236: Physical martial spirit!

Xiao Shi had anticipated the split with Rapid Shadow Palace from early on.

Although he didn't know Luo Jun's intentions previously, he understood that for Red Tiger Sect to become independent, it would inevitably have to break away from Rapid Shadow Palace.

And for Rapid Shadow Palace, this was certainly something they would not allow.

Therefore, a battle between the two sides was bound to happen sooner or later.

What's more, Xiao Shi was also planning to use the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree as Red Tiger Sect's ultimate trump card.

This was even more intolerable for Rapid Shadow Palace.

After all, Tree Shadow City itself was built upon the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

Although Rapid Shadow Palace had never been able to control the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree, they still regarded the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree as their own treasure.

And a very important treasure at that.

They definitely wouldn't tolerate Xiao Shi taking it away.

Therefore, if Xiao Shi wanted Red Tiger Sect to be independent, a battle with Rapid Shadow Palace was inevitable!

However, according to Xiao Shi's original plan, he wanted to wait until he reached the Martial Soul Realm before finding an opportunity for Red Tiger Sect to become independent.

Luo Jun's actions now were equivalent to pushing him to become independent ahead of schedule.

Both Cheng Tianhao and Guo Chengdao could be considered Xiao Shi's confidants.

They naturally knew about Xiao Shi's plan.

Now, upon seeing Xiao Shi begin to use the power of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree, they already knew that it was time for them to break away from Rapid Shadow Palace!

"Control Tree Shadow City with the fastest speed!"

Guo Chengdao quickly made arrangements... On the other side.

The Fifth Elder, located within Tree Shadow City, was looking with shock and anger at the tree vines and branches that had enveloped his entire mansion, completely covering it.

As the controller of Tree Shadow City, the moment Luo Jun stepped into Tree Shadow City, he had already sensed it.

However, just as he was about to act, numerous tree vines and branches suddenly emerged from underground, completely sealing off his mansion.

He recognized at a glance that these tree vines and branches originated from the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree!

This greatly shocked him.

The Azure Calamity Ancient Tree had always been like an ally to their Rapid Shadow Palace, always very friendly to them.

But he didn't understand why this always-friendly ally would suddenly seal off his mansion.

At the same time, what shocked him even more was that he found himself to have lost control over Tree Shadow City!

It was as if someone with higher authority had erased all his permissions, making him unable to control Tree Shadow City anymore.

"Something's happened!"

The Fifth Elder's expression was solemn, feeling a bad premonition.

However, under the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree's blockade, he couldn't leave the mansion at all.

He was completely trapped inside the mansion, unable to do anything.

Earlier, he had tried many methods.

But no matter what method he used, he couldn't break through the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree's tree vines and branches; they were all incredibly sturdy and simply unbreakable.

At the same time, it wasn't just the Fifth Elder who was experiencing problems.

The bodies of many Rapid Shadow Palace disciples within Tree Shadow City were all entangled by tree vines and branches that suddenly emerged from underground.

After being entangled, they fell into a state of slumber.

Meanwhile, at the borders where Tree Shadow City met other Shadow Cities, numerous tree vines and branches also spread out, completely separating Tree Shadow City from the adjacent Shadow Cities.

This made Tree Shadow City a completely independent city!

And all of this happened silently, causing Rapid Shadow Palace to not detect any abnormalities... Bang!

Luo Jun's figure rolled backward, flying through the air and heavily smashing against the wall of the tree sphere.

His body was covered in blood, with wounds all over.

One of his arms was broken, hanging limply.

He was gasping for air, mouth wide open.

However, before he could catch his breath twice, his pupils constricted sharply, and he rolled on the ground.

Boom!!

Almost the instant he rolled away, Xiao Shi's fist had already smashed into his previous position.

"Madman, this is a damn madman!!"

Luo Jun's face showed fear for the first time.

At this moment, Xiao Shi was also covered in blood and scars, with his entire left shoulder pierced through.

His injuries were no lighter than Luo Jun's.

But Xiao Shi seemed to be oblivious.

Even with his body injured, he continued to attack frantically.

What frightened Luo Jun the most was Xiao Shi's eyes.

It was a madness completely immersed in battle, where his entire mind could not accommodate anything else, leaving only battle.

Like a battle maniac who would fight to the death!

Luo Jun had never encountered such a madman.

Originally, with his strength, dealing with Xiao Shi in this state wouldn't have been too difficult.

But the black flames Xiao Shi had unleashed earlier caused the soul power within his body to be scorched and corroded.

Now, while fighting Xiao Shi, he also needed to suppress and neutralize these black flames that had infiltrated his body.

Otherwise, these black flames would burn away all his soul power.

This made him completely unable to use his soul power in his battle against Xiao Shi.

Without the augmentation of soul power, his combat strength was basically on the same level as Xiao Shi's.

However, as the continuous exchange of blows progressed, he began to feel increasingly strained, his injuries gradually worsening, and he was gasping for breath.

Now, facing Xiao Shi, whose fighting spirit was like a frenzy and who seemed to feel no fatigue, he could only continue to unleash Sword Shadow attacks.

Chirp!

The Sword Shadow he unleashed swept past Xiao Shi's front, causing the flesh on Xiao Shi's chest to burst open, making Xiao Shi's charging figure pause slightly.

But this didn't make him stop completely.

His figure continued to charge forward, killing towards Luo Jun.

Luo Jun's face was grim.

Without the augmentation of soul power, the Sword Shadow he unleashed was much weaker in terms of power.

If it were a Sword Shadow with soul power augmentation, Xiao Shi would absolutely not be able to resist it with his physical body.

Booming sounds continuously erupted within the tree sphere.

Xiao Shi, completely immersed in his battle state, had the Kuihu Vajra Bloodline within him thoroughly boiling during his combat.

This led to him comprehending more and more Bloodline Profound Meanings, and his combat strength continuously increased as a result.

Boom!

When Luo Jun was once again sent flying by Xiao Shi's punch, he felt a bad premonition.

"He's constantly getting stronger!!"

Many of the bones in his body were shattered by Xiao Shi's punch, and he spat out mouthfuls of fresh blood.

His sense of crisis greatly increased.

If this continued, he would definitely be exhausted to death by the opponent!

Under this sustained combat, he would only get weaker and weaker, his combat strength gradually declining.

But the opponent was continuously getting stronger.

"I can't keep dragging this out with him!"

Luo Jun's eyes showed determination.

With his last remaining strength, he condensed a massive Sword Shadow, and within the Sword Shadow, he added soul power!

This was the last trace of soul power remaining in his body.

The main reason he hadn't dared to use soul power before was that once his soul power was depleted after using it, he might have his foundation destroyed by the black flames.

At that time, his cultivation would fall from the Martial Soul Realm.

And if it was serious, once he fell to the Blood Martial Realm, he would no longer have any chance to return to the Martial Soul Realm.

However, in the current life-and-death crisis, he could no longer care so much.

Nothing was more important than his own life.

Even if his cultivation fell, it was better than being exhausted to death here.

"Die for me!!"

Luo Jun's expression was ferocious as he pushed the entire Sword Shadow with all his might, unleashing it towards Xiao Shi.

He believed that this attack of his would definitely be able to directly kill him!

Boom!

In an instant, this Sword Shadow had already reached Xiao Shi's front.

However, Xiao Shi's face showed no anxiety or panic.

His expression remained unchanged.

Facing this Sword Shadow with soul power augmentation, he calmly extended both hands, and with a clap, struck the attacking Sword Shadow.

Crack!

His hands directly clamped onto the Sword Shadow.

The muscles on his arms bulged high, and veins popped out.

"Break for me!!"

He let out a low roar.

His hands, clamping the Sword Shadow, fiercely pulled it apart to both sides.

With a crack, this Sword Shadow, augmented with soul power, was actually directly broken apart by his bare hands!!

Luo Jun's eyes widened.

He was completely petrified, staring blankly at this scene, feeling that everything before his eyes was absurd, making him question life itself.

As his strongest attack at the moment, it was one thing that it failed to kill the opponent, but it was actually broken apart by the opponent's bare hands??

How could this be!!

Xiao Shi's gaze returned to normal from his previous berserker state; he didn't pay attention to Luo Jun's shock.

Instead, he gently closed his eyes, sensing the changes after his physical body entered the Martial Soul Realm.

Previously, he had always felt that the physical Martial Soul Realm was inferior to the regular Martial Soul Realm in all aspects. Now, after experiencing it, he understood the differences between the two.

First, after the physical body reaches the Martial Soul Realm, soul power is not generated.

That is to say, the physical Martial Soul Realm does not possess soul power.

However, after the physical body reaches the Martial Soul Realm, both the body and soul possess an extremely strong resistance!

This is a resistance to soul power, which will greatly reduce the lethality that soul power can inflict on them.

Soul power attacks that could easily kill a Blood Martial Realm martial artist might be like an itch to those in the physical Martial Soul Realm, making it difficult to cause significant damage to them.

This astonishing resistance to soul power makes the physical Martial Soul Realm extremely resilient when facing the regular Martial Soul Realm.

When the cultivation and strength of both sides are not significantly different, it is very difficult for a regular Martial Soul Realm cultivator to kill a physical Martial Soul Realm cultivator.

However, for a physical Martial Soul Realm cultivator, killing a regular Martial Soul Realm cultivator is not as difficult.

As long as the physical Martial Soul Realm cultivator seizes an opportunity, they can completely take down a regular Martial Soul Realm cultivator in one go.

After all, regular Martial Soul Realm cultivators are relatively fragile in terms of their physical bodies.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the physical Martial Soul Realm is completely superior to the regular Martial Soul Realm.

It can only be said that each has its own characteristics.

The regular Martial Soul Realm excels in having many methods.

Especially in the latter two stages of the Martial Soul Realm, they can possess Soul Consciousness for investigation and a Life Soul as a second life.

The physical Martial Soul Realm, on the other hand, is tough and resilient, with strong vitality, fast recovery, high resistance, and is difficult to kill.

Its physical strength will also not be weaker than soul power.

Of course, these are the basic characteristics that every physical Martial Soul Realm cultivator will possess.

In addition, the bloodline of each physical Martial Soul Realm cultivator will also have some different enhancements.

For example, Xiao Shi's Kuihu Vajra Bloodline, once it has Profound Meanings, will be different from when he was in the Blood Martial Realm!

This will cause his three bloodline forms to gain some changes and improvements again!

However, Xiao Shi was not in a hurry to check the changes in the three bloodline forms for now.

He looked at Luo Jun in front of him.

At this moment, Luo Jun's face was pale, his aura was weak, and his cultivation had already begun to decline; even without Xiao Shi's intervention, he no longer had any combat capability.

Xiao Shi did not kill him directly.

He walked up to him step by step, grabbed the back of his collar, and lifted him up like a small chick.

Whoosh!

Xiao Shi waved his hand.

The numerous tree vines and branches that formed the tree sphere immediately retracted into the ground.

Outside the tree sphere, Guo Chengdao and Cheng Tianhao had not left; instead, they were waiting there for Xiao Shi.

Neither of them doubted that Xiao Shi would be defeated.

Even if the opponent was the powerful Rapid Shadow Palace Elder, Luo Jun, they didn't think Xiao Shi would lose.

Now, upon seeing Xiao Shi and Luo Jun, who was like a dead dog in his hand, Guo Chengdao and Cheng Tianhao were both deeply shaken.

Although this matched their expectations, this scene still had a strong impact.

After all, in their hearts, Luo Jun was also an extremely powerful existence, but now... he was being carried by Xiao Shi like a dead dog.

This made Guo Chengdao and Cheng Tianhao look at Xiao Shi with even more fervent eyes.

"Ancestor, I have already ordered the Red Tiger Sect disciples to start acting, cooperating with the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree. I believe we will soon be able to completely control Tree Shadow City."

Guo Chengdao said respectfully.

Xiao Shi nodded.

He had already instructed Guo Chengdao that when he used the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree, it would be the time for their Red Tiger Sect to become independent.

Although it was a bit earlier than expected, it wasn't a big problem.

He had now also entered the Martial Soul Realm, fully possessing the capital for independence.

However, Xiao Shi looked at Cheng Tianhao.

"There's no need for you to continue following us; you should remain in Rapid Shadow Palace."

Cheng Tianhao was stunned by this.

In his opinion, since Xiao Shi had already decided to sever ties with Rapid Shadow Palace, he naturally had to follow Xiao Shi.

However, upon careful thought, he understood Xiao Shi's intention.

There were two main reasons for him to stay in Rapid Shadow Palace.

First, he could keep track of Rapid Shadow Palace's movements at all times, acting as a double agent. Any actions by Rapid Shadow Palace could be reported to Xiao Shi via sound transmission immediately.

Second, his cultivation system was incompatible with Red Tiger Sect.

If he were to leave Rapid Shadow Palace at this time, his cultivation would basically stop there, making it difficult to advance further.

Only by staying in Rapid Shadow Palace would he have greater room for improvement in strength.

"As you command."

Cheng Tianhao nodded respectfully.

"You should leave Tree Shadow City immediately and go to another Shadow City. When Rapid Shadow Palace becomes aware of the situation here, as long as you are not in Tree Shadow City, they will not suspect you."

Xiao Shi instructed.

After Luo Jun arrived, he had already sealed off the entire Tree Shadow City through the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree, ensuring that the situation here would not be detected by Rapid Shadow Palace immediately, thus giving them ample time to prepare.

He knew that to achieve independence, it wasn't just about dealing with Luo Jun, a Rapid Shadow Palace Elder, and being done with it.

He also had to face other Elders, and even the Palace Master of Rapid Shadow Palace.

However, this Palace Master was currently severely injured and in seclusion, so there was no need to consider him for now.

After giving his instructions, Xiao Shi's figure disappeared from before the two of them.

He went directly into the interior of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

Before officially going to war with Rapid Shadow Palace, he still had an important matter to attend to.