Lin Chen stopped laughing mid-smile, his eyes turning cold. The air in the cave seemed to freeze, making it oppressive and suffocating.
Lin Chen's eyes were icy as he stared intently at the Blue Silver Grass that had undergone a transformation. At this moment, it was radiating a rich blue-gold light, and its originally slender vines were now like giant pythons forged from blue gold, dancing wildly in mid-air and exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.
"Human, you forced me to this!"
The Blue Silver Emperor's voice became sharp and mournful, filled with madness and determination. It devoured the 100,000-year-old right leg soul bone that belonged to it, forcibly raising its cultivation level to the 2,000-year level. Although this was only a temporary power gained by burning its essence, for it at this moment, killing this arrogant human before it was enough!
"So what if it's been two thousand years? It's nothing but a piece of trash with one foot already in the coffin."
Lin Chen snorted coldly, took a step forward, and moved with lightning speed, advancing instead of retreating!
"court death!"
With a roar, the Blue Silver Emperor unleashed countless purple-gold vines that shot out like a net, sealing off all of Lin Chen's escape routes.
"Indestructible Body!"
Lin Chen let out a low shout, and a layer of bronze-colored light instantly appeared on the surface of his skin, making him look like a war god cast in bronze and iron.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several vines lashed out at Lin Chen, producing a dull thud like the beating of drums. The immense impact caused Lin Chen's blood and qi to surge, but he gritted his teeth and endured it, his steps unwavering!
"What?!"
The Blue Silver Emperor was shocked. It hadn't expected this human's body to be so powerful; a full-force attack from two thousand years of cultivation couldn't even break through its defenses!
"Insightful Divine Eye, activate!"
Lin Chen's eyes flashed with golden light, instantly seeing through the flaws in the vines. With a strange twist of his body, he slipped through the gaps in the vines like a fish, closing in instantly.
"Northern Darkness Divine Art, absorb it!"
Lin Chen suddenly stretched out his right hand, and a black vortex seemed to appear in his palm. An immense and irresistible suction force gripped the core of the Blue Silver Emperor tightly.
"Ah—! What kind of technique is this?!"
The Blue Silver Emperor let out a piercing scream. It was horrified to discover that the soul power it had just gathered was being frantically drained by this human!
"You want to drain me dry? I'll drag you down with me!"
The Blue Silver Emperor went completely berserk, and countless tiny roots pierced into Lin Chen's skin like needles, attempting to drain Lin Chen's life force in reverse.
The two forces collided wildly in the confined space, resulting in a stalemate.
"You want to outlast me? You're nothing but a remnant soul, while I have the Northern Darkness Divine Art protecting me. I'll wear you down!"
Lin Chen gritted his teeth, pushing the Northern Darkness Divine Art to its limit, even burning his own essence and blood to enhance the suction power.
As time went by, the Blue Silver Emperor's struggles grew weaker and weaker. Its soul power was being drained away little by little by Lin Chen, and its purplish-gold light began to dim.
"Now! Luo Sanpao, come out!"
Lin Chen suddenly shouted and waved his right hand, and a yellow figure appeared out of thin air.
"Woof?"
As soon as Luo Sanpao appeared, he was so frightened by the sight before him that his fat body trembled. But he instinctively sensed his master's will and the tempting aroma emanating from the "food" before him.
"Eat it! Eat it all!"
Lin Chen roared, and with a sudden retraction of the Northern Darkness Divine Art, he pushed the last remaining trace of Blue Silver Emperor's soul power, along with his physical body, towards Luo Sanpao.
"roar!"
Luo Sanpao opened its massive mouth, its previously adorable appearance instantly transforming into a ferocious one. Its mouth seemed to have turned into a bottomless pit, biting down on the Blue Silver Emperor's true form.
However, to Lin Chen's surprise, Luo Sanpao's body did not change much. It only trembled slightly, and then continuously fed back the enormous energy it had devoured into Lin Chen's body through the master-pet contract.
"Okay! Now!"
A sharp glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. The nutrients Luo Sanpao had absorbed were nourishing him, and Lin Chen could feel his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul undergoing a qualitative change.
Level 10!
The soul power barrier was instantly broken through, and Lin Chen's aura rose steadily, eventually settling at the peak of level ten! Previously, his innate soul power was low entirely because his martial soul was too weak to withstand so much innate soul power, and could only be transformed into Northern Darkness True Qi. Now, Northern Darkness True Qi and soul power are interconnected.
As his soul power surged, after retrieving Luo Sanpao, Lin Chen looked at the condensed thousand-year-old purple soul ring. He sat down to adjust his aura and then absorbed the soul ring.
Soul Ring Age Limit: 2,000 years (can evolve, maximum age: 100,000 years)
First Soul Skill: Life Drain (Can be evolved)
Current effect: Instantly draws soul power from the surrounding Blue Silver Grass and converts it into the user's own soul power. The more soul power drawn, the more soul power is converted, and it has an additional suppressive effect on plant-type soul masters.
Evolution potential: As the age of the Soul Ring increases, it can evolve into a more powerful life force manipulation skill.
What a wonderful way to absorb life!
Lin Chen clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him. This wasn't just an attack skill, but also a lifesaver for sustain!
However, just as he was about to get up, something unexpected happened.
The purple spirit ring did not completely dissipate the moment it merged into his body; instead, it transformed into a massive surge of heat that rushed towards his back.
"Well..."
Lin Chen groaned, feeling a burning pain in his back as if it were on fire. Then, two lumps of flesh suddenly bulged at his shoulder blades, as if something was about to burst out of his body!
"This is..."
Lin Chen was shocked. He was about to use his internal energy to suppress it when he saw the two clumps of flesh suddenly explode open, revealing a pair of translucent wings with a faint blue-gold luster that slowly unfurled!
The wings seemed illusory, yet they carried an ancient and sacred aura; with a gentle flap, a breeze would blow by.
Lin Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.
External soul bone?!
Moreover, it's an external soul bone that was born on his back!
He never expected that absorbing a Blue Silver Emperor's soul ring would give birth to such a heaven-defying soul bone.
Moreover, it's an external soul bone that was born on his back!
He never expected that absorbing a Blue Silver Emperor's soul ring would give birth to such a heaven-defying soul bone.
What exactly is this? Is it a flight-type external spirit bone? Or an offensive one?
Lin Chen was filled with doubt, but his intuition told him that these wings were anything but ordinary. The aura emanating from them was even more ancient than that of some ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts.
"It seems that this is another tremendous opportunity."
Lin Chen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart. He tried to move his mind, and the pair of blue-gold wings flapped gently, and his body floated more than a foot into the air.
"It really can fly..."
A sharp glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. With these wings, his mobility would be greatly enhanced, giving him a better chance of escaping even when facing a powerful figure like Tang Hao.
However, before he could examine the externally attached soul bone in detail, an extremely strong sense of crisis suddenly came from the cave entrance.
"Who is it?!"
A deep, murderous voice pierced through the water curtain, causing the cave to tremble slightly.
Lin Chen turned around abruptly and looked towards the cave entrance. Tang Hao had come after all.
At this moment, he had just broken through to level ten, his soul power was not yet fully stable, and a pair of unknown wings had just grown on his back. He was at his weakest.
Damn it!
Lin Chen cursed under his breath, quickly concealed his aura, and returned Luo Sanpao to his Martial Soul Space. Then, he flashed away, trying to escape quickly using his Blue Silver Wings.
Just as Lin Chen's blue-gold wings unfurled on his back, the oppressive feeling at the cave entrance suddenly surged.
"who?!"
Tang Hao's thunderous roar pierced through the water curtain, causing rocks to fall throughout the cave. He's back! And faster than expected!
Lin Chen's heart clenched. He didn't have time to think; his survival instinct drove him to make the right decision.
"Walk!"
He let out a low shout, and the blue-gold wings on his back suddenly flapped. The wings seemed illusory, but they contained a strange power. With a gentle flap, Lin Chen was like an arrow released from a bow, transforming into a blue-gold streak of light, instantly passing through the gap beside Tang Hao and rushing straight out of the waterfall.
"Who goes there!"
Tang Hao only saw a flash of blue light before his eyes, and a figure had already darted out of the cave. He subconsciously threw a punch, and the violent soul power slammed into the cave wall, blasting out a huge crater, but it didn't even touch the hem of Lin Chen's clothes.
How is that possible?
Tang Hao's pupils shrank sharply. As a Title Douluo, his senses were incredibly sharp, yet the speed of that figure was absurdly fast, and that aura... actually carried a life fluctuation that felt both familiar and strange to him.
Without time to think, Tang Hao roared and transformed into a black lightning bolt, giving chase.
At this moment, Lin Chen was desperately urging the blue-gold wings on his back. These wings had just grown and their compatibility with him was far from perfect. Every flap sent a tearing pain through his shoulder blades.
"Well..."
Lin Chen gritted his teeth, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. But he dared not stop for a moment, because he could clearly feel the terrifying aura behind him rapidly approaching.
"Trying to run?!"
Tang Hao's voice, like the whisper of death, rang out less than a hundred meters behind Lin Chen.
Lin Chen glanced back and saw Tang Hao using the Ghost Shadow Step, his figure moving as fast as lightning, and the Haotian Hammer in his hand was already glowing with a chilling black light.
Damn it!
Lin Chen cursed under his breath and desperately circulated the Northern Darkness Divine Art, frantically converting the soul power he had just absorbed into power, urging his blue-gold wings to accelerate to the limit.
Buzz!
With a sudden tremor of his blue-gold wings, Lin Chen's speed increased dramatically, narrowly avoiding Tang Hao's long-range hammer strike.
Boom!
The hammer blow struck the woods behind Lin Chen, instantly leveling a grove of ancient trees and sending flames soaring into the sky.
Lin Chen was shocked. Was this the power of a Title Douluo? A mere casual strike possessed such terrifying destructive power!
He dared not look back and could only desperately fly forward. At this moment, he had just broken through to the tenth level, and his soul power was already unstable. In addition, he was forcibly activating the external soul bone that was not fully compatible, and the soul power in his body was being consumed rapidly.
"Boy, stay here!"
Tang Hao roared repeatedly, his heart filled with anxiety as he watched Lin Chen fly further and further away. He could sense that the aura emanating from that figure was definitely related to Ah Yin's disappearance!
"Slaughter God Domain, activate!"
Tang Hao suddenly unleashed his Killing God Domain, attempting to suppress Lin Chen's speed. "Boy, prepare to die!" Tang Hao roared, his voice shaking the heavens. The vegetation within a hundred meters withered instantly, and the air was filled with the aura of death. The Clear Sky Hammer blazed with black light, and he cleaved down from the sky. Soul power materialized into a tangible hammer shadow, crashing down upon Lin Chen's back.
"Bang!"
The blue silver wings shone brightly, barely blocking the fatal blow, but the residual force still sent Lin Chen flying dozens of meters, crashing heavily into an ancient tree. Blood gushed from the corner of his lips, his meridians throbbed with excruciating pain, and his soul power was nearly exhausted.
"He's dead after all." Tang Hao put away his hammer and walked closer, glancing at the "corpse" under the tree: the boy was dressed in tattered clothes and had no breath left, except for a pair of dim blue-gold wing bones remaining on his shoulder blades.
He crouched down, extending his soul power from his fingertips to confirm that the other party's life force was gone, and the killing intent between his brows eased slightly: "Ah Yin, no matter who you are... the Spirit Hall will repay this debt."
Just as he was about to destroy the evidence, a sudden change occurred. The boy's mangled body suddenly emitted a soft blue light, the wounds on his back healed at a visible speed, and his breath faintly returned.
"A healing skill... and it's passively triggered." Tang Hao's pupils shrank.
Just then, the boy with blue wings on his back suddenly darted out, creating a distance of several hundred meters between himself and Tang Hao.
He was about to fly away again when he suddenly fell down.
(End of Chapter)