Absorbing the Spirit Bone

Jiang Zhen cleared an open space in the center of the basement and sat down cross-legged.

He drew a deep breath.

Then Blue Light flashed in his hand, and he took the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone out of his Storage Ring.

With his fingertips, Jiang Zhen gently pressed the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone against the outside of his right leg.

At first came a bone-chilling coolness, like holding a piece of blue-gold jade just dredged up from the Deep Sea Trench. The chill seeped through the gaps between his bones and into his flesh, dispersing most of the fatigue accumulated from traveling; but in the blink of an eye, that icy feeling melted into a gentle warmth, as if a ball of crushed sunlight had wrapped around his right leg before spreading through his entire body along the network of his bones.

"Vmmm—"

The Spirit Bone suddenly trembled lightly. Blue-gold radiance surged from between its bones—not a violent torrent, but a dense mist of light that climbed up his right leg. In no time, it passed his waist and abdomen, then his chest, finally wrapping his entire body in light.

The Blue Silver Emperor in the rear courtyard seemed to have been awakened. Its leaves suddenly unfurled, and the Golden Patterns shone dazzlingly.

"Crack, crack—"

Faint sounds came from inside his body, yet they were not unpleasant in the slightest.

Jiang Zhen could clearly feel that his bones, which had grown somewhat stiff from traveling day and night, now seemed to be soaking in a warm bath. Every joint slowly relaxed.

The faint stagnation left behind by his previous training and Spirit Beast hunts was gradually being smoothed away by the blue-gold energy.

His muscle fibers trembled gently within the light mist. It was not the pain of tearing and reconstruction; instead, it felt as though a pair of invisible hands were carefully combing through them. His loose strength slowly condensed, and even raising his hand became several times easier than before.

A feeling of comfort rose from his marrow and flowed through his limbs and bones along with his blood.

He looked at his arm. Blue-gold radiance was traveling through his Meridians, which were slowly widening under its nourishment, like a stream gradually swelling into a river.

His level-20 Spirit Power had merely "flowed" through his Meridians before, but now it could "surge."

There was even excess energy automatically clinging to the walls of his Meridians, repairing the tiny cracks left behind by the impact of his Spirit Power.

A wisp of Spirit Power unconsciously condensed at his fingertips, carrying a faint blue-gold color and being several times purer than before.

The light mist gradually faded, but did not disappear completely. Instead, it clung to his skin and formed a thin blue-gold membrane, as if covering his body with a protective film.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Zhen slowly opened his eyes. His eyes still held traces of fine blue-gold light.

He tried bending his right leg. There was not the slightest sense of heaviness. Instead, he had the illusion that it was light enough to step on a wave. Even the Spirit Power Inside the Body had become exceptionally lively.

"So this is the power of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone..." he muttered, gently brushing his fingertips over the Spirit Bone on his right leg.

His physique had improved once again. He felt that he could now absorb anything beneath a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring.

He did not know whether his Spirit Power had increased. He was currently level 20, and he would only know after obtaining a Spirit Ring.

However, this Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone had been left for six years. He did not know whether its Spirit Power had dissipated. If it had, then it could no longer increase his Spirit Power.

Still, the Soul Bone Skills it granted were fairly decent. One was healing, and the other was flight.

He stood up and stretched lazily.

He made some preparations, then set off to obtain his second Spirit Ring.

Jiang Zhen walked out of the basement and was startled when he saw the blazing sun outside.

Had he absorbed it all night?

Jiang Zhen then went to the spring in the rear courtyard.

After trying several times, he condensed two Water Balls and threw them at the Blue Silver Emperor.

The branches and leaves of the Blue Silver Emperor swayed gently.

Jiang Zhen's fingers lightly brushed over the Blue Silver Emperor's blue-purple leaves. Its Golden Patterns seemed to come alive in the morning light, flowing across them.

The moment he touched the leaves, several slender vines emerged from the flower stalks and lightly wound around his wrist. A clear, cool sensation seeped through the vines into his skin, rubbing against him as if coquettishly seeking affection;

He gently curled his fingers inward. One of the vines unexpectedly split off another tendril and quietly wrapped around his fingertip. Even the leaves leaned against his palm, incredibly affectionate.

"I'm going to the Shallow Beach by the Deep Sea Trench to find a Soul Beast. I'll be back soon," he said softly, his fingertips stroking the leaves along the vine.

The Blue Silver Emperor seemed to understand him. Its leaves trembled lightly, and the Golden Patterns brightened as a faint life energy traveled through the vines and into his body.

After packing his belongings, Jiang Zhen headed straight for the fishing port on the western side of Vast Sea City.

When he reached a corner at the edge of the dock, he condensed a wisp of Spirit Power at his fingertips. The moment it touched the seawater, it transformed into translucent ripples that wrapped around his ankles.

He leaped lightly and actually stepped directly onto the surface of the water. Unlike an ordinary Spirit Master's "walking on water," the seawater beneath his feet seemed to be supported by an invisible force, with barely even a ripple appearing.

This was the manifestation of Ultimate Water's "absolute control" over the Water Element, allowing him to move across the surface as if walking on level ground!

Combined with the flying ability of his Spirit Bone Skill, it could make him move across the water at incredible speed!

Half an hour later, he reached the Shallow Beach by the Deep Sea Trench. The seawater here was a deep indigo. Three zhang from the shore, the sea floor dropped into a steep trench, with Reef Clusters covering the waters below. Sunlight could barely reach half a zhang beneath the surface.

Jiang Zhen stood in the shallow water and dipped his fingertips into the sea. His Spirit Power spread out like a spiderweb, instantly covering the waters within ten zhang. Every strand of Spirit Power caught the movements beneath the surface.

Soon, he sensed a series of fine ripples beneath the water on his Right side. They carried dense Water Attribute Energy, yet were more "turbid" than ordinary Water Attribute Spirit Power. It was a Sea Soul Beast hiding behind the Reef Cluster.

"Come out."

Jiang Zhen flicked his fingertips, and a wisp of Ultimate Water Spirit Power shot through the seawater toward the Reef Cluster.

With a splash, a dark figure darted out from beneath the water. It did not leap above the surface, however, instead swimming rapidly underwater.

Immediately afterward, dozens of dark Water Arrows carrying a Fishy smell shot out from beneath the surface, heading straight for his calves!

It was an Ink Scale Eel, a Water Attribute Soul Beast that hid year-round in the cracks between underwater Reef Clusters. It relied entirely on underwater ambushes and dark Water Arrows to attack. Its age was roughly twelve hundred years, making it perfect for testing his skills.

Jiang Zhen turned sideways to evade the Water Arrows while raising his hand and pressing it toward the surface. Ultimate Water Spirit Power surged into the seawater, instantly transforming into a translucent "high-density Water Shield" before him.

This Water Shield differed from an ordinary Water Shield. It compressed the Water Element to its utmost limit, and delicate ripples shimmered across its surface.

The following dark Water Arrows struck the shield with dull thuds, failing to leave even a mark. Instead, the ink on the Water Arrows was gently "scraped" away by the currents across the Water Shield's surface and dissolved into the surrounding seawater.

Seeing its attack fail, the underwater Ink Scale Eel turned and tried to flee into the depths of the Reef Cluster.

How could Jiang Zhen give it that chance? He rapidly formed hand seals, and the Ultimate Water Spirit Power Inside the Body surged down his arm and into the seawater. This time, he did not condense a tangible attack, but directly controlled the "flow speed" of the surrounding waters.

The seawater around the Ink Scale Eel suddenly became extremely "thick," as if it had changed from clear water into gel. No matter how it whipped its tail, its swimming speed slowed, as though it were trapped in an invisible cage.

This was the ability he had tested at the academy before. As long as he sensed and connected with the surrounding Water Element, he could even make a river flow backward!

Now that he was in the ocean, his level—or rather, his comprehension—was insufficient, so he could only alter the flow speed within a small area.

"Underwater, you can't escape."

No, come on!

Who was the Sea Soul Beast here, anyway?!

The Ink Scale Eel's tiny eyes widened until they looked like copper bells.

Jiang Zhen spoke softly as he leaped above the Ink Scale Eel, a surge of Spirit Power condensing in his palm.

The Spirit Power rotated in his palm, gradually condensing into a hair-thin "Sharpened Water Blade." This Water Blade was likewise the product of compressing the Water Element to its utmost limit, and it possessed an extremely powerful cutting force.

He raised his hand and slashed downward. The Water Blade pierced through the surface in an instant and struck the Ink Scale Eel precisely at its vital point.

A dull thud came from beneath the water. The Ink Scale Eel's body convulsed violently, and the flow speed of the surrounding waters returned to normal.

Jiang Zhen reached out and summoned it. A surge of Spirit Power lifted the Ink Scale Eel's corpse above the surface, and a pale-purple Spirit Ring slowly drifted out of the body, shimmering with the pure radiance of Water Attribute Energy.

"Warm-up over." He looked at the Spirit Ring as the Ultimate Water Spirit Power at his fingertips trembled lightly. After absorbing the Spirit Bone, he had gained greater proficiency in controlling Ultimate Water, and dealing with this thousand-year underwater Soul Beast had taken hardly any effort.

He ignored the Spirit Ring and turned toward the deeper part of the Deep Sea Trench. The seawater there was already nearly black, and the Water Attribute Energy fluctuations coming from below were denser and purer. Higher-age Water Attribute Soul Beasts should be hiding among the underwater Reef Clusters.

(I'm not very good at writing water-related scenes. It's a little difficult.)