291: Improvements brought by the Cang'e Ancient Tree

Boom!

A massive roar echoed through the sky over Tian Dou Province, exploding outwards.

Two figures crossed paths.

They sent out a ripple of shockwaves.

Tearing through the clouds.

The tall and burly Abbot of Lei Miao Temple was now bare-chested, revealing a torso of coiled and knotted, robust muscles.

Those bulging, rock-like muscles were now covered in dozens of sunken fist prints.

Blood seeped from the corner of the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple's mouth.

He looked somewhat disheveled.

Floating opposite the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple, Xiao Shi was unscathed and particularly relaxed.

This was even while he hadn't used his Soul Consciousness, fighting purely with the power of his Physical Body to comprehend the Bloodline Profound Truth.

If he used his Soul Consciousness... Xiao Shi was confident he could kill him within three moves!

The Abbot of Lei Miao Temple frowned deeply.

He didn't know where such a master had come from.

He could clearly feel that the other party wasn't going all out, but seemed more like they were using him for practice.

"I can't keep tangling with him."

The Abbot of Lei Miao Temple immediately took out a sword-shaped token.

The moment he activated the sword token with his Soul Consciousness...

Whoosh!

His entire body instantly transformed into a sword of light, soaring into the sky.

He began to flee at an incredibly startling speed.

This was an important life-saving item he carried.

In the form of a light sword, his speed would reach an incredibly astonishing level.

Even if he encountered a powerhouse at the Life Soul stage, he could use this to escape.

It could be said that as long as he didn't encounter someone in the Martial Demon Realm... he could escape with this.

Watching the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple flee rapidly as a light sword, the corner of Xiao Shi's mouth curled up slightly.

A flash of blood-red light.

Whoosh!

His figure appeared out of thin air in front of the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple.

He threw a punch.

The light sword the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple had transformed into was directly smashed apart, turning into a sky full of light fragments.

The Abbot of Lei Miao Temple was sent tumbling backward through the air by the impact.

His eyes were filled with shock and terror.

He cried out in alarm.

"Tele... Teleportation!? How is this possible!!"

The flesh and blood on Xiao Shi's body writhed at high speed.

Especially his legs.

The blood flow within his body accelerated.

What he had just performed... was indeed Teleportation!

This was the second layer of the Bloodline Profound Truth he had comprehended through combat!

The first layer of the Bloodline Profound Truth he had comprehended back then was the all-around protection and resistance in the Jingang Form.

It gave him incredibly amazing protection in the Jingang Form.

And the second layer of the Bloodline Profound Truth he had comprehended now originated from the Crimson Tiger Form!

This granted him the ability to teleport!

Of course.

Teleportation in the Crimson Tiger Form had certain limitations.

First, Xiao Shi could only teleport within a certain range.

He couldn't teleport directly to a very distant location.

Second, the locations he could teleport to were fixed; he couldn't just teleport to any position he wanted.

Before teleporting, he had to lock onto a target first.

He could only teleport to four fixed locations within a hundred-meter radius of the target.

At the same time, every time he used Teleportation, it would place a significant burden on his body.

Once it exceeded his body's capacity...

He would face the danger of his body exploding.

Judging from the physical burden of this Teleportation.

Xiao Shi felt he could perform Teleportation about three times.

If he forced a fourth Teleportation, his body would be damaged, but not to the point of exploding.

Five Teleportations... and his body would definitely explode!

This kind of Teleportation was mainly suitable for offense.

Amidst the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple's horror...

Whoosh!

Xiao Shi's figure vanished from his sight into thin air.

At a speed he couldn't possibly react to.

He teleported directly to his side.

He threw a punch!

This time, Xiao Shi did not hold back.

Since he had already successfully comprehended the second layer of the Bloodline Profound Truth through their exchange, there was no need to continue fighting.

Thud!

A fist shadow flashed as fast as lightning.

Xiao Shi's fist accurately struck the other's body, pulverizing all the flesh it touched.

It even punched a massive hole through the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple's entire chest!

Inside the hole, there was nothing but emptiness!

Whether it was flesh or internal organs, everything had been turned to dust under Xiao Shi's punch.

Resulting in the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple's death on the spot!

Xiao Shi felt no psychological burden about this.

He knew very well.

The other party was not a good person to begin with.

When they first learned of the changes in the Rapid Shadow Palace, both Lei Miao Temple and the Extreme Fire Sect's first thought was to take the opportunity to destroy the Rapid Shadow Palace.

If Xiao Shi hadn't intimidated the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple and the Sect Leader of Ji Huo Sect back then...

They would have already moved against the Rapid Shadow Palace.

If he didn't deal with them... after he left with the Red Tiger Sect...

Once they moved against the Rapid Shadow Palace, Cheng Tianhao would be in danger.

Therefore.

No matter what, Xiao Shi had to eliminate these hidden threats for Cheng Tianhao before leaving.

Of course.

Xiao Shi didn't need to wipe out Lei Miao Temple and the Extreme Fire Sect.

He only needed to deal with the Soul Consciousness powerhouses of these two forces.

As long as the danger brought by these two Soul Consciousness powerhouses was gone...

Within Tian Dou Province, no other force would be able to pose a threat to the Rapid Shadow Palace.

Immediately.

After killing the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple, Xiao Shi continued on to kill the Sect Leader of Ji Huo Sect.

Compared to the Abbot of Lei Miao Temple...

The Sect Leader of Ji Huo Sect seemed somewhat less capable of fighting.

Even without Xiao Shi using the power of his Soul Consciousness, the Sect Leader of Ji Huo Sect had no room to fight back at all.

This meant Xiao Shi didn't have to spend much effort.

He easily killed him.

He looked at the two items dropped this time.

[Name: Hidden Soul Necklace]

[Type: Necklace]

[Grade: Martial Soul Grade]

[Description: After wearing this necklace, you can keep your Soul Consciousness in a hidden state.]

[Note: This concealment effect is ineffective against those with a higher cultivation than oneself.]

...This item clearly wasn't very useful to Xiao Shi.

Its function overlapped with the [Dark Eye Spy] he cultivated.

And its effect was far inferior to [Dark Eye Spy].

He could only put it into the [purple treasure plate] to accumulate value points.

Xiao Shi looked at the next item.

[Name: Soul-Expanding Pearl]

[Type: Pearl]

[Grade: Martial Soul Grade]

[Description: A strange pearl that can be incorporated into the Soul, bringing an expansion effect to the Soul Consciousness.]

[Note: After incorporating it into the Soul, it can double the diffusion range of one's Soul Consciousness.]

...This item was quite useful for Xiao Shi.

Although Xiao Shi's Soul Consciousness diffusion range was already much larger than that of an ordinary person...

If he could continue to increase the Soul Consciousness diffusion range, it would be a good improvement for Xiao Shi.

After all, the larger the Soul Consciousness diffusion range...

The more information he could detect through his Soul Consciousness.

Especially since his Soul Consciousness was highly concealed.

He didn't have to worry about being detected by others.

While Xiao Shi was dealing with the only two Soul Consciousness powerhouses in Tian Dou Province, the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree also successfully placed Tree Shadow City back into the original Five Shadow City.

This allowed Tree Shadow City to break away from the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

At the same time, the two Rapid Shadow Palace Elders under Xiao Shi's control, Luo Jun and Tong Binhong, also officially took over the entire Rapid Shadow Palace.

They became the leaders of the Rapid Shadow Palace.

Cheng Tianhao, on the other hand, stayed behind the scenes.

Xiao Shi had already given orders to Luo Jun and Tong Binhong.

To have them completely obey Cheng Tianhao in the future.

In this way.

The apparent rulers of the Rapid Shadow Palace were Luo Jun and Tong Binhong.

But the real power was Cheng Tianhao behind them.

Xiao Shi believed that with the current overall strength of the Rapid Shadow Palace, once there were no Soul Consciousness powerhouses, no force in the entire Tian Dou Province would be able to threaten them anymore.

With Tree Shadow City detached from the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

Xiao Shi immediately began preparing to root the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree into himself.

He had already asked the Fragmented Consciousness in the black coffin for the specific steps.

The entire Azure Calamity Ancient Tree was incredibly massive.

Since it had been buried underground for years, less than a tenth of it was visible on the surface.

To root such a massive Azure Calamity Ancient Tree into himself...

Xiao Shi couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

However, he had absolute confidence in his Bloodline, feeling that with the strength of his Bloodline, he could surely bear the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

After taking a deep breath.

Xiao Shi quickly gave a command to the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

Having the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree extend a section of its root.

Thud!

It pierced directly into his body.

When this section of root pierced into Xiao Shi's body, its entire root system completely embedded itself into Xiao Shi's flesh, causing sharp pain to flare up throughout his entire body.

He could feel this section of root that had pierced his body seemed to have divided into countless rootlets, moving freely within his body and spreading everywhere.

It gave him a sensation of every part of his body being pierced through.

In an instant.

Countless rootlets had already been embedded inside his body.

Even a single drop of his blood now contained numerous rootlets.

Once these rootlets were tightly embedded in his body.

The entire, incredibly massive Azure Calamity Ancient Tree began to shrink and merge bit by bit into Xiao Shi's body.

Although the size of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree had shrunk...

Xiao Shi clearly felt a terrifying and astonishing weight pressing down heavily on him.

His entire body instantly felt as if it were carrying more than ten great mountains.

Even with Xiao Shi's Physical Body, his entire back was pressed into a hunched and bent position.

His bones made a series of cracking sounds.

Fortunately, when he had previously used the Martial Emperor Shoulder Armor to perform the Heavy Pressure Form, he had already become accustomed to this kind of heavy pressure.

He wasn't directly crushed by the terrifying weight brought by the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

At the same time, as the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree merged, the weight of the entire tree continued to decrease bit by bit.

Finally.

When the entire Azure Calamity Ancient Tree had completely merged into his body...

He could no longer feel any weight.

However, Xiao Shi mused that when facing enemies, if he used the Heavy Pressure Form of the Martial Emperor Shoulder Armor again in combination with the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree, it would surely create an even more terrifyingly powerful heavy pressure!

At this point, he had successfully rooted the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree in his body.

Next... it would depend on the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree's absorption!

Given his physical strength...

Bearing the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree wasn't difficult.

The key was whether he could withstand the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree's absorption!

"Come on!"

Xiao Shi took a deep breath.

Indicating that he was ready.

The Azure Calamity Ancient Tree within his body immediately began its absorption impatiently.

Since this absorption acted upon his Bloodline...

Xiao Shi didn't experience any discomfort in terms of perception.

He basically felt nothing.

This made him feel a secret surge of joy.

If there was no discomfort... it meant his Bloodline could completely withstand the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree's absorption.

It wouldn't cause any adverse effects on himself because of the tree's absorption of his Bloodline.

At the same time, the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree also breathed a sigh of relief when it saw that its absorption didn't bring any discomfort to Xiao Shi.

It was no longer cautious but began to boldly gulp down nutrients.

After it had been absorbing for more than ten minutes...

Xiao Shi still didn't have any discomfort.

"It seems that just as the Fragmented Consciousness in the coffin said, my Bloodline is completely sufficient to nourish the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree!"

Xiao Shi breathed a sigh of relief.

Once again, he felt the power of his own Bloodline!

Once the entire Azure Calamity Ancient Tree had stabilized in his body...

He began to sense the improvements brought by the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

From the current situation...

The Azure Calamity Ancient Tree mainly brought him improvements in four areas.

The first was the Substitute he had used before.

Now that the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree was rooted in his body, he could perform the Substitute more easily and naturally.

This would be a good combat method.

The second was the control over servants.

Back then, it was through the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree that he controlled the two Elders of Tree Shadow City, making them completely obey him.

However, the number of control slots was limited then.

He could only control two people at most.

He couldn't control more.

Now, Xiao Shi's control slots had increased from two to five!

The third was the Tree Armor brought by the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

Now that his body was filled with countless rootlets of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree, he could make his body undergo Tree Armorization.

This Tree Armorization could not only reduce physical perception, making him unable to feel pain and enhancing physical protection...

But also stabilize his body.

This stabilization was most suitable for the current Xiao Shi.

This would allow him to perform Teleportation more times!

Before this.

Xiao Shi's limit was four Teleportations.

If he performed a fifth Teleportation, his body would explode and he would die.

But now, with the body stabilization brought by the Tree Armor...

His limit had increased from four to six!

At the same time, the stabilization of the body could also concentrate his power, thereby unleashing even greater strength.

The fourth was the internal space of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

When the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree existed independently before, its internal space was already incredibly vast.

Now that it was rooted in Xiao Shi's body...

Its entire internal space was even more massive.

Xiao Shi felt that in the future, he wouldn't need to put the items he obtained into a Storage Pouch; he could just put them directly into the internal space of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

Moreover, the internal space of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree could not only accommodate items...

But also take people inside.

For example, Xiao Shi could now put all the people from the Red Tiger Sect... into the internal space of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree!

Not only that.

He could also set up Formations within the internal space of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

If he could set up some powerful Formations... it would bring a huge enhancement to both himself and the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree at the same time.