Twisting its tiny body, the small snake opened its mouth, and immediately, streams of black mist surged into it. "This is devouring." Li Xiaoyao could naturally sense any changes in his martial soul. At this moment, the small snake martial soul was actually devouring the black mist.

Moreover, as the black mist entered the small snake's body, its figure gradually grew larger. Countless dark tendrils reached toward the small snake, and, unsurprisingly, these tendrils seemed to merely serve as its food, getting absorbed into its body. This bizarre scene left Li Xiaoyao utterly stunned.

The mighty beast, which Li Xiaoyao had no means to contend with, seemed to be waiting for its life essence to be drained. Yet, he never could have imagined that this small snake's shadow, a martial soul often mocked as useless, would stir for the first time.

In the darkness, the ferocious visage of the beast seemed to notice something amiss, its pupils flickering with a dim light.

Instantly, countless streams of black mist and dark tendrils abandoned Li Xiaoyao and surged toward the small snake instead.

"Woo..." Under Li Xiaoyao's astonished gaze, the small snake seemed incredibly excited. Its mouth suddenly opened wide, transforming into a gaping maw, devouring the entirety of the black mist and dark tendrils.

And yet, this seemed far from enough. The small snake's body grew larger and larger, expanding from a shadow just one foot long to a massive serpent dozens of feet in length. It resembled a coiled giant python, capable of sweeping through everything in its path.

The phantom demon beast let out a wailing roar of fury, fighting desperately against the giant python. Yet, its body was still being devoured piece by piece.

Li Xiaoyao felt his body lighten as the phantom demon beast released him and fled as a cloud of black mist.

"Roar!" The giant python let out a roar identical to that of the phantom demon beast. Its almost corporeal form lunged forward, its massive jaws snapping shut, swallowing the fleeing black mist whole. Then, it returned to Li Xiaoyao's side.

The giant python's body gradually shrank, reverting into a small snake, though it was slightly larger than before, now three feet long. It curled up on Li Xiaoyao's shoulder and fell into a deep slumber.

"Swallowed it?" Li Xiaoyao's eyes widened in disbelief. The black mist had completely dispersed, and the phantom demon beast had vanished without a trace.

This... is rubbish martial soul？？？

Li Xiaoyao's mouth twitched slightly. At that moment, a surge of overwhelming power crashed into his body. Instinctively, Li Xiaoyao's whole body trembled as his head buzzed loudly. Then, his body collapsed, unconscious.

No one knew how much time had passed when Li Xiaoyao slowly woke up. As he opened his eyes, his deep gaze landed on the top of the demon beast's cave.

"Boom."

Suddenly, Li Xiaoyao's body jolted upright. His eyes flickered erratically with an inexplicable sense of shock and dread.

With a thought, the Amaterasu Martial Soul emerged. Instantly, everything around him became crystal clear as a resplendent tome hovered in the air.

Immediately after, a shadowy little snake reappeared. This three-foot-long snake, its body growing more solid and distinct, remained fast asleep. It coiled snugly around Li Xiaoyao's shoulder, exuding a sense of intimacy.

Twin Martial Souls!

At that moment, an event that shook Li Xiaoyao's very soul unfolded before him. Behind him, another phantom slowly materialized. This phantom bore a cold, emotionless face and a pair of pitch-black eyes.

"Phantom Demon Beast."

Li Xiaoyao's entire body quaked violently. How could this be? The Phantom Demon Beast that had nearly devoured him moments ago had now... become his Martial Soul.

A third Martial Soul!!!

A genius with twin Martial Souls was already considered extraordinary—an unparalleled prodigy rarely seen on the continent, appearing perhaps once in a million cultivators. Yet, he, Li Xiaoyao, had something unheard of: three Martial Souls.

Three Martial Souls! Just mentioning it would surely terrify anyone who heard.

Stretching out his palm, a white energy surged and flickered within it, vast and powerful.

"My strength... has reached the second level of the Spirit Martial Realm?"

Li Xiaoyao felt his mind go blank. Even with the Amaterasu Martial Soul granting him an unparalleled calmness and an extraordinary computational ability, he couldn't suppress the astonishment coursing through him. What had happened to him was simply too astonishing.

His gaze flickered as he fell silent, contemplating deeply for a moment.

"It seems this shadowy little snake can devour demon beasts, forcing them into submission and turning them into my Martial Souls. Moreover, it can transfer the essence of these demon beasts to me, enhancing my power."

Li Xiaoyao arrived at what seemed to be the only plausible conclusion, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

A useless Martial Soul?

The so-called "useless Martial Soul" others had mocked him for was nothing short of heaven-defying. If those who had ridiculed him knew just how powerful this so-called "useless" Martial Soul truly was, he couldn't imagine what kind of expressions they'd make.

"Fuck it, this must be what they call a blessing in disguise?"

Li Xiaoyao get back his Martial Soul, he just wanna overwhelming urge to howl at the sky. At this moment, he had no idea where he was. He could only use a single word from his past life to express his current state of mind.

"Heaven Devourer... Heaven Devourer... it devours even the heavens. What a fitting name." Li Xiaoyao muttered to himself. The name of the Martial Soul inexplicably surfaced in his mind. This unremarkable shadowy snake was called the Heaven Devouring Martial Soul.

"Xie Yun...Me, Li Xiaoyao, swear that if I don't kill you, I will not be human." Standing up, an icy killing intent flashed through Li Xiaoyao's eyes.

He took a deep breath, inhaling a foul and turbid air into his body, which carried a sinister and demonic aura. Li Xiaoyao carefully examined the dark cavern. It was the lair of a demon beast, and the oppressive atmosphere made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Stepping forward with bold strides, what appeared before him was a trampled forest. Violent demonic energy permeated the air, and standing there, one could even feel the earth trembling faintly. Occasionally, the distant roars and howls of demon beasts could be heard.

"It seems the beast tide is still raging." Li Xiaoyao understood that a beast tide would never consist of just one wave of demonic beasts. After he was captured by the Phantom Demon Beast, there must have been other powerful demon beasts continuing their rampage through the entire Black Ze Forest.

Releasing the Tenshō Martial Soul, Li Xiaoyao's pupils turned cold and profound, filled with endless darkness. His vision became incredibly sharp, and his hearing extraordinarily acute, allowing him to perceive every movement within several miles. All the surrounding activity was as clear as a vivid painting in his mind.

At the same time, an eerie mist began to swirl upward from beneath Li Xiaoyao's feet, quickly enveloping his entire body. In an instant, he was shrouded in a mesmerizing fog, making it impossible to discern his appearance or even tell whether he was human or beast.

This was the ability bestowed upon him by the Phantom Demon Martial Soul. The Phantom Demon Beast excelled at creating illusions, so much so that its true form could not even be seen. Now that Li Xiaoyao had the Phantom Demon Beast as his martial soul, disguising himself was effortless.

Deep within the Black Ze Forest, where beasts roamed rampant, there were numerous creatures even in the immediate vicinity. Some of these beasts exuded an immensely powerful aura, forcing Li Xiaoyao to tread cautiously and camouflage himself.

He moved in the same direction as the stampeding demon beasts. Since it was a beast tide, their path of advance would naturally lead to the exit of the Black Ze Forest.

At this moment, wrapped in the black mist, Li Xiaoyao resembled a true Phantom Demon Beast, gliding through the space as if floating.

Some weakness and ordinary demonic beasts actually prostrated themselves on the ground, whimpering in submission as Li Xiaoyao passed by. The world of demonic beasts was far more primal and unfiltered than that of humans—survival of the fittest reigned supreme.

Even many beasts avoided Li Xiaoyao from a distance. Fully grown Illusory Demon Beasts were at least level five beasts, terrifyingly powerful and far beyond the capabilities of ordinary beasts.

"The depths of the Black Ze Forest... it's truly horrifying," Li Xiaoyao murmured to himself.

It was only after truly stepping into the forest that Li Xiaoyao understood the terror that lurked within. Thinking back to his days as a Qi Martial Realm cultivator, daring to hunt demonic beasts in the Black Ze Forest, he couldn't help but sigh. Truly, ignorance is bliss. If one of the beasts here had randomly charged out back then, they would have been doomed.

Of course, in the eyes of these spirit beasts, cultivators in the Qi Martial Realm were likely no more than ants, not worth noticing—just as Li Xiaoyao now dismissed the weaker, low-level demonic beasts around him.

"What a great opportunity in front of me, why not hunt some of these beasts and take their beast cores?"

Li Xiaoyao's heart raced with anticipation. Spirit beasts were fundamentally different from ordinary demonic beasts. They absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, forming beast cores of immense value. If handed over to alchemists or weapon forgers, these cores could be refined into elixir or powerful spiritual weapons and divine artifacts. It was even said that highly skilled cultivators could directly filter out the malevolent energy from the cores of spirit beasts, consuming the pure essence within to enhance their cultivation.

High-quality elixir could quickly heal injuries or even regrow broken bones. It was rumored that some legendary elixir could even bring the dead back to life and restore flesh to bones.

As for top grade weapons, they could greatly enhance a cultivator's offensive or defensive capabilities, boosting their overall strength.

All of this could be obtained in exchange for the beast cores of beasts. This is why so many cultivator across the continent risked their lives to hunt powerful beasts for their cores.

Li Xiaoyao, now, was keenly aware of how poor he was. Aside from the soft sword gifted by Elder Bei and a bottle of elixir given to him by Elder Kong, he didn't possess any valuable treasures.