A colossal, ancient tree loomed in Luo Hao’s sight—it required ten men to encircle it, soaring dozens of meters high, its canopy blotting out the sky. Luo Hao stopped abruptly, releasing Mu Yudie, and stared at the ancient tree with grave concentration, his expression shifting constantly as if bracing himself for a monumental decision.

Zhao Xin, Di Yalan, and Hu Long arrived before the immense tree, their faces also subtly altering, as if sensing something extraordinary about the place. Shi Yan frowned, fixing his gaze on the massive Wangtian Tree, remaining silent.

Luo Hao drew a deep breath, turned to face the others, and stated in a deep voice, “The path to the right of the Wangtian Tree sees very few demonic beasts. The vast majority of caravans and martial artists passing through the Gloomy Forest choose this route.

It is very safe; even if we encounter a demonic beast, it’s usually only a low-level one, Tier One or Two. Furthermore, this route is closer to the Merchant Alliance, only about ten days’ journey.” Zhao Xin and the other two nodded lightly; they were clearly aware of the situation.

After a pause, Luo Hao’s expression grew solemn. “But the path to the left of the Wangtian Tree is entirely different!

Not only is the journey much longer, but it is rife with rampaging demonic beasts, and occupied by many reckless martial artists and mercenaries. Anyone who dares take that path is no pushover; prolonged crisis has made those individuals completely unrestrained in their actions.

If we proceed this way, we must be constantly vigilant not only against the beasts but also against those frenzied martial artists, especially since we have two beautiful young women in our party…” “Hmph! Whoever dares eye me with ill intent, I’ll sever all their thoughts!” Di Yalan made a cutting gesture in the air, her beautiful eyes glittering with cold light.

“Uncle Luo, what are you suggesting?” Zhao Xin asked cautiously. “If we take the safe route to the right, within a day, the people from ‘Dark Nether’ will catch up again, and another bitter fight will be unavoidable,” Luo Hao said grimly, his face etched with helplessness.

“Who knows how lucky we’ll be next time? Moreover, they might have received reinforcements.

If we truly clash again, we might face dire consequences…” “And the left path?” Hu Long interjected. “The left path is infested with demonic beasts and frequented by insidious martial artists and mercenaries.

Going left means confronting beasts, and also facing the possibility of being attacked by those martial artists driven to madness by pressure. However, the crises we face, ‘Dark Nether’ will encounter as well.

‘Dark Nether’ has a poor reputation; perhaps few in the Blazing Fire Empire dare oppose them, but in that area, there will certainly be no shortage of people looking to cause trouble for them. If they carelessly run into a high-level demonic beast, total annihilation is possible…” Luo Hao explained the situation slowly, then offered his opinion: “Going right, we avoid attacks from beasts and other martial artists, but we face the significant threat of ‘Dark Nether.’ Going left, we face attacks from beasts and martial artists, but ‘Dark Nether’ might suffer even worse.

For us, the left path might offer a better chance of escape.” “We take the left path!” Mu Yudie decisively made the call. “Good.” Luo Hao immediately nodded, casting one last look at Shi Yan.

“Young friend, you still have time to leave now. If you don’t leave now… it will be too late.” “I’ll go with you.” Shi Yan had already made up his mind.

His nature contained a wild streak; otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent ten years indulging in the death-defying sport of extreme physical challenges. When Luo Hao spoke of the dangers on the left path, Shi Yan could barely contain his excitement.

Nodding, Luo Hao waved his hand. “Alright then, let’s go.

From this moment on, everyone be doubly cautious!” …… An hour later. Mo Chaoge and the Mo family martial artists also halted before the Wangtian Tree.

“Second Uncle, which path will they choose?” Mo Yanyu asked. “I will pursue them on the right.

If I don’t return in two hours, you follow up. If I haven’t caught them after two hours, they must have taken the left path,” Mo Chaoge pondered, then instructed his group to wait there and flew off alone toward the left path.

An hour and a half later, Mo Chaoge returned with a grim expression. “Not even a ghost of a shadow.

These people actually dared to take the left path. Be extremely careful, everyone!

That path is rampant with demonic beasts and lunatics; do not let your guard down. Remember, do not easily make enemies with those martial artists and mercenaries.

Anyone who tries to extort money from a demonic beast is a suicidal madman. Such people fear nothing; don't provoke them.” “Yes!” “Let’s move!” …… Three Saber-toothed Rhinos paced slowly along the creek.

These were Tier Three demonic beasts; their dorsal ridges shimmered with silver light, and their tusks resembled swords. Fierce light radiated from their fist-sized, dark-brown eyes.

Their hides were caked with hard mud, which served as natural armor, so tough that ordinary blades could not pierce it. The three Saber-toothed Rhinos occasionally took sips of creek water, their fierce eyes scanning their surroundings, seemingly searching for prey.

In the thicket not far from the rhinos, Luo Hao made a signal, urging everyone to remain silent. Only when the Saber-toothed Rhinos had slowly moved away did Luo Hao finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“The Saber-toothed Rhino is a Tier Three demonic beast, equivalent to a martial artist at the Human Rank. These beasts move swiftly, and their tusks are incredibly sharp.

Low-level martial artists who run into one will either die or be crippled!” Shi Yan’s cool eyes lingered on the slowly receding rhinos, a look of genuine interest in a potential clash playing out on his face. “Our goal on this journey is to protect Little Die, not to hunt the demonic beasts here.

I hope everyone keeps that in mind and avoids unnecessary trouble,” Luo Hao reminded him casually, having clearly sensed Shi Yan’s thoughts. Shi Yan grinned, nodding to show he understood.

“Let’s go. We must be very careful here; we cannot rush our pace, and we must pay close attention to our surroundings.

Try to avoid encountering beasts or other martial artists to minimize unnecessary trouble,” Luo Hao cautioned again before leading the way forward. …… Night quietly descended.

Near a large, leafy tree by the stream, Zhao Xin and the other two fanned out, vigilantly watching the surroundings to ensure no beasts suddenly appeared. Shi Yan sat cross-legged on the damp ground, his expression solemn.

A torrent of bloodthirsty desire churned in his heart like swirling mist, creating an urge he felt he must release. The vital essence he obtained from the two Nether Star Emissaries was reaching a critical point of purification, making him somewhat restless.

Luo Hao remained constantly by Mu Yudie’s side, his brow furrowed as he watched Shi Yan, fearing any abnormal behavior. Mu Yudie appeared detached.

After observing Shi Yan for a while, seeing the increasingly fierce expression on his face, she slowly sat down, placed her zither across her delicate, curved legs, and began to play. As soon as the music started, the violent thoughts rising in Shi Yan’s mind seemed to be dissolved by a cool, foreign energy, slowly receding from the depths of his heart.

Holding his breath, Shi Yan concentrated, silently circulating his essence for the full cycle of cultivation. An hour later, a warm current surged out from all the acupoints in his body.

Shi Yan shuddered suddenly. He felt his body was strangely famished and thirsty.

The exotic energy surging from his acupoints had not yet reached the vital essence pool in his lower abdomen but was instead immediately absorbed by his muscle cells and bones mid-transit. Those warm currents flowed into the flesh and bones, taking root within his blood and structure.

In the span of just a few breaths, the strange warm currents pouring from his acupoints dissipated throughout his entire flesh and bone structure, leaving him astonished. With a thought, Shi Yan tried to sense the warm currents centered within his flesh and bones.

“Boom!” A deafening roar echoed in his mind, and the next moment, Shi Yan suddenly perceived a marvelous change occurring in his body. His face slackening in shock, he looked down and saw with horror that his exposed arm was slowly turning stone-grey.

Petrification! Shi Yan was dumbfounded.

He hastily suppressed thoughts about the abnormality of his body and withdrew his focus from it. With a shift in his mental command, his body, on the verge of ‘petrifying,’ quickly reverted to its normal skin tone.

He cautiously peered forward and saw that Luo Hao and Mu Yudie were whispering quietly behind a nearby tree, completely unaware of his situation. Letting out a breath of relief, Shi Yan’s eyes flashed with joy, and he laughed inwardly.

The symptom of the body ‘petrifying’ clearly signaled the awakening of the Shi family’s ‘Stone Petrification Martial Soul’! This Martial Soul was unique to the Shi family; as one’s cultivation realm advanced, this ‘Stone Petrification Martial Soul’ would become progressively more formidable, eventually rendering him impervious to blades and spears, and immune to the violent surges of essence.

Originally, Shi Yan thought he might have been born without this Martial Soul, but to have it suddenly awaken after breaking through to the Innate Realm filled him with elation. This ‘Petrification’ Martial Soul was incredibly useful in combat.

When ‘petrified,’ the body became hard as stone yet did not impede agility, capable of boosting his strength considerably. In addition to ‘Petrification,’ he had long confirmed the presence of another Martial Soul, an ‘Undying Martial Soul’ capable of self-regeneration.

With the two Martial Souls complementing each other, he couldn't even imagine the miraculous state his body could reach if cultivated to the extreme. “That’s not right!” Shi Yan frowned, pondering secretly.

“Martial Souls usually manifest shortly after birth, don’t they? For one to awaken at seventeen is incredibly strange.

Could it be related to the exotic energy overflowing from the acupoints in my body?” Vaguely, he realized that the awakening of the petrification and immortality Martial Souls in his body might be connected to the blood in that pool and the changes happening within his acupoints. Shi Yan felt that the exotic warm current overflowing from his acupoints seemed capable of stimulating the ‘Martial Souls’ within the human body.

The instant he considered this possibility, his heart raced with excitement, almost compelling him to howl aloud to express his inner fervor. ‘Martial Souls’ were innate; they generally only strengthened as the cultivation realm increased.

Beyond that, there were almost no other avenues for a ‘Martial Soul’ to grow. The ‘Martial Soul’ was the most prized talent a martial artist possessed and a key determinant of their strength.

Martial artists toiled and sought breakthroughs precisely so their ‘Martial Souls’ would grow. However, even with realm advancement, the growth of the ‘Martial Soul’ remained limited and subject to various constraints.

On the Divine Grace Continent, even legendary God-tier Alchemists could only barely refine elixirs effective for common ‘Martial Souls.’ Such elixirs were the rarest and most precious divine substances on the continent, existing mostly in legends. Yet, even those elixirs offered only limited enhancement to a ‘Martial Soul.’ The ‘Martial Soul’ was innate talent; it was not easily altered.

But the strange warm current overflowing from the acupoints in Shi Yan’s body seemed to defy the natural order, appearing capable of truly catalyzing and enhancing this inherent talent! …… : Recommend tickets, member clicks, everyone please provide support.

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