Xiao Jietian pulled her behind him just as a gaping maw lined with sharp teeth appeared where she had been standing moments before.
Stunned by the sudden attack, Xuan Qingying stood frozen. Accustomed to seclusion for alchemy with little real combat experience, she had never encountered such a situation before.
She stared blankly at Xiao Jietian, who had instinctively shielded her, and a sudden sense of security welled up inside her.
Seeing it had missed its target, the attacking figure instantly retreated back into the ground.
Xiao Jietian clenched his fist and struck the ground. Immediately, lightning spread out from his fist in all directions.
About five meters away from them, a massive gray lizard, roughly seven meters long, was forced out from underground.
"Burrowing Giant Lizard."
Xiao Jietian murmured softly as he observed the lizard before him.
This magical beast was a Tier 4 creature. As its name suggested, it typically lived underground, adept at burrowing and ambushing prey. Its outer hide could conceal its aura, sometimes even allowing it to kill Tier 5 Magical Beasts through surprise attacks.
"Hiss!"
The Burrowing Giant Lizard hissed at Xiao Jietian, flicking its tongue, then quickly clawed at the ground with its front paws, sending dirt and rocks flying. Its movements were swift and powerful, clearly intending to burrow back underground.
"Trying to run after a sneak attack? It's not that easy."
The golden-red ring on Xiao Jietian's hand instantly transformed into a long halberd. In a flash, he appeared beside the giant lizard, brandishing the halberd with sharp momentum as he swung it toward its neck.
The giant lizard swung its massive tail with a whistling sound, lashing out at Xiao Jietian's body in an attempt to force him to retract his attack.
"Quick, dodge!"
Xuan Qingying shouted anxiously.
"Bang!"
The giant tail reached Xiao Jietian but passed right through his body, slamming heavily onto the ground.
Xiao Jietian's figure reappeared on the other side of the giant lizard. Using the long halberd in his hand, he flicked its tail.
The sharp halberd easily severed the giant tail. The lizard let out a mournful shriek, the intense pain causing it to twist its body frantically. Blood gushed from the severed tail, and the detached limb thrashed on the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Jietian swung his halberd again, thrusting it directly into the giant lizard's head.
The halberd pierced its skull, pinning it to the ground. After another, even louder shriek, its body gradually went limp, showing no further signs of life.
Xiao Jietian pulled out the halberd and gave it a gentle shake, flinging off the bloodstains. The weapon gleamed coldly once more.
With a slight thought, the halberd transformed back into a ring and settled onto his hand.
She observed the ring on Xiao Jietian's hand with curiosity. She had never seen such a magical transformation before and was incredibly intrigued, but knowing it was another's secret, she refrained from asking.
"Indeed, dangers are everywhere. One careless mistake, and disaster strikes."
This time, Xiao Jietian dared not relax. He continuously maintained his perception of the surroundings, even monitoring underground.
The two continued their journey. As the sun set and the moon rose, the entire forest grew dark.
"We can't go any further. Traveling at night isn't safe, and visibility is even lower."
If he were alone, nighttime travel wouldn't be an issue. But now he was with a Dou Huang who had suffered soul trauma and relied on medication.
It would likely be too difficult. It was better to rest temporarily and recover. Constantly releasing soul power was also draining.
"Here will do."
There were no slopes or similar features in the current forest to create a stone chamber. Xiao Jietian chose what appeared to be the largest tree nearby, hollowed it out, and formed a small treehouse.
After eating lightly, Xiao Jietian continued cultivating, refining the Thunder Origin he had obtained from checking in.
This time, refining the Origin, combined with previous accumulation, finally allowed him to break through to five wisps.
"Can I ask you for a favor?"
Just as Xiao Jietian finished refining, a voice as clear as a spring sounded in his ear, soft and tinged with expectation.
Xiao Jietian slowly opened his eyes, a trace of surprise in his gaze, and smiled. "Tell me what it is first."
"After refining this medicinal liquid earlier, my soul is already depleted. I can't refine this medicinal liquid alone, so I need your help to suppress the Dream Power within it and guide me to absorb it."
"Don't rush to refuse. As compensation, I can give you a secret technique for soul cultivation."
Her eyes flickered with anticipation and a hint of anxiety, worried that Xiao Jietian would refuse, so she directly stated the compensation.
"Do you know that if my soul particle enters your mind, I could control or even obliterate your soul?"
It was the first time Xiao Jietian had heard of a secret technique for soul cultivation. Even soul skills were extremely rare, let alone methods for cultivating the soul.
Xiao Jietian's eyes narrowed as he looked at the beautiful woman before him, a playful glint in his gaze.
"I believe you're not that kind of person, and besides, killing me would be easy for you."
Upon hearing Xiao Jietian's words, her body trembled slightly. Despite her strong and confident personality, such words still made her panic a little.
"Alright, I can help you."
Xiao Jietian looked at the woman before him, her face pale and showing considerable pain. It seemed refining the medicinal materials had worsened her condition; otherwise, she wouldn't have made such a request.
Hearing Xiao Jietian agree to help, a glimmer of pleasant surprise flashed in her eyes.
"Thank you," she said with a faint smile, her voice weak but full of gratitude.
"What do I need to do?"
Xiao Jietian waved his hand and asked.
She then explained the procedure to Xiao Jietian and handed him a black scroll.
Xiao Jietian opened the scroll. Five characters were written on it: "Illusion Soul Meditation Art."
This cultivation method involved constructing illusions through the soul to cultivate.
Although he possessed a very powerful soul body and a formidable soul cultivation method,
he could still use another soul technique and merge other techniques into his method. About a quarter of an hour later, Xiao Jietian opened his eyes, marveling at how extraordinary this item truly was. After cultivating for just this short while, he clearly felt his soul power had increased slightly.
Xiao Jietian used Dou Qi to envelop the entire tree hollow, also leaving a wisp of consciousness to observe the surroundings.
Inside the tree hollow, the two sat opposite each other. She nodded slightly at Xiao Jietian, indicating she was ready.
Xiao Jietian took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, and concentrated fully on mobilizing the soul power in his mind.
"I'm starting now. Don't resist."
He extended two fingers, controlling the medicinal liquid to fly out of the jade bottle and touch her glabella, instantly entering her Sea of Consciousness.
Xiao Jietian's fingers followed closely, touching her glabella. Upon contact, her body trembled slightly, and her eyelashes fluttered, betraying her inner panic.
This was the first time since she had grown up that someone of the opposite sex had touched her face.
"Steady your mind, don't overthink."
Xiao Jietian's voice echoed in the tree hollow. She quickly composed herself, entering the best possible state.
Xiao Jietian's surging soul power entered her Sea of Consciousness through his fingers. An immensely powerful demonic soul power entered her body, making her feel as if she had met an emperor. She was merely a soul, and she saw two dark eyes she had never witnessed in her life. He saw her soul sitting cross-legged in the Sea of Consciousness, but her entire soul body was extremely weak and transparent, on the verge of extinction, like a candle flame that could go out at any moment.
Under the control of Xiao Jietian's soul, the medicinal liquid covered her soul, instantly dyeing it in a myriad of colors.
The eyes of the soul body instantly became hollow, as if its consciousness had vanished.
"A mere wisp of Illusion Spirit Power dares to act so fiercely? Shatter!"