Absorbing the peak Soul Seed went surprisingly well. Thought I'd battle lethal cold ravaging my body while soul-fighting its spirit, but none happened.
The Spiritual Seed, as if sensing a kindred spirit, instantly stopped resisting and even provided what assistance it could in its own absorption. Apparently, having acquired its junior version in a parallel world allowed me to win the Seed over. It was a very pleasant bonus. I wish more like this would appear in my life. Instead, I mostly get unpleasant surprises that knock me off track.
Rising from the lotus position, I stretched, my whole body crackling. Finally, the Spiritual Seed was absorbed, and my ice elemental magic was enhanced similarly to the dimension category elements—by a factor of 6.99. I'd mentally round it up to seven; it sounds nicer that way.
Directing my ice elemental mana with a willful effort, I created a Beginner-level spell, materializing a small ice wall in front of me, then struck it with all my strength.
Boom! My hand met the wall and did absolutely nothing to it. Well, actually, since it was just standing on the floor without being anchored, it got sent flying to the other end of the cave. But it was intact! From a strike at the Junior Commander level!
And this was just a Beginner-level spell! Ooo, holy Totems, I already love the accompanying effect of this seed! With it, my defensive methods have become much broader and more varied! Essentially, I no longer need to expend huge amounts of mana to protect myself from powerful attacks!
Essentially, the accompanying effect of this Spiritual Seed is a degraded version of the Forbidden Domain that the Seed will possess at the Heavenly level. "Indestructible Ice," that's what the Forbidden Domain is called, and it does exactly what it says—makes ice destruction impossible if your opponent is equal to you in power level or lower.
Of course, the degraded version can't be that powerful. People and monsters of equal strength to mine will be able to pierce my current ice, but it'll be very difficult for them. And those below my level... my condolences.
At least the ice's durability is tied to my magical power, and since I'm essentially at the fourth step of High level in ice right now, only peak Commanders—or particularly powerful Seniors—will be able to breach my defenses. High-level mages...
Well, Dongfang Min could try if he manages to surpass me in cultivation. The others just don't have the means to raise their step to the fourth. Five million per Servant-level soul, 343 stars in the High-level element...
That comes to one billion seven hundred fifteen million yuan. Good luck to them accumulating that sum—or more, since I calculated at the minimum market price. And even if they could scrape together that wealth, which isn't impossible in principle, they'd still have to choke down their greed to spend it just to reach the next step. It'd be easier to invest it in a breakthrough to the Supreme level for a bigger payoff.
Grinning from ear to ear, I played around with my enhanced magic a bit more and returned to the Three-Step Tower. The girls were still cultivating, but it was clear both were close to breakthrough. Though if Jiao Jiao only used two meridians again, TuTu was already holding the sixth in her hands, and it might not be the last. Well, I don't mind; she can use eight if she wants.
Hm, I still have more than ten hours left—what to do? Maybe enhance souls with time elements? Nah, I won't have time to finish, and I hate leaving things unfinished.
Oh, maybe go check on the current guardian of the Spiritual Seed for Jiao Jiao? If it's just a peak Commander, I won't have any issues with it. Of course, it won't be as quick as with Vilyuk; I specifically picked a spell tailored for him there.
And using fusion magic after the accompanying effect appears—something I want to experiment with—would just be outright blasphemy. Well, if it's really just a peak Commander. If it's a Warlord... we'll see based on the circumstances.
Shifting in my pre-activated armor to the familiar plain, I immediately released my spatial and soul senses to scan the surroundings. What revealed itself... caused a bit of bewilderment but fit perfectly into the world's established picture.
Right now, several corpses of Wind Dragon Horses lay near the hill with the Spiritual Seed, and a Junior Warlord was holed up inside it. Judging by the body shape, it was a spider, and it was settling in, completely unaware I'd shown up.
Man, so that's how the Wind Dragon Horses tribe ends up here in the future. And in the relatively near future, at that. Most likely, a few weak horses found this place along with the spider, who predictably killed them and claimed this prime spot with its chitinous claws.
Then, probably, the older relatives of those horses will show up and explain to the spider why it was wrong, seizing the excellent location for themselves and eventually moving the whole tribe here. Right up until a huge crowd of greedy humans arrives to expropriate them for what's making the place so great.
Hmmm, a Warlord spider isn't the weakest; I probably won't kill it in one go. I could try dragging out the fight, but it's just not worth it for me. I'm way behind in energy reserves. And my new ice? It won't help at all here; they outclass me too much in magical power for it to have any meaningful effect.
Hmmm, what if...? Nah... or maybe yes? Why am I any worse than that thief who snatched the Seed right under a bunch of powerful clans' noses? I too am great at "borrowing" things indefinitely! Heck, I can even lend out cultivation! Our Dao of Theft is just on different levels! He doesn't hold a candle to me!
Decided! Judging by how cooled the corpses are, the horses were killed a few hours ago, so their older relatives won't keep me waiting long—ten hours max. I have enough space and time element reserves to wait in place and not miss the right moment.
Heh-heh, "borrowing"... er, lending things out I love way more than fighting. And watching a Warlord battle will be interesting; I doubt the spider will surrender without a fight, especially after realizing what treasure it found. So, we hide and wait. Hmmm, did I bring iced tea? It tastes especially good in this body.