"Huan Xing (Phantom/Illusion Star), you and Star Lord (Xingjun) cooperate. Try to separate the two energies and respectively absorb the life energy and destruction energy."
Xu Yuan calmly assigned tasks to his five spirit souls.
Naturally, Jue was involved with both forces, so it would independently comprehend the two energies. Shan He and Yao Yao focused on studying the entire Devil Island, especially the framework surrounding the valley, integrating it into their own spaces. Huan Xing and Star Lord each fused with the energy they needed.
As for Xu Yuan, he served as the true core, simultaneously comprehending both energies with Jue.
He maintained a spiritual link with the five spirit souls, sharing insights to maximize each other's comprehension efficiency.
Xu Yuan and Jue's insights fundamentally guided Huan Xing and Star Lord in separating the two energies, providing significant assistance to Shan He and Yao Yao. Essentially, they were helping analyze the core of the framework, while more detailed aspects required their own understanding. Yao Yao focused on constructing an illusory world, while Shan He leaned towards reality. The combination of these two details, in turn, advanced Xu Yuan and Jue's comprehension. Similarly, Huan Xing and Star Lord's process of absorbing and separating the two energies provided feedback to Xu Yuan and Jue.
Time passed.
The seven Old Demons weren't bored in Xu Yuan's dream space. They were placed in the same spatial layer as the nine Dragon Kings, engaging in lively conversations with them.
With abundant life energy, Xu Yuan didn't eat or drink, directly entering deep meditation for two months.
After two months, his cultivation hadn't broken through, but his progress was substantial.
"The cultivation of the Heavenly Origin Brush has finally caught up somewhat, and I've basically determined the further direction of its cultivation."
Xu Yuan was very satisfied with his training results this time.
All along, his soul power cultivation had been progressing with his Brain Martial Soul. At the ninety-eighth level, every breakthrough since the ninety-fifth level involved the fusion and refinement of his Brain Martial Soul, spiritual sea, dream space, and visualization diagram.
If he wanted to break through to the ninety-ninth level, according to his own plan, it would be to thoroughly fuse everything, turning all into his most fundamental abilities.
With Jue's strength supporting it, the Five Elements Spear martial soul naturally wasn't weak. However, the Heavenly Origin Brush lagged far behind. It was rarely utilized by Xu Yuan except for auxiliary purposes, and even its soul rings were the fewest among his martial souls.
Now, after two months of cultivation on Devil Island, Xu Yuan's Heavenly Origin Brush martial soul also found a direction for cultivation.
"No more fusion with new spirit souls."
Xu Yuan sighed in relief.
For the next four soul rings, he planned to continue following the form of the fifth soul ring.
The fifth soul ring, the Seal Rune.
This was the system Xu Yuan developed during deep meditation in the Sea God Pavilion before exploring the Demon Plane—the rune system.
Using runes instead of soul beasts or spirit souls to grant soul rings to soul masters.
However, he hadn't continued using this form to bestow new soul rings on the Heavenly Origin Brush due to some concerns.
Now, Shan He's unexpected gains dispelled his worries.
"It's no wonder that it's a spirit soul condensed from pure spatial power." Even Xu Yuan himself was surprised by Shan He's talent in space.
Although he hadn't fully grasped the complete framework of the mutual transformation and symbiosis of destruction and life, Shan He had already completed the basic framework within his scroll world.
After finishing the framework, he made a move that even astonished Xu Yuan.
The Seal Rune—he fused it.
The Five Elements Rune—he fused it.
That's right, Shan He used the two runes as ink, sketching two rules in his scroll world. By fusing the framework of destruction and life he had comprehended from Devil Island, he naturally opened up a true scroll world.
Shan He also possessed Jue's qualifications, allowing one spirit to independently digest and command all the soul rings and skills of Xu Yuan's martial soul.
"This way, the domain of the Heavenly Origin Brush martial soul is clear—it's Shan He's scroll world."
The blood essence domain of the Five Elements Spear integrated all the domain-type abilities of this martial soul, defining its cultivation direction.
The direction of the Brain Martial Soul was the same.
The Heavenly Origin Brush would evolve its domain based on Shan He's scroll world, a real-world basis.
A trinity, merging Xu Yuan's soul, body, and the external universe.
"Hopefully, I can quickly develop this martial soul fusion skill."
Xu Yuan chuckled bitterly.
Though the direction was clear, the difficulty of developing this martial soul fusion skill was evident.
Just feeding the Brain Martial Soul gave Xu Yuan a headache. From reaching the ninety-fifth level to now at ninety-eight, a year had passed.
One year, three levels.
This was how incredibly unimaginable it was for Xu Yuan.
Since awakening his martial soul at six years old, he'd never experienced such a slow cultivation speed.
In fact, he felt the single level from ninety-eight to ninety-nine would be even harder.
Perfect fusion, cultivating the Brain Martial Soul to his envisioned state, included independently extracting it and truly cultivating it into a spiritual martial soul.
The Five Elements Spear was a blood essence martial soul, governing the body, while the Brain Martial Soul was a spiritual martial soul, commanding the soul.
This was a plan Xu Yuan made long ago.
Of course, the brain is still a part of the body, and the blood essence martial soul is ultimately a martial soul, incorporating a part of the soul.
Xu Yuan's division was more accurately described as integrating the body into the Five Elements Spear and the soul into the Brain Martial Soul.
"Shan He, Huan Xing, who wants to go first?"
Xu Yuan didn't prepare to continue seclusion for now. He looked at the two spirit souls, asking for their thoughts.
It was time to break through.
Surprisingly, Shan He was also ready to break through.
Once the two spirit souls broke through, all of Xu Yuan's soul rings would exceed 100,000 years!
Huan Xing felt immense pressure.
It glanced at Shan He, feeling very heavy.
Shan He's changes weren't weaker than its evolution—he truly opened up a space.
Even Yao Yao's dream space was a talent ability, possessing it originally but gradually improving under Xu Yuan's help, approaching reality and breaking through 100,000 years.
But Shan He?
He truly opened up a space, even creating a small world with stable rule frameworks inside, governed completely by his mastered powers.
"I'll go first."
Despite feeling great pressure, thinking Shan He might undergo both tribulations like him, Huan Xing prepared to try first.
"Alright, Huan Xing goes first." Xu Yuan decisively recalled the other spirit souls, leaving only Huan Xing and Star Lord.
"Star Lord, later you'll be responsible for separating the two forces, swallowing excess destruction energy, and supplying life energy to Huan Xing."
"No problem."
Xu Yuan turned to look at Huan Xing.
Huan Xing's gaze was firm, nodding resolutely before flying into the air.
Star Lord's tentacles pulsed, powerful spiritual power blending into the intertwined purplish-black and emerald-green light pillar, skillfully separating the two energies.
The destruction energy belonged to him, which he absorbed and fused, while the life energy was channeled to Huan Xing.
Huan Xing triggered the life energy it had previously accumulated, suddenly erupting.
Boom!
Thunder roared instantly.
This was thunder caused by laws, not rolling thunder clouds.
Because the thunder clouds hadn't gathered yet.
After the thunder, dense thunder power converged.
Without even thunder clouds, thick thunder power condensed into two different forces, falling simultaneously.
Lightning tribulation mixed with heavenly tribulation.
Seeing the two forces fall together, Xu Yuan felt a slight stirring in his heart.
"The heavenly tribulation brings no benefits, but the lightning tribulation does. Therefore, wouldn't combining the two calamities allow the benefits of the lightning tribulation to compensate for the damage of the heavenly tribulation?"
If the lightning tribulation balanced good and bad effects one-to-one, and the heavenly tribulation brought twice the harm, then combined, perhaps the ratio of benefit to harm would only be one-to-three. But having compensation versus none was a qualitative change.
The heavenly tribulation's strength lay in not giving soul beasts endurance.
But with the power of the lightning tribulation involved, it would be different.
Moreover, the intensity of the lightning tribulation was basically fixed, whereas the heavenly tribulation became increasingly terrifying with the age of the beast. If the heavenly tribulation mixed with the lightning tribulation at extremely high ages, would it trigger the mechanism of the lightning tribulation?
"It's possible. The mechanism of the lightning tribulation originates from cosmic laws, while the heavenly tribulation is artificially set. If the heavenly tribulation is too strong, it will unconsciously mobilize the power of the lightning tribulation. Though cosmic laws won't increase the source of the lightning tribulation, they can prompt the lightning tribulation to devour the heavenly tribulation's thunder power, transforming into a stronger lightning tribulation."
A one-to-one lightning tribulation meeting a tenfold heavenly tribulation eventually became a three-nine mixed tribulation (3 sets of 9 lightning strikes).
Xu Yuan clicked his tongue, exclaiming that he had discovered the bug of the heavenly tribulation.
"Indeed, subsequent patches always have vulnerabilities."
After the two spirit souls' tribulations, Xu Yuan planned to verify his hypothesis. If correct, he felt he could fulfill his promise to the Silver Dragon King now.
The mechanism of the heavenly tribulation?
Two months to solve it!
"Star Lord, increase the separation speed, increase the absorption intensity. I'll fully assist you; let's undergo the tribulation together!"
Xu Yuan told Star Lord.
Star Lord was puzzled, not knowing what got into Xu Yuan, making him undergo the tribulation with Huan Xing now.
The heavenly tribulation and lightning tribulation were different—they could genuinely stack.
But he still trusted Xu Yuan.
In fact, Huan Xing's tribulation was very stable, and with Xu Yuan's assistance, it would be even more so. Now, not aiding Huan Xing, Xu Yuan began fully helping Star Lord to leap over a thousand-year span, rapidly starting the heavenly tribulation.
Huan Xing: ???
Huan Xing, still undergoing the tribulation, was greatly shocked.
His massive body bathed in thunder, looking at Star Lord beside him, his big eyes filled with confusion.
What are you doing?
Xu Yuan instantly shared his thoughts with them via the spiritual link, and they finally understood what Xu Yuan was doing.
Verification!
"You two, focus on the tribulation; I'll separate the two energies for you!"
Xu Yuan summoned Jue.
"Jue, help me too."
Though all the spirit souls' consumed power originated from Xu Yuan, his soul power was vast, storing an immense amount within a super mech integrated into his body.
Jue unleashed a terrifying devouring force, swallowing the two energies, then separating them, channeling them into Huan Xing and Star Lord's bodies.
Xu Yuan's pressure eased somewhat, finally freeing up energy to further perceive the mixed lightning tribulation's power.
In just moments, Xu Yuan's loud laughter echoed through the valley.
"Hahaha, I'm seriously a f*cking genius!"
It worked!
Huan Xing and Star Lord underwent the heavenly tribulation simultaneously, and since they were both Xu Yuan's spirit souls, their heavenly tribulations merged, significantly increasing the intensity.
However, only Huan Xing triggered the lightning tribulation.
Thus, the intensity of the lightning tribulation was clearly lower than the heavenly tribulation.
However, Xu Yuan sensed that Huan Xing's lightning tribulation was strengthening without additional thunder power gathering.
Where did the power to enhance the lightning tribulation come from? It was self-evident.
"Hahaha, Star Lord, feel your heavenly tribulation."
Star Lord focused on the heavenly tribulation force on his body, discovering that after his body was damaged by the heavenly tribulation, subtle energies gave him new life.
Xu Yuan timely supplied him with some life energy, and amidst destruction, life was nurtured. The power of the lightning tribulation erupted, and Star Lord's internal injuries quickly healed.
Though the heavenly tribulation was no longer purely destructive and annihilating, the intensity Star Lord faced was more than doubled.
Fortunately, with Xu Yuan's help, Star Lord gritted his teeth and endured.
On the other hand, the most miserable was undoubtedly Huan Xing.
The same mixed lightning tribulation, yet inexplicably strengthened by one level.
"Huan Xing, if you're evolving, do it more thoroughly!" Xu Yuan's voice entered Huan Xing's mind.
There was a certain gap in the supply of life energy, and Huan Xing felt his essence was wounded by the heavenly tribulation.
However, as Xu Yuan operated the Five Element Celestial Technique, the positions of the five spirit souls in the star visualization diagram formed the Five Directions Celestial Array, stabilizing Huan Xing's situation quickly.
Dense life energy surged again, combined with the principle of rebirth after destruction in the lightning tribulation, and he began his transformation.
"Operate the 'Five Element Heaven Merit'!"
This was Xu Yuan reminding Huan Xing.
Huan Xing was naturally prepared. While Xu Yuan bore part of the heavenly tribulation force for him, he freed up energy to operate his spirit soul version of the "Five Element Heaven Merit."
The difference was that instead of fusing bloodlines, he fused pure five-element forces.
"Shan He, Five Element Rune!"
Xu Yuan shouted again, and Shan He's scroll densely appeared with extremely complex Five Element Runes.
Five element forces erupted, integrating into Huan Xing's body.
At this moment, Shan He's Five Element Runes and Huan Xing were inseparable.
Similarly, a piece of Xu Yuan's trinity martial soul fusion skill puzzle had a connection point.
The thunder power was endless, lingering in the Devil Island's sky for a long time.
As Xu Yuan continuously extracted, the two major power essences at the valley's core showed no signs of weakening, still releasing seemingly infinite destruction and life energy.
Northern Sea Legion.
Legion Commander Shen Yue was awakened from her sleep.
She rushed into the command room, gathering intelligence from various parts of the legion, utilizing all means arranged by the Northern Sea Legion near Devil Island.
"What happened on Devil Island? Could it be another outbreak of destruction energy inside?"
Shen Yue looked at the scene above Devil Island on the monitor, feeling it was quite different from previous situations.
She didn't know what this meant, but it didn't stop her from reporting.
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