Spirit of the Blood River

The Soul Power surrounding the blood cocoon rapidly dispersed—or rather, submitted.

As the Soul Power was completely suppressed, the blood cocoon slowly rose, leaving the Blood River.

"Is that... a girl?"

The blood cocoon slowly ascended until it was level with Su Chen's gaze.

Only then could Su Chen finally see what was inside the blood cocoon.

Inside it was a little girl.

She looked about the size of a human child of two or three, yet she was still in an embryonic state.

The entire blood cocoon pulsed rhythmically, like a beating heart.

Su Chen did not dare act rashly. As the seconds ticked by, the blood cocoon continued approaching him, though at an even slower pace.

In the end, the blood cocoon flew straight into Su Chen's arms.

The instant it came into contact with his hands, a dim gray halo spread outward, and the cocoon's red color gradually faded.

Until, at last, it had turned dark gray.

Su Chen could no longer see what was happening inside the embryo. He could only sense that its power seemed to have become more stable.

Suddenly, a strange, murky light spread out from the blood cocoon. The Blood River beneath his feet was already surging with raging waves.

Countless wraiths surged up from the Blood River and frantically rushed into the blood cocoon.

As the number of wraiths increased, Su Chen could clearly feel the blood cocoon's pressure growing stronger.

Even with the suppression of his higher-ranking Soul Power, he could still distinctly feel the pressure emanating from the blood cocoon.

Crack.

A crisp cracking sound rang out.

The blood cocoon had shattered.

Immediately afterward, a second crack appeared. Soft crack-crack sounds continued to ring out as fissures spread across its surface like a spiderweb.

With a soft sound, an incredibly tender little hand stretched out from the blood cocoon.

It tore off a small piece of the cocoon, then withdrew back inside.

Yet the blood cocoon seemed to have been provoked by that claw. A vast amount of Soul Power surged out wildly.

Not only did it repair the piece that had been torn away, it even restored most of the cracks.

Holding his breath, Su Chen watched the scene before him tensely.

He understood that this was like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. He could not offer any help at all; otherwise, he would only harm her.

Crack, crack.

But the girl inside the blood cocoon did not seem to be in any hurry to come out. Instead, she began nibbling away at the piece of cocoon she had just torn off.

But it was only a small piece of the blood cocoon, so it did not take long to finish.

Soon, after finishing it, the little girl began to grow restless.

She kept pounding the blood cocoon with all her strength, but such disorderly blows found it difficult to create an effective breakthrough.

"Try concentrating your strikes on one point."

Seeing that the little girl's repeated attempts had failed, Su Chen spoke up to remind her.

"Heh, heh!"

One punch, two punches, three punches...

After a bout of pounding, cracks finally appeared in the blood cocoon once more.

The little hand stretched out again, tore off a small piece of the blood cocoon, withdrew, and began eating.

This repeated over and over.

That little hand would reach out every so often.

Each time, it merely tore off a small piece of the blood cocoon before withdrawing again.

It seemed never to have considered that coming out first and eating afterward would be far more efficient.

It was an extremely monotonous motion, yet Su Chen watched with rapt attention.

A sense of closeness from deep within his soul made him deeply concerned for the mysterious girl before him.

As the little hand emerged more and more often, Su Chen noticed that it had begun to change.

But strangely, rather than growing larger, it was becoming smaller and smaller.

If the child he had seen inside the blood cocoon before had looked two or three years old, then this fair, rosy little hand now not only looked distinctly younger, but also possessed the translucent quality of an infant's hand.

As she continued eating, the blood cocoon began to thin again.

Slowly, it returned to a semi-transparent state.

Su Chen was once more able to glimpse the situation inside the blood cocoon.

Just as he had guessed, the girl's body had clearly become even smaller.

Her entire body was fair and soft, like a baby that had just turned one month old.

"Such dense Soul Power fluctuations... this little girl really does make one curious."

A faint dark-gray glow radiated from her body, making her seem inexplicably gloomy.

Su Chen could sense that her body was filled with incredibly dense Soul Power.

It also gave off an inexplicably sinister feeling, making her seem quite strange.

Yet after nibbling through another piece of the blood cocoon, the little girl revealed a sweet smile, and Su Chen immediately found her adorable.

At this time, she seemed to have grown a little again, roughly returning to the state of a two- or three-year-old child.

A head of long hair was messily piled atop her head, and she still held the remaining blood cocoon in her hand.

"Yiya, yiya~"

Perhaps because she had noticed Su Chen, the little girl's eating speed noticeably increased.

After finishing the fragments of the blood cocoon in her hand, she began pounding the cocoon with all her strength.

Very quickly, the blood cocoon shattered completely, and the little girl was finally freed from within.

The Blood River instantly raised towering waves unlike any it had ever seen, its spray endlessly slapping against both banks.

It seemed to be offering its own unique celebration for the birth of this brand-new life.

The girl fell from midair, and Su Chen reached out to catch her.

Only then was Su Chen able to properly examine the girl's appearance.

Her eyes were pale red, just like the diluted waters of the Blood River.

Her light-gray hair was terribly messy, yet it felt exceptionally soft and smooth.

"Ah-woo~"

The little girl bit down on Su Chen's finger and raised her head to stare at him.

The raging tides of the Blood River came to an abrupt halt at that moment.

Her large eyes rolled around as though she were observing Su Chen's reaction.

"Let go."

Su Chen said coldly.

Her teeth did not cause him any pain.

Instead, he felt a strange sensation, as though their Soul Power was compatible.

Their Soul Power came into contact and quickly fused into one.

Then it split into two streams again, with both of them gaining even stronger Soul Power.

"Wuu..."

Seeing Su Chen's expression darken, the little girl glanced at him and reluctantly released his finger.

"Yiya, yiyaya..."

Pointing at the Second Soul Ring floating above Su Chen's head, the little girl curiously stretched out her hand.

"Do you want to touch that?"

Su Chen naturally could not understand a word of such baby talk.

Yet for some reason, he could understand what the little girl meant.

"Yaya~"

Hearing Su Chen's response, the little girl nodded happily.

"Come up."

As he spoke, Su Chen lifted the little girl high above his head so she could touch his Second Soul Ring.

"Yaha!"

Held in Su Chen's hands, she stretched forward with all her strength. After several attempts, her fingertips finally touched the Soul Ring.

In an instant, the Second Soul Ring flashed with an eerie red light.

The Blood River, which had only just calmed down, began churning once again.

Soul Power, spiritual power, wraiths...

Countless streams of energy shot out from beneath the water, rushing straight toward Su Chen's Baihui acupoint.

From then on, the Second Soul Ring slowly began absorbing these powers without end.

I'm stuck on the plot. There'll be another update later.