"What ability?"
Gu Yunxiao asked.
"Ice Devouring!"
The Ice God softly uttered those words, a hint of amusement flashing in her golden eyes. "The Extreme Dust Ice Bow's greatest feature is that it can grow by devouring precious natural treasures with ice attributes."
"Back then, that was how I helped it grow, step by step, into a chief divine artifact."
"Now that it's your martial soul, it should be able to increase your cultivation speed by devouring precious natural treasures with ice attributes."
"Don't forget, you possess the Dragon God's Power. Although it's now called the Heavenly Tribulation Demon Dragon, that doesn't stop you from possessing multiple ultimate attributes."
"Without Ice Devouring, your cultivation would progress extremely slowly. Especially after level thirty, it might take you several years to raise your soul power by a single level."
Gu Yunxiao immediately fell into thought.
This was, in fact, one of his greatest concerns since his martial soul awakening.
The Heavenly Tribulation Demon Dragon martial soul was powerful, but its many ultimate attributes would slow his cultivation even as they granted him formidable combat strength.
The Extreme Dust Ice Bow's Ice Devouring ability was indeed excellent. It could save him a great deal of time.
"Thanks."
Gu Yunxiao smiled faintly.
"Didn't you say it yourself?"
The Ice God smiled and said meaningfully, "We're grasshoppers tied to the same rope. We rise together and fall together."
"I'm counting on you to help resurrect me, so of course I have to do everything I can to help you."
"All right, I'm feeling a little tired again. I'm going to sleep."
As she spoke, the Ice God stretched languidly.
For an instant, the perfect curves of her figure were displayed before Gu Yunxiao's eyes.
Then she simply lay down in Gu Yunxiao's sea of consciousness, looking fresh and lovely, and fell asleep.
"The Ice God? The God of Sleep would suit her pretty well too."
Gu Yunxiao shook his head with a smile and left his sea of consciousness.
Meanwhile, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's sacrifice had entered its final stage. Whether he could preserve a wisp of consciousness now depended on him.
On the Altar, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's plump body was shriveling at a speed visible to the naked eye, losing its luster little by little.
Di Tian paid no attention to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's condition, watching Gu Yunxiao instead.
Hum!
At that moment, the halo surrounding Gu Yunxiao shuddered. Energy gathered above his head, gradually taking the shape of a soul ring.
The soul ring was platinum white, carrying a trace of divinity.
A Million-Year Soul Ring!
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had little energy left, and Gu Yunxiao had poured all the remaining energy from his sacrifice into the Extreme Dust Ice Bow.
Thus, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had neither spare energy to increase Gu Yunxiao's soul power level nor enough to leave behind a soul bone.
Gu Yunxiao was still a level-eleven soul master.
But none of that was a problem for him.
First, his Million-Year Soul Ring was the genuine article and could still provide the Extreme Dust Ice Bow with four soul skills.
Second, the Extreme Dust Ice Bow had regained its Ice Devouring ability, so his cultivation would progress very quickly before he reached level thirty.
Finally, even if the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had truly produced a Million-Year Soul Bone, it might not have suited him.
Gu Yunxiao could find soul bones of greater age with attributes that matched him better.
"It worked!"
Seeing the platinum-white soul ring beneath Gu Yunxiao, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm immediately turned into a wisp of consciousness, preparing to reside within it.
But, barring any surprises, a surprise was about to occur.
As the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm approached the Million-Year Soul Ring, the Extreme Dust Ice Bow suddenly blazed with icy-blue light and repelled him.
"???"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was utterly dumbfounded, his face full of question marks.
The Million-Year Soul Ring created by his own sacrifice was actually rejecting him.
Was there any justice left in heaven? Any law left in the world?
"Hmm?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Di Tian's eyes. Clearly, he had not expected this either.
Although he did not know why it had happened, it did not matter.
As long as Gu Yunxiao received what he was supposed to, whether the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm lived or died had nothing to do with him.
"Y-you're rejecting me?" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm looked at Gu Yunxiao, his voice panicked. "You can't kill the donkey once it's finished turning the millstone!"
"No."
Gu Yunxiao shook his head. Unwilling to explain too much, he said calmly, "There are plenty of spiritual-type soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. You can reside in their seas of consciousness."
"You don't need to worry about your safety either. Uncle Tian will strictly forbid other soul beasts from harming your host."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze at those words.
He had hoped to soar into the heavens alongside Gu Yunxiao, only to be cast aside in the blink of an eye.
He was still alive, but he had no future.
"Well..."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hesitated, but he did not dare refuse.
Di Tian saw through the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's thoughts and said coldly, "Either preserve a wisp of consciousness or die right now."
In his eyes, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had always been food. Being allowed to cling to life as a wisp of consciousness was already a stroke of luck.
Food dared to make demands?
Only Gu Yunxiao had that sort of patience. Had it been him, he would have broken his word on the spot and destroyed this wisp of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's consciousness.
"Huh?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm jumped in fright and hastily shook his head. "I'm not refusing! I'm not refusing!"
"This child's suggestion is excellent. I agree!"
Seeing that Di Tian was about to bare his claws, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm dared not raise any more objections and quickly answered.
His future could wait. First, he had to survive.
"Hmph!"
Di Tian snorted coldly and still reached toward the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's wisp of consciousness, his tone brooking no argument. "Yunxiao's identity is a closely guarded secret. You know too much."
"I should kill you outright to eliminate any future trouble."
"Since you've been reasonably obedient, I will merely erase your memories of this period."
Perhaps the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would not reveal anything about Gu Yunxiao to outsiders, but Di Tian had no intention of gambling on that.
Allowing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm to survive was already an act of grace.
As for whether Gu Yunxiao would be willing to resurrect the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm after he grew strong and inherited the Dragon God's position, that was another matter.
"Huh? How are you going to do that?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was instantly dumbstruck.
Erase my memories... is he sure he isn't going to kill me?
Di Tian did not answer. He simply seized the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's wisp of consciousness. Black light flashed in his hand as power surged forth.
"Aaaah!!!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm screamed as Di Tian tore his sole remaining wisp of consciousness in two.
Di Tian's large hand crushed one half outright. The other half lost consciousness completely, flickering like a feeble firefly that might go out at any moment.
With a casual grasp, Di Tian gathered up the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's remaining consciousness.
Later, he would find a suitable host for the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
"Yunxiao, what do the four soul skills this worm provided do?" Di Tian asked, looking at Gu Yunxiao.
"All four soul skills involve the soul, and one of them is even a spiritual domain."
"Ice Soul Domain causes mental interference across a wide area, disorienting multiple targets and leaving them unable to tell directions. Its power depends on the level of my spiritual power."
"The second is Ice Soul Arrow. It directly freezes the target's soul. Anyone with weaker spiritual power than mine is forcibly immobilized for three seconds. Anyone stronger than me has their movements slowed and recovers gradually."
"The third is Ice Soul Mark. It places a mark on the target, giving my arrows a tracking effect so they can't be dodged."
"The fourth, Ice Soul's Protection, is purely a spiritual defense, but it's astonishingly strong. It can block one soul attack of any level, though it can only be used once a day."
Gu Yunxiao introduced his four soul skills to Di Tian.
In truth, he had held something back about the Ice Soul's Protection soul skill.
Before you continue