Gu Yang did not choose to kill the Dark Devil Tiger right away.
Instead, he mercifully let it live a little longer.
There was no other reason. Gu Yang's physical condition was simply terrible.
After repeatedly clashing head-on with the Dark Devil Tiger and taking several of its attacks, he was still alive, but his entire body hurt unbearably. Even raising a hand had become a luxury.
How could he possibly kill the Dark Devil Tiger and absorb its Soul Ring in this state?
That would be nothing short of courting death.
As for the Dark Devil Tiger, Bone Douluo had beaten it into a puddle of mush. Apart from breathing faintly, it could do nothing now.
After taking a few healing pills he had brought from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Gu Yang began recovering from his injuries, also relying on Shikotsumyaku's powerful self-healing ability.
The recovery process took two full days and nights.
Only then had Gu Yang mostly recovered from his injuries.
Slowly rising with a bone sword in hand, Gu Yang walked up to the Dark Devil Tiger and ended its life with a single thrust.
As the Dark Devil Tiger's life faded completely, an unfathomably deep, pitch-black Soul Ring slowly formed.
[Dark Devil Tiger, 44,235 years. Absorption success rate: 53%. Upon absorption, chance of obtaining a concealment-type Soul Skill: 33%; chance of obtaining a sonic-type Soul Skill: 34%; chance of obtaining a darkness-type Soul Skill: 33%.]
Reading the analysis provided by the AI, Gu Yang visibly froze. This was undoubtedly the lowest success rate he had encountered since he began absorbing Soul Rings.
It was almost a fifty-fifty chance, already reaching a threshold Gu Yang could not ignore.
"AI, what will happen if I fail to absorb it?"
"Analysis based on the host's question indicates that failure to absorb the 44,235-year Dark Devil Tiger Soul Ring will result in a 95% chance of severe injury and a 5% chance of bodily explosion and death."
"How severe an injury?"
"At least one month bedridden."
"Will there be any lasting effects?"
"Only physical injury. No lasting effects."
After confirming this repeatedly, Gu Yang looked at the pitch-black Dark Devil Tiger Soul Ring and ultimately chose to take the risk.
The actual chance of croaking is 47% multiplied by 5%, only 2.35%.
Surely I won't be that unlucky?
Once he made up his mind, Gu Yang stopped dwelling on it and devoted himself wholeheartedly to preparing to absorb the Soul Ring before him.
Raising his right hand, Gu Yang, who was no stranger to absorbing Soul Rings, summoned the Dark Devil Tiger Soul Ring.
The pitch-black Soul Ring seemed to have waited a long time before finally finding an outlet. The moment it touched Gu Yang, its berserk power surged madly into his body.
Seeing the dense black radiance instantly envelop Gu Yang's body, even Bone Douluo was inwardly startled.
The fluctuations of power from this Dark Devil Tiger seemed somewhat beyond his expectations.
Within the black radiance, Gu Yang felt an immense current of heat coursing through his body. Within moments, it was like scalding magma, constantly scorching him.
The Dark Devil Tiger's domineering nature determined the brutality of the Soul Ring it formed, and its sinister darkness frantically eroded Gu Yang's body.
Under the powerful fluctuations of Soul Power, Gu Yang felt as though his body would burst apart. Agonizing pain tore open his freshly healed wounds, and under the intense onslaught, he could not help coughing up blood again.
It was not merely physical suffering. The Dark Devil Tiger's hatred for Gu Yang ran deep, and the resentment it had felt before death was likewise attacking his mind furiously.
His consciousness began to blur. Before he lost consciousness, Gu Yang struggled to mobilize his Soul Power and activate his third Soul Skill.
Holy Dragon's Protection.
It could remove all negative effects and grant immunity to them.
As his third Soul Ring lit up, a faint golden glow spread over Gu Yang's body.
The golden light was bright and warm, quickly dispelling the darkness eroding Gu Yang's body.
It brought a rare touch of relief and comfort to Gu Yang as he forced himself to hold on.
Holy Dragon's Protection could resist the encroaching darkness, but it could not stop the Soul Ring's power from ravaging Gu Yang's flesh.
Crackling sounds of compression rang out once more from the freshly healed bones within Gu Yang's body.
A forty-thousand-year Soul Ring was already a choice for an ordinary Soul Master's seventh Soul Ring.
Even with Shikotsumyaku, its recovery speed clearly could not match the speed at which the Soul Ring's power inflicted damage.
At this rate, he might not die, but the outcome would most likely still be failure and severe injury.
Just as Gu Yang felt despair for the first time.
Something he had never expected happened.
His third Soul Ring actually activated on its own, releasing Soul Ring power that caught Gu Yang completely off guard.
With Gu Yang's body as their main battlefield, it collided fiercely with the Dark Devil Tiger's Soul Ring power.
At that moment, Gu Yang could sense that his third Soul Ring seemed to have developed an independent consciousness.
Or rather, the Heavenly Dragon Horse's remnant soul was controlling this power.
A Soul Beast's death did not mean its body and soul were utterly extinguished.
At least, Gu Yang did not think so. After all, once Tang San became a god, Da Ming and Er Ming had come back to life.
So in Gu Yang's view, Soul Rings or Soul Bones definitely retained a trace of a Soul Beast's presence, or even its soul.
And the changes taking place in Gu Yang now confirmed this all the more.
What puzzled Gu Yang, however, was why the Heavenly Dragon Horse's remnant soul would help him.
Wait...
This darkness...
Sensing the Dark Devil Tiger's darkness within his body again, Gu Yang vaguely found it familiar.
And he soon realized why it felt familiar.
It was exactly the same as the lingering presence in the Heavenly Dragon Horse's wounds back then!
In other words, the Heavenly Dragon Horse's injuries had been inflicted by the Dark Devil Tiger.
As for why the Dark Devil Tiger had targeted him, and why he had vaguely sensed its presence.
It was probably because of the age-old enmity between the Heavenly Dragon Horse and the Dark Devil Tiger.
Or rather, the opposition between the attributes of light and darkness.
The Heavenly Dragon Horse had been killed by him, so it would indeed hate him.
But it seemed to hate the Dark Devil Tiger even more.
Gu Yang had no interest in pursuing the reason. All he knew was that the Heavenly Dragon Horse's interference had greatly eased his previously unfavorable situation.
At least, as the Heavenly Dragon Horse's power constantly wore it down, the Dark Devil Tiger's power weakened considerably, reaching a level Gu Yang could control.
Squelch!
As the most dangerous moment passed, bones gradually protruded all over Gu Yang's body.
Then his Soul Rings emerged one after another.
Purple, purple, black, black!
The Dark Devil Tiger Soul Ring, filled with brutality and darkness, had finally been completely absorbed by Gu Yang.
Only then did Bone Douluo's heart finally settle.
Yet just as he was about to step forward and ask after him, the white bones on Gu Yang's body began growing continuously.
One long bone in particular, resembling a spine yet not quite one, kept lengthening, coiling around Gu Yang and shielding him within.
Looking at the segmented bones extending inch by inch, doubt flickered in Bone Douluo's eyes.
With a Bone Dragon as his Martial Soul, he naturally knew something about bones.
He could say with certainty that the long bone circling Gu Yang's body was definitely not a human bone!
The moment he determined that it was not a human bone, Bone Douluo quickly realized what it was.
"A Soul Bone?!"
"And an... External Soul Bone?!"