Douluo: Breathing Makes Me Stronger, Tang San Was Terrified!

After making thorough preparations, Lu Chen waited until the Tassel White Crane went out to hunt on the sixth day.

Then, without hesitation, he charged out!

"Explosive Step!"

Lu Chen rushed to the lakeside and used Explosive Step. He stomped heavily on the ground, leaving a deep footprint, then used the rebound force to launch himself into the air.

Like an eagle diving for prey, Lu Chen pounced toward the Pure Heart Lotus.

The Pure Heart Lotus instinctively sensed danger. Its flower bud bloomed, releasing a beam of pure white light.

Yet Lu Chen neither dodged nor avoided it. The Pure Heart Lotus's purification ability was meant for filth, evil spirits, darkness... Lu Chen was relying purely on physical strength now, so he had nothing to fear from purification.

Sure enough, the pure white light fell upon Lu Chen without causing him any harm.

Lu Chen smiled in delight.

The Pure Heart Lotus itself had little offensive power.

"Cannon Fist!"

Charging out of the pure white light, Lu Chen threw a punch at the Pure Heart Lotus. Vast Soul Power surged into his fist and, after being highly compressed, emitted an awe-inspiring pressure!

Boom!

Lu Chen's punch slammed into the Pure Heart Lotus's bud. A terrifying energy shockwave erupted, instantly smashing the multicolored bud apart.

Broken petals scattered across the water's surface!

Lu Chen also fell into the water with a splash. With a grab of his right hand, he summoned his Second Martial Soul, the Black Iron Sickle.

A steady stream of Soul Power poured into it, causing the Black Iron Sickle to gleam with a chilling cold light.

Lu Chen gripped the Black Iron Sickle in his right hand while holding the broken flower bud with his left. He swung the sickle and severed its roots and stem together.

Once its roots were cut, the thirteen-thousand-year Pure Heart Lotus completely lost its life. Streams of black light emerged, shifting several times before finally condensing into a black Spirit Ring.

Black and gleaming!

Black and profound!

Black as though it could devour everything!

This was a true ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring!

Lu Chen felt his breathing quicken slightly. Holding the Pure Heart Lotus's body in his arms, he swiftly swam ashore.

Without any hesitation, Lu Chen ran deeper into the forest.

If the Tassel White Crane returned and found that the Pure Heart Lotus was gone, it would definitely go mad. It would never again have a clean lake to play in.

About forty minutes later, Lu Chen was panting from exhaustion. He had run at least dozens of li.

The Tassel White Crane shouldn't be able to find him so easily now!

Lu Chen spent a little more time finding a crack in a cliff face. He squeezed himself in, barely managing to fit.

Twisting his body, Lu Chen barely managed to sit down. Looking at the Pure Heart Lotus's body that he had brought back, he gritted his teeth and said:

"The Spirit Beast has already been killed. If I don't absorb the Spirit Ring now, it'll be completely wasted."

"Besides, compared to animal Spirit Beasts, Plant Spirit Beasts have a harder time developing intelligence, so their souls should be weaker as well. The soul shock shouldn't be too powerful."

After making up his mind completely, Lu Chen closed his eyes, circulated the Meditation Method, connected with his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and began absorbing the Pure Heart Lotus's black Spirit Ring.

That pitch-black Spirit Ring slowly floated over and settled around the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. It rapidly shrank and merged into it.

An incomparably sacred Soul Power filled with the aura of life quickly spread out, flooding his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul visibly underwent tremendous changes and began its fourth evolution.

After more than an hour of lengthy absorption, although he encountered some setbacks along the way, Lu Chen ultimately succeeded.

Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes and said in a lingeringly fearful voice:

"So this is soul shock. It really is hard to withstand. Luckily, I absorbed a Plant Spirit Beast's Spirit Ring, so the soul shock wasn't particularly strong. And my spiritual power had also been strengthened somewhat during my previous three Spirit Ring absorptions. That was the only reason I could absorb a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring in one go."

"The price was enormous, but the reward is gratifying. My Fourth Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Baptism, can dispel all abnormal conditions, including poison, illness, curses, and the corrosion of all kinds of elemental power... This is simply perfect!"

"As for my Soul Power, it has reached level fifty. I can start looking for my Fifth Spirit Ring. The massive amount of Soul Power sleeping within my body has gradually been released by more than half. My true Soul Power should be revealed soon."

The Twenty-Five-Thousand-Year Demon Spirit Tree

After waking up, Lu Chen thoroughly inspected his body and discovered that after absorbing his Fourth Spirit Ring,

his physique had become a little stronger under the nourishment of this ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring. He clenched his fist hard and felt as though he had inexhaustible strength within him.

At the same time, his spiritual power had also been tempered. With the help of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, he could communicate with Blue Silver Grass over a much wider area.

Previously, he could at most communicate with Blue Silver Grass within a range of two or three hundred meters.

But now, he could communicate with Blue Silver Grass within a range of two or three kilometers.

Whether it was finding suitable Spirit Beasts or avoiding potential danger in advance, this ability could serve a far greater purpose.

Lu Chen smiled in satisfaction.

He then began examining the Pure Heart Lotus's body again. He split it down the middle, cut it completely in half, and inspected it over and over.

In the end, he sighed in disappointment.

"No Spirit Bone. Thinking about it, that's normal. Spirit Bones are something one can only encounter by chance. Even though the Pure Heart Lotus was a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast, the chance of it producing a Spirit Bone was less than one in ten thousand."

"I've already obtained a suitable Spirit Ring. I shouldn't hope for the Pure Heart Lotus to produce a Spirit Bone as well. A person should know when to be satisfied."

Setting down the Pure Heart Lotus's broken body, Lu Chen twisted himself out of the crevice and came outside to take a breath of fresh air.

After adjusting his mindset, Lu Chen rubbed his stomach and said:

"I'll find something to eat and celebrate obtaining a ten-thousand-year Fourth Spirit Ring. Then it'll be time to set out and search for my Fifth Spirit Ring."

Half a month later!

Somewhere in the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Forest, Lu Chen swung the Black Iron Sickle in his hand, cutting through the vines and thorns blocking his path.

As he struggled forward through the forest, he communicated with the surrounding Blue Silver Grass.

"You're saying there's a huge evil thing ahead, something terrifying that eats Spirit Beasts, and I should be careful."

"Mm-hmm, I understand. As long as that evil big thing is a Plant Spirit Beast, it's fine. I'll only take a look from afar. I won't provoke it."

Through his communication with the surrounding Blue Silver Grass, Lu Chen learned that not far ahead was a Plant Spirit Beast that ate animal Spirit Beasts. It was a very evil and dangerous creature.

These Blue Silver Grasses possessed limited intelligence and had difficulty describing the Plant Spirit Beast in detail.

But since it was a Plant Spirit Beast, Lu Chen still decided to take a look.

After traveling for half an hour, Lu Chen arrived at the Plant Spirit Beast's territory.

The instant he stepped inside, Lu Chen felt a chill. It was extremely strange. The sun was clearly still hanging in the sky, yet this place was cold beyond belief.

Lu Chen looked at the surrounding soil. It was dark red and gave off a strong stench of decay.

The plants growing in this land were overly lush compared to those elsewhere.

Yet Lu Chen felt that these flourishing plants carried an evil aura that made him uneasy from the bottom of his heart.

"Third Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Shelter!"

Lu Chen was extremely vigilant. The moment he sensed something wrong, he summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

A stalk of Blue Silver Grass that glimmered with golden light and emitted a sacred aura grew around him.

At his feet, an extremely shocking set of Spirit Rings—purple, purple, purple, black—rose up.

His Third Spirit Ring suddenly lit up. As he poured Soul Power into his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, it radiated light and formed a blue barrier around him.

With this energy shield, Lu Chen felt somewhat reassured before slowly continuing onward.

After taking less than a hundred steps, Lu Chen saw the Plant Spirit Beast's true form.

It was a towering giant tree twenty-five meters tall. Its branches and leaves were luxuriant, and everything from its trunk to its leaves was dark red. From afar, its huge dark-red canopy resembled a heart and gave off an eerie aura.

Lu Chen's eyes widened.

"The Demon Spirit Tree. Just as the Blue Silver Grass said, this is an evil giant."

"The Demon Spirit Tree produces Demon Spirit Fruit. These fruits give off a strange fragrance that attracts animal Spirit Beasts to eat them. Animal Spirit Beasts that consume Demon Spirit Fruit have their potential stimulated, and their strength directly doubles."

"But accordingly, animal Spirit Beasts that eat Demon Spirit Fruit will also have the killing instinct in their hearts awakened. Those animal Spirit Beasts whose killing instincts are awakened will constantly slaughter one another."

"The Spirit Beast that survives to the end may have a chance to leave. The other Spirit Beasts that die become the Demon Spirit Tree's blood food. The Demon Spirit Tree devours their flesh and blood, absorbs their life essence, and turns it into nourishment, allowing itself to grow stronger and produce even more Demon Spirit Fruit the following year."

Lu Chen revealed a hesitant expression as he considered whether to hunt the Demon Spirit Tree and use it as his Fifth Spirit Ring.

Judging from its cultivation, this twenty-five-meter-tall Demon Spirit Tree had at least twenty-five thousand years of cultivation. It was undoubtedly highly suitable as his Fifth Spirit Ring.

However, the Demon Spirit Tree's evil nature did not quite align with the direction of the Spirit Rings he had absorbed before.

Thus, Lu Chen was deeply conflicted!

After pondering for a long while, he finally made up his mind.

Although this Demon Spirit Tree is sinister, that is because it continuously devours the flesh and blood of Spirit Beasts. The Demon Spirit Fruit of this Demon Spirit Tree can stimulate the potential within the body and double a Spirit Beast's strength. That is an excellent ability.

Isn't that exactly what I want—a skill that can amplify strength? The powerful adaptability of Blue Silver Grass is enough to neutralize the Demon Spirit Tree's evil nature to a certain degree.

And best of all, my Fourth Spirit Ring's skill, Blue Silver Baptism, originally has little offensive ability, but it is extremely effective against an evil Spirit Beast like the Demon Spirit Tree. It gives me a chance to defeat it calmly.

If it were some other ten-thousand-year Plant Spirit Beast with a different attribute, then with the little means I have, I might not necessarily be able to defeat it.

After considering every aspect, Lu Chen ultimately decided to hunt the Demon Spirit Tree and make it his Fifth Spirit Ring.

Lu Chen raised his hand and pointed at the Demon Spirit Tree ahead.

"Go!"

The next instant, under Lu Chen's control, his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul began growing rapidly. Thick vines slithered forward like giant snakes, encircling the Demon Spirit Tree.

Lu Chen's Blue Silver Grass emitted a sacred aura all over, causing the inherently evil Demon Spirit Tree to gradually feel uneasy.

Rustle! Rustle!

The Demon Spirit Tree immediately reacted. Thick roots burst from beneath the ground one after another. Those roots were covered in dense barbs that made one's scalp tingle.

Hanging from those barbs were the dried skeletons of Spirit Beasts in all kinds of forms.

Having grown to twenty-five thousand years, the Demon Spirit Tree had eaten an unknown number of Spirit Beasts throughout its life. These skeletons were only a small fraction of them.

Those barbed roots quickly became entangled with Lu Chen's Blue Silver Grass, wrapping tightly around each other.

Lu Chen's Blue Silver Grass suffered a slight disadvantage.

The Demon Spirit Tree's roots were covered in dense barbs. After piercing the surface of Lu Chen's Blue Silver Grass, they began devouring his Soul Power.

Noticing this, Lu Chen immediately responded.

"Fourth Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Baptism!"

As his voice fell, his fourth black Spirit Ring lit up with dazzling light, emitting a terrifying pressure that made people feel stifled.

Lu Chen's Soul Power poured endlessly into his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul like floodwaters released from a dam.

From its vines to its leaves, his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul blossomed with radiant blue light—sacred, pure, bright...

"Ah!"

Lu Chen seemed to hear a faint scream in his ears.

The Demon Spirit Tree's roots, which had been showing off their ferocity just moments earlier, began trembling violently under the blue light.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Streams of sinister black-and-red evil energy evaporated from the Demon Spirit Tree's roots. They were a combination of resentment, baleful energy, blood energy, death energy... and other foul, unclean auras.

Under Lu Chen's Blue Silver Baptism, they had met their natural nemesis and were completely unable to resist.

Lu Chen was overjoyed at the sight. He controlled even more Blue Silver Grass vines, wrapping the Demon Spirit Tree in layer after layer.

Using the purification power of Blue Silver Baptism to suppress the source of the Demon Spirit Tree's power, and without that resentment, baleful energy, blood energy, and death energy...

The Demon Spirit Tree no longer had any ability to show its ferocity. It completely collapsed and fell into a weakened state.