Asaru, Eternal Sovereign

Asaru enters the battlefield with eight transcendence counters on him.
If damage would be dealt to Asaru while he has a transcendence counter on him, prevent that damage and remove a transcendence counter from Asaru.
If Asaru has no transcendence counters on him, he becomes a spirit in addition to his other types and can't be blocked.
Whenever a creature you control dies, you may exile it. If you do, you gain 3 life.