Seeing Ning Chuan agree, Sword Douluo immediately knocked the Profound Feather Spirit Crane unconscious.
As before, Ning Chuan enveloped the crane with the Creation Exquisite Pagoda and left the rest to the system.
Since there was already a soul spirit inside the pagoda, the negotiations went even more smoothly this time.
In less than a minute, the Profound Feather Spirit Crane completed its sacrifice and became Ning Chuan's second soul ring.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host on completing the mission!" "Reward: Soul Skill-Origin Restoration!" "Reward: Soul Cultivation Formula (Beginner)!" "Reward: Star River Sword Art!"
Just like the first time, there were three rewards.
As its name suggested, the Soul Cultivation Formula was a cultivation method for cultivating Soul Force.
The Star River Sword Art differed slightly from the Sword Manipulation Technique.
The Sword Manipulation Technique fell into the category of swordsmanship cultivation methods, so all of Sword Douluo's Seven Kill Sword techniques could be activated and executed through its circulation method.
The Star River Sword Art, on the other hand, focused on sword forms and sword skills, making it more dazzling to execute and relatively more powerful.
Finally, there was the soul skill, Origin Restoration. After reading its description, Ning Chuan's eyes immediately lit up.
Origin Restoration: Upon activation, covers a thirty-meter radius. For targets whose soul power level is lower than or equal to Ning Chuan's, restores ten percent of their overall condition per second. For targets whose soul power level exceeds Ning Chuan's, restores one percent of their overall condition per second.
That overall condition encompassed soul power, spiritual power, and physical condition; even injuries could be healed.
Of course, there were some limitations to healing injuries. It could not restore severed legs or hands, or repair severe damage to internal organs.
Even so, this skill was outrageously overpowered.
Unlike Suppression Seal, Origin Restoration would not lose effectiveness just because a target's soul power was too high.
In other words, anyone with a higher soul power level than Ning Chuan would have one percent of their overall condition restored every second. Whether they were a Soul King, a Soul Saint, or even a Titled Douluo or a deity appearing in person, the restoration effect would not be diminished.
Moreover, regardless of who the target was, Ning Chuan's own expenditure remained fixed.
That meant Ning Chuan could turn himself into a perpetual motion machine simply by using Origin Restoration on himself.
Of course, if he restored too many targets at once, perpetual motion would no longer be possible.
At the same time, because Origin Restoration and creation power shared the same source attribute, the system explicitly stated that Ning Chuan could draw on a small amount of the pagoda's creation power while using Origin Restoration.
When powered by creation power, Origin Restoration really could restore anything. As long as someone was not killed outright, Ning Chuan could return them to peak condition in a short time.
Clearly, Origin Restoration absolutely qualified as a concept-level skill.
This single skill could completely outclass every healing and restoration-type Soul Master, with an effect second only to a resurrection skill.
Seeing Ning Chuan successfully acquire his second soul ring, Sword Douluo immediately asked curiously, "Well? What soul skill did you get this time?"
"Origin Restoration!" Ning Chuan replied. "Sword Grandpa, would you like to try it?"
"Go ahead!" Sword Douluo nodded.
"Then sorry for the trouble, Sword Grandpa, but please expend some of your soul power. My second soul skill is a restoration skill!" Ning Chuan said.
"Origin Restoration... it certainly sounds like a restoration skill!" Sword Douluo murmured to himself, then deliberately expended some of his soul power.
Once Sword Douluo was ready, Ning Chuan immediately activated the Creation Exquisite Pagoda and released his second soul skill-Origin Restoration.
He also wanted to see whether Origin Restoration's mechanics were truly as overpowered as the system's description claimed.
Sword Douluo had already expected Origin Restoration to be powerful, but only after experiencing it himself did he realize he had still underestimated it far too much.
Restoring one percent of his overall condition every second, it replenished all the soul power Sword Douluo had just expended in mere moments. It also restored his spiritual power and relieved his physical fatigue. It practically defied the heavens.
Normally, a battle between evenly matched opponents could last dozens of minutes, or even two to four hours. Yet Origin Restoration could restore someone completely in just a hundred seconds. That was simply too heaven-defying.
It really is a concept-level skill! Ning Chuan marveled inwardly.
After using it on Sword Douluo, Ning Chuan confirmed that Origin Restoration's effects matched the system's description without the slightest discrepancy. Sword Douluo had deliberately expended five percent of his soul power, and Ning Chuan restored it all in five seconds.
Ning Chuan's own soul power expenditure was not actually slow, reaching one percent per second.
However, using Origin Restoration on himself restored ten percent of his overall condition every second.
That meant Ning Chuan could achieve perpetual motion as long as he used Origin Restoration on no more than nine targets at once.
Its only drawback was its limited coverage, but Ning Chuan was not particularly worried. The skill's range would gradually expand as his strength increased, just like his first soul skill, Formation Seal. At level ten, it could only suppress and seal a five-meter radius, but now that had already reached ten meters.
"Xiao Chuan, how long does your Origin Restoration soul skill last? How much does it consume?" Sword Douluo asked.
"When used on one target, it can last indefinitely with no net expenditure!" Ning Chuan answered honestly. There was no need to hide this from Sword Douluo, lest he fail to factor this skill into his plans if he faced a difficult battle in the future.
"Hiss..." Sword Douluo sucked in a breath of cold air. Seeing Ning Chuan's steady breathing, he had guessed that Origin Restoration probably did not consume much, but upon hearing this, he wondered whether he was hearing things.
Although Sword Douluo still did not understand Origin Restoration's exact mechanics, the effects Ning Chuan described had already overturned his established understanding.
"Xiao Chuan... you..." Sword Douluo no longer knew what to say.
"Forget it. I won't ask any more. From now on, whatever age soul ring you want, Sword Grandpa will help you hunt it. Even if it's a hundred-thousand-year ring, these old bones can still put up a fight!"
Sword Douluo suddenly made peace with it all. He had finally seen the pattern-no matter how old a soul beast was, as long as the Creation Exquisite Pagoda could envelop it, it would most likely sacrifice itself willingly. And the older the Creation Exquisite Pagoda's soul rings were, the more absurd its skills became.
Ning Chuan had not expected a single skill to put Sword Douluo's mind at ease. He thought to himself, Great! Now I can hunt for soul rings without holding back!
Of course, although older soul rings yielded better rewards, Ning Chuan would certainly not let Sword Douluo recklessly put himself in danger.
Seeing Sword Douluo's wholehearted sincerity, Ning Chuan immediately passed both the Soul Cultivation Formula and the Star River Sword Art to him.
This time, Sword Douluo was completely calm. Ning Chuan felt that even if he produced a pill that could grant godhood now, Sword Douluo probably would not be surprised.
In about an hour, Sword Douluo gained an initial understanding of the Soul Cultivation Formula.
Only after comprehending the formula did Sword Douluo truly open his spiritual sea of consciousness, which could also be called his soul space.
It was the same for Ning Chuan: he communicated with the System Sprite within his soul space, and his martial soul resided there as well.
Before Sword Douluo could carefully explore his newly formed sea of consciousness, he felt the bottleneck in his soul power that had trapped him for so long suddenly loosen.
Sword Douluo immediately took Ning Chuan to find an unoccupied cave in the forest, then sat cross-legged on the ground and began attempting a breakthrough.
Sword Douluo circulated his cultivation method together with the Soul Cultivation Formula.
Ning Chuan could clearly sense Sword Douluo's aura soaring at incredible speed.
Sword Douluo's talent had never been poor, and he had been stuck at level ninety-six for years. Now, bolstered by the two great cultivation methods, he encountered no resistance at all during his breakthrough.
In less than fifteen minutes, he successfully broke through and reached level ninety-seven.
"Congratulations on reaching level ninety-seven, Sword Grandpa! You're another step closer to level one hundred!" Ning Chuan stepped forward to congratulate him.
"Phew!" Sword Douluo exhaled a breath of stale air, then rose with a smile. "This is all thanks to you, Xiao Chuan. Without the help of your two cultivation methods, Sword Grandpa would probably have needed at least another ten years to reach level ninety-seven!"
"As for level one hundred, Sword Grandpa never even dared to dream of it before. But now, these old bones really want to give it a shot and reach for that legendary position of deity!" Sword Douluo said, brimming with spirit.
"I'm sure you'll succeed, Sword Grandpa!" Ning Chuan said with complete conviction.
He had even thought of Sword Douluo's divine title already-Sword God.
Sword Douluo smiled and patted Ning Chuan's shoulder. He was now full of confidence, but what mattered most to him was not attaining Godhood. It was ensuring that Ning Chuan grew up safely.
Rather than attaining Godhood, he would prefer to remain at Ning Chuan's side, protecting him as he grew and became stronger!
Before you continue