After Chen Linlin, Xiao Ning'er, and the trio of girls removed all the filth from their bodies, they returned to where Xue Hui was. They were welcomed by the sight of him and Ye Ziyun sitting cross-legged together, both of them in a deep meditative state.
Xiao Ning'er, who had been at odds with Ye Ziyun due to their complicated past, couldn't help but feel mixed emotions seeing Xue Hui and Ye Ziyun sitting so close together.
But the moment a negative feeling tried to creep into her soul, she swiftly pushed it away, not wanting to think unpleasant things about the two.
She still wanted to have a proper talk with Ye Ziyun about what happened in the past, but Xiao Ning'er was having difficulty finding the courage to approach her.
As Chen Linlin and the rest got closer to the two, Xue Hui was the first to snap out of his training and turn his gaze toward them.
Not wanting to disturb Ye Ziyun in her training, Xue Hui scooted away from her with careful movements before standing up to approach Chen Linlin and the rest.
"Hey, it's good that you are all here. It's time for everyone to integrate with their own demon spirit." His casual remark brought excitement to everyone.
Despite having powerful cultivation, what everyone lacked was a suitable demon spirit.
Everyone can sense that their current demon spirits could not fully harness the strength of their cultivation, and this drastically dampened their potential.
"Boss, is that it? Are those the demon spirits you made for us?" Mei Lin asked excitedly. She hastened her steps toward Xue Hui, her heart filled with anticipation.
Seeing her excitement, Xue Hui tossed one of the golden orbs to her. With quick reflexes, she managed to catch her demon spirit crystal with both hands.
Her eyes glistened with anticipation as she studied the object in her hands, surprised by its unique appearance.
"It is. And that one is for you. You will know what kind of demon spirit you have once you integrate with it."
Xue Hui proceeded to hand out everyone's demon spirits. As they did, all of them showed a similar reaction to Mei Lin.
"Thank you, Xue Hui." Jing Ya said in her usual stoic manner, though Xue Hui could see the gleam of excitement in her eyes as she examined the demon spirit in her hand.
"They are gold. I have never seen something like this," Yue Ling exclaimed in wonder, her small face clearly showing astonishment.
"Finally, a proper demon spirit for me. Thanks, Hui-hui." Xiao Ning'er, who was standing behind Chen Linlin, sputtered in embarrassment after seeing Chen Linlin lean forward and plant a kiss on Xue Hui's cheek before turning back to find a spot to train.
"T-thank you, Xue Hui!" Following Chen Linlin's lead, Xiao Ning'er also placed a kiss on Xue Hui's other cheek after receiving her demon spirit. With a face as red as a tomato, she quickly turned on her heels to hide her embarrassment, not daring to look back, especially as she heard Xue Hui's amused laugh behind her.
With their demon spirits in hand, the girls did not waste time integrating with them.
Once everyone entered a deep meditative state, Xue Hui stood to the side, watching them with a satisfied look on his face.
The pure dragon lineage fermentation blood did an excellent job of mutating those demon spirits into dragon-bloodline variants.
With demon spirits of god-level growth rate and dragon bloodline, their cultivation speed would increase by leaps and bounds.
For the trio of girls, Mei Lin received the Great Flame Divine Lion, Jing Ya the Heavenly Three-Headed Serpent, and Yue Ling the Void God Butterfly. All three were powerful demon spirits, and each complemented their cultivation techniques perfectly.
As for Ye Ziyun, Chen Linlin, and Xiao Ning'er, they all received mutated versions, meaning their demon spirits had never been seen before.
Xiao Ning'er received the Divine Tempest Silver-Eyed Dragon, Chen Linlin the Celestial Dryad World Tree Guardian, and Ye Ziyun the Cold Profound Nine-Tailed Fox.
Each of these demon spirits could easily shake the hearts of experts above Legend Rank.
As for Xue Hui, he was not in any hurry to obtain his own demon spirit. While it was true that integrating with a demon spirit would increase one's strength, his cultivation worked in a different and unique manner. He already had his origin spheres, twelve of them, and to some extent, they functioned like demon spirits.
The origin spheres not only increased his soul strength but also provided unique combat abilities, making his combat prowess insanely powerful.
However, this also meant his cultivation path was far more complicated than normal. Integrating with a demon beast would only add to his cultivation difficulty while providing very little increase to his overall strength.
After all, the true might of demon spirits with god-level growth rate and dragon bloodline would only be fully unleashed once everyone began absorbing heavenly energy.
What Xue Hui was currently focused on was increasing his cultivation strength. At present, he was only at Silver Rank and hoped to find an opportunity during their trip that would allow him to break through to the next realm.
Time passed, and after the girls integrated with their demon spirits, they decided to spend more time training to familiarize themselves with their new abilities.
While they were occupied, Xue Hui headed alone to the Black Spring to check on something. Just as Yun Ling had said, the entire place was shrouded in dense miasma.
It was everywhere. Its presence drained the life of anything it touched, making the Black Spring the very picture of death.
Xue Hui scanned the surroundings with great interest. He could already tell the miasma was some kind of protective array designed to repel intruders.
"Interesting. It seems this Black Spring is indeed hiding some deep secret. To actually lay such an array, whatever is hidden underneath must not be simple." Using his excellent control of soul force, he forced out the miasma that seeped into his meridians and used the Origin of Devourer to absorb the power of law within the array.
Woosh!
An indigo sphere floated above Xue Hui. Like a funnel, it created a massive vortex that emptied the dreaded fog surrounding the Black Spring.
At the same time, Xue Hui entered a meditative state and recited the first chapter of the [Creation Origin Ancestral Canon] cultivation technique.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Xue Hui's eyes opened. A shaky breath escaped his lips before a smile formed.
"That actually brought my cultivation to the peak of two-star Silver Rank Demon Spiritualist. I'm now certain this place is indeed not simple."
With a great harvest, Xue Hui became more eager to search for the hidden cave entrance.
That search led him to the edge of a hidden deep ravine. Looking down into the bottomless chasm, it was so deep that even Xue Hui could not see the bottom. He knit his brows, even with his soul force heightened, all he perceived was darkness.
With howling winds rising from below and striking his ears, Xue Hui summoned one of his origin spheres and used it to descend into the chasm.
As he descended, his breath turned misty, and the howling wind intensified into something like a blizzard, carrying a cold force that made his body shudder.
"What an abrupt change in temperature. That's not normal. Something here is preventing the cold wind from reaching the top of the ravine." Curious, Xue Hui stopped descending and looked around, using the temperature fluctuations to pinpoint the source of the anomaly.
This led him to a cave perched on the side of the cliff. Even from a distance, Xue Hui could sense a powerful law of fire emanating from within.
The opening of that cave was so small that one would need to crawl to enter. Looking at it, Xue Hui felt a moment of hesitation.
The power of law hidden inside was by far the strongest he had ever encountered.
If he was not careful, he could find himself in a dangerous situation. The power of law was not to be underestimated; it was the reason Xue Hui had created his own origin powers, so he could fight opponents several ranks above him.
Even his own version of the law of fire, the Origin of Fire, could not compare to what was hidden in the cave. He sensed that this law of fire was far more profound than his own.
"What an overbearing aura of flame. So this is what a true power of law looks like when fully mastered."
After pondering for a moment, he made up his mind and used the Origin of Piercing Space to teleport.
Space rippled around Xue Hui, and his vision blurred before the scene shifted from the cliffside to the inside of the cave.
"Hm… a Legend Rank expert? No, not Legend Rank… a demigod." Xue Hui's eyes flashed with interest. The demigod rank stood at the pinnacle of strength in this world.
He did not expect that the first thing waiting for him after entering the cave would be the remains of a demigod.
"Based on the position of the corpse, it likely suffered severe injuries and hid here to recuperate, but ultimately succumbed to its wounds and died," Xue Hui theorized after examining the body. However, something felt off.
"No… not to recuperate, but to stand guard. This person still has lingering law power within him. That miasma was probably his doing. An array that intricate would take time to set up, it is not something one can do quickly, especially while injured."
"If I had to guess, this person was here as a protector. He likely encountered an intruder and was gravely wounded."
"This area was created to protect something inside this cave, something important enough for a demigod to sacrifice his life for."
Xue Hui's eyes gleamed with anticipation after deducing the truth behind the miasma.
With careful steps, he walked deeper into the cave until the surrounding temperature became unbearably hot.
Sensing the law of fire growing stronger the closer he got, Xue Hui summoned a red sphere and used its power to adapt his body to the extreme heat.
Thanks to it, he was able to reach the area where the source of the law resided.
At this point, Xue Hui relied on the Origin of Fire to resist the overwhelming force of the law pressing down on him.
"Halt and state your name!"
Just as he arrived at what he believed to be the source of the power of law, a loud voice echoed through the cave. At the same time, the entire space was engulfed in a sea of flames.
End of Chapter 78
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