12: Chapter 12 Seizing the Spirit Body

"Ahhh—!" Wang Teng, who was paralyzed on the ground, suddenly let out a shrill scream.

He discovered with horror that the Qi within his body was flowing away frantically! No, not just him; all the surviving Cultivators from the Family of Wang were like being drained of their Qi by an invisible vortex, collapsing to the ground one by one, their cultivation levels plummeting!

Those lost streams of Qi did not dissipate into the world.

Instead... they surged toward Ling Hao!

To be precise, they surged toward the System within Ling Hao.

Ling Hao closed his eyes, guiding the absorption of the Origin of War with all his might.

Twenty breaths.

Faint crimson-gold patterns began to emerge all over his body, like ancient war markings, moving beneath his skin. With every pattern that appeared, his Physical Body strength soared by one level.

Twenty-five breaths.

The figure of the Ancient War Spirit had become so faint it was almost transparent. It lowered its head to look at its own dissipating hands, then looked up at Ling Hao, a trace of... relief? emerging in its hollow eyes.

Finally, it opened its mouth, using its last strength to utter a blurry syllable:

"Thank... you..."

Before the words could fade, the War Spirit completely dissipated.

The last wisp of crimson-gold flame merged into Ling Hao's body.

[Origin of War absorption complete]

[Obtained: Battle Spirit Body (Early Stage) (Origin Spirit Body)]

[Effect: Physical Body strength permanently increased by three times, combat intuition greatly enhanced, can initially trigger the 'Battle Intent Boiling' state]

[Current Physical Body strength: Comparable to an Early Stage Foundation Establishment Body Cultivator]

Ling Hao opened his eyes.

In his pupils, a flash of crimson-gold flickered and vanished.

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air; that breath actually shot out like an arrow for three feet, plowing a shallow groove into the ground.

Then, he lowered his head and looked at his own hands.

Clenching his fists.

"Crack."

His knuckles popped like thunder.

Power.

Unprecedented power surged through his flesh and blood. It was not the kind of external force that required Qi to drive or control, but power that belonged entirely to him—every gesture and motion could shatter stones and collapse mountains!

"Refreshing..." Ling Hao murmured to himself, the corners of his mouth curling up involuntarily.

This was what it meant to Cultivate!

Borrowing nothing from heaven or earth, relying on no external objects; my body is my Dao!

"Young... Young Lord..."

A weak voice came from the side.

Ling Hao turned his head and saw Ling You emerging from the shadows. The youth's face was full of shock, along with a trace of worry: "Are... are you alright?"

"I am fine." Ling Hao stretched his limbs, his bones popping and cracking, "Better than ever."

He looked outside the entrance of the mine.

Three hundred feet away, Ling Xiao was leading the Ling Family, looking over anxiously. Just now, when the Ancient War Spirit clashed with the Golden Core Incarnation, the terrifying pressure made it impossible for them to approach. Seeing the battle subside, Ling Xiao wanted to rush over immediately.

But Ling Hao raised his hand, making a "stop" gesture.

Then, he turned and walked toward Wang Teng, who was slumped on the ground.

Wang Teng's face was ashen.

His Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation had been drained by nearly half by the System, and now he only had the level of a seventh or eighth-layer Qi Refining Cultivator. More importantly, his Dao Heart... had shattered.

Watching with his own eyes as his Family's Ancestor's Divided Soul was pierced by a spear, watching the Ancient War Spirit awaken and then dissipate, watching Ling Hao, this "trash," transform his Physical Body into a humanoid Vicious Beast in just a few dozen breaths...

What exactly was wrong with this world?

"Brother Wang Teng," Ling Hao squatted down in front of him, his tone calm, "Now, can we have a proper talk?"

Wang Teng lifted his head mechanically, his eyes devoid of spirit: "Talk... talk about what?"

"Talk about three things." Ling Hao held up three fingers, "First, from today on, this mineral vein belongs to the Ling Family. No one from the Wang Family is allowed to set foot here again."

"...Fine."

"Second, the Wang Family must compensate the Ling Family with one hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones as the price for today's invasion."

Wang Teng's face went pale, but after looking at the corpses of the Wang Family members around him, he gritted his teeth: "...Fine."

"Third," Ling Hao paused, his gaze falling on Wang Teng's Dantian, "I want your Spiritual Root."

Wang Teng trembled all over: "You... what did you say?"

"Spiritual Root." Ling Hao repeated, "I want to extract your Earth Rank Lightning Spiritual Root."

"Impossible!!" Wang Teng roared, "The Spiritual Root is the foundation of a Cultivator! If you extract my Spiritual Root, I will be completely crippled!!"

"So what?" Ling Hao tilted his head, "Do you think you still have room to bargain?"

He reached out, his five fingers pressing into the air above Wang Teng's Dantian.

The System light screen appeared automatically:

[Detected Earth Rank Lightning Spiritual Root (Parasitic Shackles form)]

[Can perform 'Origin Extraction']

[After extraction, the Spiritual Root will be converted into: Lightning Origin Seed (Earth Rank quality), consumes 10 Origin Points]

[Execute?]

"Execute."

The moment the words fell, a dark light shimmered in Ling Hao's palm.

The light was not blinding, but it gave a strange sensation of "devouring everything." It seeped into Wang Teng's Dantian, like an invisible hand, grasping that pulsing Spiritual Root wrapped in lightning.

"No—!!!"

Wang Teng let out a scream so shrill it didn't sound human.

He could clearly feel that the Spiritual Root he had cultivated for twenty years was being "pulled" out of his body bit by bit! That pain was not physical, but a tearing at the level of the Soul, like having his heart ripped out of his body!

Three breaths.

Wang Teng's screaming stopped abruptly.

He collapsed to the ground, his eyes hollow, white foam flowing from the corners of his mouth, his body convulsing—the aftereffects of having his Spiritual Root extracted caused him to lose consciousness completely.

In Ling Hao's palm, there was now a pulsing seed wrapped in fine lightning.

Lightning Origin Seed.

[Obtained: Lightning Origin Seed (Earth Rank)]

[Can be bestowed upon a Lightning-attribute Cultivator, allowing them to transform into a 'Lightning Spirit Body', increasing cultivation speed by five times and Lightning technique power by three times]

[Recommendation: Bestow upon Ling Xiao (Compatibility 92%)]

Ling Hao put away the seed and stood up.

His gaze swept over the remaining seven surviving Wang Family Cultivators.

Those people were already scared out of their wits. Seeing Ling Hao look over, they kowtowed like pounding garlic: "Young Master Ling, spare us! Spare us!"

"Go back and tell the head of the Wang Family," Ling Hao said calmly, "Three conditions. If one is missing, there will be no need for the Wang Family to exist."

"Yes, yes, yes!!"

"Get lost."

The seven Wang Family Cultivators felt like they had been granted amnesty and scrambled away from the mine, not even caring about their companions' corpses.

The entrance to the mine finally quieted down.

Ling You stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Young Master, these corpses..."

"Bury them." Ling Hao waved his hand, "The mine is temporarily closed. Send people to guard the entrance—from today on, this place is designated a restricted area. Without my permission, no one is allowed to enter."

"Yes."

At this moment, Ling Xiao finally led his people rushing in.

This cousin saw Ling Hao at first glance—compared to before, Ling Hao's appearance hadn't changed much, but his temperament had undergone a heaven-shaking change. If the previous Ling Hao was like a deep pool of water, then now he... was like a volcano about to erupt.

Calm, yet containing power that could destroy the world.

"Cousin Hao," Ling Xiao's voice was dry, "Are... are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Ling Hao smiled and took out the Lightning Origin Seed from his robe, "Cousin, this is for you."

Ling Xiao was stunned: "This is..."

"Hold it."

Ling Xiao hesitated for a moment, then reached out.

The moment his fingers touched the seed—

"Boom!!"

Thunder exploded!

It was not real thunder, but a roar originating from the depths of the Soul! Ling Xiao was enveloped in lightning light, the lightning patterns on his silver armor lit up automatically, resonating with the lightning power in the seed!

The Earth Rank Lightning Spiritual Root in his body began to tremble violently.

It was not being extracted.

Instead... it was being assimilated, converted, and bit by bit devoured and merged by that Lightning Origin Seed!

"Cousin Hao, what exactly is this..." Ling Xiao gritted his teeth, enduring the upheaval within his body.

"Don't speak, circulate your Cultivation Technique with all your might." Ling Hao said calmly, "This is your Opportunity."

Ling Xiao asked no more, sat cross-legged, and circulated the 《Thunderbolt Technique》 with all his might.

The lightning grew stronger.

After a stick of incense, the lightning light faded.

Ling Xiao opened his eyes, with fine electric arcs jumping in his pupils.

He slowly stood up, feeling the Lightning Origin Seed that had perfectly merged with himself, feeling that extremely pure lightning power...

"I..." He lowered his head and looked at his hands, "I think... I have broken through to the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment?"

Not just that.

The quality of his lightning power had increased by at least three times! And it operated as smoothly as his own arm, with no more stagnation!

"Lightning Spirit Body, initially formed." Ling Hao nodded, "Congratulations, Cousin."

Ling Xiao stared fixedly at Ling Hao, and after a long time, he took a deep breath: "Cousin Hao, tell me the truth—the Ancient War Spirit from earlier, and Wang Teng's Spiritual Root... what is going on with all of this?"

Ling Hao was silent for a moment.

Then, he looked up toward the direction of Qingyun City in the distance.

"Cousin, do you believe it? The Spiritual Roots we Cultivate are not heaven-sent opportunities, but... shackles planted by the Heavenly Dao."

Ling Xiao's pupils shrank.

"And the path I am taking now," Ling Hao said word by word, "is to break these shackles."

"Not just for me."

"It is for everyone in the Ling Family."

He turned and walked outside the mine. The morning light stretched his shadow very long, casting it on the blood-stained ground, yet it gave people a feeling of... standing tall and upright.

Ling Xiao stood on the spot, watching his cousin's departing back.

After a long time, he suddenly laughed.

He laughed with relief, he laughed heartily.

"Shackles, huh..."

He clenched his fists, feeling the power of the lightning seed jumping within him.

"Then let's smash them together."

That evening, news spread back to Qingyun City.

Thirty-seven elites of the Wang Family, including the newly Foundation Established direct descendant Wang Teng, were wiped out in the mineral vein battle. Wang Teng's Spiritual Root was destroyed, and he became a fool.

The Incarnation of the Wang Family's Old Ancestor was pierced by a spear by the Ancient War Spirit awakened by Ling Hao.

The Ling Family's Young Lord, Ling Hao, used his Mortal body to slay two Foundation Establishment Guest Elders, intimidating the entire scene.

Ling Xiao broke through to the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment in the heat of battle.

Three pieces of news, each more shocking than the last.

The entire Qingyun City did not sleep all night.

[System Notification]

[Task Completion: 100% (Everyone has collapsed)]

[Obtained Reward: Random Spirit Body Shaping Atlas 1 (Drawn: Fire Spirit Body Atlas), Origin Foundation Establishment Method, 3000 Origin Points]

[New Task Published: Establish the first Origin Cultivation Legacy (Youth Battalion) within thirty days]

[Task Reward: Disintegration Dao Pattern Advanced Chapter, Battle Spirit Body enhancement Opportunity, 2000 Origin Points]

[Host Current Status]

[Battle Spirit Body (Early Stage), Physical Body strength comparable to Early Stage Foundation Establishment Body Cultivator]

[Mastered Abilities: Disintegration Dao Pattern (Basic, Complete Version, can be used 3 times daily), Origin Foundation Establishment Method]

[Origin Points: 3010]