229: The independence of the Red Tiger Sect

“It’s a pity that items must be placed into the Purple Treasure Plate before their specific value can be seen…”

Xiao Shi shook his head with a hint of regret.

Once an item is placed into the Purple Treasure Plate, it cannot be taken out.

This meant he couldn't use the Purple Treasure Plate to check the value of the Undying Soul Imprint.

However, he knew that this item was undoubtedly a top-quality item among Martial Soul Realm treasures.

Aside from the Undying Soul Imprint, Xiao Shi also found many treasures in the Gaunt Man’s storage bag.

It’s just that these treasures, unlike the Undying Soul Imprint, didn't display relevant information, so Xiao Shi didn't know the specific functions of some Martial Soul Realm-level treasures.

He could only keep them for now.

However, among these treasures, Xiao Shi did find some items useful to him.

At this moment, he obtained an important piece of information he didn't know from a jade slip found in the other party's storage bag.

This was information about the Martial Soul Realm.

From this, Xiao Shi learned that the Martial Soul Realm has three stages.

The first stage is called Soul Awakening.

This stage signifies the awakening of soul power.

Although martial artists who reach this stage will develop soul force, they cannot unleash soul attacks like the Gaunt Man did earlier.

They can only attach their soul force to their Natal Martial Blood, thereby enhancing the power of their Natal Martial Blood.

This made Xiao Shi think of the Martial Soul Realm martial artist he had killed earlier.

Upon careful recollection, he realized that this person had indeed not used any soul-level attacks.

“So, the power of the Soul Awakening Stage is mainly about attaching and enhancing soul force.”

“For example, if I were to reach the Soul Awakening Stage of the Martial Soul Realm now, I could attach my soul force to my sword qi, to Yin Flame, and to my hand and foot attacks, thereby increasing their power.”

“At the same time, besides enhancing offensive destructive power, soul force attachment can also be affixed to the body to form an effective soul force protective barrier, or it can be used to increase speed.”

Xiao Shi suddenly understood.

Furthermore, the perception abilities of the Soul Awakening Stage would also greatly improve.

They would be able to perceive all movements within their surrounding range.

Even without using their eyes, they would instantly sense anything that came close.

And once one reached the second stage of the Martial Soul Realm, their perception would reach an even more astonishing level.

Because the second stage of the Martial Soul Realm is called… Soul Consciousness!

Once Soul Consciousness is formed, there is no need to worry about sneak attacks.

With a sweep of Soul Consciousness, everything will be revealed.

At the same time, upon reaching the Soul Consciousness Stage, one can initially independently unleash soul force to perform soul-level attacks.

However, the soul force attacks at the Soul Consciousness Stage are usually not too strong, but they will be greatly enhanced when attached to other abilities.

And the third stage of the Martial Soul Realm is Life Soul!

Once a Life Soul is formed, one can possess a soul body separate from the physical body.

Even if the physical body is destroyed, one will not die.

True death only occurs when both the physical body and the soul body are simultaneously killed.

Moreover, upon reaching the Life Soul Stage, the entire spectrum of soul attacks will become extremely powerful.

Xiao Shi had already witnessed this on the Gaunt Man.

“These are… the three stages of the Martial Soul Realm!”

Xiao Shi took a deep breath.

Soul Awakening, Soul Consciousness, Life Soul!

Each stage brings immense improvement and transformation.

Especially upon reaching the Life Soul Stage, it is a qualitative change!

The existence of a Life Soul is like having an extra life.

Even if the physical body is destroyed, one will not die.

Especially now that Xiao Shi also has the Undying Soul Imprint, it can be said that as long as he reaches the Life Soul Stage, as long as he doesn't provoke terrifying great powers, he won't have to worry too much about his life.

The worst-case scenario would be reincarnation and re-cultivation.

“Next, I need to find a way to break through to the Martial Soul Realm…”

After taking everything from the Gaunt Man, Xiao Shi did not linger there.

He left silently… Rapid Shadow Palace, Five Shadow City.

After being injured by the Gaunt Man, the Palace Lord of Shadow Flash Palace immediately went into seclusion to heal that same day.

Even if he didn't know if there would be other intruders, he had no choice but to go into seclusion at this time.

Although the Palace Lord of Shadow Flash Palace was in the Martial Soul Realm, he was only in the Soul Consciousness Stage of the Martial Soul Realm and was no match for the Gaunt Man to begin with.

This time, he suffered severe injuries, and it was his soul that was heavily wounded.

He had to go into seclusion to recuperate.

As such, the Rapid Shadow Palace continued to be managed by its five Elders.

Although all five Elders had also been subjected to the Gaunt Man's soul attack, their injuries were relatively minor, as most of the attack was borne by the Palace Lord of Shadow Flash Palace.

This prevented the Rapid Shadow Palace from becoming leaderless.

In the past, whenever the Shadow Master went into seclusion, these five Elders would govern the five Shadow Cities.

That day, the Rapid Shadow Palace entered a state of alert.

They didn't know if other powerful outsiders would try to target their Rapid Shadow Palace.

They made all preparations to face a strong enemy.

Although the Rapid Shadow Palace entered a state of full alert, and anyone approaching Five Shadow City would be detected immediately, Xiao Shi still returned to Tree Shadow City with incredible ease, unnoticed by anyone.

As the master of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree, it could be said that the entire Tree Shadow City was under his control.

If he wished, he could even make Tree Shadow City secede from the Rapid Shadow Palace.

Entering Tree Shadow City without anyone noticing him was effortless for him, posing virtually no difficulty.

Upon returning to Tree Shadow City, Xiao Shi first went inside the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

His return caused the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree to instantly transmit feelings of excitement and joy.

Xiao Shi appeared directly at the crystal formation inside the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

The reason he came here was because the moment he stepped into Tree Shadow City, the coffin within his body began to vibrate, seemingly eager to return here.

“Playing dead before, but now that it has needs, it actively shows itself?”

Although Xiao Shi felt a bit displeased, he still went inside the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

Whoosh!

As soon as he appeared there, the entire coffin flew out of his body on its own and directly landed within the crystal formation, beginning to absorb its nourishment.

Xiao Shi gazed at the coffin.

Previously, he had considered abandoning this coffin.

After all, in the visions he had foreseen through the fragment of the celestial compass, the crisis mainly originated from this coffin.

If he abandoned it, he believed he would most likely resolve the foreseen crisis.

However, after careful consideration, Xiao Shi felt that he still could not abandon this coffin.

On one hand, the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree acknowledged him as its master precisely because he had integrated this coffin into his body.

If he abandoned it, Xiao Shi didn't know if the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree would continue to take him as its master.

On the other hand, after the coffin integrated the petrified heart from the blood clot and devoured the Yin Flame, a connection formed between it and Xiao Shi.

It wasn't something Xiao Shi could simply abandon.

Their fates seemed to have been firmly bound together at that time.

The third aspect was that this coffin held a very high status and had an extraordinary origin.

Although it brought him great danger, similarly, if the entity within the coffin could be revived… he would also gain immense assistance!

“This is like an investment…”

“High risk, but also high reward.”

Xiao Shi thought to himself.

Now that the coffin needed to be nourished here, Xiao Shi no longer bothered with it.

He returned directly to Tree Shadow City, planning to first check on the current situation of the Red Tiger Sect… On a giant tree within Tree Shadow City.

Whoosh!

Guo Chengdao's figure flashed, appearing on the tree as if teleporting.

He looked up and saw the figure standing on a branch above him, hands clasped behind his back.

It was nighttime, and under the moonlight, Xiao Shi's figure cast a long shadow.

The moment he saw this figure, Guo Chengdao's Blood Source within him vibrated.

After all, his Blood Source originated from Xiao Shi's Crimson Tiger Blood Source.

Guo Chengdao immediately knelt down respectfully to Xiao Shi.

“Greetings, Ancestor!”

Xiao Shi didn't turn around, leaving Guo Chengdao with a profound and enigmatic back.

A venerable voice emanated from him, “How have things been recently?”

Guo Chengdao knew that the other party was asking about the overall situation of the Red Tiger Sect.

He respectfully replied, “Since receiving your message, Ancestor, cautioning us not to expose our Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture, none of us Blood Martial Realm martial artists have used the Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture.”

“As for the other Red Tiger Sect disciples, several are currently on the verge of breaking through to the Blood Martial Realm.”

“We plan to use our Second Generation Blood Source to help these disciples enter the Blood Martial Realm, creating a Third Generation Crimson Tiger Blood Source. However, in order to conceal the Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture, we do not intend to teach it to them…”

After Xiao Shi realized that the Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture was a special cultivation method somewhere between the righteous and Demonic Path, he had repeatedly warned Guo Chengdao not to expose their Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture.

If it were discovered, people would surely assume their Red Tiger Sect was connected to Demonic Path forces, which would lead to trouble.

Guo Chengdao took Xiao Shi's instructions very seriously and never disobeyed them.

However, this also created a problem: their strength could not be improved.

To this day, they remained at the initial First Blood Stage of the Blood Martial Realm.

Xiao Shi nodded.

He didn't need to worry too much about cultivation improvement.

Now he had many Natal Martial Bloods, which were enough for Guo Chengdao and the others to rapidly improve.

“What about other aspects?” Xiao Shi continued to ask.

“Other aspects are all good…” Guo Chengdao thought for a moment.

Although the Red Tiger Sect had encountered some trouble when they first arrived at Tree Shadow City, they successfully entered Tree Shadow City with the assistance of Cheng Tianhao.

Xiao Shi nodded and waved his hand, directly throwing a storage bag to Guo Chengdao.

“The Natal Martial Blood inside is enough for you all to reach Second Blood. As for the disciples you mentioned who are about to break through to the Blood Martial Realm, I will personally assess them. If they meet the conditions, I will grant them Second Generation Crimson Tiger Blood Source.”

Xiao Shi said.

As the First Generation Crimson Tiger Blood Source, he could give out a total of ten Second Generation Blood Sources.

If they were promising talents, he felt he should directly grant them Second Generation Blood Source.

If their aptitude was average, then Guo Chengdao and the others could provide them with Third Generation Blood Source.

“Yes!” Guo Chengdao nodded respectfully.

He opened the storage bag and his eyes immediately widened in astonishment.

Inside the storage bag were numerous Natal Martial Bloods!

Guo Chengdao had never seen so many Natal Martial Bloods in his life!

In his understanding, Natal Martial Blood was extremely difficult to obtain.

Yet, he never expected this Ancestor to casually toss over a pile of Natal Martial Blood.

This caused an indescribable, terrifying impact on him, his heart pounding faster.

With these Natal Martial Bloods… he and the other three Blood Martial Realm Elders could rapidly increase their strength!

After all, the Deviant Blood Tiger Transformation Scripture mainly gains enhancement by refining Natal Martial Blood.

The more Natal Martial Blood, the faster their improvement.

Now with so many Natal Martial Bloods to refine… their rate of improvement would undoubtedly reach a terrifying level.

Perhaps they could reach the peak of the First Blood Realm in a short period of time!

After getting a preliminary understanding of the Red Tiger Sect's situation, Xiao Shi began to ponder the Red Tiger Sect's development strategy.

Currently, he was undoubtedly the Red Tiger Sect's top combat power.

Next were Guo Chengdao and the three Blood Martial Realm Elders.

The remaining disciples were only in the Qi Martial Realm and Entering Martial Realm.

“The Red Tiger Sect's current problem is primarily the scarcity of Blood Martial Realm martial artists, and there isn't even a single Martial Soul Realm practitioner…”

“To strengthen the Red Tiger Sect, the first step is to increase the number of Blood Martial Realm martial artists.”

“As long as Red Tiger Sect disciples can reach the Blood Martial Realm, I can use the Natal Martial Blood in my possession to rapidly boost their strength in a short period.”

“This is the first step!” Xiao Shi thought silently.

“The second step, the key lies with me.”

“I need to enter the Martial Soul Realm to support the Red Tiger Sect and become its pillar.”

Xiao Shi knew that only by entering the Martial Soul Realm would he truly enter the ranks of top powerhouses in Tian Dou Province.

Don't let his recent feat of eliminating a Life Soul Stage powerhouse deceive him; if he were to encounter a Life Soul powerhouse at their peak, ten of him wouldn't be enough to defeat them.

He must enter the Martial Soul Realm to have the capital to contend with other Martial Soul Realm powerhouses.

“The third step is to make the Red Tiger Sect independent in Tian Dou Province!”

When Xiao Shi returned this time, besides wanting to find a way to break through to the Martial Soul Realm, he also planned to make the Red Tiger Sect independent in Tian Dou Province.

Originally, the Red Tiger Sect was forcibly brought from Seven Stars Province to Tian Dou Province by an Elder of the Rapid Shadow Palace, becoming an affiliated sect of the Rapid Shadow Palace.

Although Xiao Shi didn't know the Rapid Shadow Palace Elder's intention, he knew that the other party must have had ulterior motives for doing so.

Regardless of the reason, Xiao Shi felt that it was necessary for the Red Tiger Sect to become independent in Tian Dou Province.

To achieve independence, three things were necessary: first, a Martial Soul Realm powerhouse to guard the sect; second, the disciples within the sect must be strong enough; and third, the sect must possess powerful trump cards.

Just like how the Rapid Shadow Palace, when facing the attack from the Life Soul Stage powerhouse this time, was able to repel him with their sect's trump cards, even without a Life Soul Stage powerhouse within their ranks.

This illustrates the importance of a sect's trump cards!

All three are indispensable!