Ling Xiao carefully placed the Martial Soul Fruit into the Mountain River World, then uprooted the Martial Soul Fruit tree and planted it inside the Mountain River World as well.
The Martial Soul Fruit takes three thousand years to ripen, but within the Mountain River World, this process is accelerated.
One year outside equals one hundred years inside.
Of course, this applies only to spiritual herbs and plants.
In other words, thirty years from now, Ling Xiao would obtain new Martial Soul Fruits, which could be considered a worthwhile investment.
In the Mysterious Realm, thirty years pass in the blink of an eye anyway.
“Brother Ling, be careful!”
Just as Ling Xiao was about to return to the submersible ship, the ground suddenly shook violently, and a massive crack appeared on the seabed.
“Escape!”
Ling Xiao shouted loudly.
He realised something terrifying.
Moments ago, his attention had been entirely focused on the Martial Soul Fruit tree, causing him to overlook his surroundings, to the point where he failed to notice that the area he was in was actually the lair of a sea-floor colossus.
The colossus was even larger than a prehistoric beast.
In that instant, Ling Xiao saw a glowing object, over ten metres tall and several metres wide, which was merely one of the colossus’s teeth.
Then, both he and the submersible ship were swallowed by this enormous monster.
Even after being swallowed into the colossus’s belly, Ling Xiao still lacked a sense of reality.
The colossus was simply too massive, inside its body, Ling Xiao couldn’t even see the edges, as if he had entered a vast space.
Using his True Essence Sphere, he observed that the submersible ship had been expelled through some crevice in the monster’s body.
Apart from the Thousand-Hand Demon General and the Fire Wolf Demon General, all other warriors had already perished.
The colossus’s body contained a special corrosive gas, if one’s cultivation was insufficient, their body would quickly corrode, becoming nourishment and energy for the colossus.
Only the three Demon Generals could persist without dying.
The Thousand-Hand Demon General and the Fire Wolf Demon General were aimlessly crashing around inside the colossus’s body, searching for a way out.
Ling Xiao thought for a moment, then simply sat cross-legged, took out the Martial Soul Fruit, and bit into it.
After confirming nothing was amiss, he swallowed it.
He felt that to escape from the colossus’s body, his strength needed to improve further, aimlessly crashing around like the Thousand-Hand Demon General and the Fire Wolf Demon General would only waste energy in vain.
As the Martial Soul Fruit entered his stomach, a warm sensation quickly spread, permeating his entire body’s meridians and limbs.
Finally, a strange power merged into his Spirit Sea.
In the Spirit Sea, waves surged, all of which were Ling Xiao’s soul force, after consuming a bite of the Martial Soul Fruit, he could clearly feel the sea level rise by about an inch, his soul force increasing further.
This was merely the effect of one bite.
Feeling its miraculous effect, Ling Xiao simply devoured the entire Martial Soul Fruit in a few bites.
As for the outcome, he would see the results after digestion.
Boom!
In an instant, an immense warm sensation filled his entire body.
Even more energy transformed into towering waves, crashing into the Spirit Sea, stirring up massive surges, if converted to real-world waves, they would be at least dozens of metres high.
The Spirit Sea, also called the Soul Sea or Sea of Souls, was the abode of the soul, the residence of the martial soul, and the storage place for soul force.
The larger the Spirit Sea, the stronger the soul.
The effect brought by a single Martial Soul Fruit was astonishing.
About an hour later, Ling Xiao opened his eyes, his gaze exuding profound depth and vastness, feeling less like a pair of eyes and more like a world.
“My soul force has reached the level of a Three Talents Heavenly Warrior, both the Mountain River Martial Soul and the Primordial Hell Dragon Martial Soul have advanced simultaneously, reaching the First Stage of Soul Departure! This is even without fully absorbing the Martial Soul Fruit in such a short time!”
Ling Xiao was deeply shocked yet immensely delighted.
On the surface, his cultivation seemed unchanged, but the dual enhancement of his martial soul and soul had significantly boosted his combat strength.
Moreover, Ling Xiao noticed that the range of his True Essence Sphere had expanded, now covering a radius of thirty miles, far surpassing its previous capability.
Though called a True Essence Sphere, its accurate name was “Earth Vision and Heavenly Hearing,” relying on soul force, as soul force grew stronger, its range naturally expanded.
“What a pity there’s only one Martial Soul Fruit, sigh, this thing is truly hard to find.”
Ling Xiao didn’t need a new martial soul, so the Martial Soul Fruit’s effects were entirely used to strengthen his soul and martial soul.
Standing up, Ling Xiao glanced around, even without activating the Mountain River Martial Soul, he could easily see the Thousand-Hand Demon General and the Fire Wolf Demon General ten miles away.
The two were resting there, Ling Xiao thought for a moment and hurried over.
To escape from here, the three of them working together would be better than fumbling around alone.
In an instant, Ling Xiao arrived at their side.
The Thousand-Hand Demon General and the Fire Wolf Demon General looked at Ling Xiao with joy, but the moment their gazes met his, they felt a wave of dizziness and weakness throughout their bodies.
It was terrifying, Ling Xiao’s pupils were like a pitch-black cosmos, capable of emitting a tangible will, something even the Yin-Yang Demon King couldn’t achieve.
The two were inwardly astonished.
Will was something every warrior possessed.
Because a martial soul was transformed from will.
Once a martial soul was formed, will became one of its abilities.
For example, the will of a Sword Martial Soul was Sword Dao Will, which could make a person’s aura sharper and increase attack power.
This wasn’t particularly strange, but the issue was that the Thousand-Hand Demon General and the Fire Wolf Demon General had never heard of a warrior who could release will through their gaze.
And what kind of martial soul’s will was this?
It felt as if an entire world was bearing down, leaving them breathless.
Ling Xiao smiled faintly and retracted his Mountain River Will.
He had only been testing it, after all, his soul force had just improved, and while his Mountain River Will hadn’t advanced, it was still only at ten percent.
But now, it seemed that, despite not advancing, the power of the Mountain River Will had grown due to the enhancement of his soul force and Mountain River Martial Soul.
“You two, let’s search for a way out together!”
Ling Xiao said calmly.
“Yes!”
Though Ling Xiao’s voice was gentle, the Thousand-Hand Demon General and the Fire Wolf Demon General felt an absolute compulsion not to resist.
Such was the fearsome nature of the Mountain River Will.
Of course, if the two relied on their own martial soul wills to resist, they could withstand it.
But there was no need to clash with Ling Xiao here, for them, joining forces with Ling Xiao was the best option, otherwise, staying inside the colossus’s body forever, as the corrosive gas grew stronger, would likely turn them into its nourishment soon enough.
