Chapter 154

Qian Renxue still kept her promise pretty well, but if Xue Ke died, her taking it wouldn't count as breaking the promise.

However, can this Living Beings' Gold be fused into battle armor? Would mixing it into an alloy damage its purity? Xue Ke coughed, then said: "Why don't you go out first? Otherwise you might get caught in the aftermath."

Qian Renxue smiled indifferently, her gaze deep as she looked into Xue Ke's eyes: "Aftermath? With just you, a one-ring soul master? You'd better worry about yourself instead."

Xue Ke said nothing, walking up on her own to touch the stone; a yellow soul ring rose silently from beneath her feet.

Faint halos emanated from her body, her soul ring's light not expanding, yet the whole cavern lit up.

A marvelous jade swan emerged from behind her, its whole body green; a light flap of its wings landed it on the stone, and in the next moment the swan's wings curled, turning into a green light that strangely seeped into the stone.

Xue Ke brimmed with confidence, pressing both hands to the stone as countless green specks swirled around it.

The green light was soft, suffusing the cavern—pure vital essence.

Green soul power was carefully fed into the stone; at the instant of contact, Xue Ke's body shuddered violently, she felt her vision darken—the boulder seemed to have become an endless black hole, frantically devouring her soul power, while an extreme icy aura accompanied by a terrifying ferocious force drilled along her body toward her brow.

When that ferocious aura drilled in, Xue Ke felt as if her brain were being split open, divided into two halves—an utterly uncomfortable sensation, like her head being forcibly cleaved.

If Xue Ke were merely an ordinary one-ring soul master, then once that ferocious aura pierced her brow she would suffer grave injury, even her soul could be destroyed—but she is no ordinary soul master.

A Tuolisi stood nearby, tightly watching Xue Ke; when he saw her body suddenly tremble he was startled, about to act, when he saw a brilliant green-gold light flare from her brow, a patch of jade-like hexagonal scales slowly emerging.

Immediately, the first soul ring of her Jade Swan martial soul burst forth with thin streaks of intense green-gold radiance.

The ferocious aura attempting to rush into Xue Ke's brow struck like against a bronze wall, rebounding instantly; even the boulder emitted a mournful hum, releasing faint green currents as it trembled.

Qian Renxue narrowed her eyes, looking astonished at the green-gold hue suffusing Xue Ke's first soul ring—it was the power of the martial soul's origin; never mind how she fully mastered it, a one-ring soul master recklessly tapping her fragile martial soul origin—doesn't she fear draining her life force? Shattering her martial soul? A Tuolisi had never witnessed such a strange sight; a green-gold soul ring—could this truly be just a hundred-year ring? Or a god-ring after ascension? He could keenly feel that the vital aura bursting from Xue Ke right now was so vigorous it seemed to add years to his own mere observer's body, utterly comfortable.

Xue Ke's originally amber eyes now shone with clear green light, transparent as two green gems; then a pure vital aura burst from her brow, gently settling upon the boulder.

This time the boulder directly emitted a joyful hum, as if greeting kin; the dark stone began to radiate a green light brimming with vital essence.

But just as A Tuolisi thought Xue Ke would succeed, the boulder violently trembled, emitting mournful wails like cries of anguish; if a weak-willed person heard this sound, their emotions would surely be severely affected.

A sinister voice suddenly rang out: "Heh heh heh, you dare vie with me for control of the Living Beings' Gold? You've got guts, little brat."

A black light coiled with a skull shot forth like a tangible object, striking directly onto the hexagonal scales on Xue Ke's brow.

"You think I merely poured a curse into the Living Beings' Gold? No, that's actually my soul! Heh heh heh! Though young, I've already reached rank twenty—fine talent; I'll take your flesh! Spirit Hall! I'm back again!"

"And it's still a life-attribute martial soul! Heaven helps me! The energy in this Living Beings' Gold—I can finally unleash it! Heh heh heh!"

Xue Ke's lips curled into an excited smile: "Finally I've lured out your soul origin—laugh, laugh, I'll take all of you, using your soul as payment."

"Crack—"

Because her soul power rank was insufficient, forcibly stimulating her martial soul origin, fine cracks appeared on the hexagonal scales at Xue Ke's brow, her features streaming with harrowing blood traces, the Jade Swan soul mark beginning to fragment.

"No! How could this happen? Your martial soul origin is draining wildly! You don't care about your life? Once your martial soul origin is exhausted, it'll be consuming your life force!" the evil soul master screamed in terror, trying to retreat, but his soul had been sealed by Xue Ke within the scales, with no escape.

"Ah—my soul! Damned martial soul, you actually want to devour me? Bastard, I'd kill you a thousand times over and still not be satisfied! You'll die badly! I curse you!"

Xue Ke's eyes shifted hue once more—her earlier green fading to pure black, flawless as jade, dark as ink; her pure vital force instantly turned into a darkness that brought peace to the heart.

"My martial soul origin isn't enough—why not supplement it with your soul origin? A Title Douluo's soul power, I've gotten rich overnight; this haul is huge."

The shattered green scales quivered violently, like a dying beast's last stand; intense black light suddenly formed a ferocious face on their surface, snarling madly as if to devour Xue Ke in return.

Alas, facing the rampaging martial soul origin felt like pouring boiling oil on snow—it wouldn't cease until exhausted.

In an instant, the ferocious face within the black light faded halfway, its formerly vivid aspect turning blurry; the black light swirled, still strong, yet from it streams of emerald-green vapor rose and vanished under the martial soul origin's effect.

Meanwhile, the cracked scales on Xue Ke's brow gradually healed, the green light on the boulder growing ever purer and softer.

The whole transformation was brief; soon the last wisp of black aura on the stone vanished silently, and the green light it emitted became clear as water, utterly untainted.

The stone's original dark body turned into something like green crystal.

Black feathers appeared in Xue Ke's hair, spreading along it to her front, her aura growing increasingly viscous.

Black Swan! Dark attribute, transformation complete!

Xue Ke raised her right hand; the light of her first soul ring flashed, and she pointed her right hand toward the green stone in empty space.

Instantly, a strange sight appeared: a huge black skull materialized in midair, hurtling toward the cavern wall with a piercing erosive sound.

Now she is no longer merely a support-system soul master, but a true battle soul master, a strong-attack battle soul master.

Her first soul skill, too, shifted from Life Feather to Weakness Curse.

Weakness Curse ignores physical and elemental defenses; once it lands, the target falls into a ten-second debilitation, with soul power suppressed by at least twenty percent, and only spiritual-type soul skills can counter it.

Xue Ke nodded in satisfaction—indeed, a battle martial soul delivers!

Xue Ke turned to Qian Renxue and said: "I succeeded; next I'll take this Living Beings' Gold—you come."

Qian Renxue blinked: "Isn't this what you wanted? Why not just take it yourself? Why have me keep it?"

Xue Ke said helplessly: "Living beings' gold cannot be placed in a storage soul tool; either hold it in your arms or place it in your spiritual sea. I only have one ring, and I have not yet opened my spiritual sea."

"Otherwise, that evil soul master wouldn't have been completely helpless just now. Since I haven't opened my spiritual sea, my martial soul riot doesn't draw my spiritual power, and it also leaves that evil soul master no time to catch his breath."

"He only has a soul; even if a fragment of his soul is sucked away, his memory will become disordered, until he can no longer resist."

"Without a spiritual sea, if I forcibly retain the living beings' gold, it will instead absorb my life force in reverse."

Qian Renxue asked, "Are you sure you want me to come? Such a large piece of living beings' gold must already have sentience. If it chooses a master, wouldn't your living beings' gold just go to waste?"

Xue Ke's lips curled with a hint of confident smile, and the black scales on her forehead suddenly turned azure.

Atolice stared in surprise at that hint of azure, "Jade swan? Sister A Ke, isn't your martial soul supposed to have mutated to the dark attribute?"

"Heh heh, although my martial soul has turned dark attribute, that doesn't mean the original life attribute has disappeared. My martial soul is now a dual-form martial soul; the jade swan's life origin has just been overused. Fortunately, I just in time borrowed that evil soul master's soul, refining it into pure dark origin. My life origin hasn't been exhausted, and the jade swan can still be used, though its ability is much weaker." "As long as I later use battle armor forged from living beings' gold to replenish the life origin, my jade swan will recover."

Xue Ke put her hands on her hips, proudly said to Qian Renxue:

"I am a soul master with the life attribute; how could an angel martial soul possibly compare in affinity with me? Your martial soul's holiness and light do indeed draw the living beings' gold close, but compared to similar life types, the difference is too great."

Qian Renxue's expression turned slightly odd, but she also has the life attribute, right? A Ke doesn't know she possesses a fourth attribute? She isn't a reborn one?

Atolice looked envious: "How cool! Sister A Ke, can I also transform my form? Give me a demon sword too! I want to use the base king iron hammer!"

Xue Ke looked at him with an expression as if looking at an idiot: "You're just using a hammer; do you even understand what martial soul origin is? That's something only Title Douluo powerhouses begin to learn. Without a true martial soul body, even if you grasp the martial soul origin, you'd better not use that thing—you'd lose your life and still try to imitate me?"

"I succeeded only because my life attribute is a bit more special, and Title Douluo‑level evil soul masters aren't exactly easy to find. If your soul power ever falls short, your martial soul will truly shatter and your life force will be drained—those like me die, kid."

Atolice let out a helpless sigh. "Sister A Ke is truly awesome—she can even come up with such a method." He also memorized the process today, wondering if he'll ever get a chance to encounter an evil soul master after becoming a Soul Saint! He wants to hunt evil soul masters! Qian Renxue nodded and immediately issued a disclaimer: "This is your own request, isn't it? It's not something I wanted. If anything goes wrong, it's not my responsibility."

Xueke let out a hum; she really had no choice, but it's fine—carrying the life-gold does not directly raise soul power level.

"It's fine, just put it in your sea of consciousness; when you get back, you'll help me forge it into this style of battle armor! It's only a little time to go back—how could anything go wrong? Otherwise, holding such a large life-gold in your arms would be troublesome; it might even attract feral beasts."

"The cleansing of vital energy along the way also counts as payment for bringing us to the Star Dou Great Forest; use your sea of consciousness."

"Okay." Qian Renxue responded, then she lifted the three-eyed golden vajra, pressing her brow and the third eye of the three-eyed golden vajra together against the life-gold.

"Don't resist! This is a good thing; if you keep moving, I won't give it to you!"

The three-eyed golden vajra's previously struggling body instantly became honest, and it kept emitting a pleading purr.

When the life-gold touched her skin, Qian Renxue first felt a warm, moist aura; immediately, a thread of mental power was released from her sea of consciousness, surging from the ancestral aperture at her brow and pouring into the closely attached life-gold.

In an instant, the life-gold burst with azure light, and an extremely rich surge of vital energy instantly poured through the brow into Qian Renxue and the three-eyed golden vajra's bodies.

At that moment, Qian Renxue and the three-eyed golden vajra's bodies were completely tinged azure, even her sea of consciousness was no exception; under the intense azure glow, even the spiritual origin of her Spirit Abyss realm was temporarily covered.

An unprecedented sense of ease spread through their bodies; Qian Renxue and the three-eyed golden vajra felt that every minutest part of their bodies was happily moaning, greedily absorbing the rich vital energy emanating from the life-gold.

Qian Renxue again saw everything inside her body; this time, the rosy-gold world had completely turned into an azure full of vital energy, her meridians became more elastic, her five viscera and six bowels grew tougher, her bones harder, and her whole being seemed to undergo a qualitative change.

The most noticeable change was still in her meridians; they had not been directly widened, but the continually increasing toughness made Qian Renxue fully confident that her meridians could certainly withstand a greater impact of soul power, and she seemed able to compress soul power again.

The azure light continually washed over her entire body, and specks of pale gold began to rapidly exit through her pores.

Qian Renxue had experienced the feeling of being reborn many times before, but this was different; the vast vital energy contained within the life-gold was like a pool of life-water, cleansing her body inside and out, far more comfortable than before.

This cleansing did not raise her cultivation, yet it made Qian Renxue feel her body had become as crystal-clear as the life-gold; the years of arduous training she had undergone seemed to fuse and integrate under the nourishment of this rich vital energy, becoming a whole, and even many previously obscure aspects of her training suddenly became clear, as if her mind had become transparent.

She seemed to have become the embodiment of life.

Suddenly, the immense vital energy paused for a moment, and the pleasant feeling greatly diminished within a few seconds; the three-eyed golden vajra, which had been enjoying it, instantly felt emptiness all over—huh? Where is my life-gold?

The huge life-gold actually softened gradually, turning into a cyan-green liquid that flowed into the divine markings revealed on Qian Renxue's forehead.

Qian Renxue's entire body was once again suffused with a deep azure hue, and the immense vital energy, centered on her divine markings, continually washed over her body.

The previously surging vital energy instantly rushed in; Qian Renxue's experience at this moment was like someone else being caught in her seal—her body unable to move, her mind a blank void, and the immense vital energy from the god trial imprint on her forehead instantly surged into her sea of consciousness, cleansing her spiritual origin with an indescribable comfort.

At this moment, Qian Renxue's sea of consciousness had become a verdant ocean, the rich vital energy gradually turning viscous, while her sea of consciousness itself was expanding outward at an astonishing speed.

Two beams of light took shape above her sea of consciousness—namely, the six-winged angel and the Asura blood sword.

The two god trial imprints simultaneously burst forth with brilliant gold and blood-red light, each suppressing half, forming a clear-cut division.

In the process of the vital energy nurturing the sea of consciousness, the two god trial imprints also simultaneously protected Qian Renxue's spiritual origin, suppressing the life-gold to prevent any mishap.

Qian Renxue's spiritual origin resided at the junction of blood-red and brilliant gold; she sat cross-legged upon the huge life-gold, enjoying the rich vital energy.

The cyan-gold light before Qian Renxue's forehead gradually stabilized, but the two god trial imprints erupted once again at this moment.

Her eyes suddenly flared with intense pain, a stabbing ache like countless steel needles stimulating Qian Renxue's nerves; her spiritual origin kept emitting anguished cries, she felt as if her spiritual origin were being torn apart—or rather, being torn apart and then reassembled.

That pain was truly indescribable; no matter how vast the vital energy, at this moment she could feel no comfort whatsoever—the pain seemed to have plunged her into the abyss of carnage, continually sinking, sinking.

Terrifying soul power fluctuations kept rising at this moment; Qian Renxue's own soul power seemed to want to protect her body, yet these soul powers could not enter her sea of consciousness, another realm altogether.

I don't know how long had passed, but while Qian Renxue was gradually numbing in that intense pain, her spiritual origin seeming to have been shredded into pieces, she suddenly sensed light.

It was a strange pair of colors—dazzling brilliant gold and eerie blood-red.

Her shattered spiritual origin was completely enveloped and wrapped by this peculiar cluster of light, a sensation most peculiar—as if entering a warm lake; her fragmented spiritual origin within this lake gradually softened and bonded.

The lake was half gold, half blood-red; one side bonded her spiritual origin, while the other infused strange power into her spiritual origin.

Numbness gradually turned to warmth; as her spiritual origin re-fused, Qian Renxue's consciousness also gradually returned.

Extending her perception, she first saw herself, as if overcoming gravity, floating in midair, holding in her hand a three-eyed golden vajra wearing a face of grief and indignation; her eyes were open, one radiant brilliant gold, the other eerie red, and the pupils had taken the form of their respective divine markings.

One was the six-winged angel, the other the Asura blood sword.

Those eyes seemed to carry an inexplicable allure, making it impossible to resist sinking into them.

Those strange heterochromatic eyes twitched slightly, and Qian Renxue instantly felt they were gazing back at her; within them she saw tenderness, satisfaction, and an indescribable blend of divinity and carnage.

The red pupil flashed with divine light, then oddly glanced askance at the three-eyed golden vajra in her hand; a cold smile appeared on the face of 'Qian Renxue'.

Thereafter, she saw 'herself' seize the struggling three-eyed golden vajra and press the divine markings on her forehead firmly against its third eye.

5600 brothers, right eye—! To remember you, left eye—! To forget you. Hiss, I feel so crazy, haha.

Gegelapulande, get√daze! The fastest episode yet! Forty draws! Done in a minute. kekeke.

(End of chapter)