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*Visualization Technique.*
Using visualized concepts to enhance personal cultivation.
Su Yu gradually explored and refined his techniques.
From initially accelerating his martial spirit cultivation, to later invigorating his life force and enhancing the body-tempering effects of his blood energy, and finally to activating the deeper essence of his Spirit Blade, Su Yu made steady progress.
In the blink of an eye, two and a half months passed.
Within half a month, Su Yu broke through to Rank 69. Over the following two months, his soul power continued to grow, reaching the peak of Rank 69.
His soul power had fully accumulated, and the next step was to break through the barrier to achieve Rank 70.
Additionally, his spiritual power grew during this cultivation, and his physique became stronger.
Overall, his efforts were immensely rewarding.
"Hm?"
In the midst of his cultivation, Su Yu noticed a disturbance.
Over the past two and a half months, he had vaguely sensed an intensely icy presence.
Today, after halting his cultivation, he felt that cold soul power fluctuation even more clearly.
"Ultimate Ice?"
Without using spiritual power to scan and risk alerting nearby meditating soul masters, Su Yu moved in the direction of the Ultimate Ice he sensed.
Having a body that possessed ultimate vitality and was tempered by springs of Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Ice, Su Yu's sensitivity to Ultimate Ice was exceptionally keen.
Frost Town covered an extensive area and was located in the Extreme North. Soul masters who came here would find their own secluded spots to train alone.
Following his perception, Su Yu wandered further to the edge of Frost Town, moving closer to the Extreme North.
"A little girl?"
From a distance, Su Yu spotted a white-haired young girl seemingly waiting for him.
The girl looked to be around eight or nine years old. Her delicate features and calm demeanor in the freezing snow were striking. Rather than appearing uncomfortable, she seemed perfectly in harmony with her icy surroundings.
It was as if she was born from this world of snow and ice.
Ultimate Ice. A human girl.
And the soul power fluctuation of someone at Rank 40 or so.
A thought flashed through Su Yu's mind.
"Could she be the Snow Empress?"
During the Soul Master Tournament, Su Yu had failed to find the Snow Empress embryo. At the time, he assumed that the auction house had made adjustments due to various factors, merging multiple events, and causing the Rank 9 Soul Engineer to withdraw the Snow Empress embryo.
But now, it seemed the issue was not with him.
It was the Rank 9 Soul Engineer who had made a mistake.
That Soul Engineer hadn't sealed the Snow Empress within the Divine Platform, missing the opportunity to prevent her transformation.
The Snow Empress had successfully transformed and started cultivating, reaching the Soul Elder level by now.
"Ultimate vitality?"
The Snow Empress looked at Su Yu with a slight hesitation before speaking.
Her voice was crisp, tinged with coldness and pride, but not unpleasant.
The little girl didn't seem at all like a typical eight- or nine-year-old human child.
Su Yu had almost confirmed his guess.
At the same time, Yi Lao's conclusion reinforced his judgment.
"This girl has an energy seal within her, much like that boy Huo Yuhao. The difference is that the energy in this girl's body seems to belong to her naturally."
In his mental sea, Su Yu explained the concept of soul beast transformation to Yi Lao.
Upon further observation, Yi Lao indeed sensed the distinction.
"So, she's a transformed soul beast. Moreover, she must have been far more than a hundred-thousand-year soul beast before her transformation."
"Who are you?" Su Yu discussed with Yi Lao in his mental sea while also responding to the Snow Empress's question with a counter.
"Are you a transformed soul beast?"
If she had transformed, there was no need to be overly cautious.
Although the Snow Empress's transformation might have unique aspects, perhaps allowing her to draw on her original energy, there had to be limitations.
For now, Su Yu felt no fear.
Exposing her identity would also make future interactions easier.
"Hmm?"
The Snow Empress's pupils contracted slightly.
She had clearly suppressed her soul beast aura, yet this human could still sense it?
Is this the power of ultimate vitality? she thought. The Snow Empress naturally assumed that Su Yu's ability to identify her was due to his unique vitality attribute.
While slightly surprised that Su Yu had recognized her as a soul beast in human form, she wasn't angered.
After all, she had intentionally released her aura to lure him here.
She had her reasons and her goals.
Accidentally revealing her identity didn't concern her much.
With the Extreme North as her stronghold and the ability to unseal her power at any time, she wasn't worried about being hunted. The price for such unsealing would be high, though—her transformation could even fail as a result.
"You don't need to be overly cautious. I'm not interested in you. You've already sensed it—my attribute is vitality. Ultimate Ice doesn't have much of an effect on me," Su Yu said calmly, trying to ease the Snow Empress's mood.
"By the way, are you a soul beast from the Extreme North in human form?" he asked, probing for details to facilitate their conversation.
"I am the Snow Empress," she replied honestly and directly, without any evasion.
Su Yu's expression froze for a second, but he quickly regained his composure and continued talking with her.
"You intentionally released the aura of Ultimate Ice to lure me here, didn't you? What's your purpose?"
"Your martial spirit's attribute is ultimate vitality. I want your help with my cultivation," the Snow Empress answered.
"…"
After a brief exchange, Su Yu understood her request.
She wanted him to use his ultimate vitality to help her grow and strengthen quickly.
A soul beast in human form needed continuous contact with humans to adapt and develop. While the Snow Empress could afford to wait, Su Yu's appearance presented an opportunity to speed up the process.
In return, she offered to compensate him with rare treasures she had collected over her long life.
After some thought, Su Yu agreed.
Though the Snow Empress was a soul beast, she wasn't hostile to humans. Her goal was pure and straightforward—to achieve godhood.
If it had been Di Tian instead, Su Yu would have never considered helping. In fact, he would have likely gathered strong human allies to hunt him down.
His agreement had nothing to do with her appearance as a petite white-haired girl.
"I'm not particularly lacking in treasures. As long as you promise not to harm humans after you grow stronger, that's enough for me. Of course, I have my own conditions as well," Su Yu said, his mind quickly formulating ideas.
"Take me to the core area of the Extreme North, your cultivation ground. I imagine it's an excellent place for training, right?"
The visualization technique he had been developing was effective but hadn't yet reached its full potential. An extreme environment like the Snow Empress's training ground could likely enhance its effects further.
Additionally, Su Yu had other preparations to make.
"The collision between the Abyss and Douluo Continent begins in the Extreme North," he thought.
Su Yu had ambition. There was no way he would let go of the opportunity to exploit such a massive realm.
Finally, Su Yu faced one urgent need—his seventh spirit ring.
He was about to break through to Rank 70, and the choice of his seventh spirit ring posed a significant challenge.
The seventh spirit ring was paramount for a soul master, arguably the most critical one. Su Yu couldn't afford to choose carelessly.
Since absorbing the Blue Silver Empress, he had been contemplating whether there was a spirit ring more suitable for him than hers.
Not long ago, he found his answer.
Yes!
What could be more suited to him than a spirit ring of his own creation?
From the moment he successfully condensed the Qi-Blood Spirit Ring in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Su Yu had conceived the idea of forging his own seventh spirit ring.
The seventh spirit ring represented a martial soul's true form, signifying a major turning point for a soul master. It held immense importance, making it the perfect opportunity to explore this bold idea.
If soul beasts could form spirit rings, why couldn't humans?
This question had puzzled soul masters for generations.
Su Yu had previously avoided delving into this idea, as solving such a problem was extraordinarily complex. It likely touched upon the very core of the Douluo cultivation system.
However, since successfully creating the Qi-Blood Spirit Ring, he had gained new insights.
It seemed plausible for a soul master to condense their own spirit ring.
That said, it wasn't realistic for every spirit ring to be self-forged.
The primary purpose of absorbing spirit rings was to break personal limits and strengthen one's martial soul, not just to advance in rank.
Self-created spirit rings could work, but only sparingly. The seventh spirit ring was the most suitable position for such an attempt.
"Are you certain you want to try forging your own spirit ring?" Even the Snow Empress couldn't fully grasp Su Yu's request.
Su Yu didn't elaborate much, merely stating that it was part of the conditions for helping her grow.
His requests were not unreasonable.
Even the demand to return with her to the core area of the Extreme North was something the Snow Empress couldn't refuse.
Her growth depended on interacting with humans, which was why she stayed in Frost Town. If Su Yu wanted to venture into the core area—her original training ground—she had no valid reason to decline.
The Snow Empress agreed to Su Yu's conditions.
After informing Zou Yun that he would be venturing deeper to cultivate, Su Yu bade farewell and followed the Snow Empress into the core area of the Extreme North.
The Snow Empress's training ground was serene and filled with an incredibly dense energy.
The elemental energy here was overwhelmingly icy, nearly reaching the level of Ultimate Ice.
Surprisingly, the frigid energy didn't feel harmful; instead, it gave off a sense of warmth and harmony.
Of course, Su Yu's immunity to ice likely helped him avoid the potentially devastating effects of the chilling energy.
This was the Snow Empress's birthplace, the area with the densest ice-elemental energy in the entire Extreme North.
Su Yu was the first human to set foot here.
"Can you tell me how it feels to condense a spirit ring?" the Snow Empress asked.
After training alongside the Snow Empress for half a month, Su Yu finally broached the topic of spirit ring condensation.
He had come to confirm that the Snow Empress was indeed seeking his help solely for cultivation and to accelerate her growth.
The infusion of Su Yu's ultimate life force into her body had significantly boosted her progress.
In just half a month, she broke through the Rank 50 barrier.
From the time of her transformation into human form until now, only two years had passed, and her physical age was equivalent to that of an eight-year-old human. Yet, she possessed an astonishing Rank 50 soul power!
Thanks to Su Yu's assistance with his ultimate life energy, her physical growth had accelerated. Her body now appeared closer to that of a ten-year-old child.
Even so, a ten-year-old Soul King was nothing short of terrifying.
When Su Yu asked the Snow Empress about her experience with spirit ring condensation, it was also to help her reflect on the process. This would allow her to gain a deeper understanding for when she condensed her fifth spirit ring.
Having already condensed four spirit rings, the Snow Empress hadn't delved deeply into the mechanics, but she could recall the general experience.
However, after explaining her understanding to Su Yu, he didn't gain the specific insights he had been hoping for.
"Snow Empress, when you condense your next spirit ring, I want you to sense every detail of the process as deeply as possible," Su Yu said.
"Rest assured," the Snow Empress replied, her tone as proud and cold as ever. "Since I've agreed to your terms, I will keep my word."
She sat cross-legged, and dense ice-elemental energy gathered around her.
The soul power within her body resonated with the surrounding energy, creating a harmonious flow.
A pitch-black ring of light began to emerge from her body, slowly solidifying. The color of the ring deepened, shifting from purple to an increasingly profound black.
Around her, four other spirit rings hovered in a steady orbit—three purple and one black.
As she condensed her fifth spirit ring, the colors of her previous rings also began to intensify.
The third ring, in particular, transformed completely, becoming a deep, inky black.
By the time the fifth ring was fully formed, it was as dark as the void, seemingly devouring all surrounding light.
When the condensation was complete, five spirit rings hovered around the Snow Empress: two purple and three black.
Even Su Yu couldn't help but inhale sharply at the sight of such a fearsome configuration.
Fortunately, Su Yu's own spirit rings weren't inferior. His fifth spirit ring was an intimidating blood-red, and his sixth was a rare orange.
The Snow Empress, however, had a unique advantage due to her 700,000 years of cultivation. It appeared that with each new ring she condensed, she could adjust and upgrade the attributes of her previous rings.
Her progress seemed more like the redistribution of her sealed cultivation than the kind of nurturing effort Su Yu had to undertake.
The Snow Empress could condense her spirit rings remarkably quickly.
Yet, at Su Yu's request, she slowed the process, carefully sensing the changes within her body and experiencing the gradual strengthening and expansion of her power.
After reaching her limits, the Snow Empress opened her eyes again after a full day and night of deep concentration. There was a thoughtful look in her gaze.
By taking the time to seriously reflect on the entire process, especially the aspects that Su Yu had emphasized, she had gained profound insights.
Her most significant realization was that the true essence of spirit ring condensation did not lie in the spirit beasts themselves, but in the human soul master!
"Not in the spirit beasts, but in the soul master?"
Su Yu asked for more details about her insights.
"A soul master who reaches a multiple of ten levels gains the opportunity to absorb a spirit ring. This opportunity provides a space for the spirit ring to be absorbed.
Spirit beasts simply align with the soul master's cultivation system. After being slain by the soul master, the spirit beast naturally forms a corresponding spirit ring.
I can condense a spirit ring because I fulfill two essential conditions."
"What about the process of constructing the spirit ring? Is there something special about it?" Su Yu pressed.
The Snow Empress detailed the process of her spirit ring condensation.
For her, it was more about following the inner sense, gradually unlocking the cultivation she had previously sealed, and then integrating the spirit ring into her being.
The details of this process gave Su Yu significant insight.
"Old Blue."
"What is it?"
The energy form of Blue Silver Emperor appeared beside Su Yu.
"Do you remember what I told you before? Tang San used the power of many Blue Silver Grass plants to condense his life spirit ring with the help of Blue Silver King."
"I remember," Blue Silver Emperor responded, though with some uncertainty. "But Tang San himself has the bloodline of a spirit beast, so I'm not sure if it can work the same way."
(End of Chapter)