Blue Silver Emperor

"This... this is..."

"Ancestor's aura?! How is this possible?!"

The Blue Silver Emperor's voice finally changed, filled with terror and disbelief.

Under the absolute suppression of that power, which came from the very origin of its bloodline, the cultivation it had spent one hundred and ninety thousand years building seemed like a joke. All the Blue Silver Grass in the valley had betrayed it, bowing down in worship to that man.

Gu Yuejin didn't seize the chance to attack. Instead, he drew in that violent pressure. Golden light swirled in his eyes as his vast Spiritual Power formed an invisible bridge, linking directly to the Blue Silver Emperor's consciousness.

"Don't be nervous. If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be a corpse."

Gu Yuejin's voice rang in the Blue Silver Emperor's mind, cool and certain, as though he could see through everything.

"Let's talk about reality."

"Your cultivation has reached one hundred and ninety thousand years, and you rule this valley. But you know perfectly well that your path has ended."

"Cultivating as a plant-type soul beast is thousands of times harder than cultivating as an animal-type soul beast. And you're only one step away from the two-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation."

"But that final step is the gates of hell."

Gu Yuejin's words were like a sharp knife, cutting precisely into the deepest fear in the Blue Silver Emperor's heart.

"Your foundation is solid, but you haven't been tempered by the finest heavenly treasures, nor do you have the protection of a divine bloodline."

"When the next Heavenly Tribulation arrives, your soul will scatter and your body will turn to ash."

"Are you willing to accept that? To eke out a miserable existence in this lightless valley, only to become ash beneath a lightning tribulation?"

The Blue Silver Emperor's enormous body shuddered violently. The golden markings on its leaves flickered, showing that Gu Yuejin had struck a nerve.

It had lived too long and seen too many of its kind fall beneath the Heavenly Tribulation.

"What... exactly are you trying to say?" The Blue Silver Emperor's voice was dry, wavering slightly.

"A deal."

Gu Yuejin revealed his true intentions, his tone full of temptation.

"Sacrifice yourself to me."

"Merge your soul and core essence into my Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul without holding anything back."

"This won't be death. It will be another form of 'eternal life' and evolution."

"In return, I, Gu Yuejin, swear this—"

Gu Yuejin raised his right hand, his expression solemn. A terrifying pressure, imbued with Destruction and Creation, faintly emanated from him. It was a trace of divine essence that had settled within him after he seized the Dragon Soul at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes.

"First, I'll help you ascend to the divine level! You'll transcend mortal tribulations and see the true splendor of the Divine Realm!"

"Second, I'll ensure your descendants thrive! This valley will become my territory, and no one will dare to invade it!"

"Third, I'll use the finest resources at my disposal to help your clansmen awaken their intelligence—and even take human form!"

"Follow me, and you'll be a loyal servant of the dragon! Stay here, and you'll be nothing but a withered corpse in a grave!"

"Choose."

A deathly silence fell over the valley.

The Blue Silver Emperor fell silent.

It could feel the "Divine Potential" within Gu Yuejin that made its very soul tremble—a presence far nobler and more immense than the power it had cultivated over one hundred and ninety thousand years.

It had a feeling that this human wasn't lying.

By following him, it might truly break free of its doomed fate.

After a long while,

a faint sigh echoed through the valley, carrying both relief and resolve.

"Very well..."

"The Heavenly Tribulation is too hard to overcome. I have nowhere left to turn."

"Human, I hope you'll keep your promise and treat my clansmen well."

"I'm willing... to sacrifice myself."

The instant the words left its mouth,

BOOM—!!!

A colossal pillar of blue-gold light burst from the Blue Silver Emperor and shot into the sky!

All the millions upon millions of Blue Silver Grass plants in the valley lit up at once, transforming into a fantastical ocean of energy.

The ten-meter-tall Blue Silver Emperor began to burn, transforming into the purest Life Origin. Like rivers pouring into the sea, it surged wildly toward Gu Yuejin, who stood at the center.

"Good!"

Gu Yuejin sat cross-legged, arms spread wide, accepting the vast energy without the slightest defense.

At the same time, he silently thought:

System, claim reward—Three Hundred Thousand Year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Ring!

Fusing...

HUM—!

Another, even more domineering energy surged out of nowhere within him: the power of a Three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, imbued with the system's laws.

One force from within, one from without. Under Gu Yuejin's guidance, the two terrifying forces began inscribing themselves frantically onto his Second Martial Soul.

"What... what is that?!"

The terrifying energy forced Ye Guyi to stumble backward again and again. Her eyes were wide with shock.

She had never seen anything so spectacular.

Countless blue-gold specks of light filled the sky, like spirits dancing through the air as they rushed to enter that man's body.

Gu Yuejin's aura was climbing at a visible, frantic pace!

Level seventy-eight... level seventy-nine... level eighty!

A bottleneck?

Before the terrifying power of a One Hundred Ninety Thousand Year Sacrifice combined with the system's Three Hundred Thousand Year reward, the so-called bottleneck was no harder to break than a sheet of paper.

"Ah—!!!"

Gu Yuejin threw back his head and roared, his voice full of the exhilaration of unleashing his power.

The massive flow of life energy left his meridians aching and swollen, but his body, tempered by Ice Fire Golden Body Refinement and strengthened by the Dragon King Soul Bone, could easily withstand it.

In fact, this immense vitality was constantly nourishing his body, pushing his Life Origin to a new level.

No one knew how long it took.

The light filling the sky gradually faded.

A translucent blue-gold leg bone, seemingly filled with the vitality of an entire forest, slowly merged into Gu Yuejin's left leg.

One Hundred Ninety Thousand Year Blue Silver Emperor Left Leg Bone!

"Whew..."

Gu Yuejin slowly opened his eyes.

For an instant, his eyes turned a pure azure, as though they held a sea of stars.

He slowly rose to his feet.

BOOM—!

The terrifying pressure of an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo erupted!

Behind him, his Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul surged skyward.

Two deep crimson Soul Rings, so dark they seemed to drip blood, slowly appeared and revolved around him.

Red! Red!

Two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!

The second ring was an especially strange, dark crimson, with an unusual blue-gold marking circling it—the sign of a Three Hundred Thousand Year Ferocious Beast Soul Ring!

"An Eight-Ring... Soul Douluo."

Gu Yuejin clenched his fist, feeling the power within him, like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.

"This feeling... is incredible."

"C-Congratulations, senior!"

Ye Guyi stared at that figure, who looked like a god or demon, her voice trembling.

Two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!

Was he even human?!

He was practically a walking Ferocious Beast!

"Let's try out the new skills."

Gu Yuejin smiled faintly and looked toward a boulder deep in the valley.

The first red Soul Ring on his body suddenly lit up. This was the ring granted by the One Hundred Ninety Thousand Year Blue Silver Emperor's Sacrifice!

"Blue Silver Overlord Spear!"

He didn't summon a physical spear or armor!

Instead, countless Blue Silver Grass vines instantly gathered and formed a hundred-meter-long blue-gold spear. Carrying unstoppable penetrating force and the might of an emperor, it pierced through the boulder in an instant, blasting a bottomless hole through the mountainside behind it as well!

"Single-target burst damage, with an added imperial suppression effect. Not bad."

"Blue Silver Overlord Armor!"

Countless strands of Blue Silver Grass gathered around him, forming a light-blue suit of armor that shimmered with each breath!

"Looks pretty cool. It even has a healing effect. Not bad."

After finishing his review, Gu Yuejin looked toward the second, deeper red Soul Ring. This was the Three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring granted by the system!

"Eternal Forest: Heaven Devourer!"

HUM—

The space within a hundred meters instantly darkened.

Countless black vines reached out of the void. They were no longer plants, but tentacles that seemed to come from hell.

Everything they passed—rocks, dirt, even lingering Soul Power—was devoured completely and transformed into pure energy that flowed back to Gu Yuejin.

This was the combined Soul Skill granted by the Three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!

A top-tier domain skill that combined control and endurance!

"So powerful..."

Huo Yuhao watched, his blood racing and his admiration growing even stronger.