Another External Soul Bone

A Soul Bone radiating a heart-palpitating aura lay inside the box. It was entirely a crystalline deep purple, with blackish-purple lightning occasionally flashing across its surface, carrying an extremely terrifying aura of destruction.

It was a right palm bone. Five finger bones of varying lengths were connected to the palm bone, blackish-purple lightning flowing around the fingertips. The sharp fingertips seemed capable of slicing through space and piercing all things.

"This is an External Soul Bone. Didn't they say that once an External Soul Bone is absorbed, it can't be stripped away? Has no one ever absorbed this Soul Bone?"

Xu Tianchen frowned and voiced his doubts to Xu Chengjing.

Ordinary Soul Bones could be stripped from a Spirit Master after death, but External Soul Bones were different. Once an External Soul Bone fully fused with a Spirit Master, it could not be stripped away, not even after the Spirit Master died. Therefore, this Soul Bone was clearly a pristine, unabsorbed one.

Yet this Soul Bone shared the same origin as the imperial family's Purple Radiance Annihilating Heaven Dragon Martial Soul, but it had remained unabsorbed until now. There had to be a secret behind it!

"That's right, no one has absorbed this Soul Bone yet. It was passed down from the founding emperor of our Sun Moon Empire, and it is also the key to opening one of the imperial family's secret realms. However, no one has ever gained this Soul Bone's recognition, so it has been held by the Spirit Masters of each generation of the imperial family who possess the Purple Radiance Annihilating Heaven Dragon Martial Soul. In this generation, because your imperial elder brother possesses the Sun Martial Soul, it was passed down to me."

"The main reason this Soul Bone cannot be absorbed is that its quality is too high. The destruction attribute contained within it is too powerful, so its host must likewise possess a powerful destruction attribute."

"And you—your Martial Soul's destruction attribute far surpasses both mine and your elder brother's. Moreover, your Purple Radiance Annihilating Heaven Dragon coexists with a Sun Martial Soul possessing Ultimate Fire and quasi-Ultimate Light attributes. In a sense, that means your destruction attribute is also Ultimate Destruction."

"I originally intended to give you this Soul Bone when you were a few years older. But since you'll be absorbing that right arm bone tomorrow, try seeing whether you can absorb this Soul Bone first."

As he spoke, Xu Chengjing pushed the box containing the Soul Bone toward Xu Tianchen.

Xu Tianchen took the Soul Bone from the box, steadied his mind, and placed it beneath his right hand. He used his soul power to guide the Soul Bone and attempt fusion. The Soul Bone first flashed with intense purple light, then Xu Tianchen's Martial Soul involuntarily possessed him, deep-purple lightning flickering all over his body. The instant the two came into contact, the lightning's color began to grow increasingly profound.

Seeing this, Xu Chengjing hurriedly retreated to one side to protect Xu Tianchen, afraid that standing too close might interfere with his absorption of the Soul Bone.

Immersed in the process, Xu Tianchen suddenly discovered that the world around him had undergone a heaven-shaking change. He had gone from sitting cross-legged on the ground to standing in the void. Before him stood a colossal nine-colored dragon, while a voice filled with resentment seemed to tear apart the entire space.

"Dragon God, I was born alongside you. Over these years, I have rendered countless great deeds for the Dragon Clan. What wrong did I commit that you had to destroy me? You merely feared my potential! You coveted my Annihilation Godhead, that's all! Are you even worthy of being the Dragon God?"

"Hahaha, under your leadership, the Dragon Clan will surely fall into eternal ruin. I'll be waiting for you below."

Xu Tianchen felt as if his own emotions had been colored by the scene. Boundless fury, dissatisfaction, and resentment surged from within him, these negative emotions seeming ready to swallow him whole.

Then, the scene changed once more.

Dragon blood filled the sky, along with deep-purple dragon scales carrying the Ultimate destruction attribute, raining down upon the earth. A colossal dragon more than three hundred zhang long fell toward the ground before finally crashing into a secret realm.

"Huff... huff..."

Xu Tianchen abruptly opened his eyes in the secret chamber, gasping heavily. He lowered his head to look at his right hand, now brimming with power. He turned it over and over before finally clenching it into a fist.

Xu Tianchen recalled that purple dragon from before. That dragon should have been the origin of the Sun Moon Empire imperial family's Purple Radiance Annihilating Heaven Dragon Martial Soul—the progenitor of draconic beasts, the Dragon God's twin-born brother—the Radiant Dragon King!

Then this External Soul Bone shall be called the Radiant Dragon Claw!

"How does it feel?" Xu Chengjing walked over from the side, interrupting Xu Tianchen's thoughts.

"Pretty good. It's full of power. My soul power has also reached around Rank 17, but I keep feeling that there's still a great deal of energy inside it that I haven't absorbed." Xu Tianchen raised his right hand toward Xu Chengjing.

"Good. As long as it feels good, that's enough. As for that secret realm, there's no rush. Enter it after you reach Rank 70." Xu Chengjing said.

"Why do I have to wait until Rank 70? If there's something good inside, shouldn't it be absorbed as early as possible?"

"I don't know either, but this was passed down by our ancestors. Perhaps you can only receive certain inheritances after reaching Rank 70." Xu Chengjing shook his head at Xu Tianchen. "All right, you've been absorbing Soul Bones all night. Go wash up and get yourself ready. Your master will be here soon."

"Okay." With that, Xu Tianchen rose from the ground and left the secret chamber with Xu Chengjing.

Xu Tianchen looked up at the sky. The moon that had once hung high overhead had vanished, replaced by a sun that bestowed light and warmth upon the land. He had not expected that merely absorbing a Soul Bone would take him until daylight.

After parting with Xu Chengjing, Xu Tianchen returned to his own courtyard and tidied himself up.

Although absorbing the Soul Bone had taken an entire night, Xu Tianchen did not feel the slightest bit tired. Instead, he felt invigorated and full of energy.

Not long after Xu Tianchen finished getting ready, Long Xiaoyao arrived.

"Master, where's Mistress? Why didn't she come with you?" Xu Tianchen asked as he looked at Long Xiaoyao, who had come alone.

"Your mistress had something she needed to deal with." Long Xiaoyao replied with a smile.

Seeing Long Xiaoyao's ruddy complexion, Xu Tianchen knew that he must have had a good night. Perhaps Ye Xishui had even opened her heart to Long Xiaoyao ahead of time, letting the old fellow have another taste.

"All right, stop thinking about nonsense. Hurry up and take out the Soul Bone for absorption." Seeing Xu Tianchen's somewhat strange expression, Long Xiaoyao directly slapped him on the shoulder.

"Okay." Xu Tianchen nodded and took out the Soul Bone from his soul tool.

Xu Tianchen sat cross-legged on the bed, while Long Xiaoyao sat on a stool and poured himself a cup of tea. Then he nodded at Xu Tianchen. "Begin. I'll protect you."

Hearing that, Xu Tianchen directly pressed the Soul Bone against his right arm and began absorbing it.

Perhaps Xu Tianchen's compatibility with this Soul Bone was truly very high. Although this Soul Bone had a cultivation of at least one hundred thousand years, it gradually fused into his right arm as he absorbed it, without placing too much pressure on him.

What puzzled him was that although this was clearly a Soul Bone with a destruction attribute, it made Xu Tianchen feel as comfortable as if he were nestled beneath warm blankets while a cold winter raged outside.

Could this Soul Bone also possess light and fire attributes?

His right arm in particular felt not only warm, but scorching. The sensation spread through the meridians of his right arm and throughout his entire body, leaving him feeling pleasantly warm all over.

Xu Tianchen also sensed that this Soul Bone was pushing the quasi-Ultimate Light attribute of his Sun Martial Soul toward Ultimate Light!

Three hours passed quietly just like that.

At first, Xu Tianchen could feel the baleful aura contained within the Soul Bone. But the Radiant Dragon Claw suddenly revealed its aura, causing that baleful aura to dissipate immediately. Otherwise, even with Xu Tianchen's powerful spiritual power, that baleful aura would have given him quite a hard time.

After Xu Tianchen finished absorbing the Soul Bone, he felt as if his entire body had gone numb. He could not help shouting inwardly, What kind of divine soul beast produced this Soul Bone?! Its effects are far too heaven-defying! It feels like I absorbed not a Soul Bone, but an unparalleled immortal herb.