The Deep Sea Demon Whale King looked at this scene, and his remaining single eye slightly narrowed.
Although there was still a considerable gap between them, the aura emanating from Articuno at this moment had already far surpassed that of an ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
Because they were going all out, neither Shui Wuhen nor Articuno had even a trace of energy left to conceal the original colors of the spirit rings, so Shui Wuhen's original spirit ring configuration was fully exposed without any concealment.
Purple, purple, black, black, black, black, gold-red.
If the earlier spirit rings could still be understood by the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, then the final gold-red spirit ring emitting a profound aura caused his pupils to contract sharply.
Because he actually sensed a familiar aura from this spirit ring. Clearly, the original owner of this spirit ring was also an absolutely peerless ferocious beast that had passed nine heavenly tribulations and reached a cultivation level of over nine hundred thousand years!
Yet such an existence had actually become his opponent's spirit ring—and it was even the seventh spirit ring. This completely overturned the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's cognition.
"Could it be that there really are soul beasts willing to sacrifice themselves to humans?"
The first thought that came to the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's mind was sacrifice, because apart from sacrifice, nothing else made sense.
Not to mention how a mere Spirit Emperor-level Shui Wuhen could kill a ferocious beast with over nine hundred thousand years of cultivation, even if he truly had done so, how could a Spirit Emperor possibly absorb such a spirit ring?
Such a massive amount of energy, such a violent spiritual impact—it was not something a Spirit Emperor could withstand. Even if Shui Wuhen was the inheritor of the Ice God, it still should have been impossible!
But what the Deep Sea Demon Whale King could never have imagined was that in this world, there existed a soul beast that had not even undergone a single heavenly tribulation, whose combat power was extremely mediocre, and who had only reached the level of nine hundred thousand years by relying purely on consuming natural treasures.
He also could never have imagined that the existence of Articuno as a martial soul, combined with the emergence of the inner core, allowed Shui Wuhen to handle that terrifying surge of energy.
The head spirit bone produced by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm directly caused Shui Wuhen's spiritual power to skyrocket more than tenfold, becoming the prerequisite for him to withstand the spiritual shock during spirit ring absorption.
It could be said that Shui Wuhen absorbing a ninety-nine hundred-thousand-year soul beast as his seventh spirit ring was the result of perfect timing, location, and harmony. Perhaps apart from him, no other Spirit Master could achieve such a feat.
But the Deep Sea Demon Whale King quickly recovered from his shock and continued rushing toward Articuno.
No matter who it was—even if the Sea God himself came today—no one could stop him from devouring Shui Wuhen and obtaining the inheritance of godhood!
Despite his enormous body, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's speed was not slow at all. In an instant, he had already entered the range of Articuno's domain.
"Deep Sea Demon Whale King!"
Seeing this, Shui Wuhen standing atop Articuno's head looked solemn. The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's power had completely refreshed his understanding of soul beasts. Even though the power of his Martial Soul True Body now far exceeded his expectations, he still did not dare to relax in the slightest.
Immediately, Shui Wuhen transmitted a mental command to Articuno: "Articuno, use the combined technique of Blizzard and Freeze-Dry!"
"Woo!!!"
Upon hearing this, Articuno's wings suddenly flapped, and endless snowstorms spread rapidly outward from it toward the direction of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King.
However, this time, compared to the usual Blizzard, both its power and color had undergone significant changes.
Freeze-Dry was a technique inherited in Articuno's memory specifically targeting water-type beings. Against water attributes, this move was extremely effective!
With Articuno's current ability, it could fully integrate this technique into Blizzard, granting the Blizzard the same properties as Freeze-Dry. For an opponent like the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, this was the most suitable attack.
After being unleashed, the Blizzard imbued with Freeze-Dry properties was immediately amplified by the surrounding domain, expanding its range dramatically. The snowstorm became even more violent, and its power increased several times over in an instant!
Compared to Articuno's enhancements, once the Deep Sea Demon Whale King entered the domain, he immediately felt a bone-deep cold, as if he was about to be frozen into ice. Even with the assistance of the Demon Whale Domain, his strength was still somewhat affected.
After all, his domain reached its peak only in the sea, and now that he had left the ocean, its power naturally declined significantly.
Under such circumstances, facing the roaring Blizzard, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King actually felt a sense of threat.
This discovery shocked him greatly. One must know, he was a peak existence close to a million-year cultivation level, having passed nine heavenly tribulations and transformed ninety percent of his body into a divine foundation.
It could be said that his base condition had already reached the threshold of godhood. The only reason he had not become a god was the absence of a divine position.
Without a divine position, he could not endure the inevitable tenth heavenly tribulation. This was why his cultivation had always remained just short of the million-year mark.
Otherwise, with just that small gap in cultivation, and the talent of the Deep Sea Demon Whale race, he could easily break through by devouring more powerful sea soul beasts.
In the vast ocean, there was no shortage of powerful soul beasts. Ten-thousand-year sea soul beasts alone were countless.
In an instant, countless water droplets shot out like sharp arrows from around his body, rushing toward Articuno's Freeze-Dry-enhanced Blizzard.
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's attack was extremely powerful. These water arrows alone were enough to instantly turn anyone below the Title Douluo level into a pincushion, and even a Title Douluo would have to be extremely careful to avoid being killed.
"Such power indeed… worthy of the strongest ferocious beast I have ever seen. However…"
Watching this scene, Shui Wuhen remained completely calm.
No matter how strong this attack was, it was still water-based. Against a Blizzard enhanced with Freeze-Dry properties, any water-type attack would naturally be at a disadvantage!
As expected, upon contact with Articuno's continuously amplified Freeze-Dry Blizzard, the water droplets instantly froze into ice shards and began reversing back toward the Deep Sea Demon Whale King along the path of the storm.
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's attack was instantly neutralized!
"What?!"
Seeing this, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's mind was thrown into turmoil. His attack had been so easily broken?
From raw power alone, his attack was clearly not inferior to the opponent's Blizzard—perhaps even slightly stronger.
Faced with the approaching Blizzard, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King had no choice but to condense a deep blue membrane over his body, preparing to forcibly withstand the attack.