Absorbing the Soul Bone and Taking the Blue Silver Emperor Away
"The Blue Silver Emperor isn't entirely without consciousness!"
Through Spiritual Detection, Li Jin heard the Blue Silver Emperor's cries for help, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
"Since you've called for help, I'll save you this once. If you're grateful, everyone will be happy. If you repay kindness with enmity, you can bear the bitter consequences yourself."
"But first, I need to absorb this Soul Bone. I'll take you with me when I leave."
Hearing this, the Blue Silver Emperor's soft, plaintive voice filled with gratitude.
"Thank you, benefactor. For saving me from this sea of suffering, Ah Yin will repay you even if I must toil like an ox or a horse."
"I was deceived by a heartless man and gave up my Soul Ring and Soul Bone. I still had a sliver of hope, but that heartless man hid me in this sunless cave."
"If you hadn't come today, benefactor, the consciousness I struggled so hard to preserve would probably have vanished completely."
"I only hate that I was young and ignorant back then. Now it's too late for regrets. Only now do I know that those who seem honest and guileless are the most cunning of all."
Over the years, Ah Yin's consciousness had remained in a haze. In this cold, damp, desolate cave, she had felt utterly desperate.
Scenes from the past and fragments of memory kept flashing through the depths of her soul, and she finally noticed details she had overlooked when she had been blinded by love.
When she had been on her own, she had never revealed her true identity.
It was only after she met Tang Xiao and Tang Hao that her identity as a Soul Beast had been exposed.
Why had it been such a coincidence that just after she gave birth, when she was at her weakest, Qian Xunji had arrived with two Titled Douluo to surround and kill her?
At the time, Tang Hao had just broken through to level 90 Soul Power and needed a ninth Soul Ring.
Not level 89, much less level 91, but level 90 Soul Power, where all he needed was to absorb a Soul Ring to break through.
One event was a coincidence, and two events were a coincidence. But when all the coincidences came together, they might not be coincidences at all. Perhaps it had been a calculated plot from the very beginning.
Even after thinking of all this, Ah Yin could only wait in anguish for her soul to perish.
But today, with Li Jin's arrival, a wisp of the power of fortune guided her, restoring the consciousness of the dazed Ah Yin and clearing her mind.
Perhaps this was heaven's will!
It was her chance to escape a death that was not destined to be hers!
Oh!
Li Jin looked at the Blue Silver Emperor in surprise.
After dying once, this Ah Yin had actually wised up.
She could see that something was wrong with Tang Hao.
She wasn't entirely beyond saving after all.
No matter how nicely Tang Hao put it, Ah Yin had never exposed her identity as a Soul Beast when she was on her own. Ever since she had been with him, especially after she had told him the truth, she had attracted Spirit Hall's attention, and her identity as a Soul Beast had been exposed.
That alone was grounds for suspicion!
In a melon field or beneath a plum tree!
When you walked through a melon field, you shouldn't bend down to adjust your shoes. When you passed beneath a plum tree, you shouldn't raise your hand to take off your hat.
Otherwise, people would have reason to suspect that you were trying to steal melons or plums.
For Tang Hao, Ah Yin's telling him her identity had been a sign of her trust in him.
What he should have done above all was take Ah Yin into hiding. Until she had fully entered maturity and truly become human, she absolutely shouldn't have been running around outside again.
But what had he done instead? He had made a great show of wanting to take Ah Yin back to the Clear Sky Sect. Wasn't that just tipping off Spirit Hall?
Although Tang San's soul had transmigrated, as Tang Hao's son, he was the spitting image of his father in this respect.
Since Tang San already knew Xiao Wu's identity, if he truly wanted what was best for her, he shouldn't have let her take part in any Soul Master Tournament.
Could Shrek Academy's honor, the Soul Master Tournament championship, and the temptation of three Soul Bones really be more important than Xiao Wu's life?
As the saying went, in a melon field or beneath a plum tree.
Since you had done something suspicious, you couldn't blame others for treating you as a suspect.
For some things, you didn't have to see evidence. As long as there was reason for suspicion, you should be on guard, or even keep a respectful distance.
Li Jin sat cross-legged on the ground and took the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone out of the box. Pressing it against his right leg, he said:
"So you've had such a tragic experience. Once you've recovered, I can take you to confront that heartless man."
"Let his name and reputation be ruined. It's what he deserves for his sins."
The Blue Silver Emperor swayed her stem and leaves, as though bending in a bow.
"Thank you, benefactor!"
"I truly am filled with resentment. I want to question him about what happened back then and find out whether he deliberately plotted it!"
As Li Jin released a trace of Soul Power into the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, it turned into streams of blue-gold Qi that poured into his right leg.
A vast breath of life swept through the entire cave. Even the listless Blue Silver Emperor, nourished by a little of it, improved considerably.
And the one who benefited most was, of course, Li Jin.
The energy in the hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone was pure and immense, and especially full of life, enveloping Li Jin in warmth as though he were soaking in a hot spring.
It wasn't just his right leg, which was fusing with the Soul Bone. Every organ in his body, his five viscera and six bowels, his four limbs and every bone, underwent a transformation under the nourishment of that breath of life.
As his body grew stronger, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's shed remains in his dantian released even more energy. With the circulation of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, it continued surging toward the remaining vessels among his eight extraordinary meridians.
Although absorbing a Soul Bone was not dangerous, it still took a considerable amount of time.
A hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone in particular could not be absorbed in a short while.
Li Jin spent seven full days and nights absorbing it before he finally awakened. He got to his feet and stretched, feeling refreshed and clearheaded.
Without a Second Soul Ring, his Soul Power was still at level 20, but he guessed that his actual Soul Power had reached level 30.
With the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone and the energy in the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's shed remains, gaining ten levels in one go was certainly no dream.
Moreover, all eight extraordinary meridians had opened. His Soul Power now circulated through the greater heavenly cycle instead of the lesser one, and its circulation speed had more than doubled.
Then there were the Soul Skills. A hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone possessed two Soul Skills:
"Flight, paired with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, makes for top-tier aerial combat ability."
"Wildfire cannot burn it away; the spring breeze brings it back to life. That one's pretty good too. Used at full power, this skill can even let a person regrow severed limbs."
"Most important of all is my physique. Now there shouldn't be any trouble giving my Second Martial Soul its form."
Li Jin let out a long breath, then turned and dug the Blue Silver Emperor out.
Seeing how listless the Blue Silver Emperor was, Li Jin used "Wildfire cannot burn it away; the spring breeze brings it back to life," pouring an unending stream of blue-gold life energy into her body.
Although it could not speed up the Blue Silver Emperor's growth, it was enough to greatly improve her condition. Even without soil or a water source, she could survive perfectly well for a long time.
The Blue Silver Emperor swayed her stem and leaves, repeatedly thanking Li Jin through Spiritual Detection. Her voice, gentle as water, was full of gratitude.
"Thank you for lending me a hand, benefactor. Ah Yin is truly beyond grateful!"
"I have no way to repay you for saving my life. Whatever you ask of me in the future, benefactor, Ah Yin will do her utmost!"
Li Jin walked toward the cave's exit.
"Don't make promises so readily. If you can't keep your word to me, you'll suffer bad luck."
Every word Ah Yin spoke was witnessed by fortune. If she went back on her word in the future, even if she bore Li Jin no ill will, fortune would make her cough up everything she owed him, principal and interest alike.
When Li Jin reached the mouth of the cave, he used his flight skill and, with a whoosh, shot through the waterfall.
Looking down, he saw the sky beneath his feet. That sense of freedom filled him with the joy of knowing that heaven was high and earth was vast, and he could soar wherever he pleased.
"Let's go!"