Crystal Butterfly's consciousness gradually blurred, yet it seemed to have found peace, slowly closing its eyes.
The next moment,a blinding black light suddenly erupted from its head, transforming into a black halo that instantly spread! Its body also ignited with a ghostly blue flame!
Gradually, the black light rapidly subsided, condensing into a thick black soul ring, swirling around Dongfang Jing.
The bottleneck that had been blocking his body instantly broke through, and his soul power surged!
"Sacrifice?!" The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes widened, completely unexpected that it would choose such a resolute method.
Bi Ji closed her eyes in pain, her emotions complex and indescribable.
Behind her, the Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin, who had followed, deeply imprinted this scene in her eyes.
Sacrifice, she was all too familiar with it.
But she was a 100,000-year-old soul beast, and could choose the method of sacrifice herself.
Ah Yin preserved her soul, sacrificing only her cultivation and life.
This Illusionary Crystal Butterfly, with a cultivation level of only forty thousand years, had no choice and could not retain its soul.
'This child... to make a soul beast willingly go this far...'
Ah Yin's gaze lingered on the boy's retreating figure.
Dark purple shattered mirror martial souls uncontrollably appeared, swirling around the Eastern Mirror.
Strangely, the shapes of those shattered mirrors began to change, gradually transforming from irregular polygons into the outlines of fluttering butterflies.
Their color also changed from dark purple to a dreamy blue-pink gradient, identical to the wings of the Illusionary Crystal Butterfly.
The burning body of the Illusionary Crystal Butterfly transformed into countless shimmering points of light, slowly dissipating into the air.
The newly formed butterfly-shaped mirror fragments fluttered lightly in response.
The emerald swans looked up to the sky, emitting mournful cries.
The setting sun painted the sky a warm orange-red and golden hue, its soft light spilling over the tranquil flowerbed.
A gentle breeze swept through, swirling countless colorful petals that drifted and twirled in the air alongside the light butterflies formed from the mirror lenses.
The dim light outlined the handsome profile of the young man.
Purple, purple, black, black—four spirit rings silently circled around him.
A tear slid silently from the corner of Dongfang Jing's eye.
He seemed to sense the final prayer and entrustment of the Illusionary Crystal Butterfly.
He raised his hand and gently wiped away the tear with his thumb.
The light of the setting sun reflected in his purple eyes, refracting a faint golden glow.
He gazed in the direction where the Illusionary Crystal Butterfly had vanished and whispered, his tone firm yet gentle:
"Thank you. I received your power."
"I will also inherit this will of protection!"
The atmosphere was somewhat somber as they walked back to the wooden house.
Seeing her apprentice remain silent with his head down, Biji slowed her pace and walked alongside him. Worried that he might get stuck on something, she explained,
"The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger is extremely rare, even rarer than our Emerald Swan. Legend has it that the power of an evil god descended upon a white tiger, causing it to mutate and its light attribute to turn into a dark attribute."
"Its growth doesn't rely on its own cultivation, which is extremely difficult for it. It can only rapidly increase its strength by devouring the soul power of other soul beasts or human soul masters."
Bi Ji's tone turned solemn as she warned, "Little Mirror, when you are strong enough in the future, if you encounter it, you can eliminate it. Even the Emerald Swan clan considers such an evil soul beast a mortal enemy!"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion also trotted over with its short legs, angrily echoing, "That's right! That damned tiger even dared to attack this auspicious beast! I once encountered a ten-thousand-year-old one. Er Ming was right next to me, and we even joined forces with other soul beasts around us, but we still couldn't defeat it! In the end, Er Ming took me to find Daming, and the two of them joined forces to finally drive that tiger out of the Star Dou Great Forest!"
Dongfang Jing knew that the Daming and Er Ming they were talking about were two hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts.
This meant that the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, at ten thousand years of cultivation, was already capable of challenging a hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast!
He pondered for a moment, noting the tiger's presence in his mind, deciding to leave it for later.
Back in his room, Dongfang Jing went straight into the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors.
The sacrifice of the Illusionary Crystal Butterfly had changed the initial form of his Martial Soul, and his cultivation of over forty thousand years had directly boosted his Soul Power to level 42.
But he was more concerned about what new changes the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors would bring.
Observing his surroundings, he saw no new doors appearing on the mirrors, nor any obvious new abilities emerging.
But when he concentrated his mental energy, he discovered that a blue-pink gradient mark was gradually being imprinted on the mirrored wall, the pattern being the Illusionary Crystal Butterfly.
Then, he saw more marks:a silver-gray leopard, a sky-blue hedgehog, and a black orca.
These were clearly the Soul Beasts corresponding to his first three Soul Rings.
As he focused his mind, more marks appeared:an Emerald Swan, a Fiery Lion, a Silver Needle Poisonous Bee, and a Fluorescent Deer—all guardian Soul Beasts he had sparred with in this forest. When he withdrew his mental energy, these marks disappeared.
He tried several times, finding that they only appeared when he concentrated his mind.
"But what's the use of these?" Dongfang Jing was completely bewildered, utterly confused.
He tried various methods but couldn't figure out the function of these branded emblems.
However, he believed the Hall of Mirrors wouldn't give him any useless abilities.
For now, it seemed he could only wait and explore them later.
Leaving the Hall of Mirrors, Dongfang Jing heard a clear, urgent shout.
"Dongfang Jing! Dongfang Jing! Where did you go?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked around, finding him vanished after his return, its presence undetectable.
The boy chuckled; it seemed this little guy truly considered him a very important friend.
Dongfang Jing felt the same way.
He had very few friends, almost none, and was still grateful to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion for keeping him company.
"Little Mirror, how are you?" A gentle question came from Bi Ji.
Dongfang Jing turned and found Bi Ji had entered his room and was sitting on his bed.
He didn't mind and walked to his master, about to explain the latest situation in the Hall of Mirrors.
But Bi Ji reached out and pulled him to the edge of the bed.
Then, she gently supported his head, letting him rest his head on her lap.
A familiar, soft touch came from behind his head, and two rather magnificent mountain peaks appeared before him.
A sweet fragrance wafted into his nostrils, and a hint of awkwardness flashed across Dongfang Jing's face, but he didn't resist.
"Master, what are you doing?" he asked deliberately.
Biji gently stroked his hair and smiled, "You've been practicing forging so hard lately, while also diligently cultivating, and you even wash and massage my feet every night. You must be exhausted, right? Here's a little reward for you~ Don't you like it?"
"I like it. Then this disciple won't be polite." Dongfang Jing answered honestly, then closed his eyes, quietly enjoying the tranquility.
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(End of Chapter)