Spirit Transmission Tower. Gu Yuena watched the soul tool aircraft leave the airport, then turned to Huo Yuhao.
"Xiao Yan and the others have left."
"Mm." Huo Yuhao acknowledged, his gaze still fixed on the fading contrail in the sky.
Gu Yuena walked to his side. "Yuhao, when are you planning to go to the Blood God Legion? Abyss energy would be useful to you too, wouldn't it?"
Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze, turning to look at Gu Yuena. "No rush. Going to the Abyss Passage to kill Abyss creatures now would only make the Abyss Plane more alert."
"Once Wu Lin reveals the Golden Dragon Spear's devouring ability at the Abyss Passage, the Abyss's attention will definitely shift to him. That might provoke a powerful Abyss Emperor to make a move. I've already left a contingency on Wu Lin—I'll reap the rewards then."
Let the bullet fly for a while.
If he went to the Abyss Passage with his current strength, it would be like mowing grass—he wouldn't gain much Abyss energy, and it would only make the Abyss cautious enough to stop sending creatures. Better to wait for the right opportunity.
Gu Yuena nodded thoughtfully, then shifted the topic. "Yuhao, you've been modifying the God-Slaying Grade shells these past few days. Since you finally have some free time today, it's time to fulfill your promise."
Huo Yuhao was momentarily taken aback, then smiled helplessly. "Alright, today I'll help you experiment with the martial soul fusion."
A glint of brightness flickered in Gu Yuena's eyes, and her lips curved unconsciously. She said nothing, simply extending her hand, palm up, silver light patterns flowing at her fingertips.
Huo Yuhao looked at that pale hand and placed his own over it.
Two completely different yet inexplicably compatible auras collided between their clasped palms. They closed their eyes to sense for a moment, then opened them several minutes later, looking at each other in surprise.
"It seems... unexpectedly compatible." Gu Yuena's tone held a hint of surprise.
After experiencing it, she found that both of Huo Yuhao's martial souls had considerable compatibility with her.
Huo Yuhao said thoughtfully, "The Ice Empress martial soul was elevated by your bloodline and the Ice Dragon King's power, combined with the power of Destruction—naturally, it has high compatibility with you."
"As for the Spirit Eyes martial soul—it's likely due to its inclusiveness and the power of Creation, right?"
In Huo Yuhao's view, if they delved deeply into developing martial soul fusion skills, the Spirit Eyes martial soul was actually quite versatile—highly inclusive and likely compatible with most martial souls.
Because all it needed to do was provide spiritual attributes and spiritual amplification, acting as a universal adhesive.
For example, though there were claims that Wang Dong'er and Huo Yuhao's martial soul fusion skill had some behind-the-scenes manipulation, if you isolated the Spirit Eyes martial soul and looked at its role in those fusion skills, it actually made sense: in those fusion skills, the Spirit Eyes' role was to provide spiritual correction.
This was clearly demonstrated by the original story's Dai Ying—Huo—no, Dai Yuhao and Tang Wutong's daughter. With only the Light Goddess Butterfly martial soul, Dai Ying could still perform "Brilliant Amidst Decay, Golden Path," which showed what role the Spirit Eyes martial soul played in that fusion skill.
The Spirit Eyes martial soul was simply an unfeeling spiritual attribute provider and spiritual amplifier. That's why Dai Ying could replicate the move alone—after all, spiritual power was a talent everyone possessed; spiritual martial soul owners just had an advantage in that aspect.
If it were something like Netherworld White Tiger, which required both White Tiger and Netherworld Spirit Cat martial souls, Dai Ying couldn't possibly master it with just one.
So Huo Yuhao felt that when developing martial soul fusion skills, the Spirit Eyes martial soul could actually adapt to most martial souls. It didn't need to be the star of the fusion—as long as it participated and provided spiritual power and amplification, it could unleash extraordinary power from the other martial soul.
In other words, just be an unfeeling spiritual amplifier.
Few martial souls didn't need such correction—even fellow spiritual attributes could be strengthened further.
Perhaps it was precisely this inclusiveness, combined with the power of Creation from the Goddess of Life, that made his Spirit Eyes martial soul compatible with Gu Yuena.
After all, Gu Yuena possessed the Divine Persona of Creation, and the two naturally resonated at the level of the laws. With that connection, the inclusiveness of the Spirit Eyes martial soul would not clash with Gu Yuena's power—it was not surprising that there was some compatibility.
Gu Yuena thought for a moment, then nodded, a hint of joy in her voice. "Better than I expected."
Even if the compatibility had been too low, she had ways to adjust it, but innate compatibility felt different from acquired adjustments.
Huo Yuhao looked at her expression and smiled. "The effects of fusing with your two martial souls will differ. You're already skilled in spiritual power—Spirit Eyes provides correction for you. As for the Ice Empress martial soul, it would likely lean toward the Dragon God's direction. Which one do you want to try first?"
"Let's try fusing with the Spirit Eyes martial soul first. I'm more interested in your Creation power—it might help me gain deeper understanding."
Gu Yuena thought for a moment, then said, "And that way, you can also better comprehend the Creation Divine Persona through me, which benefits you more. We can save the Ice Empress martial soul for later."
"Alright, let's go to the cultivation chamber." Huo Yuhao nodded and led Gu Yuena to the cultivation chamber to begin experimenting with their martial soul fusion.
They closed their eyes simultaneously, reaching out with palms facing each other. Invisible spiritual power seeped from their bodies, intertwining and weaving in the air like an invisible net, gradually merging.
At the same time, their spirit power began to fuse.
At first, their spirit powers were somewhat hesitant, like two strangers testing a handshake. But as time passed, that hesitation quickly faded, replaced by a seamless, harmonious flow.
Gu Yuena could sense Huo Yuhao's spirit power slowly permeating hers—not as an invasion, but as an exchange, like two streams joining the same riverbed, each containing the other.
And Huo Yuhao could sense that Gu Yuena's spirit power contained a rich life force—the essence of the Creation Divine Persona. Warm, gentle, yet brimming with boundless vitality.
He comprehended, absorbed, and transformed it.
As they quietly experienced this, Gu Yuena suddenly noticed that part of Huo Yuhao's spirit power carried a heavy blood energy, which felt unusual. She transmitted a confused thought through her spiritual power.
"What's this?"
"See for yourself."
Huo Yuhao let Gu Yuena investigate with her spiritual power.
Gu Yuena raised an eyebrow and, following his suggestion, began probing his body with her spiritual power. As she delved deeper, her brow furrowed slightly.
Besides the three soul cores, Huo Yuhao's body now contained some spirit power vortexes—very similar to those within Emperor Tian.
Of course, if that were all, it wouldn't have surprised her.
What surprised her was that Huo Yuhao's spirit power and blood energy had already merged, forming spirit power vortexes that were integrating into his blood at certain acupoints.
"This is Emperor Tian's spirit power storage method? No, it's completely different, but I seem to know this cultivation method."
Gu Yuena opened her eyes, Huo Yuhao's reflection in her pupils, her gaze bright. "Yuhao, this cultivation method of yours seems very similar to one of the Dragon God's cultivation methods—it's called the Dragon-Hiding Method!"
Dragon-Hiding—hiding the dragon's bloodline within. Letting one's bloodline accumulate internally, transforming it into the purest power.
Simply put, it meant refining every drop of blood into a vessel—or rather, a dragon core. Under the Dragon-Hiding Method's operation, the blood constantly devours energy, continuously sublimating and evolving during absorption, thus driving the entire body's transformation.
This cultivation method was the main reason the Dragon God had pulled ahead of the other God Kings in strength. The foundation within their bodies was incomparable.
However, Gu Yuena only had a vague impression of this method. She knew the Dragon God seemed to cultivate this way, but she didn't have the specific inheritance.
Yet after observing Huo Yuhao's internal condition, she felt they were very similar.
Gu Yuena paused, her tone carrying a hint of emotion. "I didn't expect you to develop such a cultivation method on your own."
After hearing Gu Yuena's words, Huo Yuhao shook his head. "It's just a rough, early-stage cultivation method—a reference to Emperor Tian's energy accumulation method, further refined. It's not complete yet."
Similar to the Dragon-Hiding Method? Of course it was. He'd long had ideas about studying it. This cultivation method was his attempt to accumulate foundation, referencing both Emperor Tian's accumulation method and the Dragon God's Dragon-Hiding Method.
Emperor Tian's cultivation method essentially condensed the embryonic form of a soul core—no further explanation was needed; anyone who had condensed a soul core knew the origin of those spirit power vortices.
And since Huo Yuhao understood the principles of the Dragon-Hiding Method, creating an embryonic form came naturally to him.
After all, the Dragon-Hiding Method essentially used blood as vessels like acupoints, constantly absorbing energy and ultimately transforming blood into something like soul cores, driving the body's transformation. The principle wasn't hard to understand.
Executing it wasn't as difficult as imagined, either—after all, there was already a concept in cultivation called "essence blood," condensing pure energy within blood.
He used Emperor Tian's spirit power storage method, merged it with blood energy, and treated blood as an independent vessel for nurturing.
The process of those spirit power vortexes integrating into blood at acupoints was essentially about gradually transforming ordinary blood into "essence blood," and further, toward "Blood Energy Soul Cores."
This was his rough cultivation method, based on the Dragon-Hiding Method's principles.
Working out these basic cultivation methods wasn't hard. The real challenges were whether his body could withstand the constant accumulation of power, and whether he could use that power to drive bodily evolution.
These questions still needed verification, along with some details—hence why he called it a rough method.
But Huo Yuhao wasn't too worried.
In terms of bodily tolerance, his Creation power and Gold of Life provided continuous repair and nourishment. The Elemental Divine Thunder acted like a strict forger, repeatedly tempering his body from within, shattering weak points and making the reforged flesh tougher. The three formed a complete cycle—destruction, repair, strengthening, repeating endlessly, pushing his body's limits higher.
So far, he could withstand it.
As for driving bodily evolution, he'd also considered that—which was why he was condensing toward Blood Energy Soul Cores. Though spirit power enhancement could also elevate the body, blood energy was more directly tied to the physical form.
When enough blood completed its transformation, these "Blood Energy Soul Cores" would simultaneously exert force throughout his body, nourishing bones, organs, and meridians—enough to drive a leap in his entire life form.
Overall, after developing this cultivation method based on the Dragon-Hiding Method, Huo Yuhao had only one feeling: the method wasn't particularly refined, but it was incredibly brute-force. Pure strength overwhelming everything—it wasn't about whether you could imagine it, but whether you dared to do it. It truly embodied "astonishing strength."
It matched his stereotype of the Dragon God.
And when Gu Yuena heard that Huo Yuhao's method was only a rough draft, she shook her head.
"It's already impressive. You did something I never dared to try."
At least she'd never thought to replicate the Dragon God's cultivation method.
With that thought, Gu Yuena sighed. "It's a pity I don't have any inheritance in this area—otherwise, I could help you perfect it faster."
"It's no loss. The Dragon God's method might not necessarily suit me anyway." Huo Yuhao smiled. "I'd rather use a method I've figured out myself—it feels better."
Hearing this, Gu Yuena nodded slightly, then looked hesitant, as if wanting to say something but not immediately speaking.
Huo Yuhao noticed her expression and raised an eyebrow. "Want to learn? I'll teach you. We can study it together. This cultivation method is more suited to you dragons—your power comes from bloodline, after all."
Gu Yuena blinked, her expression softening as she gave a light acknowledgment.
That was exactly what she'd wanted to say.
This cultivation method indeed suited her.
And as Yuhao said, the dragon clan's power came from bloodline, ultimately tracing back to the Dragon God. As the Dragon God's other half, she was certainly better adapted to this method than he was. Studying it together would likely perfect it faster.
The Dragon-Hiding Method, martial soul fusion skills—once they finished researching these, they'd have several more trump cards.
---
While they were researching these things, Xu Xiaoyan and the others had already arrived at the Endless Mountains.
Looking at the distant scenery, Xu Xiaoyan and her companions felt some shock.
Before them stretched an endless range of snow-capped peaks, growing taller and taller into the clouds the further they looked.
"We have to walk up there without using spirit power?" Xie Xie's mouth twitched as he looked at the Spirit Transmission Tower team leader ahead—a familiar face, Tianfeng Douluo.
Only upon arrival did they learn that among those being sent to reinforce the Blood God Legion was this newly promoted Limit Douluo of the Spirit Transmission Tower.
"This is a trial every soldier coming to the Blood God Legion must undergo. Of course, as a Limit Douluo, I don't need it—nor do the researchers. You all take your time climbing."
Tianfeng Douluo chuckled, spread her phoenix wings, and flew toward the snowy mountains with the researchers, fully demonstrating what it meant to be part of the privileged class.
Because the meeting had designated this location as the envisioned final battlefield, the Federation had abandoned the idea of having the Spirit Transmission Tower station a divine-level expert here long-term. After all, the Abyss Passage seal being broken here better fit their expected plan—stationing a divine-level expert long-term would be somewhat wasteful.
But that didn't mean they were completely neglecting it. Since the envisioned battlefield was here, some preparations needed to be made in advance. This time, Tianfeng Douluo was representing the Spirit Transmission Tower to make those arrangements, bringing along a team of soul tool technicians and various soul tools.
Tang Wulin and the others watched them fly away, exchanged helpless glances, and began their arduous climb.
***
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