First Soul Skill! External Soul Bone: Purple Gold Qi Claw Bone!

Hearing the commotion from below, Lan Yu looked up to see the valley filled with purple miasma, punctuated by the occasional sound of air explosions.

Within the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the Titan Giant Ape returned, clutching a Purple Scale Qi Flood Dragon from the valley. The creature was covered in dark purple scales with golden patterns along their edges, and its overall frame was broader than that of other python-type spirit beasts.

He tossed the half-dead Purple Scale Qi Flood Dragon in front of Lan Yu.

"One thousand four hundred years—the perfect first spirit ring!"

Lan Yu stroked his chin, pulled out his Zhuge Divine Crossbow, and prepared to deliver the finishing blow, but the Titan Giant Ape suddenly called out to him, "Human, are you intending to absorb this as your first spirit ring?"

"That's right. Is there a problem?" Lan Yu asked.

"As far as I know, the limit for a spirit master's third spirit ring is barely around a thousand years, isn't it?"

"If you try to absorb this directly, you will only end up exploding and dying."

The Purple Scale Qi Flood Dragon on the ground seemed to understand, flicking its tongue and writhing its body, its pupils filled with a hint of supplication.

"Thank you for the warning." Lan Yu smiled faintly and pulled the trigger, firing a bolt.

"But I am not like ordinary spirit masters!"

The bolt struck the Flood Dragon's vital point!

A purple spirit ring slowly rose from the dragon's body.

Lan Yu sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began the absorption process.

"Sigh."

The Titan Giant Ape sighed and slowly stood upright. "Sister Xiao Wu, if he dies, just come back to the Lake of Life with me!"

Xiao Wu shook her head, her tone filled with certainty. "He will definitely succeed!"

About an hour later.

Spirit power surged around Lan Yu. Having finished absorbing the ring, he slowly stood up, a purple spirit ring rising from beneath his feet.

"Lan Yu!" Xiao Wu, who had been guarding him, brightened and hurried over.

"How is this possible?!"

The Titan Giant Ape widened his beastly eyes, and for the first time, a look of shock appeared on that face where expressions were usually hard to discern.

He hadn't believed a single word of the grand claims Xiao Wu had told him about Lan Yu; he was a creature of sight, not empty promises.

Yet, Lan Yu had just absorbed a spirit ring beyond his level—one equivalent to a third ring for others—and it had happened right before his very eyes.

Have spirit masters developed to this extent? Is Heaven truly going to destroy my spirit beast race?

Er Ming, the Titan Giant Ape, felt fear for the first time.

"How is it?"

Xiao Wu lowered her head, looking at the purple spirit ring circling Lan Yu, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Not bad. I feel..." Lan Yu raised an eyebrow, but before he could finish, a piercing, agonizing pain shot through his left forearm.

"Hiss—"

He looked down to see the skin from his wrist to his elbow suddenly split open.

Bone spurs, as thin as spider legs and shimmering with a purple-gold luster, erupted from his flesh. They crisscrossed and coiled along his forearm, instantly wrapping tightly around the entire limb.

A blood blister swelled at his elbow; as the skin tore, a long, slender bone spur extended diagonally up to his shoulder. Several more golden patterns spread from the tip of the spur, wrapping around his armpit twice like a fixed strap.

"This is... an external spirit bone!" Lan Yu's breathing grew rapid, his eyes burning as he stared at his left forearm.

But a second later, he noticed something wrong—his palm was empty.

The power of the spirit bone didn't seem fully released. With a thought, he poured all his spirit power into his left arm. His palm instantly glowed with a rich, purple-gold light.

Overlapping scales emerged, and a dragon claw covered in fine scales suddenly took shape, its talons sharp and glinting with a cold, frigid light.

He gazed at the external spirit bone, composed of the forearm bone armor, the elbow-to-shoulder spur, and the dragon claw between his fingers.

A tempest raged in Lan Yu's heart.

I've actually got the protagonist treatment! Lan Yu swung his arm, feeling no discomfort or abnormality, as if it had always been a part of him.

With another thought, the bone spurs and dragon claw retracted into his body, leaving his skin as smooth as before.

"Lan Yu, what is this..."

Seeing this, Xiao Wu stepped forward, her eyes filled with concern.

"It's a spirit bone."

Lan Yu's tone was filled with irrepressible joy.

Xiao Wu murmured to herself, "A thousand-year spirit beast... do they drop spirit bones so easily?"

Who knew? After all, if a Human-Faced Demon Spider could drop the Eight Spider Lances, why couldn't his Purple Scale Qi Flood Dragon?

That's right, the Eight Spider Lances!

Lan Yu's eyes lit up, but when he looked up and saw that the sky had already darkened, he suppressed the thought.

The Star Dou Great Forest was vast and boundless; a Human-Faced Demon Spider wouldn't be easy to find.

I can only wait for the right moment to try my luck again. Even if the Eight Spider Lances don't suit me, they would be good for Xiao Wu or Tang Shan.

"Lan Yu, what is the name of your spirit bone?"

"Purple Gold Qi Claw Bone!"

Xiao Wu looked thoughtful upon hearing this, then glanced at the darkening sky. "Let's go, Lan Yu. It's getting dark, and Xiao Shan and Mother are waiting for us."

With that, Xiao Wu leaped into the palm of the Titan Giant Ape.

"Alright."

Driving the Titan Giant Ape-brand car along the way, there wasn't a single spirit beast blind enough to approach them.

In less than half an incense stick of time, the group returned to their starting point.

Ah Yin was sitting by the campfire with Tang Shan, and upon sensing the tremors from the ground, she quickly stood up and looked toward the source of the sound.

"Brother!"

Tang Shan's eyes lit up the moment she saw Lan Yu in the giant ape's palm, and she took off running toward him at full speed.

Lan Yu smiled and opened his arms, waiting for the young girl to pounce into them, but unexpectedly, Tang Shan slammed on the brakes right in front of him.

Suppressing the excitement in her heart, she circled Lan Yu with wide, watery eyes, her small hands constantly patting his arms and back as if checking for something.

"Xiao Shan, what are you..."

"Don't move, Brother. I'm checking to see if you're hurt." Tang Shan pressed down on his arm and said with a serious expression.

"Do you really need to touch me to check? Hey, where are you poking!"

After finally finishing her inspection, Tang Shan's face was flushed bright red. She stood before Lan Yu, reached out her small hands, and said in a soft voice, "Hold me."

The firelight is quite bright; it's making Xiao Shan's face look all rosy.

After a silent exclamation, Lan Yu smiled and pulled her into his arms. The girl clung to him like an octopus. He weighed her in his arms and chuckled, "Xiao Shan seems to have gotten a bit heavier."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gave the girl's bottom a light pat.

"Mmph... hmph..."

"What was that sound?" Lan Yu tilted his head to look, but from his angle, he could only see the girl's fair nape.

"Why are you shivering? Are you cold?" Lan Yu asked, puzzled by the trembling of the girl in his arms.

You jerk of a brother... Tang Shan rested her chin on Lan Yu's shoulder and pressed hard into the soft flesh of his shoulder.

Her entire face was burning red, and her breathing had become rapid and chaotic; she could only bite her pink lips tightly, not daring to make another sound.

Just as Lan Yu was stunned, Ah Yin walked up slowly. She reached out and gently brushed Lan Yu's face, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on her lips. She leaned down and said softly, "Xiao Yu, Mother was very worried about you, you know?"

Feeling the touch on his face, Lan Yu froze instantly and nodded obediently.

Seeing Lan Yu's well-behaved appearance, Ah Yin was extremely satisfied.

"Lan Yu, what is your first spirit skill?" Xiao Wu, who had been silent until now, asked curiously; she had wanted to ask just a moment ago.

Under the curious gazes of the group, Lan Yu activated his spirit possession.

That purple spirit ring rose beneath his feet at this moment.

"First spirit skill, Dragon Strike Claw!"

As Lan Yu's voice fell, his hands transformed into dragon claws. He swung them forward, and two sharp, fierce blades whistled through the air, slicing a tree in half at the waist.

"This is my first spirit skill, Dragon Strike Claw. When used, it allows me to condense half-meter-long dragon claws at my fingertips, covered in sharp blades. At close range, it can easily tear through the protective spirit power of those at the same level; it can also unleash blades of qi to achieve mid-to-long-range attacks within twenty meters."

"A thousand-year spirit ring!"

"What a powerful spirit skill effect!"