Transformation

Deep within the fissure, time seemed to have lost all meaning.

Jingtian coiled before the ancient skeleton, like the most devout believer and the most patient craftsman. His deep-blue poison power intertwined and circulated with the purple-black radiance emitted by the Soul Bone, forming a delicate balance. Streams of pure poison power essence continuously seeped from the Scorpion Tail Soul Bone and merged into the core of his Poison Source.

This was neither violent devouring nor forced refinement, but a process closer to "saturation" and "assimilation."

The vast, ancient poison power within the Soul Bone had essentially fallen into Silence, losing its active will and aggression, leaving behind only the purest energy and Law information. Jingtian's own source poison power, refined through repeated evolution and fusion, happened to be the best "solvent" and "carrier," able to gently draw forth and absorb this silent legacy.

His Poison Source was undergoing a slow yet profound transformation.

Its color gradually shifted from its original deep blue toward a darker, more restrained navy blue, with traces of noble purple beginning to mingle within. The nature of his poison power was changing as well. Its fundamental traits—nerve paralysis, corrosion, mental interference, and the like—had not vanished. Instead, nourished by the ancient poison power essence, they became purer and more efficient.

More importantly, he began to comprehend more advanced applications of poison power.

Poison Domain: It was no longer merely a matter of spraying poisonous mist. He could now briefly merge his poison power with the surrounding environment—the seawater—to form a "domain" under his control. Within it, toxins could spread more evenly and last longer, while also being fine-tuned according to his will. For example, he could strengthen paralysis in one area and corrosion in another.

Poison Seal: He could condense concentrated poison power into invisible "marks" and attach them to targets or the environment. The marks could lie dormant and trigger under certain conditions—such as intense emotions, an eruption of Soul Power, or the passage of time—unleashing their toxicity. This was far more concealed and flexible than a simple Delayed Poison Sac.

Initial contact with the Law of Poison Erosion: From the Soul Bone's legacy, Jingtian vaguely sensed a deeper concept of "poison"—not merely a force for killing life, but one capable of eroding energy, dismantling structures, and twisting rules. This opened an entirely new door for the future development of his poison arts.

However, just as he had noticed, the improvement brought by this absorption was almost entirely concentrated in the essence, quality, and control techniques of his Poison Source. The increase to his own Soul Power cultivation was minuscule, almost negligible.

Most of the ancient poison power flowing into his body was absorbed and transformed by the Poison Source, fueling its own transformation. Only a tiny amount of the pure energy that leaked out during that process was absorbed by his Soul Power, perhaps adding a few years—at most a dozen years—to his cultivation. Compared to his current foundation of over a thousand years, it was merely a drop in the ocean.

As expected, this Soul Bone legacy mainly improves "quality," not "quantity." Jingtian understood. Perhaps it was due to the Soul Bone's nature, or perhaps because he was not violently devouring its energy core, but using his Poison Source as a guide for this "saturation-style" absorption. As a result, the conversion efficiency favored qualitative change over quantitative growth.

That left him somewhat regretful, but even more relieved.

If the Soul Bone legacy could truly grant him a massive amount of Soul Power and send his cultivation soaring, it would certainly be tempting. Yet that kind of fusion would inevitably be far more violent and dangerous. One misstep, and he could suffer backlash. This gentle method, focused on improving "laws" and "essence," might increase his cultivation slowly, but it was safer, more solid, and held limitless potential.

Poison was the foundation of his existence, his greatest reliance for defeating the strong while weak. Every qualitative transformation of his Poison Source meant an enormous leap in his actual combat strength. Though his cultivation was still only a little over a thousand years, with his transforming Poison Source, his threat level was likely no less than that of some ordinary soul beasts with fifteen hundred or even two thousand years of cultivation.

Time quietly passed amid soundless cultivation and absorption. Jingtian immersed himself completely in this slow but solid improvement, while everything outside seemed to drift far away. The warning formation around the nest continued operating normally, and the Water-Condensing Pearl steadily provided energy that calmed his mind.

Until a certain moment—

He suddenly sensed that the pure poison power essence flowing from the Scorpion Tail Soul Bone had begun to thin and become intermittent. The dim glow on the Soul Bone's surface had weakened considerably, its purple-black sheen seeming veiled by a layer of ash.

It was not that the Soul Bone's energy had been exhausted. Jingtian could sense that an ocean-like reserve of poison power essence still lay within it. But the outermost legacy, the easiest to guide and the most "gentle" portion, seemed to have been completely absorbed by him.

What remained was deeper, more central, and inevitably more "stubborn"—parts more likely to contain residual will or danger.

Should he continue?

Jingtian slowly "awakened" from his deep communion and examined the Soul Bone before him, its glow slightly dimmed. Then he looked inward at his own Poison Source, which had already been utterly transformed, powerful and darkly profound as purple hues flowed through it.

How many times stronger was his current Poison Source than when he had first begun absorbing? Its toxicity was purer and more domineering, its control exquisitely precise. He had also comprehended advanced applications such as Poison Domain and Poison Seal, even brushing against the edge of the Law of Poison Erosion. It could be said that the goal of this journey had already been exceeded.

Continuing deeper into the Soul Bone's core carried unknown risks. It could provoke backlash, but it might also bring an even greater breakthrough—perhaps even let him touch the true core secrets of this External Soul Bone...

But rewards were often proportional to risks.

Jingtian's gaze—his perception—sharpened. He recalled the group of human Soul Masters outside the Black Stone Forest and the ease with which they had slain the Silver-Veined Thunder Eel. Even Soul Emperor and Soul Saint-level figures likely did not count as the very strongest in the true human world.

His future enemies might be even more powerful Soul Masters, or perhaps the God Kings who stood high above in the God Realm, looking down upon all living beings.

Would the current improvement in his poison arts be enough?

No! Far from it!

He needed greater power, deeper foundations, and more trump cards that could possibly stand against those beings!

The Soul Bone's core might hold such a possibility.

Jingtian slowly drew in a breath of seawater, a resolute gleam flashing through his eyes. He pushed his transformed Poison Source to its limit. Dark-blue light streaked with purple burned across his body like tangible flames. At the same time, he highly condensed his Soul Power into a tougher, more aggressive "probe." No longer content with guiding the surface, he carefully thrust it toward the depths of the Soul Bone's dim glow!

This time, it was no longer gentle "saturation," but deliberate "exploration" and "claiming"!

The Soul Bone seemed to have been disturbed!

"Buzz—!"

A tremor several times stronger than before surged through the cavern! Even the seawater throughout the stone grotto began to shake! The purple-black radiance on the Soul Bone's surface abruptly became unstable, like boiling venom! An even more ancient and domineering will, carrying traces of lingering unwillingness and fury, was stirred from deep within the Soul Bone!

Vaguely, Jingtian seemed to "see" a fragmented scene: a hazy figure shrouded in purple-black poison mist, gravely wounded and near death after endless pursuit or battle, finally fleeing into this deep-sea fissure. There, the figure laid down restrictions, died in meditation, and sealed away a lifetime of poison arts along with this External Soul Bone...

A dangerous aura suddenly descended!

But Jingtian did not retreat. His Poison Source let out an excited hum, as if it had encountered an existence of the same origin but a higher level. It felt instinctive reverence, yet even stronger was its desire to devour and surpass it!

His Soul Power probe, like the bravest—or perhaps the greediest—adventurer, pierced through the silent legacy on the Soul Bone's outer layer and touched the deeper poison power core, which remained active!

In an instant, an even vaster, more violent torrent of poison power, carrying far more fragmented Law information, surged toward Jingtian as though it had found an outlet!

This absorption would no longer be gentle nourishment, but a violent collision and conquest!

Dark blue and purple-black light clashed and merged fiercely within the stone grotto, completely swallowing Jingtian and the ancient skeleton.

At the deepest point of the deep-sea fissure, a higher-risk struggle for inheritance that would determine the course of the future officially began.