From Five Animal Exercises to being hailed as a saint and ancestor

After an unknown amount of time, Xuanyuan Po slowly woke up.

The moment consciousness returned.

Everything that had happened before flooded back to me like a tidal wave.

He was excited by the enhancement brought by the soul beast's soul source and strongly resisted and was hostile to Yao Mengkang's dissuasion.

They even nearly drew their swords against each other.

Finally, Yao Mengkang subdued him in three moves with overwhelming strength and forcibly fed him the "antidote" made from three kinds of spiritual herbs.

Recalling his state at that time, filled with paranoia, restlessness, and even hidden murderous intent, Xuan Yuanpo couldn't help but shudder.

A chill ran straight up from my tailbone to the top of my head!

He always prided himself on his clear-headedness and unwavering will.

Yet, in this Abyss of Silent Souls, they were unknowingly corrupted and affected by that eerie aura, their minds and spirits eroded without their awareness!

"This Silent Soul Abyss... truly lives up to its reputation as a forbidden area..."

Xuan Yuanpo's voice was hoarse, filled with deep lingering fear and unprecedented awe.

Although he knew this place was dangerous, his knowledge came mostly from hearsay and descriptions from the outside world. Deep down, he may have still harbored a sliver of arrogance, believing that he could handle it with his own strength and sword intent.

Having personally experienced this insidious and insidious erosion of the mind, he truly understood why even saints could perish here.

This power, which acts on the very essence of the soul and subtly alters one's nature, is far more terrifying than any visible ferocious beast!

He struggled to sit up, looked at Yao Mengkang who was standing guard beside him, and couldn't help but show a complicated and dejected expression on his face.

He thought that after breaking through the Spirit Sea Realm and reaching the Ten Thousand Zhang Extreme Realm, and having comprehended the sword intent, even if he was not as unfathomable as Yao Mengkang, the gap should have narrowed.

But that brief exchange just now allowed him to witness Yao Mengkang's immeasurable power, as vast as the starry sky.

And that absolute strength that allowed him to completely suppress the opponent with ease in just three moves.

This made him clearly realize that the gap between the two of them had not narrowed, but might have actually widened.

"Awake? How do you feel?"

When Yao Mengkang saw that he had woken up, he asked in a calm tone.

Xuanyuan Po took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and solemnly clasped his hands in a salute to Yao Mengkang:

"Thank you for your help, Senior Brother Yao. I was just... out of line."

This greeting was given with genuine sincerity.

Yao Mengkang waved his hand:

"This place is strange, but it's not your fault. Do you sense anything else amiss?"

Xuanyuan Po carefully examined his inner self, sensed it for a moment, and then shook his head:

"That restless and obsessive feeling has subsided, and my mind is clear. However... the invading aura has not disappeared; it has only been suppressed by the medicine and is now lying dormant."

"Hmm, it seems that the antidote can only suppress the symptoms, not cure the disease."

Yao Mengkang nodded, confirming the information provided by Shi Zhu.

"We must find Senior Sister Su and the others, as well as the junior brothers and sisters from the outer academy, as soon as possible."

"They must also be hunting soul beasts, and they have probably been corrupted. If we don't stop them in time and give them the antidote, the consequences will be unimaginable."

The thought that Zhou Tiancan, Mu Qingqing, Wang Le, and others might also be on the verge of being controlled by negative emotions without realizing it is very disturbing.

This could even lead to infighting and fratricide, which made both of them nervous.

"Let's get going without delay!"

Xuan Yuanpo immediately spoke, his previous dejection replaced by a sense of urgency.

Without further delay, the two set off immediately.

They decided to first find a team of ten outer court disciples who were relatively familiar with the route and were weaker.

Along the way, they paid even closer attention to searching for the Soul-Soul Flower, the Soul-Giving Grass, and the Soul-Soul Calamus.

Knowing that these three spiritual herbs were the key to formulating the antidote for suppressing erosion, they worked even harder to collect them, gathering them whenever they came across them, regardless of their age.

After all, there are probably quite a few people who need the antidote.

However, the Abyss of Silent Souls is fraught with danger, and it is not only inhabited by soul beasts.

Just as they were crossing a seemingly calm, dark depression, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed!

The gray fog suddenly thickened to the point of being as dark as ink, and the black soil beneath our feet seemed to turn into a sticky swamp.

A powerful suction force came from below.

At the same time, countless distorted and wailing phantom souls emerged from all directions.

It surged toward them like a tidal wave, emitting a piercing scream that went straight to their souls!

"Oh no! We've entered some kind of natural formation or forbidden zone!"

Yao Mengkang's expression changed slightly. He could feel that the concentration of the aura of the silent soul in this area was far greater than elsewhere, and the soul impact was several times more intense!

"Charge out!"

Xuanyuan Poqing shouted, and the Frostmark Sword was drawn from its sheath. The Ice-Sealing Sword Intent was unleashed with full force, freezing and shattering the approaching soul shadows!

Yao Mengkang also made his move at the same time, activating the Starry Sky Intent, with starlight flashing between his fingers and palms.

Each strike carried the intent of destruction, annihilating the incoming soul shadows in droves!

The two were incredibly powerful and worked together seamlessly. One used ice to control the enemy, while the other used force to annihilate them, carving a path through the wave of soul shadows!

Ignoring the depletion of their spiritual energy, they pushed their speed to the limit and charged towards the direction where the aura of the silent souls was relatively thin!

It took almost the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before the suffocatingly thick gray fog around them suddenly cleared, and the howls of the soul shadows quickly faded away.

The two finally broke out of that eerie area and returned to the relatively "normal" Silent Abyss environment.

"Huff... huff..."

Xuan Yuanpo leaned on his sword, slightly out of breath, sweat beading on his forehead; the charge had taken a toll on him. Yao Mengkang's breathing remained steady, but his expression had become much more serious.

However, before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, another unexpected event occurred!

Right next to Yao Mengkang, the void twisted without warning, and a vortex passage, just wide enough for one person to pass through and emitting an unstable grayish-white light, was instantly formed!

A powerful, irresistible suction force emanated from it, aimed directly at Yao Mengkang!

"Senior brother!"

Xuan Yuanpo was shocked and instinctively reached out to grab Yao Mengkang.

But the power emanating from that passage formed an invisible barrier.

Xuanyuan Po was firmly blocked outside, and no matter how much he urged his sword intent to attack, he could not shake it in the slightest!

Yao Mengkang was also shocked. He tried to resist the suction force, but found it was completely futile.

The passage appeared without warning, and the spatial power within it far exceeded his comprehension.

However, just before he was sucked into the passage, a strange feeling welled up inside him.

The other end of the passage seemed to be filled with unspeakable dangers, as if it connected to the true core of the Silent Soul Abyss.

But a strange, unsettling feeling told him that it was safe over there.

This feeling is mysterious and indescribable.

In a flash, Yao Mengkang's mind raced; he knew he couldn't resist the teleportation.

He suddenly looked up and shouted to Xuanyuan Po, who was struggling to break through the barrier:

"Xuanyuan! Go find the others! Tell them to stop hunting soul beasts!"

Before he could finish speaking, the suction suddenly intensified, and Yao Mengkang's figure was instantly pulled into the gray-white vortex passage and disappeared!

The next moment, the teleportation channel that had suddenly appeared contracted abruptly, just as it had when it appeared, and then completely disappeared into the air, as if it had never existed.

"Senior Brother Yao!!!"

Xuanyuan Po rushed to the spot where the spatial fluctuations had last disappeared, but he couldn't touch anything; only the cold, silent breath flowed slowly.

He stood there, his expression shifting constantly.

Yao Mengkang was taken away by an unknown teleportation right before his eyes, his destination unknown and his fate uncertain.

A huge sense of powerlessness and worry welled up in my heart.

But he quickly forced himself to calm down.

Recalling Yao Mengkang's last words before being teleported, and his seemingly not-too-panicked expression, Xuan Yuanpo took a deep breath.

Senior Brother Yao's strength is unfathomable, and he has many hidden cards. He didn't show despair at the end, perhaps there's a chance for things to turn around?

He felt somewhat relieved when he recalled Yao Mengkang's formidable strength in subduing him in three moves.

Right now, he's all alone, so he can't afford to panic.

Xuanyuan Po gripped the Frostmark Sword tightly, his eyes regaining their resolve.

He identified the direction, then without hesitation, his figure transformed into a streak of icy blue light, continuing to speed towards the area where the ten outer disciples of the academy might be active, as he remembered.

The most urgent task is to find Zhou Tiancan and Mu Qingqing, stop them from continuing to hunt soul beasts, and prevent the tragedy of them being corrupted and losing control from happening.

As for Yao Mengkang... we can only trust him.