Leaping the Gap? An 800-Year Soul Ring Appears!

"Three breaths? I'll do my best!"

Hu Liena's face turned slightly pale as she gritted her teeth and stepped forward. With her current strength, there was no way she could hold back two Soul Elders head-on, let alone another Soul Sect in the sky. Yet she did not retreat and stubbornly held her ground.

"No, Senior Sister. One instant should be enough now!"

The instant Gu Changsheng looked up, he saw the Phantom Bookworm in the sky being severely injured by the Man in Black, a Soul Sect. He knew he had only this one instant.

In that instant, the phantom of a Fox Demon slowly emerged behind Hu Liena. She did not choose to clash head-on, nor did she forcefully Charm the two Soul Elders. Instead, she turned her Mental Power into two delicate threads and lightly stirred their senses.

The Soul Elder on the left clearly saw Gu Changsheng right in front of him, yet in the next moment, Gu Changsheng's position shifted another half-step to the right. The Soul Elder on the right was similarly dazed for an instant, but their attacks did not stop. Both attacks veered slightly off course.

At that critical moment, two short blades grazed past Gu Changsheng's clothes, missing him entirely.

"Enough! Now!"

Gu Changsheng leaped into the air and charged toward where the Phantom Bookworm had been knocked down. The Myriad Heaven Book appeared in his palm, its dark-gold pages flipping wildly without wind until they quickly opened to a blank page.

[Target locked: Phantom Bookworm

Age assessment: 840 years.

Status: Mental Power riot, Soul Power in disorder.

Weakness: the third Silver Rune on its abdomen.]

Seeing this, Gu Changsheng immediately gathered his Soul Power, concentrating all his strength into his right fist as he charged at the third Silver Rune on its abdomen. With just one punch, the third Silver Rune instantly dimmed. The Phantom Bookworm let out a piercing mental shriek, and its body curled up violently the next second.

The leading Man in Black, a Soul Sect, also broke free from the mental suppression at that moment. The Shadow Blade in his hand slashed down viciously!

With a wet slash, a deep wound was carved into the silver-white insect body. By then, Gu Changsheng had already reached the rear of the silver-white body. The Man in Black's pupils suddenly contracted. He finally understood—Gu Changsheng had been waiting for an opportunity.

"Not good! Is this brat going to absorb the Spirit Beast now? Stop him!"

The two Soul Elders immediately moved upon realizing something was wrong. The instant they rushed forward, the Phantom Bookworm's final mental counterattack erupted completely.

Buzz!

A ring of silver-white ripples spread from before the tree hollow. The bodies of the two Soul Elders froze at the same time, and dozens of Gu Changsheng's afterimages instantly appeared before their eyes.

"Fake! They're all fake!"

The two roared furiously, wildly slashing their blades, but every attack struck empty air. It was as though their minds had already fallen into a deep illusion. The Man in Black before them was likewise trapped by that Mental Power.

Just as they tried to break free with all their might, Gu Changsheng had already raised his hand and pressed it against the Phantom Bookworm. The Myriad Heaven Book abruptly opened again.

[The Spirit Beast is near death and can be used to absorb a Soul Ring. Guide the Soul Ring to condense?]

Gu Changsheng did not hesitate in the slightest.

"Begin condensing!"

The next instant, the Phantom Bookworm's body shuddered violently. A bright yellow Soul Ring slowly emerged from its body. Yet at the edge of the Soul Ring, a faint trace of purple could be seen. It was already close to a thousand years.

"Such a high age... Junior Brother..."

Seeing this, Hu Liena's face filled with worry. Of course, Gu Changsheng knew it was dangerous, but he understood even more clearly that he had only one chance. If he gave up now, he would certainly die today.

As he sat cross-legged, the Myriad Heaven Book appeared before him. The Man in Black, a Soul Sect, had already broken free from the Phantom Bookworm's Mental Shock. Seeing Gu Changsheng guiding the Soul Ring, his expression darkened to the extreme.

"You little bastard! You must be tired of living, absorbing a Soul Ring in front of me! Die!"

At this moment, Hu Liena forcibly pushed her Fox Demon Spirit again, trying to stop him. But as a child of only ten, she had already exhausted her strength...

"Cough, cough..."

As she spat out a mouthful of blood, the two Soul Elders behind her had already lit up their Second Soul Rings. Their fierce attacks charged straight at Hu Liena. At that moment, she had no strength left to use her Soul Power again. The surrounding Vines immediately coiled around her wildly, binding her arms, waist, and legs.

Seeing this, the Man in Black, a Soul Sect, immediately warned them:

"You two, be careful. Don't hurt Miss Nana, understand?"

He hurriedly stopped the two Soul Elders, whose eyes had turned red with killing intent. Then he landed before Hu Liena and directly clamped his right hand around her neck.

"Miss Nana, I fear I must offend you today! We will not kill you, but that person before us must die!"

After saying that, he turned toward the cross-legged Gu Changsheng. The Shadow Blade in his hand slowly condensed.

"Wuwu... Let me go, let me go! Junior Brother, run!"

Hu Liena cried out with the last of her strength. Gu Changsheng did not respond, because at that moment, the Mental Power within the Soul Ring had completely dragged him into an illusion.

The forest before him disappeared. Those men in black disappeared. Even Hu Liena vanished from his sight. He stood in boundless darkness, surrounded by countless fragmented pages floating in the air. Every page reflected a different scene: his past-life self, his ordinary and powerless self, and the original future of the Douluo Continent—Spirit Hall's destruction, the Golden Generation's defeat, and Hu Liena, graceful and grown, walking alone into the distance with hollow, weary eyes. Deeper still, there was even Bibi Dong standing in the shadow of the Rakshasa God's power, her expression cold and lonely.

In an instant, a voice sounded beside Gu Changsheng's ear.

"You cannot change anything."

"You are only a child without a Soul Ring."

"You cannot save anyone. You cannot even protect yourself!"

At that moment, the Mental Shock surged in like a tide. The most terrifying thing about an 840-year Phantom Bookworm was not its Soul Power, but its mental illusions. It could magnify the deepest fears in the absorber's heart, then slowly tear apart their will.

Outside, the Man in Black, a Soul Sect, had already reached Gu Changsheng. His Shadow Blade rose in an instant and stabbed directly toward Gu Changsheng's throat.

"Everything ends here. Die!"

The instant the Shadow Blade descended, the Myriad Heaven Book before Gu Changsheng opened once more, and a layer of dark-gold light suddenly spread outward. It was not a shield, but a mental barrier. When he swung his blade down again, three overlapping images of Gu Changsheng appeared before him—one real and two false. His Shadow Blade had clearly locked onto Gu Changsheng's throat, yet it shifted another half-inch at the moment it fell.

Slash!

As he condensed two Shadow Blades, they swept past Gu Changsheng's shoulder and carved a deep fissure into the ground. Yet Gu Changsheng had only received a bloody cut on his shoulder, having already avoided the fatal blow.

"What? Spiritual Deviation? Impossible! The Soul Ring has not been fully absorbed yet. How can he do that?"

Seeing this, Hu Liena once again used every ounce of her strength and shouted desperately:

"Gu Changsheng! Didn't you say you didn't want others deciding your fate? Then wake up already!"

Her voice seemed to pierce through layer after layer of illusions and reach Gu Changsheng's ears. In the darkness, he slowly raised his head as Hu Liena's voice continued to echo.

At that moment, Gu Changsheng looked at those shattered scenes and suddenly laughed.

"That's right. If I do not want fate to control me, how can I fall here? No! I will take control of my own fate!"

He suddenly opened his eyes and stepped forward. As his words fell, the Myriad Heaven Book snapped shut.

[Beginning analysis of the Soul Ring's mental structure. Deconstructing the source of the illusion...

Mental Shock weakening. Compatibility increasing...]

The darkness began to collapse. His past-life helplessness, Spirit Hall's destruction, Hu Liena's desolation, and Bibi Dong's loneliness all turned into shattered points of light, recorded page by page by the Myriad Heaven Book.

"Fate should be held in one's own hands!"

Boom!

In that instant, the bright yellow Soul Ring suddenly erupted with intense light. The Man in Black, a Soul Sect, had just prepared to deliver a second strike when his expression abruptly changed—because Gu Changsheng's aura was rapidly rising.

The instant he opened his eyes, countless pages seemed to flash through the depths of his gaze.

[First Soul Ring successfully absorbed.

Obtained First Soul Skill: Myriad Burning.

Soul Power level increased. Soul Power level fifteen!]

"Damn it! Even if you absorbed it successfully, you are only a one-ring Spirit Master. Die!"

The Shadow Blade condensed once more and slashed down again. This time, Gu Changsheng did not dodge. He merely raised his hand lightly as the Myriad Heaven Book flipped a page in his palm. The Soul Ring beneath his feet instantly lit up.

"First Soul Skill, Myriad Burning!"

Upon the dark-gold page, a faint phantom of a Fox Demon slowly appeared. This was the mental trace of the false Charm Hu Liena had used earlier, recorded by the Myriad Heaven Book. Gu Changsheng's gaze was calm as he gently pointed forward. The Man in Black, a Soul Sect, suddenly found his vision blurring, and the spot he struck shifted another half-inch away.

"No! How can I possibly lose to a Spirit Master? No!"

Amid his furious roar, Shadow Blades condensed in both his hands. This time, he launched an all-around barrage of slashes. Gu Changsheng looked at him, his voice soft.

"You should have had enough of hitting me, right? Now, it's my turn!"