Two-Thousand-Year Ghost Leopard

The Soul Hunting Forest north of Nuoding City could not compare to Sunset Forest or Star Dou Forest, but it still had many varieties of low-level Soul Beasts.

Ye Liangchen felt that the Soul Beasts in this forest probably would not exceed three thousand years in age. After all, these were only Soul Beasts raised in captivity by the empire.

Aside from the soldiers guarding the entrance, the Soul Hunting Forest also had the Martial Soul Hall Enforcement Team, which regularly patrolled inside the forest to prevent poaching.

In truth, the Enforcement Team was mainly there to stop those soul-hunting squads from illegal poaching. After all, besides Spirit Rings and Spirit Bones, Soul Beast meat, hides, and teeth were all very valuable, and many free Soul Masters would take the risk.

"Awooo..."

"Rustle..."

Deep in the forest, many ten-year and hundred-year Soul Beasts moved through the woods. When they saw Ye Liangchen and Zhu Zhu Qing intrude, they all went on alert.

"Meow-ao..."

Zhu Zhu Qing immediately summoned her Spirit, transforming into a fierce but adorable cat-eared girl as she stood ready, prepared at any moment to respond to a Soul Beast attack.

Ye Liangchen also took a longsword from his Soul Tool and guarded against these Soul Beasts.

"Awooo..."

Suddenly, two Netherworld Wolves around three hundred years old charged out from the woods, roaring as they pounced toward the two of them.

The two Netherworld Wolves were about one and a half meters long, as large as calves, and yellow light glowed from their bodies. This was the mark of a hundred-year Soul Beast.

"Brother Chen, be careful."

"Hell Stab!"

Zhu Zhu Qing directly activated her First Spirit Ability, transforming into an agile Hell Spirit Cat. Her fingers turned into sharp claws as she swiftly slashed toward the two Netherworld Wolves.

"Roar..."

Ye Liangchen struck out with Tiger Form Fist, and his Soul Power turned into a huge tiger claw that knocked the two Netherworld Wolves back.

"Awooo..."

After being knocked back, the two Netherworld Wolves stood in the distance, baring their fangs and glaring at the two of them, ready to launch a second attack at any moment.

"Zhu Qing, I'll support you. Use these two hundred-year Netherworld Wolves to practice, but don't kill them. Just drive them back. If you kill them, the smell of blood might draw other powerful Soul Beasts over."

"Swish, swish..."

Ye Liangchen quickly summoned his Goddess Spirit and activated his Second Spirit Skill, applying it to Zhu Zhu Qing.

"Life Blessing."

A green light shot from Ye Liangchen's hand and poured into Zhu Zhu Qing's body, instantly doubling her combat strength.

"Brother Chen, your support spirit skill is so powerful. I feel like my overall strength has increased several times."

Zhu Zhu Qing had never expected Ye Liangchen to actually have such a powerful support skill as well. It was far too surprising.

"Go try it!"

Ye Liangchen withdrew his Spirit and spread out his Spiritual Sense, keeping watch over everything within a hundred-meter radius. The rampage of the two hundred-year Netherworld Wolves had also frightened away the other Soul Beasts below a hundred years old.

"Okay, Brother Chen."

"Swish, swish..."

Zhu Zhu Qing quickly rushed over. A blur flashed past, and in an instant she arrived in front of the two hundred-year Netherworld Wolves, beginning her one-sided thrashing.

"Hah..."

"Awooo..."

The increase in strength also made Zhu Zhu Qing bolder. Before her powerful force, the two hundred-year Netherworld Wolves were beaten back step by step.

"Awooo... awooo..."

Three minutes later, the two hundred-year Netherworld Wolves fled in all directions with their tails between their legs.

The Netherworld Wolves had thought they could have a full meal today, but they had never expected to run into a tigress instead, getting beaten until they began doubting their wolf lives.

"Brother Chen, what Spirit is that beautiful Goddess Spirit of yours? I remember when you saved me back then, it seemed to have a binding function. How does it have a support skill now too?"

Zhu Zhu Qing ran to Ye Liangchen's side and asked curiously. At this moment, the powerful state still remained on her body, and she felt as though she could fight a Soul Ancestor.

"My Goddess Spirit has both attack and support abilities. The support spirit skill I just applied to you is called Life Blessing. It can increase all your attributes by thirty percent for ten minutes."

"All attributes increased by thirty percent? No wonder I felt my strength rise several times. Brother Chen, your Spirit actually has both attack and support abilities. That's way too amazing."

"Just a drizzle. No big deal. Let's go! We'll keep searching for Soul Beasts."

"Oh! Okay."

The two chatted as they headed deeper into the forest. Ye Liangchen planned to find a two-thousand-year Lightning Shadow Leopard for Little Cat. After all, with the help of his cheating, this girl's physical strength had already improved greatly. With her current strength, absorbing a two-thousand-year Spirit Ring should not be a big problem.

Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were rare animals in the Soul Hunting Forest. The two searched for a whole day, but still did not find a suitable one.

"Zhu Qing, let's stay here for tonight and keep searching tomorrow. If there still isn't anything suitable, we'll go straight to Star Dou Forest."

"Brother Chen, I'll follow your arrangements."

At dusk, the two found a small cave of about three square meters and planned to spend the night there.

"Brother Chen, this cave isn't very big. Let's cut some tree trunks and make a simple door to block the entrance. It'll be safer."

"Sure, no problem."

Once they decided, they got to work. With a man and a woman working together, the labor didn't feel tiring. The two of them chopped down several tree trunks as thick as bowls with their knives, cut them into sections, then found some rope and tied the trunks together, making a simple barricade to block the cave entrance.

To make it safer, Ye Liangchen also moved over some large rocks and built a wall outside the cave entrance.

Zhu Zhu Qing sprinkled a layer of medicinal powder outside the cave entrance to keep snakes and insects from approaching, then placed a lot of leaves outside the entrance, hiding the entire cave mouth.

"Zhu Qing, I didn't expect you to have such rich wilderness survival experience!" Watching Little Cat's practiced methods, Ye Liangchen was also very surprised.

"Brother Chen, I went into the forest with my aunt before. I learned all this from her. As a Soul Master, you have to learn how to survive in the wild. Back at home, I was often suppressed by my older sister and couldn't cultivate properly, so I had no choice but to run into the mountains and hide there to cultivate..."

Zhu Zhu Qing also told Ye Liangchen some interesting stories about her wilderness survival. People were all forced into becoming capable.

"Eat some dry rations first. Conditions are limited, so we can't cook tonight. We'll have to make do with some dry food."

Ye Liangchen lit a fire, then took a pot of water and some dry rations from his Soul Tool to serve as dinner.

"Don't worry, Brother Chen. I'm already used to this kind of life."

Zhu Zhu Qing felt that as long as she was with the person she liked, even drinking water would be incomparably sweet.

"Awooo..."

"Squeak, squeak..."

In the dead of night, all kinds of Soul Beast cries kept coming from the depths of the forest, making one's scalp tingle.

Ye Liangchen could even sense Soul Beasts passing by dozens of meters away from the cave entrance. Fortunately, the two of them had blocked the cave mouth earlier; otherwise, they really might have been discovered by those Soul Beasts.

"Brother Chen, you sleep. I'll keep watch for you."

"Let's sleep together. The entrance is protected by the wooden gate and stone wall, so safety shouldn't be a problem. We need to conserve our energy and search for Soul Beasts again tomorrow."

"Okay, Brother Chen."

The two of them each took out a sleeping bag, laid out their bedding, crawled inside, and started to sleep.

Just as Ye Liangchen was sleeping in a daze, a figure slipped straight in, startling him awake at once.

"Little Cat! Why did you crawl in here with me?"

Looking at Little Cat sitting beside him, Ye Liangchen was very speechless. If this went on, something would go wrong sooner or later.

"Brother Chen, I can't sleep alone. Chat with me for a while, okay?"

Little Cat found a clumsy excuse, then lay down directly beside Ye Liangchen.

"All right! Do as you like. But you can't take advantage of me!" Ye Liangchen waved his hand indifferently.

"Pfft...! Brother Chen, shouldn't those words be said by us women?" Zhu Zhu Qing was directly amused by this guy.

"Aunt Lan and the others once told me that when boys are outside, they have to remember to protect themselves, especially when they run into female hooligans."

After Ye Liangchen finished speaking, he even shifted a little to the side, leaving Little Cat speechless.

"Brother Chen, are you treating me like a female hooligan?"

Looking at Ye Liangchen's behavior, as if she were going to eat him, Zhu Zhu Qing crooked the corner of her mouth, grabbed his hand, and pulled him over to her side.

"Little Cat! You have no martial virtue. You launched a sneak attack."

Ye Liangchen felt that this Little Cat had gone crooked. The quiet Little Cat from before was gone.

"Brother Chen, don't talk. Hurry up and sleep!"

"Didn't you say you wanted to chat?"

"I don't want to chat now. Sleep."

Zhu Zhu Qing tightly hugged Ye Liangchen's arm and felt a sense of security. A faint smile appeared on her face, and then she gradually fell asleep.

Nothing happened overnight. Early the next morning, the two of them were awakened by faint, intermittent sounds.

"Awooo..."

"Bang, bang..."

The sounds kept coming from afar, mixed with the noise of fighting.

"Brother Chen, it sounds like Soul Beasts are fighting."

"Let's go. We'll take a look. Maybe there's a Soul Beast suitable for you."

The two of them got up, left the cave entrance, found a small stream, washed up briefly, then quietly crept toward the direction of the Soul Beast battle.

"Awooo..."

"Roar, roar..."

When the two of them arrived at a valley a thousand meters away, they discovered a Ghost Leopard and a Wild Boar fighting. Both Soul Beasts had reached the thousand-year level; the Ghost Leopard was as high as 2,000 years, while the Wild Boar was as high as 2,500 years.

"Zhu Qing, if we can't find a Lightning Shadow Leopard, then we'll just kill that Ghost Leopard for your third soul ring."

Ye Liangchen decided to let Little Cat absorb that 2,000-year Ghost Leopard's soul ring. After all, her Martial Soul was the Hell Spirit Cat, and its attributes were more or less similar to the Ghost Leopard's.

"Brother Chen, you decide! I'll follow your arrangements."

The Ghost Leopard was a top-tier animal soul ring, possessing powerful strength and speed. Zhu Zhu Qing also felt that this kind of Soul Beast might bring her a different kind of change.

"Zhu Qing, let me tell you something. I heard Spirit Hall has a Titled Douluo called Ghost Leopard Douluo. His martial soul is a ghost leopard. Among beast martial souls, that kind of martial soul counts as top-tier."

"Ghost Leopard Douluo? He's that powerful?"

When Zhu Zhu Qing heard that Spirit Hall actually had such an expert, that meant the ghost leopard martial soul was far stronger than the Hell Spirit Cat martial soul.

"This ghost leopard's age has reached two thousand years. Zhu Qing, the pills I had you take before have already laid a powerful physical foundation for you. Now you have to challenge your limits. Do you have confidence?"

Ye Liangchen directly stated the age of that ghost leopard, letting the girl prepare herself mentally.

"Brother Chen, ever since I met you, my strength has improved a lot. My power is at least twice as great as before. I have confidence."

After learning about Ye Liangchen's heaven-defying spirit ring configuration, Zhu Zhu Qing also wanted to challenge her own limits.

"Then we'll wait for the right moment before we strike."

The two hid in a large tree, quietly watching the two spirit beasts fight to the death.

"Roar, roar..."

"Bang, bang..."

The battle between two-thousand-year spirit beasts was extremely destructive. Within a hundred-meter radius, dust billowed, shattered stones flew everywhere, and many trees were snapped in half.

After two hours, the Wild Boar ultimately fell at a disadvantage. Its belly was torn open by the ghost leopard, and it was on its last breath. But the ghost leopard was not much better off. One of its hind legs had been pierced through by the Wild Boar's tusks, and one of its front legs had also been bitten off. After one battle, both sides were badly wounded.

"Zhu Qing, do it."

"Understood."

The two immediately summoned their martial souls and charged toward the two spirit beasts.

"Life Blessing."

Ye Liangchen directly used his Second Spirit Skill to support Zhu Zhu Qing, instantly increasing her overall strength by thirty percent and letting her fight to her heart's content.

"Roar, roar..."

Although the ghost leopard had lost two legs, it still possessed very powerful strength. Seeing two humans charging over, how could it be willing to wait for death? It opened its mouth, revealing sharp teeth, ready to counterattack at any moment.

"Whoosh..."

"Zhu Qing, torment the ghost leopard a little. Don't kill it all at once. Abuse it hard. Abuse it until it starts doubting its life as a leopard, then finish it off."

After Ye Liangchen ended the Wild Boar's life with one sword strike, he remembered that when a spirit beast felt extreme resentment, there was a high chance it could produce an External Soul Bone, so he had Zhu Zhu Qing give it a try.

"Brother Chen, don't worry!"

Although Zhu Zhu Qing did not know why he wanted her to do this, she would do whatever Ye Liangchen said.

"Meow..."

"Roar, roar..."

Zhu Zhu Qing had now received Ye Liangchen's support, and her strength was very powerful. On top of that, the ghost leopard had two crippled legs, and it had long since lost most of its strength, so Zhu Zhu Qing suppressed it throughout the entire fight.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

"Awoo, awoo, awoo..."

Twenty minutes later, the ghost leopard had been beaten until wounds covered its entire body. Zhu Zhu Qing directly launched the final blow, ending the ghost leopard's life with one slash.

"Replenish your spirit power and adjust your condition to its peak. Prepare to absorb this spirit ring."

Ye Liangchen took out two Spirit Power Pills and placed them into Zhu Zhu Qing's mouth, letting her maintain her optimal state.

"Buzz, buzz..."

Once the ghost leopard died, its purple spirit power aura gradually condensed into a large purple ring.

"Brother Chen, I'm going to begin."

Zhu Zhu Qing sat cross-legged on the ground, summoned her martial soul, and began absorbing this two-thousand-year spirit ring.

"Ahhh..."

The moment the purple spirit ring wrapped around Zhu Zhu Qing's martial soul, a powerful force rushed into her body, making her cry out despite herself.

"Buzz, buzz..."

"Zhu Qing, I'm supporting you. Immediately mobilize the energy inside the spirit ring and merge it into your own flesh."

Ye Liangchen once again used the Life Blessing spirit skill, applying it to Zhu Zhu Qing.

"Brother Chen, don't worry. I can withstand it."

After receiving the support, Zhu Zhu Qing swiftly used her powerful strength to suppress the energy within the spirit ring and began absorbing this spirit ring with all her might.

Two hours later, tiny beads of blood appeared on Zhu Zhu Qing's body. Ye Liangchen used his Spiritual Sense to perceive the condition inside her body and found that the problem was not serious.

Zhu Zhu Qing kept telling herself in her heart that if she wanted to break free from fate, she had to become stronger.

A person's potential was limitless. Without forcing oneself, one would never know just how much potential one had.

Zhu Zhu Qing kept pushing herself like this. Six hours later, she finally absorbed it successfully. A powerful aura erupted directly from her body, and she successfully advanced to become a Spirit Elder. Her spirit power also reached level 32.

"Brother Chen, I succeeded."

Zhu Zhu Qing jumped up from the ground and threw herself into Ye Liangchen's arms, cheering excitedly.

"Little Cat! Not bad."

Ye Liangchen knew Little Cat would succeed. He had already given this girl cheats before, letting her eat a Foundation Establishment Pill and a Body Tempering Pill, and had also taught her the complete set of Five Elements Divine Fist, making her physical body very powerful. A mere two-thousand-year spirit ring was simply nothing.