"What is there to worry about? Look, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"
Sky Dream Iceworm poked his head out from behind Li Xun's neck. "After Li Xun becomes a god, we'll go to the God Realm with him. That means endless lifespan!"
"By then, we won't have to worry about that damn Heavenly Tribulation anymore."
Skydream had overheard Li Xun's conversation with Snow Emperor, which gave him an idea.
Given the current situation, having Snow Emperor join them would be a tremendous boost.
Ice Empress also came to this realization, but she didn't try to persuade Snow Emperor. Compared to the Heavenly Tribulation, this could be considered a high-stakes gamble for her.
Snow Emperor still had a chance. Given their relationship and bond, without knowing what lay ahead, she didn't want Snow Emperor to take such a risk.
"Let's begin," Ice Empress said, looking at Li Xun with determination in her eyes.
Since the decision had been made, there was no point in hesitating.
"Wait, let me explain the situation first."
Seeing that Ice Empress was about to begin the Sacrifice, Sky Dream Iceworm quickly interrupted. "This method is different from what I did back then."
"I performed the Sacrifice as the main Spirit Ring for the Second Spirit, becoming a Wisdom Soul Ring, and I sealed away eighty percent of my energy."
"Originally, I planned to use the excess energy to create another Martial Soul for Li Xun, serving as the main Spirit Ring. But Li Xun felt that having another Martial Soul would be too cumbersome."
"In that case, he'll have to endure more suffering."
"Later, I'll gradually release the energy sealed within his body and use that energy to preserve your soul. However, I won't have any energy left to seal away your power."
"What do you mean?" Ice Empress grew nervous, as this concerned her very life.
Even Li Xun was curious.
"It means your energy will run rampant inside his body."
Sky Dream Iceworm was uncharacteristically serious, his usual playful expression gone. "Aside from me, the highest-level Soul Beast Li Xun has absorbed so far is the Titan Snow Devil King."
Everyone immediately understood what he meant.
Although Soul Masters can increase the absorption limit of Spirit Rings with each major realm breakthrough, there is still a cap. This limit grows according to each individual's physical constitution.
Ordinary Soul Masters might only increase their limit by a few thousand or ten thousand years, while those with better physical fitness and higher levels can increase it by twenty to thirty thousand years.
At most, it wouldn't exceed about fifty thousand years.
With such small increases, Soul Masters often push their limits to the extreme during Spirit Ring absorption, approaching or even exceeding their upper limit to expand their physical potential when breaking through.
However, no matter how much their physique improves, there is always a limit for each realm. Although Li Xun's physical constitution far surpasses that of ordinary Soul Masters, at most he can only absorb a three hundred thousand-year Soul Beast.
The Ice Emperor Scorpion's three hundred eighty thousand-year cultivation far exceeds this limit.
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" The Ice Emperor Scorpion's gaze toward Sky Dream Iceworm gradually turned hostile.
This risk hadn't been mentioned previously by either Li Xun or Skydream.
Even Snow Emperor's expression changed.
Whether Li Xun could become a god was a matter for the future. If he failed, at least Ice Empress could live for another hundred years within Li Xun's body. But if she died during the Sacrifice...
"Skydream is right, but it seems he never said we would die, did he?"
Watching the increasingly tense atmosphere, Li Xun smiled and said, "I actually have a self-healing ability. As long as I'm not instantly overwhelmed by the sacrificial energy, I'll be fine."
"Moreover, the Ice Empress can first fuse the Soul Bone with me. That way, my physique will be further enhanced, and since the Soul Bone shares the same energy source as the Ice Empress, absorption will be easier."
"Self-healing ability?" The Ice Empress and Snow Emperor were taken aback.
Though they didn't possess such an ability, it wasn't uncommon for Soul Beasts to have it, so this was quite understandable.
The atmosphere immediately lightened up again.
"Which Soul Bone are you still missing?"
The Ice Empress grew interested: "We 100,000-Year Soul Beasts are bound to produce one Soul Bone, and my cultivation is close to 400,000 years, far surpassing the Soul Bones produced by ordinary 100,000-Year Soul Beasts."
"Most importantly, I can determine its form and location." (This follows the original intent, no arbitrary changes.)
"I'm still missing a Torso Bone and an External Soul Bone." Li Xun grinned, this was the moment he had been looking forward to the most: "If possible, I'd like the External Soul Bone."
After obtaining so many 100,000-Year Soul Rings and Soul Bones, he had roughly figured out the pattern of 100,000-Year Soul Bones.
If it were merely through hunting, the location where a 100,000-Year Soul Bone appears would be uncertain. But if it's a sacrifice, the Soul Bone will manifest in a location the Soul Master hasn't yet acquired.
However, the strength of a Soul Bone is tied to the Soul Beast itself. As the Ice Empress said, a Soul Beast close to 400,000 years old can determine the location and form of the Soul Bone, far surpassing useless ones like Xiao Wu.
Li Xun calculated and realized that aside from this opportunity and luck, the only ones who could provide him with an External Soul Bone were the Ice Empress and Snow Emperor.
After all, he wasn't familiar with the remaining Soul Beasts, and convincing them to sacrifice would be harder than hunting them down. The reason Xiao Wu was so easily influenced by his illusion to perform the sacrifice was because she had heard the story of A Yin sacrificing herself for Tang Hao.
As for the Snow Emperor, she probably wouldn't be easily persuaded, since she was different from the Ice Empress. The Ice Empress was nearing her lifespan limit, while the Snow Emperor still had a chance to fight back.
"An External Soul Bone? That's an opportunity to raise your potential." The Ice Empress's eyes lit up, showing approval.
Among Soul Bones, the most precious are External Soul Bones, followed by Head Bones and Torso Bones.
However, External Soul Bones are extremely rare and can only be obtained by those with great fortune. Now is a chance—the Torso Bone can be acquired by hunting other Soul Beasts later.
"To reduce your pain, I'll use my toxin to slightly numb you during the Soul Bone fusion. Are you ready?" The Ice Empress raised her beautiful tail stinger, looking even more eager than Li Xun.
"Wait a moment."
Li Xun found a relatively flat ice surface and sat cross-legged, then nodded to the Ice Empress.
But as soon as he finished speaking, a dark green tail stinger pierced into his tailbone, catching Li Xun off guard.
Does the Ice Empress even understand injections?
As the thought crossed his mind, excruciating pain surged from his body to his brain. Beads of sweat the size of peas instantly soaked his clothes—something almost impossible to see in the Far North Land.
Fortunately, Li Xun had grown accustomed to pain since childhood, and he gritted his teeth and endured it.
Sword Douluo's eyes flickered with concern upon seeing this. He almost stepped forward but restrained himself.
"Good thing I kept this thing." Seeing the situation, Sky Dream Iceworm quickly wrapped Li Xun with his molted skin to prevent him from being exposed to the extreme cold while soaking wet.
Meanwhile, the Ice Empress had reached the critical moment.
Using a secret method, she continuously softened Li Xun's spine, then a green light glowed from her tail as she transferred a Soul Bone enveloped in energy into Li Xun's body.
As streams of energy poured in, Li Xun's spine gradually turned emerald green.
Had Li Xun been absorbing a Torso Bone at this moment, his ribs would have been strengthened as well.
However, since the Soul Bone the Ice Empress was transforming was an External Soul Bone, she had to prevent energy from leaking out.
Crack, crack, crack—
As energy continuously surged into his spine and softened it, Li Xun's lifelong straight backbone slightly curved forward, but his powerful self-healing ability pulled it back into place.
(End of Chapter)