Tian Meng: I've Cultivated a God!! My Brain Is Trembling!! Even If I Die, I'll Have No Regrets!

"Master truly is a brilliant strategist!! Your little bug really does know this kind of sacrificial method!"

"But how could a mere Wisdom Soul Ring compare to the highest realm of sacrifice—the sacrifice of one's soul?"

"I'll offer my master every last bit of the power I use to store my soul, along with my entire Will!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had gone completely mad. He raved:

"Even if this means I might never get to eat such delicious Mystic Ice Marrow again, master! You have no idea!"

"Although the Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Ice Marrow surpasses you in total energy and density, when it comes to taste!!"

"It's not even worthy of tying your shoes!!"

"Haah..."

As he spoke, the bug drooled again.

Xu Qing was quick to react, naturally. He couldn't let it go to waste.

"It's like the bright moon in the sky and a crawling insect on the ground. The difference between them is a chasm!!"

Hearing this, the corners of his mouth curled up. Information about the first three Soul Rings of his Mystic Ice Marrow Martial Soul surfaced in his mind.

[First Soul Ring: 1,800 years!]

[From a king-class species of the Far North! The Titan Snow Demon Clan!]

[Soul Skill Effect: The host's energy density increases by one hundred percent, and its purity rises]

[Second Soul Skill: 4,600 years!]

[From a king-class species of the Far North! The Titan Snow Demon Clan!]

[Soul Skill Effect: The host's energy density increases by two hundred percent, and its purity rises]

[Third Soul Skill: 19,000 years!]

[From a king-class species of the Far North! The Titan Snow Demon Clan!]

[Soul Skill Effect: The host's energy density increases by three hundred percent, and its purity rises]

Ninety-nine percent pure! So pure!

This Mystic Ice Marrow really had a rich flavor!

Xu Qing shook his head and sighed silently, thinking:

The only fly in the ointment... was that my over-limit Soul Ring Configuration.

It all depended on my Body Martial Soul—my Self—which had awakened at the innate Silver rank.

But because of that, every time he finished absorbing a Soul Ring, his Self absorbed the energy that the ring fed back.

Without those supplements, his spiritual power wouldn't have grown so quickly.

And these Soul Ring skills were a bit of a shame. The increase in energy density only took effect after an additional Soul Ring was attached.

If it were a passive skill, that would be amazing.

As for that strange fragrance, perhaps some kind of miraculous change had occurred after Ring Fusion.

After all, to him, the scent was only faint, and a little nose-chilling.

He didn't think it smelled good at all.

Perhaps that was the difference between him and everyone else.

Other bugs: So fragrant, so fragrant! I can't take it anymore.

Xu Qing: It's just so-so.

You know what I mean.

"Hehehe."

Xu Qing's gaze softened as he looked at the Big Bug. He said earnestly:

"Tian Meng, I'll make good use of your power. Trust me—with my talent, I'm destined to become a god one day!!"

"The first thing I'll do after becoming a god is bring you back to life!"

"Then you'll be able to use your own body to carefully, slowly, bite by bite, truly savor the taste of my Mystic Ice Marrow after it reaches the divine level!"

His voice was coaxing and persuasive, and with another piece of Mystic Ice Marrow appearing at just the right moment in his hand—

He looked exactly like a pyramid-scheme salesman.

"God, god, god—divine level!!!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't think there was anything wrong with that. Right now, those words had sent him over the moon.

His whole body trembled violently!

His master's three-ring Mystic Ice Marrow was already so delicious that eating it made his soul shiver, as though he were about to ascend to heaven!

What would it be like after his master reached level one hundred and became a god!?

And on top of that, his master had promised to bring his little bug back to life once he became a god!

And there was divine-level Mystic Ice Marrow!!

"Waaah! Master!"

"Wait! I still have my shed skin! Right! After your little bug makes his sacrifice, my skin will be left behind. It'll be incredibly useful!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's bug-brain was already stuffed full of becoming a god, eternal life, and divine-level Mystic Ice Marrow.

"All you'll need to do is refine it a little. Then your master—who is also your little bug's ancestor, that peerless powerhouse at level ninety-nine—can take you to the Far North!"

"With the aura of mine still lingering on this skin, and the spiritual fluctuations of my soul on your Million-Year Soul Ring..."

"No! How can I leave my spiritual fluctuations behind?!"

As the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke, his physical body began to shed its skin. Then he actually set his Sea of Consciousness ablaze!

"Wouldn't leaving behind my spiritual fluctuations take energy? No! I have to burn that up too!"

"Ahhh!"

"Become a god! The next time I wake up, your big brother will be the Bug God! Hehehehahaha!"

Boom—!!!

An enormous golden beam shot skyward from Xu Qing, piercing the clouds!

The clouds within dozens of miles swirled into a vortex under the golden light, while the Soul Power of heaven and earth surged like boiling water.

Countless God-Slaying Wind Baboons were startled from the forest and fled in every direction.

The Blue Silver Grass on the ground bowed beneath this overwhelming pressure, prostrating itself.

Countless strange golden symbols flowed across the surface of Xu Qing's body.

If one listened closely, an inexplicable sound seemed to come from the void.

It was as though some great existence were firing salutes to celebrate the birth of a king!

Opposite him, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body was rapidly fading in the golden light.

The ten golden markings around his body flashed again and again, then poured all their light, all their soul, all their life force, everything—

Every last bit of it—into Xu Qing's body.

This was a soul sacrifice!

It ignored everything. It didn't matter whether you could withstand it or what your level was. When a Soul Beast willingly offered up its soul, you could absorb its Soul Ring perfectly.

Xu Qing came to his senses at that moment, too.

He got unsteadily to his feet and burped.

Rubbing his bleary eyes, he said contentedly:

"I ate too much and got dizzy. Give me..."

As he spoke, he opened his palm. Right in the center lay a colorless ring that was gradually fading away.

"Hehehe. Before the Mystic Ice Marrow influenced you, even after I'd exposed your true nature, you were still this unruly..."

Xu Qing clenched his fist and crushed it, then scattered the fragments into the air. Tiny specks reflected a rainbow of colors in the sunlight.

"You even tried to fool me with a fake?"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had acted a little too crazily. Xu Qing had been caught off guard; some of the methods he'd prepared in advance hadn't even come into play.

Xu Qing had started experimenting a year ago.

From those ice-attribute Soul Beasts, he'd learned a piece of vital information.

It was also the most fundamental reason he dared face a Million-Year Soul Beast alone without changing expression, and could even handle it with ease.

For Soul Beasts with weak Willpower and timid personalities...

Xu Qing summoned his Mystic Ice Marrow Martial Soul. An eerie blue light shimmered across it.

"My Mystic Ice Marrow is no different from poison."

"Once you've tasted it, you won't be able to leave it behind..."

"But why didn't a Soul Bone drop?"

Xu Qing picked up the glittering insect skin from the ground and tucked it into his Sea of Consciousness.

"Wasn't a Soul Bone guaranteed to drop after a soul sacrifice? Was it because that bug didn't preserve his soul in the end?"