Sacrifice, Flight from Death

Sure enough, as Ji Wuming desperately sprinted forward, he glanced back.

The Soul Beast being hunted by the beasts was covered in wounds, blood constantly flowing from its body. In particular, it had a dragon's head and a fish's body, with blue electrical currents crackling around it.

"Could that be a Fish Dragon Beast?!"

But after thinking it over, Ji Wuming frowned and felt that something was wrong. Top-tier Soul Beasts like Fish Dragon Beasts rarely produced mutant variants, and this place was far too far from the Nine Star Sea.

Even if the Fish Dragon Beast clan was nearly extinct, it was not something he should have encountered.

At that moment, the heavily injured Thunder Dragon Fish was suddenly rammed from below by a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast. The fleeing Thunder Dragon Fish was knocked straight out of the sea, several bones in its belly shattered on impact.

"Guhou—"

It let out a strange cry. Then, as it looked at the many Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts closing in from all directions, its fish eyes turned scarlet. The already dim electrical currents around its body immediately began to shine, gradually becoming violent.

At the same time, two Fierce Bite Mad Sharks swished their tails, sending two immensely powerful water blades hurtling toward it. Lightning rapidly erupted around the Thunder Dragon Fish's body, and with the force of the water current, it forcibly amplified the power of its strongest move severalfold, forming a massive electric net spanning five to six hundred meters.

The water blade attacks were instantly scattered by the powerful current. The two Fierce Bite Mad Sharks that failed to escape in time had their skulls pierced by the electricity and died, floating belly-up on the surface.

Seeing this, the other Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts all slowed down. In their eyes, the Thunder Dragon Fish using this skill was merely making its final struggle.

At this point, Ji Wuming was less than three hundred meters away from the Thunder Dragon Fish. To avoid being caught in its electric net, Ji Wuming instantly unleashed his First and Second Soul Skills. With his increased speed, defense, and innate resistance to lightning, he swiftly dodged the violent bolts of electricity scattering in every direction.

However, just after evading several lightning strikes, Ji Wuming seemed to be bound by some force and was suddenly unable to move. Meanwhile, the Thunder Dragon Fish's skill slowly dissipated.

Before the other Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts could attack it again, it swiftly swam toward Ji Wuming. Then it leaped into the air, and black light blazed around Ji Wuming. An extremely powerful wave of Soul Power sent the charging Soul Beasts flying.

Ji Wuming, meanwhile, floated into the air as the Thunder Dragon Fish spiraled upward.

"What is it trying to do?"

Before Ji Wuming could react, his Blood Thunder Battle Spear Martial Soul naturally floated before him in his right hand. The Thunder Dragon Fish's entire body suddenly exploded, transforming into countless streams of pure energy that poured into the Blood Thunder Battle Spear and Ji Wuming's body.

The blood lightning and bloody mist around the Blood Thunder Battle Spear became even more violent and dense. Only then did Ji Wuming come back to his senses, his face filled with shock.

"Damn, th-this is a Soul Beast Sacrifice!"

But in the next instant, Ji Wuming's face was full of worry. Although this Soul Beast suited him extremely well, it was thirteen thousand years old. Even with Cross-Level Absorption, his Third Soul Ring could at most withstand a Soul Ring of five or six thousand years.

Even with a once-in-an-age opportunity like a Soul Beast Sacrifice, his current physical strength could never endure it. If he forcibly interrupted the sacrifice, at best his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness would suffer severe damage; at worst, he would become an idiot or even risk death.

The pure energy pouring into his body was not violent. Instead, it gently transformed Ji Wuming's body, and he felt almost no pain at all.

The sacrifice continued. A black Soul Ring slowly appeared, then settled above Ji Wuming's head.

He was immediately pulled into his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness. Before him appeared the phantom of a Thunder Dragon Beast, circling around him in flight, yet causing not the slightest sensation of Soul Shock.

Although the Thunder Dragon Fish had not reached one hundred thousand years and could not speak human language, Ji Wuming could learn some information by tracing the reflections of its memories within his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness.

This Thunder Dragon Fish belonged to the Fish Dragon Beast lineage—or rather, it was evolving toward becoming a Fish Dragon Soul Beast. It had originally been a Thunder Eel with a thousand years of cultivation. After accidentally swallowing Dragon Marrow from the remains of a Fish Dragon Beast, it cultivated for several hundred years and completed its transformation.

Unexpectedly, it attracted the pursuit, captivity, and surveillance of several Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts. Every few years, they would draw what they called Thunder Dragon blood from it and eat its flesh.

Only recently, when numerous Soul Beasts in the ocean had rioted, had it finally managed to escape.

Seeing this, Ji Wuming lowered his head and looked again at the Thunder Dragon Fish's soul flying within his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness, unable to stop himself from smiling happily.

"Ha, no wonder it willingly sacrificed itself to a strange human like me. Could it be that I also have a chance to create a Soul Spirit?"

However, in the next second, the Blood Thunder Battle Spear suddenly unleashed its power. A dark crimson vortex appeared out of nowhere, and an immensely powerful suction force ravaged Ji Wuming's Spiritual Sea of Consciousness. Yet Ji Wuming himself felt nothing at all.

"Guhou—"

The Thunder Dragon Fish's soul let out another cry of pain and immediately charged toward Ji Wuming's soul body. Ji Wuming instantly took a defensive stance.

However, just before they made contact, the Thunder Dragon Fish's soul was sucked directly into the battle spear, its soul completely ground away.

"My Martial Soul really is tyrannical beyond compare!"

Floating in midair, Ji Wuming slowly opened his eyes. One yellow, one purple, and one black Soul Ring appeared beneath his feet in succession, giving off a terrifying aura. Yet below him, more than twenty Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts floated on the surface, their heads exposed above the water. Countless beast eyes glared furiously at Ji Wuming, who had stolen what should have been theirs.

"I actually forgot about that!"

Looking down at the more than twenty Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts, Ji Wuming felt a chill run down his back as cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

That sacrificing Thunder Dragon Fish has really screwed me over!!!

The reason they had not attacked was that the sacrifice had not yet fully ended. Otherwise, he would already have been buried in their jaws.

Just as Ji Wuming had no idea what to do, he felt an itch on his back. He hurriedly circulated the Soul Power within his body toward the top of his head, and a blue-gold crown appeared there.

"External Soul Bone!"

Ji Wuming said calmly.

Ji Wuming was not surprised that he possessed a Soul Bone, even an External Soul Bone. What baffled him was why it had not given him a pair of wings that could fly, so he would at least have a chance to escape. Even a Soul Bone capable of completely concealing his aura would have been fine!

Although he had a Soul Tool that could conceal his aura, its core component was only a hundred-year Soul Bone. Before Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts, its ability to hide his aura was limited.

As the sacrifice neared its end, Ji Wuming became even more flustered.

"Run, hurry and run! Run as far as possible. It'd be even better if there's an island nearby."

With his Soul Power now fully restored, Ji Wuming immediately activated his concealment Soul Tool and frantically circulated his Soul Power, sprinting toward the direction with fewer Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts.