Gu Xuan entered Gu Rong's Bone Dragon Space. Only here could Gu Rong immediately regain control if anything went wrong during the absorption of the Evil God Bead.
Inside the Bone Dragon Space, Gu Xuan felt as if he were in the middle of a boundless void. He sat cross-legged, holding the Evil God Bead in his hands.
Indeed, Gu Xuan intended to absorb the Evil God Bead as his sixth Soul Ring. The bead contained the source power of the Evil God and endless soul power; in essence, it was no different from a God-bestowed Soul Ring.
Or rather, it was similar to the inner core of the Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent that Ma Hongjun absorbed in the original story.
By absorbing the Evil God Bead as his sixth Soul Ring, as long as his body could withstand it, this might become his first hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.
After regulating his breathing, Gu Xuan released his Martial Soul. As it manifested, a layer of dark silver bone armor seemed to wrap around his body. His heterochromatic hair fluttered wildly, and the soul power within him began to surge.
With the release of his Martial Soul, five Soul Rings—two yellow, one purple, and two black—slowly appeared, circling and pulsing around him. With every pulse, Gu Xuan's aura grew stronger.
Gu Xuan then began to use his soul power to undo the seal on the Evil God Bead, fully exposing it before him.
The seal had already been modified by Gu Rong so that Gu Xuan could break it using his spatial power.
To Gu Xuan's surprise, the process of absorbing the Evil God Bead was incredibly smooth. Once the seal was broken, the bead didn't erupt as he had imagined. Instead, it floated quietly, allowing Gu Xuan to absorb its energy at will.
Though puzzled, Gu Xuan did not lower his guard. He began by slowly drawing in the power of the bead, gradually condensing a new Soul Ring.
When a white sixth Soul Ring appeared around Gu Xuan, the Evil God Bead remained stable, even actively assisting him in absorbing and converting its power.
Gu Xuan remained suspicious, but since the results were positive, he continued to cautiously absorb and refine the bead while staying alert for any hidden dangers.
In just fifteen minutes, Gu Xuan's sixth Soul Ring turned from white to yellow, and then to purple. It practically skipped the century-level stage entirely, as his current physical fitness was already comparable to a Titled Douluo.
Only twenty minutes had passed since he started, and that was with Gu Xuan being extremely careful.
After confirming there was no immediate threat, Gu Xuan accelerated the speed of absorption.
Light purple, purple, deep purple...
Gu Rong observed the changes in Gu Xuan's sixth Soul Ring with intense focus. He was just as nervous as Gu Xuan; any slight mishap could lead to a catastrophe. As a direct elder, his worry was no less than Gu Xuan's own.
Moreover, Gu Rong was deeply amazed. Even at his age and rank, it was his first time seeing someone absorb a Soul Ring without hunting a soul beast.
At this moment, Gu Rong reaffirmed his high opinion of Gu Xuan. This feat was simply god-like. He had no doubts, however, because Gu Xuan had directly shifted the credit to the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings.
Although the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings were sealed in a separate space beneath the Well, legends of them still circulated in the world.
Another fifteen minutes passed, and Gu Xuan's sixth Soul Ring turned black—the symbol of a ten-thousand-year ring.
This method of absorbing something similar to a God-bestowed Soul Ring had one major advantage: he didn't have to endure the soul shock from a soul beast. Since Gu Xuan's physique was already on par with an ordinary Titled Douluo, it was only a matter of time before he achieved a hundred-thousand-year sixth Soul Ring!
As time ticked by, the black color of the ring grew deeper, and its energy increased at a terrifying rate.
Twenty thousand years... thirty thousand years... fifty thousand years... eighty thousand years...
The progress slowed down significantly toward the end. After two full hours, the sixth Soul Ring had reached an incredibly deep shade, even showing a faint red halo.
The ring had reached ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine years—just one step away from breaking the hundred-thousand-year threshold.
At that exact moment, an ethereal voice echoed in Gu Xuan's mind. The voice was neither male nor female, young nor old; it carried only an endlessly cold, evil aura.
"Congratulations, kind human. You have gained the recognition of the Evil God. Are you willing to accept the Evil God's inheritance and become a peerless, supreme, and ultimate top-tier god?"
Hearing this while fully refining the bead, Gu Xuan's expression turned strange. He felt as if he were standing in his own sea of consciousness, yet also in a boundless void.
Strangely, his physical body—which was still refining the bead—was unaffected. He was at the tipping point; with one more breakthrough, his sixth Soul Ring would evolve to the hundred-thousand-year level.
However... "kind human"... inheriting the position of the Evil God?
And what was with this "peerless, supreme, ultimate top-tier god" talk? Was the Evil God in the original story really that powerful? If the Evil God were truly that formidable, would he have been reduced to lingering on a tiger's body just to survive?
As if sensing Gu Xuan's doubt, the ethereal voice spoke again. "Human, do not worry. I mean no harm. The world misunderstands the Evil God far too much because history is written by the victors. I am merely a loser whose investment failed."
"I will give you time to consider, but you must make a choice now. One: accept the Evil God's power, and I will help you refine the bead, allowing your sixth Soul Ring to successfully reach a hundred thousand years."
"Two: reject the Evil God's power, and face the consequences."
"?" Gu Xuan was stunned. Were these even choices? "Face the consequences" if he rejected it?
Just as Gu Xuan was hesitating, the imprints of the two Great Dragon Kings on the back of his hands glowed brightly. Two dragon souls charged into Gu Xuan's sea of consciousness.
"Luya, I didn't expect you to still be alive," the voices of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings rang out simultaneously.
Gu Xuan was even more confused. Luya? What was that? The Evil God's name? Evil God Luya?
But there was no such person in the original story! And if it hadn't been for his grandfather's increased strength sealing the bead, this thing would have probably escaped to another world by now, right?
Hearing the inquiry from the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, the ethereal voice spoke again. "What? If you two can live, why can't I?"
Then, Luya directly questioned the Dragon Kings. "How is the Dragon God now?"
The Dragon Kings' eyes dimmed at the mention of the Dragon God. The Fire Dragon King replied. "The Lord was split into the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King, and they are sealed in the Divine Realm."
Hearing this, Luya seemed to have already expected it. He spoke with a hint of frustration. "I shouldn't have stood up for you all back then. Because of that, my position as the Evil God truly became the source of 'evil' in their eyes. They hunt me down, forcing me to survive by parasitizing soul beasts just to develop..."
Gu Xuan didn't know the full story, but listening to their exchange, he began to piece things together.
This Evil God Luya had a deep relationship with the soul beast clan and was a powerful god from the era of the Dragon God. Had he been struck down for standing up for the soul beasts?
The two Dragon Kings looked at each other, knowing it was time to tell Gu Xuan these things.
In fact, back when Gu Xuan absorbed the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Soul Ring, the Dragon Kings had speculated whether Luya might be alive, as the Evil God bloodline cannot be faked.
But for so many years, the Evil God had never appeared, and no inheritance had surfaced. Furthermore, Luya had been besieged by God-Kings back then. Even the Dragon God was eventually split. Although Luya was a top-tier powerhouse among 1st class gods, his strength couldn't compare to the Dragon God's. How could he have survived?
Now it seemed Luya had likely left a backup plan, though he had only recovered a sliver of divine consciousness—and was even trying to delude their successor...
(End of Chapter)
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