The fingers of Wu Chen's previously lifeless body started to vibrate softly as it was entered by the Devouring Fighting Soul.
A short while later, Wu Chen's eyes shot open and he slowly sat up.
Poof!
All of a sudden, blood spurted out from his mouth, staining the dirt in front of him.
"This body has been beaten to an enormous extent!" Wu Chen muttered to himself, furrowing his brows in concern.
Of course, it wasn't really Wu Chen who was speaking and examining his body for injuries. It was Su Mo, whose soul now inhabited the corpse.
Su Mo's Fighting Soul had entered Wu Chen's physical body and completely possessed it.
The only problem, Su Mo was now realizing, was that Wu Chen's physical body had suffered great damage. The body was truly in a tragic state. The bones had been shattered and the internal organs were like minced meat.
This physical body needed to recover quickly, or else it would risk rotting and becoming completely unusable for Fighting Souls.
Gazing at his own physical body, which lay on the ground where Wu Chen's corpse used to be, Su Mo retrieved the Storage Ring from his finger and hid his true body inside it.
His plain physical body had no life force in it, so it could be stored safely within the Storage Ring.
He did not dare store his body in his jade ring, for fear of any potential plot by the three Sorcerer Tribe people contained in there.
Thereafter, he retrieved numerous recovery pills from his and Wu Chen's storage rings to heal himself.
His personal storage ring contained a multitude of recovery pills that he had won from previous battles, but he never had the time to use them.
Wu Chen's body needed to heal before being put to use, and the time ticked by slowly. After Su Mo had been healing himself for nearly three days, he resolved that it was time to freely use it.
However, due to the severity of its injuries, Wu Chen's body brought forth much fighting power.
It seemed that even more time was needed for the body and Su Mo's Fighting Soul to merge. Su Mo and Wu Chen's methods of cultivation were completely different and therefore, despite recovering physically, he could not manipulate the peak power of this body.
Su Mo did not stay at this place for long. Trying hard to control the Dark Force within his body, he turned and flew off.
Not long after, he arrived at the mountain where he had instructed Nie Qian and Han Ying to hide.
He reached out with his spiritual energy to feel their presence, but he could not find them. They had hidden themselves well.
"Brother Nie, Sister Han, it is I, Su Mo!" He spoke softly. He knew that the two were nearby and would be able to hear his whispers.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As expected, an explosive sound could be heard moments later as Nie Qian and Han Ying came flying out of a nearby forest.
"Brother Su, is this the body you have possessed?"
Glancing at Su Mo, Nie Qian and Han Ying couldn't help but be at a loss for words.
Su Mo's current body was savagely destroyed. Not only was his Dark Force weak, but his entire appearance was disheveled and dried blood seemed to coat him like armor.
"Mmhm! This body's injuries are indeed quite severe, but I just need some time to heal myself in peace," Su Mo explained.
"Brother Su, will be safer if we get underground!" Nie Qian said. The area was too near to Heavenly Underworld City and Nine Guards City, and they would inevitably meet some passersby.
"Yes!" Su Mo nodded his head.
The three then turned and began digging their way down into the earth.
Ten meters!
One hundred meters!
One kilometer!
Ten kilometers!
One hundred kilometers!
Only once they reached one hundred kilometres below ground did they stop.
Su Mo simply could not handle any more exertion. His body's injuries were too severe and the ground below them was getting hotter and hotter. The mounting pressure of the earth weighing on top him was also pushing him to his limits.
"Nie Qian and Han Ying, let us stay here!" Su Mo uttered weakly, his face as pale as a sheet..
"Alright! Brother Su, heal your physical body as fast as you can to regain your strength!" Nie Qian nodded in agreement.
"We will protect you, Brother Su!" Han Ying assured him.
"Thank you both!" Su Mo nodded at them and sat down cross-legged to begin his recovery process.
For the next few moments, Su Mo was completely absorbed in healing himself. He consumed an enormous amount of healing pills to aid in the process.
Time seemed to move slower beneath the ground, yet, in the blink of an eye, an entire month had already passed.
At this point, Su Mo's borrowed body appeared to be healed to its fullest extent. His recovery was unusually fast, but this was because his Fighting Soul was so powerful that it worked perfectly with the physical body and helped it to heal.
Sensing that the body was almost completely recovered, Su Mo stopped the process. He changed into a long black robe and carefully examined the his new body.
"Too weak!" He sighed after taking account of his body and its capabilities. Despite its newly restored strength and its Divine Elixirs, it was still a far cry from his own personal body.
Since Wu Chen was a peak Level 3 Martial Emperor martial artist, the Dark Force within all of the Divine Elixirs in his body was even less than that contained within a single Divine Elixir in Su Mo's body.
Granted, as a peak Level 3 Martial Emperor artist, the Dark Force within Wu Chen's body was actually fairly strong.
In fact, the power of Wu Chen's Dark Force alone was approximately the strength of two Dark Forces of Su Mo's.
Nonetheless, the physical strength of this body was still miles behind that of Su Mo.
All in all, this person was a regular Level 3 Martial Emperor martial artist. He would never compare to a truly skilled warrior.
"This is a moon spirit affiliated Dark Force!" Su Mo shouted and raised his hand. A grey coloured Dark Force shot out from his palm towards the sky.
After looking through Wu Chen's memories, Su Mo discovered that the young warrior was cultivating the Gathering Spirit Skill, an upper Martial Emperor skill.
Su Mo closed his eyes and attempted to recall the steps of the Gathering Spirit Skill and Wu Chen's cultivation experience. Then, he began to cultivate the Gathering Spirit Skill himself.
Due to the time spent recovering, his Fighting Soul had begun to slowly merge with Wu Jian's physical body. However, it was still not powerful enough.
He needed to completely cultivate this martial skill in order for his body to reach its peak potential.
Su Mo's body began to quiver violently.
He gently mobilized the Devouring Fighting Soul to consume the earth's Qi, which would be of great help in enhancing the Divine Elixirs within him.
He was consumed by this process, and another full ten days passed. On the final day, Su Mo had become accustomed to his new body and its cultivation skills.
Although he was still unable to reach the peak of this body's powers, he was about ninety percent there.
Nonetheless, his own power was far greater than the body of Wu Chen, as he possessed his Devouring Martial Soul, the Grand Firmament Swordplay, the Natal spiritual sword, and numerous Martial Souls.
Su Mo could not waste any more time. Disregarding Nie Qian and Han Ying's warnings, he rushed out from the earth and headed towards Black Gold City.
Flying high in the skies above, looking towards the nearing Black Gold City, Su Mo's eyes shone brightly.
This time, he would rescue Hong Qing Xian!
This time, he would kill Wu Tian Yu!
This time, the Sorcerer Tribe would pay the ultimate cost. One that is ten times, no, a hundred times more terrible than the Firmament World training trip.
Su Mo flew to the entrance of Black Gold City and lowered himself to the ground.
Thanks to Wu Chen's memories, Su Mo was completely familiar with the sights of Black Gold City, as though he were entering his own home.