fifth form

Chapter 3495 Guiding the Spiritual Energy Storm Again
Fellow Daoists are not just friends who discuss Dao, but rather they are companions on the path of life.

Zhang Xuezhou clearly hoped that Ren Anran could stay with him for a long time, until the end of their lives.

Compared to Ren Anran's life condition, nothing else was more important to him.

The benefits of high-speed flight are immeasurable. The spotted mandarin duck had only traveled three miles from the cold pool when Zhang Xuezhou returned to the sacred land of Xieluoschuan.

"Zhu Jiuyin isn't here?"

Zhang Xuezhou was somewhat surprised to find no trace of Zhu Jiuyin at the Xieluoschuan Holy Land, and for a moment he was unsure where the old dragon had gone.

But it's a good thing that Zhu Jiuyin isn't at the Evil Luosichuan Holy Land, since Zhang Xuezhou didn't come here for any good reason.

Entering the secret realm through the passage that emerged from Zhu Jiuyin's physical body, countless dead souls came rushing towards them.

This sacred land contains the mindless souls of those who lost their minds due to the Spirit Gathering Banner, and is filled with the uncontrollable subterranean fire. The lake is covered with the venom of the Water Dragon King, and has been transformed into a high mountain by the Hunyuan Wuji Array mobilized by the Earth Dragon King and Zhang Xuezhou. In reality, it has become a forbidden area that no living person should enter.

Breaking through the Primordial Chaos Formation to extract a surge of spiritual energy might be one of the few ways to utilize it.

"Bah!"

The tunnel was winding and twisting, and Zhang Xuezhou couldn't fly at high speed while turning. He would inevitably encounter these dead souls when he entered and exited.

As he exhaled and made a sound, Zhang Xuezhou's body emitted bursts of light, pushing the dead souls away.

“These dead souls seem to have some similarities, like objects from the Emperor’s banner,” Ren Anran asked.

"It definitely came out from the large banner that Donghua was holding!"

"That must be the Emperor's Spirit Gathering Banner!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, and Ren Anran immediately beamed with joy.

"What use are these dead souls?"

"These dead souls are things that the Emperor has nurtured for a thousand years, and their value is quite extraordinary. Donghua probably didn't know how to use the Spirit Gathering Banner, so he poured out all of these dead souls!"

Ren Anran murmured something, and her cloud-like form drifted toward a dead soul. The crazed dead soul instantly became submissive.

“When these undead go berserk, they will tear apart any unfamiliar creatures they see,” Ren Anran said. “But once they are tamed, they can attach themselves to the bodies of living beings normally, thus turning ordinary people into soldiers with extraordinary strength and fearlessness in the face of death!”

"After this thing is tamed, will it have any negative effects on living beings?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"You might feel weak when you retreat. If you've been through a fierce battle and can't handle it, you might even experience symptoms like vomiting," Ren Anran said.

"Then wouldn't that mean there are no side effects!"

Zhang Xuezhou was surprised, never expecting that Donghua, who calmly used the Spirit Gathering Banner and controlled Zhujiuyin with 'Bai', actually didn't know how to properly use the Spirit Gathering Banner.

"We can take one of the bottles to collect these dead souls, and then we just need to nurture them with the spiritual energy released by the spirit jade, and they won't be so agitated!"

"feasible!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

While digging for treasure in the Zhujiuyin secret land is difficult, finding some bottles and jars is no problem at all. After all, Zhou Bugui and Zhang Xuezhou have refined a large number of pills, and the containers for these pills are all quite good.

"If we can trigger the spiritual energy storm you mentioned, they should also benefit greatly, and might even take on illusory, ghostly forms!"

"Then I'm really looking forward to it!"

Zhang Xuezhou had previously felt that his luck was extremely volatile, and that he was prone to failing at everything he did. However, Ren Anran's arrival had brought him great gains, and even the troubles that Donghua had overlooked could be considered as an opportunity.

Through Ren Anran's judgment, Zhang Xuezhou also realized that Donghua was not as omniscient and omnipotent as he thought. The other party had adapted to the identity of the Emperor, but was only half-baked when using the Emperor's past abilities.

He felt a sense of relief for a moment, as the pressure of seeing Donghua easily capture Zhujiuyin lessened considerably. "Watch out for the earth fire!"

Zhu Jiuyin's scorching body solidified the tunnel he had drilled, and even after passing through this passage to enter the secret area, it was still necessary to pass through the tunnel again.

Without the dragon body of Zhujiuyin to suppress the earth fire, the flames of the earth fire pillar continued to rise and grow stronger, and the temperature of the flames also increased.

If one is not familiar with the terrain beneath the pillars of earthfire, traversing through such flames is quite difficult; even a powerful cultivator would find himself in a sorry state.

Zhang Xuezhou gave a reminder, and Ren Anran's body shrank back.

Amidst the scorching flames, the back of a secret realm, seemingly shifting like stars, emerges, along with an almost inverted sky. The geomagnetic light of the earth occasionally displays various dazzling colors, like the aurora bringing ever-changing hues.

Ren Anran was stunned when she first saw this scene.

"The ancients were right; many dangerous places are indeed beautiful!"

With a gasp of surprise, Ren Anran stared at the upside-down back of the secret place, clearly indicating that they had arrived at their destination.

This is the location where Zhang Xuezhou used his supernatural fasting technique. While it gave Zhang Xuezhou this opportunity, it also brought great risks. At this moment, Zhang Xuezhou is extremely cautious, constantly surveying the site and comparing the possible differences in spiritual energy intensity, and figuring out which area is suitable for Ren Anran to use.

"Don't move here. I'm going to release the acupoint-fixing technique at the array's core," Zhang Xuezhou said. "It's difficult to gather the array artifacts from the other two secret realms right now, and unlike before, it hasn't accumulated for a hundred years. The intensity of the spiritual energy storm I'm drawing might only be one-third of what it used to be, or even weaker. It might also cause changes in the array, resulting in the spiritual energy guiding the array's power concentrating and surging here. If it's the former, float forward a bit. If it's the latter, retreat a bit. Make sure you don't stray too far from this boulder, lest you be swept into the subterranean fire by the storm!"

"it is good!"

Zhang Xuezhou's choice was relatively moderate; he even found a huge rock to act as a barrier, which meant he had a way to advance or retreat, but it was also the safest approach.

"Can you withstand the burst of spiritual energy yourself?" Ren Anran asked.

"It's somewhat of a coincidence. My body needs a lot of spiritual energy to replenish itself, so a more intense burst of energy would be more effective for me!"

Zhang Xuezhou smiled.

Stepping between life and death comes at a price. After his body was resurrected, it had no support. To restore his body to its original state, he would need either spiritual energy or the help of elixirs.

Even his body, which had reached the level of a saint, was destroyed. Not only was the small Qiankun bag not on Zhang Xuezhou's person, but it was also highly likely that it had been destroyed as well. Zhang Xuezhou himself was already lacking in elixirs.

Zhang Xuezhou, by using the new emperor's influence to achieve harmony between heaven and man, was targeted by a giant snake. At this point, he didn't even dare to recite the "Treatise on Righteousness and Righteousness."

For Zhang Xuezhou, spiritual energy was one of the few ways he could recover.

His words weren't meant to comfort Ren Anran, but rather to reflect his current situation.

After exchanging instructions with each other repeatedly, Zhang Xuezhou leaped into the air.

The magnetic light rippled across his body. In the past, he needed the protection of three holy land lords to travel, but now he could easily follow the same path.

With the array artifact, Liuli, in hand, Zhang Xuezhou stepped into the center of the three secret array eyes.

While chanting incantations, he released the acupoint-sealing technique that he hadn't used for many years, sealing the area once again.

In an instant, ripples from the geomagnetic light spread out, cutting off the spiritual energy that was driving the Primordial Chaos Array, and it also surged outward through this array eye.

As Zhang Xuezhou guessed, the absence of the other two array artifacts, coupled with the fact that the array control time was only twenty years, resulted in a much smaller spiritual energy storm this time.

A surge of spiritual energy has its advantages, and a normal burst of energy also has its advantages.

In this environment, both Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran can absorb the spiritual energy gradually, without being overwhelmed by the overwhelming spiritual energy that their bodies cannot withstand.

Zhang Xuezhou greeted Ren Anran, one recovering his body while the other used the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture to draw upon spiritual energy to forge a Yang Soul Body.

A torrent of spiritual energy surged forth, but Zhang Xuezhou did not adjust his position to stop it as he had done before.

When his physical and magical powers had mostly recovered, Zhang Xuezhou quickly realized that something was amiss.