"Die!"
As Shui Wuhen's blade fell, a 50,000-year whale gum was instantly split into two halves.
He absorbed the whale gum into his hand and murmured, "It should be about enough."
Within this short half-month, dozens of ten-thousand-year whale soul beasts had already been slain by Shui Wuhen and Articuno, and Shui Wuhen had also obtained dozens of large pieces of ten-thousand-year whale gum.
As for thousand-year whale soul beasts, Shui Wuhen was even too lazy to make a move, considering it a waste of time.
During this process, curious about the effects of whale gum on spirit masters, Shui Wuhen personally tried a piece of 30,000-year whale gum. But perhaps because his body was too powerful, the improvement effect was only limited.
Even ten-thousand-year whale gum was like this, let alone thousand-year ones.
However, while it was of little use to Shui Wuhen, it might not be the same for spirit masters like Shui Bing'er.
Shui Wuhen felt that the dozens of pieces of ten-thousand-year whale gum in his possession should be enough to increase Shui Bing'er's spirit ring absorption capacity by one to two ten-thousand years.
One must know that the whale gum Shui Wuhen had obtained was of extremely high quality, with some even reaching five to six ten-thousand years.
"Strange, I've been roaming this sea area for so long, why haven't I seen a single ten-thousand-year soul beast?"
At this moment, Shui Wuhen looked at the calm surrounding sea and frowned.
In the past, he would basically sense a ten-thousand-year aura every few days, but since arriving in this sea area, he had not sensed any ten-thousand-year soul beast aura for more than a week. This made Shui Wuhen somewhat unaccustomed.
He then asked Articuno beside him, "Articuno, what kind of soul beast are you actually looking for?"
Since the whale gum was already sufficient, it was time for Shui Wuhen to consider his eighth spirit ring.
Even though Shui Wuhen's strength was already extremely powerful, his level was still only an 80th-level Spirit Saint, and compared to a true Spirit Douluo, there was still a gap.
More importantly, after breaking through to Spirit Douluo, Shui Wuhen would be able to further rapidly improve using the Ice Spirit Pill, and his strength would experience another leap.
Moreover, Articuno was currently unable to use Absolute Zero, mainly because Shui Wuhen's spirit power was insufficient. This issue would be greatly alleviated once Shui Wuhen broke through to Spirit Douluo.
Combined with the tempering effect of the Ice God's Heart on spirit power, it might even allow him to use Absolute Zero before becoming a Title Douluo. This was Shui Wuhen's strongest killing move.
Articuno calmly said, "No rush. The effect of Mind's Eye is somewhat similar to your locking-type spirit skills here, but it is far more powerful. Moreover, you at least need a ten-thousand-year soul beast—it is not that easy to find."
Ten-thousand-year soul beasts in the sea were not rare, but each one was a overlord of its region. They were not something that appeared everywhere. Thus, finding a suitable ten-thousand-year soul beast was still quite difficult.
"Alright, let me know when you find one."
Hearing this, Shui Wuhen leapt from the whale soul beast's corpse onto Articuno's back.
After that, Shui Wuhen no longer focused on searching for whale-type soul beasts, and instead concentrated fully on finding ten-thousand-year soul beasts.
At the same time, thousands of miles away in the deep sea, a colossal being awakened from its slumber.
Upon awakening, it directly swallowed a ten-thousand-year soul beast in one bite, then headed straight toward the direction of Shui Wuhen and Articuno.
Wherever it passed, the seawater was covered with faint traces of frost, quickly forming a passage.
On the sea surface, Articuno was still flying, occasionally moving its head to search for suitable soul beasts.
"Roar~~~"
Suddenly, a dragon roar that shook heaven and earth rang out, causing Articuno to halt its flight.
Immediately after, a powerful pressure swept in, causing Shui Wuhen's expression to turn solemn.
Such a powerful aura—this was not an opponent that could be casually dealt with. It might require using Spirit Avatar.
A moment later, a massive figure broke through the sea and blocked Shui Wuhen and Articuno's path.
Looking at the unfamiliar soul beast before him, Shui Wuhen could not help but blurt out, "Ice Dragon?"
The soul beast before them was over a hundred meters long. Its dragon horns and scales were deep blue, entirely formed from ice crystals. Its wings stretched like a frozen ocean sky curtain, and with every flap, the surrounding sea showed signs of freezing.
"No!"
But soon, Shui Wuhen realized something was wrong. On its forehead, he noticed a third eye that had not yet opened, and its overall structure differed from the Ice Dragon he knew.
"Is this a mixed-blood Ice Dragon?"
Before he could think further, the hundred-meter Ice Dragon opened its mouth and spat out a deep blue breath toward them.
In an instant, the surroundings were enveloped in freezing cold. Wherever the breath passed, seawater was frozen, and even space seemed to stagnate.
"Using ice against me?"
Seeing this, Articuno laughed. If it were before, she would have been more cautious, but now that she had obtained partial authority over the law of ice, such an attack was easily handled.
In the next moment, Articuno activated her Frost Domain, instantly covering hundreds of meters. The Ice Dragon's breath, upon entering the domain, was immediately controlled and lost its offensive power.
This scene startled the Ice Dragon. It had never encountered anyone capable of controlling its attack before.
Thus, it decisively opened the eye on its forehead.
In an instant, a purple beam shot out from its forehead, heading straight for Articuno.
"A spiritual attack?"
Shui Wuhen's expression changed slightly as a dazzling light burst from his forehead. A white jade-and-gold crown appeared above his head.
Facing this unknown spiritual attack, he immediately used his head spirit bone skill—Mental Guard!
At the same time, Articuno was also enveloped in the crown's light, greatly enhancing her spiritual defense.
Yet even so, the purple light still struck Articuno.
"What?"
Shui Wuhen was shocked. He was extremely confident in his head spirit bone's defense, after all, it was a spirit bone from a 990,000-year soul beast, previously even blocking the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's spiritual attack effortlessly.
But soon, he realized they were unharmed, as if the purple light had simply vanished.
"Roar~~~"
Next, the Ice Dragon's surrounding ice energy surged dramatically, instantly turning several miles of sea into an ice domain.
At the moment the domain formed, dozens of energy-filled scales shot out like cannonballs from its body, directly targeting Articuno.
In an instant, the scales entered Articuno's Frost Domain.
"Mmph!"
Articuno tried to control them, but was shocked to find that the scales resisted her control.
Helpless, she could only dodge while defending.
But the scales locked onto her completely, adjusting their trajectory as she moved, and their speed was extremely fast. In moments, they closed in, their sharp icy glow flashing. If hit, even Shui Wuhen and Articuno's current defenses would likely suffer heavy injury.
Seeing this, Shui Wuhen's fifth spirit ring lit up instantly, forming an ice-blue shield around them.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"…
The scales struck the shield one after another, producing continuous explosions.
Shui Wuhen sighed inwardly—looks like Spirit Avatar can't be saved anymore.
...
Spirit Hall, Martial Soul City.
Inside a magnificent golden palace, several men in different attire sat in their seats. At the center was a man who appeared to be in his thirties, wearing a simple gray robe.
He had an extremely handsome appearance, black hair draping behind him, and a majestic aura that made others instinctively want to bow.
He was the Grand Priest of the Spirit Hall—Qian Daoliu, a Level 99 Limit Douluo!
The others around him were also the other Spirit Hall priests.
Qian Daoliu scanned the room and said loudly, "Everyone, just now, Xiao Xue successfully broke through to level 80. Regarding her eighth spirit ring, do you have any ideas?"
"Grand Priest, didn't Bibi Dong capture a ten-thousand-year transformed soul beast before? Wouldn't it be perfect to use it as the Young Lady's eighth spirit ring?"
A burly man in golden armor spoke in surprise.
The others nodded as well, and Golden Crocodile Douluo beside Qian Daoliu said, "What the Lion Douluo said makes sense. That ten-thousand-year transformed soul beast is very suitable."
Qian Daoliu, however, shook his head. "I asked. That transformed soul beast is a Soft Bone Rabbit. Not the best choice for Xiao Xue."
"Could it be that you intend to go to the Star Dou Great Forest personally to hunt a stronger soul beast for her eighth ring?" Azure Luan Douluo asked in surprise.
The others also became excited.
But Qian Daoliu shook his head again.
"No. My intention is for Xiao Xue to begin inheriting the Angel God's inheritance now."
"Clang!"
All the priests stood up at once.
"Absolutely not!"
"I disagree!"
"Too early!"
Even Golden Crocodile Douluo tried to persuade him.
The reason was simple—the final trial of the Angel inheritance required the Grand Priest's sacrifice to open.
If Qian Renxue only had eight trials, it would be fine. But if she triggered the ninth trial, Qian Daoliu might have to sacrifice himself within a few years.
Thus, none of them wanted the inheritance to begin so early.
Qian Daoliu sighed inwardly. He naturally understood their concerns. But the situation on the Douluo Continent was changing.
Talents were emerging in great numbers—Bibi Dong had already become a Limit Douluo at a young age, and Shui Wuhen had even reversed the tide against his granddaughter Qian Renxue despite only being a Spirit Emperor. Without divine trials, he feared she would fall behind.
Thus, Qian Daoliu said again, "Let's discuss this later. We should respect Xiao Xue's decision."
At the same time, far away in a special space, a brutal slaughter was unfolding.
Tang San narrowed his eyes as he looked at the figure on the arena.
"If she wins this match, it will be her 90th consecutive victory."
At this moment, a beautiful woman with an alluring aura walked toward Tang San and smiled slightly.
This was Hu Liena, one of the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation. After suffering setbacks from Shui Wuhen and Feng Xiaotian, she ultimately chose to enter the Killing City.