Absorbing the Third Soul Ring

At last, after another eruption of Thunderous Might, the wood armor covering the Azure Wood Spirit Bear was burned to charcoal by the lightning's intense heat. Unable to hold on any longer, the bear staggered and fell.

Throughout the entire fight, none of the Azure Wood Spirit Bear's attacks had posed much of a threat. Compared to Power Attack System Soul Beasts with their formidable attack power, this clumsy Soul Beast was a fool that could be kited endlessly. The only ones it had managed to touch during the entire fight were the Shi Brothers.

In a nearby tree, Qin Ming nodded.

"Not bad. Their teamwork's becoming more seamless. Although it's Qingchen's first time taking part in this kind of team battle, he's already developed a degree of rapport with them, and he understands how a battle of attrition works."

No one should think a battle of attrition was shameful. In fact, for the vast majority of people, taking turns in battle was one of the best ways to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain Soul Rings. It was both safe and reliable.

"It's over."

Yu Tianheng let out a long breath and said to Lin Qingchen, "Qingchen, go kill it, but watch out for a final counterattack."

"I know." Lin Qingchen drew his shortsword and had only taken two steps forward when the Azure Wood Spirit Bear rose once more.

"Roar!"

It roared, pounding the ground repeatedly with both arms. A strange wave immediately spread outward.

"Hmm?"

Lin Qingchen keenly sensed the life force coming from the Tranquil Spirit Heart-Concentrating Orchid behind the bear.

Strand after strand of life force flowed into the Azure Wood Spirit Bear, and its charred black wood armor immediately sprouted fresh green.

You want to absorb the Tranquil Spirit Heart-Concentrating Orchid's power and make a desperate final stand? Dream on!

Even as Lin Qingchen thought this, he didn't slow down for an instant. Barely a second after that bit of life energy entered the Azure Heaven Spirit Bear's body, he was already in front of it.

"Five Elements Divine Lightning!"

The Great Five Elements Divine Light dissolved the approaching life energy, and even the bit of wood armor that had just formed dimmed once more.

Then five-colored lightning streaked through the air and struck the Azure Wood Spirit Bear in the chest.

"Boom!!!"

A tremendous explosion rang out. The mighty Five Elements Divine Lightning instantly blasted a huge hole in the Azure Wood Spirit Bear's chest, large enough to see the entire Tranquil Spirit Heart-Concentrating Orchid through it.

"Roar..."

The Azure Wood Spirit Bear opened its mouth, blood welling out, but it was too weak to make a sound. Its eyes widened and its body swayed a few times before it finally crashed to the ground. A purple Soul Ring rose from its corpse.

With the guardian Soul Beast utterly incapacitated, the restless atmosphere in the secluded valley settled into calm.

The Tranquil Spirit Heart-Concentrating Orchid still stood undisturbed, pure life Soul Power flowing slowly through it, as though it hadn't been affected at all.

"Clap, clap, clap-"

"You did a great job. You've lived up to your reputation as geniuses."

Qin Ming walked over, clapping. He patted Yu Tianheng on the shoulder first, then said to Lin Qingchen and Ye Lingling, "Go on and absorb your Soul Rings. Then we'll leave straight away. If we don't have to stay longer, we shouldn't linger in the Star Dou Great Forest. There's no telling when something dangerous might pop out."

"All right."

Lin Qingchen nodded, but Ye Lingling released another beam of white light that fell on him.

Lin Qingchen was startled. Although he hadn't actually been injured at all, he still thanked Ye Lingling.

"Thank you."

"There's no need to be so formal." Ye Lingling shook her head gently.

Lin Qingchen didn't stand on ceremony any longer and sat down cross-legged.

Having already fused Soul Rings twice before, Lin Qingchen summoned the Rift Ruins Earth Dragon's Soul Ring with practiced ease and put the Azure Wood Spirit Bear's Soul Ring away.

The swap took only an instant anyway. Even a Titled Douluo could never have noticed the slightest difference unless he had kept his attention fixed on the Soul Ring the whole time.

Then Lin Qingchen began fusing the first Soul Ring.

Naturally, he had already prepared some of the various items containing the Power of the Five Elements to guide the Soul Ring and kept them in his Storage Soul Tool.

Following the order of earth, metal, water, wood, and fire, Lin Qingchen brought them into place within his body one by one. Finally, in accordance with the principle of the five elements generating one another, the five Soul Rings fused into one once more.

This Soul Ring, however, was a deep, dark purple. Clearly, it wasn't far from ten thousand years old.

Sure enough, the only reason I got the Second Soul Ring past a thousand years last time was that the Thunderclap Nether Vine happened to be on the verge of reaching a thousand years. I was struck half to death by lightning, and only then did I use its destructive power to help the Thunderclap Nether Vine complete its advancement.

Lin Qingchen shook his head and thought no more about it, choosing to fuse with the five elements Soul Ring.

Fusing with the Soul Ring was naturally no challenge for him. After all, he had fused them himself using the power of the Five Elements Qilin Martial Soul. They came from the same source, so there could be no rejection.

The last fusion had only been difficult because of the external influence of the lightning.

While Lin Qingchen was fusing with his Soul Ring, Ye Lingling found herself in a quandary.

The Spirit-Concentrating Tranquil Heart Orchid was somewhat different from ordinary Plant-type Soul Beasts. It was actually a kind of heavenly treasure. Killing it outright would certainly yield a Soul Ring, but according to the book, eating it seemed to yield a Soul Ring and other benefits as well.

The problem was that she couldn't be certain, even though it was written in a book passed down by her ancestors.

After thinking it over, she decided to follow the book. Her ancestor had no reason to lead his descendants astray, did he?

With that thought, Ye Lingling went straight to the Spirit-Concentrating Tranquil Heart Orchid. She didn't look at its simple but beautiful flower, instead digging up its roots and stem.

She dug away the soil and parted the roots within, finding a translucent emerald-green bead. Specks of light flickered inside it, making it look as beautiful as a jewel.

This was the core of the Spirit-Concentrating Tranquil Heart Orchid, the essence of its entire being.

If held in the mouth, the essence within would be released slowly and continuously, calming a person's mind until not a ripple disturbed it, allowing them to maintain absolute focus under any circumstances.

Of course, Ye Lingling wanted to absorb the Soul Ring, so she swallowed it whole.

"Mm, so cold..."

She touched her throat. The core felt like a piece of ice as it went down, leaving a chill everywhere it passed and making her heart tighten.

The next moment, wisps of cold spread from the core, flowing along her meridians to her limbs and bones.

Ye Lingling didn't dare delay. She hurriedly sat down cross-legged and circulated her Soul Power, beginning to absorb the energy released by the core.

The Spirit-Concentrating Tranquil Heart Orchid had no attack power to begin with, and the chill could hardly be called freezing. Bolstered by the Nine Heart Begonia's already powerful life force, Ye Lingling absorbed it quickly.

Only a few minutes later, the chill had completely faded. In its place came a vast surge of life force, constantly coursing through her body and filling her with warmth.

For a moment, even her usually pale complexion became considerably rosier.

Before long, Ye Lingling had completely absorbed the core of the Spirit-Concentrating Tranquil Heart Orchid, and a purple Soul Ring slowly appeared beside her.