Having decided to make this everlasting evergreen pine his Sixth Spirit Ring, Lu Chen acted without hesitation.
"Third Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Shelter!"
"Fifth Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Blessing!"
Lu Chen summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Crystal clear throughout, radiating a soft golden halo and a rich aura of life, the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul sprouted around him.
Purple, purple, purple, black, black-five awe-inspiring Spirit Rings emerged beneath Lu Chen's feet, one after another.
In an instant, his third, purple Spirit Ring and his fifth, black Spirit Ring lit up in succession.
With his Third Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Shelter, a blue barrier rose around Lu Chen as his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul shone.
His Fifth Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Blessing, released a rich surge of life force from his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, pouring it into Lu Chen's body.
Lu Chen immediately felt strength welling endlessly from within him.
His body underwent a tremendous transformation. His original height of 1.8 meters rapidly rose to two meters, and the muscles all over his body swiftly swelled and bulged, every one of them brimming with explosive strength.
Lu Chen felt better than ever before. He had never been so full of strength.
This was his Fifth Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Blessing. It channeled life force into the body, increasing every attribute by 100%: attack, defense, strength, speed...
Lu Chen felt like a humanoid Spirit Beast. The explosive strength within him made him feel capable of anything!
"Kill!"
With an explosive shout, Lu Chen charged toward the everlasting evergreen pine like rushing thunder. He was like a tank hurtling at full speed, bearing an unstoppable momentum, as though he could crush every enemy beneath him.
The everlasting evergreen pine clearly sensed Lu Chen's menacing approach and ill intent. Its trunk shook violently, and as Soul Power flooded into its once-soft needles, they instantly became as hard as tempered steel.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Under the everlasting evergreen pine's control, its needles shot through the air like hidden weapons, so numerous that they densely covered the entire sky.
The sheer density of the attack made even Lu Chen's scalp prickle. There was nowhere for him to dodge.
He could only steel himself and charge toward the everlasting evergreen pine, braving the needles streaking through the air.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The steel-hard pine needles struck the blue barrier like raindrops, immediately making the energy shield ripple violently. Almost instantly, it reached the verge of shattering.
Lu Chen frowned. This forty-eight-thousand-year-old everlasting evergreen pine certainly had a few tricks.
In the flash of a spark, he swiftly responded:
"Blue Silver Shelter!"
Drawing on his vast reserves of Soul Power, Lu Chen used Blue Silver Shelter seven times in succession, raising a total of seven blue barriers around his body.
As the first blue barrier shattered, the densely packed pine needles blotted out the sky as they stabbed straight toward the second.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Under the unending barrage of pine needles, the second, third, and fourth blue barriers around Lu Chen shattered in succession.
But in that time, Lu Chen had reached the everlasting evergreen pine. He swung his fist, frantically circulating the Soul Power within him until it seemed to boil:
"Cannon Fist!"
Lu Chen unleashed a punch with the crushing force of thunder, slamming it heavily into the everlasting evergreen pine's trunk and leaving a deep fist imprint.
A fierce shock wave swept out, penetrating deep into the everlasting evergreen pine's trunk and making the entire tree shake violently.
Creak, crack!
Sounds of something straining beneath an unbearable burden came from inside the everlasting evergreen pine's trunk, as though something within it had snapped.
Lu Chen was overjoyed at the sight!
It worked!
As long as my attacks work, I'll beat the everlasting evergreen pine to death eventually.
His gaze sharpened. Alternating left and right, he hammered the everlasting evergreen pine's trunk with one punch after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under Lu Chen's punishing blows, the everlasting evergreen pine's entire trunk began bending to one side, seemingly showing signs of breaking.
At this critical moment, the everlasting evergreen pine changed its strategy. Seeing that its needles could not kill Lu Chen, it mobilized its roots.
The earth instantly trembled. Thick roots burst out of the ground, coiling toward Lu Chen like snakes and pythons.
Lu Chen glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, then controlled his Blue Silver Grass, extending stems to entangle those thick roots.
One Blue Silver Grass stem wound around one of the everlasting evergreen pine's roots.
If one was not enough, then three Blue Silver Grass stems would wind around one of the everlasting evergreen pine's roots.
In short, he used the Blue Silver Grass stems to hold the everlasting evergreen pine's roots firmly in place, keeping them from interfering with him.
Lu Chen had grown ruthless as well. Under Blue Silver Blessing's effects, his attack, defense, strength, speed... had all doubled, giving him the confidence to beat the everlasting evergreen pine to death.
Now, regardless of whether his body could withstand this power, he recklessly poured all his strength into the everlasting evergreen pine's trunk.
A few punches, a dozen, dozens, a hundred, hundreds...
By the end, even Lu Chen did not know how many punches he had thrown.
At last, under Lu Chen's relentless punches, the everlasting evergreen pine before him snapped clean through the middle with a crack and crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom.
A faint, barely perceptible mournful cry drifted slowly into Lu Chen's ears.
This everlasting evergreen pine had finally died at Lu Chen's hands.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
An immensely dense black light poured out of the everlasting evergreen pine's trunk. Its energy was so terrifying that even the air grew thick.
After several transformations, it condensed into a deep black Spirit Ring!
This was a Spirit Ring from a forty-eight-thousand-year-old Spirit Beast!
Looking at the Spirit Ring, Lu Chen laughed heartily despite being breathless with exhaustion and drenched in sweat:
"Hahahaha..."
After giving full vent to all the joy in his heart.
Lu Chen began treating his injuries:
"First Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Revival!"
"Second Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Grace!"
Bathed in a blue mist of light, Lu Chen felt his mental and physical exhaustion ease greatly. His mangled, bloody fists rapidly scabbed over and soon returned to a completely uninjured state.
Lu Chen, who had been utterly exhausted with both hands mangled and bloody just moments earlier, returned to peak condition in the blink of an eye.
As for his depleted Soul Power, Lu Chen could absorb the energy of heaven and earth simply by breathing.
His Soul Power recovered far faster than he consumed it.
After his body recovered, Lu Chen looked at the black Spirit Ring with shining eyes. He could hardly wait to absorb it and truly become a Six-Ring Soul Emperor.
Before that, however, Lu Chen remained as cautious as ever. He dug a hole in the ground, climbed inside, then used Blue Silver Grass to drag over a rock and completely seal the entrance.
Only after doing all this did Lu Chen finally set his mind completely at ease.