Shadow Hundred Kills!

The Shadow Spider had been temporarily controlled by Ye Qiu's Sharingan. He jumped onto its back and stood there.

Zhu Zhuqing watched in disbelief.

Hiss! The Shadow Spider turned around and crawled low to the ground, as if inviting her to climb on as well.

"How is it? Are you hurt?" Ye Qiu crossed his arms before his chest. The breeze tousled his short black hair, and he looked rather smug and high-spirited.

"I'm fine!" Zhu Zhuqing shook her head and climbed to her feet.

"Want to see what it feels like to ride a spider?" He extended a hand toward her in invitation.

Her eyes sparkled with interest. Clearly tempted, she nodded, grabbed Ye Qiu's hand, and leaped up!

Hiss, hiss!

The Shadow Spider carried the two of them through the forest.

"How on earth did you do that?" As she watched the trees flash past, Zhu Zhuqing realized they were sightseeing atop a giant spider in the Star Dou Great Forest! This was truly...

So freaking cool!

A faint, relaxed smile appeared on her face.

"It's an ability of my Martial Soul!" Ye Qiu pointed at the eye wrapped in Black Silk.

"I see~" Zhu Zhuqing looked at him, her expression somewhat unnatural. That strip of Black Silk had been cut from her stockings.

Ye Qiu could not help it. Other fabrics would interfere with his vision to some extent, while this porous Black Silk was perfect.

They arrived at a massive cave, where the Shadow Spider spat out silk and hung itself from the ceiling.

Ye Qiu untied the silk around his eye as well, revealing a red gleam in his gaze.

"What should I do? Kill it now?" Looking at this two-thousand-year Spirit Beast, Zhu Zhuqing felt a little nervous. She did not know whether she could endure it.

"You don't need to do anything. Just properly receive the energy from its sacrifice. I'll make sure you gain the greatest possible benefit!" Ye Qiu pulled her beneath the Shadow Spider.

"A sacrifice?" Zhu Zhuqing stared at him blankly, her heartbeat quickening. Could this really work? If so... wouldn't she gain enormous benefits? "You're not lying to me, are you?"

"Why would I lie to you? Get ready!" Ye Qiu irritably pressed her down into a seated position, arranged her legs, and held her shoulders. "Don't you want to become stronger? Then trust me. Have you forgotten my first Spirit Ring?"

Zhu Zhuqing looked into his reddened eyes, a flush creeping over her cheeks. She nodded gently. "I trust you!" Then she sat upright with a solemn posture.

Seeing this, Ye Qiu did not delay any longer. The Six-pointed Star in his eyes blazed brilliantly.

"Skree~" The upside-down Shadow Spider still struggled desperately.

"Looks like it's still a bit too much." Ye Qiu touched his eye socket, then abruptly widened his eyes and glared at it. If that was the case, he would increase the output!

Blood flowed from the corners of his eyes, accompanied by purple light emerging from the Shadow Spider's body. After a mournful cry, purple mist rose from its body like an inverted purple waterfall, cascading down onto Zhu Zhuqing below.

"It's begun!"

"Hmph~" Zhu Zhuqing let out a muffled groan. Without Ye Qiu's reminder, she knew the sacrifice had begun. Soul Power that could fill her entire body surged into her endlessly, making her face flush red.

"Hold on. Only by absorbing as much of this energy as possible can you obtain the greatest benefits!" Ye Qiu encouraged her from the side. He had no intention of helping; he believed that with her willpower, enduring this would not be a problem.

Ye Qiu sat cross-legged facing the cave entrance. He had consumed too much Spiritual Power and needed to recover properly.

Time slowly passed. The inverted purple waterfall grew thinner and thinner, while Zhu Zhuqing's aura gradually stopped rising.

A yellow halo first appeared beneath her, followed by a faint purple ring. The purple gradually became more solid, trembled slightly a few times, and then settled down.

Ye Qiu had already risen to his feet. Looking at the fading purple light, he knew that she had finished absorbing it!

Zhu Zhuqing slowly opened her eyes, unable to suppress the joy in them.

"Ye Qiu! I succeeded! I succeeded!" She pounced directly into Ye Qiu's arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and bounced excitedly.

Only now did she possess the liveliness of a girl—bright, spirited, and open in her delight.

"Congratulations on obtaining a purple Second Spirit Ring."

"..." Zhu Zhuqing came back to her senses as well. A radiant blush bloomed across her face, and her gaze drifted away.

When she noticed the traces of blood on Ye Qiu's face, she stepped forward and reached out to touch his little face.

Being caressed like that by a girl made Ye Qiu's face turn red. Just as he was about to brush her hand away, Zhu Zhuqing embraced him again.

She wrapped her arms around his back and leaned against his shoulder, her warm voice entering Ye Qiu's ears. "Ye Qiu, thank you!"

Her lips parted slightly as she moved to kiss his cheek.

"It's nothing, just helping each other." Ye Qiu gently patted her back. This was merely what they had agreed upon from the beginning.

Is that all? Ye Qiu's words brought Zhu Zhuqing's movements to a halt. She gritted her teeth, her expression turning cold again, and abruptly pushed him away.

Ye Qiu looked at her strangely, having completely missed the change in her expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I feel great!" She turned her head aside. She should not have cared about something like this in the first place.

"By the way, how much did you gain?" Ye Qiu was rather curious about how much her Soul Power had increased.

At the mention of this, her cold expression softened considerably. The sacrifice of a two-thousand-year Spirit Beast had indeed benefited her greatly.

"My Soul Power has reached level 24. My Second Spirit Ability is called Shadow Hundred Kills! Just as you predicted, it has poisonous properties." She summoned her Martial Soul, and a pair of cat ears appeared atop her head. Even her chest seemed to have become somewhat fuller.

According to her, her Second Spirit Ability, Shadow Hundred Kills, not only increased her piercing power by fifty percent and allowed her to attack continuously without any limit on the number of strikes, but the poison on her claws was also corrosive. Once someone was injured and contaminated by her poison, both their flesh and Soul Power would be continuously corroded.

"Very impressive!" Ye Qiu felt that this move was far more powerful than the Nether Hundred Claws she should originally have possessed.

"Mm!" Zhu Zhuqing nodded in agreement. This was a thousand-year Second Spirit Ring, after all!

Ye Qiu walked over to the dead Shadow Spider, opened his Sharingan, and began searching carefully.

"What are you looking for?"

"A Soul Bone."

"A Soul Bone?" Zhu Zhuqing was astonished.

"Oh! Found it!" Ye Qiu jumped up, activated his Mysterious Jade Hand, and directly tore off that piece of dark Soul Bone.

Zhu Zhuqing leaned over as well and looked at the Soul Bone in Ye Qiu's hand. "There really is one?"

"Mm. Spirit Beasts that willingly offer sacrifices will always produce Soul Bones, even though this one was only willing under coercion." Ye Qiu explained with a smile. He had not expected this to be another External Soul Bone!

"I see. But this Soul Bone looks so strange. Which body part does it belong to?" Seeing that the Soul Bone in his hand resembled a spider specimen, Zhu Zhuqing became puzzled.

"This is an External Soul Bone! It's even rarer and more precious than a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone because it can evolve alongside the growth of a Spirit Master! It may even surpass a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!" Ye Qiu explained patiently.

"What! A Soul Bone that can evolve?" This was Zhu Zhuqing's first time hearing of such a thing. Desire appeared in her eyes, but she quickly looked away. "Ye Qiu, hurry and absorb it!"

He stood there and considered it for a while before finally shaking his head.

"No. I'm giving it to you!" Ye Qiu still did not intend to absorb it and placed it in Zhu Zhuqing's hand.

"What do you mean by that? I don't want it!" Zhu Zhuqing immediately tried to stuff it back into his hands. She had already gained enough! Without Ye Qiu, she would have died... She did not dare ask for anything more.