The Sorrow Bird (Third White Soul Ring)

The moment Qin Chuan's fingertips touched the leaves of the Blue Silver Emperor, a consciousness—gentle, maternal, yet laden with endless sorrow and longing—flowed into the depths of his heart.

That was A Yin's consciousness.

Like a prisoner locked in a cage, she had waited silently in this cold, damp cave day after day, year after year, waiting for her husband, waiting for her child.

Her world had been reduced to nothing but endless darkness and solitude.

How truly pitiful. That drunkard Tang Hao abandoned you here and never looked back. And that unfilial son, Tang San, only thinks of using your power to seek revenge and ascend to godhood. Have they ever truly cared about your feelings?

A trace of pity rose in Qin Chuan's heart, but it was quickly eclipsed by the thrill of being on the verge of controlling another's fate.

His first soul skill, Shadow Hypnosis, was quietly activated.

This time, he did not construct any complex dreams, nor did he issue any commands.

He simply transmitted the purest, most beautiful image from his own heart.

Within the dream.

An endless sea of seven-colored flowers stretched to the very edge of the horizon.

There were no cold caves, no deafening waterfalls.

There was only warm sunlight, a gentle breeze, and the refreshing, intoxicating fragrance of flowers permeating the air.

As the wind blew, the sea of flowers surged like a colorful ocean.

A Yin's consciousness took the form of a beautiful, gentle, and quiet woman in a long blue dress. She stood barefoot in the center of this flower sea, a look of bewilderment on her face.

Just then, a blurred shadow slowly walked toward her from the end of the flower sea.

"I've come to take you home."

Outside the dream, within the cave.

The Blue Silver Emperor, which had previously radiated an aura of sorrow, now saw the golden patterns on its leaves emitting a joyful and warm radiance like never before.

It was immersed in the beautiful dream Qin Chuan had woven for it, temporarily forgetting the pain of reality.

Qin Chuan knew that this level of hypnosis could not last long for the soul of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

Doing this was merely to offer her a moment of warmth.

Qin Chuan carefully dug up the special [Blue Silver Grass], keeping the soil around its roots intact.

With a thought, he wrapped it in Heavenly Dao Power and placed it into his spatial soul tool.

He spread a thick layer of the most fertile soil in one corner of the soul tool's space.

He then drew in a stream of clear mountain spring water to moisten the earth.

Finally, he carefully transplanted the Blue Silver Emperor into this "new home" he had crafted with his own hands.

Only after finishing all this did Qin Chuan let out a long sigh of relief.

Rest well here for now. When my strength is sufficient, I will definitely resurrect you.

Qin Chuan put away the spatial soul tool, took one last look at the empty cave, and left quickly.

The distance from Holy Soul Village to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest was not far. At his current speed as a level 55 Soul King, it would not take long.

Passing through several small towns along the way, Qin Chuan did not stop. He bought some dry rations, fresh water, and other daily necessities before continuing his journey.

By the time he arrived at the [Star Dou Great Forest] again, it was already afternoon.

Qin Chuan's purpose for returning this time was clear: to obtain a third soul ring for his [Illusion Bell].

He began to ponder his next plan.

Twin martial souls—the four words sounded impressive, but putting them into practice required a great deal of strategy.

Teacher Gangzi had once said: the greatest taboo for a twin-martial-soul master is greed. Adding soul rings to both martial souls simultaneously consumes more than twice the soul power of a single martial soul. At higher levels, one might even find their soul power insufficient to support the simultaneous operation of both.

Back then, few in the class had listened carefully.

Qin Chuan, however, had taken it to heart, though at the time he didn't know he possessed twin martial souls and simply treated the theory class as a pastime.

He hadn't expected to actually use it three years later.

The core of Yu Xiaogang's theory was simple: in the early stages, only add soul rings to one martial soul while holding back on the other. Wait until the body, soul power, and mental strength are sufficiently strong before adding high-year soul rings to the second martial soul.

This was called "suppressing the soul ring."

Qin Chuan's current situation was as follows.

The Zhu Xian Sword already possessed a 25,000-year black soul ring from the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger; this ring had been added first to prioritize [Power Attack].

Now that the issue of self-preservation was resolved, it was time to add a ring to the Illusion Bell.

The Illusion Bell currently had two soul rings, both ten-year white rings.

The first came from a Hallucination Mushroom, with the soul skill [Shadow Hypnosis], white, 88 years.

The second came from a Dream Jellyfish, with the soul skill [Sinful Haze], white, 99 years.

For his third soul ring, he still chose white.

As for the Zhu Xian Sword, he would not be adding a soul ring to it for the time being.

He would wait until his strength reached the Soul Douluo level, then find a way to obtain a hundred-thousand-year soul ring to complete it in one step.

Qin Chuan looked up at the pitch-black forest, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"Teacher Gang, your theories are truly useful. Although you once advised me to become a lullaby singer, in the end, it was advice based on my actual circumstances."

"It's just that you never expected that your most hopeless student would now be a level 55 Soul King."

Qin Chuan began to search for a target.

In the forest, rustling sounds were everywhere. The chirping of insects, the calls of beasts, and the rustle of leaves stirred by the wind all blended together.

Qin Chuan did not activate his Samsara Eye.

He needed to conserve his soul power for now. The Samsara Eye was useful, but keeping it active for long periods consumed soul power, so he planned to activate it only once he reached the middle of the forest.

In this forest, there were not many soul beasts suitable for the Illusion Bell.

As he walked, Qin Chuan filtered through the types of soul beasts he knew in his mind. Mushrooms, jellyfish, flowers, and grasses—he considered every soul beast that had anything to do with mental control.

But he still hadn't found anything particularly satisfactory.

The sky darkened, and the light in the woods faded rapidly.

The tree crowns overlapped overhead into a pitch-black dome, with only sporadic points of light leaking through the gaps, hitting the ground in small patches like a shattered mirror.

The chirping of insects began to intensify. Crickets, katydids, and other insects whose names he didn't know mixed together, creating a noisy din.

Qin Chuan retracted his Samsara Eye, relaxed his mind, and walked slowly through the outer perimeter of the forest.

He was looking for something.

He had been pondering the third soul ring for the Illusion Bell for a long time, but he hadn't settled on a target.

Qin Chuan walked and thought, his footsteps steady and unhurried, making a faint rustling sound as he stepped on the decaying leaves.

After walking for about twenty minutes, he stopped.

On a low branch about a dozen meters ahead, a bird was perched.

The bird was tiny, only the size of a palm. Its feathers were pink—a very tender, slightly translucent pink, as if peach blossom petals had been crushed and pasted onto its body. Its head was tucked under its wing, as if it were napping.

It was just such an insignificant little bird.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, even the lowest-level soul beasts wouldn't bother to glance at it.

But Qin Chuan's eyes lit up.

[Sorrow Bird].

He had come across records of this soul beast in the ancient books of the Shrek Academy library.

The information was sparse, only half a page long, because this bird was so weak that almost no soul master would ever list it as a hunting target.

Its maximum age did not exceed 99 years, it had no combat power, no defensive capabilities, and its flight speed was average.

But it possessed an extremely unique innate soul skill.

Qin Chuan slowly approached the branch.

When he reached a distance of five meters, the Sorrow Bird woke up. It poked its head out from under its wing, its round black eyes fixed on Qin Chuan, its entire little body tensing up.

It could feel the fluctuations of soul power from the human in front of it; the sense of oppression made its feathers stand on end.

Qin Chuan did not rush to act, but stood where he was, observing the little bird.

The Sorrow Bird's size was indeed pitifully small. Beneath its pink feathers, its chest heaved as its heart beat rapidly. Its wings were half-spread, and its claws gripped the branch so tightly that the branch trembled slightly.

Qin Chuan scanned it with his Samsara Eye.

66 years.

Historical records stated the maximum lifespan of a Sorrow Bird was 99 years; this one had already lived for 66 years, making it an old bird.

"I want your soul ring," Qin Chuan said in his heart, considering it a greeting in advance.

He raised his left hand, palm facing the Sorrow Bird.

"Bansho Ten'in."

A gravitational force acted upon the Sorrow Bird out of thin air. Its claws instantly detached from the branch, and its palm-sized body flew uncontrollably toward Qin Chuan's hand.

"Chirp!" The Sorrow Bird let out a sharp cry.

That sound was not a normal bird call.

What Qin Chuan heard in his ears was a bird cry, but what crashed directly into his mental world was something else entirely.

The cry was like a string pulled to its limit and then snapped; the sound was not loud, but it pierced through his eardrums, through his skull, and stabbed directly into the deepest part of his brain.

The [Sorrow Bird] had activated its innate soul skill—[Flowers Falling in a Dream].

Qin Chuan did not resist; instead, he wanted to properly experience the mental attack brought by the [Sorrow Bird].