I've decided on you, Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass!
After some hesitation, Lu Chen finally made up his mind.
The bold stuffed themselves to death, while the timid starved.
With a physique powerful enough to drive off a thousand-year Great King Tiger barehanded, Lu Chen refused to believe he couldn't absorb a Millennium Spirit Ring.
Having made his decision, Lu Chen walked up to the Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass and swung the Black Iron Sickle in his hand, cutting through the full three-meter plant, roots and all.
Drip! Drip!
Drops of red liquid flowed from the Red Blood Grass's severed roots and stem, looking just like fresh blood, though they gave off a peculiar fragrance.
Although the Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass possessed exceptionally vigorous vitality as a Plant Spirit Beast, its life reached its end once its roots and stem were severed.
As the Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass trembled, streams of rich purple light drifted out of its roots, stem, and leaves.
After several transformations, they finally condensed into a purple Spirit Ring!
A purple Spirit Ring-a Millennium Spirit Ring!
Normally, this powerful Spirit Ring could only be absorbed once one's Soul Power reached rank thirty, but trusting in his formidable physique, Lu Chen decided to use it as his first Spirit Ring.
While other Spirit Masters were still absorbing Decade Spirit Rings and Hundred-Year Spirit Rings as their first Spirit Rings.
Lu Chen dared to use a Millennium Spirit Ring as his first Spirit Ring. It had to be said that this was an attempt that defied common sense.
Then Lu Chen hoisted the Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass onto his shoulder, turned, and headed out of the valley.
He didn't dare absorb the Spirit Ring here. During the absorption process, he would be unable to move freely.
If that Great King Tiger came back while he was absorbing the Spirit Ring and couldn't move freely, he would be done for.
He still needed to find somewhere safe to absorb the Spirit Ring!
Carrying the Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass on his shoulder, Lu Chen watched his surroundings warily for sudden Spirit Beast attacks as he hurried onward, searching for somewhere to absorb the Spirit Ring.
About half an hour later, Lu Chen found a towering tree with a hollow that appeared to be a nest abandoned by some Spirit Beast.
Lu Chen climbed the tree and tried it out. If he curled up, the hollow could just barely hold him, so he decided to absorb the Spirit Ring here.
He curled up inside the hollow and used the pack he carried with him to block its entrance tightly.
Only after making every preparation did Lu Chen close his eyes, circulate his Meditation Method, connect with his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and begin absorbing the Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass's purple Spirit Ring.
Once summoned, the purple Spirit Ring suddenly floated toward Lu Chen and slipped around the Blue Silver Grass in his palm, then rapidly shrank until it merged into the grass.
In an instant, vigorous, flourishing Soul Power brimming with vitality spread out. Nourished by that vitality, Lu Chen's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul trembled gently, growing taller, sturdier, and more vibrant at a speed visible to the naked eye.
That immense Soul Power also flowed back from Lu Chen's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul into his own body.
The immense Soul Power traveled through his meridians and finally reached his dantian, seemingly intent on wreaking havoc, but an unimaginably vast reserve of Soul Power lay dormant within Lu Chen's dantian.
Suppressed by that vast Soul Power, the Soul Power from the Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass's Spirit Ring became like a mouse that had spotted a cat, behaving itself and not daring to scurry about!
As Lu Chen's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul drew in and refined that foreign Soul Power, it was eventually broken down completely and merged into his own Soul Power.
The entire process went exceptionally smoothly!
Absorbing a Millennium Spirit Ring had indeed been something of a gamble for Lu Chen, but the result was better than he had expected. He absorbed the Spirit Ring without suffering any harm.
The absorption process lasted about forty minutes in total, and after those forty minutes, Lu Chen finished absorbing the Spirit Ring.
Inside the tree hollow, Lu Chen opened his eyes, which sparkled with joy. The corners of his lips rose into a smile he couldn't suppress.
Overjoyed, he thought:
Absorbing a Millennium Spirit Ring was actually this easy. It seems I underestimated this body of mine. After absorbing my first Spirit Ring, my Soul Power shot straight up to rank twenty. Next, it's time to find the second Spirit Ring I need.
My first Spirit Ring is a Millennium Spirit Ring from Red Blood Grass, and I'm very satisfied with this skill too.
Blue Silver Revival. Using my First Spirit Skill releases a blue mist of light. Anyone bathed in that blue mist of light can rapidly recover from their injuries.
After finishing the absorption of his first Spirit Ring, Lu Chen pushed aside the pack blocking the entrance, crawled out of the narrow hollow, and leaped from the towering tree to the ground.
With a thought, he summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and a stalk of Blue Silver Grass grew out of thin air above his palm.
A magnificent purple Spirit Ring also rose beneath his feet.
Compared with his original Martial Soul, this stalk of Blue Silver Grass was taller, sturdier, and more vibrant. Streaks of blood-red markings could be seen on its leaves, looking just like blood vessels.
This was Blue Silver Grass that had completed one round of evolution!
Lu Chen believed that as long as he persevered in absorbing Plant Spirit Beast Spirit Rings, his Blue Silver Grass would eventually evolve into a Variant Blue Silver Emperor!
Lu Chen laughed and said:
"My Blue Silver Grass has evolved, and the first Spirit Ring I absorbed met my expectations perfectly. With this recovery skill, I won't have to fear getting hurt in battle in Star Dou Forest anymore."
With that, Lu Chen withdrew his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, shouldered his pack again, picked a direction at random, and headed off to search for the Second Spirit Ring he needed.
Finding a suitable Spirit Beast in the vast Star Dou Forest was no easy task.
More than a month had passed since he absorbed the Thousand-Year Red Blood Grass's Spirit Ring.
Lu Chen had searched tirelessly through the Outer Zone of Star Dou Forest for over a month.
Although he encountered quite a few Plant Spirit Beasts, none suited him. Either their species was wrong or their age was unsuitable.
After over a month of arduous searching, Lu Chen was thoroughly exhausted. Today, he came to a lake, intending to give his face a good wash and clear his head.
But upon reaching the lake, Lu Chen looked toward Lakeheart Island and widened his eyes.
On Lakeheart Island stood an enormous tea tree, its luxuriant branches and leaves a lush, glistening green. A faint tea fragrance drifted over, leaving Lu Chen feeling refreshed.
Lu Chen said in delighted surprise:
"A Cloud Mist Tea Tree! I actually found a Cloud Mist Tea Tree, and judging by its size, it's about four thousand years old. Heaven truly is helping me!"
The leaves harvested from a Cloud Mist Tea Tree were a premier luxury among high society. Tea brewed from them had the miraculous ability to dispel fatigue and restore energy.
In high society, there was a saying that an ounce of tea was worth an ounce of gold.
If Lu Chen brought this Cloud Mist Tea Tree back intact, the great nobles of the imperial capital would spare no expense to purchase it.
A four-thousand-year Cloud Mist Tea Tree would fetch no less than four hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.
But what Lu Chen needed now wasn't Gold Soul Coins, but a Second Spirit Ring that suited him.