At the bottom of the Extreme Cold Yin Spring in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Zhu Ziyang sat cross-legged on the Ice Dragon King's skeleton, his expression serious with a hint of anticipation. The jade-like Spirit Bone in his hand shimmered with divine radiance. Without further hesitation, he pressed the Spirit Bone against his back, aligning it with his spine.
A surging, powerful spirit power immediately poured out from the Ice Dragon King's torso bone, crashing into Zhu Ziyang's spine. Zhu Ziyang's face instantly contorted in painful agony. A bone-piercing pain swept through his brain, causing him to instantly lose control of his body, leaving him only able to endure this indescribable suffering helplessly.
Zhu Ziyang's condition attracted the attention of the four Soul Spirits. They immediately gathered around him. Snow Empress's face was filled with distress and worry, and she reached out to touch Zhu Ziyang, but Second Shuang sharply stopped her.
"Stop!" Second Shuang said. As a true Dragon, she knew exactly what Zhu Ziyang was experiencing. So, while she was worried, she was even more delighted. "This is the Ice Dragon King's torso bone performing a blood exchange for Ziyang. We cannot interfere; he must endure it on his own!"
"Blood exchange?" Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and Lu'er, the three Soul Spirits, were puzzled.
"Yes!" Second Shuang explained. "Ziyang's second Spirit is the Heavenly Frost Sacred White Dragon. Although it is also a royal true Dragon, compared to a Dragon King like the Ice Dragon King, it is undoubtedly the difference between a child and an adult. There is a huge gap in bloodline hierarchy. Therefore, if Ziyang wants to fuse with this Spirit Bone from the Ice Dragon King, he must elevate his own Dragon bloodline to a higher level, reaching the status of a Dragon King bloodline.
The spine, whether in humans or Spirit Beasts, is the root of the bloodline. So, this Ice Dragon King's torso bone is using the Dragon King's marrow within it to replace the true Dragon marrow in Ziyang's spine. This process is undoubtedly very painful, but once successful, Ziyang's gains will undoubtedly be the greatest!"
"I believe in Daddy!" Upon hearing this, Snow Empress immediately understood the gravity of the situation and said with a determined expression.
"Mm! So do we!" Ice Empress and Lu'er also nodded firmly.
At this moment, Zhu Ziyang was already enveloped by a white Dragon egg shimmering with golden light. He had fallen into a deep sleep, his consciousness entering a starry sky.
In the vast, boundless void, countless stars twinkled. A giant Dragon coiled in the starry sky. The Dragon's body was long and slender, with four claws on its belly, five toes on each claw, covered in platinum Dragon scales with blue patterns, and a pair of enormous Dragon wings on its back. Its Dragon head was majestic and awe-inspiring, and its Dragon horns were as clear as jade. Compared to most lizard-like Dragons on the Douluo Continent, this giant Dragon undoubtedly deserved the title of Dragon more.
Ice Dragon King!
Zhu Ziyang stared blankly at the Ice Dragon King. The Ice Dragon King's golden eyes fell upon him, containing an indescribable meaning. Then, a Dragon roar echoed through the starry sky, and the Ice Dragon King actually crashed directly into Zhu Ziyang. Without any preparation from Zhu Ziyang, the giant Dragon completely merged into his body.
Zhu Ziyang completely lost consciousness.
At this time, outside the Dragon egg, the four Soul Spirits had also successively fallen into a deep sleep. Inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Qian Lingyi, by the Yang Spring, had not yet awakened. And a thousand miles away from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, in the core of the Star Dou Great Forest, within the Lake of Life, an enormous being suddenly opened its eyes. Its golden vertical pupils declared its Dragon identity. A hint of sorrow and nine parts of resentment flashed in its eyes.
"Goodbye forever..." It murmured, then closed its eyes and fell back into slumber.
—
When Zhu Zi Yang woke up, he found four more Dragon eggs beside him. He was stunned for a long time before realizing that these four Dragon eggs were his four Soul Spirits.
Before he could check on the Soul Spirits' condition, Zhu Ziyang was pulled by a huge force into the God Position inheritance ground.
"I don't know what to say, but in short, congratulations, you have completed the Fifth Trial of Death." Xiao Bai's voice was filled with melancholy as he spoke.
"Huh?" Zhu Ziyang was stunned. He was very confused at this moment, his mind a blank. He said in a daze, "It's done already? That easy?"
"Alas! I didn't expect you to actually gain Ice Yi's approval." Xiao Bai sighed again and said, "Her power saved you a lot of effort."
"Ice Yi?" Zhu Ziyang looked up at the temple above, puzzled, and asked.
"That's the Ice Dragon King. She was one of the nine great Dragon Kings under the Dragon God, a former colleague of the God of Death, and one of the God Kings who fell in that catastrophe." Xiao Bai explained, "The Spirit Bone she left behind contains her bloodline and divine might. You rashly fused with her Spirit Bone, but thankfully you gained her approval, otherwise I... the God of Death would probably have needed to find a new successor."
"This..." Zhu Ziyang also heard the danger in this and couldn't help but feel extremely fortunate.
"Alright, you can experience the gift Ice Yi gave you, and then go receive the Sixth Trial of Death!" Xiao Bai left with this last sentence and disappeared.
Zhu Ziyang didn't mind. He eagerly began to examine himself.
He felt better than ever before, his body filled with power. Even without using spirit power, he was confident he could lift a ten-thousand-jin boulder with his bare hands.
Given that the Fifth Trial of Death was completed inexplicably, Zhu Ziyang decided to check his Spirit Bones. The result was astonishing: all six of his Spirit Bones, except for the Ice Dragon King's torso bone, had expanded and extended.
His left and right arm bones, which were originally only forearms, had now become entire arms. His left and Right Leg Bones, which were originally only calves, had now also become entire legs. More importantly, he was surprised to find that the Starry Sky Soaring Right Leg Bone and the Death Magic Puppet Left Arm Bone, which were originally only 50,000 years old, had both advanced to 100,000-year Spirit Bones, and even 500,000 years, a tenfold increase!
Why could Zhu Ziyang know that the quality of the Spirit Bones had increased to 100,000 years? It's simple: just like 100,000-year spirit rings, once a Spirit Bone reaches 100,000-year quality, a golden pattern will appear on it. The Starry Sky Soaring Right Leg Bone and the Death Magic Puppet Left Arm Bone both had five golden patterns, which is the symbol of a 500,000-year Spirit Bone, isn't it? Besides the Starry Sky Soaring Right Leg Bone and the Death Magic Puppet Left Arm Bone, his other three Spirit Bones—the Illusory Sky Purple Spirit Dragon Head Bone, the silver dragon wolf right arm bone, and the Octagonal Profound Ice Left Leg Bone—had all also increased by 500,000 years, each now possessing six golden patterns.
Zhu Ziyang's gaze finally fell on his spine. He saw that his spine had turned into jade, from the cervical vertebrae connecting to his skull, to the thoracic vertebrae connecting to his arms, then to the lumbar vertebrae connecting his upper and lower body, and finally to the caudal vertebrae connecting his legs. All were of a jade-carved material, radiating a sacred glow. Upon them, ten golden patterns shimmered, declaring the noble status of his divine-grade Spirit Bone.
He wasn't sure what a God King level would translate to in terms of Spirit Beast years, but judging solely from how the Ice Dragon King's torso bone could increase the age of all his Spirit Bones by 500,000 years, Zhu Ziyang felt it was at least three million years!
After examining the changes in his Spirit Bones, Zhu Ziyang now had a preliminary understanding of what a Spirit Bone set truly meant. It turned out that only after collecting all six Spirit Bones would these Spirit Bones truly and completely become the Spirit Master's own, unable to be plundered by killing, and even if he fell, these Spirit Bones would dissipate with him.
He opened his eyes, his expression neither happy nor sad. With a thought, a pair of blue-white Dragon wings unfolded from his back. These were not the Dragon wings of the Heavenly Frost Sacred White Dragon Spirit, but the Dragon wings from the Ice Dragon King's torso bone, the external Spirit Bone, the Ice Dragon King's Wings!
Six standard Spirit Bones and one external Spirit Bone formed Zhu Ziyang's Spirit Bone set, nominally called the Death God Set, but in reality, it was more like an Ice Dragon Set of Spirit Bones.
Withdrawing his gaze from the Ice Dragon King's Wings, Zhu Ziyang's mind moved again, and an ice-white long spear carved with the form of the Ice Dragon King appeared in his left hand. The spear emitted a fierce cold light and a destructive Dragon might. The Ice Dragon King Spear was one of the Spirit Abilities carried by the Ice Dragon King's torso bone.
Now, with the presence of the Ice Dragon King Spear, Zhu Ziyang could use ice-attribute spirit power while simultaneously using the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe Spirit. Holding the spear in his left hand and the scythe in his right, ice on the left and light on the right!
The second Spirit Ability carried by the Ice Dragon King's torso bone was called Ice Azure Emperor Dragon. Zhu Ziyang summoned the remnant soul of the Ice Dragon King from the Ice Dragon King's torso bone, bestowing upon it countless Ultimate Ice, turning it into a giant ice Dragon over several thousand meters long that devoured everything around it, solidifying the air within. Following the tip of the Ice Dragon King Spear in Zhu Ziyang's hand, it could soar freely, releasing Dragon breath and ice.
Undoubtedly, this Ice Azure Emperor Dragon move was a powerful offensive Spirit Ability. It could also serve as a massive shield; its several-thousand-meter body was enough to block most attacks for Zhu Ziyang.
Zhu Ziyang was very satisfied. Although the two Spirit Abilities of the Ice Dragon King's torso bone somewhat overlapped with his other Spirit Abilities, what he cared about was the Spirit Bone itself; the Spirit Bone abilities were just an incidental bonus!