Rings and Bones

After hearing Chen Feng's explanation, Zhu Zhuqing Chen Feng what he meant.

She had no complaints about the Soul Bone's effectiveness, even though it might be weakened.

Even if it's weakened, it's still Soul Bone, and Soul Bone produced by Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

In the history of the mainland, two kingdoms once fought each other to the death over a 20,000-year-old Soul Bone, resulting in rivers of blood.

Therefore, the Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone has also been given another name: the Blood River Treasure.

Zhu Zhuqing was deeply moved to receive such a gift.

Ning Rongrong noticed another problem, "Xiao Feng, you just said this Soul Bone was crafted?"

Chen Feng nodded. "That's right. It wasn't obtained through the traditional method of killing Soul Beast, but rather it's a man-made product. I'll explain the details to you later."

Upon hearing the words "man-made," both Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were filled with astonishment.

They were well aware of the significance of Artificial Soul Bone, and naturally understood that the emergence of such a thing marked the beginning of a new era.

Just like the Foundation Building Method back then.

However, since it was Chen Feng who told them this, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing quickly accepted the fact.

Zhu Zhuqing took the dark purple Soul Bone from Chen Feng and asked:

"Then can I just absorb it directly?"

"Yes, I want to see what happens after you absorb the Soul Bone after reaching the bottleneck stage," Chen Feng said.

"I understand, which part of the Soul Bone is it?" Zhu Zhuqing asked.

"Right Leg Bone," Chen Feng said.

This Soul Bone originated from the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Shadow Serpent, a type of Soul Beast capable of infiltrating shadows and moving freely within them.

Clearly, the Soul Bone it produces are the most suitable match for Zhu Zhuqing.

As for why it was the Right Leg Bone, Chen Feng speculated that it might be related to mobility.

After all, the Shadow Serpent's specialty is moving freely in the shadows.

Furthermore, the fact that the Silver Electric Flying Snake produced Head Soul Bone in the past can also support this conjecture to some extent.

However, more examples are needed to truly confirm this hypothesis.

Furthermore, Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone should not conform to this rule, because the part of a 100,000-year-old Soul Bone belongs to will change according to the Soul Master's needs.

To understand the inner workings of Soul Bone parts, or even to create Soul Bone for specific parts, there is still a long way to go.

After listening to Chen Feng's explanation, Zhu Zhuqing did not hesitate for long. She immediately sat down cross-legged and then placed the Soul Bone in her hand on her right leg.

The next moment, her entire right leg was enveloped in a dark purple light.

Chen Feng and the others kept a close eye on Zhu Zhuqing's condition. At first, Zhu Zhuqing's condition was normal, similar to when Chen Feng absorbed the Soul Bone before, with the part of her Soul Bone being enveloped in light.

But soon, the light spread to Zhu Zhuqing's entire body and dyed the entire Wooden House a dark purple.

A Metal Ball fell to the ground with a thud.

At the same time, Zhu Zhuqing frowned and let out a groan, as if she was enduring some kind of pain.

"This doesn't seem like absorbing Soul Bone; it's more like absorbing Soul Ring," Dugu Bo said, standing up.

"If it's about absorbing Soul Ring, wouldn't Zhu Zhuqing be in great danger? That's the Soul Bone of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast," Ning Rongrong said.

"Senior, may I interrupt Zhu Zhuqing?" Chen Feng asked.

The current situation confirms his suspicions, but if the Soul Bone that Zhu Zhuqing absorbed really turns into Soul Ring, then she might be burst by the Soul Ring.

At least that's how it is when absorbing Soul Ring; it's still too much of a stretch to get Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring for the third ring.

Even if this Soul Bone Soul Bone might not reach the strength of Ten-Thousand-Year due to the materials used in its creation, it is still at least several thousand years old.

However, Zhu Zhuqing is only Level 30 at the moment, Soul Ring that is thousands of years old is very difficult for her.

After carefully observing Zhu Zhuqing's condition, Dugu Bo shook his head and refused Chen Feng's request.

"No need to interrupt. The energy the Soul Bone is giving this girl is rapidly diminishing; she'll be fine now."

Just as Dugu Bo said, Zhu Zhuqing's pained expression quickly calmed down, which foreshadowed the end of the crisis.

Chen Feng looked around at the Wooden House, which had been dyed a dark purple, and guessed:

"Could all that excess energy have dissipated? I don't recall this happening when we absorbed Soul Ring before."

"We'll have to wait until Zhu Zhuqing up to find out," Tang San said.

It wasn't until late at night that Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes again; the dark purple light emanating from her body had completely dissipated.

"Zhu Zhuqing, how are you feeling?" Chen Feng asked.

"It seems I've gained an extra Soul Ring," Zhu Zhuqing said somewhat uncertainly.

To confirm this, she summoned her Martial Soul Possession.

As expected, three Soul Ring, two yellow and one purple, were slowly pulsating around her.

"So it seems that Soul Bone and Soul Ring are indeed the same thing, and the former can replace the latter," Tang San said.

"But what's the point? Soul Bone are far more precious than Soul Ring," Dugu Bo asked.

Chen Feng thought for a moment and asked Zhu Zhuqing:

"Zhu Zhuqing, have you successfully absorbed the Soul Bone?"

Zhu Zhuqing closed her eyes and sensed it for a moment, then shook her head with a strange expression.

"The Soul Bone... is gone."

Chen Feng nodded. "That means the Soul Bone has been completely converted into Soul Ring, Zhu Zhuqing doesn't have a single Soul Bone in her body now."

He had anticipated this outcome, so he wasn't too surprised.

Chen Feng had previously speculated that Soul Bone and Soul Ring were essentially the same, and that the former could replace the latter.

There are two possibilities for this substitution: one is that after absorbing the Soul Bone, a portion of the Soul Bone is transformed into Soul Ring, while the remaining portion remains in the Soul Master's body as Soul Bone.

The second possibility is the current situation, where the Soul Bone has been completely transformed into Soul Ring.

If there's anything left over, it's probably just the Metal Ball that served as the receiver.

"What a huge loss," Xiao Wu muttered.

Turning Soul Bone into Soul Ring is definitely a bad deal in terms of value.

But Chen Feng shook his head. "You can't calculate it that way. If Zhu Zhuqing gets Soul Bone along with Soul Ring, then she'll really be at a huge loss."

Tang San thought for a moment and understood what he meant.

"Are you saying that in this situation, converting Soul Bone into Soul Ring will result in significant losses, and the remaining portion is not worth occupying a Soul Bone slot?"

"That's exactly what I mean. In this situation, it's best if the Soul Bone is completely consumed." Chen Feng nodded.

He sighed softly and said:

"When I first speculated that Soul Bone could replace Soul Ring, I wondered why there were no records of this. Logically speaking, in such a long period of time, it is possible for such a coincidence to occur. I even doubted whether this conjecture was correct."

"But now this question has been answered. While Soul Bone can replace Soul Ring, they will be completely consumed. Even if someone in history tried this, they probably wouldn't have passed it down."

"Firstly, it's because one can't easily reveal the fact that they possess Soul Bone. Secondly, doing so would be extremely inefficient; it's like using a gold brick to prop up a table leg—no normal person would do that."

"But you did it anyway," Xiao Wu muttered.

"I was pursuing the truth, and I had already considered this possibility beforehand," Chen Feng said nonchalantly.

Research is never without its costs. Chen Feng felt that exchanging a ten- Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone for proof of the nature of Soul Ring and Soul Bone was not a bad deal.

Although he has successfully created the Soul Bone, he still needs to truly understand what Soul Ring and Soul Bone are in order to completely determine the production process for both.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong in the future, Chen Feng won't be able to figure out where the problem lies, and the consequences could be quite serious.

Knowing not only what to do, but also why to do it—this is an essential quality for researchers.

If you use "maybe," "probably," "possibly," or "more or less" for everything, and just mess around haphazardly, that's not research; it's just shamanistic rituals.

As Erlang Shen once said, "Normally it's all about 'good enough,' but when it really matters, it's always just a little bit off."

A slight deficiency in other matters might not be a major problem, but a slight deficiency in scientific research could be fatal.

"Speaking of which, Zhu Zhuqing, what Soul Skill did you acquire?" Chen Feng asked curiously.

"This Soul Skill is extremely useful to me," Zhu Zhuqing said with a smile. "It allows me to teleport within unconnected shadows."

"Oh? This Soul Skill makes up for one of your weaknesses," Chen Feng said with some delight.

Before this, Zhu Zhuqing had a weakness: she could only move within continuous shadows, which greatly limited her agility.

In battle, this makes it even easier for the enemy to find a weakness.

Especially on the arena, without Soul Master like Tang San to create the arena, Zhu Zhuqing's Shadow Escape is almost ineffective at concealing her whereabouts.

But things are different now. Zhu Zhuqing's ability to move within unconnected shadows means she will truly become elusive, and the limitations imposed on her by the arena will be greatly reduced.

At least in Two-on-Two and Team Battle, Zhu Zhuqing no longer needs anyone to create a special arena for her; she can jump directly in the shadows of others.

Even in one-on-one arena battles, Zhu Zhuqing possesses the ability to directly enter the enemy's shadow within a certain range, posing a significant threat to them.

In other words, Zhu Zhuqing has completely transformed into a dangerous shadow assassin with independent combat capabilities.

The Soul Bone that Chen Feng brought back successfully solved Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Ring problem, giving her an excellent Soul Skill.

However, there is only one Soul Bone, so the others still need to find Soul Beast to obtain their Soul Ring.

After consuming the Immortal Herb, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong reached a bottleneck.

Bai Chenxiang and Gu Yue Ling have reached level 29 and Level 39 respectively, only one level away from their respective bottlenecks.

Upon learning of this, Flender was overjoyed and planned to take his students to search for Soul Beast after a few days of preparation.

Since Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Ring has been solved, only Ma Hongjun and Ning Rongrong need Soul Ring now.

Ning Rongrong needs a wide range of Soul Beast; those that boost attack, defense, and Soul Power are all viable options.

Ma Hongjun's needs were more specific; he undoubtedly needed Fire-Attribute Soul Beast, preferably one that could fly.

As Martial Soul Master whose Martial Soul is Phoenix, his obsession with Flight is ingrained in his very bones, and he no longer wants to be a ground-dwelling chicken.

Especially with the Bai Chenxiang as a backdrop, the fact that he couldn't fly made Ma Hongjun feel like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat.

After considering the circumstances of the two individuals, Flender decided to lead everyone to the Death Desert.

There are a large number of Fire-Attribute Soul Beast living there, as well as many metal and earth-attribute Soul Beast, which can meet the needs of both Ma Hongjun and Ning Rongrong.

During the few days of preparation, Gu Yue Ling began to inquire about the Self-Condensed Spirit Ring from Chen Feng, intentionally or unintentionally.

Chen Feng didn't hide much from her inquiries and directly told her the general process of the Soul Ring Experiment, emphasizing that both parties could benefit from it.

The benefit humans gain is naturally the Soul Ring, while the Soul Beast can obtain the Soul Power left behind by humans. It's a win-win situation.

But Chen Feng didn't say much, because he didn't want to arouse Gu Yue Ling's suspicion.

Fishing is something you can't rush. First, you need to prepare the bait area before you can cast your line.

If you rush things, the fish will be scared away and won't bite easily.

Chen Feng has now prepared a nest called "Human Soul Ring Condensation," and is just waiting for the Ferocious Beast ' reaction after the news reaches Ferocious Beast lair.

After making preparations for the departure, Flender led a group of teachers and students toward the Death Desert.

The students were naturally the eleven members of Nine-Headed Serpent, while the teachers were the Golden Iron Triangle plus Zhao Wuji.

This lineup is already quite powerful, considering they're only going to find the Thousand-Year Soul Beast needed for their Third Soul Ring.

The reason they weren't hunting Soul Beast as usual was because the teachers already knew about Chen Feng's Soul Ring Experiment.

Flender and his companions were naturally very happy that the students could obtain transcendent Soul Ring, so they decided to follow the experimental procedure given by Chen Feng and first find the target Soul Beast to negotiate with.

If negotiations fail, then we'll consider hunting for the rings.

The Death Desert is located to the west of Heaven Dou City, covering a vast area, with its borders about five days' journey from the Heaven Dou City.

After a five-day journey, Flender and his group successfully arrived at a city located outside the border of the Death Desert.

Crimson Sand City.

Because this city is located on the edge of the desert, its customs and traditions are quite different from those of other cities.

The most important point is in terms of clothing; people here dress relatively lightly due to the temperature.

Flender and his group, who were about to enter the Death Desert, were no exception; they changed into local clothing to suit local customs.

To cope with the low temperatures in the desert at night, they also prepared a thicker set of clothes.

After all preparations were complete, the group entered the Death Desert.