Douro Continent

Chapter 685 Soul Bone Separation, Eight Wings of the Sea God

"Shura, you stop right there and explain yourself before you leave. This is clearly unfair. I'm not afraid of going to the Divine Realm Committee. Your method of selecting successors is inherently dishonest—casting a wide net and cultivating them one by one. I, on the other hand, have focused all my efforts on cultivating just this one person."

Although Poseidon's words were still very firm, they now had a hint of bravado masking underlying weakness.

The Asura God stopped and said without turning his head, "Also, I heard what you said when you were helping Tang San clear his mind. You wanted your representative, Poseidon, to be with the person I once chose. It seems you haven't even asked for my consent yet. Tang San's great-grandfather, Tang Chen, although he achieved a divine soul, it was severely damaged. I haven't decided whether to expend my divine soul to help him repair it."

After saying this, the Asura God took a step and disappeared at the gate of the Sea God Temple.

"Don't threaten me like that!" the Sea God roared in grief and indignation. "Asura God, you're my brother! Let's talk this out! Wait for me!"

The Asura God's icy voice drifted through the air, "Let's talk about everything after Tang San's inheritance is complete. Even if I wanted him to become a law enforcer of the God Realm, that would be ten thousand years from now."

The sea god also rushed out of the temple, shouting, "Everything can be discussed! You are one of the three great enforcers, on par with the two god-kings. You can't just say whatever you want in the Divine Realm Committee!"

The enforcers of the divine realm hold an extremely high position, possessing the power to manage everything, supervise the chief gods, and even the god-kings. Under certain circumstances, they can even enforce the law in the human realm through special divine methods. The Divine Realm Committee is composed of two god-kings and three divine enforcers. When major events occur in the divine realm, the five members of the Divine Realm Committee will vote. The two god-kings each have two votes, and each divine enforcer has one vote. However, if the three enforcers agree, they can overturn the decision of the two god-kings, despite having only three votes. These five members are collectively known as the Five Supreme Beings of the Divine Realm. Although the Sea God is not one of the Five Supreme Beings, he is still a chief god second only to the Five Supreme Beings, and his strength is extremely formidable, so he is not particularly afraid of the Asura God.

The golden light made Tang San somewhat disoriented. He felt as if a huge golden vortex was surrounding him, and he had lost sight of everything else except the gold.

Suddenly, the feeling of confusion vanished instantly, and the swirling golden light disappeared as well. Tang San found himself on a circular platform.

The platform was golden, and a faint warmth emanated from beneath his feet. Around the circular platform stretched an endless ocean, but to Tang San's astonishment, the seawater was entirely golden. A golden ocean—what a wondrous sight! Moreover, even the sky was golden; this place seemed to possess only this one color, with differences only appearing in varying shades.

Tang San, being exceptionally intelligent, quickly regained his composure. His first thought was of the Sea God's final expression. Without a doubt, his guess was correct; the Sea God must have had some reason for not revealing the truth to him, which was why he had sent him directly into the inheritance process. As for this place, it should be a special domain, specifically used for the Sea God's divine inheritance. This was all Tang San could currently understand through his senses.

Surrounding and diagonally above this circular platform, eight smaller circular platforms, each appearing to be about two meters in diameter, floated, centered on the platform where Tang San was located. Eight smaller platforms? The Sea God had previously mentioned that he needed to overcome eight trials to complete the Sea God's inheritance; it seems these eight circular platforms are related.

Just as Tang San was pondering, suddenly, waves of golden light surged from the circular platform beneath his feet, all rushing towards Tang San's body. Tang San felt his body instantly frozen by this energy, completely unable to resist.

Gradually, the wave-like golden energy completely enveloped Tang San's body. To Tang San's amusement and dismay, even his breathing was completely sealed off. Apart from his eyes being able to see, he could no longer react. The flow of his Xuan Tian Gong internal energy within his body noticeably slowed down, fluctuating very slowly. He tried to use his mental power to mobilize his internal energy, but both his mental power and internal energy were suppressed by an inexplicable energy.

Suddenly, without warning, a searing heat surged from behind. Before Tang San could react, a sharp tearing sensation transformed into excruciating pain, causing his vision to blur. It felt as if his body was being ripped open. A piercing scraping sound echoed from behind. Although Tang San's mental energy was sealed, his senses were exceptionally sharp. However, the sharper his senses, the more intense the pain became.

The intense pain felt like someone was sawing his back, cutting through his skin, muscles, and veins, and then cutting into his ribs, specifically targeting the gaps between the bones. With a snap, it seemed as if a bone had been forcibly ripped from Tang San's body.

The pain of having skin torn and bones broken, amplified to an extreme degree, would likely kill anyone else. Even for Tang San, with his strong will, every meridian in his body spasmed under such agony, and the unprecedented pain caused every nerve in his body to tremble violently.

At the same time, one of the eight smaller platforms surrounding the circular platform where Tang San had landed flew out and floated a meter in front of him. The platform shimmered with beautiful, wavy golden patterns, but unfortunately, Tang San, in his current state of agony, had no mind to appreciate them.

A golden light traveled from behind Tang San to in front of him, landing precisely on the small circular platform. It didn't collide with him, but instead hovered about fifty centimeters above the platform. It was a rib. Tang San's rib. Tang San's senses were absolutely correct; it was indeed his bone that had been forcibly removed.

If Tang San's Heart of the Sea God hadn't shattered, with the Sea God's Trident wielding it, although he would still have his bones dismantled during the inheritance process, the pain would be much less. The Heart of the Sea God would protect his senses with the power of the Sea God, minimizing the pain as much as possible. But now, without the Heart of the Sea God's help, Tang San is like a patient undergoing surgery without anesthesia, having his skin forcibly torn and bones dismantled—that kind of experience…

A rib, a golden rib. Tang San forcibly suppressed a trace of fear in his heart. Even in such pain, he kept telling himself to stay calm. This rib that had been removed seemed to be one of his Eight Spider Lances. Keep in mind, his Eight Spider Lances had already reached the level of divine artifacts, and yet it had been removed—just how powerful was the energy that bound him?

As if to verify Tang San's judgment, the rib immediately shone brightly and expanded suddenly after it stabilized on the small platform, transforming into a spider leg that was three meters long, just like one of the eight spider spears when they were released.

The pain came in waves, one after another, with a snap. Tang San felt his body go limp as yet another rib was forcibly removed. The internal energy of his Xuan Tian Gong was completely suppressed, unable to relieve the pain. One can only imagine the agony Tang San was enduring.

Just then, the cold voice that Tang San had heard before entering the Sea God's Temple suddenly rang out, "The restraints will be released. If you obstruct the dismantling of the soul bone, the assessment will be forcibly interrupted. The most serious consequence of interrupting the assessment is annihilation. You must not leave the two-meter radius of the center of the platform, nor change the main body position of your dismantled soul bone. Otherwise, you will be considered to have given up the inheritance."

As soon as the voice fell, all the restraints disappeared instantly, and Tang San regained his mobility. Almost immediately, he took a deep breath and desperately urged his Xuan Tian Gong internal energy, not to rush to his back, but directly to his chest cavity, using Xuan Tian Gong to form a layer of sensation to block his pain nerves as much as possible.

However, his senses were amplified at least five times, and such intense pain was not so easily isolated. Amidst the intense agony, a second golden light shone, and another spider spear appeared on the circular platform in front of Tang San. Of the eight ribs to which the eight spider spears were attached, two had already been forcibly removed.

At this moment, Tang San suddenly realized that regaining his mobility was worse than being completely sealed away. With his body sealed, at least he could focus all his energy on enduring the intense pain. But now that he could move again, in such excruciating pain, he almost instinctively wanted to rush out or attack from behind. However, making such a move would naturally interrupt his Sea God inheritance. Therefore, he had to focus entirely on controlling his body, maintaining his current posture as much as possible. Even though his body was convulsing and his skin was contorted with pain, he had to persevere and not move. This feeling was even more painful than before. He had gone from passively enduring pain to actively enduring it.

This is only the beginning! If he can't hold on at this point, how can the inheritance continue? A fierce determination surged in Tang San's heart. He gritted his teeth and refused to move. He couldn't control the trembling of his muscles and nerves, but he stood there like a nail, his torso maintaining its original position despite the trembling of his muscles.

*Snap!* Another rib was torn off. The excruciating pain made Tang San's vision blur, yet his mind remained unusually clear, even able to break down the process of pain. Tang San's heart was pounding at more than three times its usual speed. He even worried whether his heart could withstand such intense pain. Even more strangely, although his rib was broken, not a drop of blood fell to the ground. Moreover, after the rib was removed, only the area where it was broken felt weak; aside from the intense pain, there was no feeling that the support of his chest cavity was affected.

Tang San quickly realized that it wasn't actually his ribs that had been removed; rather, it was his Eight Spider Lances spirit bone that had been taken off, while his real ribs remained intact. The unknown energy behind him had forcibly separated his spirit bone from his body.

You see, Tang San had done something similar before, but back then, he only severed his arm, forcibly separating the soul bone, without separating it from his own bones. His Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone could regenerate limbs anyway. Moreover, actively removing a soul bone would reduce even a Title Douluo-level expert's soul power by ten levels; he and his father, Tang Hao, had both experienced this before. But while the process of separating the soul bone from his bones was painful, Tang San's soul power remained completely unaffected. This was the power of a god! What else but the power of a god could accomplish this?

With this understanding, Tang San seemed to feel that the pain in his back wasn't so intense anymore. He truly recognized that divine power was at work, and so miraculously that he had psychologically accepted the pain. Tang San's willpower was extremely strong, even stronger than his god-like physique. Furthermore, his intelligence allowed him to understand the principle behind the excruciating pain in his back, making his heart even more resilient as he endured the suffering.

Of course, this intense pain was also incredibly taxing on his body. Sweat poured down his face, large drops constantly sliding to the ground. Tang San didn't breathe heavily, as that would only exacerbate his exhaustion. He knew that within the legacy of the gods, external forces were likely ineffective. Therefore, he didn't even try to eat the sausage Oscar had prepared for him. He simply kept telling himself that with each instance of pain he endured, his strength would increase. Under this strong mental suggestion, Tang San stubbornly persevered.

With each crunching sound, a rib flew onto the circular platform in front of Tang San, transforming into an Eight Spider Lances.

Finally, when the last rib belonging to the Eight Spider Lances made that painful cracking sound, the intense pain finally stopped, and Tang San breathed a great sigh of relief.

When people are healthy, they never realize how happy they are. However, the process of recovering from intense pain and gradually returning to normal can bring a tremendous sense of happiness. Tang San was currently enjoying this feeling of happiness. At the same time, this feeling of happiness was also causing some strange changes in his body.

The eight spider spears were connected at their bases, forming the complete Eight Spider Spears shape. A brilliant gold color flowed across them, and one could even see the devouring golden threads flickering. This external soul bone that had been with Tang for over thirty years was thus peeled away. Although the pain in Tang San's body disappeared, a strong sense of loss arose in his heart.

Just then, the Eight Spider Lances in front of Tang San began to change.

From the golden ocean, eight water columns shot out, each as thick as the eight spider spears. They rushed towards the eight spider spears simultaneously, and instantly, the golden seawater completely enveloped the eight spider spears, which then absorbed it bit by bit.

The physical pain had vanished, and filled with a sense of happiness mixed with the loss of having his Eight Spider Lances stripped away, Tang San watched the scene before him intently. He had no intention of missing out on witnessing this once-in-a-lifetime divine inheritance process.

Layers of golden patterns, like waves, began to emerge from the base of the Eight Spider Spears, gradually covering every corner of them. The patterns were bold yet simple, a perfect blend of power and beauty, making the already magnificent Eight Spider Spears even more stunning. Moreover, Tang San vaguely sensed that after the eight streams of seawater were poured in, the Eight Spider Spears before him seemed to expand. They didn't become longer, but rather gradually thickened, and along with this change, the wave-like patterns on the Eight Spider Spears also gradually enlarged.

A strange realization dawned on Tang San. He vaguely sensed a lingering reluctance emanating from his Eight Spider Lances. Could a soul bone transmit emotions to him? Could it be that the Eight Spider Lances had acquired their own soul?

Before Tang San could think any further, a breathtaking and extremely beautiful scene suddenly appeared before him.

The eight long spider spears suddenly contracted and shortened, but also became thicker, each becoming about two meters long. In the next instant, the eight spider spears, which were full of wavy cloud patterns, suddenly unfolded, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, with eight huge golden wings unfolding at the same time.

"Ah—" Tang San couldn't help but exclaim in surprise upon seeing this scene.

Each of its eight wings was over two meters long, and the wavy, cloud-like patterns on its broad wings were its feathers. With each gentle flap of its wings, these patterns rippled and transformed into dazzling, shimmering golden light and shadow. The tips of its wings were extremely sharp, like the edge of a sword. The magnificent light and shadow were so captivating, and each gentle movement seemed like a call to Tang San.

"Is this...is this still my Eight Spider Lances?" A profound shock washed over Tang San, followed by an indescribable surge of joy that almost instantly consumed his heart and soul. Tang San could barely contain himself; he was about to rush forward to touch those beautiful wings. The eight wings formed from the Eight Spider Lances seemed to beckon him, radiating intense joy and longing. They belonged to him! Tang San's hands were already raised. A voice within him seemed to tell him that if he took a step forward and touched those dazzling eight wings, he would immediately possess them—this true divine artifact, surpassing even soul bones, no less powerful than the Trident of the Sea God. A divine artifact perfectly integrated with himself.

Tang San's left foot was already raised. In just one short step, he would gain the Sea God's Eight Wings, fused with the power of the Sea God. Two more wings than Qian Renxue's six angel wings—what a wonderful feeling!

But at that moment, a strong sense of crisis suddenly came from the eight wings in front of him, which made Tang San's raised left foot stop in mid-air.

The sense of crisis was transmitted to Tang San by the Eight Wings of the Sea God, or it could be said that it was transmitted to Tang San by the Eight Spider Lances. All the joy he had felt before vanished in the face of this real sense of crisis. Tang San remained in his previous position, his whole body frozen in place, and the expression on his face became stiff.

A deep-seated fear caused cold sweat to stream down his forehead.

How could I take this step? The cold warning from before still echoed in my ears. If I left my current position, the Sea God's inheritance would fail! What a terrifying inheritance test.

Tang San shivered and immediately withdrew his outstretched leg and hand, forcibly dispelling his inner elation.

At this moment, he had fully awakened. First came the intense pain, which he endured. Following the pain was a stark contrast of happiness, and after that happiness came the ecstatic joy of seeing the Eight Spider Lances transform into the magnificent Eight Wings of the Sea God. Even a person with extremely strong willpower might be able to endure intense pain without any prior warning, but could they also endure intense joy? Tang San was a prime example. If, at the last moment, the Eight Wings of the Sea God, transformed from the Eight Spider Lances, suddenly conveyed a sense of crisis, extinguishing his ecstasy, he would likely have already failed in the Sea God's inheritance.

Compared to Qian Renxue's Angelic Inheritance, Tang San's Sea God Inheritance seems far too difficult. After all, it's only one of the eight trials in the inheritance process, and it shouldn't be this hard. However, don't forget, Tang San lost the Heart of the Sea God. If he had the Heart of the Sea God, it would have given him an extremely useful hint before he even began the inheritance. With Tang San's intelligence, if he had received that hint, he wouldn't have been so easily fooled.

In reality, the Eight Spider Lances' ability to provide clues to Tang San could be seen as a backdoor the Sea God had given him. Of course, the Sea God didn't actually order the Eight Spider Lances to give him these clues; he would never violate the laws of the divine realm. However, he could change the order of the eight trials Tang San would undergo in the inheritance process. By placing the Eight Spider Lances, already a divine-level soul bone, as the first, and given the close relationship between the Eight Spider Lances and Tang San, and its possession of a weapon spirit, it forcefully broke through the barrier of confusion in the inheritance, thus providing Tang San with these subtle clues. With this clue in the first trial, Tang San would undoubtedly be much more cautious in the subsequent inheritance process. The Sea God's efforts were undeniably meticulous.

As Tang San recovered from his euphoria and regained his composure, a thick layer of blue-gold mist rose from the small platform before him, enveloping the Eight Wings of the Sea God as if it were being bathed in it. Amidst the shimmering light, the circular platform, representing the first trial of inheritance, slowly rose and returned to its previous position. However, upon it now appeared the incomparably dazzling Eight Wings of the Sea God, adorned with wave-like cloud patterns.

Just as it departed, the second circular platform silently arrived before Tang San. Having learned from the first experience, Tang San quickly composed himself. As he had anticipated, intense pain returned, this time originating from his right arm.

A golden energy hand appeared clearly on Tang San's right arm, making a grasping motion, and the intense pain began from that moment. Tang San gripped the muscles in his waist tightly with his right hand, enduring the tearing pain as the golden palm-shaped energy began to peel away his right arm's soul bone.

Having passed the first test, Tang San vaguely understood that the Sea God's Trial would involve constant suffering. He feared that all seven of his soul bones would be stripped away one by one, and the final test would be restoring the Sea God's Trident. That would make a total of eight tests. While pain was ever-present during the trials, it wasn't the true test itself. Like in the first test, although he experienced intense pain, it was the joy within him that nearly caused his inheritance to fail. Clearly, the test involved emotional shifts later on, essentially designed to influence him in various ways, forcing him to leave the center of the circular platform. If he strayed even slightly, the inheritance would fail.

With this understanding, Tang San, being intelligent, naturally made thorough preparations. The speed at which his right arm spirit bone was peeled off was faster than that of the Eight Spider Lances, and the pain he endured was naturally less—a fact Tang San had observed himself. He vaguely understood that the longer the spirit bone peeling took, the higher its quality, and the better the effect it would produce after being infused with the Sea God's energy. Although the Azure Bull Python's right arm bone was good, it was still somewhat inferior to his own Eight Spider Lances, which had already reached the god-level. Therefore, its peeling speed was faster, and its effect would likely be slightly less than that of the Eight Spider Lances.

What intrigued Tang San was that, after enduring intense pain once again, he wanted to know what the Azure Bull Python's right arm bone would become after the Eight Spider Spears transformed into the Eight Wings of the Sea God.

The answer was quickly revealed, but it gave Tang San a huge shock. Yes, it was no longer a pleasant surprise, but a shock, even a mixture of shock and anger.

The severed right arm bone of the Azure Bull Python quietly landed on the circular platform, and a golden wave crashed onto the platform, engulfing it. Soon, the energy of the golden ocean, that is, the energy of the sea god, merged into the Azure Bull Python's right arm bone, and the bone underwent a strange transformation.

The soul bone grew larger, becoming as thick as Tang San's right arm, but without any bends, standing straight and erect on the small circular platform. At the top was a round mushroom head shape, a shape that any man would find familiar. If shrunk, it would somewhat resemble Oscar's flying mushroom sausage. Most infuriatingly, a stream of golden liquid shot out from the very center of the mushroom head, tracing an arc through the air before landing on Tang San. Tang San could even faintly smell a fishy, ​​foul odor.

His anger flared instantly, and the intense rage made Tang San raise his right hand again. Just then, a voice that was extremely lewd and similar to that of the lewd soul master Bu Le that Tang San had met before rang out, "Sorry, the modification failed."

Boom— Tang San felt as if his brain had been exploded by rage. It didn't matter if he was insulted, but what he saw before him was an insult to the soul bone that the Ming Dynasty had obtained through sacrifice and with their lives! He couldn't output his soul power, but just by taking one step forward, he could immediately shatter this incredibly disgusting thing.

Even though Tang San had become wary, his deepest feelings were still for his family and companions. If he were the one being insulted, Tang San would surely have taken heed. But the one being insulted was Daming, who had sacrificed his life to save Xiao Wu. How could Tang San possibly tolerate it?

Ultimately, he still had to sell! Tang San lifted his leg. At this moment, he even realized that this was a trap for inheritance. But even if it was a trap, so what? Even if he didn't carry out this inheritance, he couldn't let the Ming Dynasty suffer such humiliation.

But just as Tang San was about to take that step, a familiar yet faint voice suddenly rang out, "Don't be fooled, my brother. Your anger shows me your respect for me, and that's enough for me. It's my honor to be a part of God."

This… Tang San’s step forward was abruptly halted, and what stopped him was the foul-smelling liquid gushing from the mushroom head. The liquid actually changed direction.

"Da Ming..." Tang San's vision blurred. He knew this was the effect of Da Ming's influence on the soul within the soul bone!

"Say nothing more. Do you want to die here because you haven't completed the inheritance and make Xiao Wu sad?" Da Ming's soul was already extremely weak. These were the last words he could utter, but the destructive power of these words was enormous for Tang San.

For ordinary Soul Masters, the Soul Bones they possess are obtained by hunting Soul Beasts, so naturally they are full of hostility towards Soul Masters themselves. Unless they evolve to the God level like the Eight Spider Lances and reach another level where they can become one with Tang San, they will not develop new emotions.

However, Tang San was different. His Azure Bull Python right arm bone was obtained through Da Ming's willing sacrifice. Da Ming's soul had always resided within the soul bone, and he felt only relief watching Tang San revive Xiao Wu. Under these circumstances, although this soul bone was not of divine level, Da Ming used the power of his soul to remind Tang San that he would rather suffer humiliation himself than let Tang San disrupt the inheritance process.

This time, it wasn't the Sea God's arrangement, nor could it be considered luck; rather, it was the Ming Dynasty that saved Tang San's legacy.

Tang San's eyes welled up with tears as he retracted his raised leg. "Da Ming, I will definitely not let you down."

Turning his grief and anger into strength, Tang San roared and forcefully suppressed the rage in his heart, but his fists were clenched tightly as he tried his best to control his emotions.

When Tang San's emotions finally stabilized and he regained his composure, everything before him changed. The mushroom-shaped object suddenly exploded, rising amidst a vast expanse of golden mist. A resounding dragon's roar echoed, and Tang San seemed to see Da Ming's true form again, albeit a smaller version. Da Ming's true form rapidly transformed within the golden mist, becoming a Azure Bull Python with a bull's head and a python's body, though it contained only Da Ming's soul and lacked a physical form. At this moment, however, he seemed to have accomplished a leap that the Deep Sea Demon Whale King had failed to achieve in a million years.

In the blink of an eye, Da Ming had transformed into a golden dragon, soaring on the small circular platform. Although his body was small, he still gave the impression of soaring through the heavens, circling within the rising golden mist. The small circular platform then returned to its original position.

Yes! This should be the true evolutionary effect of the right arm bone of the Azure Bull Python that Da Ming transformed into! Tang San wiped away the tears in his eyes, and his heart calmed down completely.

First, he was overwhelmed by ecstasy, but the second trial of the inheritance required him to be consumed by anger. What a terrifying trial! He was provoked by insulting the Ming Dynasty, and then the subtle influence of the inherited energy manipulated his emotions. Even knowing it might be a trap, he almost fell into it. Could passing the Sea God's trials really be this difficult?

Having passed the two trials, Tang San gained a deeper understanding of the Sea God's inheritance. As the saying goes, "learn one thing and understand three," Tang San, being so clever, immediately recalled a line from the Confucian classic "Three Character Classic" that he had studied in his previous life: "Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire are the seven emotions."

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(End of this chapter)