This still wasn't over.
At the same time, three dark-red beams of light flashed.
It was Lu Lin's first soul skill, Dark Demon Claw!
And it was Dark Demon Claw after absorbing the Jade Mantis's own attack, boosting its power several times over!!
"Shhk—"
The Jade Mantis took the full force of the Dark Demon Claw. Its glasslike, white-jade body shattered layer by layer, and it let out an instinctive cry of pain.
Its body was sent tumbling into the air by the tremendous impact, but even then, it still wasn't over.
In the Jade Mantis's emerald-like compound eyes, a faint figure appeared, dressed in blue and slender of build.
The figure's right hand seemed to be spinning a brilliant, dazzling red lotus wreathed in flames.
The moment the figure appeared in its line of sight, the dazzling fire lotus had already left his palm, drifting lightly toward it.
Then Buddha Fury Red Lotus collided with the Jade Mantis's crystal-clear, glasslike white-jade body.
First came a soft "clink," like two pieces of glass touching.
"Boom—"
Then a deafening explosion erupted.
What surprised Lu Lin, though, was the absurdly powerful defense of this beautiful mantis Soul Beast!
It had taken a Dark Gold Aegis, a Dark Demon Claw, and a Buddha Fury Red Lotus head-on, yet its body still hadn't shattered into pieces.
Still, at least it had kicked the bucket in the end.
After all, it was only a thousand-year Soul Beast.
The Jade Mantis's corpse lay quietly on the ground. Cracks covered its glasslike shell, yet, almost miraculously, it had retained its overall shape instead of breaking apart.
There was no denying it: its defense was freakishly strong.
As the last trace of life faded from the Jade Mantis, a dense purple energy slowly rose from its corpse, then gathered in midair into a purple Soul Ring about the size of two fists.
The purple Soul Ring floated in midair, its remaining will faintly stirring within, as though silently lamenting its tragic life.
Lu Lin slowly stepped forward.
What kind of soul skill would this mantis grant him?
A hint of anticipation flickered in Lu Lin's eyes.
As for the purple Soul Ring floating above the Jade Mantis, Lu Lin chose to ignore it...
Truth be told, it might be a bit of a stretch.
Although he had begun cultivating the Body Sect's Flawless Body Casting Art at the age of six, gradually strengthening his physique and vital energy, and had further reinforced his body through years of forging,
he still lacked the innate advantages of his incarnation, Ji Ming, as well as rare treasures like Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber.
Normally, Soul Masters could only absorb a thousand-year Purple Soul Ring as their third Soul Ring.
Among the people Lu Lin currently knew, aside from his own incarnation, only Dai Xichen had a purple Second Soul Ring.
Long Chenyu possessed the super martial soul Holy Light Dragon, so Lu Lin guessed that he might have a purple Soul Ring in his first or second slot as well.
However, since he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he couldn't count on it.
Lu Lin's incarnation stood nearby, guarding the main body as he absorbed the Soul Ring.
The main body sat cross-legged, clearing his mind of distractions. Then he took a deep breath, and his eyes grew calm and still.
Only the Pure Fire Green Lotus in his right palm gave off a gentle aura.
With a slight shift of his thoughts, the purple Soul Ring left behind by the Jade Mantis was drawn toward him, then transformed into a dense purple stream of light and poured into his body in an instant.
"Ugh!"
Lu Lin groaned, his body shuddering violently.
The energy contained in a thousand-year Soul Ring was far more ferocious than that of the Soul Ring he had absorbed from the Dragon Blood Scarlet Scale Bamboo.
The power surged through him like a torrent of molten lava, brutally crashing into every part of his body. Its overwhelming force brought searing, tearing pain.
At the same time, a cold, razor-sharp mental attack, filled with the spite of jade shattered beyond repair, lunged straight at his Spirit Sea.
It was the spiritual resentment left behind by the thousand-year Soul Beast after its death.
Fortunately, Lu Lin had extensive experience absorbing Soul Rings beyond his limits.
Although his main body had only absorbed a six-hundred-year Yellow Soul Ring, that too had been an over-limit absorption.
As for his incarnation, Ji Ming, all three of his Soul Rings had been absorbed beyond the limit—and his third Soul Ring was even ten thousand years old.
The main body and the incarnation shared one soul and a single consciousness.
His incarnation's experiences were naturally his own as well.
The Jade Mantis's dying will stabbed at him like a blade, carrying the hatred and curses ingrained in its instincts during life.
Combined with the berserk energy and mental assault, the spiritual resentment attacked him from both within and without, leaving him in grave danger.
Lu Lin felt as though he were a lone boat adrift in a raging sea, tossed helplessly by the waves and on the verge of capsizing.
For Lu Lin, the greatest problem in absorbing the Jade Mantis's Soul Ring was actually the strength of his body.
Lu Lin clenched his teeth and pushed the Flawless Body Casting Art to its limit.
Even so, fine cracks began to appear across the surface of his body, just like those on the Jade Mantis's shell—an eerie sight.
At that moment, the Pure Fire Green Lotus in his right hand suddenly began to spin on its own. A blue flame rose from the lotus heart and swayed gently.
The instant the flame appeared, a gentle stream of Soul Power flowed to every part of Lu Lin's body.
At the same time, the cracks on his skin seemed to show signs of healing...
Time slipped by amid the pain and stalemate.
After the time it took to burn one stick of incense,
the Jade Mantis's spiritual resentment finally dissipated completely.
Lu Lin fully refined the purple energy it had left behind, blending it seamlessly with his own Soul Power.
Lu Lin slowly opened his tightly shut eyes.
A glassy blue radiance and a blazing red light flickered together in his pupils, then vanished.
It was worth noting that most of the Soul Ring energy left behind by the Jade Mantis seemed to have been absorbed by the Pure Fire Green Lotus.
As a result, after absorbing the Soul Ring, Lu Lin's Soul Power Level had only just passed the threshold of level twenty, reaching level twenty-one.
At that moment, "Ji Ming," dressed in black, appeared beside him at just the right time and asked calmly, "What soul skill did the Jade Mantis give you?"
While absorbing the Soul Ring, Lu Lin had already learned the name of the mantis Soul Beast.
His incarnation, who shared the same consciousness, had learned it too.
Of course, he knew the exact effect of the soul skill as well.
The incarnation's question was merely to maintain the illusion that he and the main body were two separate people.
An actor's professional discipline!
Even though there wasn't a third person here.
Lu Lin gave a slight nod without answering, then gently raised his right hand and summoned his martial soul.
Compared to before, the Pure Fire Green Lotus seemed unchanged.
One yellow Soul Ring and one purple Soul Ring floated around Lu Lin.
As the purple Soul Ring flashed, the Green Lotus hovering above his right hand changed shape.
The Green Lotus grew more crystal-clear, its petals taking on a glasslike texture and an exquisite, artistic appearance.
Its overall shape resembled both glass and white jade, bearing some resemblance to the Jade Mantis's appearance.
"Green Lotus Instant Body."
Lu Lin gave a soft shout, and as the words left his mouth,
a solid-looking white-jade lotus of about the size of a bowl blossomed beneath his feet.
The instant his toes touched the lotus heart, the light lotus shattered under the pressure.
Then Lu Lin shot forward ten to fifteen meters, gliding along an erratic path, silently and as swiftly as a ghost.
Along the way, he was nearly impossible to see.
This was a movement soul skill.
Still as a green lotus, swift as a startled swan.
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