The remaining branches of the Blue Silver Emperor trembled violently, its roots quivering in fear.
At this moment, it retained only its instinctive consciousness. Hearing Dugu Feng's words, it felt as though doomsday had arrived.
Yet no matter what, it couldn't stop Dugu Feng's actions.
Under the influence of the Core Pearl, the entire Blue Silver Emperor completely shattered and dispersed.
"Sigh... Finally... free..."
Dugu Feng suddenly heard a woman's sigh.
It seemed to echo within his mind.
Was this the final voice of the Blue Silver Emperor, A Yin?
Why did she speak of freedom?
He turned his gaze toward the Core Pearl.
And was immediately astonished.
Even under the eroding power of the Core Pearl, the Blue Silver Emperor had not completely vanished.
Instead, it had transformed into a tiny, sesame-sized seed—returned to its most primitive state—floating quietly at the center of the Core Pearl.
This seed appeared fragile, yet the Bloodline Power contained within it was peculiar.
Despite the Core Pearl's absorption, it seemed unchanged.
However, the observant Dugu Feng noticed that a faint trace of the seed's essence was being absorbed by the Core Pearl.
To completely destroy this seed and fully absorb its Bloodline Power would still take a long time.
Even so, the world no longer had the Blue Silver Emperor.
No longer had A Yin.
Let it continue to provide energy to the Core Pearl until it was utterly exhausted.
Yet, the Blue Silver Emperor's final sigh lingered in Dugu Feng's mind.
Why had she regarded death as liberation?
Curious, Dugu Feng could only ponder this mystery for another time.
The Core Pearl, having absorbed the Blue Silver Emperor's leaves and roots, finally reached full capacity—its energy rising from ninety-four to one hundred.
The two Core Pearls within his body split once more, becoming four.
No—in truth, there were now eight.
The Core Pearls within Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun instantly balanced their energy with his own.
They, too, had divided.
Within Dugu Feng alone, four emerald-green Core Pearls slowly rotated.
Each contained less than one-fifth of the total energy—barely twenty percent.
Normally, when a Core Pearl split into two, each should retain fifty percent of its energy.
Yet here, it had dropped below twenty.
The division wasn't just about quantity—it was about quality.
Just like last time.
Warm currents surged from each Core Pearl.
Dugu Feng swiftly guided the four pearls into the bodies of his two Emerald Dragon Snakes.
Now experienced, he knew this was the perfect moment to elevate their strength.
Over time, he had discovered that Spirit Beasts grew stronger primarily by devouring energy—and the Emerald Dragon Snakes' Bloodline Power was more than capable of bearing it.
With sufficient energy, their strength could skyrocket.
The last time the Core Pearls had split from two to four, the two Nine-Section Jadeites had gained nearly a thousand years in cultivation.
This time, there were eight.
Of course, the warm currents from the Core Pearls within Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing were also redirected by Dugu Feng.
He wouldn't even use them for himself—let alone share them with the Zhu sisters.
Gaining one or two levels in his own strength wouldn't make much difference.
But for the Emerald Dragon Snakes, whose cultivation was nearing eight thousand years...
Breaking through to ten thousand would be a game-changer.
A Soul King could absorb a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring—but most Soul Kings stood no chance against a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast.
A genius like Qin Ming, after leaving Shrek, still absorbed a thousand-year Spirit Ring for his fifth ring.
Was it because he didn't want a ten-thousand-year one? No—it was because he truly couldn't defeat one.
A ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast's strength requires at least a Soul Emperor's level to handle.
And some exceptionally gifted ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts with unique abilities are even more terrifying.
A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear at the ten-thousand-year level is something even an ordinary Titled Douluo would struggle against.
His two Emerald Dragon Snakes certainly weren't as horrifying as a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
But they possessed three major abilities: Void, poison, and flight.
They weren't easy to deal with either.
Once they reached the ten-thousand-year level, their bloodline skills would further strengthen, and their power would increase dramatically.
This would provide Dugu Feng with a significant boost in safety.
From then on, anyone who wanted to kill him would find it far from easy.
Under Dugu Feng's expectant gaze,
the age of the Emerald Dragon Snakes began to surge wildly once more.
Eight thousand years.
Eight thousand five hundred.
Nine thousand.
Nine thousand five hundred.
Nine thousand seven hundred.
Nine thousand nine hundred.
Finally—ten thousand years!
"Master, we are ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts now!"
A clear voice rang out in Dugu Feng's mind.
The two Emerald Dragon Snakes circled around him, brimming with joy and vitality.
Their forms seemed shrouded in a faint white mist, ethereal and indistinct—Dugu Feng could barely make out their true bodies.
Their flight speed was so fast that it even stirred faint ripples in space.
"Haha… ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts!"
Dugu Feng laughed heartily.
With such a trump card in his hands, he felt a surge of confidence.
From now on, if anyone dared provoke him, he'd just unleash the snakes.
After a long while, Dugu Feng calmed himself and took out Tang Hao's black lead box.
He directly used his Azure Phosphorous Finger Force to pry it open.
Meanwhile, the Emerald Dragon Snakes had already enveloped the room with their Soul Power, preventing any fluctuations from the Soul Bone from leaking out.
Inside the black lead box lay a right leg bone, resting quietly at its center.
The entire bone was crystalline blue-gold, with specks of starlight shimmering within, pulsing like a human heartbeat.
It looked incredibly beautiful.
Unable to resist the temptation any longer, Dugu Feng immediately took out the blue leg bone and pressed it against his right leg.
This was his first time absorbing a Soul Bone.
A faint hum resonated as
the bone and his right leg trembled simultaneously.
Then, a surge of vibrant, life-filled energy enveloped his entire leg.
The blue Soul Bone vanished, transforming into countless streams of blue-gold energy that seeped into his limb.
Smooth!
A wave of comfort washed over him.
Dugu Feng immersed himself in the energy's fluctuations.
The energy didn't remain confined to his right leg—it began spreading throughout his entire body.
First, his Soul Power merged with the bone's energy.
His Soul Power became more resilient, gentle, and full of vitality, circulating through his body at an accelerated pace.
Then, his entire skeleton crackled with a series of popping sounds.
A Soul Bone, after all, was meant to fuse with one's bones.
This fusion was also a form of enhancement.
Just like his External Soul Bone Claw—when not in use, it would dissolve into energy and reside within his bones.
Even without manifesting the External Soul Bone, the strength in his arms and shoulders had significantly improved.
Moreover, this enhancement wasn't isolated—it spread like waves, amplifying his entire skeletal structure.
Otherwise, if only his arms and shoulders were strengthened, his body would lose balance.
The fusion of the Right Leg Soul Bone now enhanced all his attributes as well.
It made his muscles and bones feel as if they were being restructured, becoming extraordinarily resilient.
His physical strength had already been honed to an extreme degree by the Core Pearl since childhood.
But the energy of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone was different from the Core Pearl—it brought him vitality, vigor, and flexibility.