Ignaz knelt cross-legged and swallowed the Yin-Yang Twin Grass in one gulp. At first, nothing seemed to happen—but within ten seconds, a scorching heat surged through his abdomen, growing ever more intense, as if he had plunged into molten lava.
His flesh felt as though it was being burned away, exposing deep white bones.
"Ah—!"
His face contorted in agony. He rolled across the ground, his body alternately consumed by hellish torment and caressed by a gentle, healing wind. Life and death exchanged violently within him, forcing Ignaz to endure the excruciating pain of mortality itself.
The faster he writhed, the faster his flesh seemed to burn away. In moments, all that remained was a charred skeleton. Yet the red-and-white energy at his core did not dissipate.
As he neared the brink of death, that energy surged into his eye sockets. Slowly, a pair of heterochromatic eyes—one red, one white—manifested.
The charred skeleton gradually regenerated before his eyes, flesh and blood growing anew. Only when his body was fully restored did the extreme pain finally begin to subside.
Hours later, Ignaz awoke from unconsciousness caused by the overwhelming agony. He stared at his bare body, hastily retrieving a piece of clothing from his storage device and putting it on.
"What… happened to me? Why do my eyes look so strange? And what's this red-and-white aura floating around me?"
Three extraordinary changes had occurred, leaving him both fearful and bewildered. He could feel, with certainty, that his body had undergone a fundamental transformation.
Sitting cross-legged, he focused on the changes within. To his astonishment, his spiritual perception had tripled, and his spiritual power had expanded threefold. Thanks to the Saint Spirit Grass he had consumed earlier, his spiritual power had once surged drastically—without the support of the Thunder Dragon Fish Crown, it could cover three miles.
Now, after consuming the Yin-Yang Twin Grass, his spiritual perception had doubled again, and his spiritual power could extend over an astounding ten-mile radius.
Additionally, his body had undergone a complete physical enhancement, and his spirit power level had broken through the previous ceiling of 65, reaching level 70.
Most importantly were his new heterochromatic eyes. Ignaz touched them, marveling:
"So it's true—the immortal herb illustration didn't lie. This is a spirit ability… my second spirit is my eyes."
He poured spiritual power into his eyes. The surrounding red-and-white energy surged into them with incredible speed. The Blood Thunder Spear floated uncontrollably into his hand, nourished by the crimson aura flowing from his red eye.
Ever since he activated the Blood Training path through the Blood Sacrifice technique, the Blood Thunder Spear had only responded to blood.
"Could it be that the red aura is death energy, while the white aura represents life energy?"
Ignaz's astonishment deepened. Carefully sensing his precious new heterochromatic spirit, he laughed wildly:
"This spirit, the Eyes of Life and Death—or the Reincarnation Eyes—is absurdly powerful. Even without spirit rings, it can decompose and collect the red-and-white life-and-death energy floating in the air."
The effects of this energy were extraordinary. It could increase his spirit power, extend the lifespan of spirit rings and spirit bones, and even help others improve. Most importantly, with enough life-and-death energy, it could materialize anything a spirit master desired.
Ignaz's mind raced.
"If life-and-death energy is this powerful, then creating my own divine seat isn't impossible."
On Douluo Continent, divine seats were of two types: either founded through belief or inherited from an existing god. Collecting life-and-death energy could be considered a unique form of belief. With enough energy, even a self-created second-tier divine seat could ascend. From there, he could continually draw from the infinite cycle of life and death, eventually reaching the limits of godhood: first-tier gods, God Kings, Supreme Gods, and perhaps even immortals.
The thought filled Ignaz with indescribable excitement. The sight of himself ascending to a divine seat was beyond imagination.
Confident, he rose and surveyed the dark underground cavern, noting a vertical fissure above.
"To try escaping through that fissure? The Garuda is waiting outside to catch me—that's impossible."
"Then I'll just have to find a way through this dark cavern first."
He activated a soul-guided lantern, marking his path as he advanced, careful not to lose his way. If he failed to find a passage above, he would have no choice but to defeat the 100,000-year Garuda waiting at the fissure.
The deeper he went, the more he realized that the cavern formed a gentle, circular downward spiral, plunging endlessly into the depths.
Rather than descending step by step, Ignaz leapt forward, flying rapidly along the cavern's path.
"I want to see where this bottomless tunnel leads."
Hours later, the tunnel widened, flattening out until he reached a smooth stone wall resembling a door. Scanning it with his spiritual power, he penetrated its five-meter thickness. On the other side, sunlight streamed in, accompanied by a faint breeze.
"Is this… the underground world? But why is there light like the sun?"
Confused, Ignaz summoned the Blood Thunder Spear and prepared his first and sixth soul skills: Dragon Transformation Spear and Evil Tiger Demon-Slaying Strike.
The sixth soul skill, absorbed from the 100,000-year Evil Demon Tiger Whale King's spirit ring, was a 100,000-year technique. Its penetration rivaled that of Wind-Rain Night: Thousand-Mile Pierce, enhanced by 300%, nearly tripling its power. Combined with the first soul skill, the spear's penetration increased roughly another fold.