"This ghostly thing seems to be getting smarter!" Li Yi couldn't help but remark in a deep voice as he watched the blue skull, no longer charging recklessly as it initially did. This scene deeply convinced him that if he didn't act immediately, he might truly be doomed! With this thought, Li Yi swung his hand fiercely, the seals in his hand rapidly changing. Following his movements, a massive blood-colored energy burst forth from seven or eight locations, fiercely colliding with the blue skull. "Boom—" The blood-colored energies collided almost simultaneously, but the blue skull merely swayed slightly in mid-air and let out an angry roar.
"This won't do... it's not working..." Li Yi's face changed slightly as he stared at the seemingly unchanged blue skull. He faintly sensed that, imperceptibly, the energy of the blue skull was increasing, and he seemed to have no means to stop it. This feeling heavily oppressed Li Yi's heart.
Just as Li Yi was rapidly thinking, the blue skull suddenly swayed and slowly dissipated in the air, forming a cloud-like shape. Quickly, the cloud condensed into the form of an ethereal magical beast, its body flashing with thunderous light, distinctly different from ordinary beasts! The magical beast roared mockingly at Li Yi and then, its immense body once again fiercely charged at him.
"Damn! Even spiritual entities can use martial arts now!?" Li Yi's face slightly changed as he exclaimed. His hand seals abruptly changed, and a strand of extremely pure blood-colored Dou Qi emerged in the void, small yet seemingly carrying immense power, and fiercely collided with the magical beast.
"Hiss—" The body of the magical beast hit the blood-colored Dou Qi, reacting as if encountering its nemesis, and let out a terrified howl. Its large body was entwined by the blood-colored Dou Qi, and as if oil meeting a hot iron, it emitted a "sizzling" sound before finally dissipating into the air.
This sudden change left Li Yi and The Serpent Venerable slightly stunned. After a moment, The Serpent Venerable spoke with a hint of surprise, "Kid, your soul state can actually summon Dou Qi? Your soul seems much stronger than ordinary people!"
Li Yi inwardly smiled wryly. He had forcefully occupied Little Li Yi's body, and his soul had merged with his, still primarily being his own, which naturally made his soul energy equivalent to that of two people. But, of course, he wouldn't reveal this.
"Excellent!" The Serpent Venerable, realizing it wasn't the time to delve deeper, quickly said, "The Tianmo Jiubian is one of the most bizarre techniques in the world, requiring the absorption of evil energy for evolution, which is precisely the nemesis of spiritual entities... If you can summon Dou Qi, then this entity will definitely not be your opponent! Kid, be careful, dispose of the remnant soul, but don't give up on that Dou Qi seed!"
At this moment, the smokescreen had again condensed into a skull, but it retreated slightly, seemingly fearful of Li Yi. However, it didn't seem willing to retreat just like that, still emitting strange sounds, as if waiting for an opportunity...
Li Yi's heart rejoiced. He had only tried using the purest Dou Qi with the thought of testing it out, not expecting it to be effective against the remnant soul – his life's essence of Dou Qi. And indeed, this Dou Qi was effective against the remnant soul, meaning he finally had a trump card against this adversary!
"Weren't you very arrogant just now? Thinking of running away now!?" Li Yi sneered, his hand seals rapidly changing. Three strands of Dou Qi suddenly emerged from a certain place in his spiritual space, flying around in front of him. These four strands of Dou Qi essence were Li Yi's biggest trump card. A single strand had already caused great trouble for the remnant soul! Now...
Li Yi sneered, and then with a wave, the four strands of Dou Qi essence in his spiritual space surged, with an overwhelming momentum, fiercely colliding with the remnant soul. The explosion of Dou Qi made the remnant soul let out a terrified scream, then, as if shocked to the extreme, it hastily retreated. But this place was ultimately Li Yi's spiritual space, where he was the sole ruler. With a thought, the four strands of Dou Qi accelerated, quickly enveloping the remnant soul tightly!
The remnant soul seemed to realize its hopeless situation and transformed into the shape of a magical beast, its body continuously striking out lightning. However, this couldn't harm the surrounding Dou Qi and could only watch as it was enveloped by the Dou Qi... and then refined...
"Ah—" A human-like agonized scream sounded, signifying the end of the remnant soul. Under the envelopment of the four blood-red strands of Dou Qi, a cluster of purple lightning was lifted in front of Li Yi. The ethereal figure of The Serpent Venerable laughed lightly, saying, "Unexpectedly, you actually managed to deal with the remnant soul, kid. This is the Dou Qi seed left by a Dou Emperor in his lifetime. Judging by this, he cultivated the rare thunder and lightning attribute Dou Qi... If you can refine this cluster of Dou Qi, not to mention advancement, just the evolution of this technique will bring you countless benefits..."
Li Yi nodded and said, "However, this doesn't seem to be the place for cultivation..."
The Serpent Venerable laughed, "I know, but this Dou Qi seed has lingered in the world for many years. Now that its remnant soul has been eradicated by you, I don't know how long this Dou Qi seed can last... So, what to do is up to you... As for now, I will help you get out of this situation first!"
As The Serpent Venerable's laughter faded, Li Yi felt darkness before his eyes and, upon reopening them, found himself in the Dou Emperor's tomb. In his hand, he unknowingly held a cluster of purple lightning. The Dou Emperor's skeletal remains had now turned into a pile of grayish-white powder. As for Gong Wushuang, she looked at Li Yi with a peculiar expression, obviously clueless about what had just transpired.
Holding the lightning in his hand, Li Yi felt the Dou Qi gradually dissipating and knew that he had to seize this opportunity to refine the Dou Qi seed. After all, it was not every day that one came across a seed from a peak Dou Emperor. Glancing at Gong Wushuang, he said solemnly, "Sister Gong, don't ask too many questions right now... Help me open the stone chamber behind; I need to cultivate..."
"You want to cultivate now?" Gong Wushuang looked puzzled. "You know, people outside might be blocking the exit... If they break in..."
Li Yi scoffed. "I can't miss this rare opportunity, so I must trouble you, Sister Gong..."
Gong Wushuang hesitated but, given her status, she seemed to have little to say. With a wave of her hand, she watched Li Yi float into the chamber. Then, frowning slightly, she muttered, "That must be the Dou Emperor's Dou Qi seed. That kid, does he plan to refine it? It seems he really is cultivating the Tianmo Jiubian..." She sighed softly and set up a Dou Qi barrier over the entrance before sitting down cross-legged to cultivate.
Inside the stone chamber, Li Yi sat in a corner, carefully setting up a Dou Qi shield. Once assured that Gong Wushuang couldn't hear inside, he carefully examined the cluster of lightning in his hand. Holding it, he could feel the extremely violent and powerful force within the Dou Qi seed, a force that even at his peak, he couldn't match...
"What a treasure..." Li Yi licked his lips and whispered, "Old Coot, how do I refine this? It's not going to be like the first time, right?"
"Hmph, this is a Dou Emperor's Dou Qi seed. Although weakened over time, it's not something you can withstand now... But well..." The Serpent Venerable's figure flashed out from the Storage Ring, looking at Li Yi with an ambiguous smile.
"But what?" Li Yi inquired, taking a breath.
"With me here, you can refine this Dou Qi seed. You're incredibly lucky, kid..." The Serpent Venerable said with a nonchalant smile.
"Enough talk, Old Coot, what should I do now?" Li Yi asked firmly.
"Impatient kid," The Serpent Venerable shook his head. "How can you manipulate your Dou Qi while holding it? Release it first... Refining a Dou Emperor's Dou Qi seed is not easy, take it step by step..."
"Okay." Heeding the advice, Li Yi carefully withdrew his Dou Qi. As the four strands of blood-colored Dou Qi retracted, the lightning Dou Qi seed suddenly shot forward like a runaway horse, sensing something and swiftly moving upwards.
"Hmph! Think you can escape with me here!?" The Serpent Venerable scoffed, then with a wave, a blood-colored Dou Qi instantly enveloped the chamber's corner. The lightning Dou Qi seed hit the blood-colored Dou Qi and bounced back, finally hovering mid-air after several attempts, still bursting with lightning power.
Although not directly hit, Li Yi could feel a tingling sensation in the air, licking his lips with a strange taste in his mouth. Calming his excited emotions, he inhaled deeply and asked, "What next?"
"Normally, you should only absorb this Dou Qi seed when nearing the peak of Dou King and about to break into Dou Emperor... But we can't wait that long, and this opportunity is too rare to miss. However, your body is too frail, so I will lend you my strength to reach the level of a Dou King. Even if you fail to absorb it, you won't lose your life... But try not to use my power unless necessary. It's better for you to refine it with your own Dou Qi. Understand?" The Serpent Venerable explained.
Li Yi nodded, feeling slightly relieved. The Serpent Venerable pointed, and a strand of Dou Qi quickly entered Li Yi's body, settling quietly in his Dantian Qi Sea, not moving without his summoning.
"Okay, what next?" Li Yi asked softly.
The Serpent Venerable hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "Use your Dou Qi to envelop all your meridians and Dantian Qi Sea. Ensure that when this Dou Qi seed enters your body, it won't directly burst your flesh... This process is very painful, be mentally prepared!"