Is There a Sacrifice That Doesn't Cost a Life?

As the sacrificial process of the Golden Hawksbill continued, Kong Bo's spirit ring gradually turned red, officially becoming a 100,000-year spirit ring. Just as the ring reached the 100,000-year threshold, the Red Moon hovering above the heads of the Golden Hawksbill and Kong Bo rejected the subsequent energy from the Golden Hawksbill, returning it directly to the beast. The Red Moon then descended above Kong Bo, and the sacrificial process came to a halt.

Indeed, it stopped. The Golden Hawksbill's life force was no longer burning; it was still alive, and Kong Bo now possessed a red 100,000-year spirit ring.

"What... what is going on here?" Di Tian and the other fierce beasts stared at one another in confusion. Did a sacrifice not imply the death of the spirit beast? How could the process simply stop? Furthermore, the Golden Hawksbill was still alive and appeared to be in better spirits than before.

Whether it was Di Tian or the other fierce beasts, they had seen spirit beast sacrifices before, but they had never witnessed a 100,000-year spirit beast sacrifice being interrupted, let alone the beast surviving the ordeal.

"I have deduced the underlying principle; please wait a moment," Kong Bo said. "I have obtained a 100,000-year spirit ring, and the spirit skill is the amplification type I desired. However, the consumption of a 100,000-year spirit skill is far too great for me at my current level. It is not suitable for me to use right now, so I must seal the energy within this ring and gradually unseal it in the future."

Kong Bo then manipulated the Red Moon to absorb the energy within the red spirit ring. The ring gradually shifted from red to black, eventually settling as a 2,500-year purple spirit ring. Kong Bo then placed this purple ring upon himself and began to absorb it.

Once the absorption was complete, Kong Bo's spirit power reached level 12, officially making him a level 12 spirit master. Regarding his spirit power level, Kong Bo had deliberately suppressed it with the help of the Red Moon; pursuing rapid level growth would only make a spirit master's foundation hollow and their strength superficial.

After absorbing the spirit ring, Kong Bo opened his eyes. The spirit skill granted by this first ring was named "Moonlight Blessing."

This was an attribute-amplification skill. Once activated, Kong Bo's other skills would be enhanced. Moreover, the Moon Martial Soul was capable of driving spirit tools and could serve as their core; Kong Bo's Three Moons Martial Soul was naturally no exception.

This is perfect. The first ring is exactly what I wanted. As my spirit power level gradually increases, I can slowly unseal the energy until it reaches 100,000 years, Kong Bo thought to himself.

He then grasped the Red Moon portion of his Three Moons Martial Soul to examine it. The energy the Golden Hawksbill had sacrificed to him was almost entirely the energy of the Gold of Life. After absorbing such energy, the Red Moon possessed higher activity. Whether it was absorbing lunar energy, copying and imprinting spirit rings, or replicating martial souls, Kong Bo's efficiency had improved significantly. It was as if the internal architecture of the Red Moon "server" had been upgraded.

This is a great boon, Kong Bo thought. While I am in the Star Dou Great Forest, I can use the Red Moon to copy the life spectrums of Di Tian and the others—including their martial souls and skills—into the Red Moon. I will have more spirit skills to choose from in the future. It is a pity that I can only copy martial souls for now and cannot bestow them upon others. It seems I must wait for a future upgrade to achieve that.

After inspecting his martial soul, Kong Bo opened his eyes. Bi Ji asked impatiently, "Kong Bo, what is going on? Why could the spirit beast sacrifice process be stopped? Even the Beast God has never seen such a thing in all his long years."

"It is because my Red Moon Martial Soul possesses the authority over life itself," Kong Bo explained. "The process of a spirit beast sacrifice is essentially the beast granting me access to its life force, which my martial soul then absorbs. I wonder if the Beast God has ever attended a human banquet?"

"I have," Di Tian replied.

Kong Bo nodded, then used his spirit power to sketch a wine bottle and an empty cup in the air before demonstrating.

"Let us use an analogy. During the sacrifice, the Golden Hawksbill was like the wine bottle, and I was the empty cup. The sacrifice was like the bottle pouring wine into the cup; the wine inside was the life force.

"Later on, the Red Moon must have sensed that the quality of the life force being transmitted was not what it once was, so it ended the pouring process. The Red Moon's control and manipulation of life force are extremely potent, so it simply terminated the flow."

"Oh, I understand now," Bi Ji said. "I have another question. Look at that Hawksbill; its life state seems much improved. When Di Tian brought it out earlier, its vital signs were actually quite dire. Our Emerald Swan clan has the innate talent to perceive the life states of other spirit beasts."

Kong Bo pondered this. He knew the story of this Golden Hawksbill. He realized why the beast felt healthier after the sacrifice: it had been suffering from an overdose.

Kong Bo pointed at the Golden Hawksbill. "You greedy fellow, just like me. You swallowed such a large piece of Gold of Life—a full fifth of it—in one gulp. Did you really think you could digest it? Tell me, after you ate it, did you feel comfortable at first, only to later feel as if you were poisoned, feeling unwell all over, as if the Gold of Life were draining your own life force?"

The Golden Hawksbill nodded. "That is indeed how it was... I felt my days were numbered."

Kong Bo used his spirit power to draw a diagram. "Hmph, that was not the Gold of Life draining your life force. Your body had reached its maximum energy capacity, and the excess energy formed a blockage, causing you great discomfort and putting your life in danger. When you sacrificed to me, that obstructive energy was transferred to me. Of course, this means the Gold of Life you swallowed was wasted, as all the energy went to me. Look at you, going through all that trouble to swallow it, only to benefit me in the end.

"However, you have gained something as well. The life force that was blocking you is gone, and you will live much longer. Besides, since you sacrificed to me, I will remember your contribution. If I ever become a god, come and be my divine beast."

"Thank you for saving my life; I truly do not know how to repay you," the Golden Hawksbill said.