Chapter 123: The Fourth Spirit Ring — Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad
Before Dugu Feng stood his twin Emerald Dragon Snakes. Their appearance hadn't changed much, but their scales gleamed with a finer luster than before. Their cultivation age had grown to over thirteen thousand years.
"Master, we found it—a soul beast nearing fifteen thousand years!"
"Indeed, Master—but our own rings don't suit you anymore. Absorbing one of us would waste your unbelievable potential!"
Two cautious voices echoed within his mind. Their instinct to survive was strong.
Dugu Feng smiled faintly. Finally, they had a lead. With a single motion, he leapt onto the back of one of the Emerald Dragon Snakes.
"Let's go. Take me there."
For an entire month, the pair had scoured the Sunset Forest on his behalf, searching for a suitable fourth spirit ring.
His target was clear: the Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad.
One of the Five Venomous Beasts, it was king among all toad-type soul beasts. His own clan had once produced spirit masters wielding the Ice Toad martial soul—but the Crimson-Eyed variant was a rare mutation, far deadlier.
Its body brimmed with frost-infused toxins—an ice-type venom beast born from the coldest energies of nature. Yet its eyes burned crimson, carrying intense fire energy.
Its coexistence of ice and flame created a uniquely powerful frigid poison reminiscent of the dual forces within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—much like the Eight Petal Ice Crystal Grass and Fiery Apricot Bloom.
That duality was exactly what drew Dugu Feng to it.
His recent progress with refining cold poison had been steady, though slow. If he could absorb a soul ring steeped in icy venom, he could drastically increase his mastery over cold poison itself.
His father had theorized that once he fully harnessed it, he could form a personal domain—an area of deathly frost, similar to the aura surrounding the Eight Petal Ice Crystal Grass. Anything within ten meters would freeze to death from the chilling toxin.
Dugu Feng sought to achieve that mastery early.
As they journeyed, anticipation filled him.
The two Emerald Dragon Snakes carried him swiftly to their destination—a low, mist-covered marsh at the foot of a mountain.
The swamp's climate seemed ordinary, giving no hint that an apex creature inhabited it.
"The depths of this marsh lie close to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, opposite the cold spring," said one of the Emerald Dragon Snakes, sensing his doubt.
They had combed the entire forest for clues, eventually narrowing their search to the cold, poisonous wetlands that matched the beast's habitat.
"Excellent. Begin."
At his command, he jumped down from the serpent, landing high atop a tree branch overlooking the swamp.
The twin serpents dove soundlessly into the muck below.
Dugu Feng waited patiently. With both serpents joining forces, even a fifteen-thousand-year beast like the Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad would be doomed.
His body and spirit were in peak condition—he had reached level forty nearly a month before and had prepared fully to withstand a ten-thousand-year spirit ring. This fourth ring would cement his dominance among his peers.
After several minutes, frost began creeping across the swamp's surface, and the ground quaked violently beneath it.
Moments later, a shadow burst forth—a huge figure glowing faintly with eerie blue light.
The Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad.
Its body looked carved from pure ice, smooth and translucent. Two fiery crimson eyes flared like burning flames, standing in stark contrast to the freezing aura blanketing its body.
Jagged ridges lined its back, glinting with chilling brilliance. Now writhing furiously, it bellowed in pain, two Emerald Dragon Snakes constricting around it.
"Grrraaaaak!"
Its shriek echoed, pitiful and furious. But within Dugu Feng's mind came a shared pulse of intent from his serpents—time to strike the killing blow.
He summoned his Eight Spider Lances. Purple light cascaded behind him as the sharp limbs pierced into the tree bark.
Using them like catapults, he launched himself forward.
With a whispering swish, he soared through the air—two frontal lances flashing out, stabbing clean into the toad's burning red eyes.
The fiery glow within them faded; its life extinguished. Icy venom sprayed across the marsh as the enormous body slumped, impaled upon the spider lances.
Dragging his kill, the serpents carried it aloft—soaring through the forest toward the mountain home of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Moments later, they landed within the hidden valley.
There, Dugu Feng began the ritual.
He laid the toad corpse upon the ground. Wisps of black energy slowly rose from it—condensing into a swirling halo of darkness above his head.
A ten-thousand-year spirit ring.
He seated himself cross-legged, activating his Martial Spirit Possession. The scorpion claws sprouted from his arms, silver-white and gleaming like crystalline frost, radiating sharp cold.
With two external spirit bones, confidence coursed through him.
Raising his hands, he guided violet soul power toward the dark halo.
Like floodgates bursting open, a torrent of black energy rushed into him.
The strike of power nearly flattened him—his body skidding meters across the ground. The energy was far beyond normal limits; only a Soul Emperor should have attempted such a ring.
Though his physique rivaled theirs, his soul power reserves were still too shallow. The force tore through him violently.
But that was why he had his three spirit bones.
The Eight Spider Lances, the Scorpion Claw, and the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone—all resonated as stabilizing pillars, channeling and dispersing the surge.
Slowly, the wild energies were divided, filtered, and distributed through his body, allowing his meridians to absorb them safely.
Crackling sounds echoed as his bones reshaped. Layers of silver ice crystal integrated into them, fusing with his skeleton. The icy attribute strengthened him, fortifying his very core.
"Every cell is evolving. This… this is incredible!"
Yes, it hurt—his body cracked and burned with alternating waves of agony and ecstasy—but Dugu Feng had long grown used to enduring pain. His will was unshakable.
Even the lingering soul echoes of the Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad, struggling against absorption, failed to stir chaos in his spirit sea.
Instead, he drifted into understanding.
Absorbing a spirit ring was more than claiming its energy to empower the body; it was also integrating the beast's bloodline essence to form his next soul skill.
The process had begun.
(END CHAPTER)
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