After removing the energy seals on the treasures, Elder Zhu Li first checked for any hidden traps. Once he confirmed there was no danger, he handed them over to Xiao Feng and Zi Yan.
The treasures were all in the form of scrolls. Some of the scrolls contained high-level Earth-rank cultivation techniques and combat skills, while others recorded alchemy and artifact forging methods.
Seeing this, Xiao Feng wasn't particularly surprised. After all, based on the ancient medicinal forest, the eighth-grade pill beast, and the powerful puppets they had encountered earlier, it was clear that Saint Zhao Hua had been a super expert proficient in alchemy and artifact forging during his lifetime.
After flipping through the scrolls, Zi Yan couldn't help but express her confusion: "Why isn't there a single Heaven-rank combat skill here?"
Although the Earth-rank techniques and combat skills were extremely valuable treasures, it seemed unlikely that a Dou Saint like Zhao Hua wouldn't have left behind at least one Heaven-rank combat skill.
Elder Zhu Li pointed to the skeleton in the center of the hall, which looked as if it had been carved from jade, and said, "Your Highness, don't be impatient. The Heaven-rank combat skill left by the Saint Zhao Hua is right there on that skeleton."
Following Elder Zhu Li's finger, Zi Yan quickly noticed that three of the skeleton's ribs were engraved with some ancient, mysterious characters.
Elder Qingshan suddenly spoke up: "You've been hiding for so long. Aren't you going to show yourself?"
"Crack, crack, crack…"
As soon as Elder Qing Shan finished speaking, the Dou Saint skeleton suddenly moved, its dry, hoarse voice echoing: "Those who trespass into this ruin shall die!"
"Just a mere wisp of a remnant soul, yet you dare to act so arrogantly!"
Elder Zhu Li snorted coldly and immediately used spatial energy to immobilize the attacking Dou Saint skeleton.
If it had been the complete soul of the Saint Zhao Hua, Elder Zhu Li and the others might have been somewhat wary. But a nearly dissipated remnant soul was nothing to them.
"Wait!"
Just as Elder Zhu Li was about to erase the remnant soul within the Dou Saint skeleton, Xiao Feng suddenly spoke up to stop him: "Elder Zhu Li, this remnant soul is of great use to me. Please extract it and hand it over to me for disposal."
Although the remnant soul of the Saint Zhao Hua only had the strength of a six-star DouVenerate left, it was still the remnant of a Dou Saint, making it highly valuable for cultivation.
As long as Xiao Feng corrupted the remnant soul into a Hollow and infused it with a massive amount of worldly malevolent energy, even if it couldn't regain its peak strength, it could still be restored to the level of a peak DouVenerate or even a Half-Saint.
"Since this remnant soul is useful to the consort, I'll leave it to you to handle."
Elder Zhu Li naturally wouldn't refuse Xiao Feng's request. He forcibly extracted the remnant soul from the Dou Saint skeleton, condensing it into a palm-sized soul sphere, which he handed over to Xiao Feng.
After receiving the soul sphere, Xiao Feng immediately threw it into the Hueco Mundo. He first bound its limbs with soul chains, then began continuously injecting the worldly malevolent energy he had absorbed into it.
Since Xiao Feng's ability to absorb worldly malevolent energy was limited, it would take at least several months to restore the Saint Zhao Hua's strength to the level of a Half-Saint.
While Xiao Feng was busy dealing with the remnant soul, Elder Zhu Li and the others used their soul power to scan and record the Heaven-rank combat skill, *Great Heaven Creation Palm*, inscribed on the Dou Saint skeleton.
Although low-level Dou Saints like Elder Zhu Li could create Heaven-rank combat skills, doing so would take an extremely long time.
For example, the *Great Heaven Creation Palm* was a skill that the Saint Zhao Hua had spent his entire life perfecting, combining hundreds of combat techniques to create.
Thus, even a low-level Heaven-rank combat skill like the *Great Heaven Creation Palm* held significant appeal for Elder Zhu Li and the others.
At the very least, if they ever wanted to create their own combat skills in the future, they could use the *Great Heaven Creation Palm* as a reference.
After recording the contents of the *Great Heaven Creation Palm*, Elder Zhu Li took out two blank scrolls and used his soul power to replicate the skill onto them. He then handed the scrolls to Xiao Feng and Zi Yan.
Once Xiao Feng and Zi Yan had safely stored the Dou Technique scrolls, Elder Zhu Li released a cluster of crimson Dou Qi flames, enveloping the Dou Saint skeleton.
Although Elder Zhu Li had never refined a Heavenly Flame, the Dou Qi flames he unleashed with his Dou Saint-level strength were no weaker than a Heavenly Flame.
"Sizzle, sizzle…"
After more than half an hour of burning, the entire Dou Saint skeleton was reduced to ashes, leaving behind over a hundred thumb-sized, milky-white gelatinous substances.
The surface of these gelatinous substances was covered with a thin layer of film, inside of which was a liquid brimming with dense energy. This was the legendary Dou Saint marrow.
"Your Highness, Imperial Son-In-Law, the energy contained within this Dou Saint marrow is comparable to an eighth-grade pill, and it has no side effects. It's perfect for boosting your strength. You two should split it."
With that, Elder Zhu Li handed the Dou Saint marrow over to Xiao Feng and Zi Yan.
"Thank you, Elder."
Xiao Feng's eyes flashed with excitement as he and Zi Yan quickly divided the Dou Saint marrow between themselves.
It was no exaggeration to say that the value of Dou Saint marrow surpassed that of eighth-grade pills. Not only could it improve the user's physique, but it could also directly raise the cultivation level of a Dou Venerate by one star without any side effects.
Most importantly, Dou Saint marrow didn't have the same resistance issues as pills, meaning it could be consumed continuously.
With Elder Zhu Li and the others providing protection, Xiao Feng and Zi Yan didn't need to worry about safety. They immediately sat down cross-legged and each consumed a piece of Dou Saint marrow.
"Gulp!"
The Dou Saint marrow melted in their mouths, transforming into a vast, ocean-like surge of energy that spread throughout their bodies.
The sheer intensity of the energy caused their body temperatures to rise rapidly, and even their heads began to emit wisps of white smoke.
Xiao Feng and Zi Yan quickly focused on circulating their Dragon God Art, devouring and refining the immense energy.
The Dragon God Art, being a high-level Heaven-rank cultivation technique, operated like a black hole, voraciously consuming the energy and converting it into Dragon-attribute Dou Qi.
After several hours, Xiao Feng finally fully refined the energy contained within one piece of Dou Saint marrow. His cultivation level skyrocketed from seven-star Dou Ancestor to nine-star Dou Ancestor.
Originally, the energy within the Dou Saint marrow should have been enough to push Xiao Feng to the peak of Dou Ancestor, if not directly to one-star Dou Venerate.
The reason his cultivation only reached nine-star Dou Ancestor was that nearly half of the energy in the Dou Saint marrow had been absorbed by his *Immortal Dharma Body*, which used it to strengthen his bloodline power.
(End of Chapter)
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