Under Lu Chen's full control, the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, which had gained four Spirit Rings and undergone four rounds of evolution, displayed extraordinarily powerful resilience.
Thick branches bound the Demon Spirit Tree tightly like serpents and pythons, using the purifying power of Blue Silver Baptism to suppress it until it was utterly weakened.
Seizing the opportunity, Lu Chen unleashed his Self-Created Soul Skill, Explosive Step, and reached it in a few leaps. He raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and unleashed all his strength as he smashed it toward the Demon Spirit Tree:
"Cannon Fist!"
His immense Soul Power surged into his fist and, after being highly compressed, radiated an imposing might!
As Lu Chen's fist slammed into the Demon Spirit Tree, a terrifying energy shock wave swept outward, leaving a deep fist imprint in its trunk.
Not only that, the energy shock wave penetrated the Demon Spirit Tree's body and began wreaking havoc within. Its trunk shuddered violently, giving off a series of creaks and groans as it struggled to bear the strain.
"What a Demon Spirit Tree you are! If one punch won't break you, I'll throw ten, a hundred, until I break you!"
Lu Chen's eyes shone brightly. As his words fell, he began striking with both hands, hammering the Demon Spirit Tree's trunk with punch after punch.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...
The dull thuds of fists striking the trunk scarcely paused for even a moment, even as Lu Chen's fists became a bloody mess and hairline cracks began appearing in the bones of his fingers and hands from the recoil.
Pain shot straight to the crown of his head. Although he struggled to suppress it, the corners of his eyes still twitched from time to time, showing just how difficult physical pain was to suppress.
Even so, Lu Chen kept punching, his hands never pausing for a moment.
The pain kept his mind clear!
Hatred filled him with drive!
This Demon Spirit Tree was going to die today. It had to become my Fifth Spirit Ring!
No one could stop me!
Crack! Crash!
Lu Chen had not counted whether he had thrown dozens of punches or hundreds.
But under his relentless assault, the Demon Spirit Tree finally could no longer bear the strain. Its trunk snapped with a crack, and it crashed to the ground.
This Demon Spirit Tree, with twenty-five thousand years of cultivation, had already been utterly weakened under Blue Silver Baptism's suppression. Now that its trunk had broken, it finally breathed its last.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Vast, surging black light poured out of the Demon Spirit Tree's trunk, its eerie, evil energy making even the air turn thick.
The fluctuations of energy it released were all the more oppressive.
After shifting several times, that black light finally condensed into a black Spirit Ring.
At the sight, Lu Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Effort did not fail the determined; he had finally killed the Demon Spirit Tree.
Even though both his fists had become a bloody mess, and hairline cracks had appeared in the bones of his fingers and hands from the recoil.
Fortunately, it had all been worth it!
"First Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Revival!"
"Second Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Grace!"
As Lu Chen cast his First Spirit Skill and Second Spirit Skill in succession, the Blue Silver Grass around him swayed gently, releasing waves of blue mist.
Bathed in that blue mist, the cracked bones of Lu Chen's fingers and hands began healing rapidly, while his bloodied fists swiftly scabbed over and recovered.
At the same time, his mental and physical exhaustion was greatly eased under the soothing effect of Blue Silver Grace, and he gradually returned to peak condition.
The cool, refreshing sensation finally suppressed the searing pain. Lu Chen chuckled and said:
"The Spirit Beasts I picked really were good. Both Blue Silver Revival and Blue Silver Grace are very practical skills."
"I hope this Demon Spirit Tree won't disappoint me either, and gives me a skill that meets my expectations."
As he gradually recovered, Lu Chen prepared to absorb his Fifth Spirit Ring.
Before that, however, Lu Chen first dug a pit in the ground. The farther he dug, the more disgusting it became: beneath the ground lay layer upon layer of countless Spirit Beast remains.
As Lu Chen dug, all those Spirit Beast remains were exposed, and their foul stench all but struck him in the face. He frowned the entire time he was digging.
Disgusting as it looked, it was for safety.
Lu Chen had no choice. He jumped into the deep pit, sat cross-legged, then raised a hand and made a grabbing motion upward, directing the Blue Silver Grass branches to extend outside.
They wrapped tightly around the Demon Spirit Tree's body and dragged its trunk over, completely blocking the large pit.
All of this was for safety, to keep any Spirit Beasts that suddenly appeared from disturbing him while he absorbed the Spirit Ring.
Once all his preparations were complete, Lu Chen closed his eyes, circulated his Meditation Method, connected with his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and began absorbing the twenty-five-thousand-year Demon Spirit Tree Spirit Ring.
The next instant, the Spirit Ring floated down and slipped around his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, then rapidly shrank and merged into it.
Evil, oppressive, bloody, filthy...
Lu Chen frowned!
The feeling this Spirit Ring gave him could only be described as extremely unpleasant.
He had never felt anything like this when absorbing Spirit Rings before.
But an arrow loosed from the bow could not turn back. Lu Chen could only mobilize his Soul Power and begin suppressing the Demon Spirit Tree's Spirit Ring with all his might.
He also used the powerful accommodating nature of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to dissolve and neutralize the evil within the Demon Spirit Tree's Spirit Ring.
Fortunately, he already had experience absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
Although absorbing this twenty-five-thousand-year Demon Spirit Tree Spirit Ring put him under considerable pressure, the process went relatively smoothly.
Ultimately, relying on the Blue Silver Grass's powerful accommodating nature, he gradually expelled the evil nature of the Demon Spirit Tree's Spirit Ring and began absorbing the immense Soul Power contained within it, along with the Spirit Beast essence that carried an aura of life.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion!
The counterattack launched by the Demon Spirit Tree's soul resentment had no effect as Lu Chen firmly guarded his mind, and its soul ultimately dissipated completely.
After a long absorption process lasting over an hour, this twenty-five-thousand-year Demon Spirit Tree Spirit Ring finally became Lu Chen's Fifth Spirit Ring.
The instant he successfully absorbed the Spirit Ring, Lu Chen opened his eyes. He directed the Blue Silver Grass branches to move the Demon Spirit Tree's trunk away from overhead, then leaped out of the large pit.
Lu Chen took a breath of fresh air and felt a heartfelt sense of relief.
That unbearably foul pit had truly sickened him. If not for safety, he would never have hidden in a place like that.
After catching his breath a little, Lu Chen began examining his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
What he saw was extraordinary!
His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul now had a crystalline translucence throughout. It no longer looked like a plant, but rather something carved from jade.
Lu Chen was overjoyed:
"After absorbing three millennium spirit rings and two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul definitely isn't ordinary Blue Silver Grass anymore. Even if it hasn't evolved into a Blue Silver King yet, it should be infinitely close to one!"
"It looks fine. Absorbing the Demon Spirit Tree's Spirit Ring hasn't made my Blue Silver Grass evil. It's still just as tranquil and peaceful, giving off a rich aura of life."
"My Soul Power has now soared to level sixty, and I can absorb a Sixth Spirit Ring. Haha... a Six-Ring Soul Emperor who's over nine but not yet ten. Who would believe it if word got out!"
"With my Become Stronger by Breathing gold finger, I'm confident I can become a Titled Douluo before fifteen, and even become the strongest in the world before twenty."
"As for a God Position, with this gold finger of mine, becoming a god is as certain as a nail driven into a board!"
"As for my Fifth Spirit Ring, it really has given me a good Soul Skill. Blue Silver Blessing guides the power of life into the body and can boost all attributes by 100%. Attack, defense, speed, strength... an all-around improvement. This could practically double someone's strength!"
"It truly lives up to being a twenty-five-thousand-year Spirit Ring. It perfectly inherited the Demon Spirit Tree's ability without being tainted by its evil. Very good. I'm very satisfied."