To him, the Candle Dragon was a living being filled with wisdom and resolution. This was a living being that would still remain prideful even though it had died and only had a shred of its will left.
Perhaps it scoffed at the idea of lying and perhaps this was truly a blessing, but there was only a line between blessings and curses. It was like an empty bottle. Once it was filled with enough water, it would be full, but once someone pumped in an amount of water that was more than the bottle could take, then it might very well burst apart.
This explosion was not a blessing but another type of curse!
‘If you can withstand my serendipity, then I will give you my remaining life force and the power of the one World to bless your growth so that you will have the right to become the master of my descendant!
‘But if you can’t withstand it, then you have no right to become the master of my descendant. No matter what, a descendant of the Candle Dragon that doesn’t have a master is still better than one having to become someone’s servant.’
Perhaps this was the Candle Dragon’s true thoughts!
Life and death would be decided within an instant, and all of it depended on Su Ming’s choice! It was a blessing, a curse, and also… a test!
A glint appeared in his eyes. He looked at the woman’s rapidly decaying head and at the spinning black thread at the center of its brows. That black thread became clearer and looked as if it was about to shoot out of the center of the woman’s brows at any moment. That black thread was the small snake!
‘This power came too suddenly and I don’t have time to completely stabilize it. If that’s the case, then I’ll be forced to try breaking into the Berserker Soul Realm in extreme haste. Without complete preparation… my chances of failure will be exponentially high!’
Su Ming knew that he had a large amount of Crimson Stones in his storage bag, but none of them contained the Nine Abyss Flower, or else he would have cut that stone open a long time ago. He was in a perilous situation, akin to being forced to move quickly on a suspended rope, and at that moment, the twenty-fourth Berserker Bone formed within his body!
‘Should I try breaking through, or should I not..?’
Su Ming struggled. However, there was just simply no way for him to dispel the life force and aura that was incessantly surging into his body. As his Berserker Bones increased and the power surged within him, Su Ming could clearly just how strong he had become.
It was a strength that was much greater than what he possessed previously. However, along with that sense of power came a feeling of death. Once he reached twenty-six Berserker Bones, he would have to risk it all in a gamble, and his life would be decided in an instant!
As he watched his twenty-fifth Berserker Bone start to glow with a faint golden light as the Candle Dragon’s aura and life force surged into it, Su Ming gritted his teeth. The Nascent Soul in his body instantly opened its eyes, formed a seal with both its hands in his Dantian region, and sucked in a deep breath.
This was the only way Su Ming could think of at the moment to slow down the process. However, it was also clear to him that he could not use this method for long. When the Nascent Soul became unable to absorb anymore of the Candle Dragon’s life force and aura, then he would be forced to make a difficult choice.
As the Nascent Soul absorbed the life force and aura, these forces of power surging into Su Ming’s body changed direction, and a large portion of them charged towards the Nascent Soul. In an instant, they surrounded it.
The Nascent Soul continuously formed seals with his hands in accordance to the Immortals’ cultivation method which Hong Luo had left. After a moment, the Nascent Soul grew to twice its original size, and pain appeared on its face. This sort of forceful increase of power was a serendipitous event, but it also meant danger and pain.
Once Su Ming’s Nascent Soul swelled up, its level of cultivation immediately shot through the early Nascent Soul stage to the mid Nascent Soul stage, and it was still increasing. Time was flowing by swiftly, and before long, when Su Ming’s Nascent Soul swelled up and grew twice its previous size once again, extreme pain and suffering appeared on its face, and Su Ming’s expression also became the same.
He had a feeling as if his Nascent Soul was about to explode. A bang went off in his head, and the Nascent Soul let out a roar in his body. Immediately, its insides turned murky and its power climbed straight up to the late Nascent Soul stage from the mid stage!
However, the power that was surging into Su Ming’s body did not diminish by even a single bit. Instead, it just became even greater, making it seem like if it did not cause him to burst apart, it would not stop!
Fine blood capillaries had already appeared on his body, and tiny cracks had also appeared on his Nascent Soul. At that moment, it looked just like a bottle that was about to fall apart!
As the Nascent Soul absorbed that power once again, almost the instant it reached the late stage, it climbed straight into the Great Circle of Nascent Soul! Just one more step, and it would reach Soul Formation!
Once it reached Soul Formation, then the Nascent Soul would be as powerful as a Latter Shaman and a Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm!
‘To reach the Immortals’ Soul Formation stage I will need to understand their Domains. These Domains are really mysterious and I don’t really understand them… but I’ll have to get to that stage no matter what!’
Su Ming gritted his teeth and looked as if he was ready to risk everything. At this point, when his life and death could be decided in an instant, he found himself actually not being bothered by death any longer. Since this was the Candle Dragon’s blessing and also its test, then he might as well not be worried about anything else!
The moment this thought appeared in Su Ming’s mind, his Nascent Soul opened its mouth wide, and a savage look appeared on its face.
‘Candle Dragon, let’s see just how much of your blessing I can take in!’
The Nascent Soul opened its mouth wide and began sucking madly. All the life force and aura surging into Su Ming’s body rushed straight towards it, and as they were continuously pumped into it, it grew at a rapid pace, eventually growing to be almost the exact same size as Su Ming!
‘Soul Formation… Soul Formation… I still haven’t come to understand Domains, but I do understand the fusion between the past and the future, and I found the point between the past and the future. If we’re talking about Domains, then my Domain is destiny!
‘Everyone has their own destiny, and living beings all have to end up being reincarnated!’
As the aura and life force continuously surged into the Nascent Soul, it swelled up even more, and eventually, it let out a low growl and exploded. Right then, a bang went off in Su Ming’s head.
His mind became clouded. He seemed to have seen his Nascent Soul’s metamorphosis, and a new life was born. It could no longer be called a Nascent Soul, but a Nascent Divinity!
The Nascent Divinity was like a shadow, but also a physical entity, it seemed to be corporeal, but an illusion at the same time. Su Ming sensed a wave of ripples coming from his Nascent Divinity, and it was a will that screamed that if this Nascent Divinity did not perish, then his soul would not die.
The Nascent Divinity was just born, and Su Ming could sense just how frail it was. At this point, it needed time to nurse itself back to health. If it absorbed anymore of the Candle Dragon’s aura, then it would immediately disintegrate because it could not endure it.
The Candle Dragon’s aura and life force was about to charge into the Nascent Divinity. Su Ming opened his eyes, formed a seal with his right hand, then pointed before himself. Right when the Candle Dragon’s power closed in on the Nascent Divinity, it floated out of Su Ming’s body and gathered before him.
‘The Immortals that have formed Nascent Divinities say that as long as their Nascent Divinities don’t perish, their spirits won’t die. Since I have a Nascent Divinity now, then even if my body falls apart because of the Candle Dragon’s power, I can use my Nascent Divinity to Possess someone else!’
Su Ming gritted his teeth, and the moment his Nascent Divinity left his body, the Candle Dragon’s power rushed straight towards his Berserker Bones.
In an instant, a powerful golden light erupted forth from Su Ming’s twenty-fifth Berserker Bone. At that moment, his entire spine looked as if it was sparkling with golden light, and even his body had turned the color of gold.
Twenty-five Berserker Bones were the pinnacle of the Bone Sacrifice Realm. There were quite a number of powerful Berserkers who had arrived at this state and would not continue with their practice because they did not have the confidence to handle the life and death situation when their twenty-sixth Berserker Bone appeared! If Su Ming could choose, he would definitely only try taking that risk when he had plenty of confidence that he would succeed, but right then, he had no choice!
His eyes were blood-red. The instant resolution colored his eyes, all twenty-five of his Berserker Bones started absorbing all the Candle Dragon’s power surging into his body simultaneously to create… that twenty-sixth bone!
After the time taken for an incense stick to burn, the twenty-sixth Berserker Bone formed, and right at that instant, a brilliant light that even those outside the Candle Dragon’s body could see erupted from Su Ming’s entire spine. As the light merged together, it looked as if it wanted to form a shape behind Su Ming’s body, and that shape… was naturally the thing that all powerful Berserkers in the Berserker Soul Realm would possess - their very own statue of the God of Berserkers!
A feeling as if his soul was about to be absorbed by that statue appeared, causing Su Ming’s mind to become clouded, and in the midst of that fuzziness, his head became empty.
However, almost right after the shape appeared, it started to look as if it could not maintain its form after a few flickers. It lasted for the span of several more breaths in an incredibly unstable state, and eventually, started breaking up before disintegrating with a bang.
The instant the shape fell apart, Su Ming instantly felt the portion of his mind that was absorbed being torn apart. That spine of his that was shining with that brilliant light shattered into pieces with a violent bang. As it shattered, blood trickled out of the corners of Su Ming’s mouth.
The blood trickled out of his mouth only in the beginning, the next instant, it started gushing out. Blood gushed out of every single pore in his body at the same time, and his body instantaneously slumped down.
The shadow of death loomed over a wide area above Su Ming’s head. His attempt to enter the Berserker Soul Realm failed!
The moment it failed, due to the shattering of the spine, Su Ming’s flesh and blood instantly started showing signs of crumbling and disappearing into thin air. His life force was rapidly flowing away, and the spark of his life was swiftly growing dull.
However, right at the moment these signs showed up, due to the vast amount of life force and aura surging into Su Ming’s body, his flesh and blood was not ripped apart. As the life force fused into it, Su Ming’s own life force was swiftly replenished, and the shattered bits of his spine were also rapidly gathering together to merge into one.
"I can help you, but only once… Not all life forms can handle my blessing. The next time… if you still cannot endure through my blessing, then you are not fit to become the master of my descendent.
"If you still cannot handle the next wave of my blessing, then stay here and rot with me… If you can persevere through the time taken for an incense stick to burn, then the remaining power of that precious one World of mine will appear. If you can absorb it, then it will truly be your serendipity!"
The Candle Dragon’s ancient voice echoed in Su Ming’s mind. His spine gradually became whole and his life force was fully replenished. Besides the spine not shining with anymore golden light and that Su Ming would need to refine all his vertebrae once again, he did not suffer even the slightest bit of harm.
Even though all his Berserker Bones had shattered and were gone even after his spine was reformed, not only did Su Ming not feel that his power had diminished, but even had the feeling that it had become greater. However, he did not have time to think about this strange feeling, because as the life force and aura surged into his body, the first vertebrae on his spine started shining with a golden light once again.