Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree Sacrifice! Fourth Spirit Skill, Thunder Fire Lotus Domain! (Seeking recommendations, seeking recommendations!)

"Wait!"

The ancient face on the Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree's trunk twisted violently, while the remaining flames in its crown leaped madly. Its voice was incomparably urgent.

"Human powerhouse, I can sacrifice myself to him!

I only ask that you leave me a single seed, so that the Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree lineage may continue to survive in this basin!"

Gu Qing raised a hand, signaling Tang Hao to stop for the moment.

The dark gleam around the Clear Sky Hammer receded slightly, but the pressure of a Titled Douluo still blanketed the entire basin.

He looked at the enormous face outlined by bark and flame, his tone calm. "You haven't reached a hundred thousand years. How can you perform a sacrifice?"

"I truly have not reached a hundred thousand years."

The Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree's voice was low and urgent. The flames in its crown flickered with its emotional fluctuations.

"But the essence of a sacrifice is to transfer a soul beast's origin power to a human soul master without reservation.

Although my origin is not as abundant as that of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, it has undergone more than eighty thousand years of tempering by thunder and fire, and has already mutated. The density and purity of this dual-attribute origin far exceed those of a single-attribute origin, enough to sustain the expenditure of a sacrifice.

More importantly, my origin is extremely similar in structure to the power of your lotus martial soul. Our compatibility will far surpass that of an ordinary soul ring, and the effects of the sacrifice may even be better than those of an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

Dugu Bo's hand stroking his beard stopped. A glint flashed through his emerald eyes as he muttered, "What it says is true.

I have seen similar records in ancient texts. Soul beasts with dual-attribute mutated origins may indeed awaken the ability to sacrifice ahead of time before reaching a hundred thousand years. Such cases are exceedingly rare, but there are precedents."

Tang Hao also nodded slightly, his deep voice echoing through the basin.

"Its origin fluctuations are indeed far more solid than those of an ordinary eighty-thousand-year soul beast."

Gu Qing did not hesitate for long.

Leaving behind a seed so the Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree lineage could continue to propagate in this basin would do no harm to the soul beast ecosystem. Besides, turning down an eighty-thousand-year sacrifice delivered right to his door would make him an idiot.

"Fine! I'll personally bury your seed for you. Begin!"

"Thank you."

The Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree's voice carried a hoarse relief.

The face on the Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree's trunk slowly faded away, replaced by a crimson-gold radiance surging out from deep within its core.

The entire giant tree began to burn fiercely. This was not the flame from their earlier battle, but an origin fire of utter purity.

The flames spread upward from the roots. Wherever they passed, the wood transformed into golden motes of light, like countless fireflies scattering through the air.

The silvery-white lightning in the crown no longer struck downward either. Like the flames, it began to break apart from within, becoming countless fine silver arcs that danced in the air.

The entire basin was illuminated by this magnificent sight.

Crimson-gold flames and silvery-white lightning intertwined around the trunk, forming a breathtaking scene of thunder and fire interwoven.

The entire tree became increasingly transparent as it burned, until it finally transformed into a massive mass of thunder-fire origin—crimson-gold on the outside, silvery-white within. At its core, a fist-sized, perfectly translucent purple-gold seed floated silently.

The mass of origin split into two streams. One wrapped around the seed and fell into Gu Qing's hand, while the other surged into his body, condensing around him into a halo interwoven with crimson-gold and silvery-white.

Gu Qing sat cross-legged and began absorbing it, while the three spectators at the edge of the basin were still immersed in the visual shock of that thunder-and-fire display.

Dugu Bo's hand trembled violently as he stroked his beard. In ninety years of life, this was the first time he had personally witnessed a plant-type soul beast sacrifice itself—and it was a Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree nearing ninety thousand years, voluntarily begging to sacrifice itself.

What kind of absurd luck had this brat stepped in today?

Dugu Yan could not say a single word. She had suffered too many shocks tonight and no longer knew which one to be astonished by first!

The absorption process lasted several hours. When the final speck of light dissipated from around Gu Qing, he suddenly opened his eyes. A flicker of lightning flashed deep in his left eye, while a wisp of crimson flame danced in his right.

A soul ring slowly rose from beneath the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus: black tinged with red.

A seductive crimson halo coiled around its ink-dark base—the distinctive mark of a sacrifice soul ring from a soul beast nearing ninety thousand years.

Then the first three soul rings emerged in succession: purple, black, black, and black-red, arranged around the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus. Every ring radiated a suffocating pressure.

"Purple, black, black, black-red... What kind of heaven-defying configuration is that?!"

Dugu Bo tore out several more strands of his beard.

What shocked him even more came afterward.

The aura of Gu Qing's soul power began to surge at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The bottleneck at the peak of Level 39 was broken through. Level 40, Level 41, Level 42... it soared all the way to Level 45 before gradually stabilizing.

Dugu Bo abruptly took a step forward, his emerald serpent eyes filled with disbelief.

"You were only Level 39 before? You were obtaining your fourth soul ring?!"

Dugu Yan was completely dumbfounded.

She had always assumed that Gu Qing was at least a Soul Sage, perhaps even a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse!

He could shatter a five-thousand-year soul beast's giant claw with a single punch, and temper his body amid the attacks of an eighty-thousand-year Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree without even changing expression. How could he possibly be only Level 39?

Although Liu Erlong had long known Gu Qing's Soul Power Level, seeing him soar from Level 39 all the way to Level 45 still made her suck in a sharp breath.

Six levels in a row—was this brat cultivating on a rocket?

Gu Qing raised his right hand, and the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus bloomed in his palm.

His fourth soul ring lit up, black light tinged with red surging from the depths of the lotus heart.

"The fourth soul skill—Thunder Fire Lotus Domain.

A thunder-fire barrier is released with the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus at its center. All allied attacks within its range gain the dual effects of lightning paralysis and blazing fire burns;

all enemies continuously suffer thunder-fire burns, while their movement speed is hindered by lightning.

A group-battle crowd-control skill—just what was needed to make up for the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus's previous lack of attack options."

Gu Qing withdrew his martial soul, picked up the purple-gold seed, and walked toward where the Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree had once taken root.

Where the giant tree had once stood, there was now only a charred pit several zhang wide. The lingering warmth of thunder-fire scorching remained at its bottom, while the air was filled with the mixed smell of burnt wood and sulfur.

Gu Qing leaped into the bottom of the pit, bent down, and buried the seed in its deepest part, carefully covering it with soil.

"I've buried your seed for you!

From now on, this basin will still be the territory of your Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree lineage. Take root here in peace."

An extremely faint hum came from deep within the soil, as though in response.

Gu Qing straightened up and brushed the dirt from his hands.

Just as he was about to leap out of the pit, the corner of his eye caught something unusual on the side of the pit wall.

Beneath the charred soil, a faint reddish-gold glimmer shone through. It was not the dim red of embers, but a warm, jade-like sheen.

He reached out and brushed aside the soil, revealing a palm-sized piece of wood as lustrous as black jade.

It seemed like wood, yet not quite wood. It was warm to the touch, its surface covered in dense silver-white lightning patterns and reddish-gold flame patterns. It gave off a faint heat in his palm, and he could clearly sense dual-attribute thunder-fire energy surging within it.

Gu Qing took it and leaped out of the pit. Dugu Bo was the first to crowd over. After just one glance, his emerald snake pupils widened.

"An External Soul Bone!

A dual-attribute thunder-fire External Soul Bone!

This old man has killed at least dozens of ten-thousand-year soul beasts, yet not one has ever dropped a soul bone. You brat not only made a soul beast sacrifice itself, but even obtained a soul bone!

It really is enough to make one die of envy!"