External Soul Bone: Ice Jade Stinger

"As expected, Ice Empress, you can also control this Extreme Ice Avatar!"

"Not just control it."

The Ice Empress's voice emanated from within the Ice Scorpion Avatar.

"Once This Seat's consciousness is injected, the combat power of this avatar will fluctuate according to the age of my soul ring."

"!!!"

Su Hui clenched his fists in excitement.

This meant the upper limit of his third soul skill was not a fifty-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion, but the four-hundred-thousand-year Ice Empress herself!

The higher the soul ring age, the stronger the Extreme Ice Avatar. If the Ice Empress's soul ring recovers to four hundred thousand years...

"Gulp!"

The image already surfaced in his mind.

With a casual wave, the Ice Empress at her four-hundred-thousand-year peak would manifest.

Amidst a world of ice and snow, whoever stood in her way would die.

"Don't start dreaming just yet."

The Ice Empress's divine sense retreated into the Sea of Consciousness.

The Ice Scorpion Avatar shrank back to the size of a small scorpion.

"This method of control consumes your soul power immensely."

"It is manageable when Xiao Bing controls it, but if This Seat takes over personally, the soul power consumption will multiply several times over."

"Once my soul ring reaches one hundred thousand years, the drain on your soul power will be even more exaggerated."

"With your current level thirty-six soul power reserves, you should weigh for yourself how long you can hold out."

Su Hui stroked the Ice Jade Scorpion Avatar on his shoulder. "It's just a high consumption; that's not a big problem."

He fished the Level 4 Milk Bottle out of his storage Soul Tool and weighed it in his hand.

Emerald green light shimmered over the bamboo-leaf-shaped bottle, its interior brimming with stored soul power.

"The Milk Bottle can replenish my soul power in time, and I also have the Silver Dragon Spear to absorb external energy and convert it into soul power. I have my own ways to handle endurance."

The Ice Empress scoffed, flicking her tail hook lightly.

"Suit yourself, just don't end up in trouble when your soul power hits rock bottom."

"Crack, crack, crack!"

A sound like joints shifting erupted from within Su Hui's body.

At his coccyx, jade-like bone segments suddenly pierced through his clothing, extending outward one by one.

The bone segments were crystal clear, with deep blue icy brilliance flowing within, eventually forming a long, sharp scorpion tail.

The tip of the tail held a sharpness like ten-thousand-year ice.

This was the gift Xiao Bing had left him—an External Soul Bone, the tail of an Ice Jade Scorpion.

The Ice Empress's cold voice, tinged with a hint of pride, echoed in his heart: "This treasure is called the 'Ice Jade Stinger'; it's your gain now."

She paused, beginning to enumerate the formidable aspects of the Ice Jade Stinger.

"Physical Enhancement: It allows your overall attributes to increase by thirty percent directly."

"Ice Element Enhancement: The power of your Ultimate Ice increases by fifty percent when you unleash it."

"Cold Poison Infusion: The Scorpion Tail Needle carries a special kind of 'Cold Poison'."

Hearing the words "Cold Poison," Su Hui raised an eyebrow, and records regarding the Ice Jade Scorpion immediately surfaced in his mind.

He blurted out, "Didn't the Ice Jade Scorpion clan completely abandon their venomous abilities long ago? Where would this poison come from?"

The Ice Empress in the Sea of Consciousness rolled her eyes unceremoniously.

"What's the rush? Listen to me finish." Her tone was like that of a master scolding an ignorant apprentice.

"This 'Cold Poison' is nothing like the trashy toxins you have in mind."

"Its essence is 'liquid' Ultimate Ice energy that has been compressed to the limit."

"The moment the tail needle pierces the target, this ice energy explodes directly within their meridians, freezing all pathways of soul power circulation, then continuously eroding and disintegrating the meridian structure."

"Even if they have heaven-defying means to force this cold energy out, the meridians that have been frozen and cracked will be left with permanent hidden injuries."

Hearing this, Su Hui's breathing grew heavy of its own accord.

Damaged meridians were almost synonymous with stagnant cultivation for a soul master; this thing was far more sinister than mere poison.

The Ice Empress was clearly satisfied with his reaction, her tone carrying a hint of arrogance.

"Don't be too happy yet; the true strength of the Ice Jade Stinger lies in compressing and condensing ice elements."

"Through the Scorpion Tail Needle, you can compress Ultimate Ice elements into pellets or beams to bombard targets from a distance."

"Furthermore, it has one more characteristic—Absolute Piercing."

"The sharpness of the Scorpion Tail Needle is sufficient to pierce the vast majority of defensive soul skills; ordinary shields are no different from paper."

Su Hui stared at the scorpion tail swaying flexibly behind him.

As the tail needle, flowing with emerald light, swept through the air, it actually left behind a visible trail of ice crystals.

His fingertips trembled slightly, and the thoughts churning in his chest were so scorching they nearly burned through his reason.

If this thing could be like Tang San's Eight Spider Lances, and evolve again after absorbing enough energy in the future...

He even began to imagine the moment the Ice Jade Stinger evolved into a divine-grade artifact.

The scene of the void freezing as the tail needle pierced the air, a single strike so sharp that even gods would have to avoid its edge.

That sense of anticipation spread through his chest like a wildfire.

"Enough, stop daydreaming there."

The Ice Empress's voice yanked him back to reality, her tone suddenly turning stern.

"Before it completely merges with you, if you dare to reveal it in front of others, that is the same as hanging a piece of fat around your neck waiting for someone to chop it off."

Su Hui took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging excitement, and responded solemnly: "I am well aware of this."

Why is an External Soul Bone coveted by everyone?

This is precisely its special nature.

The initial fusion only establishes a connection.

There still exists rejection and gaps between the soul bone and the host.

Only after long-term nourishment and tempering can the soul bone completely become an inseparable part of the host's body.

Only then can others be unable to plunder it.

In the original Douluo Continent, how could Dugu Bo not have wanted to rip the Eight Spider Lances off Tang San?

It was a pity that the thing had already merged with Tang San's flesh and blood, with soul power flowing through it.

Forcibly stripping it would have been useless, which was how Tang San escaped that disaster.

Before perfect fusion is achieved, Su Hui does not intend to use it on any non-essential occasion.

Unless, it is when he is killing someone.

The dead will naturally keep his secret for him.

He retracted his aura, and the Ice Jade Stinger retreated into his body like a receding tide.

The improvements brought to him by Xiao Bing through the Silver Dragon King Martial Soul had already been fully digested.

But the leap in strength had clearly triggered something more.

Su Hui's consciousness sank into his Sea of Consciousness, sensing that silent Space Anywhere Door.

Sure enough, the light patterns on the door had become brighter, and the cooldown time had shortened again—the interval after one use is now two hundred and seventy days.

He clicked his tongue, "Another thirty days shorter."

His gaze swept toward the Time Anywhere Door beside it, which remained dark and profound, and he began to calculate in his heart.

"The Time Door is still the same as before."

"Next time I open it, will it really require a ten-thousand-year soul ring?"

A thousand-year soul ring was the price last time; he truly didn't know if he would have to use a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's ring in the future.

To hunt a ten-thousand-year or even a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the difficulty and risk are completely different concepts from hunting a thousand-year soul beast.

The price this door will demand of him in the future makes his scalp tingle just thinking about it.

The next day.

As the sky just began to turn white, Shui Furong gathered everyone together.

Shui Furong swept a glance over the entire group and waved her hand decisively: "Let's go, back to Skywater City."

Along the way, Shui Yue'er simply couldn't stay still.

One moment she was pestering Su Hui with questions, and the next she was pulling Xue Wu aside to share the soul skill combinations she had secretly improved.

Her guileless, lively energy was like a popping candy tossed into the somewhat chilly team, and even the reticent Shui Bing'er would occasionally have the corners of her lips lifted by her antics.

Unknowingly, the atmosphere of the team became much more relaxed.