Chapter 246: The Dragon Soul Mount and the Path to Dual Soul Cores
"It's OK. Emperor Tian can't sense anything here anymore. Let's choose this place to absorb Zi Ji."
With Xiao Qiang's mastery of space through the Silver Dragon Staff, he no longer needed to remain in one place like Huo Yuhao had after leaving Shrek. Thanks to pre-set spatial anchor points, Xiao Qiang could travel directly between the Undead Demiplane and the real world.
After capturing both the Ten Thousand Monster King and Zi Ji, Xiao Qiang returned to the Sun Moon Empire through several spatial jumps.
Once he confirmed the surroundings were secure, he pulled Zi Ji out of the Undead Demiplane.
Zi Ji was in a severely weakened state. Tianmeng's deliberate torment had left both her and the Ten Thousand Monster King in dire condition. Though the Ten Thousand Monster King was faring slightly better due to his plant-based vitality, Zi Ji had suffered significantly. Once protected and nurtured by Di Tian, she had consumed a great deal of Tianmeng's essence and flesh—but Tianmeng had retrieved all of that, with interest.
Throughout the journey, Tianmeng would periodically slice open Zi Ji's body, using her real dragon blood to nourish Xiao Qiang and enhance his physical strength.
"Brother Tianmeng, about Zi Ji… why not just make her into a soul?" Xiao Qiang asked thoughtfully as he looked at the wounded dragon.
"Huh? Why?" Tianmeng replied, surprised.
"I think a giant dragon soul would make an excellent mount."
"Mount?"
"Yeah," Xiao Qiang nodded. By the time he reached the Eighth Ring Soul Douluo level, Xiao Qiang had already acquired multiple souls. Though there was a priority system and hierarchy among them due to differing cultivation levels, Xiao Qiang's relationship with them was essentially equal—at least for Tianmeng and the Ice Empress. The others lacked the right to voice opinions, but that didn't necessarily mean they were treated poorly.
Zi Ji, however, was different. As someone with a grudge against Tianmeng, she naturally stood in opposition to Xiao Qiang. That made her perfect as a mount.
After Xiao Qiang confirmed his plan, the Ice Empress in his consciousness remarked in astonishment, "You want to ride Zi Ji like a mount? You're trying to drive Di Tian mad. That's trampling the pride of the dragon clan! He'll never forgive you."
"Huh? Drive Di Tian crazy? That's a great idea. In the future, once I'm strong enough, I'll capture Di Tian too and use him as a mount. I really am wicked… but I like it!" Xiao Qiang grinned.
With no objections from Tianmeng, Zi Ji officially began to merge with Xiao Qiang as a soul, becoming part of his strength.
Unlike other souls, the innate pride of the dragon race made Zi Ji resist violently. But with Xiao Qiang's immense spiritual power and the suppression from Tianmeng, Ice Empress, and the others, her resistance was ultimately futile. As the ninth of the ten great fierce beasts, and not even at 300,000 years of cultivation, she was no match for Xiao Qiang's current power.
Xiao Qiang had already absorbed a soul ring over 200,000 years old at level 60. Now, at level 85, absorbing a soul of this caliber posed no issue. Moreover, soul fusion was inherently gentler than soul ring absorption.
When the fusion was complete, ten-meter-long dragon wings unfolded from Xiao Qiang's back—an external soul bone granted by Zi Ji. Her soul ring compressed an immense amount of energy, pushing Xiao Qiang directly from level 85 to level 89.
Xiao Qiang knew that a nearly 300,000-year-old soul beast should offer more soul power than this. However, his current body had not yet condensed a second soul core. Level 89 was his temporary ceiling. Unless he condensed the Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Core and merged it with his ninth soul ring, even adding more soul rings wouldn't push his soul power any further.
Still, Xiao Qiang wasn't worried. He had the Ten Thousand Monster King, a soul beast over 500,000 years old, waiting. Even if Zi Ji's soul bone wasn't enough to support the second core, the Ten Thousand Monster King's would be. If that still wasn't enough, he could always search for other high-level soul beast bones. Xiao Qiang didn't believe powerful beasts only existed on the Douluo Continent—surely the other two continents had their own mighty creatures.
For now, his focus was on testing Zi Ji's soul bone. His speed—once a glaring weakness—was greatly enhanced, and Xiao Qiang was quite pleased with the results.
Then came the best part: the sensation of riding a dragon. He summoned Zi Ji in her physical soul form and soared into the sky on her back. Flying on the back of one of the ten great fierce beasts was a rare and exhilarating experience.
Soon, Ice Empress, Snow Empress, Tianmeng, Silver Wolf, and Xi'er all joined in, sitting on Zi Ji's back to share in the experience. Even the normally composed Snow Empress found it novel—this was her first time doing something like this.
"Brother Tianmeng, Snow Empress, how close is my body to being ready for the Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Core?" Xiao Qiang asked mid-flight.
"The enhancement from Zi Ji's Dragon Wing soul bone is beyond what I expected," Tianmeng replied. "But as for the dual soul core… you should ask Snow Empress. I'm not very familiar with that."
Xiao Qiang turned to Snow Empress, who gently placed a hand on his chest. Her soul power flowed through his body, scanning his physical condition.
"Zi Ji's soul bone is indeed powerful," Snow Empress nodded. "Your body is now equivalent to that of a level 97 Titled Douluo. However, you're still just short of the threshold for safely forming a Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Core. But with the Ten Thousand Monster King's soul bone, you'll be there. If you attempt to condense the dual core after that, it will no longer be risky."
"No risk? So there's still some danger in the process?"
"Of course," Snow Empress replied seriously. "After all, this isn't something any human has achieved. Even among soul beasts, it's no easy feat. I only managed it after reaching 700,000 years of cultivation and using the help of the Ten Thousand Years Mysterious Ice Marrow. If you want zero risk, you'll need a top-tier dragon soul bone—one that's not inferior to Emperor Tian's. And honestly, how likely is that?"
"I didn't expect that after just three years, my brother had already built a Soul Palace."
Looking at the magnificent structure rising before him, Xiao Sheng muttered in awe as he returned to the Douluo Continent from Dragon Valley.