Tian Meng's Sacrifice, Formless Martial Soul (First Update)

"Yuhao, I've made up my mind. I'm willing to follow you and become your Soul Spirit."

As Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress sat quietly, Tian Meng's voice suddenly came from behind them. He abruptly turned around.

"Brother Sky Dream? You mean..." Huo Yuhao was somewhat startled.

The Snow Empress turned sideways to look at Tian Meng, a trace of surprise showing in her eyes.

Having listened to Tian Meng and Ice's explanations, she already knew what a "Soul Spirit" was. The prerequisite for becoming one was a voluntary sacrifice.

"But..." Huo Yuhao hesitated.

Now that the Ice Empress had successfully survived her four-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation, he had no intention of persuading her to become his Second Martial Soul. As a consequence, he had already given up hope regarding Brother Sky Dream's choice.

His thinking was that even without Brother Sky Dream's help and without a Second Martial Soul, he could still become a god.

He just did not know what had provoked Brother Sky Dream into suddenly deciding to follow him.

"It has nothing to do with anything else. You said it yourself back then—I chose you of my own accord. I trust my own judgment." Tian Meng's gaze was resolute, with no hint that he was joking.

The Snow Empress looked at Tian Meng. She guessed that Ice might have said something, but she did not think it likely that Ice had encouraged him. Most likely, Ice had said something heartless that had left him disheartened.

"Are you sure you don't want to think it over some more..." Huo Yuhao could not help speaking up.

He suspected that Brother Sky Dream had been provoked and made this decision in a moment of impulse.

"Is Yuhao unwilling to accept me? Or are you not confident enough in your own promise? Do you think you lack the confidence to become a god?" Tian Meng countered.

"No. If Brother Sky Dream is willing to come, then of course I welcome you. I will also keep my promise and help you become a god," Huo Yuhao said seriously.

Tian Meng had already put it this way. If he continued to evade or refuse, he would only seem hypocritical and pretentious.

Besides, he sincerely hoped that Brother Sky Dream could join him and become his support. Even more, he hoped to give him the future of godhood he had promised him all those years ago.

Enormous milky-white energy radiated from Tian Meng's body, condensing nine golden soul rings around him.

He raised his head and looked at Huo Yuhao before him.

"It's about to begin. My cultivation is close to a million years, and the Soul Power and Spiritual Power I've accumulated are unimaginably vast. I will seal away the overwhelming majority of my power myself. This process will cause you a certain amount of pain, so you must endure it," Tian Meng said.

"Alright." Huo Yuhao nodded firmly.

No matter how great the pain, he would grit his teeth and endure it.

When an invisible mental fluctuation surged from Tian Meng into Huo Yuhao's body, it spread outward from him. The terrifying Spiritual Power almost instantly covered every corner within a hundred-li radius.

Zi Ling was utterly dumbfounded at the sight.

My god, I only told you to follow him. Why are you playing at sacrifice?

Meanwhile.

The Ice Empress, who had been taking a walk near the forest, abruptly turned around and looked toward the towering mental fluctuations erupting behind her.

That was Tian Meng's aura—could something have happened over there?

Xue Er!

The Ice Empress immediately transformed into a jade-green streak of light and shot back through the air.

She crossed the several hundred meters in an instant.

"Xue Er—"

As she called out, the Snow Empress, who stood on the snowfield, turned back.

The Ice Empress immediately saw Tian Meng's body turning translucent, with nine golden soul rings circling him as immense power poured into Huo Yuhao's body.

Sacrifice!

The Ice Empress froze when she saw this scene.

"Xue Er, this is—"

Her first reaction was that Huo Yuhao had forced Tian Meng to sacrifice himself, but upon further thought, that was impossible. No one could force a soul beast to sacrifice itself unless it did so willingly.

Besides, the fact that Xue Er had not intervened already revealed the truth.

The Snow Empress shook her head slightly.

The Ice Empress quietly descended, watching the scene with a complicated expression.

Tian Meng seemed to sense her arrival. He turned back to glance at the Ice Empress, a faint smile appearing on his face. His body transformed into a translucent soul form and entered Huo Yuhao's brow.

Sea of Consciousness.

Tian Meng entered Huo Yuhao's mental space and revealed his true Iceworm form, floating in the air with nine golden balls of light surrounding him.

Huo Yuhao's figure appeared in the mental space as he looked up at Tian Meng floating in the void.

"The maximum limit your third soul ring can bear is eight thousand eight hundred years. I will become your third soul ring and grant you four soul skills. However, I have no soul bone to give you, but I can grant you an additional Martial Soul," Tian Meng said solemnly.

"The Martial Soul I grant you is ice. At present, it only has an attribute and no specific form. Once you absorb your first ice-attributed soul ring, this Martial Soul of yours will take shape."

"To put it simply, whatever soul beast you absorb a soul ring from, your Second Martial Soul will become that. In other words, your Second Martial Soul is bound to be a beast Martial Soul," Tian Meng explained in detail.

Huo Yuhao nodded lightly.

He knew that this was the place Brother Sky Dream had reserved for the Ice Empress.

Only now...

The two powers began to merge. A resplendent Purple-Gold Pattern bloomed on Huo Yuhao's brow, radiating powerful mental fluctuations.

Electrolux occupied one region of the mental space. At this moment, he calmly watched everything, ready at any time to deal with unforeseen circumstances.

As time passed, Tian Meng's power was gradually restrained and became nine sealed balls of light. At the same time, he granted Huo Yuhao four soul skills:

Mental Detection: Able to investigate the complete scene within a thousand-meter radius and sense Soul Power fluctuations. The detection range is affected by the host's Soul Power.

Mental Sharing: Shares the detected images with teammates. Its duration and number of recipients are determined by the host's Soul Power.

Mental Simulation: Able to conceal one's appearance, aura, Soul Power fluctuations, cultivation, and more through simulation.

Mental Impact: Condenses Spiritual Power to attack others, plunging them into a state of confusion; if the opponent's Spiritual Power exceeds one's own, the user will suffer backlash.

The age of all four soul skills was at the maximum limit of eight thousand eight hundred years.

After merging the four supplementary mental soul skills, Tian Meng turned to developing the Second Martial Soul.

Electrolux observed from within the Sea of Consciousness.

After perceiving and understanding the principles behind its creation, he raised a hand and sent in a stream of gray, desolate power.

Tian Meng noticed it, but he could neither interrupt nor stop it at this point.

As the granting of the Martial Soul was about to be completed, the originally predetermined ice attribute shattered and dissolved with a crash, turning into fragments like Ice Mist.

Tian Meng was stunned by the sight and immediately wanted to angrily demand an explanation.

The shattered luminous mist gathered again, forming a Formless Blank Martial Soul template. It would no longer be limited to the ice attribute, nor would it be restricted to a beast Martial Soul.

Tian Meng was utterly stunned by this result.

When he looked up toward the Black-Robed Elder, he discovered that his figure had already vanished.

Huo Yuhao awakened from the Sea of Consciousness and immediately saw Tian Meng's complicated expression.

"What's wrong?"

"The restrictions on the Second Martial Soul I granted you have been broken. It will no longer be limited to the ice attribute or beast Martial Souls." Tian Meng's expression was strange.

"Did Old Yi intervene?" Huo Yuhao was somewhat surprised, though not shocked.

He knew that Deities possessed the ability to alter and bestow Martial Souls.

In his previous life, Old Yi had been someone who could become a "god" at any time.