"Master, it's true. The spiritual tree is the holy treasure of our spiritual race. It can protect all the
members of the spiritual race.
If we can find the spiritual tree and use it to nourish ourselves, we'll recover in a few days,"
Rondo said, eagerly staring at Austin.
"But the spiritual tree has been lost for countless years. No one knows where to find it,"
Elder Payne sighed and shook his head.
He had barely finished his words when the most unexpected thing happened.
There was a sudden burst of pressure from Austin's Soul Sea.
The next moment, there was a giant tree hovering in the void in the secret room.
The secret room was equipped with a brilliant space law which allowed all objects, no matter how big or
small, to exist within it. Therefore, even though the spiritual tree was actually enormous in size, it was
able to neatly fit into the room.
"Is that... the spiritual tree?" Rondo stammered, widening his eyes in a mixture of shock and awe.
Elder Payne, on the other hand, couldn't even find the words to say. The two of them were so stunned
by the sudden appearance of the spiritual tree that they stood rooted to the spot, as if being held there
by an invisible hand.
After gaping at the tree for a while, Rondo turned to Austin with an incredulous look on his face.
"Master, is this really the spiritual tree? Is it actually real?"
His voice trembled with excitement and disbelief.
"Can't you feel it? It has to be the spiritual tree,"
Elder Payne murmured, his gaze fixed to the tree as if he was mesmerized by it. "It is our holy treasure
that has been lost for a long time! I never thought I would be able to see it in my lifetime."
Austin was enjoying the look of pure awe on their faces, but he had other things to do, so he decided to
finally end the suspense.
With a smile on his face, he said, "You don't have to keep guessing. It is indeed the spiritual tree.
Well, now that it's right in front of you, you can use it to heal your wounds. But..."
He paused, and his eyes lit up in excitement. "Before you start to cure your wounds, there is one thing
you need to do.
You need to teach me how to use the spiritual soul energy of my slaves. I want to know everything
there is to know about that skill!"
In fact, this was the reason why Austin had come to the Spirit Cosmos.
He already knew how to turn creatures into his slaves. However, he had no idea how to absorb their
spiritual soul energy and use it.
Although there were many benefits of having slaves, being able to use their spiritual soul energy was a
benefit that was extremely eye-catching to Austin. But as people said, the best fruit would be at the top
of the tree. The skill of using a slave's spiritual soul energy was a high-level technique of the Puppet
Strings skill. A martial arts master who had the blood of the spiritual race would automatically possess
this skill when he became a divine god.
Unfortunately, although Austin was extremely well-versed in the skill of the Puppet Strings, he was not
a member of the spiritual race, nor did he have any blood ties with it. Therefore, not only did he not
automatically possess the skill, he hadn't had much success in cultivating it to its best on his own
either.
There were large gaps in his knowledge that ordinary creatures weren't able to fill. Thus, Austin had
come to the Spirit Cosmos with the hope of learning that skill from a divine god of the spiritual race.
Upon hearing Austin's words, Prince Rondo and Elder Payne finally came back to their senses.
"Yes, master!" they said in unison.
Without delay, they taught Austin how to absorb the spiritual soul energy of his slaves and channel it
along with his own.
After they were done, they eagerly rushed to the spiritual tree, sat down cross-legged under its thick
branches, and began to heal themselves with the help of the spiritual tree's restorative aura.
The spiritual tree fell nothing short of the praises they had sung about it; it was immensely helpful for
the recovery of their wounds.
It seemed to endlessly release strands of life energy, which continuously rejuvenated their forms.
Austin could see a visible improvement in their condition in just a matter of minutes.
Both of them had been severely hurt, but most of their wounds were already healed. Of course, there
was still a long way to go for them to get back to their former strengths.
'Well, it seems that the spiritual tree, as the holy treasure of the spiritual race, is really beneficial for the
members of the spiritual race.
It can nourish their souls and bodies without doubt, ' Austin thought to himself with an appreciative nod.
Since they were busy healing their wounds, he decided to use that time to cultivate the method of
absorbing the spiritual soul energy of his slaves using all his recently-obtained knowledge.
Once he mastered this skill, he would be able to absorb and channel as much spiritual soul energy
from his slaves as he wanted to, giving him a qualitative edge over his opponents.
After all, if he could wield the spiritual soul energy of his slaves, fighting him would be akin to fighting all
of them.
With this thought, Austin felt like he would burst from excitement.
Finally, he would get what he wanted. This was what he had always aspired for. In his never-ending
quest for power, this was a significant milestone.
Without delay, he sat down cross-legged and began comprehending and cultivating this new skill,
putting all the theoretical knowledge he had learned into practice.
Since his spiritual sense was stronger than that of a semi-governing god, it was fairly easy for him to
practice all the secret skills of the spiritual race, including this one.
A few days later, Prince Rondo and Elder Payne rose to their feet and looked at Austin.
"Master, we have fully recovered!"
they told him with cheerful smiles.
Their injuries had completely healed. Actually, the two of them had been absorbing more spiritual soul
energy from the spiritual tree to maximize their strength and power for the last two days. Now, they
both looked at the peak of their health, and their bodies were radiating vital energy.
In this time, Austin had also successfully mastered the secret skill of absorbing and channeling the
spiritual soul energy of his slaves.
Seeing that Prince Rondo and Elder Payne were fully recovered, he was excited and wanted to finally
test his new skill.
Mastering a skill was one thing, but actually wielding it was another.
As with everything in the universe, practice made things perfect, and Austin knew that better than
anyone.
He focused all his attention on using the skill he had just learned.
As soon as he initiated it, he felt himself gain complete control of the Soul Seas of Prince Rondo and
Elder Payne. Now, he could use their spiritual soul energies any time he wished.
At his command, the spiritual soul energy in their Soul Seas rushed out like galloping rivers, roaring
and rolling around without stopping.
At the same time, Austin also released a terrifying wave of spiritual soul energy from his own Soul Sea.
The spiritual soul energies from the three of them swirled together, turning into a massive sea of power.
It seethed as if a tornado was brewing.
"This skill is amazing!"
Austin said, bursting into a fit of wild laughter.
As he had expected, he could channel the spiritual soul energies of Prince Rondo and Elder Payne and
use them to attack his enemy at any time.
Since this was the first time that he was wielding this skill, his execution was still a bit awkward.
But he believed that the more he used it, the more proficient he would become.
"Congratulations, master! You have successfully mastered the skill!"
Prince Rondo and Elder Payne said to Austin in unison, their eyes glowing with admiration.
"Well, I must thank you for teaching me this new skill. I learned it because of you."
Austin nodded with satisfaction. He was not above being polite to his slaves. In fact, he deemed it
necessary.
"Master, all the martial arts masters of the Spirit Cosmos will gather today in the Spiritual Mountain to
have a final battle. The new chief of the race will be selected from them!"
Prince Rondo reminded Austin.
Austin nodded to show that he had understood.
"Well, get ready. We'll set out soon."
Then, he looked pointedly at Prince Rondo and added, "This time, you must try your best to get the
position of the chief.
Don't worry. I will help you when necessary."
"Yes, master!"
Rondo replied with gratitude. He was pleased with his master's treatment.
"Elder Payne, from now on, you must do your best to assist Rondo to win the position of the chief,"
Austin ordered, turning his gaze to Elder Payne.
"Of course, master!"
Elder Payne replied in a hurry.
The two of them bowed respectfully to Austin before leaving to gather their people and get ready for the
battle in the Spiritual Mountain.
While they were busy with that, Austin wanted to take the opportunity to subdue more slaves of the
spiritual race, partly to test his new skill, but more so to increase his power.
The spiritual race had a unique talent in collecting spiritual soul energy and cultivating secret skills
related to spiritual soul energy. Austin knew that having more slaves with such a talent in his arsenal
would be of great help to him in the future.
With this goal, he leaped into the air and left Prince Rondo's mansion.
He already had a target in mind. Back in the secret room, Prince Rondo and Elder Payne had told him
everything about the Spirit Cosmos in detail.
Therefore, he was as familiar with the Spirit Cosmos as someone who had been living here for many
years.
Soon enough, he arrived at a nearby city.
There, he headed straight to the hidden corner where his target, a divine god of the spiritual race, was
cultivating in seclusion.
In total silence, he suddenly appeared in the divine god's secret room.
Without so much as a warning, he attacked the divine god, unleashing all his skills at the same time,
just as he had done with his previous two targets.
The divine god in front of him was much weaker than Elder Payne.
He was no match for the stream of attacks that came from Austin —the Mind Sword Skill, the Flying
Swordsmanship, the Secret Reincarnation Skill, and the Puppet Strings.
Thus, he was subdued before he could even have the chance to resist.
A moment later, Austin had gained complete control of the divine god.
"So you are the governor of the city, huh?
You must have many people under your control.
That's excellent! All your subordinates and slaves are mine now,"
Austin said with a brilliant smile.
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