Absorbing Whale Rubber, and the Awakening of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm

Inside Lu Jing's room in the Worship Hall.

Severed from the outside world's clamor and prying eyes, Lu Jing sat cross-legged on the soft bed, his calm gaze fixed on the lump of Ten Thousand Year Demonic Whale Rubber essence in the Jade Box, refined and purified by Qian Daoliu.

It resembled a small mass of flowing liquid amber, radiating warm yet majestic Life Essence, along with a trace of the ancient aura left behind by a Giant Beast of the deep sea.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Jing lifted the Jade Box, tipped back his head, and poured the warm, viscous essence into his mouth!

"Ugh!"

An indescribable fishy bitterness and salty astringency exploded across his mouth, tyrannically seizing every one of his taste buds. It felt as though he had forcibly swallowed a lump of sludge concentrated from foul-smelling seaweed and rotten fish bones!

His stomach churned violently. Lu Jing's brows knitted tightly, his face turning slightly pale as an intense physiological revulsion nearly made him vomit on instinct.

The refined Ten Thousand Year Demonic Whale Rubber tasted even more unbearable than he had imagined!

However, just as that extreme bitterness reached its peak and was about to break through the limits of his endurance, a strange transformation occurred.

It was as though ice and snow had melted away, or darkness had completely receded.

The nauseating fishy bitterness seemed to be instantly wiped away by an invisible hand, replaced by an indescribably rich sweetness and fragrance that originated from the very source of life!

The aroma was mellow and warm, carrying the scent of sunlight piercing the deep sea and nourishing all things. In an instant, it washed away every trace of foulness in his mouth and seeped straight into his heart.

Lu Jing's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and a warm, comfortable sensation spread down from his throat.

But that comfort was merely the calm before the storm.

The next moment, a vast energy as scorching as volcanic lava, rigid and blazing with pure yang force, exploded violently within his abdomen!

Like an awakened wrathful dragon, that energy brutally surged into every Meridian, every inch of flesh, and every bone throughout his body.

Lu Jing's fair skin turned crimson at a speed Visible to the Eye, even radiating a searing glow!

Sweat instantly soaked through his clothes, while wisps of white mist Visible to the Eye rose from his body. Even the temperature of the entire room seemed to rise by several degrees.

His blood surged and roared, his bones emitting faint creaks under unbearable strain. The tyrannical force within the Whale Rubber, powerful enough to reshape his physique, was running rampant.

"Hmph!" Lu Jing grunted, enduring the immense agony of feeling as though his body were about to be torn apart and incinerated, yet his gaze remained as sharp as a blade.

He immediately focused his mind and circulated the Soul Power Inside the Body with all his strength!

"Buzz!"

A low hum echoed through the Quiet Room. A phantom of a strange lotus slowly emerged above his head, its entire body pitch-black, its Petals seemingly carved from black jade, and its lotus pedestal so deep it appeared capable of swallowing all light.

The World-Destroying Black Lotus! It floated silently, radiating pure darkness and a Destructive aura—heavy, Ice-cold, as though it could bring an end to all life.

Just as the tyrannical Medicinal power of the blazing Whale Rubber was about to spiral out of control, the power of the World-Destroying Black Lotus moved!

Pure dark Soul Power and the Will of Destruction swept forth from Inside Lu Jing's Body like the most ruthless of monarchs, precisely and forcefully pressing down on that rampaging yang energy!

Darkness and destruction did not seek to eliminate this power. Instead, with a higher level of absolute control, they forcibly restrained, sorted, and guided it!

Two utterly opposing yet equally powerful forces clashed and merged violently Inside Lu Jing's Body. The Ice-cold darkness suppressed the scorching yang heat, while the will of destruction sorted through the berserk energy.

The process required time. Lu Jing's body was like a battlefield, yet he clenched his teeth and guided the power of Annihilation, forcibly drawing the Whale Rubber's scorching and majestic essence into the depths of his blood, tendons, and bones strand by strand, thread by thread, for the deepest possible tempering.

He could clearly "hear" the faint sounds of impurities being burned away and his tendons and bones stretching and strengthening Inside his Body.

At that critical moment, when he was suffering both internally and externally and his mind was at its most focused, a spiritual thought filled with heavy drowsiness and intense confusion suddenly rang out in the depths of Lu Jing's mind, breaking the silence of his consciousness:

"Fuck! What the hell... ice and fire at once?! No, no... these Spatial Fluctuations... Little Jing? Little Jing! Are you okay? Where the hell have we been thrown? I took one nap, and it feels like the whole world has turned upside down?!"

It was Sky Dream Ice Silkworm! The Million-Year Soul Beast that had been sleeping deep within Lu Jing's Sea of Consciousness, bound to his fate, had finally been awakened by the violent energy storm Inside Lu Jing's Body and the abnormal fluctuations of space and time outside.

His enormous spiritual form rolled about within Lu Jing's consciousness, his Ice Blue compound eyes filled with confusion and shock as he anxiously tried to understand what was happening.

At that moment, Lu Jing's entire focus was devoted to guiding the two forces as they tempered his body and resisting the heart-rending pain. He had no spare attention to answer Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's questions.

His silence made Sky Dream Ice Silkworm even more anxious.

Still, as an old hand who had lived for a million years, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's panic lasted only a moment.

His immense spiritual power soon calmed, cautiously sensing the violent yang energy flow Inside Lu Jing's Body, which was being forcibly suppressed by an even greater power, as well as Lu Jing's painful yet resolute tempering process.

"Damn... this is... top-grade Whale Rubber? And refined, too? The age is ridiculously high! Is this kid risking his life to temper his body?" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm instantly understood Lu Jing's current state.

He realized that Lu Jing was at an extremely critical and dangerous juncture. Any interruption could cause the powers to lose balance, leading to unimaginable consequences.

"Hell, you're going this far? Fine, fine, I get it!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm immediately fell silent. His enormous spiritual form cautiously curled into a ball within Lu Jing's Sea of Consciousness, doing his utmost not to emit any unnecessary fluctuations.

His Ice Blue compound eyes flickered with the light of survival.

This kid's potential is terrifying. This martial soul... tsk, tsk, it's even stranger than I imagined. We're tied to the same rope now. If he kicks the bucket, this sliver of my remnant soul is finished too... No, no, absolutely not!

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm muttered to himself, Looks like we've ended up somewhere strange? But that doesn't matter... the urgent priority is making sure this kid gets through this safely, then finding a way to make him stronger! Become a god! He has to become a god! Only if he becomes a god can I rise with him, ascend to the God Realm, and gain true immortality!

Although the enormous spiritual body of the ice silkworm had quieted down, his spiritual fluctuations remained exceptionally active. Countless thoughts raced through his mind as he began seriously calculating his future survival plans and how best to "invest" in Lu Jing, this host with limitless potential.

Meanwhile, at the Pope Palace.

Within the deep and solemn study, the lamps burned brightly, yet they could not dispel the shadows in the corners.

Behind a massive desk, a figure sat upright...