Millennium Soul Beast Actively Sacrifices Itself

Luo Yun's hand reached out uncontrollably.

His palm faced the Holy Leaf Spirit Deer kneeling on the ground.

The spirit deer raised its head, gently pressing its forehead against Luo Yun's palm.

A warm sensation traveled from his palm.

Luo Yun was stunned.

The next second.

BOOM!

A golden-green beam of light erupted from within the Holy Leaf Spirit Deer, shooting straight into the clouds and illuminating the entire riverbank as if it were broad daylight.

Within the beam, a complex magic circle slowly rotated and unfolded beneath Luo Yun's feet.

Luo Shang's pupils constricted sharply.

"A sacrifice?"

His voice was filled with disbelief.

A spirit beast sacrifice was an act where a spirit beast voluntarily offered its soul and cultivation to a spirit master.

This method required no hunting and no absorption process; the spirit beast's origin power would merge directly into the spirit master's martial soul.

However, the conditions for a sacrifice were extremely harsh.

First, the spirit beast had to be willing, without any trace of coercion. Second, the spirit beast had to possess an incredibly high level of recognition for the spirit master, bordering on... faith.

Recorded cases of sacrifice in history were few and far between, and each one was accompanied by earth-shattering phenomena.

Luo Shang had never dreamed that such a thing would happen to his own son.

And for his first spirit ring, no less.

The beam lasted for a few breaths before slowly dissipating.

The magic circle faded away along with it.

Luo Yun stood where he was, his hand still held in the outstretched position, his palm now empty.

The Holy Leaf Spirit Deer was gone.

In its place was a slowly rising purple spirit ring.

Purple!

A thousand-year ring.

The purple spirit ring rose from beneath Luo Yun's feet, slowly rotating around his body, reflecting the golden-green radiance of the Corona Sword.

Luo Yun looked down at the purple spirit ring at his feet, then looked up at his father and blinked.

Luo Shang understood that look.

That's it? It's over?

Luo Shang remained silent for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"...Why are you looking at me? This is my first time seeing this, too."

Luo Yun opened his mouth, just about to say something, when two voices suddenly exploded in his mind.

One was deep and cold:

Destruction Nine Trials, First Trial complete. Reward: 10% affinity with the origin of Destruction.

The other was gentle and clear:

Life Nine Trials, First Trial complete. Reward: 10% affinity with the origin of Life.

Before the voices had even finished, Luo Yun's pupils underwent a drastic change.

His left eye turned emerald green, and his right eye turned deep purple.

Two beams of light erupted from his body simultaneously; his left hand surged with a rich aura of life, while his right hand crackled with deep purple lightning, radiating a heart-stopping sense of destruction.

On one side was life, on the other was death.

On one side was life, on the other was destruction.

Two diametrically opposed powers were manifesting simultaneously in the same person.

Luo Yun looked down at his own hands, left green and right purple.

Douluo God Realm.

Tree of Life.

The canopy blotted out the sky, every leaf shimmering with a gentle green light.

The trunk was so thick its edges were invisible, and its roots were buried deep into the sea of clouds, supporting the entire God Realm.

Sitting on the branches at the top of the tree were a purple figure and a green figure.

The purple figure was a man with a cold, stern face and sharp, deep-set features. His purple robes snapped in the wind, and an aura of destruction, faint yet palpable, permeated the space around him.

The green figure was a woman of breathtaking beauty, her eyes as gentle as water. A long, emerald-green dress draped over the tree branch, its hem blending seamlessly with the surrounding leaves.

The two sat side-by-side on a thick branch, their legs dangling above a sea of clouds.

The man in the purple robe rested his chin on one hand, his gaze piercing through the starry sky to land upon that azure planet.

"A sacrifice," he said, his voice low and devoid of emotion. "It is rare for a thousand-year soul beast to offer itself up voluntarily."

The woman in the green dress smiled faintly. "Having witnessed the ultimate aura of divinity and life, that spirit deer naturally felt like a subject before an emperor, willing to make the sacrifice."

"Still, for the boy to choose the life-attributed Sun Corona Sword as his primary martial soul..." The man's tone carried a hint of subtle dissatisfaction. "It lacks even a shred of killing intent."

The woman tilted her head to look at him, chiding, "Is all you know how to do fight and kill? It is the boy's nature, and with parents like us, he could never become vicious."

"The strong cannot afford to be blindly soft," the man remained unmoved. "Born under protection and raised in a greenhouse, how will he endure when he faces a true life-or-death crisis?"

The woman fell silent for a moment, reaching out to pluck a leaf from the Tree of Life and twirling it gently between her fingertips.

"Then what would you have me do?"

The man withdrew his gaze, leaning back against the trunk as he looked up at the vast expanse of the starry sky above the God Realm.

"We must change the content of our trials."

The woman's fingers stilled.

A moment later, she sighed softly, her tone tinged with helplessness and indulgence. "Don't lead the child astray."

The corner of the man's mouth curved slightly.

"I know what I am doing."

"Xiao Yun," Luo Shang crouched down, his gaze fixed on the purple soul ring slowly rotating beneath Luo Yun's feet. "What is your first soul skill?"

"Alright."

Luo Yun nodded, closing his eyes to focus his attention on the Sun Corona Sword.

"First soul skill!"

"Holy Spirit Illumination!"

As the words fell, a golden orb of light rose from the tip of the sword, drifting slowly into the air.

The radiance it emitted enveloped a radius of several dozen meters.

Luo Yun opened his eyes, staring at the tiny "sun" above his head, momentarily stunned himself.

"Within the range of the light, all attributes of allies are increased by twenty percent, while all attributes of enemies are weakened by twenty percent. The suppression against evil attributes is doubled."

Luo Shang was silent for a moment, his lips twitching slightly.

"...Support type?"

"It seems so."

Who could have imagined that a sword-type martial soul would have a first soul skill that was a group buff and debuff support ability...

"That works too." Luo Shang stood up and brushed the grass from his knees. "Support has its advantages; at the very least, a team will always be in need of someone like you."

Luo Yun pouted. "I'm not joining a team."

"Who can say what the future holds?"

Luo Shang looked up at the sky.

It was getting late.

"Let's go, head back and rest for now," Luo Shang turned and walked toward the edge of the forest. "We'll come back tomorrow to find your second soul ring."

"Okay."

Luo Yun trotted after him, his Sun Corona Sword already retracted and the purple soul ring beneath his feet faded away.

He was in a truly good mood today.

His first soul ring was in hand, and he hadn't even needed to fight or kill—that deer had delivered itself right to his doorstep.

These God Trials didn't seem so difficult after all.

Just then.

Two voices exploded in his mind simultaneously.

One was low and cold, carrying an unquestionable majesty:

"Destruction Nine Trials, Second Trial: Travel to the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest core circle. Time limit: one month. Reward: Mastery of the Laws of Destruction. Failure penalty: Eradication."

The other was gentle and clear, yet its tone was equally uncompromising:

"Life Nine Trials, Second Trial: Complete the second trial of the Destruction Nine Trials. Time limit: one month. Reward: Mastery of the Laws of Life. Failure penalty: Eradication."