Soul Emperor Martial God

Chapter 76: Chapter 75: True Veins, True Qi Outer Layer

Outside the Spiritual Barrier, a group of Demon Hunters looked ahead with lingering fear at the blank space. They knew that a perilous Cave Mansion lay hidden there.

They were also quietly grateful for their narrow escape from death.

Uncle Tie Da and his companions, apart from being thankful for not dying, were constantly sighing.

”The explosion was so violent, it must have reached the power of the Mysterious Profundity Realm.”

”If Brother Yi Xiao had not died before, he surely perished this time. And that strong figure that appeared out of nowhere must have perished together with the Heavenly Star Thunder Crocodile.”

Lin Fei and Huang Yuan conversed back and forth but could never have imagined that their Brother Yi Xiao was the strong figure who had saved their lives.

”Shut up,” Uncle Tie Da snapped, then he glanced at Qianmo.

Noticing Qianmo’s expression, Lin Fei and Huang Yuan immediately shut their mouths.

At this moment, Qianmo, pale-faced and distracted, seemed either severely injured from the aftermath of the explosion, or deeply lost in sorrow.

Uncle Tie Da patted Qianmo’s shoulder and said, ”Let’s go. We were fortunate to have Brother Yi Xiao as a companion on this mission, it’s just unfortunate, oh...”

...

Inside the Cave Mansion, the force of the explosion had wreaked havoc everywhere.

Even the Prohibition that imprisoned the Thundering Wilderness Crocodile was violently shaken.

Luckily, the Prohibition set by the Bloodthirsty Profound Monarch was strong; after the intense shaking, it stabilized.

However, it caused countless roars from the Thundering Wilderness Crocodile, filling the Cave Mansion with chilling beastly roars.

Of course, no matter how loud these roars were, they could not escape through the outer Spiritual Barrier, making a pitiful figure in the Cave Mansion cover his ears in pain.

”Cough cough,” Xiao Yi, covered in dust, coughed twice and said with a lingering fear, ”That was close.”

He could never have imagined that the combined power of the Fire Devouring Hundred Blades, amplified by the Flame Gloves and blended through Martial Technique, would be so immense.

Not only did it instantly kill the Heavenly Star Thunder Crocodile, but it also swept through the entire Cave Mansion.

He feared that even ordinary warriors from the First or Second Layer of the Mysterious Profundity Realm would not be able to withstand it, otherwise it wouldn’t have caused such disturbance in the Prohibition left by the Bloodthirsty Profound Monarch.

”If it hadn’t been for this Ghost Mask, I would certainly be dead,” Xiao Yi remarked as he took off the mask.

The Ghost Mask had two significant effects.

Firstly, the wearer could mask their aura, moving unseen like a ghostly shadow.

Only a warrior a full Great Realm above the wearer could see through this effect.

Secondly, it could store a layer of True Qi, providing the wearer with a one-time defensive shield.

The strength of the defensive shield depends solely on the strength of the True Qi injected by the wearer.

A warrior with Mystic Breakthrough Ninth Layer Cultivation could resist one full-powered attack from the same level.

A Postnatal Nine-layered Martial Artist’s injected True Qi could withstand one full-powered attack from the same level.

This capacity depended not on strength but on one’s own cultivation.

Therefore, when Bloodthirsty Profound Monarch gained fame after slaying an Earth Origin Realm warrior, he never used the Ghost Mask again.

After all, although his cultivation was at the Mystic Breakthrough Ninth Layer at the time, his strength had far surpassed that level.

The last batch of True Qi he injected had never been used until today, finally saving Xiao Yi’s life.

That was also why Xiao Yi chose to wear the mask, just in case it could save his life.

Of course, this opportunity was only available once.

Once used, the True Qi inside the defensive shield would be depleted. To use it again, True Qi must be re-injected.

Xiao Yi shook his head and muttered to himself, ”The True Qi left by Bloodthirsty Profound Monarch has dissipated. With my cultivation, even if I inject True Qi, the defensive shield won’t be very strong; it’s better than nothing at least.”

Yet, the effect of hiding his aura was more useful to him at the moment.

Collecting his thoughts and casting away distractions, he thought, ”Uncle Tie Da and the others must have safely left by now.”

”With such dense Spiritual Energy here, it wouldn’t hurt to cultivate a bit before leaving.”

Thinking this, Xiao Yi returned to the ancient room downstairs.

It’s worth mentioning that the Ghost Mask left by Bloodthirsty Profound Monarch had a special Spiritual Barrier linked with the Prohibition within the Cave Mansion.

With this, Xiao Yi could reach any place within the Cave Mansion.

Of course, if he left the Cave Mansion, this barrier would lose its effect.

Returning to the meditation mat, he sat cross-legged, his dual Martial Souls activated along with the amplification of the meditation mat, Xiao Yi began his rapid cultivation.

Having witnessed many wonderous Spiritual Barriers within the Cave Mansion, he too wished to one day wield terrible control over Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy like the Bloodthirsty Profound Monarch.

Perhaps this was the only joy in the monotonous and long cultivation journey of a warrior, enjoying the benefits and methods each realm brought.

That absolute control over power would fascinate any spirited person.

Although he had only recently advanced to the Postnatal Ninth Layer and should have cultivated for a while to accumulate enough True Qi for his breakthrough to the Innate Realm,

The dense Spiritual Energy that had accumulated here for more than a hundred years could save him that time.

Additionally, his Martial Souls absorbed energy exceptionally fast.

A powerful Martial Soul itself is the foundation for breaking conventions in cultivation.

The process of breaking through from the Postnatal stage to the Innate Realm is called the merging of veins.

When the nine main veins merge into one True Vein, a martial artist is considered successfully promoted to the Innate First Layer.

The main veins are inherently possessed by martial artists, but they are obstructed.

Therefore, Postnatal Martial Artists need to refine the impurities.

The True Vein, on the other hand, is created by the martial artist merging the main veins.

After pondering for a moment and making preparations, Xiao Yi began the merging of veins.

The two powerful Martial Souls had already converted the absorbed Spiritual Energy into True Qi, ready for his breakthrough at any moment.

”Merge.” Xiao Yi silently commanded in his heart.

From the Qi Pill upward, the second, third... ninth main veins began to forcefully separate, preparing to move towards the first main vein.

This process was extremely painful, comparable to tearing muscles and bones apart. Many martial artists would faint from the pain at this very beginning, resulting in a failed merging of veins.

Xiao Yi felt intense pain within his body, yet he did not groan; his expression remained calm, although his forehead was already covered with sweat like streams of water.

For a long while, after the eight main veins had separated and came alongside the first main vein, Xiao Yi immediately began the merging.

This process required precise control and talent.

The nine main veins had to overlap perfectly without any deviation, and not a trace of True Qi within them could leak.

Many martial artists with poor aptitudes failed during this stage. Either the veins weren’t perfectly aligned even by a tiny bit, or some True Qi dispersed during the merging process.

Half an hour later, when Xiao Yi ceased his cultivation, the nine main veins in his body had vanished, replaced by a single, more powerful True Vein.

To succeed on the first attempt of merging veins was something only a supreme genius could achieve.

”Is this the True Vein of an Innate Realm Martial Artist?” Xiao Yi smiled lightly, attempting to mobilize the True Qi within his body.

With a boom, a surging wave of True Qi instantly flowed through his hands.

”So fast, so strong,” Xiao Yi was slightly astonished.

The durability, breadth, and the speed of mobilizing True Qi of the True Vein far exceeded those of the main veins, truly worthy of being formed from the overlap of nine main veins.

True Vein, indeed. This meridian, created by the martial artist himself, was aptly named because it was best suited for storing and mobilizing True Qi.

And don’t forget, while other martial artists had merged nine main veins into a True Vein, Xiao Yi’s True Veins were formed from nine main veins that had been amplified by the Golden Vein Pill.

His True Vein was dozens of times stronger than that of other martial artists.

The amount of True Qi within his True Vein and the speed at which he could mobilize the True Qi were also dozens of times greater than others.

Relying on his own True Qi alone, his strength was enough to match that of an Innate Sixth Layer.

If combined with Spiritual Artifacts and other trump cards, his power would be even more formidable than when he had fought the Heavenly Star Thunder Crocodile.

Returning to the main point, the subsequent cultivation in the Innate Realm involved relying on this first True Vein to accumulate True Qi and generate other True Veins.

One True Vein equals one layer of strength.

Possessing nine True Veins equals the Innate Ninth Layer Cultivation.

”Boom,” suddenly, Xiao Yi concentrated all his True Qi throughout his body, and a layer of thin True Qi Outer Layer appeared like clothing.

This True Qi Outer Layer possessed extremely strong defensive powers.

In the past, Xiao Yi had also condensed a ’Flame Outer Clothing,’ but that was merely using the Martial Soul to release True Qi, adding a layer of flame to his body.

The True Qi Outer Layer, however, was formed by connecting all the True Qi in the body via the True Vein, resulting in a more robust, more consolidated form, with incredibly astonishing defensive power.

One was formed by releasing True Qi.

The other was formed by connecting all the True Qi in the body.

The defensive powers of the two naturally could not be compared.

True Qi Outer Layer was a hallmark of Innate Martial Artists, but not all Innate Martial Artists possessed it.

This too required talent and control power.

Many Innate Martial Artists had tried to condense a True Qi Outer Layer, but they often ended up unstable, and their True Qi dispersed. It usually required reaching at least Innate Seventh Layer to truly have the ability to condense a True Qi Outer Layer.

Previously in Purple Cloud City, among the Xiao Family, only the Great Elder, Second Elder, and Third Elder had it. In the Murong Family, only a few like Murong Shan had it, while others like Murong Huai and Murong Xie had never succeeded in condensing it.

Undoubtedly, the Innate Outer Robe was also something only genius martial artists possessed.

Dissolving the True Qi Outer Layer and feeling the power-filled body, Xiao Yi’s face was filled with confidence.

It was time to leave, but before departing, Xiao Yi knelt slightly in front of the cushion, bowing towards the couch.

”Although we are neither relatives nor friends, your Ghost Mask saved my life this time, and you are an elder; you deserve this bow from me.”

Xiao Yi lowered his head and softly spoke, preparing to leave.

Just at that moment, with a ’plop’ sound from the couch, it was like some prohibition had shattered.

Three items appeared out of nowhere.

A jade bottle, a sword, and a book.