I've delved into martial soul mutation as well, and your situation is highly unusual. Let me take a look; perhaps I can find a method for you to shed this state."

The leader of the Corpse God Cult, Qing Ming, smiled faintly, his laughter eerie and sinister. Deep within his glowing green eyes, clusters of green flame danced, appearing intensely joyful, as if eager to leap from his sockets, giving an intensely unsettling impression.

As Qing Ming spoke, he moved toward Shi Yan without awaiting consent.

Shi Yan could not hope to contend with the cultivation realm of a Divine Realm martial artist. With barely a shimmer, as if teleporting, Qing Ming materialized a meter in front of Shi Yan.

Qing Ming, masked by a hideous visage, spoke with a chilling voice that made one uneasy; those jade-green eyes were like grave fires in the pitch-black night, chilling one to the core and deterring approach.

Qing Ming extended his gloved right hand, fingers bent like talons, slowly reaching toward Shi Yan's lower abdomen.

Threads of strange green energy began to gather rapidly at his fingertips, resembling tiny earthworms. These green threads carried the corpse energy of the Pijue Corpse Fire, and as his fingers drew near, they seemed to move of their own accord, burrowing toward Shi Yan's lower abdomen.

"Thank you, but there's no need to trouble yourself."

Shi Yan grinned, his left hand, adorned with the Blood Pattern Ring, moving subtly to intercept Qing Ming's reaching right hand. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and his entire aura turned intensely icy.

In an instant, this section of the mountain seemed replaced by a landscape of ice and snow.

Even Qing Ming's gaze flickered momentarily, sensing the sudden shift in environment. Qing Ming paid it little mind, coldly laughing to himself, and his probing movement toward Shi Yan's lower abdomen did not cease.

This level of chill was inconsequential to the Divine Realm expert, Qing Ming.

"Crack!"

Shi Yan's left palm intercepted Qing Ming's five fingers. Threads of the strange green energy suddenly erupted from Qing Ming's fingertips, furiously drilling into Shi Yan's palm.

Intense pain flooded his palm. In that split second, the bones in Shi Yan's entire left hand shattered countless times.

The tens of thousands of green threads in his palm broke through the energy obstruction at his left palm, racing along his wrist and surging into his left arm.

"It was a gesture of goodwill."

Qing Ming's jade-green gaze intensified. "The energy I released might be a bit too tyrannical for you, and I hope you can understand that. Given the nature of your Undying Martial Soul, I imagine the shattered bones in your palm should reform easily... As long as you don't insist on resisting, this energy will not continue to harm you."

Qing Ming’s voice was ethereal and hollow, piercing directly into Shi Yan's eyes. The skin beneath the mask seemed to tremble slightly, causing the mask itself to distort and become even more ferocious.

Shi Yan remained calm, as if he hadn't felt the shattering of his palm bones; not even a sliver of pain showed on his face.

Qing Ming's tens of thousands of green energy threads flowed along the meridians of his arm, rushing upward toward the nascent light cluster of vital energy in his lower abdomen.

Shi Yan perceived everything, his senses perfectly clear.

"Very well."

To Qing Ming's surprise, Shi Yan suddenly relaxed, ceasing to employ the power of the Profound Ice Cold Flame for resistance. He allowed Qing Ming's green energy to permeate his body, letting it penetrate all the way to the vital energy vortex in his lower abdomen.

Qing Ming's eyes flashed with surprise, wondering why Shi Yan was cooperating.

Without further thought, Qing Ming pushed his green energy to its maximum. Just as the energy was about to converge on Shi Yan’s vital energy vortex, it suddenly coiled into a knot, then, under a strange fluctuation, explosively split into thousands of streams. These thousands of green energy threads, now fine green filaments, suddenly shot out from Shi Yan's lower abdomen, surging along his meridians into every corner of his body.

Shi Yan's expression shifted slightly.

Qing Ming inwardly sneered. In just three seconds, these tens of thousands of green energy streams had permeated more than half of Shi Yan’s body, extending into various regions.

Except for two places.

One was his brain, the other his right arm.

The tens of thousands of streams from Qing Ming, after splitting out, could not breach the barriers leading to his brain or his right arm, no matter how they struck, merely swirling around his neck and shoulder area.

Qing Ming’s eyes slowly condensed their green light.

Simultaneously, the hundreds of thousands of green threads dispersing within Shi Yan suddenly converged from all directions, re-gathering from their scattered state, uniting once more at Shi Yan's right shoulder joint.

After re-coalescing, the sinister aura of the hundreds of thousands of green threads intensified.

Qing Ming's intention was clear.

"It seems the problem is in your right arm. Relax; I will permeate my power into it and see," Qing Ming said calmly, his five fingers tightly gripping Shi Yan's left hand, his eyes locked onto Shi Yan, before suddenly applying force.

Shi Yan grinned, the expression turning instantly as cold as a drawn blade.

At that very moment, the Blood Pattern Ring on his left hand abruptly emitted a faint, magnificent radiance. A dark crimson light, like freshly spilled blood, covered Shi Yan's palm.

The crystal shard within the Blood Pattern Ring that imprisoned the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame suddenly cracked open with a hairline fissure.

The long-suppressed Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame suddenly transformed into a beam of brilliant silvery light. This intense light broke through the layers of restraint within the Blood Pattern Ring and suddenly shot out.

A dark crimson halo enveloped Shi Yan, and after the Blood Pattern Ring flashed once, the silvery light of the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame flew free.

The Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame condensed into a delicate, fair face. This face, ethereal as clustered clouds, detached itself from the dark crimson halo of the Blood Pattern Ring and manifested above Qing Ming's head.

The delicate face smiled strangely, then suddenly exhaled a puff of turbid air, spewing it toward the crown of Qing Ming's head.

Qing Ming's eyes suddenly grew dull.

Within his jade-green irises, countless green light spots flickered and gathered. In an instant, these green spots condensed into a small face within his left pupil.

The small face moved rapidly, seemingly astonished, within Qing Ming's eye, drawing out the countless green light spots from Qing Ming’s right eye.

Suddenly, a faint green halo rose above Qing Ming's head. Countless green light spots clung to these halos, densely packed, resembling mysterious insects.

The puff of turbid air spat out by the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame adhered to these green halos like acid, seemingly corroding them rapidly. The small dots adhering to the green halos began to arrange themselves hastily, forming countless mysterious arrays that released energy sources astonishing to behold.

Shi Yan observed the abnormal changes in Qing Ming’s eyes, his own heart turning frigid and sharp.

Qing Ming struggled, attempting to withdraw the hand gripping Shi Yan; he sensed disaster looming.

Shi Yan’s gaze was ruthless, a hint of mockery flowing from the corner of his mouth. He suddenly gripped back the hand Qing Ming was trying to pull away. Simultaneously, with slight effort, he slowly raised his right hand, driving it toward Qing Ming's chest.

A flash of fury crossed Qing Ming's eyes.

Countless streams of mental consciousness poured out like the Milky Way, overflowing from Qing Ming's Sea of Consciousness, sweeping madly toward Shi Yan.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

Strands of strange electric light manifested bizarrely between Shi Yan and Qing Ming, carrying astonishing energy fluctuations.

Qing Ming’s streams of mental consciousness rushed into them and were completely intercepted, unable to advance a single step further.

At the foot of Mount Shengguang, Yi Tianmo and his two companions looked grave, a chilling aura of slaughter suddenly suffusing the area.

Many nearby martial artists sensed the terrifying aura radiating from the trio that made their hearts tremble, and they instinctively retreated, widening the distance between themselves and the three.

Qing Ming’s mental consciousness was blocked by layers of obstruction. Before he could withdraw them, soul vortices suddenly appeared, rushing madly toward his Sea of Consciousness, ready to shatter it.

"It was my imprudence."

Qing Ming cried out urgently, his gaze toward Shi Yan filled with apprehension. "I truly meant no harm, Shi Yan. Don't push people too far! Leave some room for maneuver, so we might meet again! Don't be so ruthless!"

"I will leave no room," Shi Yan said coldly. "Because we will not meet again."

Qing Ming's expression changed drastically. He tried to mobilize all his strength to retreat but found his Sea of Consciousness infiltrated by a soul force, making him lose some control over his body.

Shi Yan remained utterly calm, painstakingly raising his right arm, aiming for Qing Ming's heart.

"Insolent brat!"

Two soft, cotton-like wisps of soul energy suddenly intervened at this critical juncture.

These two soul energies acted like supple vines, temporarily binding the divine senses of Yi Tianmo and his two companions, preventing them from further disrupting Qing Ming's Sea of Consciousness.

Qing Ming’s Sea of Consciousness stabilized instantly, and he regained control of his body. In a flash, a mighty explosive force surged out from Qing Ming's body.

"Snap!"

Shi Yan's grip on Qing Ming's left hand shattered the bones again, while Qing Ming's previously weak right hand instantly regained strength.

His expression changing, Shi Yan's right hand, which had been driving toward Qing Ming, suddenly drilled downward with fierce force.

"Boom!"

Mountain-shattering force poured into the ground, and Shi Yan, fist and body combined, vanished into the mountain belly.

The punch Qing Ming threw missed narrowly, failing to strike Shi Yan’s body.

When Qing Ming prepared to attack again, he noticed that several layers of the green halo above his head had already fractured. The small face of the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame, suspended in the void, was becoming clearer and more defined, slowly flying up toward his head.

The green light in his eyes flared fiercely, and he could no longer worry about Shi Yan, fully engaging in countering the assault from the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Flame.

Beside him, a strange "hissing" sound arose from the air, and then a figure slowly solidified—it was Tang Yuannan.

The moment Tang Yuannan appeared, he glanced at Qing Ming's condition, gasped in shock, and couldn't help but utter a low cry: "Heavenly Fire!"

"It came from Shi Yan!" Qing Ming gritted his teeth and coldly snorted sinisterly. "Sect Master Tang, shouldn't you tell that brat to withdraw his Heavenly Fire?"

As Qing Ming spoke, footsteps echoed from the foot of the mountain, suggesting more people were arriving.