Absorbing the Second Soul Ring

Chen Xin strode forward, his gaze falling on the "Nothingness" katana in Wang Chuan's hand. The ends of his snow-white brows relaxed slightly, and his tone brimmed with sincere praise. "That strike was a few degrees faster than before, and your control was steadier too. It seems you haven't neglected your swordsmanship. You haven't disappointed me, disciple."

After a brief pause, he recalled Wang Chuan's decision to absorb a thousand-year soul ring, and his expression turned solemn once more. Reaching out, he patted the boy's shoulder. "Xiao Chuan, since your mind is made up, I won't try to dissuade you further. But the Soul Power impact of a thousand-year soul ring is dangerous to begin with, and the Eternal Dark Jellyfish carries the Power of Void. You must be extremely careful while absorbing it. If you feel even the slightest discomfort, stop immediately."

"Don't worry, Master. I know what I'm doing." Wang Chuan nodded with a smile, his eyes holding not a trace of fear—only an unwavering determination to grow stronger.

With that, he sat down cross-legged. The deep purple soul ring behind him slowly rose into the air, radiating dense waves of Soul Power. At the same time, his Jianmu Spirit silently emerged in his palm. Pale green branches and leaves swayed gently as streams of warm life energy spread through his meridians and throughout his body—Jianmu was assisting him, easing the impact of absorbing the soul ring.

Yet the instant the soul ring touched his body, an icy, bone-piercing power of "void" suddenly invaded his Sea of Consciousness. It carried an absolute emptiness, as if it wished to devour all meaning in the world: life was a fleeting illusion, the universe an endless wasteland, and even one's own existence became insignificant. Any ordinary Soul Master would have long since been dragged into despair by this sense of void, their consciousness gradually dissipating until their soul scattered completely.

But Wang Chuan had been tempered by "void" since childhood, and his resistance to that power had long been etched into his bones. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep his consciousness from collapsing. Yet this void originated from the Eternal Dark Jellyfish's very essence, a power that even heaven and earth could not wholly reject. His body still fell helplessly into silence—his eyes tightly shut, his breathing faint, and the Soul Power fluctuations around him dimming until they resembled a candle flame that could go out at any moment.

Watching over him from the side, Chen Xin felt his heart tighten. Though he knew Wang Chuan could not hear him, he could not help murmuring a reminder, his voice thick with anxiety. "Clear your mind and still your spirit; let all things return to nature! Void is only a fleeting illusion. Life is the enduring foundation—do not let it drag you into the abyss!" He gripped the Seven Kill Sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. If he had not known that interrupting Wang Chuan rashly would ruin all his efforts, he would have acted already.

After an unknown length of time, the Soul Power fluctuations around Wang Chuan finally ceased their disorderly turmoil, and his breathing gradually steadied. Though his face remained pale, a hint of color had returned to it—by the look of things, he would awaken soon. Chen Xin had only just breathed a sigh of relief when Wang Chuan's body suddenly went limp. His eyes remained closed as he fainted stiffly backward!

"Xiao Chuan!" Chen Xin's heart lurched. He hurried forward to catch him, placing his fingers against his pulse. His pulse was steady, and his Soul Power showed no abnormalities, yet he simply would not wake. No longer caring about anything else, Chen Xin lifted Wang Chuan into his arms, pushed off the ground with the tips of his feet, and shot toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect like a streak of golden light. He did not even have time to clean up the battlefield behind him.

Two days later, the atmosphere in a guest room of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

The Healing Master had just withdrawn his Soul Power. Shaking his head at Ning Fengzhi, who stood guard nearby, he said, "Sect Master, young friend Wang Chuan's body is in no danger. His Soul Power is flowing smoothly, and his Sea of Consciousness is undamaged. But I truly cannot determine why he will not wake up."

Ning Fengzhi's brows were tightly furrowed as he looked toward Chen Xin. There was a hint of reproach in his voice, but even more worry. "Chen Xin, you're an old hand yourself. How could you have gone along with Xiao Chuan's recklessness? A thousand-year soul ring isn't something one can absorb whenever one pleases. If something had gone wrong, how could you and I face his parents?"

Chen Xin lowered his head, snow-white strands of hair hanging beside his cheeks. His voice was full of self-reproach. "It was my fault. I should have stopped him then."

By the bedside, Ning Rongrong lay sprawled over the edge of the bed, her small hands tightly clutching Wang Chuan's. Her reddened, swollen eyes looked like walnuts, and tears fell in strings onto the bedsheets as she choked out, "Brother Chuan, wake up already, okay? Do you not want Rong Rong anymore? Rong Rong won't throw tantrums again. I won't fight you for snacks anymore. Just wake up, okay..."

Seeing how heartbroken she was, Gu Rong's heart ached. He stepped forward and gently coaxed her, "Be good, Rong Rong. Let's go out and eat something first. By the time you come back, Wang Chuan might have woken up."

"No!" Ning Rongrong suddenly lifted her head, her voice stubborn despite the tears in it. "I want to wait here for Brother Chuan to wake up. If I leave and he wakes up without seeing me, he'll be sad!"

Gu Rong wanted to persuade her further, but Ning Fengzhi stopped him with a look. He knew that letting Rong Rong stay here might be the greatest comfort for her right now. In truth, it was not only the Healing Master. Over the past two days, Gu Rong and Chen Xin had repeatedly examined Wang Chuan as well. Both were Titled Douluo, their senses far surpassing those of ordinary people, yet no matter how they examined him, they found his body entirely normal. It was as though he were merely asleep, except he simply would not wake up.

No one knew that, at that moment, Wang Chuan's Sea of Consciousness was undergoing a special kind of "cultivation."

His consciousness floated within a chaotic spiritual space. Huang Quan, still dressed in purple, stood silently at a distance, watching over him. Whenever Wang Chuan entered his Sea of Consciousness in the past, Huang Quan had always remained this silent. But this time, she moved.

Ripples suddenly spread across the sky above the Sea of Consciousness. A phantom identical to the Eternal Dark Jellyfish they had hunted before slowly emerged. Beneath its translucent dark-blue bell, countless tentacles writhed. The next second, the jellyfish phantom abruptly shattered, turning into a vast surge of void power that rushed toward Wang Chuan.

Huang Quan raised her hand, and a faint white glow appeared in her palm as she steadily caught the power of void. Then, she slowly guided it, merging it bit by bit into Wang Chuan's Sea of Consciousness. As the void power poured in, the originally cramped spiritual space began expanding at a tremendous speed. But the expansion had come too suddenly for Wang Chuan's consciousness to bear, which was why he had fainted in the real world.

After an unknown amount of time, the Sea of Consciousness finally stabilized. Wang Chuan felt that his control over void had deepened another layer. Then Huang Quan's voice slowly rang out. "Your Power of Void is growing stronger by the day, but this power is too cold. If you immerse yourself in it blindly, you will eventually lose your way. Before that happens, you must find a 'color' that belongs to you—a person, an event, or an obsession that you would never forget, even if you forgot everything else."

Wang Chuan had just opened his mouth to thank her when Huang Quan lightly waved her hand. A gentle force enveloped his consciousness, and in the next moment, the scene before his eyes began to blur as he flew toward the exit of the Sea of Consciousness.