Ling Xiao had never attempted to fuse two martial souls before.
But it wasn’t a difficult task.
He discovered that the greatest trait of the Mountain River Martial Soul was its all-encompassing compatibility. Not only could it absorb and devour any martial soul, but it could also fuse two or even multiple martial souls to create a new one.
He hadn’t tried it before because he hadn’t acquired enough martial souls, but now was the perfect time to experiment.
Blood Blade Martial Soul combined with Shadow Martial Soul.
He closed his eyes, and his soul entered the Mountain River Martial Soul.
On the Mountain River Diagram, the characteristics of the Blood Blade Martial Soul and Shadow Martial Soul were listed in detail.
Blood Blade Martial Soul:
Enhances weapon-based martial techniques, makes moves more unpredictable, and can summon the Blood Blade Ancestor for assistance.
Shadow Martial Soul:
Conceals all presence, grants invisibility, and allows manipulation of shadows.
The new martial soul formed from their fusion was also outlined.
The new martial soul retained all the characteristics of both the Blood Blade and Shadow Martial Souls, with no conflicts whatsoever.
The fusion of these two martial souls was truly exceptional.
However, not all martial soul fusions were as suitable. For instance, fusing the strength-focused Black Bear Martial Soul with the Shadow Martial Soul would be problematic, as many of their traits would cancel each other out, even if fusion were possible.
Whether traits would negate each other was something the Mountain River Martial Soul could determine, sparing Ling Xiao the worry.
“The new martial soul shall be called Blood Shadow.”
After some thought, Ling Xiao named the new martial soul.
The Blood Shadow Martial Soul, inheriting the traits of both the Shadow and Blood Blade Martial Souls, was now a complete martial soul, specifically a second-stage virtual body martial soul.
This brought Ling Xiao’s total number of complete martial souls to three.
In a previous battle against dream pill traffickers, he had also obtained a Thunder God Spirit.
At the time, due to various events and because the Thunder God Spirit didn’t seem to synergise with his techniques, he hadn’t converted it.
But things were different now.
Since he had discovered that martial souls could be fused, he decided to give it a try.
The primary trait of the Thunder God Martial Soul was its lightning attribute damage, along with the ability to summon a Thunder God for attacks.
This conflicted with none of his other martial souls.
After some consideration, Ling Xiao decided to fuse the Thunder God Martial Soul with the Black Bear Martial Soul, creating the Thunder Bear Martial Soul.
This new martial soul not only retained the Black Bear Martial Soul’s traits but also gained lightning attributes, significantly boosting its power.
Ghost Ship Remnant Soul, Giant Sword Remnant Soul, Thunder Bear Remnant Soul, Blood Shadow Martial Soul, Dark Cloud Martial Soul, Cherry Tree Martial Soul, Mountain River Martial Soul.
These were all the martial souls Ling Xiao currently possessed.
He chose not to pursue further fusions, as the Mountain River Martial Soul’s analysis indicated that additional fusions would yield suboptimal results.
They would either lose many traits or be outright impossible to fuse.
While fusing martial souls was an excellent way to enhance their capabilities, it wasn’t always beneficial.
Ling Xiao would choose the optimal approach to utilise his martial souls. With three complete martial souls already applicable in combat, there was no need to rush into further fusions.
Moreover, having too many traits in a single martial soul could dilute the effectiveness of specific abilities.
Generally, fusing three martial souls into one was ideal; any more could be counterproductive.
Taking a deep breath, Ling Xiao opened his eyes.
With the martial soul fusion complete, although his cultivation hadn’t advanced, his versatility in using martial souls had increased, significantly boosting his combat strength.
If he were to face the invisible assassin again, he would handle it with far greater ease.
Hm?
As Ling Xiao stood up, he suddenly felt a piercing chill, as if a pair of eyes were locked onto him, making his blood feel as though it were freezing.
He looked toward the source of the gaze.
His expression turned grim.
Among the Blue-Eyed Clan stood a man in his forties, dressed in black, exuding the aura of an unsheathed killing blade. His mere presence radiated immense pressure.
But this wasn’t what alarmed Ling Xiao.
Despite his powerful soul, the pressure from someone a mile away wasn’t enough to frighten him.
What caused his alarm was the Mountain River Martial Soul’s analysis, which revealed that this man’s strength surpassed even Master Baiyun’s.
Mortal Realm!
This was the third Mortal Realm warrior he had encountered.
The first was the Blue-Clothed Woman, the second was Master Baiyun, and now this man.
The black-clad man flashed a cold smile toward Ling Xiao, as if gazing at a pile of corpses, devoid of any emotion.
At that moment, the Blue-Eyed Clan’s Ninth Layer Peak Martial Master issued a retreat order.
The Yunkong City defenders, caught up in the thrill of battle,动物 assumed the enemy was fleeing constitutional fleeing and prepared to give chase.
Lin Ze also stood, ready to issue a pursuit order.
“Commander Lin, have everyone retreat and form a defensive formation!” Ling Xiao shouted abruptly.
No one understood why Ling Xiao made this call.
Lin Ze hesitated but, trusting Ling Xiao, changed the attack drums to the signal for retreat.
The gong sounded.
Whether they wanted to or not, the soldiers had to withdraw.
The pursuing defenders fell back, forming a new defensive line on Hucheng Mountain.
“Ling Xiao, what’s going on? If we miss this opportunity, I won’t be able to explain it to the troops,” Lin Ze said. Though he had followed Ling Xiao’s instructions, he still didn’t understand why.
Ling Xiao didn’t speak, merely pointing ahead.
Howl~~
At that moment, a cry like something from the depths of hell rang out, causing all the defending warriors to shudder.
Lin Ze stopped questioning.
He knew something terrifying was coming.
It was a wolf’s howl.
But following that howl, even Ninth Layer Peak demonic beasts trembled, let alone the others.
Among the defenders, Ninth Layer Peak warriors felt their breathing constrict, their true essence in disarray, and a suffocating urge to cough up blood.
Thud, thud, thud…
A series of collapsing sounds followed.
Warriors below the Martial Master realm dropped to the ground, the lower their cultivation, the worse their condition.
Thanks to Ling Xiao’s warning, they hadn’t charged forward. Protected by the aura of the Ninth Layer experts, they suffered only severe injuries.
Had they rushed ahead, they would likely have died, bleeding from all seven orifices.
“It’s a ferocious beast!” Qi Yuan gritted his teeth.
“A ferocious beast? A demonic beast that has broken through the Ninth Layer Peak limit, equivalent to a human Mortal Realm warrior?” Lin Ze asked in shock. “Brother Qi, are you certain?”
“No mistake. If you don’t have a Mortal Realm warrior here, Yunkong City is doomed,” Qi Yuan said, his face grim.
The terror of ferocious beasts was something he knew well. Even weaker Mortal Realm warriors would steer clear of them.
And there were no such warriors here.
“Senior Brother, hurry and fetch Master!” Lin Ze shouted urgently to the Baiyun Temple Master. “This concerns the lives of tens of millions in Yunkong City!”
The Baiyun Temple Master sighed, “With this commotion, Master would know. If he wants to come, he will. If he doesn’t, no one can make him.”
