Breakthrough

That truly was the Dual Extremes of Ice and Fire! One moment, the cold made him tremble; the next, scorching heat evaporated every bead of ice from his body. The blood and qi within him began to surge like tides. In the extreme cold, his entire body seemed frozen solid, yet in the next instant of extreme heat, his blood boiled, and fine droplets of blood seeped from the surface of his skin.

From extreme cold to extreme heat, then from extreme heat back to extreme cold, the violent shifts in temperature seemed to be tempering Ji Lin's body. Though his will was exceptionally strong, his consciousness gradually began to hallucinate. Unlike the pure agony from before, this sensation of being flung high into the air before being smashed brutally down was even harder to endure.

The Snow Empress's soul bone was of far too high a quality. It was a soul bone nearing seven hundred thousand years in cultivation. Even with the Snow Empress's help, it was still extremely difficult for Ji Lin, with his current fortieth-level cultivation, to fuse with it.

Time passed slowly. Whenever Ji Lin was about to reach his limit, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Mental Power would emerge to help ease his suffering. Though Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would no longer assist with the fusion, that did not mean he would simply watch Ji Lin suffer a mental collapse.

Each time Sky Dream Ice Silkworm acted, he only gave Ji Lin time to recover, allowing him to gradually adapt to the pain.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was deliberately tempering Ji Lin's willpower.

Even top-tier soul beasts like them might not dare claim they could endure such pain. Yet Ji Lin had held on. With Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's limited assistance, he had actually persevered all this time.

From day to night, then from night to day. The white light around Ji Lin's body grew increasingly intense, while the alternation between white and red on his skin gradually became weaker. Yet the blood and qi within him had become far, far stronger than they had been at the start.

Although the Snow Empress had only separated a small portion of her energy to merge with Ji Lin's blood and qi, it was still an immense tonic for him. This was the source power of the Heavenly Snow Woman, foremost among the Three Great Kings of the North, whose cultivation was nearing seven hundred thousand years!

Ji Lin's muscles, bones, and internal organs all began to change under this nourishment. Even though the soul bone did not include his limbs or head, this nourishment still improved Ji Lin's physical constitution in every aspect. As his physique strengthened, the pain finally began to gradually decline from its peak.

Now, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm no longer needed to intervene at all. Ji Lin could withstand the alternating agony of cold and heat through his own willpower. He could even feel his blood and qi growing stronger and his body becoming tougher. Since he had yet to obtain his fourth soul ring, he could not tell how much his Soul Power had increased. But without a doubt, even if the Snow Empress had sealed most of her energy, this small portion alone should raise his Soul Power by at least one or two levels, right?

"Ji Lin, be careful. The fusion of the soul bone is basically complete now. Only the final process of fully merging it with your own bones remains. I will seal the soul bone's power within your bone marrow, where it will gradually be absorbed by you over time. This final fusion process will likely be even more painful than before. You must hold on. I'm afraid even Sky Dream Ice Silkworm will not be able to offer you much help during this process. It will take roughly two hours. Endure it, and you will possess the soul bone I have given you."

The Snow Empress's voice was gentler than ever, though exhaustion showed within it. After all, she was merging her own body with Ji Lin's!

It was equivalent to taking apart her own bones and fusing them into Ji Lin's body. Though her cultivation was powerful, the pain she endured was by no means less than Ji Lin's.

It was only that the willpower she had cultivated over hundreds of thousands of years was far beyond anything Ji Lin could compare to.

Ji Lin took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "Come on, Snow Empress. I won't disappoint you."

Was Sky Dream Ice Silkworm truly unable to protect Ji Lin's mind? The answer was no. The Snow Empress had said that only to give Ji Lin one final test. His answer also satisfied her. Only someone like him was qualified to become her master. A weak and incompetent person would never earn her recognition, no matter how outstanding their talent was. And Ji Lin had already earned her recognition.

Having received an answer that satisfied her, the Snow Empress immediately began the final fusion process.

When the final wave of pain from the soul bone fusion arrived, Ji Lin's body jerked violently the instant it began. His Sea of Consciousness surged fiercely as well, nearly collapsing in an instant.

He had endured pain. He had endured the alternating cold and heat. But at this moment, what he suffered was an agony that was almost impossible to bear—itching.

The instant the Snow Empress began, Ji Lin felt violent itching erupt from every part of his torso, as though thousands upon thousands of ants were rapidly crawling through his blood vessels and over his bones. The itch reached his very marrow. It was everywhere.

In that instant, his only thought was to tear his body completely apart, then violently rub it down to stop this agony.

Ji Lin's body convulsed and trembled violently, entirely beyond his control. The intense suffering made every bone in his body crackle without end.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stood ready, prepared to act at any moment. The instant the Sea of Consciousness showed signs of collapse, he would intervene without hesitation.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm knew clearly that the Snow Empress was enduring the same pain at this moment, exactly as Ji Lin was. Even the Snow Empress, foremost among the Three Great Kings of the North, had Mental Power that trembled and fluctuated violently now. One could imagine just how severe this pain was.

Only when the Snow Empress's soul bone had completely fused with Ji Lin could the foundation for her transformation within his body be considered complete. Becoming Ji Lin's martial soul and soul ring was not difficult. The difficult part was preserving the Snow Empress's complete consciousness and wisdom.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was not worried about the Snow Empress. What worried him was whether Ji Lin could endure it.

Ji Lin's Sea of Consciousness fluctuated, trembling at times and surging like raging ocean waves at others.

In the end, Ji Lin held on. Under the torment of this ultimate pain, the Void Sword Qi he had cultivated for years finally broke through into the realm of a mind clear as ice and a bright mirror.

His spiritual cultivation also broke through alongside the Void Sword Qi, reaching the vast and boundless Spirit Sea Realm, where the heart was like an ocean. His spiritual cultivation had long since reached the Spirit Connection Realm, but because his martial soul was not of the spiritual attribute, his Mental Power had not increased as quickly as his Soul Power cultivation.

Amid the ultimate pain of fusing with the Snow Empress's soul bone, Ji Lin had continuously recited the Sword Heart Incantation from the Void Sword Qi in silence. That was how he managed to endure it. In the end, both his Void Sword Qi and Mental Power cultivation broke through to a higher realm.

As Ji Lin broke through, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sensed the rise in his Mental Power and decisively provided him with a massive amount of pure spiritual power source energy. Only then did he help Ji Lin complete the breakthrough successfully. Otherwise, Ji Lin might not necessarily have been able to break through this bottleneck.

Within Ji Lin's Sea of Consciousness, the Sea of Consciousness that had originally been only the size of a lake truly transformed into an ocean after breaking through to the Spirit Sea Realm.