When she saw the bloodstains on Ye Qiu's face, she stepped forward and reached out to touch his small face.
Ye Qiu blushed as the girl touched him like that. Just as he was about to push her hand away, Zhu Zhuqing hugged him again.
She wrapped her arms around his back, leaned against his shoulder, and her warm voice reached Ye Qiu's ears.
"Ye Qiu, thank you!"
Her lips parted slightly, as if she were about to touch his face.
"It's nothing, we're just helping each other out…" Ye Qiu gently patted her back. This was simply what they had agreed on at the beginning.
Is that all?
Ye Qiu's words made Zhu Zhuqing stop what she was doing. She clenched her teeth, her expression turning cold again, and abruptly pushed him away.
Ye Qiu looked at her strangely, not noticing the change in her expression. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. I feel great!" She turned her head to the side, even though she knew she shouldn't care about such things.
"By the way, how did you fare?" Ye Qiu was still quite curious about how much her soul power had increased.
At the mention of this, her cold expression softened considerably. The sacrifice of the two-thousand-year-old soul beast had indeed benefited her greatly.
"Soul power has reached level 24, and my second soul skill is called Shadow Hundred Kills! Just as you expected, it has a poisonous attribute."
As she summoned her martial soul, a pair of cat ears appeared on her head, and her chest seemed to swell noticeably.
According to her, the second soul skill, Shadow Hundred Kills, not only increased piercing power by 50% and allowed continuous attacks without limit, but the venom on her claws was also corrosive. Once someone was injured and came into contact with the venom, their flesh and soul power would be continuously corroded.
"Very powerful!" Ye Qiu felt that this move was far stronger than her original Netherworld Hundred Claws.
"Yes!" Zhu Zhuqing nodded in agreement. This was her second soul ring—and it was a thousand-year one!
Ye Qiu walked toward the corpse of the Shadow Spider and activated his Sharingan, slowly searching it.
"What are you looking for?"
"We're looking for the soul bone."
"A soul bone?" Zhu Zhuqing was astonished.
"Hey! Found it!" Ye Qiu leaped up, activated his Xuan Yu Hand, and directly tore off the dark-colored soul bone.
Zhu Zhuqing leaned closer, staring at the soul bone in Ye Qiu's hand. "Really?"
"Yes. Soul beasts that voluntarily sacrifice themselves can produce soul bones—although this one was a forced sacrifice…" Ye Qiu explained with a smile. He hadn't expected this… to be an external soul bone!
"Is that so? But this soul bone looks really strange. Which part of the body is it from?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, seeing that it resembled a spider specimen.
"This is an external soul bone! It's even rarer and more precious than a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, because it can evolve as the soul master grows. It might even surpass a hundred-thousand-year soul bone!" Ye Qiu explained patiently.
"What?! A soul bone that can evolve?" Zhu Zhuqing had never heard of such a thing before. Her eyes lit up with longing, but she quickly looked away.
"Ye Qiu, you should absorb it quickly!"
He stood there for a moment, thinking, before finally shaking his head.
"No, I'll give it to you."
Ye Qiu placed the soul bone into Zhu Zhuqing's hand.
"What do you mean? I don't want it!" Zhu Zhuqing immediately tried to push it back. She had already gained enough. Without Ye Qiu, she would be dead… She didn't dare ask for anything more.
Ye Qiu grabbed her hand. "Take it. I'm not giving it to you for free! Besides, with my abilities, would I lack soul bones?"
Something better would come sooner or later.
"What do you mean?"
"Do me a favor, and this will be your reward. Besides, you absorbed its spirit ring, so you're clearly a better match for it."
"Do you want me to do you a favor? What is it?"
Since Ye Qiu didn't want it, she stopped hesitating and decided to accept it. With his freakish abilities, he certainly wouldn't lack soul bones.
"Help me get a spirit ring first, then I'll tell you…" Ye Qiu stroked his chin. In his opinion, Zhu Zhuqing would definitely go to Soto City in the future. Giving her the external soul bone would be like finding a personal bodyguard for Xiao Wu.
"Go absorb it first. Maybe it can even raise the age of your soul ring!"
Ye Qiu wanted to see how much this soul bone could strengthen her. If possible, it might even raise the age of the three-thousand-year soul beast he had originally planned for.
"Hm, I'll absorb it now…" Zhu Zhuqing looked at Ye Qiu, who seemed a little vague. She didn't know what he wanted her to do, but she was quite satisfied with this soul bone—after all, it was an external soul bone!
She sat down cross-legged again and began absorbing the soul bone. The external soul bone floated up and slowly merged into her spine.
Little by little, it embedded itself into her flesh.
"Ahhh!" The excruciating pain made her scream as cold sweat poured down her body.
A jet-black spider leg stretched out from behind her, followed by a second, a third…
"Ah!" With a shrill cry, the remaining spider legs burst out, eight in total, supporting her entire body.
"Is it absorbed yet?" Ye Qiu looked up at her—only for her to suddenly rush toward him.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you trying to poke me to death?!"
Before he could move forward, a spider spear shot straight at him. If he hadn't dodged in time, it would have pierced straight through his heart.
"I—I'm sorry! I can't control it right now…" Zhu Zhuqing was suspended in midair, clearly uncomfortable and unsteady.
"Don't panic. Take a deep breath!" Ye Qiu quickly activated Divine Might, becoming ethereal as he stood still and guided her.
"It's a part of you. Slowly feel its presence…"
"Ah~" Her cries echoed through the cave.
After wildly thrashing about inside the cave for a while, she finally calmed down, her body drenched in sweat.
With a hiss, she retracted the eight spider spears and nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Fortunately, Ye Qiu was there to catch her.
"It seems you still need some time to adjust." He picked her up again.
"Okay… just give me a few days," Zhu Zhuqing said, leaning against him and breathing lightly.
A vortex appeared, and Ye Qiu led her into the Divine Might Space.
Three days later, at noon, in a small valley, a slender spider-like figure could be seen darting constantly through a wolf pack.
Under a tree at the edge of the valley, Ye Qiu sat atop the Wolf King, gnawing on wolf meat as he leisurely watched Zhu Zhuqing's performance.
A figure with eight spider legs leaped toward Ye Qiu.
With a hiss, the spider legs pierced into the tree, leaving Zhu Zhuqing suspended in midair as she faced him.
Her eyes brimmed with confidence and joy.
"Ye Qiu, I've almost mastered the Shadow Spider Spear!"
Shadow Spider Spear was the name Zhu Zhuqing had given it herself. After absorbing it, her soul power broke through again, reaching level 25. With the amplification of the Shadow Spider Spear, her speed and attack power had greatly increased.
She felt that if she faced her heartless sister now, she could defeat her alone!
"Then congratulations!" Ye Qiu said. Just as he had expected, its quality was slightly inferior to Tang San's Eight Spider Lances, but it was still quite good.
"When will we set off to hunt a soul beast for you?"
"Let's wait until you fully recover your soul power." Ye Qiu patted his mount.
"Awoo~"
The Wolf King howled, and a female wolf ran over from the distance.
Ye Qiu looked up and said, "Zhu Zhuqing! Come down already. Why are you hanging in the tree? My neck is getting sore!"
"Hehe…" She chuckled softly, retracted the spider spears, and landed on the female wolf's back.
"Where to?"
"Let's head toward the target area first. At this pace, you should be almost fully recovered by then."
The two rode side by side, slowly disappearing into the distance.
"Ye Qiu!"
"What?"
"Just call me Zhuqing from now on… if you consider me a friend."
A breeze lifted her hair as her dark eyes glanced sideways at Ye Qiu.
"Friends? No problem." Ye Qiu nodded. It was just a form of address.
"Hm."
After hearing his reply, Zhu Zhuqing stared straight ahead, falling silent as she felt the gentle warmth of the wind brushing against her face.
These past two weeks had been the most enjoyable time of her life.
Zhu Zhuqing's soul power had fully recovered. After sending the two wolves away, Ye Qiu led her to the entrance of a cave.
Inside lay his new target—a nearly four-thousand-year-old soul beast: the Jade-Eyed Cloud-Winged Tiger.
"Roar…"
Low growls echoed from deep within the cave.
"Zhu Zhuqing, wait here!" Ye Qiu's Sharingan flashed as he prepared to go in first and lure it out.
"Call me Zhuqing!" she said, frowning slightly.
Her voice made Ye Qiu pause. He turned around and replied, "Okay, Zhuqing! I'll be more careful next time."
Before he left, she reminded him, "The Jade-Eyed Cloud-Winged Tiger is enormous. Once it comes out, lure it into the forest—it won't be able to maneuver properly there."
"I understand!" Ye Qiu nodded.
She watched as he disappeared into the cave, unaware of what he did inside.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, a violent roar burst out, echoing for hundreds of meters.
Ye Qiu rushed out, followed closely by a massive white tiger nearly five meters long.
A king-shaped marking was carved into its forehead. Its emerald-green eyes glowed fiercely, transparent wings stretched from its back for low-altitude gliding, and a three-meter-long tail swayed behind it.
This thing is fast!
Ye Qiu prepared to lure it into the forest as planned.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, the tiger's roar echoed directly inside his mind. Ye Qiu felt dizzy, his movements freezing for an instant.
Seizing the opportunity, the Jade-Eyed Cloud-Winged Tiger glided down from a height of four meters and slammed one massive paw straight toward Ye Qiu's head!
-----------
Read 20+ chapters advance at
patreon.com/iloveNingRongrong
Hi guys if you like this fanfic please add it to you library and please give me some stones.