The moment the Purple-Patterned Thunder Spirit Butterfly's Soul Ring settled around Lin Tian, he could not suppress a grunt. His entire body trembled.
Seeing this, Lu Yu's heart skipped a beat. "Brother, I believe you'll succeed!"
Lin Tian endured immense pressure as he absorbed the Soul Ring. As soon as he used his Soul Power to draw it in, the violent Soul Power within the ring surged into his body like water rushing through an opened valve.
His body, strengthened by Whale Rubber, was forcibly stretched and torn apart. Bone-deep agony swept through him in an instant.
Lin Tian's body shook violently, his muscles spasming uncontrollably. His once-fair skin turned blood-red in an instant, and beads of blood seeped from every pore.
"Ugh... ah!"
A painfully restrained groan squeezed through Lin Tian's clenched teeth. He bit down so hard his teeth creaked, forcing back the scream that was about to escape his lips.
Countless tiny bolts of lightning pierced frantically through Lin Tian's meridians like steel needles.
Lin Tian was now drenched in blood. Beads of it covered his entire face, leaving him barely recognizable as human. They gathered and dripped from his chin.
Lu Yu closed his eyes, unable to bear watching!
This was the price of defying the heavens. Even with two pieces of four-thousand-year Whale Rubber to strengthen the body, this vast chasm was difficult to cross. One misstep would mean a shattered Martial Soul and a body bursting apart in death.
Lin Tian's consciousness was engulfed by a sky full of purple lightning. Lightning filled his entire field of vision, leaving him not a moment to catch his breath.
Lin Tian... you... can do it... don't... let... down...
With the last of his fading consciousness, Lin Tian swallowed the sausage he held in his mouth.
As soon as it entered his throat, Lin Tian spat out a mouthful of blood. Fortunately, it was not a real sausage, but a Recovery Sausage created by a Martial Soul.
The instant it entered his throat, it dissolved into wisps of turbulent currents that flowed into Lin Tian's body. Its meager healing effect struggled to mend his body, which was on the brink of collapse.
"Fuck, damn it, fanfiction really screws people over. This Soul Ring is only close to four thousand years old. Aren't two pieces of four-thousand-year Whale Rubber enough?"
Lu Yu's breath stopped when he saw Lin Tian cough up blood. At first, he had only regarded Lin Tian as a tool for battle, but now he truly considered him a brother.
Lu Yu had chosen the Soul Ring for Lin Tian. If Lin Tian died here today, it would be no different from Lu Yu killing him with his own hands.
The warm current entering his body cleared Lin Tian's consciousness a little, and he held firm against the hellish agony.
Just then, a clear hum rang out. Lin Tian's Martial Soul involuntarily burst from his body and hovered before him.
The purple lightning coiled around Lin Tian was instantly drawn to it. Bolt after bolt peeled away from him and traveled onto the Thunder Pattern Staff.
The once-sparse lightning power on the Thunder Pattern Staff instantly grew stronger, changing from pale blue to bluish purple.
Lin Tian's constantly trembling body gradually calmed, while the Soul Ring showing through him shook wildly, as though preparing one last counterattack.
"He did it!"
As he watched the lightning power on the Thunder Pattern Staff grow stronger and stronger, Lu Yu's tension eased. He let out a long breath, looking forward to the changes Lin Tian would undergo next.
Night fell, and the Star Dou Great Forest, already fraught with danger, grew even more oppressive.
"Captain, it's already dark. That kid's probably been dead for a while. Should we go take a look?"
"Wait a little longer!" Captain Luo shook his head and said only those three words, gazing deeply into the distance.
He went over everything that had happened along the way. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. Those two were far too calm-so calm they hardly seemed human.
Captain Luo harbored an unrealistic hope: perhaps this Soul Hunting trip really would succeed.
Lin Tian had already endured the most dangerous moment. Now he was only refining the Soul Power within the Soul Ring. Lu Yu finally put his worries to rest and sat beside him, watching.
His thoughts began to wander. This really is a fantasy world. With this much blood loss, he'd have died long ago on Blue Star...
Lin Tian's clothes had long since been soaked in blood, their original color impossible to make out. The soil beneath him was stained dark red as well.
Suddenly, the Soul Ring around Lin Tian shuddered violently and merged into his body. The Thunder Pattern Staff hovering before him vanished as well, returning to his body.
Having successfully absorbed the Soul Ring, Lin Tian could no longer hold on. He slumped sideways and fell, and Lu Yu hurried to his feet to check on him.
Ignoring the blood covering Lin Tian, Lu Yu gathered him into his arms. In a daze, Lin Tian opened his eyes a sliver, and a smile tugged at his lips as he looked at Lu Yu's face.
"I... did... it..."
With that, his head lolled to one side, and he passed out.
A relieved smile spread across Lu Yu's face as well. He was just about to help Lin Tian up so he could carry him away on his back.
Suddenly, Lin Tian's back bulged.
Swish-!
A pair of butterfly wings silently unfurled from Lin Tian's shoulder blades! They were as thin as cicada wings, covered in flowing bluish-purple patterns and flecks of lightning.
A violent surge of lightning power instantly sent Lu Yu flying. In his haste, he only had time to block it with his arm.
After landing, Lu Yu stared at the cut on his arm, his eyes full of shock. His body, as strong as it was now, had actually been cut.
He looked up to see a pair of enormous butterfly wings growing from Lin Tian's back, suspending him in the air. Bluish-purple lightning intertwined wildly, and each beat of the wings stirred up clouds of dust.
"This... this is an External Soul Bone..." Delight appeared in Lu Yu's eyes. He had not expected one to actually appear.
Earlier, Lu Yu had sent Captain Luo and the others away because he had remembered how Tang San obtained the External Soul Bone Eight Spider Lances when he absorbed a Soul Ring beyond the age limit in the original story. He had worried that Lin Tian might also get a Soul Bone from absorbing a Soul Ring beyond the age limit.
If Captain Luo and his group saw the Soul Bone, a fight would surely be unavoidable, so he had simply sent them away.
Although his face was full of delight, Lu Yu was at a loss as he looked at Lin Tian in the air. How was he supposed to get him out like this?
If he went out with those two wings, even a fool could tell they were a Soul Bone. Just as Lu Yu was wondering what to do,
the butterfly wings on Lin Tian's back suddenly vanished, and he dropped limply from the air. Fortunately, Lu Yu had kept his eyes on him. He took two quick steps forward and caught him.
Although the butterfly wings had withdrawn, a bulge was still wriggling on Lin Tian's back, making it very conspicuous.
Lu Yu hoisted Lin Tian onto his back, then took out a blanket and covered Lin Tian's back with it, tying it around himself at the front to keep it from slipping off.
Once he had concealed it, Lu Yu carried Lin Tian away.
"Captain Luo, let's go!"
When he saw Captain Luo and the others, Lu Yu did not say much. He called out to them and carried Lin Tian straight past them.
The six stared dumbfounded at Lin Tian, whose face was covered in blood as he lay on Lu Yu's back. They could hardly believe the two had succeeded.
"Captain... this..." One of the team members stammered for a long while, unable to get a complete sentence out.
"Don't ask. Follow them!" Captain Luo waved a hand and set off first.
The other five exchanged glances and could only follow silently, though their eyes were full of shock.
This trip to the Star Dou Great Forest had been perilous, but fortunately it had ended in complete success. Lin Tian had absorbed the Soul Ring and become a Soul Elder, his Martial Soul Origin had been purified, and he had obtained an External Soul Bone.
The road ahead was broader and clearer!