Dark Pattern Python, First Spirit Ring

Chen Xilin wiped away his tears. Life had to go on.

Chen Xilin could only move through the trees like a monkey. The ground below was full of the Wolf Pack, making it impossible to walk anywhere. He could not even retrieve his sword.

A day passed quickly.

Night had fallen. Chen Xilin sat on a thick branch, staring at the waning moon overhead, his heart filled with endless desolation.

At that moment, Chen Xilin seemed to hear a song by his ear: "Snowflakes drift, the north wind howls."

"If my strength had reached the Red Tier Futu, this wouldn't be such a hassle. A mere Thousand-Year Spirit Beast would be easy! Damn cultivation rules! Why do I need a spirit ring to break through?

"What lunatic came up with this cultivation system? I really just %#￥&."

Chen Xilin endlessly complained about this world's cultivation system. The Muscle Tendon Classic he cultivated had remained stuck at the First Heavenly Cycle, unable to break through.

For now, Chen Xilin could only continuously temper his essence, energy, and spirit. While doing so would make future breakthroughs into the White Tier Futu and Black Tier Futu easier—

It gave him no real combat power at present.

Upon reaching the Third Heavenly Cycle and the Red Tier Futu, the Muscle Tendon Classic allowed one to absorb nourishment from the air directly through the pores. One's spiritual senses became clear, a red glow suffused the body, hearing and perception sharpened, strength became abundant, and a single palm strike could easily snap a giant tree.

Chen Xilin felt that if he had been at the Red Tier Futu, he would have decapitated that Nether Demon Flood Dragon long ago.

After venting, Chen Xilin could only continue cultivating. Cultivation was also a form of relaxation and rest. Strengthening his own life was more important than anything.

The true hurdle came after the Red Tier Futu. As long as he laid a solid foundation, that was fine, but truly reaching the Black Tier Futu was exceedingly difficult.

In the past, Bodhidharma named the pinnacle of the Muscle Tendon Classic the Black Tier Futu, signifying that the power of this Buddhist martial art could inflict suffering equivalent to the seven tortures of Avici Hell.

This cultivation art, the Muscle Tendon Classic, could not only harm the flesh, but also cloud a person's consciousness. It invaded from without and ravaged from within, its power beyond imagination.

Its seven tortures were: boiling oil, burning by fire, freezing, cutting flesh, severing at the waist, gouging out the eyes, and hooking the tongue.

Of course, those seven tortures were merely metaphors. Who would be so bored that they would cut their own flesh while practicing? Still, the pain of breaking through to the Black Tier Futu was probably even worse than having flesh cut away.

Back then, in order to kill Qin Yang, Chen Xilin had used poison to stimulate his body's potential and forcibly unlock the Black Tier Futu. He had also sacrificed his lifespan with Blood Sacrifice to activate the Second Room Battle Mark.

Though his combat power had been formidable, Chen Xilin's body had also collapsed. He did not know when he had died. It felt as though he had sat down, then closed and opened his eyes, only to find himself in a world of darkness.

Thus, the night passed.

The next morning, Chen Xilin woke again and prepared to search for a suitable spirit beast.

Chen Xilin checked how many weapons he still had: two daggers, an iron wire more than ten meters long, a bow, and over a dozen feathered arrows.

"How about using this wire to set a trap? That could work!"

Chen Xilin immediately wound the iron wire around two trees that stood relatively close together.

"If it's fast enough, this wire might be sharper than a blade. Does this involve some knowledge about force? Too bad I'm just an uncultured brute. All I know is, damn."

Chen Xilin smiled and muttered to himself.

After several minutes of work, Chen Xilin finished setting the trap. Then he took out his bow and arrows to test how they felt.

Although Chen Xilin had a bow and arrows, his accuracy was not great. Moreover, the iron arrowheads might not be able to inflict serious damage on a spirit beast unless he shot one straight into its eye.

Chen Xilin did not have that ability yet. He could only achieve a seventy percent hit rate within thirty paces. To shoot an arrow into a spirit beast's eye, he would need to hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces away.

Chen Xilin began searching the surrounding area for spirit beasts, intending to kill a few Ten-Year Spirit Beasts along the way and vent yesterday's negative emotions.

After Chen Xilin had moved several hundred meters away from the trap, he sensed that something was watching him.

Something terrifying!

"This chill... has it marked me as prey?" Chen Xilin remained still, his eyes sweeping over the unusual signs around him.

Very quickly, Chen Xilin found the source of that chill. It was a giant python coiled around a branch, hissing from its mouth. Its body formed an S-shape, the attack posture of a snake.

It was impossible to tell the python's full length while it was coiled around the branch, but its body was as thick as a large bowl. It could swallow little Chen Xilin whole in one bite.

The python's body was primarily grayish-black, covered in broad patches of gray scales and black net-like patterns that made it look especially frightening. A protruding fleshy lump sat atop its head, bizarre beyond description.

"Dark Pattern Python! Damn it!" Chen Xilin turned and ran. Was this a joke? He could not defeat a Dark Pattern Python right now. If it wrapped around him, he would really be dead.

The Dark Pattern Python was a python-type Martial Soul and a close relative of the Dark Pattern Python—no, of the Dark Pattern Python's kin, the Dark Pattern Python had a trace of Dragon Blood. The fleshy lump on its head was actually the embryonic form of a Dragon Horn.

Generally, only Dark Pattern Pythons at the ten-thousand-year level would grow complete Dragon Horns. It was said that once a Dark Pattern Python reached a hundred thousand years, it would transform into a dragon and become a Dark Pattern Dragon.

The reason Chen Xilin ran was that although the Dark Pattern Python was a python, it was incredibly fast, comparable to a Mandala Snake. Yet it was even more dangerous than a Mandala Snake!

Its defense was astonishing, and its Scale Armor was extremely thick. If Chen Xilin had his broadsword, he might have had a chance. With just two daggers, what was he supposed to do, scratch its scales?

The trap was his only hope now! Chen Xilin raced toward it at top speed. Only by making proper use of the trap could he save himself.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

Seeing its prey flee, the Dark Pattern Python instantly gave chase. Its body looked cumbersome, yet it moved with terrifying speed!

Damn! It's that fast? Chen Xilin glanced back. The Dark Pattern Python was not far behind him.

Chen Xilin zigzagged deftly, leading the Dark Pattern Python through turns rather than running straight. The python might have been fast, but it was not necessarily good at corners.

Anyone could accelerate in a straight line. Being fast through turns was what truly mattered!

Chen Xilin's instincts were right. The Dark Pattern Python was too heavy. At such high speed, it would easily skid wide when entering turns. Given its weight, it could not resist that inertia at all.

"Almost there!" Chen Xilin could already see the iron wire he had set up. Only a few dozen meters remained!

The Dark Pattern Python behind him remained in relentless pursuit!

Hiss! Hiss!

The hissing truly scared Chen Xilin. Snakes really were terrifying creatures.

Twenty meters, fifteen meters, ten meters! Five meters!

As he neared the wire, Chen Xilin thrust his knees forward and leaned his body back, executing a perfect knee-slide beneath the iron wire.

Hiss! Hah!

The Dark Pattern Python saw only Chen Xilin, its prey. It opened its jaws wide, intending to swallow him in one bite!

The moment its mouth touched the iron wire, the Dark Pattern Python's body passed through it and was sliced into two!

Bright red blood splashed all over Chen Xilin.

Chen Xilin wiped himself off and looked at the Dark Pattern Python, now split in half. Its body still hung from the wire, and its eyes continued to move.

"Spirit beasts really are tenacious. I'd better keep my distance from snakes."

Chen Xilin took out his bow and arrow, drew the string, and fired an arrow at the Dark Pattern Python's upper jaw!

The arrow pierced through the Dark Pattern Python's brain.

A dark yellow spirit ring condensed above the Dark Pattern Python's body.

"This Dark Pattern Python looks over seven meters long. It should be a spirit ring of more than seven hundred years. I wonder what its spirit skill will be like?"

Thinking this, Chen Xilin walked toward the two large trees of the trap. One of them had a tree hollow large enough for him to sit cross-legged inside. It had been a natural hollow, though it had not originally been this large; Chen Xilin had expanded it somewhat.

Chen Xilin truly did not dare absorb a spirit ring on the ground. If he encountered a spirit beast during the absorption process, he would be finished.

This tree hollow, some distance above the ground, was perfect. It could also conceal his body.

Chen Xilin sat in the hollow and used his Soul Power to draw the spirit ring toward himself.

Chen Xilin sat cross-legged in the tree hollow and focused his attention on his Martial Soul. As the Dark Pattern Python's seven-hundred-year spirit ring approached, he felt a considerable pressure. The bones throughout his body even began to make faint cracking sounds beneath it.

Yet the sound of his bones cracking gave Chen Xilin an indescribable sense of comfort!

Soon, the dark yellow ring arrived above Chen Xilin's head. It descended over his body, and a scorching energy surged madly into him. The heat instantly rushed through his body, and Chen Xilin felt the spirit ring's energy.

Though immense, it remained within his control and had not even reached his limit. He could feel the pressure of the spirit ring's vast energy as he absorbed it, but it was only around thirty or forty percent of what he could bear.

It was as if the internal energy of Chen Xilin's Muscle Tendon Classic had been ignited by the spirit ring's energy. The bottleneck of the First Heavenly Cycle shattered, and Chen Xilin immediately broke through to the Second Heavenly Cycle of the Muscle Tendon Classic!

At that moment, a great deal of black substance suddenly appeared on Chen Xilin's skin. Like Impurities, it continuously seeped out of his body.

The Second Heavenly Cycle of the Muscle Tendon Classic! It produced a detoxification effect, allowing the flow of blood and energy in his body to become unobstructed. His vitality became complete and abundant, his Divine Soul grew strong and full, and he felt indescribably comfortable.

After absorbing the ring for half a day, it was already noon. A dark yellow spirit ring slowly revolved around Chen Xilin's body, calm and stable.

Chen Xilin's breathing was equally calm, without the slightest rise or fall.

"Phew!" Chen Xilin exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly opened his eyes, feeling the power within himself.

"So this is a spirit ring? I see. Dark Holy Dragon Martial Soul Possession!"

Chen Xilin underwent Dark Holy Dragon Martial Soul Possession. A trace of dark aura emerged from his body, and a cluster of pitch-black patterns appeared between his brows.

A dark yellow spirit ring revolved around Chen Xilin's body. One-ring War Spirit Master Chen Xilin had arrived!

Chen Xilin examined himself. He seemed to have grown taller, his shoulders had broadened, and his clothes felt a little tight.

"Let me see my First Soul Skill!" Chen Xilin sensed the power of his spirit skill.

"First Soul Skill, Black Dragon Power. Enhancement-type soul skill. Strength increased by seventy percent, speed increased by seventy percent. After Soul Power reaches level ten, each additional level increases the enhancement effect by one percent.

"My Soul Power is now level sixteen! As expected, the internal energy I tempered before erupted along with the absorption of the spirit ring. Level sixteen means my strength and speed are both enhanced by seventy-six percent!

"Not bad, I guess. But it only enhances two attributes, and it hasn't even reached one hundred percent. Kind of lame. Whatever, let's go. Time to leave this forest."

Chen Xilin could not be bothered with whether his spirit skill was good enough. He did not want to remain in this spirit beast forest for even another moment.

Chen Xilin set off on the road home.

Elsewhere, in Fasnuo City,

At Chen Chen's residence.

Old Chen Chen pushed open the door to his home, walked inside, and called out, "Xiao Lin, Grandpa's back! And I brought you some good news!"

A gust of wind passed through.

"Hmm, not home? Where did he go?" Chen Chen was somewhat puzzled. Entering the living room, he found a sheet of paper lying there, pinned down by a cup.

Chen Chen spotted the note and picked it up.

[Grandpa, I went back to Tianhun Village to play for a few days. I should be back within ten days or so. If you get home before I do, you'll see this letter. Just wanted to let you know. The road is close anyway, only half an hour away. It's quick. Signed, Chen Xilin.]

"That brat... forget it, I won't worry about him. He's grown up now and has awakened his Martial Soul. What is there for this old man to manage? I should go take a look around Yiyue Tower."

Chen Chen set down the note and headed out.