Inside the room, Su Cheng casually toyed with the small drop of Origin power.
The transparent liquid, resembling a drop of water, transformed into various shapes within his palm.
Although this substance was a single, unbreakable, and indivisible entity, it possessed the high malleability characteristic of an energy body.
Its water-like appearance was merely superficial.
In reality, under external pressure, its length and width could be significantly stretched.
Moreover, due to its independence from any form of energy or material, it could even be compressed using soul power, expanding this tiny drop into a large plane.
After spending some time researching, Su Cheng had developed a preliminary understanding of this so-called "origin power."
Apart from its inherent completeness, it also possessed an extraordinary isolating ability, capable of blocking any high-intensity sensory methods he knew.
However, the quantity of origin power in Su Cheng's possession was minimal. Even when compressed to its maximum extent, it could only cover parts of his body.
Using this substance for a sneak attack was nearly impossible.
Furthermore, its effect was limited to blocking perception and could not obstruct vision.
Su Cheng did not doubt the power of the Origin force.
This was evident from the mission reward level at that time. Even if this power did not greatly surpass divine power, it was at least a higher tier.
Considering that innate power could contend with divine power but was helpless against Origin power, its level might be beyond imagination.
Unfortunately, aside from its perception-blocking effect, he had yet to discover any other useful properties or specialities.
Three months had passed since the last simulation and return to reality.
During this period, the simulator had been inactive, seemingly consumed a large amount of energy.
Su Cheng had some hypotheses about the nature of the simulator's existence, but he could not fully confirm them yet.
During this time, besides studying Origin power, helping Qian Renxue with her cultivation, and occasionally guiding young soul masters of the Spirit Hall, his soul power level had reached level sixty, ready to condense a soul ring and advance to Soul Emperor.
With his current foundation, he was capable of condensing a 100,000-year-level sixth soul ring.
However, unlike when he advanced to Soul King, his previous soul rings could not advance synchronously with the new soul ring.
The five-element resonance posed no issue, and the new soul ring's attributes would certainly fall within the five elements.
The problem was that when condensing soul rings previously, the law ring had not integrated any strong intents, thus the soul rings could not reach the 100,000-year level, only the upper limit of a 10,000-year soul ring.
Three days later, a nimble figure swiftly traversed the Sunset Forest of the Tian Dou Empire, then skillfully arrived at a hillside, leaping into the valley below.
This place was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
And that figure was none other than Su Cheng, who had traveled from Spirit City.
Next, he would condense his sixth soul ring here and advance to Soul Emperor.
He could not go to Sea God Island now.
However, aside from the Sea God's Light, there were two other places with extremely concentrated energy fields— the Blue Silver Grass Forest and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Considering his relationship with Ah Yin, he did not hesitate to choose this place for his advancement, and he could visit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan afterwards.
Su Cheng had also learned about Ah Yin joining the Spirit Hall. Although puzzled and speechless about how the two got together, he did not dwell on it.
Such matters did not concern him.
Soon, Su Cheng arrived by the spring.
He looked at the ice and fire energy constantly emanating and releasing powerful energy fluctuations, then sat down cross-legged.
Although the energy attributes of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well were extreme, they posed no threat to him as long as he did not enter the spring.
Even the highly inert and densely packed soul power in the Sea God's Light, filled with faith power, could be utilized by him, let alone this kind of attribute energy.
With his current abilities, he no longer needed the Blue Silver King to actively provide soul power. The energy concentration here was sufficient for him to condense a soul ring independently.
Su Cheng calmed his mind, his sea of consciousness clear and serene.
The next moment, his blood and qi surged, and he used his soul power to activate the bloodline of the Eternal Sword Martial Spirit, making it manifest.
The faint shadow of the sword martial spirit hovered before him, exuding extremely potent energy fluctuations.
As his innate power fully circulated, a void ring began to appear beyond the fifth soul ring, forming an empty sixth soul ring.
The five-element domain naturally expanded, absorbing a large amount of surrounding soul power.
In this process, the powerful energy continuously escaping from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well swiftly filled the invisible ring.
White, yellow, purple, black…
The color of the empty law ring gradually changed, becoming increasingly profound…
Su Cheng was already well-versed in this process.
Soon, the newly formed sixth soul ring reached the upper limit of a 10,000-year soul ring.
But his body had not yet reached its limit.
"It's time."
Strong intent appeared around him, then integrated into the soul ring at his feet.
A fleeting moon shadow seemed to flash in mid-air.
As the immortal intent was infused into it, the pitch-black soul ring was instantly filled with brilliant red light, completing its final transformation.
Sensing the completion of the soul ring's transformation, Su Cheng quickly composed himself and stabilized it completely.
The dazzling red light gradually dimmed.
The 100,000-year sixth soul ring was now formed.
"Phew…"
He let out a long breath.
Even though he had anticipated this, when the moment arrived, he couldn't help but show a hint of joy on his face.
Compared to ordinary soul rings, the enhancement brought by a 100,000-year soul ring was a qualitative change.
For him, the most valuable aspect was that he would no longer need to use his martial spirit to perform the sword technique "Bright Moon" in the future.
Just like in the simulated world, this skill was now solidified within his domain.
The drawback of requiring a long time to charge up had also been somewhat mitigated.
Although this wasn't the more critical seventh soul ring, his current situation was different from back then, and his domain wasn't a pure innate single-attribute domain.
The Five Elements Domain had special properties and was greatly influenced by soul rings.
Each time he added an attribute soul ring, it would affect the domain to varying degrees.
As the sixth soul ring completely stabilized, his body's capacity, which had reached its limit, also expanded with the emergence of the new soul ring.
An immense amount of soul power began to backflow into his body, breaking through the advancement bottleneck entirely. His physique, strength, and even his cultivation level rapidly increased in the process.
Though humans born in this world could scarcely break through advancement barriers and ascend to higher levels without the aid of soul rings due to their physical limitations.
This meant that soul masters invariably faced contamination by various exotic energies during their cultivation.
But Su Cheng was ultimately different.
Since becoming a Soul Ancestor, he had never relied on soul beast rings to upgrade.
The laws governing the condensation of his soul rings came from his own bloodline, the energy from the external pure soul power, and even the core intent of the 100,000-year soul ring was self-comprehended.
These conditions combined made his body much purer than that of most soul masters in the world.
This purity might not seem significant now.
But when it came time to merge with innate power, it would greatly reduce the difficulty.
After briefly sensing his transformed physical state, he closed his eyes again.
Subsequently, a massive amount of soul power surged into the soul ring at his feet, and the first five soul rings also quickly increased in age under the rich energy fluctuations.
Once everything was complete, Su Cheng stood up and glanced at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well beside him.
At the deepest part of that spring lay the skeletons and remnant souls of two Dragon Kings.
It was precisely because of the residual influence of these two god-king-level beings that this place could gather such a powerful energy field and nurture countless rare herbs.
By now, those dragon souls might have already begun to awaken.
However, this was just a passing thought, and he soon turned to leave.
Not to mention that he didn't want to engage with beings of that level so soon.
Even if he wanted to, he didn't yet have the strength to explore the depths of the water.
---
Spirit City, Pope's Palace.
After testing Hu Liena's recent cultivation progress, Bibi Dong casually remarked, "Your soul power is progressing quickly. I estimate it won't take you more than three years to advance to Soul Emperor. By the way, isn't tomorrow the day Su Cheng teaches you?"
Hu Liena wasn't surprised to hear this.
She was long accustomed to her teacher, the Pope, giving Su Cheng extra attention.
Although she was initially a bit puzzled, she understood it once she considered the wonders of that cultivation technique.
After all, that technique had caused quite a stir in the Spirit Hall.
Even the Grand Worshipper, a figure who was almost mythical and seldom seen, had taken notice.
Because of that technique, Su Cheng had been exceptionally appointed as an elder of the Spirit Hall with the cultivation of a Soul King and at less than twenty years old.
And not just any elder—he was a real power-wielding elder with administrative authority over the Spirit Hall Academy.
By now, even many of the Title Douluos in the Spirit Hall had begun practicing the two volumes of the Innate Technique.
However, for these powerhouses, the first volume of the Innate Technique had less noticeable benefits, serving more as a complement.
This was also related to the nature of the technique.
The first volume of the Innate Technique was derived from the Nirvana Sutra.
In the simulated world, to facilitate universal practice, Su Cheng had simplified the Nirvana Sutra, making it highly versatile.
But gains come with losses.
While everyone could practice it, the effects naturally weren't as significant as the version tailored for himself, which not only enhanced his bloodline but also allowed him to merge his twin martial spirits. Compared to the technique Zhu Zhuqing used to cultivate her Hell White Tiger martial spirit, it was far less effective.
Even so, the elders still revered it.
The reason lay in the second volume.
Upon reaching the Title Douluo level, the soul ring slots were full, and the physical attributes were maxed out, making physical enhancements minimal.
However, after practicing the Innate Technique, their long-standing physical bottleneck began to loosen.
This improvement was much more efficient than painstakingly absorbing soul power to level up.
Not to mention, this technique also helped enhance their soul power and boost their combat strength in their martial spirit true form.
Without exaggeration, Su Cheng's contributions could influence future battles for the position of Pope.
If Qian Renxue advanced to Title Douluo and wanted to compete with Bibi Dong for the position, Su Cheng could play a decisive role if Qian Daoliu did not intervene.
For Bibi Dong to achieve similar influence, she had spent twenty years cultivating her presence within the Spirit Hall.
"Teacher, don't you know? Elder Su left the Spirit Hall yesterday. He's already reached level 60 and is preparing to advance to Soul Emperor."
As Hu Liena said this, a hint of admiration and amazement appeared on her face.
Despite being younger than her, Su Cheng not only developed the Innate Technique but also cultivated at an astonishing speed.
If she remembered correctly, when the soul master tournament started, Su Cheng had just become a Soul King.
Yet, in less than a year, he was about to become a Soul Emperor.
Upon hearing Hu Liena's response, Bibi Dong was initially stunned and then quickly asked, "Did he go alone?"
"Yes." Hu Liena found her reaction a bit strange. "With Elder Su's strength, hunting soul beasts should be easy, right?"
Bibi Dong frowned upon hearing this, feeling a bit uneasy.
She knew Su Cheng had a deep foundation, even more profound than Qian Renxue at level 70.
But that was precisely why she couldn't help but worry.
In Bibi Dong's view, Su Cheng might be aiming to absorb a 100,000-year soul ring for his advancement to Soul Emperor.
She knew Su Cheng had information on several 100,000-year soul beasts, so finding one wouldn't be hard. Otherwise, in that fragment of memory, his soul rings beyond the seventh wouldn't all be of the 100,000-year level.
However, Su Cheng was only an unadvanced level 60 Soul King.
There weren't many 100,000-year soul beasts that were easy to deal with; it would be too risky for him to go alone.
Even if he managed to kill one, the commotion would be significant, and having no one to protect him during the absorption would be troublesome.
She didn't understand why he wouldn't ask for her help if he didn't want it, or why he didn't take Qian Renxue along.
"… Teacher?"
Seeing Bibi Dong's changing expression, Hu Liena hesitated and softly called out.
"Hmm?" Hearing her disciple's voice, Bibi Dong snapped back to reality.
She quickly composed herself and said calmly, "It's nothing, Nana. You may go back now."
After Hu Liena left the Pope's Palace with lingering doubts, Bibi Dong stood holding her staff, lost in thought.
Over the past few months, through various clues, she had determined that Su Cheng also possessed memories of another world.
Recently, she had visited the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well from those memories.
There, she found that all the immortal herbs were gone, leaving only some rare ordinary herbs. She also discovered traces of someone having lived there.
Bibi Dong suspected these changes were related to Su Cheng, but she didn't disturb anything.
With this understanding, she left the place filled with thoughts.