From this, it was evident that for a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the energy contained in its soul ring and soul bone only accounted for a small portion of its total energy.
The majority of the remaining energy—excluding what dissipated after death—was hidden within its flesh.
In other words, for Little Black, as long as the corpse was fresh, losing its soul ring and soul bone wasn't a big deal. At most, it went from being able to eat until fully satisfied to only eating until eight-tenths full.
Subsequently, Little Black approached the corpse of the Crystal Golden Dragon Lobster King.
With a flick of its tail, a gray aura enveloped Little Black's body. Its sharp, pitch-black Evil God Hook pierced through the lobster king's hard golden shell like a spear stabbing through tofu.
Immediately, accompanied by a wave of evil energy fluctuations, the massive lobster king's corpse visibly began to decay.
As the devouring progressed, the summoned Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Little Black's presence rapidly increased. Even the color of Chu Chengzhou's seventh black soul ring deepened noticeably.
"Indeed an evil Dark Demon Evil God Tiger!"
Witnessing this scene, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but click his tongue.
Fifteen minutes later, the hundred-thousand-year Crystal Golden Dragon Lobster King's corpse was completely devoured by Little Black. A sea breeze passed, and its massive body turned to ash and dispersed.
Thanks to the increase in soul ring years, which boosted his physical attributes significantly, Chu Chengzhou checked his status panel and found that the seventh soul ring's age had risen from nearly fifty thousand years to over sixty-five thousand, an increase of more than fifteen thousand years.
'Slightly underwhelming~'
Glancing at Little Black, whose mood brightened after the increase in years, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but think to himself.
Devouring the corpse of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast only increased its age by fifteen thousand years? That felt a bit lackluster!
Of course, with Little Black's devouring method, it couldn't be simply calculated as a direct combination of both parties' cultivation levels since energy conversion inevitably incurred losses.
Moreover, Little Black's current bloodline level was restricted, so the efficiency of energy conversion during devouring was certainly lower than that of the original Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
—
A week later.
On a desolate island in the vast ocean.
Amidst the surging blood flame halo contracting into Tang Yuehua's sixth soul ring, a flash of azure skull light appeared. A fifty-meter-long marine dragon soul beast, covered in azure scales, lost its life force.
Though called a marine dragon, in Chu Chengzhou's eyes, it was more fitting to call it a sea snake with horns on its forehead.
Otherwise, a pure-blood true dragon of the water element living for a hundred thousand years wouldn't be something he could handle at his current level.
The guides Chu Chengzhou recruited were undoubtedly very qualified, each perfectly fulfilling their roles.
After the initial hundred-thousand-year Crystal Golden Dragon Lobster King, within this week, five hundred-thousand-year marine soul beasts—the Furious Sea Demon Crab King, Azure Seahorse King, Purple Lightning Eel Emperor, Spotted Starfish King, and the current hundred-thousand-year Sea Dragon—all sacrificed themselves for Tang Yuehua.
As expected, perhaps due to her deep accumulation, even after advancing to a six-ring Soul Emperor, Tang Yuehua's soul power level remained at the Level 70 threshold of a quasi-Soul Saint.
And the new hundred-thousand-year sixth soul skill Tang Yuehua obtained—Chu Chengzhou already knew about it before she received the soul ring.
His previous guess had proven correct. Tang Yuehua's Ruyi Ring martial soul was somewhat similar to Nine-Heart Begonia but also bore resemblance to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Her first soul skill was Wish Fulfillment, and the subsequent second, third, fourth, and fifth soul rings all followed suit. Naturally, the current sixth soul ring would be no exception.
When paired with the domain power renamed Wish Fulfillment Domain, a one-ring Tang Yuehua could increase soul power cultivation speed and comprehension by 20%, two rings by 30%, and so on. Each additional soul ring would add another 10% to the previous rate of increase.
Currently, Tang Yuehua's soul power level was at 70, with six soul rings. The effect of the Wish Fulfillment soul skill was to increase the soul power cultivation speed and comprehension of everyone within the domain by 70%.
In fact, there was a clear suspicion of waste with the six hundred-thousand-year soul rings on Tang Yuehua.
If nothing unexpected happened, even if Tang Yuehua's soul ring configuration were the same as that of ordinary soul masters, the cultivation acceleration effect of the Wish Fulfillment soul skill wouldn't be inferior to the current all-red configuration.
Of course, while the soul skill effects remained unchanged, the difference in soul ring years would manifest in terms of soul power consumption.
If Tang Yuehua with standard soul rings could only serve as a 'cultivation accelerator' for a few soul masters at once, then Tang Yuehua with all-red soul rings could at least serve as a cultivation accelerator for dozens of soul masters.
Without a doubt, Tang Yuehua's Ruyi Ring martial soul became the most heaven-defying support martial soul on the continent, offering unparalleled safety for soul masters.
Unlike the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda series martial souls, such as Ning Rongrong, who was a battlefield-type support and had to be present during fights to support her teammates, Tang Yuehua only needed to stay in the rear, aiding her teammates' cultivation without participating in battles.
However, thinking Tang Yuehua was merely a 'weak' support would be a grave mistake.
Forget about ordinarySoul Emperors—even Tang San at the six-ring level in the original storyline might not necessarily defeat Tang Yuehua, a six-ring support.
Equipped with six hundred-thousand-year soul rings and six hundred-thousand-year soul bones, Tang Yuehua's physical attributes far surpassed those of soul masters at the same level, enough to rival newly minted nine-ring Title Douluos.
Combined with the twelve hundred-thousand-year soul bone skills from her six soul bones, if she could master them proficiently, her strength might not match a nine-ring Title Douluo, but handling ordinary eight-ring Soul Douluos should be no problem.
Tang Yuehua: I can take on ten!
Compared to half a month ago, Tang Yuehua had transformed from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.
At over forty years old, with a Level 70 quasi-Soul Saint soul power level, she was undoubtedly one of the rare genius soul masters on the continent.
Moreover, Tang Yuehua's actual soul power level was certainly higher than 70, and her six rings were all red. She also possessed a full set of hundred-thousand-year soul bones.
One had to admit, even though Tang Yuehua hadn't used any cheats, her 'cheat' was stronger than Chu Chengzhou's.
"Yuehua, how are you feeling?"
Chu Chengzhou stepped forward and asked Tang Yuehua.
Perhaps due to her qualitative leap in strength, Tang Yuehua, who already appeared very youthful, looked even younger than before, with her skin becoming more radiant.
Hmm, Chu Chengzhou suspected that this wasn't just due to her increased strength but also related to his own 'efforts' these past days.
"I feel very powerful, but I find it difficult to control my soul power freely."
Tang Yuehua first expressed joy, then quickly followed with some frustration.
At this moment, she was like a newbie who had bought a god-tier account but couldn't utilize its full potential. It felt like she had overeaten, leaving her with a bloated sensation.
Fortunately, as a support-type soul master, even if her soul power control was lacking and she had no combat experience, it wouldn't affect the proper functioning of her soul skills.
"It's fine. Once we get back, focus on mastering Absolute Control, and you'll soon gain full command over your soul power."
Chu Chengzhou understood the issue Tang Yuehua faced.
They say you have to eat rice one bite at a time, but Tang Yuehua had swallowed a 'giant meal' in one go.
Half a month ago, Tang Yuehua was still a Level 9 Soul Trainee, but now, her soul power level had skyrocketed to a Level 70 quasi-Soul Saint. Such a dramatic surge in soul power would make anyone struggle to maintain control. If she could master it effortlessly, Chu Chengzhou would suspect she had awakened some cheat ability like him.
Had it not been for the hundred-thousand-year soul beast sacrifices—which required only that the soul master's martial soul could accept soul rings and had no other prerequisites—it would've been impossible for Tang Yuehua to advance so many soul power ranks in such a short time. Even reaching the second ring would've been challenging for a Soul Grandmaster.
After all, even with the Level 20 soul power after advancing to the first ring, Tang Yuehua couldn't control it easily. Attempting to add a second soul ring near her body's limit would likely result in soul power instability, leading to a fatal explosion.
Precisely because of this, Chu Chengzhou had the recently controlled hundred-thousand-year Sea Dragon soul beast sacrifice itself directly to Tang Yuehua.
Hunting soul matters were temporarily concluded. Chu Chengzhou planned to wait until Tang Yuehua practiced absolute control and mastered her soul power before returning to hunt in the ocean again.
Of course, this was only one reason. The main reason was that Chu Chengzhou intended to leave early.
The commotion caused by the hundred-thousand-year soul beast sacrifices wasn't small. Though the ferocious beasts in the ocean weren't as united as those in the Great Star Dou Forest, they were undoubtedly hostile toward human soul masters. After consecutively killing six hundred-thousand-year marine soul beasts, it was time to lay low and avoid trouble.
Otherwise, if a Fierce Beast ocean beast appeared, he wouldn't stand a chance against it now.
Forget about ferocious ocean beasts—even three days ago, through a guide, he encountered a hundred-thousand-year Dark Soul Octopus King and didn't dare touch it.
In terms of spiritual power, he couldn't match the hundred-thousand-year spirit-type marine soul beast, the Dark Soul Octopus King. Plus, with its large group of subordinates, if a fight broke out, he'd likely suffer a major loss.
"By the way, Yuehua, the effects of your soul skills must remain secret. If the Spirit Hall finds out, they'll stop at nothing to obtain it."
Chu Chengzhou said seriously.
The concept of enlightenment was quite mysterious. Increasing enlightenment by 70%—even Chu Chengzhou couldn't accurately gauge how much help that would provide—but increasing cultivation speed by 70% was obvious.
With the assistance of the Wish Fulfillment soul skill, in terms of soul power, it was equivalent to gaining 1.7 years of cultivation benefits in just one year.
Without considering bottlenecks, if a soul master needed 60 years to reach the Title Douluo level, with the help of Tang Yuehua at the six-ring level, that 60 years could be reduced to around 35 years, saving nearly 25 years.
But this was only surface-level data; the gap wasn't just about saving 25 years of cultivation time.
Because soul masters' cultivation efficiency varied at different ages, there was a 'golden period' where cultivation speed in youth and adolescence was significantly faster than in middle or old age.
Moreover, a 66-year-old Title Douluo, compared to a 41-year-old Title Douluo, even if their strength was equal, the former's future achievement ceiling would inevitably fall short of the latter's.
Not to mention, Tang Yuehua's Wish Fulfillment soul skill wasn't just an individual cultivation accelerator—it was a large-scale group cultivation accelerator.
Such a heaven-defying support effect would surely tempt any faction on the continent.
Thus, confidentiality was essential.
Of course, worrying about prying eyes was one aspect; another was that Chu Chengzhou didn't want to give his 'good nephew' an advantage.
Due to being a transmigrator, Tang San naturally left a poor impression on him.
Additionally, from their previous interactions, Chu Chengzhou could tell that Tang San seemed to dislike him as an uncle-in-law, which further worsened his impression of Tang San.
If you don't butter up your uncle-in-law, do you think you can accelerate your cultivation? You're dreaming!
"I understand!" Tang Yuehua nodded. She understood the significance of her Wish Fulfillment soul skill but hesitated internally.
Although she was once a cultivation failure, the clan hadn't treated her harshly. Her two elder brothers didn't mistreat her either; instead, they doted on her.
Now possessing such a 'divine skill,' choosing to hide it from them might seem ungrateful.
"Yuehua, listen to me! A secret known by too many isn't a secret anymore."
Pausing, Chu Chengzhou added with a scare, "Once the Spirit Hall learns about your situation, they'll destroy you if they can't obtain you. They might even search the entire continent for the Hao Tian Sect's location and exterminate them completely.
After all, your Ruyi Ring martial soul evolved from the Hao Tian Hammer martial soul. Who can guarantee that the Hao Tian Sect won't produce another Ruyi Ring martial soul in the future?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Yuehua's expression changed drastically.
Noticing Big Sister's change in demeanor, Chu Chengzhou softened his tone and said warmly, "Of course, I'm not asking you to keep it hidden forever. Once your man becomes invincible in the world, even if the effects of your soul skills become public knowledge, who would dare harm you?!"
"Mm!"
Listening to Chu Chengzhou's bold declaration, Tang Yuehua's face lit up with happiness, nodding heavily.
Yes! The Spirit Hall had 'Invincible of the Sky' backing them, with numerous Title Douluo elders—far beyond what the current Hao Tian Sect could handle.
Though the sect's hidden location was concealed, the Spirit Hall might already know about it. Even if they didn't, with enough manpower searching the entire continent, it would eventually be exposed.
For the sake of the sect's legacy, her two elder brothers and eldest nephew would have to endure a little hardship for now.
Later, Chu Chengzhou took out his golden sword, pried open the Sea Dragon soul beast's skull, extracted the whale gel, and cut off a large piece of 'dragon meat,' storing it in his storage soul-guidance device to bring back and try.
As for the rest, it was all left for Little Black to devour.
It was worth mentioning that as early as yesterday morning, after devouring the fifth hundred-thousand-year marine soul beast—the Spotted Starfish King—Little Black's age successfully broke through the hundred-thousand-year mark, surpassing Little Ming to become the highest-level summon among his seven summons in terms of both age and strength.
Fifteen minutes later, the massive 'dragon corpse' turned to ash, and the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger summon Little Black's age rose to 110,000 years.
A hundred-thousand-year dragon corpse, much larger than the previous beast kings, yet the increase was only ten thousand years, showing that after Little Black's age surpassed a hundred thousand years, the gains from devouring hundred-thousand-year beast corpses diminished significantly.
Relying solely on devouring soul beast corpses to achieve a million-year summon, Chu Chengzhou estimated that Little Black would struggle to accomplish it.
Hmm, he still needed to use cheats. Devouring evolution was possible, but for someone like him, it wasn't the 'right path.'
—
Three days later.
In the guest hall of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan.
As footsteps echoed from outside, seeing Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin enter the hall, Chu Chengzhou set down his teacup and greeted them with a smile: "Dad, Sword Grandpa!"
"You're not married to Rongrong yet, kid. Don't rush to call me Dad unless you need something."
Ning Fengzhi twitched his lips, speaking with mild exasperation.
This guy was used to calling him 'Uncle' when nothing was up and 'Dad' when he needed something.
"There's no fooling you. I need your help with something!"
Chu Chengzhou chuckled awkwardly.
"Uh… Don't tell me you're about to advance again?"
Ning Fengzhi's expression turned shocked.
"Not that. I've set my sights on a treasure from the royal family and want to ask you to test the waters with Emperor Xue Ye to see if he'd sell it to me."
Chu Chengzhou waved his hand, revealing his purpose.
Since he planned to send Xiao Wu and the others to train on Sea God Island, obtaining the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud from the Tian Dou Imperial Family was necessary.
The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, publicly known as the Tian Dou Empire's national treasure, was actually the Heart of the Sea God, containing a trace of the Sea God Poseidon's divine consciousness.
If one of Xiao Wu's group gained recognition, the Sea God's position would essentially belong to the Chu family in the future.
"What treasure? What is it?"
Ning Fengzhi asked curiously.
"The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud!"
"The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi furrowed his brows.
After pondering for a moment, Ning Fengzhi shook his head and said, "This matter is tricky. This item is the Tian Dou Empire's national treasure. I'm not sure if Emperor Xue Ye will part with it."
"Exactly because it's tricky that I'm asking you! If it were simple, I would've gone straight to Xue Qinghe."
Chu Chengzhou hadn't approached Qian Renxue regarding the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.
Even though Xue Qinghe was the crown prince, in front of Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi's influence outweighed his.
For the Tian Dou Empire, they could do without Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, but they couldn't afford to lose the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan as an ally.
In the original storyline, after Xue Bing ascended the throne, he chose to distance himself from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan because they had been targeted by the Spirit Hall, greatly reducing their strength and influence.
Moreover, due to Ning Fengzhi's master-disciple relationship with Xue Qinghe, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan was a staunch supporter of the crown prince faction, inherently opposed to Xue Bing, Xue Xing, and their allies. Later, after Qian Renxue's identity was exposed and her conspiracy to usurp the throne failed, Xue Bing naturally harbored suspicions toward the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan.
Of course, that wasn't the most important factor. The key was that Xue Bing had taken the Hao Tian Douluo as his father and the Xiao Tian Douluo as his uncle, taking Tang San as his disciple. The Tian Dou Empire found a new ally to replace the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan—someone with greater potential and strength.
"Is this item really necessary for you? Is it indispensable?"
Ning Fengzhi pressed further.
"Let's say yes! Preferably, Emperor Xue Ye agrees to part with it. Otherwise…"
Chu Chengzhou didn't continue.
Emperor Xue Ye refuses?
He couldn't handle the Spirit Hall, but for the Tian Dou Empire, placing Little Ming and Little Black, aged ten thousand and eleven thousand years respectively, at the gates of the Tian Dou Imperial Palace would force him to reconsider.
Of course, it was best to first negotiate politely. Considering Ning Fengzhi's influence, Emperor Xue Ye would likely relent, albeit at a cost to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan.
After all, for the Tian Dou Empire, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud was merely a soul-guidance device. No matter how high its quality, it wasn't irreplaceable. Otherwise, in the original storyline, Emperor Xue Ye wouldn't have gifted it to Tang San.
As for what price the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan would pay—it was all family. A father-in-law helping his son-in-law was only natural; there was no need to be overly formal.
"Otherwise, what? Are you planning to forcibly seize it?"
Ning Fengzhi's expression darkened, speaking with clear disapproval.
"Not to that extent! We're civilized people; how could we resort to force?"
Chu Chengzhou hurriedly waved his hands.
Force ×, Threat √
"Alright, I understand!"
Ning Fengzhi nodded, agreeing to handle the matter.
Ning Fengzhi was efficient. By the next afternoon, he arrived with Gu Rong.
"Here, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud you wanted."
Ning Fengzhi handed Chu Chengzhou an exquisite wooden box, unable to suppress a hint of pain in his eyes.
Clearly, obtaining the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud had cost him dearly, and the price wasn't just ordinary gold soul coins.
"Thank you, Uncle Ning!"
Chu Chengzhou smiled as he accepted the box. Without opening it, he faintly sensed a vast energy emanating from within.
'Indeed, call me Dad when you need something, Uncle when nothing's up!'
Ning Fengzhi's face darkened as he thought to himself.
It was only because his little cotton-padded jacket had long taken the shape of someone else, her loyalty clearly shifted outward, and this young man was exceptionally outstanding, that he reluctantly agreed to let him become his son-in-law.
"Hmph, treat Rongrong well. Don't make me regret this!"
Thinking this, Ning Fengzhi issued a warning to Chu Chengzhou.
"Mm mm, rest assured! I cherish Rongrong more than anything! By the way, I have something good for you."
Saying this, Chu Chengzhou pulled out a large jade box from his storage soul-guidance device.
The moment the jade box opened, Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong immediately smelled a strong fragrance.
"Hmm? What is this? It seems to contain substantial energy."
Smelling the rich aroma wafting into his nose, Gu Rong carefully examined the golden paste inside the jade box and asked curiously.
Chu Chengzhou gave a thumbs-up and said, "Grandpa Bone has sharp eyes! This is called whale gel, produced only by marine soul beasts aged over a hundred thousand years. Consuming it boosts soul power without side effects and aids in breaking through bottlenecks."
He had six portions of this in his pocket, so sharing one with his father-in-law wasn't an issue.
"A hundred-thousand-year marine soul beast? Be careful, kid!"
Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but warn.
Since whale gel was only produced by marine soul beasts aged over a hundred thousand years, it meant Chu Chengzhou had at least killed one such beast.
And a hundred-thousand-year marine soul beast, aided by the ocean's terrain, even Chen Xin, a Level 97 Title Douluo, couldn't guarantee success against it. One misstep could lead to disaster. The risks involved were self-evident.
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