"You... you're despicable!"
At those words, Xiao Wu cried out, her voice brimming with hatred and fury.
But Lin Hao merely replied calmly.
"I've already told you everything I needed to tell you."
"The choice is yours."
"Think it through carefully before you answer me."
Xiao Wu's body shuddered violently, and struggle, fear, and pain flashed through her reddened eyes.
She lowered her head and remained silent for a long time.
At last, Xiao Wu raised her head and spoke, filled with anguish and humiliation.
"All right... I agree."
"I'm willing to sacrifice myself to you."
"But you have to swear that once you become a god, you'll bring my mother back to life!"
"And you mustn't hurt Er Ming or Da Ming!"
"It worked!"
Beside them, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were overjoyed to see that Lin Hao had persuaded Xiao Wu to sacrifice herself. Uncontainable excitement spread across their faces.
They had expected quite a few twists and turns, yet Lin Hao had convinced this hundred-thousand-year soft bone rabbit to willingly agree to the sacrifice with just a few words.
This was truly an unexpected windfall!
After her restraints were released.
Xiao Wu gazed deeply at Lin Hao, complex emotions filling her reddened eyes.
"You must remember your promise!"
"If you dare deceive me, I... I won't let you get away with it!"
Lin Hao could not help chuckling, then replied confidently.
"Don't worry! I, Lin Hao, keep my word. I'll never break my promise!"
Xiao Wu drew a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.
The next instant, tremendous Soul Power erupted from her petite body, transforming into dazzling blood-red light that surged outward like a tide.
It swiftly formed an enormous blood-red barrier around them, enclosing Xiao Wu and Lin Hao.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were pushed straight out by the powerful force, sealed outside the barrier.
Inside the blood-red barrier.
Once the sacrifice began, Xiao Wu's body seemed to turn into a blood-red crystal statue as she floated into the air.
Then countless streams of blood-red light poured out of her body and flowed ceaselessly into Lin Hao.
Lin Hao felt waves of warmth flooding every limb and bone. Bathed in this energy, his body grew steadily stronger, his meridians widened, his bones hardened, and his flesh became denser and more powerful.
The Soul Power within him also rose at an astonishing rate.
Soon, he reached level forty, becoming a Quasi-Soul Ancestor!
But Lin Hao had not yet absorbed his fourth Soul Ring.
Thus, most of the Soul Power supplied by Xiao Wu's sacrifice settled within his body for the time being.
It would only manifest after he obtained a Soul Ring.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Within the blood-red barrier, Xiao Wu's figure had vanished.
All that remained were a scarlet Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a translucent hundred-thousand-year left leg bone.
That was the Soul Bone Lin Hao had specifically asked Xiao Wu to form during the sacrifice.
The next instant, the scarlet Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring flew up and settled around Lin Hao, becoming his fourth Soul Ring.
The hundred-thousand-year left leg bone also attached itself to his left leg, turning into a fluid mass of pink light that slowly merged into it.
Because this was a sacrifice.
There was no rejection or resistance, whether in absorbing the Soul Ring or merging with the Soul Bone.
Lin Hao easily absorbed his hundred-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring from Xiao Wu and finished merging with the hundred-thousand-year soft bone rabbit left leg bone.
Once Xiao Wu's Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone had fully merged into his body.
The Soul Power within Lin Hao began surging wildly once more.
It swept through every obstacle from level forty, soaring all the way to level fifty before stopping!
This was not the limit of Lin Hao's advancement.
He had merely reached a bottleneck and needed to absorb his fifth Soul Ring.
At that moment, the blood-red barrier slowly dissipated.
Seeing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo immediately strode over.
Lin Hao was the first person Chrysanthemum Douluo knew who had absorbed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and merged with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
Chrysanthemum Douluo asked excitedly.
"Hao, what is your fourth Soul Skill? And what Soul Bone Skill does that hundred-thousand-year soft bone rabbit left leg bone have? Tell us!"
Lin Hao smiled faintly, extended his hand to summon his singular velvet sky chrysanthemum Martial Soul, and activated his brand-new scarlet fourth Soul Ring.
Soon, two singular velvet sky chrysanthemums of different forms condensed in his palm.
"Teacher, my fourth Soul Ring gives me two skills: Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum: Golden Body Transformation and Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum: Void Transformation!"
Lin Hao explained with a smile.
He showed the two singular velvet sky chrysanthemums in his hand to Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.
One was golden from its roots and stem to its blossom, as though cast from pure gold, and radiated brilliant golden light.
It was the Golden Body Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
The other looked very similar to an ordinary singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, but its entire form was translucent, as though condensed from light and shadow, giving it an ethereal, illusory air.
It was the Void Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
Lin Hao continued.
"After you consume the Golden Body Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, it grants five seconds of Invincible Golden Body, providing absolute defense against anything below god level and doubling your strength for the duration."
"Also, for every ten levels I gain, the duration of Invincible Golden Body increases by one second."
"However, as a hundred-thousand-year Food System Soul Skill, it consumes an astonishing amount of power."
"With my current Soul Power, even if I exhaust every last bit, I can only produce one Golden Body Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum at a time."
At this point, Lin Hao could not help smiling wryly.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Skill was indeed powerful, but its consumption was simply too great.
Ordinary Soul Skills, no matter how old their rings were, could be weakened by reducing the Soul Power supplied to them.
But his Food System Soul Skills required him to produce a complete Food System singular velvet sky chrysanthemum before they could take effect.
Had he not consistently compressed his Soul Power, bringing its quality up to that of a Soul Saint after reaching level fifty as a Quasi-Soul King.
He probably would not have been able to produce even one Golden Body Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
"As for the Void Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum."
Lin Hao continued his explanation.
"After you consume it, you enter a state similar to Uncle Ghost's Ghost Mei Avatar. It grants immunity to all physical attacks that aren't in energy form and weakens any energy attack by fifty percent. It lasts five minutes."
"Likewise, its duration increases by one minute for every ten levels I gain."
"And all these Food System singular velvet sky chrysanthemums I produce can be stored for three days."
Hearing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo both sucked in a cold breath.
Although Lin Hao's two fourth Soul Skills consumed enormous amounts of power.
Even as skills belonging to a Power Attack System Soul Master, their effects could already be called heaven-defying!
And after being transformed into Food System Soul Skills, they could be used not only by him, but by others as well.
Combined with their three-day storage period.
As support skills, these two Soul Skills were so absurdly powerful that they were practically invincible!
"Oh, right!"
As though remembering something, Chrysanthemum Douluo hurriedly asked.
"Hao, now that you've accepted this hundred-thousand-year soft bone rabbit's sacrifice, what level have you reached?"
Lin Hao smiled confidently.
"Just as we expected, I broke straight through to level fifty. We can hunt for my fifth Soul Ring now!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo was delighted and asked another question.
"Then do you have a target Soul Beast in mind for your fifth Soul Ring? Shall we go to the Star Dou Great Forest or somewhere else?"
Lin Hao considered it carefully, then replied.
"Teacher, let's go to the Far North!"
"Didn't I mention it before? The key to taking my singular velvet sky chrysanthemum Martial Soul down the Food System path is a Mirror Shadow Beast's Soul Ring."
"It will very likely let me copy other Soul Masters' Martial Souls and Soul Skills. Even if they're weakened versions, they'll still greatly improve my combat strength and give me more ways to deal with enemies!"
As he spoke, a sharp gleam flashed through Lin Hao's eyes.
"I already absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring for my third Soul Ring."
"In theory, even without Xiao Wu's sacrifice, I could have absorbed a Soul Ring around twenty thousand years old for my fourth."
"What's more, I've now undergone Xiao Wu's sacrifice and merged with a hundred-thousand-year soft bone rabbit left leg bone. In a little while, I can also merge with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone."
"With my current physical strength, I should be fully capable of absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring normally as my fifth Soul Ring!"
"So let's go straight to the Far North and look for a Mirror Shadow Beast!"
Lin Hao spoke with the decisiveness of a blade cutting through iron.
"If we can find a hundred-thousand-year Mirror Shadow Beast, that would naturally be best. If not, I'll absorb the ring of the oldest Mirror Shadow Beast we can find!"
Before you continue