"Alright, you win!" Gazing at Shen Haoran’s determined eyes, Changmao let out a long sigh and conceded. He knew that once Shen Haoran made a decision, no one could change his mind. The only thing he could do was help him without reservation.

After spending so much time together, Changmao had come to understand Shen Haoran’s character and already saw him as a blood brother. In the past, he might have refused Shen Haoran’s request outright because their lives were linked. But now, Changmao trusted Shen Haoran completely. He also believed Shen Haoran wouldn’t risk his life recklessly.

Changmao pondered for a moment before saying, "I don’t have the Essence Blood of other Divine Beasts or Fierce Beasts, but I do have a drop of my own. I don’t know if it will meet your requirements!"

Hearing this, Shen Haoran’s face lit up with elation. Changmao’s Essence Blood! He was the head of the Ancient Ten Fierce Beasts; it would be no exaggeration to call him the King of Ten Thousand Beasts. His Essence Blood would naturally be the best possible option!

But then Shen Haoran’s expression darkened, and he asked worriedly, "Your Essence Blood... if you extract it, will it harm you in any way?"

’If extracting Changmao’s Essence Blood causes him to fall into a deep sleep or even disappear, it wouldn’t be worth it. If that were the case, I would rather not practice the Soul Shattering Celestial Assault. After all, Changmao is my brother. The best Cultivation and Martial Skill in the world isn’t worth a single hair on his head!’

"Don’t worry," Changmao said, reassuring him. "I’m just a Spiritual Thought Body right now. To me, the Essence Blood is merely a bridge to sense my true body. Even if it’s extracted, it won’t cause any fundamental damage. I’ll just be a bit weak, at most!"

Hearing Changmao’s words, Shen Haoran finally relaxed. ’If it were going to cause Changmao any irreversible harm, I wouldn’t have agreed no matter what.’

"Take out the Blood Essence Stone you got from the Divine Martial Blood Pool. With that thing, I can extract the Essence Blood. And who knows, it might even raise the quality of the Essence Blood to another level!" Changmao said afterward.

’The Blood Essence Stone?’ Shen Haoran murmured to himself. He’d almost forgotten about that. The Blood Essence Stone contained an immense amount of Qi Blood Power. With its help, the process would be far more effective. At that thought, Shen Haoran quickly took the Blood Essence Stone out of his Storage Ring.

As soon as the Blood Essence Stone appeared, an immense Qi Blood Power erupted within the room. Shen Haoran could feel his own heartbeat quicken. A rich life force surrounded his body, making him feel exceptionally refreshed.

"As expected of the Blood Essence Stone!" Changmao remarked. He then took the stone, closed his eyes, and began to extract the Essence Blood from within his body.

A moment later, the Blood Essence Stone in Changmao’s hand emitted a faint red glow that enveloped his body. Then, fine, blood-colored threads appeared within Changmao’s body, flickering in and out of sight under the red glow and pulsing in time with his heartbeat.

After the blood-red threads appeared, they began to rapidly converge on the Blood Essence Stone in Changmao’s hand. An extremely powerful Qi Blood Power also began to slowly condense in his palm.

Before long, a pea-sized drop of dark-red liquid emerged from the Blood Essence Stone and began to expand. A moment later, it had grown to the size of a fingernail. Wisps of Devouring Power erupted from the dark-red blood, and the vast surrounding Qi Power continuously surged into it.

This was Changmao’s Essence Blood. Once the blood-red threads on Changmao’s body vanished, the drop of dark-red Essence Blood was finally formed. A terrifying and violent Energy lay hidden within it, sending a tremor through Shen Haoran.

"This... is my Essence Blood!" Changmao said weakly as he gazed at the drop of dark-red blood. Although he was only a Spiritual Thought Body, forcing out his own Essence Blood still left him somewhat weak.

"Mm." Shen Haoran nodded. With a flick of his wrist, he drew the drop of dark-red Essence Blood into his palm. Gazing at it, he couldn’t help but feel a tremor in his heart. ’As expected of the chief of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts. The Energy contained in this Essence Blood is truly terrifying!’

However, what Shen Haoran needed to cultivate Broken Soul wasn’t this terrifying Energy, but the Beast Soul contained within the Essence Blood. He needed to use his Spiritual Thought for the Refinement of that Beast Soul. ’This vast amount of Energy will likely just go to waste!’

"Sigh, to cultivate Broken Soul, this is the only way!" Shen Haoran sighed deeply. His gaze then hardened, and a vast Spiritual Thought surged out from his Sea of Consciousness, directly enveloping the drop of dark-red blood and pulling it back into his Sea of Consciousness.

BOOM—

The moment Changmao’s Essence Blood entered Shen Haoran’s Sea of Consciousness, it stirred up monstrous waves. The originally calm Sea of Consciousness was immediately thrown into chaos by the dark-red Essence Blood!

Seeing this, Shen Haoran quickly mobilized the Spiritual Thought in his Sea of Consciousness to wrap tightly around the dark-red Essence Blood, completely isolating its aura. Only then did the churning Sea of Consciousness gradually calm down.

Seeing his now-calm Sea of Consciousness, Shen Haoran let out a long sigh of relief. ’The Energy in this dark-red Essence Blood is simply too immense. If I’d been the slightest bit careless, my Sea of Consciousness would have shattered. It would have been too late for regrets then.’

After settling his Sea of Consciousness, Shen Haoran turned his attention to the drop of dark-red Essence Blood. ’The next step is the Refinement of the Beast Soul within. Changmao’s true form is the Taotie, chief of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts; I can only imagine its ferocity. What’s more, the Beast Soul inside the Essence Blood is completely devoid of emotion. Other than Changmao himself, it’s unlikely anyone can make it submit.’

’Still, this step must be taken.’ Shen Haoran took a deep breath and focused his gaze. With a great leap, his spiritual form transformed into a stream of light and charged into the drop of dark-red Essence Blood.

The instant Shen Haoran plunged into the drop of dark-red Essence Blood, he felt as if his entire being was about to be ripped apart by a violent Devouring Power. A moment later, however, the tearing sensation vanished. In its place was a bone-chilling cold, as if he had been sealed in ten-thousand-year-old Ice.

WHOOSH...

Shen Haoran quickly activated the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, enveloping his body within it to dispel the surrounding cold. He then began to survey the space.

All around him was pitch-black darkness. Even with the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, he couldn’t see more than ten meters ahead. Furthermore, the space was filled with dark vortexes, each one radiating waves of Devouring Power that were deeply unsettling...