Soul Emperor Awakening

With a Triple Top-Level Soul Possession, Lin Xuan’s Realm soared instantly. A terrifying aura erupted from him, so powerful that the sheer pressure alone made the surrounding air vibrate.

When Wei Song felt this power, he couldn’t help but tremble. It was as if the Lin Xuan before him had transformed into another person—a giant, even—who looked down upon him with absolute dominance, making him feel utterly insignificant.

’Good heavens, is this his aura or the Yulan Pearl’s?’ Wei Song was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe such a powerful aura could be unleashed by someone at just the Third Layer of the Essence Pill Stage.

Whether anyone else believed it was possible was the last thing on Lin Xuan’s mind. Gritting his teeth, he focused on frantically absorbing the Yulan Pearl. The pearl, clenched tightly in his hand, was indeed seeping into his body, bit by bit. But as it did, a layer of frost had already coated him from head to toe.

This was the only way to control the Yulan Pearl: to forcibly absorb it into his body and then infuse it with Elemental Power to dominate it. Suppressing it with Martial Intent and Elemental Power from the outside was impossible. The only way was to use the Fox King’s soul to take control from within—in other words, to make the Yulan Pearl recognize a new master.

Only after it recognized him as its new master could he retract the raging Yulan Sacred Fire and command it at will. The process was agonizing and, for the moment, far from over.

’Submit!’

Lin Xuan roared in his heart. His Soul Pearl and Cloud Return Technique both spun to their absolute limits, and his Bloodline Power surged frantically. Yet, even his boiling blood couldn’t hold back the encroaching chill that was rapidly freezing his veins. If this continued, the only outcome was death!

He had to subdue the Yulan Pearl, to pin it down with every ounce of his being. All he could do was continuously flood it with his Spiritual Power in a desperate bid to seize control.

If he failed, he would die. There was no turning back. ’I can’t believe it,’ he thought. ’Even with this Triple Top-Level state, which has pushed my power to the Half-step Void Spirit Realm, practically touching the Void Spirit Stage itself, I still can’t fully control this Yulan Pearl.’

This was to be expected. His temporary Realm was powerful, but his actual Cultivation couldn’t keep up, making suppression incredibly difficult. In other words, if not for the soul fusion that granted him the power of a Triple Core Formation Stage, he would have lost control of the Yulan Pearl long ago, instantly freezing into a statue of ice and dying.

However, even pushing his Soul Pearl to its limit was only barely slowing the process. His blood freezing solid was now merely a matter of time. The Phoenix Essence Blood and Dragon Blood within him were completely useless, utterly crushed by the cold!

The Yulan Sacred Fire was the natural enemy of creatures like the Phoenix Race—in fact, it was the bane of all hot flames. That was why the Phoenix Essence Blood from Bingxin was proving completely useless.

Despite this, he desperately held on, determined to endure until he gained full control of the Yulan Pearl. Even as frost completely encased him, his eyes shone with a resolute light. There was no more hesitation; his mind was crystal clear, his purpose set.

To Wei Song, Lin Xuan looked as if he had already turned into an ice sculpture. If not for the faint aura still emanating from him, Wei Song would have been certain he had frozen to death. The fact that he was still radiating any power at all proved he was alive. And as long as there was life, there was hope!

’It seems like the Yulan Pearl is actually being suppressed a little... Could he really succeed?’ Wei Song’s heart leaped with joy. If Lin Xuan pulled this off, his future would be limitless. Becoming a peerless expert of his generation would be a certainty!

This was no exaggeration. Even Core Formation Stage experts struggled to absorb the Yulan Pearl. If Lin Xuan succeeded, how could his future accomplishments be anything less than spectacular?

Just then, the sealed doors began to RUMBLE and slowly grind open. Wei Song whipped his head around. Through the growing crack, he saw the cold, impassive faces of the Liao Brothers, their eyes brimming with killing intent.

"H-How is the door opening?!" Wei Song was stunned. ’How can they open it from the outside?’

The moment the gap was wide enough to squeeze through, the Liao Brothers slipped inside. Their eyes scanned the room before locking onto the ice-encased Lin Xuan. "That’s the aura of the Yulan Sacred Fire," one of them said, his voice laced with shock. "So the Secret Treasure of the Demon Fox Race really is the Yulan Pearl... Is he trying to absorb it?"

"That’s right. He’s definitely absorbing the Yulan Pearl, and it looks like he’s actually suppressing it. He might succeed!" Liao Sheng’s eyes grew cold. ’This is not good news for us.’

"Hmph. Let’s get rid of them quickly, then get Master. He should be able to take the pearl," Liao Yuan said, a murderous glint in his eyes as he looked at Wei Song.

"How did you get in?!" Wei Song instantly prepared for battle. He drew a long spear, positioned himself in front of Lin Xuan, and unleashed his aura, adopting a combat stance.

"This door has more than one switch," Liao Yuan sneered. "I don’t know if your friend there can absorb the pearl or not, but it doesn’t matter to us. You’re both going to die here today!"

"What about Zhang Bin and the others? Don’t tell me you killed them!" Wei Song’s heart lurched. The Liao Brothers appeared completely unscathed. ’If they actually managed to kill them...’ The thought was terrifying.

"Not at all. We just locked them in a room to cool off. They call themselves Treasure Hunters, but they don’t even understand simple mechanisms!" Liao Sheng scoffed. The words had barely left his lips when he slipped a clawed weapon onto his hand and charged.

In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Wei Song, his clawed hand slashing straight for his chest, aiming to pierce his heart with a single strike.

"In your dreams!"

Wei Song roared. A yellow light flared around him as Earth Elemental Power erupted from his body. With a swing of his spear, he whipped up a thick barrier of Earth Elemental Power that solidified like a rising rampart, blocking the incoming claw and trapping it within the earthen wall.

In that instant, Wei Song seemed to become a great mountain himself. Unleashing his Earth Elemental Power to the absolute limit, he swung his long spear down with crushing force, the weapon itself seeming to transform into a massive stone pillar falling from the sky.

Liao Sheng’s expression flickered. He tried to dodge, but the attack’s range was too great for him to escape completely. Gritting his teeth, he could only raise his clawed hand to meet the blow.

BOOM!

The heavy impact sent Liao Sheng flying backward. The hands he had used to block the terrifying attack were now trembling, a testament to the sheer, domineering power of Wei Song’s technique.

’Such powerful Earth Elemental Power,’ Liao Sheng thought, his face grim. ’His mastery of Earth Elemental Power Cultivation is impressive...’ He hadn’t expected to be at a disadvantage after the very first exchange.

"No one is getting past me!" Wei Song declared, his cold gaze sweeping over them. ’I won’t let them disturb Lin Xuan.’

He remembered how Lin Xuan was the only one who had trusted him, who had been willing to come here with him, who had even given him so many Primordial Stones. ’Now,’ he thought, ’it’s my turn to repay that kindness.’ As long as he was breathing, he would not let a single person touch Lin Xuan.