At the thought of the possible "tragic outcome."
Long Zhanye's interest in those two incomparably precious External Soul Bones plummeted, and he even felt a trace of resistance.
Seeing his expression, Old Man Gu immediately guessed what he was thinking.
His eyes widened as he barked, "You little bastard!"
"What are you spacing out for?! This is a tremendous opportunity that countless people could only beg for! And you're actually hesitating?!!"
"If you don't dare, then this old man will take them for you!!"
As he spoke, Old Man Gu actually made a move to grab the two eyeball-shaped External Soul Bones.
Alarmed, Long Zhanye no longer had the luxury of worrying about how they looked.
No matter what, these were spoils he had exchanged his life for. How could he let this old man "take advantage" of him?
He quickly turned sideways to block him, scooping the two warm eyeballs protectively before him like a little beast guarding its food. "No! They're mine!"
"Then what are you dawdling for?!" Old Man Gu glared furiously.
Long Zhanye gritted his teeth and steeled himself. "Then I'll absorb them! At worst... I'll wear a mask from now on!!"
Just as he was about to begin absorbing the Soul Ring and attempt to guide the External Soul Bones, Old Man Gu stopped him again.
"Wait."
"What now?" Long Zhanye watched Old Man Gu warily, thinking he was plotting something else.
Old Man Gu was so angry at his expression that he laughed, raising a hand as if to knock him again.
In the end, he merely snorted. "Brat, what do you take this old man for? You think I covet your little bit of treasure?!"
His expression turned serious, and his tone grew solemn. "I want you to..."
"Absorb that Hundred Thousand Year Head Spirit Bone you obtained earlier as well!"
Long Zhanye froze. "Now? Together?!"
"That's right!" Old Man Gu affirmed. "You're about to absorb a Forty-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. The impact on your Soul Power and the shock to your soul will both reach their peak!"
"This is precisely when your body and spiritual power are at their most active, and your capacity for absorption is strongest!!"
"Take this chance to fuse that Hundred Thousand Year Head Spirit Bone as well. Perhaps they can complement each other and yield twice the result with half the effort!"
"The fusion process for External Soul Bones may be rather painful and strange."
"But with the foundation of a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Bone and the stabilizing effect a Head Spirit Bone has on spiritual power, it may help you endure and control it better."
Long Zhanye considered it and felt that Old Man Gu made sense. He nodded. "All right!"
Carefully, he took out the jade box he had kept stored away in his Storage Soul Tool.
He opened the lid.
A vast fluctuation spread through the air, mixed with powerful life force and immense spiritual power, even faintly carrying a strange numbing sensation.
Lying silently within the jade box was the Hundred Thousand Year Head Spirit Bone from the Demon Eye Demon Tree.
It was dark green throughout, its surface carved with intricate patterns resembling tree rings and demonic eyes, radiating an extraordinary aura.
Long Zhanye simultaneously directed his Soul Power and spiritual power toward the two eyeball-shaped External Soul Bones floating quietly before him.
The absorption process was far longer and more difficult than expected.
Though fusing the Head Spirit Bone and absorbing the Forty-Thousand-Year Soul Ring involved immense energy and a perilous process,
with Long Zhanye's resilient body, repeatedly tempered by medicinal power, supporting him, everything proceeded steadily without serious mishap.
About six hours later, the Head Spirit Bone had successfully fused with his skull, and the Soul Ring was smoothly absorbed into his Heavenly Eye Martial Soul.
His Soul Power surged once more, breaking directly through level fifty-three and reaching level fifty-four!
His spiritual power underwent a qualitative leap as well, becoming incomparably solid and sharp, as though he could perceive the slightest detail.
However, the two eyeball-shaped External Soul Bones became the greatest variable and challenge.
Rather than directly fusing with the corresponding bones like ordinary Spirit Bones, they slowly circled and floated around Long Zhanhai.
As though they possessed a will of their own, they carefully "observed" and "selected" a suitable location for fusion.
They emitted a grayish-white glow, sometimes approaching his arms, sometimes sweeping past his back, and sometimes hovering before his face...
Old Man Gu and Zhua Yun watched from the side, dumbfounded and incomparably nervous.
It was also their first time witnessing the fusion process of External Soul Bones firsthand, especially ones in such a peculiar form.
After a long while, the two circling eyeballs finally seemed to have made their decision.
Bang! Bang!
Two soft, muffled sounds, as though something had clicked into place!
Long Zhanye's vision blurred.
The two grayish-white eyeballs transformed into two streaks of light and, with lightning speed, shot straight into his own eyes!
"Aah—!!!"
Long Zhanye did not even have time to react before it felt as though red-hot iron rods had been viciously stabbed into his eyes!
It was like boiling concentrated sulfuric acid had been poured into them! An unimaginable, tearing agony exploded from his eyes and swept through his entire body!
"My eyes!!" He let out a pained roar, both hands clamped tightly over his eyes.
The pain was so excruciating that he could not help shaking his head from side to side, trying to shake off that terrifying burning and invasive sensation!
What was horrifying was that
he could clearly feel those two foreign eyeballs frantically trying to "squeeze out" his original eyes!
It was as though they wanted to forcibly expel his natural eyeballs and replace them!
The terrifying sensation of foreign objects invading, forcibly fusing, and rejecting his own body nearly drove him into mental collapse.
Before him lay a blood-red, chaotic darkness, accompanied by unbearable agony.
Long Zhanye was horrified. This is bad! Could these External Soul Bones... be trying to take my eyes?!
Extreme pain battered his nerves, and his consciousness began to blur.
He desperately tried to remain awake and circulate his Soul Power to resist, but the fusion pain originating deep within his eyeballs, as though acting directly upon his spiritual power, was simply impossible to withstand.
After an extremely stifled groan, Long Zhanye's vision went completely dark.
As though every bit of strength had been drained from him, he fell stiffly backward.
"Brat!"
"Junior Brother!"
Old Man Gu and Zhua Yun's expressions changed drastically. They hurried forward to inspect him.
Long Zhanye's eyes were shut tight, while an eerie grayish-white light faintly flowed beneath his eyelids.
His entire body was soaked in sweat, and his breathing was weak and erratic. Clearly, he was enduring an unimaginable fusion process.
"Master, this..." Zhua Yun looked anxiously at Old Man Gu.
Old Man Gu furrowed his brows tightly and stared at Long Zhanye's eyes. In a deep voice, he said, "The fusion of External Soul Bones has always been perilous and unpredictable..."
"Let alone one like this, directly fusing with sensory organs... whether it proves a blessing or a curse depends entirely on him."
"All we can do is stand guard and ensure that he receives no outside interference. I only hope... this brat can pull through."
A rare trace of tension and worry had entered his voice as well.
Before you continue