Jiang Jue could only smile and accept it.
From now on, he had yet another trump card.
If he ever encountered an opponent he couldn't defeat, he could directly detonate this ninth-level fixed soul-guided shell and then escape into the Undead Plane.
That would definitely be a big surprise for his enemy.
"Return to the sect!"
Zhongli Wu used his soul power to lift Jiang Jue and flew toward the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
In midair, Jiang Jue's eyes flashed with a sharp light. After returning to the cult, he had already decided how to explain his martial soul situation to Zhongli Wu.
Even if this incident hadn't happened, he would have had to explain it sooner or later for the sake of his future plans.
The wind howled past, and before long, the two had returned to the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Inside the main hall, Zhongli Wu spoke softly.
"Disciple, why did you transmit your voice to me while in the imperial palace?"
Zhongli Wu knew there must be a reason, but he didn't point it out directly and instead approached the matter indirectly.
Jiang Jue pretended to ponder, then carefully said,
"Master, my martial soul seems to have changed a little."
"What!"
Zhongli Wu instantly lost his composure and teleported right next to Jiang Jue, appearing somewhat anxious.
Jiang Jue was his future successor—he absolutely could not have any problems!
"Quick, display it for me to see."
Jiang Jue summoned the Soul Refining Banner with his left hand.
"Hmm? There's no change?"
Zhongli Wu carefully examined the Soul Refining Banner and found nothing unusual. It was still as sinister as ever.
That distinct aura of evil was unmistakable.
But in the next moment, he could no longer stay calm.
Because as Jiang Jue turned the Soul Refining Banner, it suddenly emitted a dense light attribute aura.
The Soul Refining Banner shone with golden light, making even its blood-colored patterns seem more benevolent. The two white skulls on it glowed with bright flames of light.
Under the golden radiance, Jiang Jue looked just like a righteous cultivator, devoid of any evil aura.
"Huh? How is this possible?"
Was this still the Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Cult? Wasn't his martial soul supposed to be of the evil attribute? How had it turned into this?
This was as righteous as one could get.
Although they sometimes referred to themselves as Holy Soul Masters, they weren't truly holy. But now, it seemed they had somehow produced a real Holy Soul Master.
"Master, after absorbing that Twin-Eyed Giant, my martial soul showed signs of mutation. At the time, I didn't pay much attention to it, but during my time at Mingde Hall, I gradually discovered that I could control the light attribute."
Jiang Jue put on a confused expression as he spoke.
At this moment, playing dumb was the best choice. Saying too much might create more doubts and expose certain things.
"Can you switch between these two states freely?"
Zhongli Wu asked with a puzzled expression.
"I can. I can switch between the two states at will, and I also found that after gaining the light attribute, the souls within my Soul Refining Banner no longer fear it."
Jiang Jue retracted the light attribute, and the Soul Refining Banner returned to its original sinister appearance.
"Master, do you know what's going on?"
Jiang Jue looked at Zhongli Wu with a questioning gaze.
"Ahem, let me think."
Seeing that Jiang Jue could switch freely between the two states, Zhongli Wu felt relieved. After all, Jiang Jue was the Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Cult—if he had the light attribute permanently, that would be absurd.
But why did he develop the light attribute? Even in all his years of experience, Zhongli Wu had never seen such a case.
This was essentially generating a directly opposing attribute, which was unfathomable.
"Could it be a case of 'extremes transforming into their opposites'?"
A thought suddenly emerged in Zhongli Wu's mind, and his eyes gradually brightened.
Jiang Jue's martial soul had always been so evil that it seemed righteous. After absorbing the death-attribute Twin-Eyed Giant's soul ring, perhaps it reached an extreme, triggering the birth of its opposite.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
The more he thought, the more confident he became.
So, Zhongli Wu organized his thoughts and then said,
"After my analysis, I believe your martial soul has undergone a phenomenon similar to 'extremes transforming into their opposites'."
Jiang Jue had anticipated this outcome. Based on his years of understanding Zhongli Wu, he knew he didn't need to explain much—the man would fill in the blanks himself.
"Master, you are truly knowledgeable."
Jiang Jue complimented him.
"Of course!"
Zhongli Wu smirked, completely accepting the praise.
"Will this affect me negatively?"
"From what I see, the fact that the souls in your Soul Refining Banner no longer fear the light attribute suggests that this is a positive development."
Zhongli Wu stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then said,
"Then that's good. Thanks to Master, I no longer need to worry about this."
Jiang Jue praised him again.
"Hahaha, you little rascal."
Zhongli Wu chuckled and shook his head, growing even fonder of Jiang Jue.
As expected of his disciple—they even had the same temperament.
"By the way, what kind of soul ring do you plan to attach to your body martial soul?"
Zhongli Wu suddenly thought of something and asked.
"Master, I plan to add an ice attribute ring—preferably one with the Ultimate Ice attribute!"
Jiang Jue answered firmly.
"Oh, so that's why you went to the Extreme North to lure the Ice Jade Scorpion?"
Zhongli Wu nodded in understanding.
"But attaching an ultimate attribute is no easy task. You should be mentally prepared. It's best to wait a few years, improve your rank, and then I'll capture a hundred-thousand-year-old Ice Jade Scorpion for you. That would be the safest approach."
Zhongli Wu's tone was filled with concern.
Over the years, the Holy Spirit Cult had captured a few Body Martial Soul Masters, but they weren't useful—most of them had insignificant body parts as their martial souls and were generally weak.
The stronger Body Martial Souls had all been taken away by the Body Sect, and since the Body Sect itself was quite powerful, the Holy Spirit Cult still had limited knowledge about such martial souls.
"Yes, Master, I will follow your guidance."
Jiang Jue did not argue.
Under normal circumstances, Zhongli Wu's suggestion was indeed the safest and most reliable.
But he was not an ordinary person.
Moreover, he already had the Ice Emperor in his hands. Making her his first soul ring would grant him an ultimate attribute.
So, he just needed to wait for the right moment to secretly attach it.
And that moment was fast approaching.
His body martial soul currently had no attribute because, aside from brain and eye-based ones, other body parts typically lacked innate attributes.
Just like Poison Immortal, who gained poison-based rings from poisonous soul beasts, making his poison attribute nearly reach the level of an ultimate attribute.
"By the way, the Titan Snow Demon Right Palm Bone from Xu Tianran has an ice attribute. You can absorb it here—it'll serve as a foundation for the future."
"But don't absorb the Bright Holy Dragon's soul bone. It will hinder you in the long run."
Zhongli Wu advised.
"Yes, Master."
Jiang Jue had never intended to absorb that Bright Holy Dragon Right Arm Bone—he didn't actually possess the light attribute.
Jiang Jue retrieved a jade box from his spatial ring, took out the Titan Snow Demon Right Palm Bone, and then sat cross-legged on the ground.
Slowly, he channeled his soul power into it.
(End of Chapter)