Chapter 1226 Fusion?

"Fusion?" Shangguan Mo looked at the Meteoric Scorpion, his eyes flashing with excitement. He began to use the Spirit Refining Rune to connect his chakra with the Meteoric Scorpion's. The green tailed beast's chakra flowed through the rune into his body, filling him with power and allowing him to clearly sense the Meteoric Scorpion's thoughts. This miraculous connection made him even more certain that his bond with the Meteoric Scorpion surpassed that of an ordinary master and summoned beast.

At that moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the Soul Refining Pavilion. Shangguan Mo looked toward the door warily and saw a Konoha ninja named Yamashiro Aoba. He held a piece of urgent intelligence in his hand, his face solemn. "Shangguan Mo, the Akatsuki organization has been collecting soul refining materials recently. Several soul refiners have gone missing. The Third Hokage hopes you can assist in the investigation."

Shangguan Mo took the intelligence and looked at the missing persons listed on it. Among them were some well-known soul refiners. He recalled the soul refiner he encountered in the ruins and the strange smile of the Akatsuki leader. He realized that Akatsuki's target might not only be the soul refiner, but also all those who mastered the soul refinement technique.

"I will assist in the investigation." Shangguan Mo clenched his fists. The Meteorite Scorpion also sensed his determination, and the meteorite fire in its scorpion tail began to burn. "But I have one condition. During the investigation, the Meteorite Scorpion must stay by my side."

Yamashiro Aoba nodded and looked at the Meteorite Scorpion with surprise in his eyes. "Is this your newly synthesized summoned beast? It looks very powerful. With it, the investigation should go much more smoothly."

The two agreed to set off in three days. After Yamashiro Aoba left, Shangguan Mo continued to study the secret technique of soul refining and fusion. He knew that facing a powerful enemy like the Akatsuki Organization, the strength of himself and the Starfall Black Scorpion alone would not be enough. He must master the secret technique of fusion as soon as possible to gain an advantage in future battles.

Three days later, Shangguan Mo and Xingyun Xuanxie embarked on a journey to investigate the Akatsuki organization. They first traveled to the residence of the recently disappeared spirit master "Mo Chen," located in the "Ink Town" on the border of the Fire Nation. The atmosphere in the town was unusually depressing. Residents stayed indoors, and not a soul roamed the streets. Only the whimpering sound of the wind against the windows spoke volumes of the town's misfortune.

"It looks like something bad has happened here." Shangguan Mo glanced around warily, his Starfall Black Scorpion's pincers slightly open, ready to respond to any emergency. They arrived at Mo Chen's spirit refining room. The door was ajar, and the inside was in a mess. Broken spirit refining tools and dried blood were scattered on the ground, clearly indicating a fierce fight had taken place.

Shangguan Mo crouched down and examined the bloodstains on the ground, discovering traces of black soul-refining runes—identical to the runes used by soul-refining ghosts. He followed the trail to the backyard, where he discovered a massive soul-refining formation. Mo Chen's chakra remained within its core, along with the Akatsuki's distinctive red cloud patterns.

"They used the Soul Refining Formation to extract Mo Chen's Soul Refining Power." Shangguan Mo's face turned gloomy. "It seems that the Akatsuki organization wants to strengthen its own Soul Refining Technique by absorbing the power of the Soul Refiner."

The Falling Star Scorpion suddenly roared at the dry well in the backyard, its green chakra pointing towards the bottom. Shangguan Mo walked to the well and used the Soul Refining Rune to illuminate the bottom, revealing a secret chamber within. Inside was Mo Chen's diary. The last few pages of the diary recorded his discovery of the Akatsuki's secret production of "Soul Refining Puppets" and his pursuit by the Soul Refining Ghost.

"Spirit Refining Puppet?" Shangguan Mo frowned, continuing to flip through his diary. He discovered that Mo Chen had noted the Spirit Refining Puppet's weakness—its fear of Tailed Beast Chakra. This gave him an idea: perhaps the Starfall Black Scorpion's Tailed Beast Chakra was the key to defeating the Spirit Refining Puppet.