Chapter 148: Half a Year, From Luxury to Frugality Is Hard!
Time flows like water, and in the blink of an eye, half a year has passed.
Deep within Death Canyon, a blood aura surged into the sky.
The girl's agile figure continuously darted through mountains of corpses and seas of bones.
Wherever she passed, soul beasts fell, and fallen soul masters wailed.
After being tempered by slaughter, the girl was now surrounded by killing intent, her aura growing ever colder.
The once-empty slaughter space had long been filled with tens of thousands of undead spirits.
Soul beasts of various races resided within it, yet they gathered together harmoniously.
It had practically become one big family.
While fighting, the girl continued devouring.
Her soul power cultivation had not fallen behind despite the training.
Her various supreme techniques had also gradually become more refined through daily battles.
On this day, as the girl wandered through the canyon, she happened to pass by a dark and eerie valley.
The valley floor was piled high with white bones.
It seemed to warn anyone who came that countless visitors had already lost their lives here.
But to the girl, it instead felt like a welcome.
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes lit up slightly as she activated her Sun-Moon-Star Gaze to scan the valley, attempting to find the soul beast hidden within.
Yet no matter how she searched, she could not detect any trace of a soul beast.
"Strange, where did the soul beast go…"
Before she could finish her doubt, she suddenly felt a strange fluctuation beneath her feet!
"Boom—!"
The white bones exploded as a massive soul beast burst out from the ground beneath her.
Its gaping, blood-filled maw lunged toward the girl, trying to swallow her whole.
"Phantom Flash!"
The girl's expression changed slightly as her figure flashed, reappearing a hundred meters away.
Looking closely, she saw a bizarre dark purple serpent, its body wrapped in a death aura, flickering between solidity and illusion.
"Hiss~!"
It coiled atop the bones, staring coldly at the girl.
"What kind of soul beast is this?"
Zhu Zhuqing asked inwardly.
These days, aside from cultivation, her greatest enjoyment was exploring new soul beasts she had never seen before.
Whenever that happened, Bai Lu would act like an encyclopedia, explaining everything to her.
"A fifty-thousand-year Shadow Ghost Snake, a special soul beast with a half-illusory, half-solid body."
"It has an innate 50% immunity to physical damage and 25% immunity to energy damage."
"It excels at ambush, has venomous fangs, strong spiritual power, and a robust physique."
Bai Lu's voice sounded again.
"Go on, this is a good opponent."
"I understand!"
Hearing this, the girl's lips curved upward as she instantly grasped Bai Lu's meaning.
To her, this was indeed a great sparring partner… or rather, a punching bag!
"Hell Spirit Cat, possess!"
With a thought, she transformed into the Hell Spirit Cat girl.
Suppressing her soul power, she stepped forward with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, charging toward the Shadow Ghost Snake!
"Hell One Strike!"
As she closed in, she locked onto the snake's head, compressing all her power into a single point and thrusting forward at lightning speed.
This technique, improved from "Hell-Piercing Strike," has now revealed its sharp edge.
The Shadow Ghost Snake showed no fear.
Its soul power erupted in black light, surging toward the girl like a ghostly possession.
"Boom—!"
At the moment of collision, the black light shattered, and scales broke apart.
"Puchi!"
The spike-like cat claw pierced several inches into the snake's head.
It seemed poised to kill the Shadow Ghost Snake instantly.
"Aaaah!"
Feeling the intense pain, the snake did not retreat.
Its soul power surged as it summoned a solidified energy clone behind it, launching a second attack at the girl!
"Hell Nine Absolutes, Void!"
Zhu Zhuqing moved both hands in coordination, combining the technique with Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, pushing with both claws.
She redirected the force, avoided the sharp edge, and shifted her position.
Dodging the attack in an instant, she borrowed the momentum to circle behind it.
"Break! Pierce!"
Her claws lit up as they slashed down, one claw breaking armor, piercing through the snake's body, shattering it.
With each rise and fall of her claws, large amounts of black ghostly mist burst out.
"Roar!"
The Shadow Ghost Snake cried out in pain, its body flickering as it transformed into a phantom mist and retreated dozens of meters away.
"So strong! Again!"
Zhu Zhuqing's fighting spirit surged as she rushed forward once more.
Her claws fell again and again, her form and strikes moving as one, building like waves layer upon layer!
"Hell Swift Wind Claw!"
This offensive instantly suppressed the Shadow Ghost Snake.
Claw shadows crisscrossed; light flickered.
Wounds were carved across its body, causing it to scream repeatedly.
Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, it phased its body and shot toward the ground like a ghostly shadow.
"Trying to run?"
Zhu Zhuqing's soul ring suddenly lit up as she stomped down.
"Bang!"
In the next moment, dozens of meters away, the massive body was forcibly expelled from the earth and thrown right in front of her.
"You can't escape."
Zhu Zhuqing smiled coldly.
The Hell Nine Absolutes flowed continuously, changing forms as they rained down.
In an instant, the girl and the snake fought fiercely, shaking the entire valley.
"Hiss—!"
The Shadow Ghost Snake let out continuous cries of pain.
Finally, in desperation, it burned its cultivation and launched a final counterattack.
Bloodlight exploded as ghostly shadows followed.
Its massive body transformed into a ghostly whip, twisting and smashing toward the girl.
With such power, even a small hill could be shattered.
"Perfect timing!"
But Zhu Zhuqing's eyes shone with excitement as she charged directly toward it.
Her claw transformed into a palm as hell power gathered, spinning and compressing within her hand, radiating deadly danger.
With this palm strike, she would annihilate her enemy.
"White Tiger Calamity-Extinguishing Palm!"
The calamity palm fell, and the ghostly shadow was destroyed!
"Aah—"
Amid a miserable scream, the Shadow Ghost Snake's half-illusory body disintegrated piece by piece.
Finally, it collapsed to the ground, completely lifeless.
"Whew… this soul beast was really strong!"
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the devastated valley, her face full of admiration.
"That's what you call strong…"
Bai Lu stroked the rabbit and complained,
"Anyone hearing this would think you fought a hundred-thousand-year soul beast for eight hundred rounds and barely won."
"Hehe, it's all the same!"
"I just treat every battle seriously!"
Zhu Zhuqing laughed inwardly.
"Fair enough!"
Bai Lu gave a thumbs-up and said leisurely,
"This snake has quite a bit of energy. Don't waste it!"
"Mm!"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly and collected the remaining soul.
Then, the Eight Spider Lances shot out, piercing into the corpse.
"Devour!"
The ability activated as the remaining essence in the corpse was instantly absorbed by the Eight Spider Lances, strengthening them.
A portion of the relatively pure soul power flowed along her spine into her limbs.
The comfortable sensation made the girl unconsciously let out a soft, catlike sound.
"Meow, my soul power increased again!"
Zhu Zhuqing clenched her fist and could feel that her soul power had already reached rank 66!
But her joy lasted less than three seconds before a trace of melancholy appeared.
"What's wrong now?"
Bai Lu looked at her strangely.
"Shouldn't leveling up make you happy?"
"Why the long face?"
"Only two ranks in half a year… it feels bad…"
Thinking of her previous lightning-fast leveling speed, the girl couldn't help but sigh.
Now, her progress felt as slow as a crawling turtle!
As expected, going from luxury to frugality was hard!
"Ah yes, yes, truly difficult!"
Bai Lu glanced at her speechlessly.
"Try thinking about how you're learning so many things at once and still gained two ranks in half a year. You should be satisfied!"
End of Chapter
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