Three Heaven Rank martial artists bowed deeply in a secret chamber, paying respects to Cao Zhilan.

This chamber was nestled at the foot of Saint Light Mountain, within a bustling trading hub. Outside, the clamor was deafening, a massive congregation of martial artists from the Boundless Sea, all eagerly seeking spiritual items and treasures to their liking, thoroughly engaged in their pursuits.

In a secluded corner of the trading ground, a passage led to a private room, beneath which ran a hidden tunnel directly into this secret chamber.

The three Heaven Rank warriors, looking like sworn brothers, were clad in coarse linen robes. Their auras pressed down, heavy and immutable as mountains. Their presence made it seem as though three great peaks stood unmoving.

A lesser martial artist facing them might struggle simply to draw breath.

All three shared utterly ordinary features, the sort that would be overlooked instantly in any crowd.

These men hailed from the Cao family, serving as their honored retainers, rarely seen in public, dedicated solely to handling the family's more clandestine affairs.

"Hmm, good that you’ve arrived," Cao Zhilan said, naturally taking the seat of honor above the three. Her captivatingly beautiful face shimmered with a dazzling allure. Frowning slightly, she spoke plainly, "Update me on the family's latest situation."

The three Cao family martial artists immediately nodded, bowing low, and began reporting every significant and minor detail of the Cao family's affairs over the past three years.

Cao Zhilan listened intently, eyes narrowed slightly. Only after they finished did she nod. "Everything proceeding as normal, no major personnel shifts... The plan hasn't changed, has it?"

They nodded in unison, their reverence genuine, stemming not from her status but from deep-seated respect.

"Why are the three of you here? To guard me, or have you also come to participate in the Riyu Island council?" Cao Zhilan inquired with detached calmness, unhurried.

"Primarily, to escort the Young Lady home," one of them replied, bowing low, head inclined. "The Yuan Luo Sea Region seems precarious. The Patriarch’s directive is for the Cao family to temporarily disengage from matters here. We came only to observe which factions would genuinely attend the council, without any intention of involving ourselves."

Cao Zhilan nodded slowly, as if she had anticipated this.

"My Lady, we heard someone detained you... Shall we proceed to... eliminate them?" The speaker sought instruction, his gaze suddenly turning frigid.

"No need," Cao Zhilan stated coldly.

"My Lady, we heard that in the hot spring pool, you and that boy, Shi Yan, had some sort of entanglement. Even Man Gu intervened, and it seems that boy managed to injure Man Gu..." The man paused, lowering his head further. "My Lady, could it be that you genuinely intend to become a couple with Shi Yan?"

Cao Zhilan fell silent.

A soft sigh escaped her inwardly. After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head, speaking lightly: "I did have such intentions originally, but naturally, I hold no such aspirations now. His Martial Soul has mutated; he may never be able to gather Vital Essence again. His cultivation in this lifetime has likely reached its zenith."

The three men stared, then nodded silently, clearly agreeing with Cao Zhilan's assessment.

"Alas," Cao Zhilan remarked with a touch of melancholy. "If he could still re-condense Vital Essence, perhaps I truly would have fallen for him. He is an exceptional figure among men. If he maintained his current momentum and advanced rapidly, he might eventually surpass Zhong Li Dun and become the most dazzling figure in the Boundless Sea's future."

The three Cao family retainers' eyes brightened instantly, displaying disbelief.

"I am well aware of Zhong Li Dun's prowess—cultivation at the Second Heaven of the Nirvana Nest, unparalleled mastery of Soul Profundity, possessing several Martial Souls. He truly is a monstrous genius unseen in a thousand years," Cao Zhilan scoffed, not denying Zhong Li Dun's strength. "However, Shi Yan is not far behind. Even my Spirit God Martial Soul cannot discern the full extent of the secrets within his body. This man feels even more mysterious. If not for the mutation crippling his Martial Soul, I truly would have looked forward to the day he clashed with Zhong Li Dun."

"That is indeed a pity," the three Cao retainers concurred.

"Yes, a great pity. A pity that I even..." Cao Zhilan’s face flushed red as she abruptly recalled gifting him her first kiss, growing suddenly shy and failing to finish her sentence.

"Since Shi Yan no longer holds significant value, should we abandon him and negotiate directly with those behind him?" the man straightforwardly proposed.

"That will be difficult," Cao Zhilan mused, feeling uncertain. "We will watch the situation. I have a feeling that convincing those three alien race members will not be easy. Moreover, on Snow Dragon Island, there are two Divine Realm alien experts—those two are even more terrifying."

The three Cao retainers gasped, their faces paling. "Five Divine Realm martial artists?"

Cao Zhilan nodded with a wry smile. "Indeed, five Divine Realm martial artists. That force is truly monstrously powerful; otherwise, I wouldn't be so stubbornly refusing to leave over this. Ah, it is a shame that now, unable to gather Vital Essence, those alien races might soon part ways with him."

"Should we arrange for someone to go directly to Snow Dragon Island to meet with those two over there?"

"Yes, we can try. Regardless of success, we must at least display our goodwill and let them know the Cao family's stance."

"I suspect if Shi Yan were permanently out of the picture, it would be easier to establish contact with those alien races."

A cold glint flashed suddenly in Cao Zhilan's beautiful eyes as she fixed her gaze on another of the Cao retainers who had spoken. "You had better discard that notion immediately. Setting aside Shi Yan’s connection to the alien races for a moment, Yang Qingdi has not yet been destroyed. If Shi Yan were to die by your hands, do you think anyone would be fooled? Do you imagine yourself a Divine Realm expert?"

The man’s expression shifted; he immediately grew meek and dared not speak further.

"Do not meddle with Shi Yan's fate; do not bring trouble upon the Cao family. Understand?" Cao Zhilan snapped.

The three men hastily nodded, showing surprising deference toward Cao Zhilan.

In another concealed stone room.

Shi Yan sat cross-legged, his expression grim, frowning as he stared intently at his right arm, deep in thought.

His right arm lay flat on the stone floor, appearing unremarkable at first glance—nothing seemed different.

However, as he narrowed his eyes, a faint, strange light glimmered within his pupils. Focusing all his attention, he perceived a strange, subtle violet luminescence hidden beneath the skin of that arm.

With a surge of will, the arm became hard as ironstone; muscle masses bulged outward, sculpted as if carved by a master artisan, conveying an overwhelming sense of formidable power.

"Martial Soul mutation..."

Shi Yan murmured, brow tightly furrowed, talking to himself. "Thinking it over, it must stem from the Petrification Martial Soul. But why has this mutation resulted in this way? Why did it absorb all my Vital Essence?"

He was filled with questions.

Sitting in the stone room, he observed for a long time, almost certain that the mutation of the Martial Soul within his body originated from the Petrification Martial Soul.

He knew the advancement of the Petrification Martial Soul had four stages, each color-coded differently. The first stage of petrification resulted in skin turning grayish-white; the second, dark brown; the third, yellow-green; and the fourth stage manifested as purplish-red.

The four stages of the Petrification Martial Soul each possessed different colors and distinct levels of strength.

By his understanding, the Petrification Martial Soul generally only entered the fourth stage—skin turning purplish-red—after achieving the Heaven Rank realm.

Of course, this was true for ordinary martial artists.

Thanks to the mysterious energy from his other strange Martial Soul, he had proven he could prematurely enter impossible stages without achieving the requisite cultivation level.

He should still be in the third stage of the Petrification Martial Soul. When he willed it, summoning the Martial Soul, most of his skin would normally exhibit a yellow-green hue.

Yet, this right arm remained its original color, appearing like normal flesh.

But a closer look revealed a faint, purplish-red glow seeping from within the arm. Judging by this phenomenon, he suspected this arm was nearing the fourth stage of the Petrification Martial Soul.

Skin turning purplish-red signified the fourth stage, a stage generally requiring the Heaven Rank to truly attain.

In the Shi family, the current Patriarch, Shi Jian, was only at the Nirvana Nest realm, and his Petrification Martial Soul was also stuck at the third stage, just like Shi Yan’s had been.

Since no one in the entire Shi family had broken through to the Heaven Rank, no one's Petrification Martial Soul had reached the fourth stage. Shi Yan’s old memories also lacked any description of the fourth stage, leaving him unsure if his current physical transformation was a normal manifestation of the Martial Soul’s evolution.

His body mostly exhibited yellow-green hues due to the physical petrification, rendering his physique hard as iron and unbreakable.

However, this right arm retained its original coloration but felt incredibly heavy. Moving it was somewhat labored. If this persisted in combat, the arm's existence might impede his natural movements, perhaps even making his advance clumsy.

The reason was simple: the arm was profoundly, excessively heavy.

Both arms, yet one weighed almost nothing while the other felt like a colossal mountain; such severe imbalance within his body left Shi Yan deeply frustrated.

"Damn it!"

He exerted himself to lift his right arm as high as possible, finding the motion painfully slow without the aid of Vital Essence. By the time he managed to raise it above his head, his forehead was slick with sweat, and his back was soaked.

It felt as though he were hoisting a mountain!

Shi Yan understood that this was only because his physical body had undergone extreme tempering, granting him far superior innate physical strength than ordinary martial artists. Were it not for that, he believed he wouldn't even possess the ability to lift his arm over his head.

"Go to hell!"

Cursing wildly, Shi Yan let his right arm drop. His right fist descended like an iron hammer, smashing violently into the bluestone floor.

The descent of the arm and fist required no extra effort; it moved like lightning, trailing a terrifying purplish-red glow. This right arm punched straight into the bluestone floor.

"Shush!"

The hard bluestone surface seemed to yield like soft tofu. His right arm pierced straight through, giving him the uncanny, bizarre sensation of encountering no resistance whatsoever!

The right arm acted like an indestructible drill, plunging deep into the bluestone floor. A tremendous weight of force sank deep into the stone beneath.

In an instant, his arm flared into a terrifying purplish-red. As the arm burrowed deeper into the earth, a peculiar vibration emanated from the muscle fibers of his arm.

A familiar tremor!

Under this vibration, Shi Yan’s expression changed drastically. He felt the muscle clusters of his right arm were on the verge of exploding!

Waves of violent power detonated from the muscle segments of that right arm—horrifying and immense.

"Boom! Boom!"

Continuous, muffled explosions erupted from the bluestone floor beneath him. The sound was utterly exaggerated.

Shi Yan stared down in horror, his eyes glazed over, watching the earth heave and undulate beneath him like tidal waves.

Amid the roaring, the bluestone floor of the entire secret chamber shook as if subjected to a magnitude seven earthquake!

Slabs of bluestone shattered, turning into dust that swirled everywhere.

A ring of purplish-red light burst forth from his arm. Wherever that light touched, the bluestone exploded, annihilating everything in its path, centered on Shi Yan’s right arm!

"Boom! Boom!"

The deafening roar continued unabated from below.

Shi Yan’s face changed dramatically. He tried to pull his arm back, but the limb grew heavier and heavier, so heavy that not only could he not extract it, but his body began to be pulled down with it.

"Rrrripp!"

His clothes tore as he sank into the ground, dragged by the momentum of that right arm, tumbling headfirst into the chaotic rubble.

The explosions continued.

The earth beneath this chamber suffered a massive tremor, and the entire structure groaned before collapsing. The underground stone walls pulverized, and the resulting fragments were instantly reduced to dust under the piercing spray of the purplish-red light, vanishing completely.

After a long pause.

Shi Yan sat in a circular pit nearly thirty meters in diameter, surrounded by rubble and stone dust. He stared with a strange expression at the massive crater, looking blankly at his right arm, his eyes flickering with an odd light.

"Master..."

Yitian Mo appeared beside him ghost-like, hovering silently. He stared dumbfounded at the thirty-meter-wide chasm, at the piles of pulverized stone dust resting on the ground like ash, his expression complex.

"What is this?"

Xia Shenchuan and Xia Xinyan also approached, looking at the utterly ruined floor and the giant pit, both filled with confusion.

"Did you do this?" Xia Shenchuan hesitated, then looked toward Yitian Mo.

Yitian Mo shook his head.

"Then who?"

Xia Shenchuan looked up at Ya Meng and Kaba, who were slowly emerging, and asked again, "Was it the two of you?"

Kaba and Ya Meng both looked dazed and quickly shook their heads.

Thus, everyone turned to look at Shi Yan, their gazes peculiar, laced with surprise, confusion, and disbelief.

"I don't know what happened either," Shi Yan admitted under their collective scrutiny, shaking his head and looking strangely at his right arm, muttering, "This Martial Soul mutation seems to have done more than just prevent me from gathering Vital Essence; it appears there are other changes..."