Yet because of what the Sea God had done, she was somewhat afraid to invest in a new backer to secure a ticket into the Divine Realm.
She had accompanied the Sea God for hundreds of years, and even he could leave her to fend for herself. Why would someone she had only recently met take her to the Divine Realm?
Seeing that his objective had been achieved, Tang Mo withdrew his hand from the seawater. With a flick of his hand, his Soul Power drove the seawater off it.
Just then, the three Titled Douluo returned from the sea and tossed the corpses of several Evil Spirit Orcas, along with one that had been stunned unconscious, onto the shore.
There were two reasons they had brought back these corpses and the living Evil Spirit Orca: one was to build prestige for Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and the other was Tang Mo's request.
Tang Mo wanted to try artifact refining, which required sufficient materials. Ordinary metal ores could naturally serve as raw materials, but parts taken from Soul Beasts were better suited to being refined into Magical Artifacts.
The parts of Soul Beasts had already been steeped in their Soul Power. With only simple processing, they could become materials for artifact refining.
Simply put, artifact refining involved nurturing an implement with Soul Power, thereby endowing it with special abilities.
This process was somewhat like refining an ordinary implement into a tool Martial Soul.
Compared with the artifact-refining methods of other factions, the Tang Sect's method included an additional process for refining special materials.
The relationship between the two was akin to the difference between casting something in one piece and assembling an implement from parts.
The former was more difficult, so its failure rate was high. Even a successful product required constant nurturing with Soul Power, much as an item cast in one piece needed continual polishing to ensure it had no defects such as rough edges.
The difficulty of the latter lay not in the final artifact-refining step, but in processing raw materials into the desired parts and then assembling them.
Parts taken from Soul Beasts could be made into the desired components through simple processing, greatly reducing the time needed for preparation.
Moreover, as whale-type Soul Beasts, Evil Spirit Orcas produced Whale Brain inside their heads, something worthy of a place on the Douluo Continent's must-eat list.
Only whale-type Soul Beasts a thousand years old or older would gradually condense the supremely potent, pure-yang Whale Brain within their heads. Once purified and air-dried, Whale Brain became Whale Rubber.
Consuming Whale Rubber over a long period could improve one's physique and, to a certain extent, promote Martial Soul Evolution, though eating it came with a minor side effect.
Because Whale Rubber was a substance of supreme potency and pure yang, failing to digest it promptly would cause an excess of yang energy, leading to feverish heat throughout the body and a loss of reason.
Thus, before its effects became widely known, Whale Rubber had always been used as a little blue pill.
Tang Mo walked over to a dead Evil Spirit Orca. His Dark Gold Dreadclaw sprang from his hand to serve as his tool for dismantling it.
Even a Dark Gold Dreadclaw that had only just reached the thousand-year level would have been enough to slice through an Evil Spirit Orca's flesh.
Let alone his Dark Gold Dreadclaw, which, through his recent integration and nurturing with Soul Power, had quietly gained roughly another thousand years. So long as he applied force correctly, his approximately two-thousand-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw could even cut through an Evil Spirit Orca's bones with ease.
After extracting the Whale Brain, skull, teeth, and tailbone, Tang Mo took some flesh and blood, then left that Evil Spirit Orca and continued gathering materials from the others.
The skull could be made into protective equipment that resisted mental attacks or a support Magical Artifact that enhanced spiritual power.
The teeth and tailbone could be refined into Magical Artifacts capable of releasing slashing attacks, or into melee weapons.
After extracting all the usable artifact-refining materials from the Evil Spirit Orca corpses in the same manner, he turned his attention to the sole surviving Evil Spirit Orca, which was twenty thousand years old.
"Kid, a word of warning. Whale Brain may have an immediate effect, but you shouldn't eat too much at your age." Seeing Tang Mo extract the Whale Brain, Yue Guan could not help moving closer and reminding him in a low voice.
"Your Eminence, Whale Brain doesn't just increase yang energy. It also improves the physique and promotes Martial Soul Evolution to a certain extent." As Tang Mo spoke, he retracted his Dark Gold Dreadclaw and took out the Fish Intestine Sword instead.
"Wait, what are you planning to do, kid?" Watching Tang Mo suddenly summon the Fish Intestine Sword, Yue Guan's brow twitched slightly. Seemingly having thought of something, he asked Tang Mo what he intended.
"Add a Soul Ring to my second Martial Soul." As Tang Mo spoke, the Fish Intestine Sword in his hand had already shot out under the Object-Control Art, plunging into the twenty-thousand-year Evil Spirit Orca's head and extracting its Whale Brain.
With its Whale Brain removed, the twenty-thousand-year Evil Spirit Orca soon stopped breathing. Tang Mo took advantage of the interval as it died to swiftly extract the artifact-refining materials.
As the Fish Intestine Sword delivered its final stroke, a black Soul Ring appeared above the Evil Spirit Orca's head.
Yue Guan swiftly reached out and clamped his hand around Tang Mo's wrist. Lowering his voice, he asked, "This Soul Ring is a full twenty thousand years old. How confident are you that you can absorb it?"
"Completely." Tang Mo smiled calmly. "I don't want to die, so I won't do anything I'm not confident about."
After considerable hesitation, Yue Guan released Soul Power through the hand gripping Tang Mo's wrist to examine his entire body. In the end, he let go.
He could sense that, after absorbing the Azure Sea Killer Whale's Soul Ring, Tang Mo's physique was now no weaker than that of an ordinary rank-sixty Quasi-Soul Emperor.
According to existing records, the maximum age of a Soul Ring a rank-sixty Quasi-Soul Emperor could absorb was twenty thousand years.
In principle, with such a physique, Tang Mo was entirely capable of absorbing a twenty-thousand-year Soul Ring.
"Your Eminence, after I absorb this Soul Ring, my Soul Power will most likely break through rank thirty. When that happens, I'll need the two of you to accompany me on a trip to attend to some private matters." As Tang Mo spoke, he walked up to the twenty-thousand-year Evil Spirit Orca and sat cross-legged.
He put away the Fish Intestine Sword and switched to his first Martial Soul, Tang Sect Grandmaster. His black second Soul Ring flashed, and a Water Mirror formed before him.
He raised the Water Mirror and shone it at the Soul Ring produced by the twenty-thousand-year Evil Spirit Orca. A black-and-red aura instantly flew out of the Soul Ring and sank into the Water Mirror.
The image of an Evil Spirit Orca soon appeared on the mirror's surface. The soul power the twenty-thousand-year Evil Spirit Orca had left within its Soul Ring was sealed inside the Water Mirror.
Bang, bang, bang...
Deprived of its freedom, the Evil Spirit Orca's remnant soul slammed madly against the mirror's surface, attempting to break through its restraints and regain its freedom.
But Tang Mo would not give it that chance. He raised his hand, spread his fingers, then abruptly clenched them, uttering a single word: "Destroy!"
Crack, crack...
The moment the word left his lips, countless cracks abruptly appeared across the Water Mirror. Crisscrossing wounds appeared on the Evil Spirit Orca's remnant soul sealed within it.
Bang!
The instant the Water Mirror shattered, the twenty-thousand-year Evil Spirit Orca's remnant soul turned to ash and vanished along with it.
With the interference from the Evil Spirit Orca's remnant soul gone, absorbing the Soul Ring would be a piece of cake, provided Tang Mo could withstand the power of a twenty-thousand-year Soul Ring.
His first Soul Ring dissipated, and the Fish Intestine Sword appeared in his hand once more. He raised it and pointed it at the Soul Ring, which was immediately drawn over, shrinking before slipping around the sword's hilt.
The instant the Soul Ring settled into place, an aura filled with evil, ill omen, slaughter, and madness surged toward his sea of consciousness.
This was not the work of the Evil Spirit Orca's remnant soul, but its origin attempting to influence Tang Mo's mind.
It was precisely because the Evil Spirit Orcas' origin brimmed with these ominous auras that they slaughtered without end.
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