Elder Yi's Help

The instant Mu Feng sprang up, the tremendous impact hurled him through the air. A burning sensation swept across his entire body, and even while still airborne, Mu Feng knew from the pain alone that large patches of his skin had likely suffered severe burns.

Rays of light and fire pierced through the dust of the explosion. Mu Feng, who had been thrown to the ground, narrowly avoided the luan bird's dying struggle. Having lost all of its source power, the Sacred Radiance Luan's aura was exceedingly faint, and the rise and fall of its chest was barely visible.

If Mu Feng could not still sense the fierce glare emanating from its golden pupils, he would have thought the luan bird was already dead.

The close-range explosion had left Mu Feng with extensive burns in many places. Some areas even gave off the scent of roasted meat. Enduring the intense pain, Mu Feng unleashed his second soul skill, Sin-Breaking Flying Blades, easily piercing the luan bird, which no longer had the slightest ability to resist.

All of this happened in an instant. By the time the two of them reacted, Mu Feng had already swallowed a Rejuvenation Pill and sat cross-legged to refine its medicinal power.

Since wounds inflicted on evil soul masters by light-element attacks were difficult to heal, as though corroded, someone had specially developed the Rejuvenation Pill. It could quickly stop bleeding and regrow flesh after a wound had been purified. Mu Feng's burns could likewise be treated this way to prevent scarring after they healed.

However, its powerful effects came with severe side effects. Growing new skin required not only the pill's medicinal power, but also an overdraft of one's own life energy. Thus, after taking a Rejuvenation Pill, one would remain weak for the following week.

After taking several more pills capable of restoring Soul Power and meditating for half an hour, Mu Feng's aura gradually recovered. However, if a soul ring was not absorbed within an hour, it would dissipate on its own.

Just as Mu Feng was about to step forward and absorb the soul ring, Little White saw his intention and stopped him. "Your Highness, this was too dangerous. There is no need to take such a risk over a ten-thousand-year soul beast."

With injuries this severe, forcibly absorbing a soul ring at his limit after resting for only half an hour was simply too risky. As the Holy Son, Mu Feng did not need to take this risk.

Mu Feng hesitated upon hearing that. It was indeed only a soul ring. There would still be other chances, and he would not necessarily end up in such a sorry state again. The safety margin would certainly be greatly improved.

Yet next time, he might not find a soul beast that suited him so well. Although the Sacred Radiance Luan's desperate final strike had nearly cost him his life, it had also allowed Mu Feng to personally experience this soul beast's power. In particular, the fusion of light and fire elements was truly tempting.

"Don't worry. Go absorb it boldly. I am here," an aged voice sounded in Mu Feng's mind. It was Electrolux.

"Elder Yi, this..." Mu Feng hesitated.

"You still don't trust me?"

Mu Feng hurriedly explained, "That is not it, Elder Yi. It is only that your spiritual sense is already weak. If you act again, I am afraid it will affect your soul power."

Electrolux laughed heartily. "No matter how powerful this bird beast is, it is ultimately nothing more than a mortal beast. However weak my spiritual sense may be, dealing with it is more than easy enough."

With Electrolux's guarantee, Mu Feng felt much more at ease. He said to Little White, "Don't worry, I know what I am doing. If anything goes wrong, you can directly intervene and interrupt it."

With that, Mu Feng waved at Little White to show that he was fine, then plopped down beside the Burning Heaven Sacred Radiance Luan and guided the black ring onto his body.

The instant the soul ring entered his body, the violent power hidden within it surged through Mu Feng's meridians like a flood. His body jolted, and a pained expression instantly appeared on his face.

Just as he was about to gather all his strength and focus on resisting this tyrannical force, the originally raging flood suddenly became a rushing river. There was still some pain, but it was within the limits he could endure. The only one who could have caused this change was Electrolux.

He explained, "I first guide the power within this black ring into the plane I opened up, using it as a temporary buffer, then divide it into an amount you can bear before channeling it back out."

Electrolux continued, "This method is not without drawbacks. Maintaining the plane I created requires energy in itself, so once the energy enters the plane, it will be slowly absorbed. The longer it is stored, the less energy will remain."

Mu Feng silently thought, This plane space must be the undead demiplane Huo Yuhao used to resist the beast tide.

"However, the energy within this black soul ring is not all that great to begin with, and your tolerance is comparatively high. The energy loss is negligible."

After learning the drawback of this method, Mu Feng hurriedly put away his little scheme.

He had originally wanted to ask Elder Yi to use this method to let him directly attempt to absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. But his current capacity was still too weak. If too much energy leaked away then, the hundred-thousand-year soul ring might ultimately be reduced to nothing more than a red halo for decoration.

Other than the initial waves of pain, Mu Feng's absorption process went exceptionally smoothly. Naturally, the absorption time was correspondingly extended by quite a bit.

The soul ring itself still retained the soul beast's lingering remnant will, but this level of soul disturbance was utterly incomparable to Electrolux's spiritual sense. Electrolux easily crushed it before it could even emerge.

Only after the final trace of energy had been completely refined did Mu Feng release his martial soul. Four soul rings, three purple and one black, slowly appeared. Only then did Black and White Impermanence finally relax.

Their carelessness had caused Mu Feng's severe injuries and led to his subsequent risk of forcibly absorbing the soul ring. If anything had happened to Mu Feng during the absorption, neither of them would have escaped blame.

They were likewise unable to shirk responsibility for Mu Feng's still-unhealed severe injuries. As trusted suicide warriors specially raised by the Holy Spirit Cult, the thought of defying orders simply did not exist in their minds.

When Mu Feng rose to his feet, the two of them still stood with their heads lowered, waiting for Mu Feng's punishment.

However, Mu Feng's attention was not on them at all. To his surprise, after he finished absorbing the soul ring, the luan bird's corpse had not withered away and vanished. Instead, a cluster of dazzling golden light remained at the base of its wings.

At once, a thought appeared in Mu Feng's mind. "A soul bone?"

When Mu Feng moved closer to inspect it, the cluster of golden light slowly floated up. Just as he had guessed, it was the soul bone produced by this Burning Heaven Sacred Radiance Luan. However, the shape of this bone was rather strange.

It resembled an enlarged flight feather, shaped like a shrunken wing skeleton. It was crystalline throughout, with faint golden patterns flowing across its surface.

A soul bone from a twenty-thousand-year soul beast would be a priceless treasure in any auction house, not to mention that this was an exceedingly rare light-attribute soul bone.

Mu Feng stared at the strangely shaped soul bone, and it seemed to sense his gaze as well, transforming into a streak of light that shot toward his back.