Thousand-Year Soul Ring, First Soul Skill (4)

With a thought, Lin Chen quietly withdrew the Heaven-Slaying Sword into his body. He immediately activated the Chaos Pearl, sending gray currents rushing toward his wound to quickly suppress the poison.

Looking up, he saw a purple Soul Ring slowly emerge from the Jade Phosphor Python's corpse, radiating dense, rich energy fluctuations.

He had his Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

"Brother Lin Chen!" Xiao Wu ran over at once. When she saw his pale face and the wound on his shoulder, her eyes turned red. "Are you all right? That sword just now was..."

"That was my Second Martial Soul. It's called the Heaven-Slaying Sword." Lin Chen's voice was a little weak, but he still answered with a smile. "Xiao Wu, keep this a secret for me for now, all right?"

Xiao Wu nodded vigorously, tears threatening to fall. "I know, I won't tell anyone! Brother Lin Chen, hurry and sit down to absorb it. I'll stand guard for you."

She drew the dagger at her waist, her little face full of determination as she warily surveyed their surroundings, like a little rabbit guarding its food.

Lin Chen sat down cross-legged and took a deep breath as he watched the purple Soul Ring slowly drift toward him.

The real test was only beginning. Absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring beyond his level meant that the slightest mistake would leave all his meridians severed and his body bursting apart.

The Chaos Pearl rotated slowly in his dantian, giving off a faint hum, as though welcoming its first Soul Ring. Lin Chen focused his mind and calmed his Qi, guiding the Thousand-Year Soul Ring slowly down over his body.

The purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring descended slowly. The moment it settled over Lin Chen, incomparably violent energy rushed through his pores and into his body like a flood bursting through a broken dam.

Lin Chen's whole body shuddered, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant.

The energy of a thousand-year Soul Beast was far too overbearing. Soul Power mixed with the Jade Phosphor Python's deadly poison battered the meridians throughout his body like countless poisoned needles.

His level-ten meridians were already slender, and the moment they were forced to bear energy so far beyond their limits, a tearing agony shot through them, as though they would snap inch by inch at any moment.

"Ugh..." He clenched his teeth and let out a muffled groan. Veins bulged on his forehead, and beads of cold sweat the size of beans rolled down his cheeks, soaking the front of his robes.

Inside his dantian, however, the Chaos Pearl suddenly erupted with an intense gray halo.

The ancient, unadorned pearl spun at high speed, giving off a steady, vast suction force that drew the violent energy rushing into his body toward it bit by bit, wrapping it in currents of Chaos Qi and slowly refining it.

The poison was the first to be broken down. As soon as the Jade Phosphor Python's deadly venom touched the currents of Chaos Qi, it vanished like ice and snow under the blazing sun. But that immense Soul Power was extremely difficult to tame. Again and again, it battered against the Chaos Pearl's restraints, rampaging through his meridians.

Lin Chen concentrated intensely, devoting all his attention to guiding the currents of Chaos Qi as they washed through his meridians again and again, purifying and compressing the mixed energy before merging it into his own Soul Power. His meridians were stretched and torn repeatedly, only to be quickly repaired by the chaotic energy.

Every cycle brought a piercing pain, but it also made the foundation of his Soul Power a little more substantial.

Xiao Wu stood guard beside him. Seeing Lin Chen trembling all over, his face deathly pale, she clapped a hand tightly over her mouth, not daring to make a sound. She knew distraction was the greatest taboo when absorbing a Soul Ring, so she could only grip her dagger tightly and watch their surroundings, keeping any Soul Beasts from approaching and disturbing him.

... At the same time, deep in the woods on the western side of the Soul Hunting Forest.

Yu Xiaogang and Tang San finally found their target Soul Beast in a patch of damp undergrowth.

A Mandala Snake more than three meters long lay coiled atop a boulder. Its scales were dark purple, a small venomous horn protruded from its head, and its tongue flicked from its mouth. A faint, fishy smell surrounded it.

Judging by its length, it was around four hundred years old, right at the upper limit for absorbing a First Soul Ring.

"Good luck. This is the one." Yu Xiaogang lowered his voice, a trace of excitement in his tone.

"A four-hundred-year Mandala Snake is a perfect match for your Blue Silver Grass. Remember, its fangs and tail stinger are the most dangerous. Use your footwork to keep it occupied, then look for a chance to attack its seven-inch point." After making his arrangements, Yu Xiaogang stepped back.

Tang San nodded, his gaze suddenly sharpening.

He activated Purple Demon Eye, taking in the Mandala Snake's every movement. He did not release his Martial Soul immediately. Instead, he lifted his feet lightly and crept closer through the grass, using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

When he was three zhang away, the Mandala Snake suddenly sensed him. Its head whipped around, its eyes flashing with ferocity.

The snake opened its jaws and spat a stream of pale purple venom straight at Tang San. He swayed and drifted diagonally away like a willow catkin in the wind. The venom struck the grass on the ground, instantly corroding the green blades to a dark brown.

"Blue Silver Grass, release!"

With a low shout, Tang San's right hand lit up, and several strands of pale blue Blue Silver Grass burst from the earth, swiftly winding toward the Mandala Snake's body.

But the Mandala Snake's venom was extremely corrosive. No sooner had the Blue Silver Grass wrapped around it than the venom began dissolving the strands with a sizzle, snapping several of them in an instant.

Such potent venom. Tang San was startled, but he did not panic in the slightest.

He pushed off the ground and closed in abruptly, his left hand forming a claw as he drove Mysterious Jade Hand to its limit, a faint jade sheen spreading over his skin. Seeing him approach, the Mandala Snake lashed its tail, the venomous stinger at its tip stabbing straight at his chest.

Tang San turned sideways to evade it, then clamped his right hand precisely around the snake's tail. With a twist of his wrist, he forcibly swung the Mandala Snake up and smashed it hard against the boulder.

With a muffled bang, even the boulder shook three times.

The impact left the Mandala Snake reeling. Before it could recover, three Sleeve Arrows had appeared between Tang San's fingers.

"Go." Cold light flashed as three Sleeve Arrows shot out in a triangular formation, pinning themselves with unerring accuracy into the Mandala Snake's eyes and seven-inch point.

The Mandala Snake convulsed violently several times, then went completely still. A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring slowly rose from its body.

The whole affair had been clean and decisive, taking only a few breaths.

Yu Xiaogang walked over and looked at the snake's corpse, his eyes full of approval. "Good! Very good, Xiao San. You did very well. Your timing and use of techniques were just right, even better than I expected. Hurry and sit down to absorb the Soul Ring. With this four-hundred-year Soul Ring, your First Soul Skill will surely far surpass those of Soul Masters at the same level."

Tang San sat down as instructed and guided the Yellow Soul Ring over himself. The energy of a Hundred-Year Soul Ring was much gentler, flowing slowly through his meridians. His Mysterious Heaven Skill circulated without hindrance, and the absorption went very smoothly.

Yu Xiaogang stood guard beside him, stroking his beard with a satisfied smile.

He glanced toward the depths of the forest, a cold smile curling his lips.

Lin Chen? An arrogant, ignorant brat. Once Xiao San has absorbed his Soul Ring and his strength has increased greatly, I'll show you what the true path of a Soul Master is. Without the guidance of correct theory, no matter how talented you are, you'll only suffer Qi deviation and bring about your own destruction.

At the edge of the swamp, Lin Chen's absorption had reached its most critical moment.

Most of the Soul Ring's energy within him had been refined. His once slender meridians had widened somewhat, and Soul Power circulated through his body in endless cycles like a surging river.

In his dantian, a purple Soul Ring pattern had appeared on the surface of the Chaos Pearl, lending its ancient simplicity a touch of majesty. A brand-new power was closely linked to his Martial Soul, ready to burst forth.

Finally, when the last wisp of Chaos Qi merged into his Soul Power, Lin Chen's eyes snapped open. Two gray glints flashed and vanished. He slowly rose to his feet and clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

He had succeeded. At last, he had obtained a thousand-year First Soul Ring.