As the Golden Hawksbill's sacrifice continued, Kong Bo's Soul Ring gradually turned red, officially becoming a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. The moment it reached the hundred-thousand-year level, the Red Moon hovering above the Golden Hawksbill and Kong Bo rejected the Golden Hawksbill's remaining energy and sent it directly back. Then, the Red Moon moved above Kong Bo's head, and the sacrifice came to a halt.
That was right—it had stopped. The Golden Hawksbill was no longer burning its life force. It was still alive, and Kong Bo now possessed a red Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
"W-What is going on?" Di Tian and the other ferocious beasts exchanged bewildered looks. Didn't a sacrifice mean the death of a soul beast? How could the process simply stop? And not only was the Golden Hawksbill still alive, its condition even seemed somewhat improved.
Di Tian and the other ferocious beasts had seen soul beasts make sacrifices before, but they had never seen a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's sacrifice come to a stop while the sacrificing soul beast survived.
"I've figured out the basic principle. Give me a moment," Kong Bo said. "I've obtained a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, and its soul skill is the enhancement-type skill I wanted. However, a hundred-thousand-year soul skill consumes too much for me to use right now, so I'm going to seal the energy within this Soul Ring and slowly unseal it in the future."
Kong Bo then controlled the Red Moon to absorb the energy within the red Soul Ring. The ring gradually changed from red to black, eventually becoming a 2,500-year purple Soul Ring. He then placed the purple Soul Ring around himself and began absorbing it.
When the absorption was complete, Kong Bo's Soul Power Level rose to level 12. He had officially become a level-12 soul master. With the Red Moon's help, he had deliberately suppressed his Soul Power Level. Chasing levels too eagerly would make a soul master's soul power too unstable, leaving their strength watered down.
After absorbing the Soul Ring, Kong Bo opened his eyes. The soul skill granted by his first Soul Ring was called Moonlight Blessing.
It was an enhancement-type soul skill. Once activated, it enhanced Kong Bo's abilities. Moreover, the Moon Martial Soul was a martial soul capable of powering Soul Tools and serving as their core. Naturally, Kong Bo's Three Moons Martial Soul could do the same.
Perfect. My first Soul Ring gave me exactly what I wanted. As my Soul Power Level gradually rises, I can slowly unseal the energy and eventually bring it up to a hundred thousand years, Kong Bo thought.
Next, he grabbed the Red Moon portion of his Three Moons Martial Soul and examined it. Nearly all the energy the Golden Hawksbill had sacrificed to Kong Bo had been Gold of Life energy. After absorbing such energy, the Red Moon became far more active. Whether Kong Bo absorbed moonlight energy, copied and imprinted Soul Rings, or replicated martial souls in the future, the efficiency would improve greatly. It was as if the Red Moon's internal server architecture had been upgraded.
This is excellent, Kong Bo thought. While I'm in the Star Dou Great Forest, I can use the Red Moon to copy Di Tian and the others' life signatures—including their martial souls and skills—into it. Then I'll have many more soul skills to choose from. Unfortunately, I can only copy martial souls for now and can't grant them to others. I suppose I'll have to wait until a future upgrade to do that.
After examining his martial soul, Kong Bo opened his eyes. Bi Ji immediately asked, "Kong Bo, what happened? Why could a soul beast's sacrifice be stopped? Even Lord Beast God, after living for so long, has never seen anything like this."
"It's because my Red Moon Martial Soul possesses authority over life itself," Kong Bo said. "The process of a soul beast's sacrifice is essentially the sacrificing soul beast opening access to its life force for me, after which my martial soul absorbs that life force. I wonder whether Senior Beast God has ever attended one of our human banquets."
"I have," Di Tian said.
Kong Bo nodded, then used his soul power to draw a wine bottle filled with wine and an empty cup before beginning his explanation.
"Let's make an analogy. During the sacrifice, the Golden Hawksbill is like the wine in the bottle, while I am the empty cup. The sacrifice is like pouring wine from the bottle into the cup, and the wine in the bottle is its life force."
"Later on, the Red Moon must have discovered that the quality of the life force being transmitted was inferior to what it had previously received, so it stopped the pouring process. The Red Moon's control over life force is extremely powerful—it simply stopped the wine from being poured."
"Oh, I understand now," Bi Ji said. "But I have another question. Look at that hawksbill. Its life condition seems much better than before. When Di Tian pulled it out earlier, its vital signs were actually terrible. Our Emerald Swan clan has the talent to sense the life conditions of other soul beasts."
Kong Bo thought for a moment. He knew the Golden Hawksbill's story, and he soon understood why the Golden Hawksbill had become healthier after undergoing the sacrifice.
Kong Bo pointed at the Golden Hawksbill. "You really are greedy, just like me. You swallowed such a huge chunk of Gold of Life—an entire fifth of it—in one gulp. Did you really think you could digest it? Tell me, after eating the Gold of Life, you felt wonderful at first, didn't you? But later, you started feeling poisoned, uncomfortable all over, as though the Gold of Life was draining your life force?"
The Golden Hawksbill nodded. "That's exactly what happened... I felt as though I didn't have much time left."
Kong Bo then drew a diagram with his soul power. "Hmph. It wasn't the Gold of Life absorbing your life force. Your body had already absorbed as much energy as it could. The remaining Gold of Life energy formed a blockage within your body, making you extremely uncomfortable and putting your life in danger. When you sacrificed yourself to me, the energy blocking you was transferred to me. Of course, that also means you swallowed that piece of Gold of Life for nothing—its energy all went to me. Look at you. You went to all that trouble to swallow it, only for me to benefit from it in the end.
"But you came out ahead too. The life force blocking you is gone, so you can live longer. And since you made a sacrifice for me, I'll remember your kindness. If I become a god in the future, come serve as one of my divine beasts."
"Thank you for saving my life. I truly have no way to repay you," the Golden Hawksbill said.
Before you continue