After reaching the outskirts of the forest, Tang Yin finally came to a halt. A sudden wave of clarity washed over him—his Mysterious Heaven Technique had broken through the third layer, unlocking his lower dantian.
He could now freely manipulate his soul power to boost speed, agility, and strength. More importantly, he could begin infusing internal energy into his techniques.
His energy absorption & conversion ability had also evolved—from gamma class to beta class. While not yet as overpowering as Sebastian Shaw, Tang Yin could now strengthen his body through energy conversion, enhancing his physical prowess significantly.
Currently, his soul power had reached Level 38 after absorbing the Eight Spider Lances. At this rate, he estimated he'd reach Level 50 by the time the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament began.
Taking advantage of the calm, Tang Yin began probing his soul ring and external soul bone abilities. After careful analysis, he exhaled in relief. If it was possible, he wanted to avoid absorbing soul beasts with evil attributes. Such beasts often granted abilities that would label him an Evil Soul Master—a stigma no one wanted.
Thankfully, much like Tang San's fourth soul ring in the original story, his own soul ring had undergone a significant evolution after he increased its age. It now granted him a formidable ability: sixteen Blue Silver Grass vines could instantaneously form a steel-like cage around one or more enemies. The toughness of the vines was astonishing, and the ability had a low soul power cost. Its greatest asset? Speed. It activated so quickly that most enemies wouldn't even have a chance to react.
Not only that, the cage could inject a powerful neurotoxin into the enemy's bloodstream, stunning them and devouring their soul power. Even opponents a full level above him had little hope of escaping. Tang Yin was extremely pleased with this result.
Next, he turned his attention to the external soul bone—the Eight Spider Lances. They had now perfectly integrated with his vertebrae, impossible to remove. Eight spider-like legs were fused into his back, which he could summon or retract at will, storing them near his ribs when not in use.
(Though it hadn't yet reached the level of full-body fusion like when Tang San underwent the Hell Road transformation, which refined both his body and soul power through divine energy.)
Tang Yin thought to himself, "Hmm... looks like I'll need divine tempering like Tang San's Asura Hell Road to fully fuse this bone. But whatever, this is good enough for now. I'll worry about it later."
His external soul bone had also diverged slightly from the original—it inherited the venom of the Human-Faced Demon Spider. Each strike from the lances now delivered a paralyzing, corrosive poison, extremely difficult to cure. It even had the unique ability of Poison Re-absorption. The soul power devouring effect was quite powerful, but the true game-changer was the 80% increase in his overall strength, agility, maneuverability, and attack range.
Satisfied with all he had gained, Tang Yin knew the biggest prize wasn't even his new abilities—it was his breakthrough to the Mustard Seed Stage.
Along with the increase in mental power his telekinesis & telepathy also evolved from gamma class to beta class.
After over six years stuck in the spirit sea realm, his spiritual power had finally surged into the Spirit Abyss Realm, unlocking the Spiritual Sea—his upper dantian.
(If not for his spiritual martial soul and beta-level telepathy and telekinesis, he would've needed to reach Soul Saint realm before accessing this upper dantian. But now? He was well ahead of schedule.)
Within his consciousness, a door creaked open. Beyond it lay not water, but a vast ocean of shimmering, silver-blue energy. Waves pulsed with thought and emotion, fragments of memory and willpower rippling through the surface. Occasionally, a shooting star would cut across the sky—a burst of starlight.
Tang Yin couldn't help but smile. With access to the his stolen memories of tang san & his previous life he knew where to find immortal treasures & resources. so, his future path to cultivation seemed much less difficult.
Leisurely, he strolled out of the forest, using his enhanced telekinesis to scan a 5-kilometer radius searching for Zhao Wuji and the others. An hour later, he found them resting near the forest edge. Time to activate: Grandmaster-Level Acting Mode.
He shuffled forward, lifelessly, eyes unfocused and dazed. His handsome face was painted with melancholy, each step small and unsteady. He looked so tragically beautiful, anyone would feel the urge to hug him.
Zhu Zhuqing, perched high in a tree for surveillance, spotted him first—and immediately leapt down to chase after him.
As she neared, Tang Yin caught sight of her... and was briefly stunned by the forces of melon physics. He quickly composed himself. Tears streamed from his slightly red, violet eyes, lips trembling with emotion.
Zhu Zhuqing, who'd previously felt a pang of jealousy toward Xiao Wu, now found herself at a loss. Seeing Tang Yin like this moved her deeply, but she wasn't the comforting type. Instead, she reached out with her pinky—just like her sister used to do when they were still children—and gently hooked it around his, guiding him back.
(Don't misunderstand—Zhuqing only took his pinky out of nostalgia. She wasn't trying to flirt... probably.)
When Zhao Wuji saw Tang Yin return in one piece, his spirits soared. He quickly called over Ning Rongrong and the others, who were all relieved to see their teammate safe and sound.
But not everyone was calm.
Dai Mubai's eyes burned with jealousy the moment he saw Zhuqing and Tang Yin's pinkies intertwined. He roared, "Zhuqing!!"
Startled, Zhuqing instinctively tried to free her hand—but then paused and made a decision. She kept holding on.
Everyone flinched at Dai Mubai's outburst. Zhao Wuji, thoroughly annoyed, gave him a solid "fist of love" to the back of the head.
The impact deflated Dai Mubai like a balloon, sending him crumpling to the ground like an incompetent tiger who'd just had his mate stolen. A moment later, he snapped back to consciousness, pointing a trembling finger as he shouted, "Zhuqing! Don't forget, I'm your fiancé! You can hate me, you can detest me—but you can't be with another man! Your life and death are tied to me! Anyone you love will suffer with you!"
Zhuqing just snorted. "You're just a little horny cat. I'm helping Tang Yin because he's not in his right mind. That's all."
"You—!" Dai Mubai sputtered.
Before another shouting match could erupt, Zhao Wuji stepped in again, this time turning to Tang Yin. "Enough! Tang Yin, did you break through to Soul Elder already?"
Everyone turned to stare.
Tang Yin nodded calmly. "Yes. When I was on top of the Titan Giant Ape—it caught me and wanted to eat me. But then... from the core area of the forest, a cow roared 'moo!' and scared the ape. That's when I took the chance."
"A cow scared the Titan Giant Ape?!" gasped the group.
Tang Yin continued with a straight face, "I stumbled upon a dying Man-Faced Demon Spider that had been stomped by that hateful ape. I punched it again and again venting my anger and killed it that's when I came back to my sense. Since there was already a soul ring of suitable age I just absorbed it. Then I followed the direction the ape ran in... and found Zhuqing."
Everyone seemed to accept the story, but Zhao Wuji was still a little suspicious. Seeing this, Tang Yin subtly suggested without using telepathy, "If you don't believe me, you can ask dean Flender about the monsters in the core area."
Zhao Wuji blinked. Then nodded. "Alright, everyone! We head back tomorrow. I'll cover accommodations tonight."
The group murmured their agreement—but none looked particularly thrilled. After all, they'd lost one of their own today.