Chen Bugu walked up to the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle, clasped his hands together, and bowed.
He then took out his Wind Gale Dagger and climbed onto the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's back.
After the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle died, the shell became dry and shriveled, allowing the sharp dagger to easily shatter it.
Chen Bugu chiseled open the shell, cut through the flesh, and plunged his entire right arm inside, searching repeatedly until he finally pulled out a bead the size of a billiard ball.
The bead was light blue and transparent, with cold air flowing around it once exposed to the air.
Upon closer inspection, a translucent, ethereal small turtle could be seen inside the transparent bead.
The small turtle floated in the center of the bead, its four claws folded, eyes tightly shut, and a tiny black snake tail curled into a circle.
The Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's Beast Spirit!
Black Iron Grade magic beasts will produce Beast Crystals after reaching high-tier, and the higher the grade of the magic beast, the fewer impurities inside the Beast Crystal.
For Silver Grade magic beasts, the Beast Crystal will transform into a concentrated energy Beast Core. The Beast Core is transparent, with energy surging within, and different attributes and characteristics present different colors.
When a magic beast enters the Gold Grade, the energy within the Beast Core will condense into an ethereal avatar. This avatar will appear as the magic beast's infancy form, becoming the embryo of the magic beast's second soul, hence it is called a Beast Spirit.
However, an unopened Beast Spirit is more like an unborn infant; once the magic beast's main body dies, the Beast Spirit will completely disappear within an hour.
According to legend, when a magic beast breaks through the Gold Grade, the avatar within the Beast Spirit will open its eyes, break free from the bead, and truly become the magic beast's second life.
At that time, the Beast Spirit can separate from the body and act independently, and as long as the Beast Spirit is not destroyed, the magic beast will not perish. Even if the body is shattered to dust, as long as the Beast Spirit hides, the magic beast will not truly die.
However, these are all just legends…
Can the Gold Grade be surpassed?
Chen Bugu didn't know.
Based on his experiences in his previous life, he had never heard of any existence above the Gold Grade, whether among the various races or magic beasts.
Or perhaps, the various races have not yet discovered a method to break through the Gold Grade, which is why it has become the ceiling?
After all, every major leap is not just a simple accumulation of energy, which is also why Obsidian Town cannot produce Silver Grade powerhouses.
The same applies to magic beasts; although their bloodline determines their lower limit, the individual's upper limit is not constrained, just like the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle. Chen Bugu had also seen individuals that had already surpassed the Black Iron Grade in the extreme northern lands.
The major grade leaps for magic beasts are also by no means purely about energy plundering.
According to research by various races, there are three main ways for magic beasts to achieve a stage-based grade leap.
The first is naturally occurring mutated species.
The second is bloodline inheritance, such as royal families.
The third is by devouring other living individuals that are also at the cusp of a grade breakthrough.
In other words, if a Black Iron Nine-Star peak magic beast were to eat Chen Bugu now, it would be able to break through to the Silver Grade.
This point was also summarized over long years of continuous struggle between the various races and magic beasts.
Among the three methods, the first two are innate; you either have them from birth or you don't.
Only the third can be achieved through acquired means.
As for whether this applies to Gold Nine Star peak magic beasts, Chen Bugu had no idea.
After all, at that level, magic beasts possess intelligence no less than humans, and devouring a powerhouse of the same level is as difficult as ascending to heaven, so they naturally understand how to weigh their options.
But he had never heard of a Gold Grade magic beast being able to awaken its Beast Spirit.
The Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle was also in this situation.
A Beast Spirit in this state can, firstly, be used as a refining material for equipment. If it's a top-tier craftsman, they might be able to implant an unawakened Beast Spirit into equipment to help the equipment awaken a Tool Spirit.
However, the conditions for using a Beast Spirit as a refining material are too stringent.
Beast Spirits dissipate too quickly, so either a top-tier craftsman must be brought to the battlefield, or items that can nourish souls must be used to preserve the Beast Spirit. But even so, the success rate of Tool Spirit awakening is not 100%.
Secondly, it can be used to feed battle pets and modify their bloodlines.
This was also the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's final gift to “Amon.”
Chen Bugu gently placed the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's Beast Spirit in front of “Amon,” but “Amon” shook its head.
“This is what that big guy meant.”
“It said, if you eat this, you'll be able to help me next time.”
Chen Bugu didn't lie; the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle did say something similar, just expressed differently.
Upon hearing this, “Amon” hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked forward and swallowed the Beast Spirit in one gulp.
After swallowing it, “Amon” quickly fell into a deep sleep, its limbs, head, and tail retracting into its shell.
Faint black mist emanated from the edges of the dark red shell, disappearing upon touching the gray-black solid ice on “Amon’s” back.
“Amon” already possessed a portion of the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's origin, so absorbing its Beast Spirit was a natural progression.
However, along with the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's origin, a small amount of demonic energy also integrated into “Amon.”
He had originally thought Lin Lin's Holy Light had purified these black mists for them, but now it seemed it was perhaps only because Chen Bugu had been exposed to less of it.
“Amon” was different; the black mist on its body came from the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's original essence, meaning these black mists would exist with “Amon.” Lin Lin's Holy Light clearly couldn't eliminate them, at most only weaken them.
Even as strong as the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle, it would eventually be affected and demonized by these black mists, let alone “Amon.”
Therefore, this was another reason why the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle insisted on leaving its Beast Spirit to “Amon.”
The black mist was always a ticking time bomb. If “Amon's” growth couldn't keep up with the black mist, it would one day follow in the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's footsteps.
And with the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's Beast Spirit absorbed, “Amon” wouldn't need to worry about the black mist's backlash in the short term.
As for the long term… the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle also said that the rest was up to Chen Bugu.
Returning to Starting Forest was originally to escape the pursuit of Cross Street, but he never expected to be drawn into this incident.
However, from the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's memories, the cause and effect had already been sown.
More than a day of continuous breakthroughs made Chen Bugu feel somewhat unreal.
But the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's corpse before him confirmed that everything was so real.
The Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's body was too large to be buried, so Chen Bugu ultimately had no choice but to cremate it with a purple flame.
According to the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle, there must be other Black-robed men in this forest, and the battle here had been quite intense, with the firelight being very conspicuous.
It was unknown how long “Amon” would need to absorb the Beast Spirit, and staying put would only attract trouble.
During the process of absorbing the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's Beast Spirit, “Amon” could not be disturbed, so Chen Bugu had to find a safe place as quickly as possible.
Amidst the purple firelight, Chen Bugu picked up the sleeping “Amon” and quickly disappeared into the forest, leaving behind only the already unrecognizable rocky beach.
At the same time, in Obsidian Town, inside Cross Street…
Alek crushed the cup in his hand!
“A bunch of trash!”
“All of them are trash!”
After Chen Bugu left, Alek had already sent people to investigate all his information.
Upon learning that he also had several companions, Cross Street issued a warrant.
Earlier today, someone reportedly spotted Chen Bugu's companions near the Unyielding Hall.
Alek immediately led his men there, but unexpectedly, he was unintentionally obstructed by Liu Chengfeng, who had just walked out of the Unyielding Hall.
Ultimately, not only did they lose track of the target for nothing, but three of their men were also counter-killed by a man in a white suit.
Alek was furious and ordered a search within a ten-mile radius around Obsidian Town, but as of now, there had been no results.
“Pass on my order: starting tomorrow, all members are to halt their missions and conduct a carpet search with Obsidian Town as the center, extending outwards! Until the target is found!”
“Furthermore, from now on, if you see people from the Unyielding Hall outside of town, there’s no need to hide. As long as you are clean and swift, and aren’t discovered, you don’t need to report or hand over anything gained after killing them.”
“Hmph, Unyielding Hall, Liu Chengfeng…”
Many people on the South City Wall had heard about Chen Bugu's desire to join the Unyielding Hall; it was no secret.
Coupled with this time, his companions were allegedly spotted near the Unyielding Hall…
Was he really treating Alek like a fool?
Alek's expression was grim as he walked back into the inner courtyard, leaving the people in the hall to exchange glances, not daring to speak.