Chapter 15: Chu Chen's Second Soul Ring! Traveling with Ye Lingling
"He is actually able to absorb a thousand-year level Soul Ring for his second one, and his aura is stable, without the slightest sign of energy overflow."
Seeing that it was getting late, Ye Lingling chose to light a campfire nearby. During this time, she kept observing Chu Chen's condition as he absorbed the Soul Ring; it seemed terrifyingly smooth...
And this was the first Soul Ring that Chu Chen had absorbed in the true sense. To ordinary people, this was absorbing a ring beyond his level, so two hours had passed since he began absorbing this Soul Ring.
"What a unique Blue Silver Grass... it even has golden patterns..."
Ye Lingling noticed a Blue Silver Emperor growing beside Chu Chen and gently touched it with her hand.
The texture was very smooth and carried a hint of warmth, not the cold sensation of an ordinary plant. Especially after making contact, Ye Lingling could feel this surge of Life Qi.
Her Martial Soul was the Nine-Heart Begonia, which was also a plant-type Martial Soul, so she could clearly feel that her own Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul was being suppressed by the Blue Silver Emperor at this moment!
Ye Lingling gently stroked the Blue Silver Emperor for a moment, then returned to the campfire to wait for Chu Chen.
"Absorbing a Soul Ring independently for the first time really takes more time... If it weren't for the fact that I have always used the Blue Silver Emperor's special life-conversion ability to constantly strengthen my Physical Body and clear my Meridians."
"Next is the final Fusion stage."
Chu Chen began to condense his own Soul Power, subconsciously entering the final step of the Soul Ring Fusion. By this stage, the most dangerous phase of absorbing the Soul Ring had already passed.
Half an hour later.
As the Blue Silver Emperor in Chu Chen's hand bloomed with a brilliant blue-gold light, the surrounding plants also felt this aura and began to grow rapidly.
"Why is my Nine-Heart Begonia also..."
Ye Lingling stared at the Nine-Heart Begonia that had appeared uncontrollably in her hand, the emotions in her beautiful eyes naturally unsettled.
Her Nine-Heart Begonia, looking across the entire Douluo Continent, could be considered a top-tier support system Martial Soul. When had it ever been affected like this by another Martial Soul?
"His Martial Soul can actually suppress my Nine-Heart Begonia? What kind of Blue Silver Grass is this!"
Ye Lingling was too shocked to speak.
At this moment, the second Soul Ring that Chu Chen was absorbing finally stabilized, and two thousand-year Soul Rings floated quietly, exuding extraordinary power.
Chu Chen also stepped into the Great Soul Master Realm at this moment, and his strength improved to level twenty-three in one fell swoop.
He opened his eyes and happened to see Ye Lingling, who was sitting by the campfire, staring at him in a daze. He smiled slightly at her and said: "Thanks for acting as my Protector."
Ye Lingling came back to her senses, slightly stunned, and said: "I didn't really help you with anything..."
Chu Chen laughed: "Standing guard nearby, how is that not acting as a Protector? After all, if I really couldn't control the energy of the Soul Ring, I would still need your healing."
By the light of the fire, Ye Lingling saw Chu Chen's refined profile by the campfire and was momentarily lost in thought.
"You are too bold, daring to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring for your first Soul Ring." Ye Lingling picked up a piece of firewood and put it into the campfire.
"It was just a bold attempt made within the scope of my own capabilities; of course, it also came with a price."
Chu Chen smiled, not revealing his secrets, though for Ye Lingling, this was indeed a category that was hard to understand.
The faint firelight appeared exceptionally warm in the quiet forest at night, but the Life Qi here was rich, and it would attract powerful Soul Beasts at any moment, so after thinking it over, Chu Chen felt they should leave this place with Ye Lingling.
"Do you need to rest?" Chu Chen suddenly asked.
Ye Lingling paused and said: "No, I just thought that you would need quite a long time to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring, so I took the opportunity to roast some food over the campfire."
As she spoke, Ye Lingling took out two pieces of somewhat charred bread...
Well, not somewhat charred, they were just completely black.
"This... is this Black Forest bread?" Chu Chen looked at the "charcoal" in front of him, raised his head with a strange expression, and stared wide-eyed at Ye Lingling.
"..."
Ye Lingling was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice: "It's my first time baking bread, and as a result... I got distracted..."
"Hahaha." Chu Chen laughed out loud.
Ye Lingling was a little angry and just wanted to take the bread back, but she saw Chu Chen take a piece of bread, gently break it open, revealing the still soft and warm center, tore off a piece to taste, and the taste was indeed quite good.
"Sometimes the black surface might make people shrink back, but the inside might be just like this bread center, warm."
Ye Lingling, realizing that Chu Chen was implying something, trembled in her heart, but she saw Chu Chen stand up, extinguish the campfire, and say: "We have to go. The Life Qi here is rich. Previously, the Undying Green Vine was holding the fort, so perhaps not many Soul Beasts dared to come."
"Now that the Undying Green Vine has been killed, this place will soon become a territory contested by Soul Beasts. If we stay here, we will instead become the target of everyone."
Ye Lingling also felt that what Chu Chen said made sense, so the two of them quickly left the place. Not long after, several ferocious Soul Beasts came from the darkness...
...
"Where did you get separated from your companions?"
After leaving the previous location, Chu Chen and Ye Lingling headed in the opposite direction from where Ye Lingling had been chasing the Mystic Fox during the day; this was also the path Ye Lingling had come from.
"You... are willing to help me?" Ye Lingling looked at Chu Chen in surprise, seemingly not expecting that, even though they had only known each other for a short time, Chu Chen would be willing to help her like this.
"Do you expect me to let a Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Master like you wander through the Star Dou Great Forest alone?" Chu Chen asked rhetorically.
Ye Lingling did not refute. As a support system Soul Master, she indeed did not possess attack power. If it weren't for the fact that the Mystic Fox during the day also had no attack power, she feared she would not have been able to kill it with a dagger.
"Thank you." For the first time, the pupils beneath Ye Lingling's black veil looked directly at Chu Chen, and her tone also seemed to soften a bit, not as cold as when they first met.
"At that time, we were scattered by a small herd of Iron-Horned Rhinos and were also led here by the herd. I don't know the specific location either."
After searching for a while, Ye Lingling looked around in confusion. In a place like the Star Dou Great Forest, it was indeed very easy to lose one's way, not to mention that it was now night.
"An Iron-Horned Rhino herd? It seems you were lucky. Although this type of Soul Beast has a fierce name, its nature is docile and it won't hurt people. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to escape from the herd unscathed."
Chu Chen searched the surroundings for traces that might have been caused by the rhino herd. After identifying the footprints left by the herd, he and Ye Lingling followed the footprints and walked forward.
"These Blue Silver Grass can guide our direction." Chu Chen indicated.