Su Ming pushed open the door and entered the room. "I went to the Star Dou Forest with Elder Chrysanthemum to absorb my third Soul Ring."
"Absorb a Soul Ring?"
Hu Liena followed close behind. Hearing this, she hurriedly asked, "So how did it go? Were you successful?"
"I was."
"Then you're officially a Soul Elder now."
A hint of delight appeared on Hu Liena's face. Then, curious, she leaned closer. "Hey, tell me, how many levels did your Soul Power rise after absorbing the Soul Ring this time? Did you reach level thirty-one or thirty-two?"
Su Ming looked back at her and calmly said two words: "Nine levels."
"How many?!"
Hu Liena froze on the spot, her face full of disbelief as she cried out, "Nine levels?!"
"Are you messing with me? What Soul Master could gain nine levels from absorbing a single Soul Ring? Are you saying you're already level thirty-nine?"
"Mm. Level thirty-nine." Su Ming walked over to the table, sat down, and poured himself a cup of cold tea.
Hu Liena was completely dumbfounded. She circled Su Ming several times, as if looking at a monster. "How is that possible... Even the record in the Soul Master World isn't that outrageous, is it? I don't believe you. Unless you show me."
"Then don't believe me." Su Ming replied coolly.
Hu Liena sat down across from Su Ming and leaned close to him. "How did you train like that? Teach me."
Su Ming set down his teacup and looked at her. "Didn't I give you an Immortal Herb? After eating it, your constitution and meridians were thoroughly purified and expanded. Then the Soul Ring's energy was unleashed. Isn't that perfectly normal?"
Hu Liena's expression faltered when Su Ming mentioned the Immortal Herb. "The Immortal Herb really has effects that powerful?"
Su Ming raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "You didn't eat it?"
Hu Liena looked a little embarrassed. Her eyes darted toward the window. "Well... that herb was just so beautiful, all sparkling and shiny. After I took it home, I couldn't bear to eat it, so I put it on the table in my room. I thought I'd admire it for a couple of days before taking a bite."
Su Ming looked at her, speechless.
A peerless treasure capable of completely rewriting a Soul Master's fate had ended up in her hands as a mere ornament to admire.
Seeing Su Ming's speechless expression, Hu Liena suddenly giggled and blinked mischievously. "All right, I was joking! How could I be that silly?"
"I actually left it uneaten on purpose. I thought I'd come here and eat it after you got back."
Su Ming looked at her. "Why?"
"Obviously, I feel safer here. The Immortal Herb itself is harmless, but what if something goes wrong while I'm absorbing its medicinal power?"
"I wouldn't feel at ease eating it at home. But here, with you watching over me, and since you know so much, you could help if anything went wrong."
Hu Liena lifted her chin smugly, as if to say, Well? Aren't I clever?
Hearing her explanation, Su Ming rolled his eyes.
"You're pretty cautious, then."
Su Ming pointed at the soft couch in the room. "Since I'm back, you can eat it here. I'll protect you."
"You said it!"
A smile spread across Hu Liena's face, the look of someone whose plan had succeeded.
Seeing her reaction, Su Ming knew she hadn't come here because she was afraid to eat it. She must have had some other reason.
Still, he didn't mind.
After all, he was also eager to see what effect the Immortal Herb would have on Hu Liena.
Hu Liena didn't waste a moment. She brushed her right hand over the storage bracelet on her wrist, and an Immortal Herb glowing with a faint yellow-green radiance appeared in her palm.
She sat cross-legged in the center of the soft couch and gazed at the crystal-clear herb in her hand. Smacking her lips, she muttered softly, "It's so pretty. Do I really have to swallow it in one bite? It feels like such a waste of beauty."
Su Ming, standing nearby, looked utterly exasperated. His face cool, he said two words: "Eat. Now."
"Don't rush me. You have no idea how to be considerate toward a girl."
Hu Liena rolled her eyes at Su Ming.
Then she put aside all thoughts of joking, opened her mouth, and swallowed the Immortal Herb whole.
The instant the Immortal Herb went down her throat, Hu Liena's eyes flew wide open.
An indescribably immense energy erupted within her, turning into a raging torrent that surged madly through every limb and bone in her body.
Hu Liena immediately closed her eyes and formed a seal with her hands before her chest. She began circulating her Soul Power with all her might, guiding and digesting the immense medicinal energy.
Su Ming stood quietly several paces away, his powerful mental energy spreading without reservation as he closely monitored every shift in the flow of Soul Power within her body.
Hu Liena's cheeks began to flush bright red, and fine beads of sweat kept seeping from her forehead and back.
As the energy of the Aromatic Silk Beauty penetrated deep into her marrow, impurities were forcibly expelled through her pores, forming a black, filthy layer. She looked as if she had fallen into a latrine, and a foul stench filled the air.
The process was painful, and Hu Liena's delicate body trembled violently. She bit down hard on her lower lip.
Su Ming remained motionless, but his mind was constantly on alert.
If anything went wrong, he would immediately step in to help.
Though such an accident was almost impossible.
As time passed, Hu Liena didn't make a sound. Through sheer determination, she endured the most agonizing stage of marrow cleansing.
Then, as the medicinal power was absorbed, the Soul Power around Hu Liena's body began to fluctuate violently.
Hum!
A clear fox cry rang through the chamber.
As Su Ming watched, the space behind Hu Liena twisted violently, and her original Demon Fox Martial Soul appeared.
Now, the Demon Fox Martial Soul was several times larger than before. Its once somewhat disheveled fur had turned pure white and crystalline, and its foxlike eyes shimmered with an extreme, bewitching allure.
Even more astonishingly, under the Immortal Herb's intense catalysis, the bones at the base of the fox's tail began to crack and pop.
The single fox tail it had originally possessed suddenly split apart.
One, two, three...
As the Immortal Herb's medicinal effects continued to surge, its tails kept multiplying!
In just half a minute, it went from one tail to nine!
Nine enormous tails swayed in midair, blotting out the sky like a giant umbrella made of fox tails!
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!
Seeing this, Su Ming's heart stirred.
He had known Hu Liena's Demon Fox Martial Soul would evolve, and had wondered if it might become a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. But now that he was witnessing it with his own eyes, he still couldn't suppress his excitement.
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox—one of the most mysterious Martial Souls.
Not only in this world, but even on Earth, legends of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox stirred the heart and filled people with longing!