Thirty-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Zhu Zhuqing Pursued

Bai Yi stood beside the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc's corpse, watching its enormous body slowly begin to emit a black glow.

A black Soul Ring slowly rose from the Thunder Roc's body.

Unlike the purple Soul Ring he had absorbed before, this one was darker and heavier in color.

Faint golden streaks ran through the black, and now and then, an arc of electricity flashed across the ring's surface.

Bai Yi took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and circulated his mana around the black Soul Ring.

Then a violent surge of energy flooded into him through his meridians.

Bai Yi frowned.

This really hurt a little.

It was on a completely different level from a thousand-year Soul Ring.

If the energy of a thousand-year Soul Ring was like a small stream,

then the energy of a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring was the Yellow River, pouring in endlessly and battering his meridians with searing pain.

But he had already grown accustomed to such pain while cultivating the Indestructible Diamond Body.

The only thing he was unaccustomed to was Ye Lingling not being by his side.

Bai Yi grew even calmer.

The energy of a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring might have been violent, but as long as he suppressed the first wave of impact, everything afterward would become much easier.

Just as he thought the absorption process would continue steadily, a powerful mental assault suddenly rushed into his mind.

His vision darkened, and his consciousness was pulled into the spiritual world.

Before him stood a massive Golden-Winged Thunder Roc.

Its entire body was wrapped in golden lightning, while its dark golden eyes brimmed with savagery and rage.

Within the spiritual world, it looked imposing, as though it could pounce at any moment and tear Bai Yi apart.

But Bai Yi was completely unafraid. Mental attacks were the most useless thing against him.

The Golden-Winged Thunder Roc let out a piercing shriek, spread its wings, and a golden thunderstorm instantly filled the entire spiritual space.

Lightning exploded across Bai Yi's body, yet he remained completely unharmed.

The Thunder Roc charged at him.

Bai Yi did not move at all.

He merely stood there, quietly staring into the Thunder Roc's eyes.

The next instant,

a gigantic phantom appeared behind Bai Yi.

The phantom towered into the clouds, its full form impossible to make out. Only a massive golden cudgel could be seen standing between heaven and earth, its shaft coiled with golden phoenix script and dragon patterns.

The phantom's outline was indistinct yet immense, like the silhouette of some ancient giant ape. Merely standing there was enough to make the entire spiritual space tremble.

The Golden-Winged Thunder Roc's charge came to a halt.

Its body froze in midair. Its dark golden pupils stared at the phantom as its original savagery and fury were gradually replaced by something more primal.

Only one emotion remained in its eyes.

Fear.

It folded its wings and lowered its head.

Bai Yi sensed the Thunder Roc's will to resist completely fade away.

The black Soul Ring's energy became docile, slowly flowing through his meridians into his dantian and merging with his Soul Power.

Bai Yi opened his eyes again and found himself still seated where he had been. The sky had grown a little darker than before.

He lowered his head and looked at his hand.

A faint layer of black markings had appeared on his palm, creeping slowly along the paths of his veins before disappearing again moments later.

He got to his feet and rolled his shoulders.

His legs were a little numb. He had been sitting too long.

Bai Yi glanced down at himself. The black Soul Ring was now quietly positioned between his first and second Soul Rings.

Purple, purple, black. The three Soul Rings formed a striking progression of colors.

He raised his hand and tried to activate the power of his third Soul Ring.

Golden lightning burst from his palm, spreading up his arm to his shoulder before surging out from his back and forming a pair of translucent golden wings.

The wings were woven from dense arcs of electricity, each "feather" a flickering bolt of light.

Bai Yi tried moving his wings.

With a single flap, he shot forward in an instant.

After a few more tests, he discovered that this soul skill's greatest use was allowing him to control golden lightning and attach it to himself or any object.

It enhanced speed and power. It seemed capable of developing quite a few techniques.

This soul skill would be called Thunder Wings.

Bai Yi looked toward a tree not far away.

He swung the Golden Cudgel in his hand, sending a crescent-shaped golden lightning blade flying from its tip and slicing precisely through the tree.

The tree split into two, its severed surface charred black and its edges still crackling with tiny sparks.

The surrounding terrain had already been torn apart by his earlier tests of the soul skill. The crowns of several trees hung crookedly to one side.

Bai Yi was about to move elsewhere to continue testing the wings' attack range when his ears suddenly twitched.

There was a sound in the distance.

Two legs, hurried footsteps. A human.

It did not sound like someone searching for soul beasts. Instead, it sounded like... someone fleeing for their life.

Bai Yi withdrew his Soul Rings, then used the Invisibility Technique, blending his entire body into the shadows of the trees.

A few breaths later, a figure stumbled out from between the trees.

A girl, around ten years old, dressed in close-fitting black combat attire.

Her clothes were rather dirty, and her body bore wounds of various sizes.

Her hair was somewhat disheveled, her face pale, her lips faintly purple, and her breathing rapid and heavy, as though she had been running for a very long time.

Even in such a bedraggled state, the refinement and sharpness in her features remained apparent.

Her eyes were dark brown, filled with wariness and exhaustion. They rapidly scanned the surroundings as she judged which direction to flee next.

Bai Yi recognized her.

Zhu Zhuqing.

The second daughter of the Zhu Clan of the Star Luo Empire, possessing the Hell Spirit Cat martial soul.

But wasn't she supposed to go to Shrek in two years to find her fiancée?

Why was she here?

Could her loving family have made a move against her?

She looked badly injured, and there was also the sign of purple lips.

Bai Yi narrowed his eyes.

She had most likely been poisoned.

Zhu Zhuqing stopped at the edge of the clearing and leaned against a tree, panting heavily for several breaths.

She raised a hand and pressed it against the wound on her left shoulder. Her fingertips came away stained with blood, and she quickly lowered her hand again.

She did not stop to rest for long. After barely steadying her breathing a few times, she rose again and prepared to run deeper into the forest.

Bai Yi did not reveal himself. He was still waiting.

Zhu Zhuqing was being pursued, so whoever was after her should not be far away.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, another figure emerged from the woods in the direction Zhu Zhuqing had come from.

The man was not walking quickly. He could even be said to be strolling along quite leisurely.

He wore dark gray combat attire, with several small leather pouches tied at his waist. His face was expressionless, and he appeared to be in his early thirties.

His footsteps were soft, nearly soundless when they landed, the complete opposite of the crackling commotion Zhu Zhuqing had made while running.

Bai Yi noticed a strip of dark cloth wrapped around his left wrist.

Probably the strength of a Soul Ancestor. Just some random nobody.

Seeing the pursuer's strength, Bai Yi immediately let down his guard. This man was far too weak.

When Luo Li passed the tree where Bai Yi was hiding, his steps did not pause in the slightest.

He walked straight past Bai Yi.

Bai Yi watched Luo Li reach the edge of the clearing and lower his head to examine Zhu Zhuqing's footprints and bloodstains on the ground.

Then he leisurely followed after her.