An Unexpected Windfall
Ning Buhui sat in the mud for nearly half an hour.
At first, the pain tore at his heart and lungs, and every inch of his meridians screamed. Later, the pain grew distant, as though muffled by a thick layer of water, reaching him from some unfathomable depth. He could no longer feel the cold or the wet. Only one thought remained in his mind: Don't pass out. If I do, I'll have endured all this for nothing. He didn't know what had gotten him through it. Perhaps it had all been sheer ruthlessness.
The Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda remained suspended before him, its body flickering between light and dark. The yin and yang fish swam faster and faster, as though weaving a black-and-white net around him, intercepting the rampaging Soul Power stream by stream, breaking it apart, and sending it throughout his body. The Soul-Binding Vine's lingering will tried several times to attack his spiritual sea, but the pagoda's shadow shattered it to pieces each time, without so much as a ripple.
After a long while, the raging tide within him finally began to recede. Soul Power dispersed into his limbs and bones, like a wild horse that had been tamed, growing docile after charging about recklessly. Ning Buhui's stiff fingers twitched, and sensation returned bit by bit: first the metallic sweetness on his tongue, then the chill of his knees soaking in muddy water, and finally the touch of wind sweeping across the back of his neck. He slowly exhaled and opened his eyes.
A deep purple Soul Ring hung quietly around him, side by side with his pale purple first ring, the two slowly revolving around him.
He had succeeded.
"How do you feel?" Bibi Dong's voice came from a few steps away. It was as detached as ever, but Ning Buhui detected a trace of concern in it.
"I'm all right." His voice was terribly hoarse, his words like sandpaper scraping against iron.
"Get up and move around. Don't just sit there," Bibi Dong said.
He braced himself against the ground and tried to stand, but his legs were like cotton, and his knees shook violently. Only after two attempts did he manage to get up, swaying on his feet. He clenched his fists hard, his knuckles cracking. Soul Power still swelled in his meridians, though it no longer hurt; it was just a feeling of fullness, like eating too much food and failing to digest it. He knew this was an aftereffect of absorbing a Soul Ring whose age exceeded what he could withstand. Once his Soul Power stabilized completely, he would be fine.
Although the absorption had been risky, he had gained quite a lot from it. His Soul Power Level had shot straight up to level 26.
"Tell me, what does your second Soul Skill do?" Bibi Dong asked.
Ning Buhui closed his eyes and sensed the new information in his mind. After a moment, he said, "It's still two skills from one ring. The support skill is called Vine Armor Spring Life. Its basic effect is this: the yang fish gives the target an inky green vine armor shield that can absorb 20% of damage taken, then convert it into a trace of Soul Power and return it to the shielded target. When the vine armor breaks, it produces a small shockwave that knocks back nearby enemies. It lasts 30 seconds. The control skill is called Vine Locks the Nine Nether Regions. Its basic effect is this: it consumes very little Soul Power, and the yin fish flicks its tail, shooting a pitch-black chain formed from Soul Power out of the pagoda to bind a designated target. Its maximum binding range is 50 meters. The chain can be broken free from, with the difficulty determined by the difference between the two sides' Soul Power. It's very difficult for someone of the same level to break free. The bound target's Soul Power is continuously drained, 1% per second, and fed back to the caster."
Ning Buhui continued, "Because I now have two Soul Rings, the shield can absorb 30% of damage. The rate at which a bound target's Soul Power is drained remains unchanged, but the maximum binding range has increased to 100 meters. The chain has also become tougher and harder to break free from, and it can reliably bind an enemy one major realm above me."
Bibi Dong listened, then nodded ever so slightly. "Both are pretty good Soul Skills. They improve your staying power and defense, and now you have a way to trap enemies."
"My first Soul Skills were strengthened a little too." Ning Buhui sensed them for another moment, then added, "Butterfly Dance Flowing Radiance's all-attribute boost and Soul Power recovery speed have both risen to 30%, and the interval between Soul Skill uses has been shortened by 25%. Butterfly Suppresses the Nether Spring increases Soul Power consumption by 30% now, and reduces Soul Skill power by 15%. Its duration has increased by five seconds, so it lasts 35 seconds now. After three attacks, it causes Soul Power disruption for 0.6 seconds. That's the same as the information I sensed before, so it was expected."
Ning Buhui told Bibi Dong the detailed information he had sensed.
"Their basic abilities grow stronger as the number of Soul Rings increases. That's certainly good," Bibi Dong said.
"Yes. Unfortunately, because my Martial Soul can both support and control, it's not like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, whose basic effects increase by as much as 10% with each additional Soul Ring. Although all my skills can be strengthened, they only increase by 5%," Ning Buhui said with some regret.
"You brat, you ought to be satisfied. If you get all the benefits, how is anyone else supposed to live? Even half the effect is enough to make people green with envy," Bibi Dong said irritably.
Ning Buhui scratched his head in embarrassment and chuckled without replying, then turned to look at the Void Mantis's corpse a few steps away.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was completely lifeless. It lay half-sprawled in the mud, its gray-green carapace still faintly glossy. A black Soul Ring hovered above its corpse, standing out sharply in the gray mist of the Rotten Wood Marsh. The black was not pure; its edges looked as though they had been washed with water, and its color was already a little paler than before. It looked close to dispersing. At this rate, the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring would vanish into the world in another two to four hours at most.
Although it was a bit of a pity, Ning Buhui did not react much.
He had just finished absorbing a Soul Ring whose age exceeded his own limit, and his Soul Power had yet to settle. He had already exceeded his goal for this trip, so there was little to regret.
"Don't waste the mantis's corpse," Bibi Dong said. "Dismember it and take everything you can. Its ten-thousand-year-grade carapace and blade limbs can be made into Soul Tool casings when we get back, and its meat can be made into food containing Soul Power."
Ning Buhui assented, took a sharp knife from his ring, and crouched down to begin working. The ten-thousand-year-old Void Mantis's shell was extremely hard, and he had to exert considerable effort to pry open its back armor. In the cold wind, steam still rose from the mantis's internal organs. Blue bodily fluid flowed into the mud, staining a small puddle dark. Bit by bit, he cut off its intact forelimbs, back armor, and wing membranes, carefully wrapped them, and stuffed them into his ring. Like an ant moving a mountain, he worked for nearly two hours before he had gathered everything worth taking.
Just as he turned the mantis over, the tip of his knife struck something extremely hard, lodged between the upper part of its right foreleg and its chest armor and emitting a soft white glow. Ning Buhui paused, and something suddenly occurred to him. Even his breathing quickened. He forced the piece of carapace open, reached inside, and felt something.
It was warm and smooth, irregularly shaped, and a little smaller than his palm. He pulled it out and wiped the blue blood from its surface. In the sunlight, he saw that it was a translucent bone with a very faint silver light flowing inside it. It really was a Soul Bone!
"Teacher..." Ning Buhui's voice had changed.
Bibi Dong walked over, took one look, and raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. "A Soul Bone."
Ning Buhui's throat went dry. Of course he knew it was a Soul Bone: a Right Arm Soul Bone produced by a ten-thousand-year-old Void Mantis. It was as transparent as a cicada's wing, both hard and tough, and the silver light inside was the power of space. He had read about plenty of Soul Bones in the original novel, but this was his first time actually holding one.
"Good luck. Judging by its attributes, it's an offensive type," Bibi Dong said. "A spatial Soul Bone will give you a rending Soul Skill at the very least. You happen to lack offensive means, and it's delivered itself to you. What are you hesitating for?"
Ning Buhui abruptly looked up at her and asked uncertainly, "Teacher, do you mean this Soul Bone is mine?"
Bibi Dong said casually, "If you were lucky enough to get it, that means it's your opportunity. Absorb it now."
Hearing that, Ning Buhui hesitated no longer. He found a slightly taller stump, took off his wet outer robe and laid it beneath him, then sat down cross-legged.
"Absorbing a Soul Bone is different from absorbing a Soul Ring." Bibi Dong stood behind him, her voice steady. "Once you begin, you can't stop halfway. If you're forcibly interrupted, your meridians will shatter, and no one will be able to save you. Have you thought it through?"
Ning Buhui nodded. "I have."
He took a deep breath and steadied it before placing the translucent Right Arm Soul Bone on his right forearm. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Spiritual power flowed slowly from between his brows, wrapping around the Soul Bone like water. After a moment, the Soul Bone began to tremble slightly and rose half an inch on its own, emitting a faint silver-gray halo. The light was not dazzling, yet it made one feel cold all over for no apparent reason.
The Soul Bone slowly approached his right arm. Ning Buhui tensed, feeling as though his flesh had been covered in a thin layer of ice. Immediately afterward, an extremely violent force bored into his arm. The Soul Bone's energy seemed to shatter into countless fine needles, piercing through his skin and fascia before sinking into his bones. It felt as though something were grinding away at the bones in his right arm, section by section. They ached and swelled, then the sensation turned into heart-piercing pain, as though someone were pulling out his bones to stuff something else inside.
The sweat on his forehead, which had only recently dried, broke out again in fine, dense beads. Ning Buhui's breathing gradually grew heavier. It wasn't over yet: that energy crept up his arm toward his shoulder blade and across one side of his body, burrowing into his meridians like tree roots. He clenched his teeth and forced himself to remain still. Compared with the pain of absorbing the Soul Ring just now, this was nothing much.
Gradually, he felt as though the original bones in his right arm had vanished, replaced by an empty void. After a long while, the bone-grinding pain slowly faded. His entire right arm felt as though it were immersed in warm water, swollen and warm. A faint silver light shone through his skin, flashed across his arm, and disappeared. Feeling utterly spent, he leaned forward slightly and nearly plunged into the mud, catching himself with his left hand just in time.
When he had recovered, his right arm felt a fraction heavier than before. He looked down and saw that the skin and flesh were intact, with nothing visibly amiss. Then a piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind: information about the Soul Bone.
A twenty-thousand-year-old Space-Rending Right Arm Bone-skill granted: Void Rending Slash!
Effect: using the right hand as a conduit, gather the power of space and instantly unleash a rending slash. It can ignore all physical defenses, and is sharp enough to rend the void.
Ning Buhui stared blankly for several seconds, then slowly raised his right hand. The power of space gathered, and an invisible blade of air shot instantly toward the old tree ahead. Without a sound, it sliced through everything in its path, leaving smooth cuts.
"What skill?" Bibi Dong asked, glancing over.
"The Soul Bone is a twenty-thousand-year-old Space-Rending Right Arm Bone. Its skill is Void Rending Slash. It rends the void and can ignore all physical defenses," Ning Buhui said hoarsely. "Teacher, my Soul Power is level 28 now."
Bibi Dong looked at him. After a while, she suddenly let out a very soft laugh. It was a laugh that seemed as though a gust of wind could scatter it.
"This trip to the Rotten Wood Marsh wasn't wasted. You've gained levels a little too quickly this time. Once we're back, don't rush to break through. Take some time to refine your cultivation realm."
"All right!" Ning Buhui said in a cheerful tone. He flexed his right hand, then the corners of his mouth slowly lifted, his smile growing wider and wider until he laughed aloud. The strong wind over the marsh broke his laughter into fragments, like a bird soaring high for the first time.