the main reason is most likely the Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation Art. This cultivation method is truly marvelous. It depletes the excess of heaven and earth to supplement one's own deficiencies. I wonder who created this technique; it truly seizes the creation of heaven and earth. If you ask me, this technique should not be considered lesser than the Two Books of the Universe.”

Zong Shou positioned his consciousness high above the Sea of Souls, thoughtfully perceiving those five strands of primal spirit meridians that rotated along with the vortex, resembling hanging arms.

It was likely that the Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation Technique, absorbing the purest spiritual energy from heaven and earth almost every moment, allowed these spiritual meridians to form naturally without him needing to exert himself.

Next, he swept his consciousness toward the periphery, towards the twelve Celestial Talismans.

These Celestial Talisman seeds were also of no small consequence. Besides aiding him in purifying his soul power, they were also constantly refining the various spiritual energies within his Sea of Souls.

Yet, in just this moment of distraction, Zong Shou retracted all his awareness and refocused on the expansion of the Sea of Souls and the subsequent division of soul power.

Soul energy surged wildly within the entire vortex, while above, mist and flames swirled, and countless bolts of lightning flashed. Only when the diameter of the vortex had expanded to nearly double its original size did it finally halt, and the changes within his divine soul gradually subsided.

Zong Shou’s soul power had increased by a full sixfold! However, as his consciousness gradually recovered, his very first action was to 'glance' at the twelve Celestial Talisman Seeds outside the Sea of Souls. In just this single night, the three Celestial Talismans of water, fire, and metal had drawn slightly closer. But the closest one remained the 'Yun' Character Celestial Talisman.

Zong Shou felt a degree of regret. He had been only one step away from completely fusing with that Celestial Talisman just moments ago, but he was unable to complete it. It must be because his understanding of that specific Law was still lacking significantly.

But one could not force such matters. That he could have an unexpected enlightenment today and condense this fifth and most miraculous and profound True Talisman Spirit Restriction was more than enough to satisfy him!

Perceiving his Sea of Souls again, Zong Shou felt even more joy.

“With my current soul power, even clashing head-on with those Returning Yang Realm Spiritual Masters should not be an issue!”

What brought him the greatest delight was the Primordial Unity Sword hovering at the very center of the Sea of Souls.

It had now completely shed the layer of hazy aura that shrouded its exterior shell, revealing the entire body of the sword.

Its color, too, exhibited seven variations. Not only did it shine brilliantly, but its sharpness was absolutely peerless!

This was clearly the sign that it had truly been forged from a sword blank into an actual sword!

Perhaps due to the condensation of the 'Yun' Character True Talisman, the entire sword body now exuded an immensely mysterious aura.

"Having now condensed the five Talismans—Lightning, Water, Fire, Metal, and Yun—the next step should be to condense the Wind Talisman. Once this Talisman is condensed, my combat power will surely increase several times! No, wait—"

Suddenly, Zong Shou’s heart leaped. He submerged his intent into the deepest part of the Sea of Souls, and then, a flash of inspiration struck him.

“It’s definitely wrong! With Heaven-Swallowing Primordial Transformation, the Talisman I should condense should be the 'Tun' ( - Swallowing) character!”

The moment this thought arose, the entire Sea of Souls trembled. Almost instinctively, streaks of true talisman spirit restrictions appeared in the center of the Sea of Souls.

There were over forty of them. While they could not coalesce into a new True Talisman, they caused his Sea of Souls vortex to expand further.

Zong Shou felt joy, knowing this meant his cultivation was subtly aligning with the Heavenly Dao. However, immediately following that, he still felt something amiss, as if something essential was missing, harboring a huge hidden danger.

After contemplating for a long time, he finally seemed to grasp it.

“Still not right! I heard that in ancient times, there were about fifteen or sixteen types of Divine Beasts possessing the ability to devour heaven and earth. But they all met tragic ends—some lost their sanity, others simply had their bodies explode. Only a sparse three survived. I think I can draw some reference from the Myriad Manifestations among them. Therefore, besides the 'Tun' character, there should also be a 'Jing' ( - Pure/Cleanse) character. The two True Talismans should be condensed simultaneously!”

Almost at the same instant, a massive upheaval occurred again within his divine soul. The commotion was far greater than the previous time, and the Sea of Souls vortex expanded once more. And at its center, nearly twenty True Talisman Spirit Restrictions appeared out of thin air.

Zong Shou could not help but feel eager, wanting to seize the momentum and condense these two True Talismans as well.

But the moment he formed this thought, he felt his mind suddenly become utterly exhausted.

It was as if an invisible membrane was blocking him from advancing further.

With just a brief contemplation, Zong Shou understood this was because his foundation was already unstable.

This one day and night of cultivation was equivalent to several months of meditative practice. Given his current state, he truly did not have the capacity to climb any higher.

He decisively abandoned the plan. When Zong Shou next opened his eyes, lightning seemed to flash within them.

The room was saturated with intensely rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

And before him, the two women, Chu Xue and Ruo Shui, both gazed back with expressions of surprise.

Especially Chu Xue, who was exceptionally startled: "Young Master, how did you advance again so suddenly? Didn't you just condense a True Talisman two days ago?"

Her words carried a hint of dejection. She was indeed, as the Young Master had said, just a gluttonous waste. The Young Master’s strength increased so rapidly; why would he need her in the future? She would only become a burden to him.

(To be continued)