Blue Silver Lightning Prison, Thunder God's Heart
About fifteen minutes later, Da Ming turned to look at Tang San and solemnly said, "For the sake of this forest, it agrees."
Tang San's breath hitched slightly.
The Thunderclap Hell Vine trembled violently, and the entire vine burst forth with dazzling light. Silver arcs of electricity danced wildly across the vine, crackling and popping.
The sacrifice began.
The vines of the Thunderclap Hell Vine began to wither from the tips towards the main trunk. The withered vines turned into purple-gold light spots, which drifted in the air and then gathered into a torrent that surged toward Tang San.
Those points of light contained the full energy of the Thunderclap Hell Vine, its control over lightning, and its understanding of life. Like a rushing river, they surged into Tang San's body, flowing through his meridians to his limbs and bones.
Tang San sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and guided the energy into his body.
The energy of the Thunderclap Hell Vine was extremely violent, like a wild beast trapped in a cage, rampaging through Tang San's meridians.
Silver arcs of electricity coursed across Tang San's skin, scalding his meridians until they were burning hot, tearing and rebuilding his muscles, and tempering his bones to make them even denser.
Silver lines appeared on Tang San's skin, as if branded by lightning, emitting a faint glow.
Tang San gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, sweat pouring down his face. Tang San could feel the energy of the Thunderclap Hell Vine deeply merging with his body, transforming his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
Time passed by, second by second.
Xiao Wu stood not far away, covering her mouth with her hands, her eyes filled with worry and tension.
This process lasted for about an hour.
As the last ray of light merged into Tang San's body, the main trunk of the Thunderclap Hell Vine collapsed with a crash, turning into a pile of charred remains.
A black Soul Ring formed beneath Tang San, its four Soul Rings —yellow, purple, and black—pulsating slowly.
That black, 20,000-year-old Soul Ring had a deep and intense aura, radiating a chilling sense of oppression.
Tang San opened his eyes, his aura was much stronger than before, and his Soul Power jumped from level 40 to level 44.
Tang San raised his right hand, Blue Silver Grass appeared in his palm.
Absorbing a plant-type Soul Ring definitely boosted its vitality; the Blue Silver Grass's roots were thicker than before. Its color also changed from light blue to a deep blue, with silver arcs of electricity crackling and popping across its surface.
More importantly, Tang San felt something new in his heart. It was as if something was beating along with his heartbeat, and with each beat, it released a warm energy that flowed through his blood vessels throughout his body.
Tang San quickly realized something: External Soul Bone.
The sacrifice of the Thunderclap Hell Vine not only gave him a top-grade Soul Ring, but also an External Soul Bone.
This External Soul Bone is attached to his heart and beats in sync with his heartbeat.
Tang San closed his eyes and sank into the depths of his consciousness to perceive the changes in his own Martial Soul, as well as the abilities of his Fourth Soul Skill and External Soul Bone.
First is the Fourth Soul Skill, Blue Silver Lightning Prison.
When released, the earth cracked within a hundred meters of Tang San, and countless lightning-transformed Blue Silver vines shot into the sky from the cracks. Each vine was as thick as a bucket, and silver arcs of electricity danced wildly on its surface, emitting a deafening thunderous sound.
These vines intertwine to form a lightning prison, trapping all enemies within its range. All the Blue Silver vines within the domain continuously emit arcs of electricity, attacking every enemy within its reach. Each arc of electricity is as powerful as a full-force strike from Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. While not enough to instantly kill a powerful enemy, their sheer number and continuous, wave after wave, are enough to keep any enemy constantly on their toes.
Maintaining the Thunder Prison Realm consumes Soul Power; the larger the area and the higher the lightning density, the greater the consumption. However, with Tang San's current Soul Power reserves, maintaining it for two quarters of an hour is no problem.
Moreover, this Soul Ring has the potential to grow. Tang San can draw upon lightning himself, that is, be struck by lightning, and increase the age of his Soul Ring by absorbing the power of the lightning. It takes about one hundred lightning strikes to increase the age by one year. Increasing the age of the Soul Ring can improve his physique and also increase the attack power of his Soul Skills.
A single thunderstorm can result in hundreds of lightning strikes, potentially increasing one's lifespan by several years. Finding a location with exceptionally abundant lightning element, or actively attracting lightning, will accelerate this process.
However, this Soul Ring is already 20,000 years old, so increasing its age is not an urgent matter and can only be done slowly later.
In addition, absorbing this Soul Ring also enhanced the passive ability of one's own Martial Soul.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass gained lightning immunity. Any lightning-attribute attack is ineffective against him and can be absorbed and converted into his own Soul Power. This means that in the future, when he encounters an opponent with lightning attributes, their attacks will not only fail to harm him, but will instead become a source of nourishment for him.
Compared to Yu Tianheng, whom he had previously fought in the Great Soul Arena, he could probably stand still and let him attack him without getting hurt.
Then came the External Soul Bone, which Tang San named "Thunder God's Heart".
It attaches itself to the heart, becoming one with it. With each heartbeat, it releases a burst of lightning power, tempering Tang San's body.
External Soul Bone Skill: Indestructible Thunder Heart
After activating the skill, Tang San enters a state of invincibility for three seconds. In this state, he cannot be affected by any control skills, including stun, freeze, knock-up, immobilization, and binding.
The duration of the Invincible Body can be increased; for every 10,000 years the Soul Bone's age increases, it adds one second, up to a maximum of ten seconds.
During the Invincible state, all lightning-attribute attacks are increased by 100%. This bonus is also scalable; it increases by 25% for every 10,000 years the Soul Bone's age increases, up to a maximum of 300%.
At the same time, in his Invincible Body state, Tang San can quickly absorb the surrounding lightning elements to restore his life force and Soul Power. He can restore 10% per second, and in places with abundant lightning elements, he can restore 15% per second. This means that in thunderstorms or places with abundant lightning energy, Tang San is practically immortal after activating his Invincible Body.
The skill has a cooldown limit of three uses per day.
Tang San sensed that this External Soul Bone skill was extremely powerful, possessing both healing and lightning attribute amplification, making it an incredibly perfect match for his Blue Silver Grass and Clear Sky Hammer.
The only regret is that, perhaps because this Soul Ring was obtained through the sacrifice of Soul Beast, Tang San did not feel the unique Soul Shock that comes with absorbing Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
Tang San could only see a phantom image of someone holding a hammer in his mind. Seeing that the phantom image didn't move, Tang San stopped worrying about what it was.
Tang San opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. A flash of silver lightning appeared in his eyes, and he exuded a completely different aura than before.
Xiao Wu ran over from the side and hugged Tang San's arm tightly, her eyes filled with worry and joy. "Third Brother, are you alright? Do you know that you were covered in lightning just now? I was too scared to come near you, it scared me to death!"
Tang San opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.
Xiao Wu ran over from the side and hugged his arm tightly, her eyes filled with worry and joy. "Third Brother, are you alright?"
Tang San reached out and gently patted her head. "It's alright, I'm perfectly fine. I successfully absorbed the Soul Ring, and I even gained an External Soul Bone."
Xiao Wu finally relaxed, a wide smile curving her lips and her eyes crinkling into crescents, "That's great! Third Brother, you're amazing!"
Da Ming and Er Ming stood not far away, watching Tang San with complex expressions in their eyes.
Tang San turned around, looked at Da Ming and Er Ming, and bowed solemnly. "Thank you both for your help. I am deeply grateful. I will remember this kindness."
Da Ming was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke, his voice low and deep. "Xiao Wu is in your hands. If you dare to bully her, Er Ming and I will not let you get away with it. No matter where you run, we will find you."
Tang San grasped Xiao Wu's hand and said firmly, "I won't."
Da Ming nodded without saying anything more. It turned around and swam towards the lake. Er Ming also turned around and walked into the depths of the forest.
Xiao Wu watched Er Ming's retreating figure, her eyes slightly reddening, but she didn't chase after him. She turned around, looked at Tang San, and said firmly, "Third Brother, let's go."
Tang San nodded, took Xiao Wu's hand, and walked out of the forest.