Under Tang San's horrified gaze, the black-and-white dog carried off the food he had taken out, tore open his water pouch, and then returned to its small nest made of minerals. There, it began savoring the jerky seasoned with various spices, completely ignoring Tang San. After a long while, when Tang San was sure the soul beast's attention was no longer on him, he slowly moved his body, brought his mouth close to the torn water pouch, took two sips of water, and then fed himself medicine using his Blue Silver Grass.
In the days that followed, the black-and-white dog seemed to gradually grow accustomed to Tang San's presence, losing its initial curiosity about this weak and unfamiliar creature.
Tang San had fallen into an underground mine. Judging by the exposed metallic resources, it was a medium to large-scale mine. Many soul beasts lived off the mine, and their activities combined with natural caves had created a unique underground ecosystem of considerable size.
The black-and-white dog could eat minerals to strengthen its body, but it also consumed meat and drank water. Occasionally, it would leave the cave to hunt for food. Most of the time, it caught low-level prey like rats and scorpions but occasionally managed to capture pangolins or special insects for a treat. Based on the prey it brought back, Tang San estimated its age to be between 8,000 and 9,000 years—just shy of the 10,000-year mark.
The black-and-white dog's primary diet consisted of minerals, with meat as a supplement. Its aggressive eating habits and somewhat dim-witted personality often resulted in significant food waste. Tang San quietly used his Blue Silver Grass to pull the discarded scraps closer to him, activating his head soul bone's Demon Spider Devour ability to consume the flesh and accelerate his recovery.
When the black-and-white dog noticed Tang San eating its leftovers, it seemed to have an idea. On its subsequent hunts, it began bringing back extra food, leaving the surplus directly in front of Tang San for him to eat.
After several days of this, Tang San finally regained basic mobility. Following a round of self-treatment, he managed to recover some of his strength and began devising a plan.
One day, after the black-and-white dog returned with its prey, Tang San took out his camping grill and began roasting a rat over it, occasionally sprinkling something on top. The aroma of the barbecue stirred the primal instincts of the black-and-white dog, which had never encountered such smells before. It was soon drawn over, and Tang San tossed the cooked meat into it.
The moment the black-and-white dog tasted the delicious flavor—unlike anything it had ever eaten—it rolled around in joy, completely oblivious to the sinister glint in Tang San's eyes.
Tang San continued grilling while the black-and-white dog happily ate. Everything seemed so harmonious, so much like the progression of a protagonist's story. However, just as the black-and-white dog was enjoying itself, it began to feel inexplicably fatigued.
A more instinct-driven soul beast might have detected the unusual nature of this fatigue, but the well-fed and content black-and-white dog merely licked Tang San before returning to its nest to sleep.
Before long, the black-and-white dog fell into a deep slumber, its aura steadily weakening. Under Tang San's expectant gaze, the dog's legs suddenly kicked out, and a dark purple soul ring tinged with black appeared over its body.
"Good! Finally dead!" Tang San laughed. "You vile dog! You stole my food and forced me to eat scraps tainted with your saliva. This is what you deserve! I thought I'd need to try several times to poison you, but I didn't expect it to work on the first attempt."
Looking at the dead husky-like black-and-white dog, Tang San began laughing heartily. He eagerly approached its body, activating his head soul bone ability. His head transformed into the shape of a Human-Faced Demon Spider as he swallowed an antidote to the poison and then ravenously tore into the dog's corpse.
The black-and-white dog had been a top-tier soul beast, especially one that excelled in physical strength. Its recently deceased body contained an extraordinary amount of life energy, far surpassing that of ordinary soul beasts.
Driven by instinct, Tang San first injected poison into the black-and-white dog's body. Then, summoning his dark Blue Silver Grass at the wound, he used its vines to stir the dog's internal organs and flesh. In no time, the dog's insides were reduced to a mush-like consistency. During this process, Tang San sensed something unusual within the dog's body.
The dark purple Blue Silver Grass withdrew from the wound, its vine entwined with a peculiar soul bone.
It wasn't one of the six standard soul bones but an extraordinarily rare external soul bone. Unlike the external soul bone from the Demon Spider that Tang San already possessed, this one resembled a pair of shrunken lungs. When Tang San held it in his hand and infused it with soul power, he felt a resonance with his lungs.
"A dog lung external soul bone," he murmured.
As a transmigrator, Tang San naturally recalled the term "wolf heart, dog lungs" from his original world. Looking at this external soul bone, his expression turned slightly strange. However, after only a second of hesitation, he cast aside all other thoughts.
Strength.
Strength was what mattered most. Moreover, an external soul bone, as long as it wasn't exposed, wouldn't reveal its origin. A soul bone from the internal organs of a top-tier soul beast like this was as valuable as a 100,000-year soul bone. Not absorbing it would truly be a waste.
Having acquired the external soul bone, Tang San turned his attention to the black-and-white dog's soul ring, murmuring to himself.
"Soul bones greatly enhance soul masters, but my teacher once said that if a soul master's soul ring and soul bone originate from the same soul beast, there will be additional benefits. This black-and-white dog is a top-tier thousand-year soul beast, its value comparable to or even exceeding that of ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Absorbing it will surely be worthwhile."
"However, I'm currently at level 35, and all three of my Blue Silver Grass soul rings are already filled. The only option is to add this soul ring to the Clear Sky Hammer."
"My father told me never to casually add soul rings to the Clear Sky Hammer, but now that we're separated, and I'm severely injured, desperate times call for desperate measures. Adding the soul ring to the Clear Sky Hammer and absorbing the soul bone will not only restore me to peak condition but make me even stronger."
Tang San whispered to himself as he brought his mouth close to the black-and-white dog's wound, gulping down its blood and flesh. Once his body had recovered to a certain extent, he summoned the Clear Sky Hammer. Before the black-and-white dog's soul ring could dissipate, he began absorbing it to make it his own.