When Tang San opened his eyes, Tang Hao and Ah Yin could clearly see a faint sheen of precious light shimmering across their son's eyes, while his skin had taken on a pale golden glow. His entire bearing — his spirit, energy, and vitality — had reached a terrifying peak.
Tang San rose to his feet. First, he bowed respectfully to his parents. Then he stepped back, walking roughly fifty meters to a relatively open area in the basin. With utmost care, he lifted Xiao Wu's body from the Myriad Treasure Purse and laid her gently on the ground before him.
What should have been a simple process, Tang San treated with extraordinary caution. For him, this moment was far too important — Xiao Wu's resurrection meant more to him than his own life.
He lifted his gaze to the sky and spoke silently in his heart: Da Ming, Er Ming, do you know? Reviving Xiao Wu is your final wish, but it is my only hope. Xiao Wu's resurrection and the meaning of my existence are one and the same. I don't need to promise you anything. If Xiao Wu cannot be revived, then I no longer have any reason to live. No one loves her more than I do. From the very moment I first saw Xiao Wu, she became the soulmate destiny had chosen for me.
……
"Hello! My name is Xiao Wu — the Xiao from dancing."
"My Martial Soul is a rabbit. An adorable little white rabbit. What about you?"
……
"Brother, could you comb my hair for me? It's gotten a bit messy."
"This comb has really fine wood!"
"It was a gift from my mother. She carved it herself from the finest red sandalwood. It has no adornments, but it's the last thing my mother ever left me."
"Xiao Wu, you're truly beautiful."
"Brother, comb my hair."
……
"Brother, you're so foolish, so foolish. If you died, do you think I could go on living alone? I don't want you to die — I want you to live. I always hoped so much that we could live together, just like before. But... that's not possible anymore. I'm gone now. You have to take good care of yourself, or I'll be heartbroken."
……
Scenes from the past flashed ceaselessly through Tang San's mind. Looking at Xiao Wu lying peacefully on the ground, her features serene, his heart ached as though sliced by a knife.
"Xiao Wu, we'll finally be together again. I will make sure your resurrection is perfect. I won't allow you to remain like this any longer. You will stay by my side forever, until the day we grow old together."
He took a sharp, deep breath and shook the tears from his eyes. His right hand gripped the Sea God's Trident at his side, while his left hand drew from the Myriad Treasure Purse the Soul Bone he had replaced — Xiao Wu's Soul Bone.
A crystalline red spread across the Soul Bone, its hundred-thousand-year aura emanating a breath-stealing presence. As the Blue Silver Emperor erupted forth, Soul Ring after Soul Ring materialized out of thin air around Tang San's body.
The mighty Mysterious Heaven Skill, driven by Tang San, began circulating at an unprecedented, frenzied speed. Visible streams of blue-gold energy spiraled upward around his body. All nine of his Soul Rings blazed to life almost simultaneously, making his body shine like a resplendent star.
Beside him, Tang Hao had already clenched both fists. Every strand of Blue Silver Emperor that Ah Yin had become trembled gently.
Tang San raised the Sea God's Trident high above his head. From the trident brand on his forehead, golden light erupted forth, forming a bridge with the Sea God's Heart. The brilliant golden radiance instantly illuminated the entire valley. The divine aura of the Sea God's Trident bloomed in its entirety, enveloping Tang San and Xiao Wu, enveloping Tang Hao and Ah Yin, and enveloping the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and everything within it.
Ah Yin suddenly discovered in astonishment that her body was growing wildly under the illumination of that golden light. The spiritual connection between mother and son allowed her to deeply feel his tremendous power at this moment. The resonant aura of their shared Blue Silver Emperor lineage became the most effective conduit for channeling the Sea God's Light. That vast divine presence poured into her body without reservation, causing her cultivation to skyrocket at a geometric rate.
Tang San's body jerked violently, and in an instant, all nine of his Soul Rings soared into the air, drifting above his head. The pain of losing his Soul Rings all at once forced a mouthful of blood from Tang San's lips, but his gaze had only grown more resolute.
Tang San had certainly not forgotten what Sea God Titled Douluo Bo Saixi had told him, but no one could say with certainty how many Soul Rings' worth of power were needed to resurrect Xiao Wu. Tang San would not allow even the slightest flaw or variable, and so, without any reservation, he expelled all nine of his Blue Silver Emperor Soul Rings from his body at once. The searing pain from that instantaneous tearing sensation caused even his incredibly resilient body to erupt in a dense mist of blood.
A vast torrent of Soul Power carried the Xiao Wu Soul Bone in his hands into the air, merging it with the sixth Soul Ring that had originally belonged to Tang San. A crimson glow bloomed in the sky as the sixth Soul Ring, guided by Tang San's boundless spiritual power, detached from the formation. Brilliant red light scattered through the air, slowly condensing under the divine radiance shining from the Sea God's Trident.
A red phantom gradually took shape—Xiao Wu's translucent crimson form appeared in the air. She could not speak, could not open her mouth, but this was her soul. The aura emanating from it was suffused with sorrow and worry. Those crystal-clear eyes gazed at Tang San, as though trying to tell him something.
Tang San did not flinch. He stared into the eyes within that phantom with unwavering resolve, enunciating each word with a voice that was nearly a roar: "Re—vive—! My—be—loved—."
The Sea God's Light, which had been blanketing everything, suddenly condensed, transforming into a massive pillar of golden radiance that completely enveloped Xiao Wu's soul and her physical body. Immediately after, under Tang San's direction, his first four Soul Rings simultaneously flew up, circling around Xiao Wu's soul to protect her, carrying her gently downward toward her body beneath the golden glow.
Tremendous spiritual power surged into the Sea God's Trident like a mountain flood, converting into the purest Sea God's divine power and raining down. Within that golden brilliance, Xiao Wu's soul phantom cast one last loving glance at Tang San. In the next instant, the crimson glow had completely fused with her physical body.
Yellow, yellow, purple, black—four Soul Rings merged into Xiao Wu's body one by one in sequence, each at a slow, deliberate pace. With every Soul Ring that fused, a flash of red light blazed across Xiao Wu's body.
The Sea God's Light intensified further. Soul possession and soul fusion were two entirely different concepts.
Whether the body Xiao Wu had reconstructed with the help of the Lovesickness Crimson and the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng could fully merge with her original soul—whether it could completely recover under the support of external Soul Ring energy—this was the most critical part of the resurrection ritual. Tang San was unleashing his spiritual power without any regard for the consequences. His seventh Soul Ring had also been summoned, hovering directly above Xiao Wu's body, and the moment he sensed that her body could still tolerate absorbing more Soul Ring energy, he would not hesitate for even a heartbeat.
His fifth Soul Ring had evolved from his Blue Silver Emperor and was not suited for Xiao Wu, but this seventh Soul Ring was a God-granted Soul Ring—its attributes would absolutely not conflict with hers.
Layer upon layer of intense red light wrapped around Xiao Wu's body like a great cocoon, and Tang San's spiritual power permeated every corner of the space, meticulously monitoring the changes between Xiao Wu's soul and her body.
The fusion process was slow, but it was constantly progressing. Without experiencing it firsthand, one could never imagine just how difficult it was. At this moment, Tang San keenly realized that if the item ultimately used to help Xiao Wu's soul fully merge with and stabilize in her body had been that Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Serpent's inner core from before, the chances of failure would have been at least fifty percent or higher.
The Sea God's Light, without question, was the most radiant and purest divine power. Under its illumination, every possible rejection was completely dissolved into nothingness. The fusion process was slow, but utterly unimpeded.
Sea God Titled Douluo Bo Saixi had been right. After absorbing the energy from her own Soul Ring and Soul Bone, and then receiving four of Tang San's Soul Rings, Xiao Wu's body was already completely filled to capacity. Her physical form had already accumulated a tremendous reservoir of energy from consuming the two supreme spirit herbs and from her trials on Sea God Island. Now, with such enormous energy and soul force being channeled into her from outside, any further transmission would most certainly lead to catastrophe.
Having realized this, Tang San finally recalled his remaining four Soul Rings—the fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth—from the air. There were only four, but every single one was a hundred-thousand-year-level Soul Ring! Judging by appearance alone, he now looked like a Soul Ancestor with an entire set of hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings. And that would undoubtedly make him the most powerful Soul Ancestor in the entire history of Soul Land.
With his strength elevated to the Titled Douluo level and his Soul Bones increased from five to six, Tang San found that borrowing the Sea God's Trident's divine power had become far easier than during his battle with Bibi Dong. Back then, if he had unleashed his spiritual power this recklessly at full force, he would have long since been unable to bear the strain. Yet now, he still felt perfectly at ease.
It was not that his spiritual power had increased dramatically. While there had been some improvement, the progress in his spiritual power was certainly far less than the growth in his Soul Power. After all, once his Purple Extreme Demon Eye had reached the Boundless realm, his spiritual power had already been elevated to the peak Titled Douluo level—further significant advancement was impossible short of inheriting a god's mantle. The change in how he borrowed the Sea God's Trident's divine power was reflected in the ratio between the spiritual power he input and the divine power it converted into.
Previously, inputting ten units of spiritual power could only convert into one unit of Sea God's divine power. Now, inputting ten units of spiritual power could fully convert into three units of Sea God's divine power. It was precisely under these conditions that Tang San could comprehensively sustain the process of fusing Xiao Wu's soul with her body without feeling even the slightest bit strained. At least, in his current state of extreme mental exhilaration, he felt nothing at all. Even if there were strain, he simply ignored it.
He had no idea how much time had passed. With a soft hum, the red light blooming from Xiao Wu's body was drawn inward like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, absorbed completely into her physical form. Only the crimson dot of light on her forehead—marking the pinnacle trial of Sea God Island—still gleamed. Soul and body had finally completed their full convergence.
If that alone had not been enough to put Tang San's mind at ease, then the prompt that echoed through his mind next pushed his inner excitement to its absolute peak.
"Sea God's Eighth Trial: Resurrect your companion. Mission complete. Eighth Trial completion: fifty percent. You must continue to increase your strength—absorb Soul Rings and Soul Bones. Complete all trials."
Tang San firmly believed that gods did not lie. Yes—Xiao Wu had been resurrected. After all his relentless effort, Xiao Wu had finally been brought back to life.
With a heavy thud, Tang San sank to his knees, bracing himself against the Sea God's Trident. Only now did he feel the searing pain radiating from every part of his body, only now did he feel the hollow, drained exhaustion in his mind. But did any of that matter? No. It didn't matter anymore. Xiao Wu was alive again—what were these pains compared to that?
The golden divine light quietly faded, and Tang San collapsed along with it, falling right beside Xiao Wu. Even so, in the final instant before consciousness left him, he still did not forget to tightly clasp one of Xiao Wu's warm little hands in his own.
In order for Xiao Wu's resurrection to be perfect, Tang San had essentially burned through his mental power without restraint. Combined with the extreme physical and mental tension—and, more critically, the damage inflicted by stripping away his Soul Rings—it was enough to plunge even someone with his physique into a coma.
In truth, he never should have endured such agony. Stripping Soul Rings from oneself required a person of immense power. Had it not been for the Sea God's Light backing him up, Tang San would have lost the ability to obtain those rings again through hunting even after removing them. His Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul would have been crippled. Yet even with the Sea God's Light's assistance, he had chosen to strip away all nine of his Soul Rings at once to ensure Xiao Wu's resurrection was flawless—a pain more horrific than being flayed alive.
But Tang San hadn't so much as flinched at the time. His focus had simply been too absolute. Those nine Soul Rings had been enormously powerful, including five hundred-thousand-year rings, yet the stronger the Soul Rings, the greater the toll of removing them. It was no exaggeration to say that this forced separation had damaged his very vitality. Even recovering four of the hundred-thousand-year rings afterward couldn't undo that.
If his body hadn't already been tempered once more by the Sea God's Light, and if the six great Soul Bones hadn't been anchoring his foundation and protecting his body, this act of forcibly stripping his Soul Rings would have struck at his very root—and left him permanently beyond recovery.
He didn't know how much time had passed. When Tang San finally regained consciousness, his surroundings were pitch black. Searing pain radiated from every limb and joint, a spasming, white-hot agony that was nearly impossible to endure. Tang San couldn't help but let out a low groan.
"Ah, Xiao San is awake." His mother's voice came from beside him.
Tang San tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt impossibly heavy. Still, he forced himself to call out: "Xiao Wu—how is Xiao Wu?"
Before the words had even left his mouth, his senses had begun to return. He realized that warmth surrounded him on all sides—he seemed to be cradled in someone's soft embrace.
"I'm right here, Brother. Don't move." A voice like a melody from heaven rang in Tang San's ears. Though his condition was still dire, that voice hit him like the most powerful stimulant imaginable, shocking him so thoroughly that his eyes snapped wide open.