Obtaining the Ancient Tree Spirit Ring

After a night of rest and healing with Ling Feng's Spirit Power, the three of them had recovered significantly, but the atmosphere remained heavy. The attackers sent by Xiao Chenyu cast a dark cloud over their hearts; no one knew if they would return, or if they would attract even more troublesome enemies.

"We need to pick up the pace," Ling Feng said in a deep voice. "Yueyue, focus your senses and find a suitable Spirit Beast for you as quickly as possible. Lin Kun, you too, keep an eye on your surroundings. We'll leave immediately after obtaining the Spirit Rings!"

Liu Yue nodded heavily, closed her eyes, and the Moonlight Orchid Martial Soul emitted an even more intense glow. Her senses spread outwards like ripples on water. Lin Kun also fully activated his Insight Skill and Book Spirit, his Mental Threads scanning the surrounding area tens of meters like a delicate spiderweb, alert.

Perhaps it was the crisis that stimulated their potential, or perhaps luck had finally sided with them. In less than half a day, Liu Yue suddenly opened her eyes in surprise, pointing in one direction: "Cousin! Over there! I sense a very gentle yet tenacious spiritual fluctuation, it seems to be a vine-type Spirit Beast, around five to six hundred years old!"

Ling Feng's spirits lifted: "Good! Lead the way!"

Under Liu Yue's guidance, the three cautiously arrived at a dark and damp forest. They saw a peculiar vine, entirely emerald green with heart-shaped leaves, coiled around an ancient tree. A few small white flowers bloomed among the vines, exuding a tranquil aura.

[Heart Tough Vine, Plant-type Spirit Beast, Age: Approximately 560 years. Characteristics: Spiritual tenacity, with weak calming and recovery effects. Low aggression.] The Book Spirit quickly fed back the information.

"Perfect! It's very suitable for your Moonlight Orchid!" Ling Feng said, a smile appearing on his face after confirmation.

The acquisition process was exceptionally smooth. The Heart Tough Vine had almost no offensive capabilities, and Ling Feng subdued it with ease. Liu Yue also successfully absorbed the Spirit Ring, her Spirit Power increasing to level 22, and she gained a good support Spirit Skill – Light of Heart Toughness, which could slightly enhance allies' mental resistance and recovery speed.

Liu Yue's successful acquisition of a Spirit Ring greatly reduced the team's pressure. Now, only Lin Kun remained.

However, finding a suitable Spirit Ring for Lin Kun proved difficult. His "Unknown Book" Martial Soul was too unique; even he didn't know what type of Spirit Beast would suit it. Ling Feng and Liu Yue were even more clueless.

They could only search aimlessly, and whenever they encountered a seemingly special Spirit Beast, they would have Lin Kun sense it with his Martial Soul. But after trying several ten-year and hundred-year Spirit Beasts, the Book Spirit showed no reaction, even conveying a disdainful sense of "trash, do not disturb."

Time ticked by, and as evening approached again, Ling Feng's brow furrowed tighter. Staying in the Spirit Hunting Forest for too long was too dangerous.

"Lin Kun, if you really can't find a particularly compatible one, how about choosing a gentle hundred-year Spirit Beast first? At least raise your Spirit Power to the Spirit Master level," Ling Feng suggested.

Lin Kun was unwilling. He knew the importance of the first Spirit Ring and didn't want to settle for anything less. Moreover, he had a premonition that his Martial Soul was no ordinary item and would definitely require a special Spirit Ring to unleash its true potential.

He closed his eyes and once again sank his consciousness into his sea of consciousness, communicating with the ancient book: "Big Brother Book, give me some hints! What exactly do you want? If we don't find it soon, we'll have to turn back!"

The Book Spirit trembled slightly, the crystal on its cover flickering intermittently, seemingly anxious. It conveyed a vague intent: [Need... knowledge... records... ancient... or... pure spirit...]

Ancient? Pure spirit? Lin Kun pondered. He thought of the astonishing spiritual storm and pure energy when Little White hatched. Could it be...

He suddenly opened his eyes and said to Ling Feng, "Brother Ling Feng, I want to try going to a place!" "Where?" "Wind鸣 Mountain Valley!" Lin Kun's gaze was firm. "My Martial Soul had a strong reaction there, perhaps there's a suitable Spirit Beast for me!"

Ling Feng's expression changed: "Wind Howl Mountain Valley? Although the Spirit Beasts there aren't of high age, I heard there was a large-scale beast tide there recently, it's very unstable! Too dangerous!"

"I know it's dangerous," Lin Kun insisted. "But this is the only place I can think of that might have a compatible Spirit Ring. Please, Brother Ling Feng, just escort me to the outskirts of the valley, I'll go in by myself! You can wait outside to support me!"

Ling Feng looked at Lin Kun's determined eyes, then thought of his magical methods last night and that peculiar little beast. After a moment of silence, he finally gritted his teeth: "Alright! I'll trust you this once! But if the situation turns bad, you must retreat immediately!"

The three changed direction and hurried towards Wind鸣 Mountain Valley. The closer they got to the valley, the more restless Little White in Lin Kun's arms became, emitting faint "chirp chirp" sounds, seemingly both excited and wary. The Book Spirit also vibrated more intensely, the crystal's flicker frequency accelerating.

Upon arriving at the valley entrance, the scene before them surprised all three.

Compared to before, Wind鸣 Mountain Valley appeared even more dilapidated and silent. Many trees had fallen, and traces of the beast tide's rampage remained on the ground. A faint residual wave of restless energy permeated the air.

"This place is indeed not right," Ling Feng said with a grave expression. "Lin Kun, are you sure you want to go in?"

Lin Kun felt the strong desire of his Martial Soul and nodded heavily: "I'm sure!"

"I'll go in with you!" Liu Yue suddenly said. "My second Spirit Skill might be able to help."

Ling Feng thought for a moment and agreed: "That's good, you can look out for each other. I'll guard the entrance to prevent outsiders or powerful Spirit Beasts from intruding. Go and come back quickly! Use fireworks as a signal!"

Lin Kun and Liu Yue exchanged a glance, took a deep breath, and stepped into the silent valley.

The valley was a mess, but the Book Spirit's guidance was exceptionally clear, pulling Lin Kun towards a specific direction. That was... the direction of the secluded valley where Little White had hatched last time!

Could the thing attracting the Martial Soul be from that powerful being's lair? Lin Kun's heart pounded, but there was no turning back now.

The two moved forward cautiously, avoiding several unstable energy currents. Finally, they arrived at that narrow rock crevice again.

The Book Spirit's vibration reached its peak! The crystal even emitted a faint glow!

[It's here! Inside! There's ancient... accumulation of knowledge...]

Lin Kun gritted his teeth and said to Liu Yue, "Sister Liu Yue, wait for me outside, I'll go in and take a look."

"Be careful!" Liu Yue nodded nervously, holding the Moonlight Orchid in her hand, ready to unleash her Spirit Skill at any moment.

If you can't find the book by its title, you can try searching for the author, maybe the name has just been changed!

Lin Kun squeezed into the familiar crevice again, his heart filled with immense tension. He didn't know if that terrifying powerful being was still there.

On the other side of the crevice, the small valley remained silent. Deep within the valley, that massive figure... was gone! Only the trace of a huge nest, as if collapsed by something, remained.

Lin Kun breathed a sigh of relief, but then his heart tensed again. The powerful being left? Then what was attracting the Martial Soul?

Following the Martial Soul's guidance, he looked next to the nest. There, a remarkably peculiar plant had grown!

It looked like a miniature withered tree, only a little over a person tall. Its entire body had a dark golden, metallic or glassy texture. Its branches were gnarled, but it had no leaves. On those "branches," however, grew many extremely complex silver symbols and patterns that were constantly changing slightly, emitting faint and ancient spiritual fluctuations.

[Discovery: Knowledge Ancient Tree (Seedling/Incomplete Body). Age: Incalculable. Characteristics: Contains fragments of ancient knowledge, condenses pure spiritual origin. No offensive capabilities. Condition: Near death (due to the departure of a powerful being, it lost energy nourishment).]

The Book Spirit conveyed an unprecedented sense of excitement and longing! This was it!

Lin Kun's heart pounded wildly! This peculiar plant was the thing attracting his Martial Soul! The knowledge and pure spirit it contained were exactly the nourishment his Book Spirit needed most!

But... was it a Spirit Beast? Could it produce a Spirit Ring? And its condition was near death...

Just as Lin Kun approached the Knowledge Ancient Tree and reached out to touch it, a sudden change occurred!

The Knowledge Ancient Tree seemed to sense something, and the silver symbols on its trunk suddenly lit up! A vast, chaotic torrent composed of countless knowledge fragments and spiritual energy, like a bursting river, surged towards Lin Kun!

"Ah—!" Lin Kun felt his head was about to explode! Countless chaotic images, sounds, symbols, and thoughts forcefully flooded into his mind! It was agonizing!

The Book Spirit erupted with unprecedented brilliance, madly absorbing the torrents of knowledge. However, the speed and intensity of the influx were too great; it seemed unable to bear it all! Lin Kun's consciousness teetered on the brink of collapse!

Outside, Liu Yue heard Lin Kun's pained cries and was greatly alarmed, about to rush in!

Just then, Little White, held in Lin Kun's arms, suddenly wriggled free. It looked at the struggling Lin Kun and the glowing ancient tree, a flicker of determination flashing in its blue eyes. It leaped onto Lin Kun's shoulder, opened its small mouth, and instead of a screech, it produced a peculiar suction!

A small portion of the violently surging torrent of knowledge was diverted and absorbed into Little White's body! Little White's body instantly emitted a dazzling silver light, and its expression turned somewhat pained, but it held on!

Little White's sharing of the burden bought precious time for Lin Kun and the Book Spirit! The Book Spirit's light crystal flickered, analyzed, and recorded the torrents of knowledge at an unprecedented speed. Although still painful, it was no longer unbearable.

After an unknown amount of time, the torrent of knowledge gradually weakened and subsided.

The dark golden Knowledge Ancient Tree, as if having exhausted its last strength, the silver symbols on its trunk rapidly dimmed and disappeared. The entire plant withered and weathered at a visible rate, finally turning into a handful of ordinary dust and dissipating into the air.

And in its original position, a peculiar Spirit Ring slowly condensed into form.

It was not the common yellow, purple, or black. It was an extremely rare Spirit Ring, entirely a faint white-gold, with countless fine silver light spots seemingly flowing within! The aura it emitted was ancient and pure, carrying the profound weight of knowledge!

Lin Kun collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath, his face pale, his head throbbing, but his eyes were filled with unbelievable ecstasy! On his Book Spirit, the light crystal became brighter than ever before, and its volume seemed to have increased by a size. Extremely fine silver patterns, similar to the ancient tree's symbols from before, even appeared on its surface!

[Ding! Successfully absorbed special energy, Book Spirit has been strengthened, unlocking partial hidden information… Analysis ability greatly improved! Mental Power has gained permanent growth!] [Ding! Detected absorbable Spirit Ring: Unknown attribute (formed from the residual essence of the Knowledge Ancient Tree), Age Determination: Approximately 400 years (but its quality far exceeds ordinary Spirit Rings). Absorb?]

400 years! And a Spirit Ring of special quality! Lin Kun did not hesitate!

"Absorb!"

He guided the white-gold Spirit Ring, slowly fitting it onto the Book Spirit that appeared in his palm.

This time, there was no pain. Instead, there was a sense of perfect integration, an incredibly fitting comfort! The Spirit Ring's energy gently merged into his Spirit Soul and his body, remodeling his meridians and increasing his Spirit Power!

His Spirit Power level began to soar! Level 6… Level 7… Level 8… Level 9… Level 10! It only slowly stopped at Level 11!

At the same time, a realization dawned upon him. His first Spirit Skill was not for attack or defense, but— [First Spirit Skill: Information Overload!] Effect: Consumes a large amount of Mental Power to compress and integrate complex information recorded and analyzed within a period of time (including Spirit Beast weaknesses, Spirit Skill flaws, environmental details, etc.). Through eye contact, it is instantly infused into a single target, causing mental confusion and a momentary pause in thought (effect depends on the target's Mental Power strength).

An extremely special, even insidious, control and support Spirit Skill!

Lin Kun opened his eyes, feeling the surging Spirit Power within him and the clearer, stronger Mental Power in his mind. He couldn't help but want to roar at the sky!

He had finally become a true Spirit Master! And he had obtained a powerful Spirit Skill far exceeding expectations!

"Lin Kun! Are you alright?" Liu Yue, hearing no movement from inside, rushed in worriedly. Seeing Lin Kun standing there unharmed, with a white-gold Spirit Ring she had never seen before rotating at his feet, she was instantly stunned.

"I'm fine, Sister Liu Yue," Lin Kun said with a bright smile. "I succeeded! Let's go quickly!"

He pulled the still dazed Liu Yue and quickly left the valley. They had to rendezvous with Ling Feng as soon as possible and leave this troublesome place!

His journey as a Spirit Master had finally taken the most crucial first step! And his future, because of this unique Spirit Soul and Spirit Ring, was filled with more unknowns and possibilities!