Chapter 48 Four Ring Soul SectDeep within the Extreme North Ice Plains, a majestic castle, completely forged from ten-thousand-year-old glacial ice, stood silently amidst the vast white expanse.It was not a finely carved, luxurious palace, but rather exuded an aura of primal, rugged, yet incredibly solemn power.This was the Snow Empress's former residence.In the Extreme North Land, this ice castle was an absolute taboo and a legend. Apart from the Snow Empress herself and the very few beings she acknowledged, such as the Ice Empress and Xiao Bai, no creature dared to set foot here.It's worth noting that even Tai Tan Snow Demon King once came here to propose to the Snow Empress, but he couldn't even get past the door. The Snow Empress broke all his bones, and he lay crippled for a thousand years before recovering.Xiao Bai's enormous, mountain-like body moved with extreme caution here. With movements completely unsuited to her size, she gently placed Dai Youheng and the long-unconscious twenty-thousand-year Abyssal Ice Prison Tiger onto the mirror-smooth floor of the ice castle's front hall.The Abyssal Ice Prison Tiger had not remained unconscious the entire time. Each time its consciousness began to clear, it was met with Xiao Bai's merciless, terrifyingly powerful giant paw. A casual swat would drag it back into the endless darkness.Now, it lay limp, its aura weak, long stripped of the prestige it once held as a top predator of the Extreme North Land.Dai Youheng sat cross-legged to the side, a faint golden glow subtly circulating around him. The healing cultivation technique recorded in the Golden Adamant Evil Warding Body was operating efficiently, repairing the external injuries he sustained while battling the Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast.Although his face was still a bit pale, his breathing had stabilized significantly, and the intense pain in his body was gradually being replaced by a warm flow of spirit power.He slowly opened his eyes, taking a deep breath of the pure ice-element-infused air within the ice castle, feeling his mental force invigorated. He forced himself to stand, his gaze falling upon the dying Abyssal Ice Prison Tiger, his eyes calm and resolute.It was time.Without further hesitation, the phantom of the Evil Shadow Demonic Tiger emerged behind him. He stepped forward, his right palm instantly covered in dense black fur, sharp claws extended, carrying a fierce ripping sound as they precisely and brutally shattered the head of the twenty-thousand-year Spirit Beast.The breath of life instantly dissipated.Immediately following, a thick, almost congealed black energy surged from the tiger's corpse, rapidly coalescing into a spirit ring shimmering with black light.A spirit ring approaching twenty thousand years, for an ordinary Spirit Ancestor, was almost a death warrant. The immense energy and violent will it contained were enough to burst their bodies and souls, as this was originally a spirit ring that only a Spirit Emperor could absorb.However, Dai Youheng's expression remained unchanged. With Xiao Bai guarding him, he had no need to worry about any external interference. He sat down cross-legged again, his mind slightly stirring, using his own spirit power as a guide to slowly draw over the black spirit ring that exuded an ominous and powerful aura.The moment the spirit ring settled, Dai Youheng's body violently shuddered!Like a bursting dam, an immeasurably vast spirit power surged madly into his meridians, carrying the Abyssal Ice Prison Tiger's unique evil and dark attributes, roughly scouring and expanding his meridians.At the same time, a soul shockwave filled with savagery, resentment, and coldness violently impacted his sea of mental force. This was the inevitable soul impact of a spirit ring over ten thousand years, a backlash of the Spirit Beast's unwilling will before death.If it were an ordinary Spirit Ancestor, their meridians would probably be severed by now, or they would be rendered an idiot by that soul impact.But how could Dai Youheng be an ordinary person?The Golden Adamant Evil Warding Body cultivation method automatically operated at high speed, a faint golden glow emanating from his body. Under the protection of this golden light, his meridians, bones, and internal organs displayed astonishing resilience, enduring the impact of the violent energy, and even being further widened and solidified by this impact.His powerful physique, enhanced by the ten-thousand-year whale glue, played a crucial role at this moment, as stable as a bedrock.As for the soul impact...Deep within Dai Youheng's sea of consciousness, a mental force far more condensed and vast than the Ice Prison Tiger's remnant soul quietly surged. All the mental force gained after devouring that "heteromorphic isoform" had made his mental strength far exceed his peers, even rivaling a high-level Spirit Emperor.The Ice Prison Tiger's remnant soul impact struck this incredibly solid mental barrier like a wave crashing against a reef. Apart from a faint tremor, it caused no ripples. Instead, its lingering consciousness was easily crushed and absorbed by Dai Youheng's powerful mental force, transforming into the purest mental nourishment.Time flowed in the silent ice castle. After more than an hour, Youheng's aura around him fluctuated violently at times, and at others, it was stable and restrained. The black spirit ring's light also flickered accordingly, and the rebellious will within it visibly weakened.Finally, when the last trace of violent energy was completely brought under control, and the spirit ring's light became docile and stable, like a black warm jade encircling his body, Dai Youheng let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes.His eyes gleamed with inner radiance, full of vigor.Yellow, yellow, purple, black!Four spirit rings rhythmically pulsated around him, symbolizing his official entry into the Spirit Ancestor realm! Not only were his injuries fully recovered, but his spirit power level had directly jumped to the peak of forty-second rank, just a step away from entering forty-third rank."Youheng, it seems you have succeeded. What Spirit Ability did you gain?" The Snow Empress's clear voice, tinged with curiosity, sounded in his mind. She could feel the dark power contained within that spirit ring.Dai Youheng carefully sensed his newly acquired ability, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and replied, "It's the last skill it used against me — Dark Special Zone. It releases a special dark force field, covering an area. This force field doesn't cause direct damage, but it seals the opponent's vision and greatly interferes with the effects of all support-type Spirit Abilities within the range. Within the range, apart from myself, all positive effects like healing, attribute boosts, and spirit power recovery will be greatly weakened or even directly nullified.""It's just that my cultivation is not as strong as that Hundred-Thousand-Year Ice Prison Tiger, so my Dark Special Zone is far from being large enough to cover an entire valley like that Ice Prison Tiger's. Currently, it's estimated to be only about fifty meters in diameter."Upon hearing this, the Snow Empress's voice also carried clear approval, "Fifty meters in diameter? To have such a range upon first acquiring this skill is already extremely rare! This is an extremely rare and powerful skill, comparable to a Domain. Countless Titled Douluo might spend their entire lives and never even touch the threshold of a Domain, yet you can acquire such a skill with your fourth spirit ring. Your potential is limitless! As your rank increases, its coverage will undoubtedly continue to expand."Dai Youheng himself was extremely satisfied with this skill. This was simply a tailor-made crowd control divine skill for him, capable of delivering a decisive blow in both one-on-one combat and future team battles.Moreover, this Spirit Ability's greatest counter, besides top-tier support Spirits like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, was the Dai Family's White Tiger. After all, the Dai Family's White Tiger Spirit has many enhancement Spirit Abilities, but under the Dark Special Zone, most enhancements will become ineffective for anyone other than himself. A White Tiger Spirit without enhancements is like a sick cat, not worth mentioning.
