From the venomous liquid that Shi Nian, a seventy-two-level Soul Saint, had dissolved into, Tang San caught sight of a Soul Bone shimmering with rainbow light.
The appearance of this Soul Bone sent a wave of terror through Tang San's heart. And how could he not be terrified?
If Shi Nian had used the power of this Soul Bone earlier, Tang San would never have been able to withstand him—not even without resorting to his Martial Soul. The gap in their strength had been enormous to begin with, and the existence of a Soul Bone like this would have widened it beyond any hope of bridging.
Tang San knew he had been lucky. If not for the grace of the Lady Luck, he might well have been a corpse by now.
Shi Nian had underestimated Tang San far too much. With his seventy-two-level strength, it would never have occurred to him to deploy a Soul Bone against Tang San. His decision to use his seventh soul technique, Nightmare, directly had already been a cautious measure.
If Tang San had not possessed the Purple Demon Eyes capable of seeing through all illusory soul techniques, if he had not had the overwhelming lethal power of the King of Hell's Decree, if Shi Nian had not held back from going all-out—
If even a single one of those "ifs" had turned out differently, it would have been Tang San who died.
Tang San's clothes were soaked through with cold sweat. He broke a branch from a nearby tree and carefully fished the Soul Bone out. When he finally succeeded, the branch in his hand had been completely corroded away.
He drew stored water from the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night and repeatedly rinsed the Soul Bone.
To Tang San's surprise, this dazzlingly beautiful Soul Bone was not stained with any venom. Even when water came into contact with it, the liquid slid off in an instant, leaving not a single droplet behind.
As expected of a treasure rarer than one in ten thousand among Soul Beasts. After resting for a moment, Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill recovered to a modest degree. Channelling the energy into his right hand, he used the Mysterious Jade Hand to pick up the Soul Bone.
The moment it entered his palm, an extraordinarily peculiar sensation surged through him—as if the Soul Bone were inherently a part of himself. Especially when his left hand touched it, the special energy contained within seemed eager to burrow straight into his left arm.
Tang San was certain that with just a little guidance from his Mysterious Heaven Skill, the fusion would begin immediately.
For a Soul Master, was there anything more tempting than a Soul Bone? Even someone who had lived two lives, as Tang San had, could not help but feel his heartbeat quicken with excitement. Even the hand holding the Soul Bone trembled slightly.
A voice inside him urged him again and again to fuse with the Soul Bone without delay, lest complications arise.
Once the fusion was complete, Tang San would become a Soul Master possessing two Soul Bones. One additional Soul Bone meant one more powerful skill for either saving his life or annihilating his enemies. Though Tang San could not yet tell what ability this particular Soul Bone would grant him, he was certain it would not be ordinary. In truth, no Soul Bone could ever be ordinary.
Soul Bones were special items that could drop when a Soul Beast perished. After the Great Master had once explained their uses and the difficulty of obtaining them in detail, Tang San had drawn upon his knowledge from his previous life.
He had vaguely guessed that the existence of Soul Bones was roughly equivalent to the sarira of Buddhism in his former world—except that Soul Bones were the sarira of Soul Beasts.
The higher a Soul Beast's cultivation, the greater its chance of producing a Soul Bone. But only with a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast was the probability a full one hundred percent. That was precisely why the Soul Rings of hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts had always held the top position on the continent's rarest treasures list.
If one could slay a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast at a time when one possessed sufficient capacity to withstand it, one would not only obtain an incomparably powerful hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring, but also immediately receive a Soul Bone dropped by that hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
Unfortunately, hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts were exceedingly rare. In the entire history of the Soul Master world, such encounters had occurred only a handful of times.
Tang San took two deep breaths in succession, forcing down his impulse to fuse with the Soul Bone for the moment. Gritting his teeth, he placed it into his Myriad Treasure Pouch.
He was not reluctant to absorb the Soul Bone—the reason he had not done so rashly was, once again, the Great Master's teachings.
Soul Bones were indeed supreme treasures.
But like Soul Rings, different Soul Bones had vastly different effects on different Soul Masters. Although a Soul Bone would drop upon a Soul Master's death, as long as that Soul Master still lived, it could never be replaced.
In other words, once a Soul Master fused with a particular Soul Bone, that Soul Bone would remain with him for life—just like a Soul Ring.