Mixed Blessing System

Immediately after touching the red and blue Soul Bone, the system showed the information about that item.

[Servant Femur Soul Bone] [Classification: Iron]

[Feature: once absorption begins, it will become a pure energy source imbued with Natural Laws. It will not become one of the 10 Soul Bones but rather a tonic for the body, mind, and soul of the one who absorbs it.]

[Reminder: the minimum soul cultivation required to absorb this Soul Bone successfully is 1st Transformation. Below that, whoever attempts to absorb it will have their body and/or soul obliterated.]

Upon seeing that, Lothur felt a mix of emotions in his heart.

First, that Iron-grade Soul Bone was simply much better than he had thought.

After all, it could raise the attributes of the person who absorbed it without even occupying one of the ten places for Soul Bones existing in humans.

What did this mean?

It meant that such a person could permanently improve his cultivation, talent, and senses without sacrificing one of his body's few Soul Bone slots with a bone of only Iron-grade rank!

Don't misunderstand. Having a passive ability was more valuable than cultivation improvements. While there were few Soul Bones in this world, there were various ways to improve one's cultivation and skills.

However, there were passive skills that were useless for some cultivators and skills that went against the characteristics of some people. On the other hand, one could not tell about tomorrow. Therefore, between getting an attribute boost and gaining a low-level Soul Bone skill, the first option was more promising!

Hell, if Viktoria or others at that auction earlier had known about this information the system alerted Lothur to, Annaliese definitely would not have gotten that Soul Bone!

Second. Even though this Soul Bone was more valuable than the people in that auction had judged it to be, something positive, Lothur was feeling a little bad at the moment. That's because there was a soul cultivation requirement.

But he was not sure if he had soul cultivation!

That was the problem!

He was not the one who was going to absorb this Soul Bone, but he would look for opportunities to get something like this in the future. With that, he could not help but worry about the question of his soul cultivation!

[Absorb Servant Demon Femur Soul Bone?] The system asked him without much ceremony.

'Oh?' His eyes widened in surprise. But he soon regained his calm. 'No.'

After that, he smiled warmly and handed that item to Annaliese, happy that she had gotten something so valuable. "Anna, I feel that this Soul Bone will give you a great surprise, hehe."

"Oh? Why do you say that?" She smiled with him.

"It's a feeling..."

"Anyway, how does one do to absorb a Soul Bone? Are you going to start now?"

"Hmm," She nodded at him and looked at Viktoria. "Sister, can you explain this to Lothur while I start?"

'Why does Annaliese want him to understand about this? What difference does it make to him?' Viktoria observed those two individuals standing side by side, simultaneously holding different parts of the Soul Bone. 'There is something she is not telling me! I can feel it!'

"Sigh! All right."

"Lothur, come sit next to me. You can't be near Anna when the Fusion Ceremony starts."

"Fusion Ceremony? Is that what the process of absorbing a Soul Bone is called?"

"Yes, most of us call it that, but other intelligent races in Concordia also have other names for it."

"Oh? I thought only humans could absorb Soul Bones..." He said as he sat down across from her while Annaliese stood in a lotus position in the middle of that room.

"In theory, only humans should be able to absorb Soul Bones, but there is a single variable to that..."

"One variable?" His eyebrows drew together. "Which one?"

"Take it easy. I'll get to it in a few moments..."

"For now, let's pay attention to what Annaliese is doing. Do you see how she seems to have started meditating?"

"Yes."

"To fuse to a Soul Bone, a cultivator needs to circulate his energies through his soul cultivation technique. That's because the Soul Bone doesn't just connect to the body of the one who absorbs it. No, these things connect body and soul!"

"It is because of this connection that cultivators gain passive abilities in their soul, similar to spiritual techniques. That's the effect on the soul."

"On the other hand, whenever someone fuses to a Soul Bone, their body will become more resistant, and vitality will increase. That is the effect on the flesh."

"We are cultivators, people who defy the laws created by heaven. But even so, no matter how high one's cultivation is, the body still remains the most important point for a cultivator's life, even if his soul is powerful."

"Do you know why that is?" She looked at the man who was concentrating on Annaliese right now.

"No."

"That is simply because our souls would dissipate if they did not occupy a suitable 'container.' And since our bodies retain some of their mortality with just normal cultivation, no matter how high your cultivation is, it is impossible to live forever."

"However, there is one exception!" She looked determinedly at Annaliese, pointing with one of her fingers at the red and blue bone floating at the height of Annaliese's breasts, only 10 centimeters away from her.

"Soul Bones!"

"Soul Bones connect soul and body, which brings the characteristics of both parties closer together, eventually even being able to create a spirit body!"

"Look at that!" She pointed to the red and blue bone, which at the moment had begun to emit even more accelerated pulses and started spinning in front of Annaliese.

"After circulating her energies through her soul cultivation technique, Anna infused part of her energies into that bone. With that, naturally, the fusion process will begin, with the bone attempting to blend with the person owning the spiritual fluctuation imbued in it."

"With that, it will first fuse with one of the fleshy body parts of such a person absorbing it, then connect the soul and produce the first spirit part of that person's spirit body." She commented as that bone was already on the side of Annaliese's left thigh, stuck there like a piece of armor.

As that bone entered Annaliese's leg bit by bit, with this woman expressing agony on her face, Viktoria continued her speech. "Do you know what it means to have a spirit body?"

"No."

"Having a spirit body means that you have successfully managed to fuse with 10 Soul Bones and overcome the mortal limits of your body!"

"That obviously doesn't mean that you would become an immortal by achieving that feat since even our soul has a dissipation rate that depends on the cultivation level."

She then looked at Lothur with glowing eyes and said. "However, there are legends that a person with the full set of Soul Bones and who is at least at the 4th stage can have their body completely destroyed and still have the chance to rebuild it!"

"That person would be a quasi-immortal in our concepts!"

"Oh?" Lothur's eyes and mouth opened significantly, feeling the same excitement Viktoria already had at the idea of achieving such a feat.

"But how is that done? Isn't our soul a part of the fleshy body? How is it done to produce a new body?"

"The soul stops being a part of the body and becomes just a resident of it after someone reaches the 2nd stage."

"On the other hand, once you get a spirit body, all you need are some high-level materials and your soul force to rebuild your body."

"The most important thing about the body is the essence, but that can be preserved in the soul and spirit body. With that, remaking a fleshy body is as simple a process as baking a cake."

"So that's how it is..."

After that, that bone finally disappeared, fully entering Annaliese's left thigh, from which an intense glow and pulses were leaving.

"Now that the bone has entered her body, it will fuse to her left femur, creating the bridge between that part of her body and her soul."

"That will be the first part of her spirit body..." Viktoria was about to say that when she suddenly realized that what was happening to Annaliese was different than it should be.

,m "What? No fusion?" Viktoria stood up from where she was and looked more focused at her sister.

"Hmm, it can't be that..."

"Was she truly so lucky?"

Lothur saw the surprise on his wife's face and smiled, judging that Viktoria had realized that Soul Bone would not give Annaliese an ability but a blessing!

"Unbelievable!"

"What is it, dear?"

Viktoria was not bothered by Lothur's manner and said. "She didn't get her first spirit body part, but her talent will definitely evolve."

"That's because that bone has become a pure form of energy!"

After that, Viktoria stood there for a few more moments with an expression of surprise on her face that such a rare event had happened. But soon, she took Lothur into the courtyard of her house to give Annaliese more privacy to take advantage of that opportunity.

"By the way, are you sure this quasi-immortality is possible? I think it's too good to be true."

...