Dual Cultivation of Immortal and Martial Dao

Inside the small courtyard, Ian Song fiddled with the Skull Crystal Sphere while pondering solutions.

Without thinking, he sent a wisp of true qi into the Skull Crystal Sphere. When he drew it back, he sensed that the qi was carrying a surge of pure mental/soul power.

That mental/soul power followed his true qi into his body, and then his Spirit-Lake Mind Sea rippled, absorbing and refining the mental/soul power until it became part of his own.

"Eh?"

All of this happened unconsciously. When Ian snapped out of it, his eyes grew strange and he stared hard at the Skull Crystal Sphere in his hand.

The mental/soul power inside this Skull Crystal Sphere can be absorbed!

Thinking about it, it made sense. The souls drawn into the Skull Crystal Sphere have already had their wills erased, leaving only a bundle of pure soul essence.

If those souls still had their own will, Ian wouldn't dare absorb them, not even if his life depended on it. But without will...

He's not old-fashioned or overly scrupulous.

So—!

With a thought, he sent another surge of true qi into the Skull Crystal Sphere. Instantly, the pure and surging mental/soul power inside seemed to find an outlet and flooded crazily into his body, scaring Ian so much that he hurriedly cut off the qi. If all the mental/soul power in the Skull Crystal Sphere rushed into him at once, it might actually burst him apart.

Even so, in just that instant, the amount of mental/soul power he absorbed was massive. If he let his Spirit-Lake Mind Sea digest it naturally, it would probably take months.

Immediately, Ian started running the Meditation Formula he got from Princess Nissa, the so-called 'idiot princess' of the Moon-God people.

Sure enough, as the Meditation Formula circulated, that mental/soul power was rapidly refined and converted into pure mental/soul power, merging into his Spirit-Lake Mind Sea.

Two hours later.

All the mental/soul power that had entered his body was refined by Ian, and his Spirit-Lake Mind Sea instantly doubled in size.

Ian estimated that his mental/soul power had broken through to four thousand points. If this keeps up, his level will skyrocket.

"Again!"

Ian sent another wave of true qi into the Skull Crystal Sphere, and once again, a surge of mental/soul power poured into his body.

Cut it off!

Refine!

After another two hours, the Spirit-Lake Mind Sea in Ian's consciousness swelled even more.

Keep going!

In the blink of an eye, a whole night passed. Ian's Spirit-Lake Mind Sea was now at least three times its original size, and his mental/soul power had soared past ten thousand, hitting an astonishing twelve thousand points.

But instead of looking pleased, Ian just frowned. As his mental/soul power rose, he felt his physical body was on the verge of bursting. He knew his current flesh and cultivation weren't enough to contain so much mental/soul power.

With a thought, he condensed his mental/soul power into a long sword and slashed out.

"Pfft!"

With a soft sound, the courtyard floor was instantly carved with a trench several meters long.

But Ian just frowned even harder, muttering, "Looks like I got too greedy."

The invisible sword condensed from mental/soul power was much stronger, but he felt like he couldn't fully control it.

Even though the Skull Crystal Sphere still held plenty of pure soul essence, he couldn't absorb any more for now. He needed to keep refining and mastering the mental/soul power he'd already gained—and also raise his physical cultivation to make his body tougher.

Mental/soul power is like air inside a balloon: too much, and it'll burst. To keep it from popping, you either make the balloon bigger or thicken its walls.

Ian planned to do both—he'd tackle it from both sides.

Now that his mental/soul power had reached such a freakish level, cultivation was completely effortless for him.

He took out a supreme-grade spirit crystal, and under his guidance, its pure spiritual energy quickly poured into his body.

The energy in the supreme-grade spirit crystal was so pure that just a little refining turned it straight into true qi.

So, Ian's true qi expanded at a visible rate. In less than half an hour, his whole body shuddered as he broke through to late Grandmaster.

Late Grandmaster is already about equal to the late Foundation Establishment stage for Immortal cultivators.

And Ian's Immortal-Dao cultivation was also at late Foundation Establishment.

"It's time to unleash my true cultivation!"

With a thought, there was a booming sound as his hidden Immortal-Dao cultivation erupted from deep within his body.

The martial true qi and Immortal true essence met like bitter enemies and instantly went to war.

"Pfft!"

Caught off guard, Ian was shaken so hard he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Suppress!"

Ian barked out the order, his face twisted. The soul power in his Spirit-Lake Mind Sea spread through his body like a giant octopus.

Under the pressure of his soul power, the martial true qi and Immortal true essence instantly called a truce and even formed an alliance—only to turn and attack the soul power together.

Too bad, they both underestimated how strong his soul power was.

As his Spirit-Lake Mind Sea trembled, the soul power flooding Ian's body instantly multiplied tenfold. The martial true qi and Immortal true essence were crushed so hard they didn't even dare resist.

Then, under the control of his soul power, both martial true qi and Immortal true essence began circulating side by side through his meridians.

Ian's meridians were broad and sturdy. Even with two energies running through them, there was no crowding at all. It was like lanes on a highway—martial true qi flowed on the right, Immortal true essence on the left.

Seeing this, Ian thought of real-world roads.

As soon as his Immortal-Dao cultivation recovered, his Dark-Gold Body lit up again, turning his skin a dark gold. But with a thought, he made his skin return to normal—crystal clear, like jade, almost icy smooth.

With martial and Immortal cultivation combined, Ian's strength was way beyond simple addition. His combat power shot up five or sixfold. Even facing a Grandmaster, he was confident he could take them out in three moves—without even using any divine abilities.

Not to mention, he had the Flood Dragon Martial Soul and the Royal-grade Martial Soul.

With all these trump cards together, even against a Martial Saint, Ian had the confidence to put up a fight.

And now, with the Dark-Gold Body active, his overwhelming mental/soul power couldn't hurt his flesh anymore.

With a thought, Ian used the Art of Great Teleportation and appeared atop the city wall, where the Strongarm Bull Devils were attacking the city again.

He watched as the massive Strongarm Bull Devils charged toward the city walls, and the catapults started working once more.

Seeing this, Ian's eyes grew cold. He might not be a native of this world, but he was disgusted by the demons' habit of eating human flesh and drinking human blood.

So...

He opened his mouth and spat!

"Whoosh!"

A Bronze Flying Sword shot out, like a bolt of lightning.

When it comes to close combat, Immortal cultivators can't compare to martial artists. But in ranged battle, cultivators leave martial artists in the dust. Right now, with his massive soul power and abundant true essence, Ian could easily kill enemies dozens of miles away with a single flying sword.

"Kill!"

With a low shout, the Bronze Flying Sword crashed into the ranks of the Strongarm Bull Devils. It streaked through them like a tiny bolt of lightning, leaving a thin red line across their necks. Since the Bull Devils were running, they would often dash dozens of meters before their ugly heads finally fell off.