The First Spirit Ring, the Change in Spirit Power!

When the Dan Shi touched the body of the spirit beast, the creature felt absolutely nothing.

But the very next second, the spirit beast began to tremble violently. It couldn't even let out a scream before it collapsed stiffly to the ground.

A white Spirit Ring emerged from the spirit beast's body.

"It really is Dan Shi! To be struck is to die!"

Qin Qi stepped forward to examine it. The spirit beast's face was twisted in a grimace; although it hadn't managed to scream, the marks on its body revealed just how much agony it had endured.

Qin Qi looked at the white Spirit Ring hovering before him. He did not absorb it, turned around, and left.

Since Dan Shi was effective, hunting a century-old spirit beast was a certainty.

For the remainder of the time, Qin Qi searched for traces of century-old spirit beasts, but he found none.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived, and the team leader led everyone out of the Soul Hunting Forest.

They stayed at a nearby inn, preparing to continue the hunt the next morning.

Qin Qi lay in his room, his mind turning to his subsequent plans.

"I can only condense one Dan Shi per day, but one is enough for a guaranteed kill."

"The important thing now is finding a target. What kind of Martial Soul should I choose as my target?"

Qin Qi fell into deep thought. His Martial Soul, Dan Shi, was truly unique; he couldn't even categorize what type of Martial Soul it was.

"In terms of offense, Dan Shi ignores defense. In terms of stealth, Dan Shi is colorless, formless, and odorless."

"In terms of power, to be struck by Dan Shi is to die. It seems like it would work regardless of what the Spirit Ring adds."

Qin Qi felt that Dan Shi no longer needed any additional effects; it was already comprehensive in every aspect.

"Forget it, I'll wait until I get to the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow. I'll just absorb whatever century-old spirit beast I encounter."

Qin Qi mapped out his plan for the next day, then entered the Study Space to begin his studies.

The next morning, Qin Qi and the others entered the Soul Hunting Forest once more. Not long after they entered, Qin Qi quietly slipped away.

Under the enhancement of the Transparent World, his powers of observation were pushed to their peak, and the concealment of his aura was similarly elevated to the limit.

"Following the teacher is certainly safer, but I won't find any good spirit beasts in the outer perimeter."

Qin Qi had learned methods for concealing his presence from Tang Jiaren the previous night, and he put them to use now.

With the talent of the Transparent World, he wouldn't be discovered even if he walked right past a spirit beast.

"Not bad. As long as I don't jump right in their faces, it's very difficult for these spirit beasts to detect me."

Qin Qi began to survey his surroundings, using the knowledge he had learned at the academy to barely distinguish between the spirit beasts.

"This one should be ten years old, and this one too. The Soul Hunting Forest is indeed safe, but it really pales in comparison to the Star Dou Great Forest."

Qin Qi searched for a while, but he mostly saw ten-year spirit beasts; he couldn't find any century-old ones.

The Soul Hunting Forest was also graded; the higher the forest's level, the higher the age of the spirit beasts within. This particular forest was only a beginner-level one.

The spirit beast levels were quite low, and one basically wouldn't encounter century-old ones on the outskirts. Qin Qi had no choice but to move toward the inner layer.

After spending some time, Qin Qi reached the inner layer. After searching for a while, he found a spirit beast.

"A Datura Snake. Judging by its length, it's at least a century-old spirit beast."

Qin Qi looked at the Datura Snake coiled around a tree; the snake was about five meters long.

According to the habits of the Datura Snake, it grew one meter every hundred years, so five meters meant it was a Datura Snake with a cultivation of about five hundred years.

"Five hundred years... can I handle it?"

Qin Qi thought about it but didn't make a rash decision; his understanding of Spirit Rings was still too shallow.

He prepared to continue searching in the vicinity to see if he could find anything else.

After spending half a day, Qin Qi returned anyway; he had searched the area and found nothing more suitable.

"Hoo, it'll have to be this one."

"It carries potent venom, its defense is decent, and its movement speed is fast. No matter how I look at it, it's very suitable."

Qin Qi looked at the Datura Snake. Although he didn't think much of Grandmaster, Grandmaster hadn't been wrong about one thing.

In this low-level Soul Hunting Forest, the Datura Snake was already a very decent spirit beast.

Qin Qi used the Transparent World to completely hide his aura, then stood ten meters away and condensed his Dan Shi.

"Go!"

Qin Qi sent the Dan Shi out. The colorless and odorless Dan Shi slowly approached the Datura Snake.

When it touched the dark green scales, it pierced straight through. The property of Dan Shi ignoring defense had taken effect!

At this moment, the Datura Snake still had no reaction; it hadn't perceived that it had been attacked at all.

But once the Dan Shi fully entered the Datura Snake's body, its power erupted instantly. In a split second, excruciating pain struck!

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"

The Datura Snake fell from the tree, emitting a hissing shriek while thrashing wildly on the ground.

The surrounding trees, flowers, and grass were all crushed, and after struggling for a while, it fell completely silent.

A yellow Spirit Ring emerged from its body.

"Done."

Qin Qi stepped out from his hiding spot and walked over to the Datura Snake's carcass.

"To be struck by the Tang Sect's Dan Shi is to face certain death."

Qin Qi looked at the Datura Snake; a five-hundred-year-old Spirit Beast had combat power roughly equivalent to a Great Spirit Master of over level twenty.

Yet, it had died before Dan Shi without the slightest ability to resist. While marveling at the power of Dan Shi, Qin Qi also marveled at how simple taking a life truly was.

"This area is the Datura Snake's territory; ordinary Spirit Beasts won't easily enter. Now is the perfect time to absorb the Spirit Ring!"

Qin Qi had scouted the surroundings earlier; because of the Datura Snake's presence, there were no other Spirit Beasts nearby.

He sat down, then began to draw the Spirit Ring toward himself, pulling it onto his body to begin the absorption.

Normally, a Spirit Ring should envelop the Martial Soul, but at this moment, the ring encased Qin Qi's entire body.

"So hot, so much!"

Qin Qi felt a massive surge of Spirit Power, scorching like magma, pouring into his body.

He immediately began to control his body through the power of the Transparent World, absorbing this surge of Spirit Power.

At the same time, the Five Treasures Body Protection Method began to circulate, and he entered a state of deep meditation.

"Hmm, it seems... this isn't very difficult."

In the state of the Transparent World, Qin Qi could clearly see the Spirit Power flooding into his body.

He could even control that power, using precise manipulation to minimize the impact of the surge.

Then, as the Five Treasures Body Protection Method executed, it protected his body while slowly absorbing the Spirit Power.

His Qi circulated throughout his entire body, round after round; through the constant cycles of the Great Heavenly Circuit, Qin Qi's Spirit Power continued to rise.

Simultaneously, his physical constitution was also steadily improving.

"My Qi seems to have undergone a change."

Looking inward, Qin Qi discovered that his Qi—or rather, his Spirit Power—had changed.

At the beginning, his Qi had been ordinary and neutral, but after absorbing the Datura Snake's Spirit Ring, his Spirit Power began to turn a dark, ink-like green.

Qi Poison began to emanate from his body—no, it wasn't Qi Poison, it was ordinary Qi, but it was born carrying poison!