Life Gold

After leaving the Worship Hall, Bibi Dong returned to her private chambers to pack for her extended journey. Her preparations were methodical, each decision carefully considered. Beyond practical necessities, she also visited the Spirit Hall's treasury to acquire items that could help accelerate Electrolux's recovery.

Years of contributions to the Spirit Hall had earned Bibi Dong substantial credit within the organization. These accumulated merits allowed her to exchange for cultivation treasures and rare resources normally beyond reach of even high-ranking officials.

As she entered the treasury with its countless shelves of artifacts, weapons, and mystical items collected over centuries, Electrolux's voice resonated in her mind with unusual excitement.

"Little girl, I can sense something truly extraordinary among these treasures. There's something in that box over there that emanates incredible power."

Following the ancient being's guidance, Bibi Dong discovered a small, unremarkable container abandoned in a corner, covered with thick dust. Inside lay a pure greenish crystal, its surface uneven but radiating energy that filled her with peace and vitality. The crystal pulsed with life itself, emanating waves of concentrated life energy like a gentle embrace.

"I never thought such a treasure could exist in what I considered a lower realm," Electrolux said with genuine awe. "This treasure is called Life Gold—the crystallized essence of pure life energy accumulated over countless eons. This single piece can help me recover my divine consciousness far more efficiently than any other method available."

Without hesitation, Bibi Dong secured the box and returned to her chambers. Once safely in her private room, Electrolux made an unexpected request.

"Little girl, I need to temporarily control your body to properly utilize the Life Gold. The process requires precise energy manipulation that only someone with my experience can safely perform."

This raised Bibi Dong's natural caution. While she had come to trust Electrolux somewhat, allowing another consciousness to control her body was deeply unsettling. "How can I trust that you won't harm me or refuse to return control?"

It was perfectly reasonable. Bibi Dong knew virtually nothing about Electrolux beyond what the ancient being had revealed, while Electrolux had access to all her memories and secrets. The power imbalance was stark.

Electrolux understood these concerns. "Don't worry, little girl. The original version of myself has been dead for eons, and this soul fragment exists solely to search for a proper heir to inherit my legacy. I have no interest in possessing your body permanently—that would defeat my entire purpose. Additionally, I will compensate you appropriately for using the Life Gold."

Bibi Dong's curiosity was piqued. "Just how precious is Life Gold, exactly?"

Electrolux's mental laughter carried incredulous amusement. "If anyone who truly understood Life Gold's value heard your casual question, they would cough up blood from shock. Even a 100,000-year red soul ring—the pinnacle of power in this realm—would not equal one-tenth the value of a single teardrop of Life Gold. That's how incredibly precious this substance is."

The magnitude of what she had stumbled upon began to dawn on Bibi Dong, along with the realization that Electrolux was offering her something of truly incalculable value in exchange for temporary cooperation. Whatever compensation the ancient being had in mind would represent a treasure beyond anyone's dreams in this realm.

"So, how will you control my body?" Bibi Dong asked, her voice carrying curiosity and trepidation as she contemplated the enormity of what she was undertaking.

Electrolux's response came with casual confidence of one who had witnessed civilizations rise and fall. "Simply relax your mind and entrust yourself to my guidance."

In the breath that followed, a transformation began that defied natural law. Bibi Dong's eyes, once vibrant with her own life force, underwent a metamorphosis both beautiful and terrifying. The familiar warmth gave way to pools of dark grey that seemed to hold the profound mysteries of existence itself. These transformed orbs radiated an energy so pure and holy in its aspect of death that it sanctified the very concept of mortality.

The change extended far beyond the physical. Her entire demeanor underwent a radical shift, as if she had become the vessel for an omniscient sage whose wisdom spanned countless lifetimes. Where once stood a powerful but mortal being, now resided something approaching divinity—a consciousness that perceived the underlying patterns governing all existence.

With movements speaking of eons of practice, Electrolux retrieved the precious Life Gold fragment. This wasn't merely rare metal, but crystallization of vitality's very essence—a substance so potent that wars had been fought over fragments a fraction of this size. The ancient being began weaving an incantation that pulled syllables from languages predating recorded history, each word resonating with power that made the air shimmer.

As the spell reached crescendo, the Life Gold became enveloped in energy rings, each pulsing with rhythm synchronized to creation's heartbeat. With precision born of countless procedures, Electrolux carefully inserted the Life Gold directly into Bibi Dong's forehead, the precious material passing through flesh and bone like morning mist.

The transformation that followed was miraculous. The Life Gold began reshaping itself with fluid grace, gradually perfecting into a sleek, deadly dagger—not merely a weapon, but an instrument of power containing the very essence of life and death intertwined.

While external changes unfolded, Bibi Dong's consciousness was drawn inward to witness events in her spiritual sea—that sacred space where the soul resided and fundamental forces converged. What she observed would have driven lesser minds to madness, challenging everything she understood about martial souls and spiritual cultivation.

Electrolux materialized within this inner realm as a figure of ethereal beauty and terrible power. Her hair flowed like liquid moonlight, cascading in perfect white waves that absorbed and reflected surrounding spiritual energies. Her grey eyes burned with intensity speaking of knowledge accumulated across eons. In ethereal hands, she wielded the Life Gold dagger with familiarity of one who had mastered its use across countless incarnations.

With movements both graceful and inexorable, Electrolux raised the mystical blade and struck at the foundations of Bibi Dong's spiritual architecture. The dagger found its mark at the origin points of her two martial spirits—those fundamental expressions of soul power that had defined her abilities since awakening.

Under Bibi Dong's horrified yet fascinated gaze, these pillars of spiritual existence began crumbling like ancient monuments succumbing to ages. The martial souls that had been her strength, identity, and place in the world dissolved into countless fragments, each containing a spark of power that once made her formidable.

But this destruction was merely prelude to unprecedented resurrection. The fragments began dancing through her spiritual sea, drawn by forces transcending ordinary cultivation. Life Gold's essence infused each piece with new potential, while Electrolux wove transformation spells that rewrote the very laws governing martial soul development. Even residual traces of the Rakshasa God's divine essence awakened to contribute power to this miraculous reconstruction.

Slowly, magnificently, a new form coalesced from this spiritual maelstrom. Countless fragments merged and fused, guided by Electrolux's wisdom and Life Gold's properties, until achieving a configuration defying conventional understanding. What emerged was a humanoid martial soul of unprecedented perfection—a being of spiritual energy possessing flowing white hair reminiscent of Electrolux herself, and eyes burning with deep crimson of divine authority.

As this new martial soul reached completion, the spiritual realm pulsed with emerging power. Spirit rings materialized in displays that would leave even experienced Title Douluo speechless. Four rings of deepest black appeared first, their dark radiance speaking of power from terrifying soul beasts. These were followed by four more blazing with crimson intensity—the legendary red rings few cultivators had ever witnessed, let alone possessed. (Just imagine how Kumoko from So I'm a Spider, So What?/Kumo Desu ga, Nani Ka?)

The realization struck Bibi Dong with revelatory force: all her previous spirit rings, accumulated through years of cultivation and dangerous hunts, had been amalgamated into this single, transcendent martial soul. Power once divided between two spirits was now unified into something infinitely greater than the sum of its parts.

Her abilities had undergone fundamental evolution, emerging as skills bordering on the divine:

Thread Manipulation: The threads now incorporated Life Gold properties, creating bindings strong enough to restrain beings approaching divine power levels. These strands gleamed with inner light speaking of otherworldly durability, capable of maintaining integrity against forces that would shatter conventional metals like glass.

Warped Evil Eye: An evolved ability twisting space's very fabric within target areas. This wasn't merely powerful attack, but fundamental reality alteration. When activated, it ignored conventional defenses entirely, as space warping affected everything within influence regardless of material properties or defensive preparations. Its only limitation lay in concentrated effect, requiring precise targeting for maximum impact.

Dark Conjuring: Expanded beyond simple shadow manipulation to comprehensive creation skill. She could manifest darkness in any form imagination conceived—armor absorbing physical and spiritual attacks, weapons cutting through matter and energy equally, or complex constructs functioning independently of direct control.

Barriers: The barrier creation skill evolved to encompass both energy and physical protection, allowing defensive structures adapting to different threat types. These barriers could protect herself, allies, or extend to cover large areas when circumstances demanded.

Clones: Perhaps most remarkably, her clone ability achieved perfect replication—creating duplicates possessing one hundred percent of original capabilities. These weren't mere illusions or weakened copies, but true extensions of her being operating with complete independence while maintaining full access to evolved skill sets.

Abyss Tear: The pinnacle of offensive evolution—a spatial attack transcending conventional combat entirely. Physical defenses proved utterly useless against its reality-cutting edge, while even energy barriers found effectiveness reduced by half. Wounds inflicted carried terrible property: they would continue spreading endlessly unless actively resisted through spirit power application. This created dire situations where victims were forced to continuously expend spiritual energy preventing wound consumption, leading inevitably to death through spiritual exhaustion if injuries couldn't be properly treated. The attack manifested as deceptively beautiful jade-like light betraying none of its lethal properties until impact moment.

Abyssal Arachne Progenitor Avatar: This skill transformed her physical form itself, allowing assumption of hybrid states combining human upper half and spider lower body. (And this as Kumoko half human, and half spider form.)

Immortality: Most profound was this gift—not simple longevity some high-level cultivators achieved, but true resurrection capability. As long as her soul remained intact and she possessed sufficient energy reserves, she could regenerate her physical form endlessly, making her effectively unkillable through conventional means.

The mathematics of transformation revealed true sophistication. Where she previously possessed nine spirit rings on her first martial soul and seven on her second—sixteen rings total spread across two spirits—her new unified martial soul contained eight rings. This apparent reduction actually represented power consolidation making her immeasurably stronger than before. Twin martial souls, regardless of individual strength, could never surpass a single god-level martial soul in raw power, and what she now possessed transcended even typical divine-level spirits.

But miracles had not concluded. The massive Life Gold amount employed in transformation generated such profound life energy that it began condensing within her spiritual sea, seeking new equilibrium. In space once occupied by her second martial soul, this energy crystallized into something entirely unexpected—a scythe of ominous beauty and terrible purpose.

This weapon radiated an aura making reality itself uncomfortable, as if its very existence challenged natural order. The handle and blade junction bore intricate skill designs seeming to shift when observed directly, while the blade carried inscriptions in scripts appearing to be the very spells Electrolux had woven during transformation.

The Soul Purifier Scythe, as knowledge of its name emerged unbidden in consciousness, embodied a paradox defying easy understanding. Despite menacing appearance and ominous energy radiation, its true nature was purification and justice. The pure death attribute it wielded wasn't destruction for its own sake, but rather cleansing force capable of purifying vengeful souls and serving as ultimate nemesis to evil soul masters who had corrupted spiritual cultivation through dark practices.

The transformation was complete, and Bibi Dong stood reborn—no longer merely a powerful soul master, but something approaching a force of nature itself, wielding abilities that bridged the gap between mortal achievement and divine authority.