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The northern lands were a sight to behold, with snowflakes drifting endlessly across thousands of miles.
Though it sounded beautiful, in this desolate place, even finding a warm meal was a challenge.
But for Ye Wen, this wasn't much of an issue. A simple and crude solution would be to use soul power to resist the cold, or if he wanted to be more extravagant, he could create a cube-shaped barrier using his Void Barrier skill to isolate himself from the freezing air.
Though the mermaid clan was incredibly fast underwater, their territory was far from the shore. The distance between the two locations was vast.
After half a day of waiting for them to return, Ye Wen passed the time by reading a book on the shore.
Suddenly—
A massive surge of soul power rippled through the distant ocean.
In just a few breaths, a black shadow over ten meters long appeared in the once azure waters before Ye Wen's eyes. What was most terrifying was the sharp protrusion at the front of the shadow, resembling a spear.
Ye Wen's mind flashed back to the narwhals he had seen in wildlife documentaries from his previous life.
This figure, which moved with such overwhelming force that it churned the ocean into towering waves, slowed down as it approached the coastline.
A flash of light shimmered beneath the sea, and an elderly man appeared beside Ye Wen.
His gaze was profound, as if it carried the weight of countless years.
The elder said nothing at first, merely observing Ye Wen. After a while, his eyes filled with admiration and astonishment.
"You are the Ye Wen that Little Hai spoke of? To possess strength comparable to mine at such a young age is truly astonishing."
"Senior flatters me too much. I've merely been fortunate," Ye Wen replied humbly yet confidently.
At this moment, Hai Te and Bi Hai returned to Ye Wen's side.
Hai Te seemed quite familiar with this elder, complaining lightheartedly, "Grandpa Cang, you swam too fast! Little Bi and I nearly couldn't keep up."
The elder, Cang, simply stroked his long beard and chuckled.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the elder introduced himself.
"My name is simply 'Cang.' Unlike you humans, I have no complicated surnames. You may call me Elder Cang or Grandpa Cang.
The spirit beast race I belong to is known as the Celestial Abyss Narwhal—a dual-attribute spirit beast of both spirit and ice.
In these waters, I am respectfully referred to as the Overlord of the Extreme North Ocean.
If you are willing to protect my kin and Little Hai's clan in the future, then I shall offer myself to you as a sacrifice.
Your current soul power, combined with the soul power I will bestow upon you through this ritual, should allow you to reach the level of a 90th-level Title Douluo."
The concept of a sacrifice was undeniably tempting. Not only would Ye Wen gain a soul ring and spirit bone, but he would also inherit the elder's vast cultivation. No wonder Tang San in the original story had reached the Title Douluo level so quickly.
Xiao Wu, Da Ming, and Er Ming's contributions had been invaluable.
"Thank you, Senior. If I ascend to godhood in the future, I will surely protect both the Celestial Abyss Narwhals and the mermaid clan," Ye Wen said with a respectful bow.
Beside him, Hai Te's eyes filled with sorrow.
Cang had been a constant presence in his life since childhood and had protected the mermaid clan for tens of thousands of years. Now, knowing that he was about to depart through this sacrifice left Hai Te feeling deeply unsettled.
A red glow enveloped Cang's body, surrounding both him and Ye Wen.
He took one last look at Hai Te and said, "Little Hai, do not grieve.
There is no feast that does not come to an end. Moreover, if Young Friend Ye Wen ascends to godhood, this could very well mark the beginning of a new chapter.
I leave the Celestial Abyss Narwhal clan in your care. Those foolish youngsters in the clan who have lived for 100,000 years must not be taken advantage of."
Seeing the affectionate gaze of Cang, Hai Te could no longer hold back his tears.
Cang's body began to fade away, bit by bit. A blood-red soul ring with six golden edges appeared on the pristine white earth.
Cang's immense soul power surged into Ye Wen's body, stretching every meridian to its limit.
Yet Ye Wen felt no pain. Instead, he felt as though he were immersed in a warm spring.
However, during this process, Ye Wen could clearly sense a significant amount of soul power being wasted into the air. No wonder it had taken three 100,000-year spirit beasts for Tang San to reach the Title Douluo level.
The soul power cultivation that had been constrained by the world's rules at level 80 began to skyrocket: 85th level, 86th level, 87th level, 88th level, 89th level, 90th level!
The initial absorption of the soul ring had ended. Now came the true challenge: the fusion of souls.
When absorbing a soul ring, a soul master not only gained part of the spirit beast's cultivation but also faced a portion of its soul force. For a 100,000-year soul ring, the soul master had to endure the full force of the spirit beast's soul impact.
Because this was a sacrifice, Ye Wen's spiritual power did not engage in a soul battle but instead surged uncontrollably.
Yet Ye Wen remained vigilant. In the original story, after absorbing the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's nearly million-year cultivation, Tang San had nearly been possessed during his divine trial. Had the Sea God not intervened, Tang San would have been in grave danger.
Though Cang appeared kind and exuded natural warmth, Ye Wen never hesitated to assume the worst intentions from others.
Even if Cang truly harbored goodwill in offering himself as a sacrifice, Ye Wen could only apologize inwardly. He admitted that he was a person with a tainted heart.
He had suffered too many losses in the past.
And those nearing the end of their lives were capable of anything. Caution was the only way to avoid disaster.
Yet throughout the entire process, Cang showed no suspicious actions.
He infused the essence of his spiritual power into Ye Wen's spiritual sea, merging with it.
Ye Wen felt his spiritual power skyrocketing, while Cang's now-weakened soul attached itself to the 600,000-year soul ring.
Only then did Ye Wen truly confirm that Cang posed no threat to him.
"Friend Ye Wen, I notice that you only possess external spirit bones and lack any other spirit bones. As a spirit-type spirit beast, I will condense a head spirit bone for you. Our two clans are now in your hands."
Cang's voice grew weaker and weaker until it faded into nothingness, leaving him in a deep slumber. Ye Wen felt a foreign object appear on his skull.
600,000-Year Celestial Abyss Narwhal Head Spirit Bone
- Spirit Bone Skill 1: Celestial Abyss Domain – Creates a zero-gravity field, disrupting enemy movement.
- Spirit Bone Skill 2: Celestial Horn Break – Condenses a phantom of the Celestial Abyss Narwhal using spiritual power to launch a devastating charge. Effect: forcibly breaks through barriers, defenses, and domains. The specific effect depends on spiritual power. Theoretically, it can break through opponents at least five levels higher than oneself.
- Eighth Soul Skill 1: Vacuum Domain – Uses the martial soul as a spatial node to drain the air within the range of one's spiritual power, forming a spherical vacuum zone.
- Eighth Soul Skill 2: Blank Moment – Uses the martial soul as a medium to unleash a mental flash, forcibly inducing a state of mental blankness in enemies. The specific effect depends on the user's spiritual power level.
Opening his eyes, Ye Wen's gaze was filled with delight. He hadn't expected that Elder Cang would provide such overwhelmingly powerful control-based soul skills.
Once an enemy fell victim to these skills, they would be completely at Ye Wen's mercy.
Spirit-type abilities—truly remarkable.
Though the act of sacrifice was a form of death for spirit beasts, it was also a form of rebirth. On the once-pristine snow, a small, adorable Celestial Abyss Narwhal calf with a tiny horn appeared—this was Cang's juvenile form.
"Leave it to me. Grandpa Cang has protected our clan for so many years—it's time for us to repay him."
Hai Te picked up the young Celestial Abyss Narwhal and bid farewell to Ye Wen.
There was no rush to visit the Sea God Island. Ye Wen still had some unfinished business to attend to, so he temporarily postponed the trip. He would go eventually—it wasn't as if a little delay mattered.
Compared to ascending to godhood, Ye Wen had more pressing matters to address.
With multiple spirit bones now in his possession, Ye Wen had already deciphered their secrets.
The essence of spirit bones lay in their concentrated life-force energy, combined with special energy structures formed by the spirit beast's internal soul circuits. This allowed soul masters to directly absorb them into their bodies.
Though Ye Wen couldn't replicate pure energy-based spirit bones, he had successfully created high-fidelity imitations in the form of armor. He named them Dou Armor.
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