The Five-Colored Heavenly Pearl's Ability: Absorb It for Me!

Xu Huxiao was about to test something—something no Soul Master had ever attempted before.

If it succeeded, perhaps it could solve the problem of how slowly his three flowers of qi and blood condensed in the Essence Intent Realm.

The qi and blood flowers of the Essence Intent Realm condensed extremely slowly. Since enrolling at the academy at age six, he had entered the Essence Intent Realm and begun condensing them. Yet after a whole year, he had not even formed a single petal.

That was with him consuming high-energy ingredients every day. If not for the Demon Clam pearl, he estimated that condensing one qi and blood flower would take at least five years.

And that was only the first flower. The further one progressed in condensing the three flowers of the Essence Intent Realm, the slower it became. Judging by the first flower's progress, under normal conditions and with a sufficient supply of high-energy food, the second qi and blood flower might take twice as long—ten years.

Then the third qi and blood flower would take more than ten years to condense.

That was far too long.

Yet after absorbing the Demon Clam pearl, he had completed the condensation of one qi and blood flower in just half a year.

The difference was obvious.

If he had not unexpectedly obtained a Soul Bone today, he would have been preparing to seize the immortal herbs in the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well ahead of schedule.

But now that he had the Soul Bone, if tonight's experiment succeeded, there would be no need to rush into taking the immortal herbs.

After all, a Poison Douluo was guarding those herbs. Going after them recklessly with his current meager strength carried enormous risks.

Even if his father could suppress the Poison Douluo, perhaps even kill him with all his strength—

Once two Titled Douluos fought, one representing Spirit Hall and the other backed by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, there would be far too many uncontrollable factors. It would also inevitably draw the attention of high-level Soul Masters.

In such chaos, with his strength, secretly taking away the immortal herbs without anyone noticing would be extremely difficult.

Moreover, he still could not resist poison. After all, he had only condensed two Golden Suns, the Nine Yang Divine Skill had not reached great completion, and Yang Origin Soul Power's ability to refine poison into nourishment was still growing.

Therefore, he hoped that tonight, he could use the string of Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls on Yun Ji's wrist to refine the Soul Bone's energy.

That was right. Xu Huxiao did not intend to directly absorb this Soul Bone as his Head Soul Bone. Instead, he wanted to treat it as a heavenly treasure, digest and absorb it into his body, and use it to condense his second qi and blood flower.

Although he clearly knew that in Douluo Continent, the only way to absorb a Soul Bone was to guide it with spiritual power and fuse it into one's own bones.

Other than that, there had never been a case of a Soul Master absorbing a Soul Bone as a heavenly treasure.

But he wanted to try.

Because the string of Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls on Yun Ji's wrist possessed another special ability besides perfectly concealing the aura of a soul beast.

[Item]: Five-Colored Heavenly Pearl

[Effect]: First, responds to special Soul Power auras and can perfectly conceal the aura of a soul beast. Even god-level beings cannot see through it. Once worn, it locks onto the wearer's aura and cannot be removed; second, refines heavenly treasures.

[Value]: Immeasurable

[Item Description]: In another half year, little Pearl's working hours will have reached two and a half years.

It was the second ability: refining heavenly treasures.

He had learned of it through the Eye of Omniscience the first time he obtained its information.

[Refining Heavenly Treasures]: Regardless of the type of high-energy item, it can be refined through the Five-Colored Heavenly Pearl into the purest origin energy for absorption.

He would use the Five-Colored Heavenly Pearl to refine this Soul Bone into the purest origin energy, then absorb it.

That was Xu Huxiao's experiment.

Would it work?

Xu Huxiao took the Soul Bone from the Twin Dragon Rings on his left ear and looked at Yun Ji.

"This is a complete Head Soul Bone. I know that string of Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls on your wrist can refine heavenly treasures. I need you to use it to refine this Soul Bone into origin energy, then let me absorb it."

Yun Ji pointed at the Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls on her wrist in confusion. "You mean this? My mother gave it to me. She never said this bracelet had any refining ability."

"She only told me not to take it off, but now I can't take it off at all. I don't know how to use it to refine a Soul Bone."

"If you don't believe me, you can try. Yun Ji isn't lying."

As she spoke, Yun Ji extended her wrist before Xu Huxiao and let him try to remove it.

Seeing how sincere she was, Xu Huxiao took hold of her wrist and tried to remove the string of Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls.

The moment he tried, he felt an unshakable force blocking him. Xu Huxiao stopped. The information obtained by the Eye of Omniscience had not been wrong.

It could not be removed.

But that was not the key issue. How was it supposed to be used?

Xu Huxiao stared thoughtfully at the Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls. This world had no magical treasures or artifacts. All items with strange and varied abilities had only one identity.

Soul Tools.

And the method for activating a Soul Tool was to infuse it with Soul Power.

With that thought, Xu Huxiao grasped the Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls on Yun Ji's wrist and poured Yang Origin Soul Power into them.

But in the next second, he frowned.

He could not infuse it?

It was as though an invisible barrier was blocking his Yang Origin Soul Power.

If his Soul Power would not work, what about this little Mermaid's?

"Yun Ji, try infusing your own Soul Power into this string of pearls."

"Oh, I'll try."

As a thread of azure Soul Power flowed from Yun Ji's body into the Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls, a miraculous scene unfolded.

Every pearl radiated brilliant light, and a ring of shifting five-colored light appeared over Yun Ji's palm.

Yun Ji stared at the scene in disbelief. As her Soul Power entered the Heavenly Pearls, information about their functions also entered her mind.

And because of the Fate Ritual, the information Yun Ji knew was also information Xu Huxiao knew.

It was precisely the information from the [Effect] section that his Eye of Omniscience had obtained.

Then Yun Ji blinked her beautiful large eyes and said, "Brother Huxiao, I think I know how to refine it."

"Good. Then let's begin." Xu Huxiao let out a breath of relief.

Xu Huxiao held the Soul Bone out before Yun Ji and had her place the hand wearing the Heavenly Pearls against it.

"Be careful. You're only refining it—don't use spiritual guidance to absorb this energy," Xu Huxiao reminded her.

"Mhm, I understand. Yun Ji is starting."

Yun Ji placed her palm against the Soul Bone, channeled her Soul Power into the Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls on her wrist, and activated their refining function.

As it activated, the ring of shifting five-colored light appeared once more. Starting from Yun Ji's palm, it flowed over the Soul Bone's surface from top to bottom like a scan.

In just two or three seconds, Xu Huxiao felt the Soul Bone in his hand heat up as it was refined, then slowly float into the air.

The ring of shifting five-colored light turned into a barrier of light that completely enveloped the Soul Bone.

Then it began to spin...

Half an hour later, Yun Ji's palm began to tremble. The prolonged output of Soul Power was making it difficult for her to hold on.

Seeing this, Xu Huxiao took out a Black Crystal Abalone and brought it to her lips.

"Eat it. It can't restore your Soul Power, but it can recover some of your stamina and invigorate your mind. Hold on a little longer, and the refining will succeed."

"Don't give up halfway."

"Mhm, I can hold on! Go!"

After encouraging herself, Yun Ji ate the abalone. Azure light then shone from her body, her legs transformed into a fish tail, and two bright yellow Soul Rings rose and fell around her.

Mermaid Martial Soul Possession!

With the enhancement of Martial Soul Possession, Yun Ji's pressure lessened considerably.

Second by second, the five-colored light barrier continued to spin and refine...

Finally.

A quarter of an hour later, the light barrier's rotation gradually slowed to a stop, and a smile appeared on Yun Ji's face.

"It worked!"

"Well done. I'll try absorbing it."

Once the refinement was complete, the five-colored light barrier vanished. Looking at the solid dark-purple sphere of energy in his hand, Xu Huxiao found himself with a question.

Wait.

So how was he supposed to absorb it?

Should he swallow it directly, or what?

Just as Xu Huxiao did not know where to begin, his arm Martial Soul sent him an intense desire to absorb it.

Black dragon scales edged in platinum covered Xu Huxiao's arms in the blink of an eye, while one yellow and one purple Soul Ring surfaced on their own.

His Platinum Dragon-Scaled Arms had actually completed possession on their own!

Seeing this, inspiration struck Xu Huxiao. Following the process for absorbing a Soul Ring, he moved with a thought and controlled the palms in Martial Soul Possession to slowly envelop the dark-purple sphere completely.

Absorb!

Xu Huxiao released his suppression of the Martial Soul. In an instant, he felt a powerful suction force surge from his palms.

The purple-black sphere of energy trembled, split into two streams, and flowed directly through his palms into his body.

At once, the sensation of absorbing a Soul Ring returned. Heavy as mountains, the purple-black energy filled every meridian in his body.

And it was still pouring in without end.

What enormous energy!

Xu Huxiao immediately sat cross-legged and began absorbing it with complete focus.

Fortunately, the origin energy refined by the Five-Colored Heavenly Pearls was not violent. It was exceptionally gentle.

Within his inner vision.

All Twelve Primary Meridians were occupied by purple-black energy. The faint golden meridians gradually swelled to saturation beneath the impact of that energy.

The two Golden Suns in his dantian, along with the arm Martial Soul that had drawn in this energy, were refining it with all their might. But the energy was simply too immense.

Under such pressure, the refinement efficiency became slower and slower.

Xu Huxiao frowned. He had clearly overestimated himself. This Soul Bone's origin energy far exceeded his expectations; there was no way he could absorb it all.

The energy was still entering him. Every meridian in Xu Huxiao's body had begun to ache with swelling pain. If his body had not undergone innate nourishment, his meridians would likely have ruptured already, leaving him severely injured.

What should he do!

The qi and blood flower condensed in the Essence Intent Realm had been used to absorb the Soul Ring and would not recover until a week later. The two Golden Suns in his dantian were nearly at a complete standstill.

Within his Martial Soul senses, the two black dragons were suppressed by the immense, tangible purple-black energy, unable to move at all.

His body had reached its limit. He could not absorb any more!

But there was no turning back once the bowstring had been drawn. This energy was being absorbed by his arm Martial Soul. Now that the Martial Soul was suppressed, he had no way to control the inflow of energy.

The purple-black Soul Bone energy continued flooding into Xu Huxiao's body.

Pain filled Xu Huxiao's face, and even Yun Ji outside could see something was wrong.

The meridians all over Xu Huxiao's body, including his face, had turned purple-black, making him look exceptionally savage and terrifying!

"What do I do, Brother Huxiao? How are you? What should I do?"

Yun Ji was frantic, clutching her little hands tightly, but she had no idea how to help him.

"Right, I'll go get Uncle Xiao Kong and the others. They'll definitely know what to do." Suddenly struck by an idea, Yun Ji hurriedly turned to leave.

But a palm covered in dragon scales caught hold of her.

It was Xu Huxiao!

He opened his eyes and spoke with difficulty.

"Don't go out to find anyone. I'm fine. Trust me."

"Yun Ji, stay here and guard me. Don't let anyone disturb me."

After saying that, Xu Huxiao closed his eyes again.

Hearing Xu Huxiao's words, Yun Ji gradually calmed down. Looking at the dense purple-black patterns covering his face, a tremendous courage rose in her heart and drove away her panic.

Was this what it felt like to be trusted?

My Holy Knight needs me right now!

Then I can't let him down either!

"Don't worry, Brother Huxiao. I'll stay here and guard you. I won't leave."

Then Yun Ji found a towel in the room and, imitating how she had seen others care for someone, carefully wiped the sweat from Xu Huxiao's forehead.

She could do nothing else, so she did what she could.

After stopping Yun Ji, Xu Huxiao had no time to concern himself with anything else. All his focus was on the tangible purple-black energy within his body.

Since he could not refine it now, he could only store it temporarily.

Although the meridians in his body, the Twelve Primary Meridians, were filled.

However.

Unlike ordinary people, he also had the Eight Extraordinary Meridians that had been innately opened!

Then he would pour the excess energy into the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

"Eight Extraordinary Meridians, absorb it for me!"