Phantom Water Spirit Toad's Spiritual Inheritance Memory

Sea of Spirit.

Yan Hongchen's consciousness opened his eyes. Beneath his feet lay a shimmering Sea of Spirit.

Above the sea, a mass of golden light slowly circulated like the sun, illuminating the entire Sea of Spirit.

Yan Hongchen was immersed in the profound sensation of his newly opened Sea of Spirit when the surface suddenly rippled.

A pale blue glow emerged from the depths of his Sea of Spirit, growing brighter and clearer—it was the Phantom Water Spirit Toad!

At some unknown point, it had appeared within this spiritual realm. Its Glazed Rainbow Eyes curiously examined its surroundings, while the ring of golden ripple-like markings on its forehead glimmered faintly, as though resonating with the golden light over the sea.

Then, it did something that left Yan Hongchen dumbfounded. The Phantom Water Spirit Toad opened its mouth and took a fierce breath in!

The golden light that had yet to fully merge with the Sea of Spirit seemed to answer its summons, surging toward it in streams of golden radiance before being swallowed into its belly.

"Hey—!" Yan Hongchen's consciousness cried out within the Sea of Spirit. "What are you doing?!"

But the Phantom Water Spirit Toad ignored him and continued devouring the golden light. Once it had swallowed even the final wisp of essence, it let out a tiny satisfied burp, and a dazzling light burst from its body!

The light persisted for a long while. By the time it faded, the Phantom Water Spirit Toad's appearance had subtly changed.

It was still the palm-sized, translucent pale-blue spirit toad, but its Glazed Rainbow Eyes had become deeper, as if a sea of stars lay hidden within them.

The golden ripple markings on its forehead had also become more intricate and refined, faintly flowing with mysterious radiance.

What shocked Yan Hongchen even more was that he sensed an unfamiliar thought. It was immature and pure, yet undeniably real, cautiously attempting to establish a connection with him.

"Who are you..." Yan Hongchen tentatively asked the Phantom Water Spirit Toad before him. Though he already had a guess, he still found it hard to believe.

"Master." A clear voice, like the tinkling of spring water, rang in his mind. "I am the Phantom Water Spirit Toad. At last, I can communicate with you."

Yan Hongchen froze, then exclaimed, "You... you're alive!"

"I have always possessed sentience," the Phantom Water Spirit Toad said, sounding slightly aggrieved.

"It was just that before, I could only tell Master certain things through dreams. I couldn't communicate with you directly. I absorbed the remaining spiritual energy from that soul bone just now, so we can finally communicate here."

Only then did Yan Hongchen come back to himself, an indescribably complicated emotion rising in his heart. Through dreams? Wasn't that his previous dream? The map had been given to him by it as well?

He had originally thought that the sentience he sensed from his martial soul was something vague and illusory. The weakness of his martial soul's origin before had seemed like nothing more than an illusion. Now, it appeared that all of it had been real.

It was only that he had refused to believe it. The most obvious example had been Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao ten thousand years ago. That man had practically ruined his own martial soul beyond recognition, and it had made Yan Hongchen somewhat afraid as well.

Yan Hongchen fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Then... are you willing to acknowledge me as your master?"

The Phantom Water Spirit Toad tilted its head. A trace of confusion flashed through its Glazed Rainbow Eyes. "Master is Master. Do I still need to acknowledge you?"

Yan Hongchen laughed at its answer. That was right. It was his martial soul to begin with. From the moment it awakened, it had already been the closest existence in his life. So-called acknowledging a master was merely a formality.

"Alright." Yan Hongchen smiled gently. "Then please guide me from now on."

Yan Hongchen took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart. "...What can you do now?"

The Phantom Water Spirit Toad blinked, then suddenly opened its mouth and spat out another mass of golden light. It slowly unfurled above the Sea of Spirit, transforming into a screen of light.

Dense lines of text emerged across the screen. The writing was ancient and profound, faintly carrying an indescribable pressure—yet he could not understand a single word.

"This is..." Yan Hongchen's pupils contracted slightly.

"My inherited memories." The Phantom Water Spirit Toad's voice sounded with a hint of pride. "Now, they belong to you."

Yan Hongchen wanted to inspect his martial soul's inherited memories up close. However, the moment his spiritual power touched the screen, a gentle yet firm force bounced it back.

"Hm?" Yan Hongchen paused and tried again, only to be repelled once more.

"Don't try, Master." The Phantom Water Spirit Toad spoke helplessly. "These cultivation methods require a 'key' to unlock. With your current condition, you simply cannot open them."

"A key? What key?" Yan Hongchen did not have any key on him. There were only the two of them here.

The Phantom Water Spirit Toad tilted its head, a thoughtful look flashing through its Glazed Rainbow Eyes. "It should be... something this world requires. I can sense a seal upon myself. That seal needs some kind of special 'certification' to be undone. And that certification is related to both of us."

Yan Hongchen fell silent. Something related to both him and his martial soul... In other words, did he need to truly obtain a soul ring and become an official soul master before he qualified to unlock these cultivation methods?

Yan Hongchen lowered his head to look at his hands, then glanced at the Sea of Spirit. The most basic soul ring had now become his greatest bottleneck!

"Master, there is no need to be discouraged." The Phantom Water Spirit Toad comforted him. "You are already far luckier than most. The soul ring can be dealt with once we go outside. We can decide what kind of soul beast would be best."

It was connected to Yan Hongchen in heart and memories, so it naturally knew what was happening outside. That was why it comforted him this way.

Yan Hongchen nodded and calmed himself. "Alright. Let's head out first. Then we'll see what kind of soul ring you want." With a thought, his consciousness withdrew from the Sea of Spirit.

In the real world, the wind and snow still raged, and the skies above the Extreme North were a vast, desolate gray-white.

Yan Hongchen sat cross-legged beside the sheltered ice boulder, his eyes tightly shut. A faint golden marking flickered between his brows. He had been meditating like this for a long time—far longer than Snow Empress had expected.

Snow Empress stood guard nearby, quietly watching Yan Hongchen. Absorbing a hundred-thousand-year head soul bone with a mild attribute normally would not take this long.

Jing Hongchen and the other two had no way to interfere from outside. They neither dared interrupt Yan Hongchen's absorption nor lower their guard against Snow Empress.

Although this Extreme North King had shown sufficient goodwill, before such an absolute gap in strength, even the slightest carelessness could prove fatal.

Yan Hongchen's eyelashes trembled lightly. In the next moment, he opened his eyes. Within those Glazed Rainbow Eyes flickered a deeper light than before.

It was not a change brought about by increased soul power, but a fundamental elevation on the spiritual level. The opening of his Sea of Spirit had subtly transformed his entire aura.