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*****
Su Yu could not completely explore every corner of an entire continent.
Even if he were given several years, it would still be impossible for him to uncover and obtain every opportunity scattered across the land.
This was true even though the continent wasn't the Douluo Continent, but merely a smaller one.
Even though Su Yu had also developed a spiritual detection soul skill—one no less effective than Huo Yuhao's, with an incredibly wide range.
Being able to detect everything was one thing, but to analyze and fully comprehend every single detail discovered was no small feat.
Therefore, Su Yu's task was only to perform a wide-ranging sweep of the entire continent using his spiritual detection, gathering any opportunities and resources that could be easily found and collected.
For instance, large veins of rare metals needed to be marked down, and treasures like immortal herbs needed to be collected.
As it turned out, Su Yu's strength was greater than he had imagined. The pace of his exploration was much faster than expected.
Even while simultaneously contemplating his soul core during exploration, his progress remained swift.
"Di Tian and the others are aware of this continent's existence. Chances are, few of the truly supreme opportunities are left. But with his hundreds of thousands of years of lifespan, it's not likely he comes here constantly to harvest treasures. At the very least, this land still retains the resources a primordial continent should have."
This continent differed from Phoenix Continent in a fundamental way—humans had not yet formed settlements.
It was a truly primitive continent.
Humans existed only in scattered groups. Yet, surprisingly, the soul master civilization here was more developed than that of Phoenix Continent, already boasting soul sages.
"It seems there's a huge difference between a continent centered on faith and one centered on hunting."
It was oddly fitting that, in the future, the remnants of the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Empires would end up occupying these two continents.
Su Yu merely sensed the general state of soul masters on this continent. He didn't come into conflict with them, nor did he engage in much conversation.
Right now, he didn't even have the energy to establish any belief system here—and this place wasn't suited for it anyway.
Besides, he had more important things to deal with at the moment.
"It seems that within Di Tian's soul power, there are countless vortexes—like black holes—each resembling a miniature soul core. Only, these are in liquid or gaseous form."
No, to be precise, these weren't soul cores, but structures formed as a result of the operation of his soul cores.
"According to my previous theory, for a human soul master standing upright, two soul cores resonating in harmony would create parallel rotating vortexes aligned with the ground. These would be interconnected and work together to drive the flow of soul power. The complementary yin-yang pair of soul cores would form perpendicular vortexes—like tightly interlocking gears—each providing force to the other."
But now, it seemed things weren't that simple.
"Di Tian's two soul cores are also parallel to the ground, but their rotational directions are completely opposite. That's why his body constantly generates vortex-like soul power black holes. In truth, these are the result of two oppositely rotating soul cores compressing the soul power, creating a balanced state where all energy is pulled by two forces in different directions, thus forming a vortex."
The advantages of this were obvious. The constant motion of these oppositely rotating soul cores continuously tempered the soul power.
It was like a massive millstone endlessly grinding the soul power in between, enhancing its quality.
Moreover, the vortex structure born from this balance had its own ability to concentrate soul power.
Otherwise, soul cores wouldn't have chosen a vortex structure to begin with.
"So… was my theory wrong from the start?"
Su Yu didn't want to believe that his theory was flawed.
"Wait, my theory isn't wrong. If my theory describes the second soul core stage, and Di Tian's current dual-core operation is the final result, then it all makes sense!"
Forming a vortex that spins in the exact opposite direction to the original soul core from scratch is extremely difficult—this is why many human soul masters believe it's nearly impossible to succeed.
Because it causes direct internal conflict within the soul power—a complete and total clash. Without a strong enough physique, it's simply unachievable.
Moreover, that required physical strength is determined by one's soul power level.
In other words, the stronger one's soul power, the higher the physical requirements become. After all, with a complete internal conflict of soul power, the resulting shock must be resisted, and that burden naturally falls on the body—meaning the physical condition must match the intensity of the soul power.
Put simply, the power of one's blood and qi must surpass that of the soul power.
Only by using the strength of blood and qi to stabilize the body can one withstand the internal clash of soul power.
"No… not just stronger—it must be far stronger. After all, the soul power conflict erupts within the body itself, applying pressure in all directions on the meridians and internal organs."
This alone is enough to drive one to despair.
And this is precisely the hardest part of forming yin-yang complementary soul cores.
However—
"If the rotational directions of the two soul cores were based on my original theory from the beginning..."
If the vortex of the first soul core spins vertically to the ground, and the second soul core also spins in that manner—but in the opposite direction—they could actually end up reinforcing each other.
In that case, the first soul core would help facilitate the formation of the second one. All that would be required is to reverse the rotation of both vortexes at the moment of formation, thus creating a true pair of yin-yang complementary soul cores.
But whether it's possible to consistently maintain the rotational model described in Su Yu's theory...
Over the past few days, after learning about Di Tian's yin-yang complementary model, Su Yu began to re-examine his theory through a more dialectical lens—and he conducted some verification. It didn't work.
Two interlocked gears may push each other in motion, but the moment one gear becomes misaligned, the entire system can collapse.
After all, soul cores are three-dimensional!
They aren't simple gears sealed within a closed system.
Whether in cultivation or battle, the soul cores must constantly output and absorb soul power. If a deviation occurs during this process—if the rotational angles of the vortexes shift and no longer lie on the same plane—then the two soul cores may violently clash, potentially leading to an explosion.
"The purpose of forming soul cores is to become stronger—not to shackle oneself."
If forming yin-yang complementary soul cores means having to constantly restrain and micromanage their operation every single time soul power is mobilized, then it's better not to form them at all.
By contrast, two soul cores that constantly counterbalance each other throughout the body, even if they experience minor deviations, can still maintain stable operation.
Moreover, the balanced-state soul power vortexes—though they seem to represent the hardest-to-achieve end result—also serve as the best buffers once the yin-yang soul cores have formed.
Even if one of the soul cores deviates in its rotation, the soul power vortexes between them act as shock absorbers. Under compression, their rebound might even correct the misaligned soul core.
"If I apply the model from my theory only during the formation of the second soul core—then, at the moment of near-completion, alter the core's rotational direction—perhaps I could not only form the embryonic structure of the second core more easily, but also increase the success rate."
"If the two originally tightly synchronized vortexes begin to shift at the same time, then at their point of contact, all I need to do is intervene manually to generate the first soul power vortex. Through the resulting chain reaction, a large number of soul power vortexes might form quickly—driving the change in the soul cores' rotation direction."
"And once the soul cores reach a balanced state, the rotational inertia created between the two might become the second major hurdle I'll have to face."
"."
Su Yu gradually pieced together the entire process of forming the yin-yang complementary dual soul cores. He broke the process down into detailed steps, preparing to tackle each one individually in order to increase the success rate of soul core formation.
While contemplating all of this, Su Yu didn't neglect his use of spiritual detection to gather resources.
At this moment, he had already discovered a rather untouched and ancient forest.
"What a primitive forest."
Just by stepping into the forest's range, Su Yu immediately felt an ancient aura. Within its depths, his spiritual detection picked up on a soul beast long thought extinct on the Douluo Continent.
And it wasn't a soul beast that had disappeared in the last ten thousand years—this one could be traced back to ancient, even primordial times.
The Golden Giant Ape!
"This is a soul beast on par with the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear—a true powerhouse. Whether in terms of offense or defense, it's not inferior in the slightest."
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was known for its terrifyingly sharp claws and explosive power, while the Golden Giant Ape represented pure, unrelenting brute strength.
Its immense physical power alone was enough to rival the attack strength of the Terrorclaw Bear—showing just how overwhelmingly strong it was.
The particular Golden Giant Ape Su Yu discovered had already cultivated for thirty thousand years. In terms of combat strength, it was in no way inferior to a hundred-thousand-year soul beast—perhaps even capable of suppressing most soul beasts that had endured the hundred-thousand-year tribulation!
And this wasn't just a lightning tribulation—but a full heavenly tribulation.
That is to say, this beast had survived the tribulation that truly marked a turning point, one that placed it on the path to becoming a savage beast.
Still, no matter how powerful it was, facing Su Yu meant it was easily subdued.
"Relax, I'm only taking a bit of your essence blood. I might not even refine it."
Su Yu extracted a portion of the Golden Giant Ape's bloodline power, drawing enough essence to create a soul ring, and then released the beast.
He even converted part of his own life energy to heal the creature's injuries.
"Roar! Roar!"
The Golden Giant Ape let out a few hollow roars, its eyes filled with fear and awe, before quickly fleeing into the forest.
Su Yu shook his head and paid it no further attention. His spiritual power spread outward, enveloping nearly half the ancient forest.
Though it was considered a vast soul beast forest on this continent, it was still far inferior to the Star Dou Great Forest—and even a level below Sunset Forest in size and depth.
But within this soul beast forest, there seemed to be quite a few powerful creatures.
"Hmm?"
Su Yu transformed into a streak of blue light, soaring swiftly toward the deeper regions of the forest.
A powerful fluctuation of aura emerged. A soul beast, five meters tall and shaped like a moose with a dragon's tail, its body covered in fiery red scales and a single horn protruding from its forehead, quickly fled in panic.
However, a massive hand formed entirely of soul power descended and firmly grasped it mid-air.
Su Yu carefully examined the beast, which bore the outward appearance of a qilin, sensing the bloodline power within its body.
"Hm, quite a thorough mutation in appearance… But the bloodline power isn't pure enough."
Controlling the massive hand of soul force, Su Yu manipulated the "qilin" without a care for its struggling and pained cries. It didn't take long for him to figure out its origins.
"Judging from your bloodline, it doesn't seem innate. It really is a mutation. So, tell me—how did you mutate into having the Qilin's bloodline?"
Su Yu didn't believe such a deep regression to ancestral traits could happen by chance.
His reasoning was simple: in his current state of treasure hunting, he naturally hoped this qilin had encountered some rare artifact that triggered the transformation.
Even if he was wrong—even if this qilin truly had a trace of Qilin bloodline within it from birth and had, by some stroke of luck, awakened that blood—then that alone would prove the presence of Qilin bloodlines on this continent.
Qilin, unlike dragons or phoenixes, had never produced a supreme divine king like the Dragon God or Phoenix God. But the Qilin itself symbolized fate and fortune.
Take the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, for instance—it was able to become a divine beast precisely because its bloodline contained some trace of Qilin.
Or rather, its divine beast lineage was a rare fusion of Qilin and True Dragon bloodlines, giving birth to that extraordinary heritage.
"."
Facing Su Yu's overwhelming presence, the qilin had no choice but to spill everything.
After exchanging information via spiritual communication, Su Yu let it go.
"As expected, it was external influence that triggered the mutation… but not completely. He did possess some Qilin bloodline innately."
Though Su Yu released the qilin, he still extracted enough essence blood to refine a soul ring. Only after healing its injuries did he set it free.
With his spiritual power enveloping nearly half the ancient forest, Su Yu's search progressed rapidly. Using the information obtained from the qilin about the forest's core opportunity, he quickly found the location.
"Wuuuuu~~"
From a distance, the qilin that had just been released watched bitterly as Su Yu entered its sacred training ground, frustration written all over its face.
It had been confident that, given a few thousand more years of cultivation, it could purify its bloodline to the level of a true Qilin, undergo complete transformation, and elevate its strength to the hundred-thousand-year mark.
Yet now, a human had stolen the opportunity halfway through.
"Hmph, don't be mad. I might actually be helping you," Su Yu said, grabbing the qilin once again with a soul power-formed hand and roughing it up a little. "With all this divine-level pressure here, your absorption rate is being seriously hindered. Once I remove that pressure, you'll find it much easier to refine the energy in the bloodline pool."
The qilin rolled its eyes.
What nonsense.
This was divine-level pressure!
"Quite the harvest."
Three days later, Su Yu left the area.
Behind him, the qilin was left devastated, almost in tears.
Although it could now refine the bloodline essence in the pool much faster, it simply couldn't bring itself to feel happy about it.