Entering the state of Void Clarity, Lin Yuan completely brought the surging and boundless soul power under his control. As his hands flew through the air, a set of profound and intricate hand seals was formed.
"Transform—"
Along with a soft chant, a vast sea-like soul force poured out from between Lin Yuan's brows. The immense soul power, almost tangible in form, coiled around his body as though it had draped him in a heavy robe of souls.
Lin Yuan's gaze was lofty and detached, his deep eyes utterly calm and devoid of emotion.
Only his rapidly moving hands continued to produce one mysterious seal after another with flawless precision.
"Split Soul Avatar, activate!"
With a low shout, Lin Yuan and the soul power enveloping him suddenly trembled violently.
Under the sunlight, his shadow cast upon the ground was no longer that of a simple human figure. Instead, it took on a twisted and indescribable shape, like the silhouette of something inhuman.
This transformation continued for quite some time. During the process, Lin Yuan's soul aura gradually became impure and mixed.
A trace of blood-red color stained his soul, as though it had merged with some unknown existence.
Finally, at a certain moment, Lin Yuan's trembling ceased. The soul power surrounding him abruptly flowed back and condensed. Moments later, his mixed aura split into two, transforming into two pure and separate presences.
"Blood Pattern Soul Shadow, appear!"
As the low cry rang out, a glint flashed through Lin Yuan's eyes. A solid blood-patterned soul shadow peeled away from his body and stood silently before him with its eyes closed.
The soul shadow's appearance was identical to Lin Yuan's, save for the demonic blood-red rune adorning its forehead, which emitted an unsettling and sinister aura.
The Blood Pattern Soul Shadow seemed to be both an extension of Lin Yuan and something beyond the scope of an ordinary soul avatar. The strange and powerful aura emanating from it made it clear that it was fundamentally different from a normal soul clone.
After separating this soul shadow, Lin Yuan's own soul aura rapidly weakened.
The medicinal effect of the Spirit Ascension Pill seemed to have been exhausted in an instant. His soul condition became even weaker than before he had taken the pill, and he was forcibly expelled from the Void Clarity state.
Yet despite his exhaustion, his eyes shone even brighter.
He immediately took out the Heavenly Spirit Soul Recovery Pill from his Storage Ring and swallowed it in one gulp.
As the pill entered his body, its immense medicinal power instantly spread out, like streams flowing into a dried-up spring, rapidly nourishing Lin Yuan's soul. His fatigue quickly disappeared, and his soul power began recovering at an astonishing rate.
Afterward, his hands formed a series of complex and bizarre seals.
The moment the seals stopped, his left hand slashed across his right palm. Sharp Dou Qi cut through his skin, and blood gushed forth.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yuan abruptly pressed his right palm against the blood-red rune on the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow's forehead.
"Ten Thousand Souls Devouring Spirit Formation—Modified—Blood Refinement."
As the words fell, crimson blood slowly seeped into the blood-red rune.
The Blood Pattern Soul Shadow was immediately engulfed by blood-colored light, as though it had been ignited. Scarlet flames erupted across its entire body.
Before long, a vicious and ferocious aura spread out from it in all directions.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan withdrew his hand from the soul shadow's forehead. With a thought, the wound on his palm began healing rapidly. In only a few seconds, the cut had completely recovered thanks to his powerful physique, as though he had never been injured at all.
Then, Lin Yuan turned his gaze toward the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow. After sensing its aura for a moment, he narrowed his eyes.
"The soul power has only just reached the Dou Ancestor level. It's not enough. It still needs to be fed and strengthened."
With that thought, he took out several black boxes covered in strange runes from his Storage Ring.
Immediately afterward, both Lin Yuan and the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow formed hand seals simultaneously.
Moments later, thick black mist surged from both of their bodies. Centered around the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow, it spread like dark clouds and covered the entire valley.
"Lesser Ten Thousand Souls Devouring Spirit Formation, activate."
As the shout rang out, the rune-covered black boxes burst open.
Nearly a hundred powerful, illusory souls rushed out like demons escaping from hell.
The weakest among them were Dou Spirit souls. There were also quite a few Dou King souls, as well as several powerful Dou Emperor souls.
However, the strongest among them was still Han Feng's soul, which had reached the level of a Seventh-Grade alchemist.
These souls had been collected by Lin Yuan after destroying several factions in the Black-Corner Region and eliminating certain forces after arriving in the Mu Lan Empire.
Controlled by Lin Yuan through Soul Hall secret arts, these souls screamed and darted through the black mist like evil spirits lurking in the darkness.
Their blood-red eyes appeared particularly eerie amidst the black fog.
Lin Yuan calmly observed the terrifying scene before changing his hand seals once more.
"Blood Feeding!"
The instant his voice fell, the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow abruptly opened its eyes. Bloody light surged within them, while the blood-red rune on its forehead shone brilliantly.
The black clouds centered around the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow were instantly dyed a strange dark crimson under the illumination of the blood light, as though they had transformed into a gigantic blood-colored furnace.
A mysterious soul fluctuation spread out from the blood clouds, and the soul bodies seemed to have received a summons as they rushed into the clouds.
"Blood Soul Gu, refine!"
As the cold shout rang out, nearly a hundred blood-red soul threads shot out from the rune on the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow's forehead.
Each blood-red thread connected precisely to one soul body.
Immediately afterward, all of the ghost-like souls were enveloped in bloody light.
The blood light resonated with the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow, and streams of pure soul power mixed with vicious energy were continuously transmitted toward it.
However, those powerful Dou Emperor souls instinctively resisted in their struggle for survival.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan flipped his hand, and the jade bottle containing the Heavenly Soul Pill appeared.
He opened the bottle, took out the pill, and swallowed it without hesitation.
As the medicinal power spread, Lin Yuan's soul suddenly trembled. His soul strength rose explosively, as though it had been injected with a stimulant.
Then, his immense soul power surged toward the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow, and the two sources of homologous soul force merged seamlessly.
With the support of Lin Yuan's soul power, the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow's aura soared.
The blood-red rune on its forehead emitted dazzling crimson light, and the connected souls seemed to have been ignited, with blood-colored flames erupting from their bodies.
Several shrill screams rang out.
The resistance of the connected souls completely disappeared, and their abundant soul power, accompanied by vicious energy, continuously flowed into the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow.
The Blood Pattern Soul Shadow absorbed all of it and digested it.
As time passed, the energy fluctuations emanating from the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow became increasingly powerful, and its aura became more and more violent.
Even a trace of brutality appeared in Lin Yuan's own eyes.
"The erosion of vicious energy? How boring."
Sensing the murderous intent slowly rising within him, Lin Yuan circulated the Purifying Spirit Art: Severing Thoughts, instantly erasing all the negative emotions being transmitted to him.
As time continued to pass, the nearly hundred souls above the Dou Spirit level that Lin Yuan had collected, along with the immense soul power enhanced by his medicinal pills, were gradually devoured and digested by the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow from weakest to strongest.
Finally, several hours later, the surging blood clouds suddenly froze and began to dissipate rapidly.
In only a few moments, the furnace-like blood clouds vanished completely, and warm sunlight once again poured down from the sky.
The nearly hundred soul bodies at the scene had all disappeared.
Only two similar figures remained standing.
Lin Yuan and the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow.
At this moment, it would be more appropriate to call the Blood Pattern Soul Shadow a Vicious Soul.
It no longer possessed any illusory appearance. Powerful soul fluctuations radiated from its body, and it was surrounded by faint blood light and an atmosphere of cold brutality.
Even the blood-red rune on its forehead had darkened into a deeper crimson.
Lin Yuan stared at the blood-shrouded figure before him. After probing it with his soul power for a moment, a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
Then, with a thought, he controlled this Vicious Soul that was connected to his own soul.
Under Lin Yuan's command, the Vicious Soul shot forward like a bolt of thunder.
A violent gust of wind gathered around its fist, carrying immense pressure as it punched toward a distant mountain peak.
The fierce punch directly tore through the air and landed upon the mountain in the blink of an eye!
Boom—!
With a deafening explosion, rocks shattered and a massive crater suddenly appeared on the mountainside.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan nodded slightly and sighed in admiration.
"This strength is nearly at the level of a four-star Dou Ancestor. My painstaking efforts in creating it were not in vain."
"By combining the Soul Hall's secret arts with the soul techniques I specialize in as an alchemist, I refined my soul avatar into this Blood Pattern Soul Shadow. Then, through the Blood Feeding Method, it devoured the souls of numerous experts, and finally, through the Blood Refinement Method, I fused a large amount of my own soul power into it. It has finally succeeded."
"Although Soul Hall doesn't do anything remotely decent, I have to admit that their secret arts are incredibly useful. They truly have unparalleled attainments when it comes to souls."
Shaking his head, Lin Yuan withdrew his thoughts and continued experimenting with this Vicious Soul that was connected to his own soul.
The Vicious Soul was like an external incarnation, moving and acting entirely according to Lin Yuan's will.
"It's time to test the next aspect and see how compatible the Vicious Soul is with the Heavenly Heart Soul Art."
With that thought, Lin Yuan controlled the Vicious Soul and circulated the Heavenly Heart Soul Art.
Not long afterward, the calm surrounding world suddenly rippled strangely. A tiny strand of spiritual energy separated from the void and flowed toward the Vicious Soul.
However, just as the spiritual energy was about to reach the Vicious Soul's forehead, the vicious aura naturally contained within the soul burst out from the blood-red rune and collided with that fragile strand of spiritual energy.
Before Lin Yuan could react, the spiritual energy exploded like a porcelain bottle.
Bang!
It shattered and dissipated.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan frowned slightly. Because his soul was directly connected to the Vicious Soul, he naturally sensed everything that had happened, and a thoughtful expression flashed through his eyes.
"So it's the vicious aura inherent to the Vicious Soul? Not only is this thing useless in battle, but it's also difficult to control. It would be better to eliminate it entirely."
"It seems this process of forging the soul avatar still requires one final step, Soul Tempering."
Thinking of this, Lin Yuan formed a hand seal.
A sub-flame of the Fallen Heart Flame surged out from his body and enveloped the Vicious Soul, gradually releasing its terrifying heat.
At the same time, Lin Yuan, who was controlling the Vicious Soul, could clearly sense the discomfort being transmitted from it.
However, he paid it no mind.
As his hand seals changed, the Fallen Heart Flame transformed into a colorless flame cauldron, completely sealing the Vicious Soul within it.
Then, Lin Yuan controlled the Vicious Soul to sit cross-legged. Its hand seals changed rapidly, and with the pressure exerted by the Fallen Heart Flame, strands of blood-colored mist were forced out of its body.
These wisps of blood mist were the source of the Vicious Soul's ferocious aura.
After each strand of blood mist left the body, the blood color within it was burned away under the perfectly controlled temperature of the flame cauldron, while the remaining colorless mist returned to the soul body.
As this process continued, the ferocity and brutality within the Vicious Soul gradually weakened.
"My idea of using the Fallen Heart Flame to remove the impurities within the Vicious Soul is indeed feasible. However, the refining process is rather slow."
"Judging by the current speed, it will probably take two or three days to complete it entirely."
"But that doesn't matter. I have plenty of time right now. Let's get to work."
Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan no longer hesitated.
He exhaled softly and immediately sat down cross-legged. Dividing his mind into three parts, one controlled the Vicious Soul, one controlled the flame cauldron, and the last circulated the Heavenly Capital Fire Scripture.
In this quiet refinement process, three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Three Days Later
Sitting atop a blue stone, Lin Yuan slowly opened his tightly closed eyes, and the corners of his lips curled upward.
"The Soul Tempering is complete."
He withdrew his cultivation seals, stood up, and waved his hand, dispersing the flame cauldron and recalling the Fallen Heart Flame into his body.
Then his gaze fell upon the Vicious Soul within the cauldron.
At this moment, there was no trace of ferocity left within it. The blood-red glow in its eyes had disappeared, replaced by a tranquil calm.
Lin Yuan observed it for a moment and muttered to himself,
"In this state, there's no sign of anything 'vicious' about it anymore. Since it was forged from my blood and my soul, from now on I'll call it the Blood Soul Avatar, or simply the Blood Soul."
"Blood Soul, Blood Soul let me see the results of this experiment. Just how compatible are you with the Heavenly Heart Soul Art?"
As he spoke, a trace of excitement flashed through Lin Yuan's eyes as he controlled the Blood Soul to circulate the Heavenly Heart Soul Art.
Soon, a tiny strand of spiritual energy separated from the void and entered the Blood Soul's forehead, merging into its soul body.
After entering, the spiritual energy was absorbed without the slightest obstruction and completely fused into the soul.
Along with a refreshing sensation originating from the depths of the soul, the Blood Soul's strength increased ever so slightly.
Naturally, this subtle change did not escape Lin Yuan's perception, as his soul was directly connected to the Blood Soul.
"After eliminating the vicious aura, using the Blood Soul to circulate the Heavenly Heart Soul Art and absorb spiritual energy is indeed feasible."
"Moreover, although the Blood Soul's efficiency in cultivating the Heavenly Heart Soul Art is inferior to my main body, it is far superior to the Shadow Clone's efficiency."
"In that case, the Blood Soul no longer needs to rely on devouring the souls of others to increase its strength or recover energy. It can become self-sufficient simply by cultivating the soul art."
"Next comes the final experiment—Possession…"
Thinking of this, Lin Yuan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. His eyes gradually closed as he extended his right hand.
Across from him, the Blood Soul tacitly extended its own right hand and firmly pressed it against his.
In an instant, the auras of the two resonated in a mysterious harmony.
Then, the Blood Soul transformed into a vast and pure stream of soul power and surged through Lin Yuan's right arm like a raging tide!
As this immense soul power poured into his body, the space around Lin Yuan gradually began to distort.
A monstrous aura, like an ancient dragon awakening from its slumber, swept out from his body.
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