Xu Zhengyang did not hesitate. He placed the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's right-palm External Soul Bone directly on his right hand and began absorbing it.
Sure enough, the instant the External Soul Bone entered his body, a terrifying sense of madness swept through his entire palm. Even his whole palm turned dark gold, as though something were about to bore its way out.
In just an instant, his entire palm felt as though it were about to be scorched, as if a living creature were struggling desperately inside it. Amid the burning and madness, excruciating pain spread throughout his body and even into his soul.
Although this was only a two-thousand-year External Soul Bone, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's overbearing might was on full display. In particular, as an External Soul Bone, it was equivalent to possessing a complete Darkgolden Terrorclaw, as though the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear were unleashing its Soul Skill on him.
"Strong enough, overbearing enough, and mad enough. Unfortunately, I'm not Xiao Xiao."
Xu Zhengyang circulated his Soul Power furiously, but even so, scorching power rampaged wildly, as though countless little knives were frantically tearing into his palm. Unfortunately, this little bit of pain was nothing to him.
Over the years, Xu Zhengyang's body had undergone countless rounds of tempering. On the Ice Sea, he had spent a year tempering himself in extreme cold. In Sunset Forest, his body had undergone another half year and more of tempering through poisonous miasma. And over the past year, while devoting himself to refining the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear, he had spent every day amid scorching furnaces, undergoing the tempering of blazing flames.
In just a few short years, Xu Zhengyang had undergone tempering in three different environments: extreme cold, extreme heat, and extreme poison. His physical strength had long since far exceeded what others could imagine. Although he was not immune to ice and fire, his resistance to ice, flames, and deadly poison had long surpassed that of Soul Masters at his level. Even a Soul King might not possess resistance like his.
At that moment, Xu Zhengyang's body was like an enormous furnace, while the External Soul Bone was trapped within it. No matter how wildly it raged, the External Soul Bone now seemed to undergo countless hammer blows, continuously compressed by an immense force.
Only after several full hours did the madness and scorching heat gradually begin to fade. Xu Zhengyang felt as though his right hand had grown a little larger. In particular, the bones of his five fingers had undergone faint changes: his fingertips had begun to narrow, while the fingers themselves had grown slightly thicker.
Xu Zhengyang suddenly shouted, "It's done! How could a mere Soul Bone defeat a living, breathing person like me?"
His right hand had now returned completely to normal. As his Soul Power fluctuated, a trace of blood seeped from each of his five fingers. Immediately afterward, five streaks of dark-golden light abruptly extended from them. Each was roughly a foot and two inches long, narrow at the top and broad at the base, like a sharp blade.
In particular, the External Soul Bone shimmered with flowing dark-golden light. Its edges were incomparably sharp and gave off glints of cold light, and the claws were like extensions of his fingers.
Xu Zhengyang swung his hand, and the Darkgolden Terrorclaw struck the ground. As easily as cutting tofu, it instantly gouged five cracks into the earth.
"The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear truly deserves to be called the Mighty Ripper. It really is a creature that can tear giant dragons apart with its bare claws. This External Soul Bone is every bit as formidable as expected."
Xu Zhengyang's face was full of delight. With this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear External Soul Bone, things would be much easier for him in the future. In particular, since the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear had yet to awaken fully and its edge had not yet been honed, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw was now his greatest weapon against his enemies.
With a thought from Xu Zhengyang, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw instantly withdrew into his palm, and his right hand returned completely to its normal color.
Xu Zhengyang could not help marveling. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw was simply too useful. Not only was it incomparably sharp, but it was also like an extension of his palm, making it extremely flexible to wield.
Only after taking care of everything did Xu Zhengyang review his gains from this trip.
After absorbing the six-thousand-year Nether Flame Demon Tiger Soul Ring and the two-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear External Soul Bone, Xu Zhengyang's Soul Power had reached an astonishing rank thirty-three. It was an enormous improvement, saving him at least half a year compared with others.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear External Soul Bone he had obtained could be considered his strongest means of fighting enemies at his current stage, and it could catch them off guard at a crucial moment.
Moreover, this Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear External Soul Bone had a very good Soul Bone skill, called Darkgolden Terrorclaw. When he used this Soul Skill, it could form a dark-golden claw silhouette three meters long in the air, with an effect like tearing the heavens and rending the earth.
Although this External Soul Bone was currently only two thousand years old, the power of its Soul Skill already surpassed that of ordinary ten-thousand-year Soul Skills. If it truly evolved to the ten-thousand-year or even hundred-thousand-year level in the future, it might really be able to tear giant dragons apart with its bare claws.
Xu Zhengyang's third Soul Skill was likewise very good. It was not Teleportation, but it was even more useful than Teleportation.
This third Soul Skill was called Nether Tiger Space-Rending Spear. When using it, Xu Zhengyang could instantly tear through space, swiftly appear before an enemy, and pierce them straight through with his spear.
Moreover, when he used this Soul Skill, the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear's attack power increased by two hundred percent, and it was also coated in unique, deep-blue flames, giving it tremendous killing power.
This was an extremely terrifying single-target attack skill, as well as an enhancement skill. It combined traversing space with enhancement, leaving enemies unable to guard against it.
This Soul Skill could be said to be more useful than Teleportation alone, and it had no time limit. Its drawback was its enormous consumption: each use required twenty percent of his Soul Power.
Its current attack range was only thirty meters, but that would increase as Xu Zhengyang's physical strength and Soul Power improved, while its consumption could also decrease.
Xu Zhengyang was equally amazed by this Soul Skill. In terms of practicality, it was even more useful than many ten-thousand-year Soul Skills. Especially in an arena or on a battlefield, it could not only catch an enemy unawares but even strike straight at the dragon's heart.
Xu Zhengyang even felt that this Soul Skill had immense potential to explore. If he could thoroughly understand it and break it down, he would surely be able to master the ability to teleport at will. Then his combat strength would rise once more, even reaching an extremely terrifying level.
After packing everything up, particularly after gathering the two Soul Beast corpses, Xu Zhengyang prepared to leave Star Dou Great Forest and return home along the route he had originally taken.
This journey of training and experience had taken three full years. Although his gains had been plentiful, he had also acquired a trace of loneliness. Traveling through an enemy country for so long, all alone, without any family or friends-such days were ultimately far too desolate.
Besides, a Soul Master's advancement could not rely solely on cultivating alone; someone's guidance was also necessary. Although he understood very well the direction this world would take, when it truly came to cultivation, he would inevitably encounter all kinds of bottlenecks and things he did not understand. Only by experiencing it himself could he understand the hardship and pain involved.