The instant the Dual Spirit Gathering Array activated, the peak of Dragon-Tiger Mountain seemed to have been struck by an invisible bomb.
A powerful surge of airflow burst outwards from the cluster of boulders, followed immediately by a fierce contraction as the vast spiritual energy began to violently rush inward. This sheer power was far beyond ordinary, so great that even Su Zhentian and the martial artists guarding at the foot of the mountain could hear the roaring wind from the forest.
At the core of the array, Shan Hu sat cross-legged, eyes closed in concentration. His fractured Divine Soul was like parched earth, greedily absorbing the surging spiritual energy.
The pure spiritual energy drawn from the earth vein, guided by the millennium sandalwood dragon head, continuously washed over Shan Hu's Sea of Consciousness along specific meridian pathways.
This was a process where pain and opportunity coexisted.
As spiritual energy ceaselessly poured in, his fragmented Divine Soul began to reassemble. Each fragment was like metal being tempered by scorching fire, gradually purifying itself and becoming more solidified.
The Second Level of the Xuan Tian Dao Inquiry Art—Divine Soul Condensation!
Shan Hu's breakthrough triggered a drastic reaction from the outer array.
Su Waner, serving as the Human Array Eye for the outer array, was currently experiencing a sensation unlike anything she had ever felt.
Her hand was pressed tightly against the sandalwood dragon head. A massive river of spiritual energy surged into her body from all directions, passing through her and guided toward the dragon head and Shan Hu.
The spiritual energy impact was initially bone-chillingly cold, but it quickly transformed into a warm, numbing sensation. She felt as if her entire body—her limbs, skin, muscles, bones, and even every single cell—was being washed and purified by an unprecedented power.
Her extremely rare Mysterious Yin Constitution, at this moment, had found its perfect catalyst.
The Mysterious Yin Constitution is inherently cold, accumulating Yin energy that is unbearable for ordinary people. However, the spiritual energy absorbed by the array, though immense, had been transformed by Shan Hu's special technique, carrying a pure vitality that perfectly neutralized the cold Yin energy within her body.
Su Waner felt a growing buzz in her ears, as if thousands of gods and demons were whispering to her. She knew these were hallucinations, but the immense pressure made it almost impossible for her to breathe.
She wanted to open her eyes, to scream, to flee, but Shan Hu's calm warning echoed in her mind: "No matter what sounds you hear, do not open your eyes and do not panic."
She gritted her teeth, painfully curling her body, but never once did she move the hand placed on the dragon head.
Unbeknownst to her, earth-shattering changes were occurring in her body. A large amount of gray-black filth seeped from her skin—the impurities and cold Yin energy that had accumulated in her body over the years. As the filth was expelled, her skin became translucent like jade, even faintly radiating a white glow.
Her innate aptitude was being forcibly elevated by the power of the array!
Time seemed to stretch indefinitely.
For seven days and seven nights, the spiritual energy vortex on the peak of Dragon-Tiger Mountain never ceased spinning.
Finally, at dawn on the eighth day, the anomaly occurred.
A faint, indistinct phantom slowly appeared above Shan Hu's head. This phantom bore a ninety percent resemblance to Shan Hu's face, though it was more transparent and ethereal.
This was his fractured and reassembled Divine Soul!
The Divine Soul phantom hovered in the air, greedily absorbing the final surge of spiritual energy. Then, the phantom began to contract and compress.
As the phantom's volume shrank, its color shifted from transparent to a semi-transparent cyan, and its form gradually solidified from a vague outline.
This was the prelude to the achievement of the second level—Divine Soul Condensation!
When the last trace of pure spiritual energy was devoured by the Divine Soul phantom, the phantom trembled violently and let out an invisible, earth-shaking roar.
"It is done!"
Shan Hu abruptly opened his eyes, two beams of cyan light shooting out and piercing the clouds.
His Divine Soul power, though far from recovering its peak state from his previous life, had achieved its first qualitative leap. The Divine Sense he now released was no longer a scattered fluctuation, but a solidified, sword-sharp oppressive force.
He raised his hand, and a faint layer of cyan light covered his palm, signifying the preliminary perfect fusion of his Divine Soul power with his physical body. He could even feel an ant crawling hundreds of meters away; everything was within his control.
Shan Hu let out a long breath and looked at Su Waner beside him.
Su Waner was completely exhausted and in a state of semi-consciousness. She was soaked in sweat and grime, yet the aura emanating from her body was dozens of times stronger than seven days ago.
"A millennium Mysterious Yin body, cleansed in one baptism. This opportunity is enough to grant her extraordinary achievements," Shan Hu smiled slightly, his eyes filled with approval.
He withdrew the array power from the sandalwood dragon head and gently placed his hand on Su Waner's forehead.
A soft current of spiritual energy flowed into her body, smoothing and stabilizing her newly enhanced Mysterious Yin Constitution.
"Your body has been blessed by fate; from now on, you will step into a brand new world," Shan Hu murmured softly.
Having completed all of this, Shan Hu stood up and collected the dragon head and array fragments into his spatial ring.
His figure, standing tall and straight in the morning sun, exuded an overwhelming sense of self-confidence.
"Su Zhentian, come up." His penetrating voice echoed directly in Su Zhentian's ear at the foot of the mountain.