Chapter 65: Jingni: I Will Give You...
"That trashy spirit ring disappearing is no big deal," Qin Xuan said, his voice dismissive as he watched the last remnants of the Medusa's power fade from Jingni's spirit. "It was only 50,000 or 60,000 years old, and a snake-type Spirit isn't suitable for you anyway. I'll give you these."
Qin Xuan reached into his spirit tool and took out six translucent, crimson beads. Each one pulsed with a dense, ancient power, and specks of golden light swirled within them, like captive stars.
These were the six 100,000-year (Fixed) spirit rings he had just purchased from the system store for a staggering 1.2 million emotional points.
Qin Xuan had originally planned to settle for something less, perhaps getting Jingni five 10,000-year adaptive rings (at 99,999 years) and four 100,000-year fixed rings. That way, the emotional points would have been just enough.
However, although 99,999 years and 100,000 years differ by only one year, their power is vastly different. A 100,000-year ring grants two Spirit Abilities, unless it comes from a truly weak Spirit Beast.
A 10,000-year Spirit Ability can never compare to a 100,000-year Spirit Ability, even if that 10,000-year ring's age reaches its absolute limit.
As for Jingni's remaining three spirit rings, he would find a way. At worst, he could go back and use the remaining time to bully Yu Xiaogang to death, exploiting him to the extreme. He refused to believe he couldn't squeeze out another 600,000 emotional points before Qian Xunji finally made his move.
Besides that, he could also make a move on Lingyuan's side. As long as he took her down, it would mean a million emotional points in hand. This was a worthy investment.
"This is…" Jingni, still recovering from the shock of her previous ring's destruction, stared at the beads in his hand. From these six small orbs, she felt a spirit power fluctuation far exceeding that of the Medusa she had just slain. It was terrifying.
"These are all 100,000-year spirit rings," Qin Xuan explained calmly. "As long as you crush them, you can absorb them. Of course, the prerequisite is that the user has the ability to withstand a 100,000-year ring. With your previous Titled Douluo-level physique and mental force from the bone set, and now having absorbed an Immortal Herb, it's more than enough."
He handed her the six beads. "Currently, I have seven such beads in my hand. I kept one for myself as my seventh spirit ring. As for your remaining three rings, we can only try our luck in the Star Dou Great Forest. If we can hunt a 100,000-year Soul Beast, that would be best. If not, we can only wait."
Qin Xuan didn't explain the origin of the beads, and Jingni didn't ask. Just as Qin Xuan had never inquired about her past, everyone has their own secrets. She only needed to remember Qin Xuan's kindness to her, and then she would use her entire life—even her life itself—to repay him.
Jingni took a deep breath, crushed the first of the crimson beads, sat down cross-legged, and began absorbing the spirit ring.
Since it was Jingni's first time absorbing a spirit ring, the first one didn't go as smoothly as imagined. The moment the energy entered her, the raw, bestial will of a 100,000-year-old beast flooded her mind. It was a chaotic, furious consciousness, and she had to fight to subdue it, her assassin's discipline warring with the spirit's primal rage.
The process took a full day and night.
When she crushed the second bead, with the experience from the first, it went much smoother. Her Titled Douluo-level physique and SSS- talent were now fully adapted to the process. It took only six hours.
Thereafter, the absorption time for each subsequent spirit ring was halved. The third ring took three hours, the fourth an hour and a half.
Qin Xuan also didn't slack off in his cultivation during this time. Besides leaving a clone to stand guard on the mountaintop, he also split off three more clones: one to look after A Yan and two to patrol the perimeter of the valley, ensuring their safety.
His main body sat cross-legged by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, near the Inferno Apricot, circulating his cultivation technique. He could feel his own Level 70 bottleneck, the power churning, waiting for its own release. He focused, tempering his spirit power in the unique, dual-energy of the valley.
Three days later, Qin Xuan sensed a massive shift in the valley's spiritual energy. He opened his eyes. Jingni, having finished absorbing the last of the six rings, opened her eyes simultaneously.
"How do you feel?" Qin Xuan walked up to her, his voice cutting through the silence.
"This power…"
Six extremely conspicuous, 100,000-year crimson halos pulsed up and down, their dazzling red light swirling around her body. Jingni incredulously clenched her left hand, feeling an ocean of power where there had only been a river.
Her right hand quietly grasped the Jingni Sword. She didn't seem to use any Spirit Ability.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew through the valley.
A brilliant pink sword energy, like a swimming dragon, appeared and coiled around the Jingni Sword. Immediately, Qin Xuan felt waves of pure, cutting sword intent sweep past him. The ground beneath Jingni's feet began to tremble slightly.
Jingni waved her right hand.
A massive, pink slash—a combination of her internal energy, her new spirit power, and her Sword Control Technique—materialized out of nowhere. It tore through the water vapor in the valley and struck the steep cliff face a hundred meters away.
Boom—!
A vertical gash, dozens of meters deep and over a hundred meters long, instantly appeared at the base of the 500-meter-high cliff. Rocks tumbled down, and a massive cloud of dust billowed up, momentarily choking the valley.
Jingni took a deep, shuddering breath, staring at her handiwork. "So strong... incredibly strong. I feel like if I put on my Spirit Bone armor now and used a 100,000-year Spirit Ability... I could split this mountain in half."
"That's natural." Qin Xuan smiled, impressed. "The Spirit Bone set you absorbed is a complete 100,000-year set, and now you've just absorbed six 100,000-year spirit rings. Although your spirit power is still capped at Rank 80, both your speed and strength are incomparable to before. The current you... has far surpassed me in raw strength."
"Then from now on, I'll protect you." Jingni smiled sweetly, a rare, genuine expression of joy. She put away her Spirit and threw herself into Qin Xuan's embrace, her delicate, doll-like face pressed tightly against his chest.
The two embraced tightly, as if wanting to merge into each other's bodies.
Qin Xuan chuckled, his arms wrapped around her waist. "Speaking of which, this is the first time you've actively hugged me."
"Then I'll hug you once every day from now on." Jingni's crimson lips parted slightly, and a gentle smile appeared on her exquisite, doll-like face.
"Once isn't enough." Qin Xuan released Jingni from his embrace and lowered his head. Just as he was about to kiss her, A Yan's 'yi ya yi ya' sounds echoed in his ears.
One of Qin Xuan's clones, which had been standing guard, walked over, holding little A Yan, who was awake and fussing.
"Damn it, didn't I tell you to take good care of A Yan? Who told you to bring her over? You're ruining my plans!" Qin Xuan couldn't help but curse, taking A Yan from his clone's hand.
The clone, which was, of course, him, shrugged helplessly. Its body transformed into red, flame-like energy and merged back into Qin Xuan's main body.
Jingni covered her lips and chuckled. "I didn't realize your conscious clone was so amusing."
"Ignore him, let's continue…" Qin Xuan was about to recall his other clone to take A Yan away.
But Jingni stopped him. "Let's wait."
She looked at him, her eyes soft, but with a new, confident spark. "Wait until you've absorbed the Immortal Herbs and your own spirit rings. Then... I'll give you…"
As she spoke, Jingni leaned close to Qin Xuan's ear and whispered a few words, her warm breath sending a shiver down his spine.
Qin Xuan's face broke into a wide smile, and he instantly became interested. A peculiar glint appeared in his eyes. "Is that true?"
"Mm." Jingni softly assented, lowering her head shyly, her pearly teeth biting her red lips.
"Then I'll be looking forward to it." Gazing at Jingni, who seemed to have transformed into a white jade beauty after consuming the Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone, Qin Xuan licked his lips, wishing he could nibble on her doll-like face.
This guy, Jingni thought, he wouldn't try to do it again in front of A Yan, would he?
Worried he might act recklessly again as he had before, she quickly took A Yan from Qin Xuan's arms and gently pushed him with her other hand, urging, "Hurry up. In a few days, our agreed time with Elder Lingyuan will arrive. Don't keep her waiting too long."
Although A Yan was a child, she was exceptionally intelligent. And because she was born at full term and drank Spirit Beast milk every day, her body wasn't as weak and sickly as in the original story. She didn't want A Yan to grow up and one day ask what she and Qin Xuan were doing.
Qin Xuan wasn't truly blinded by beauty. He handed the protection task to Jingni, who now wielded the power of a Titled Douluo.
He first spent an hour refining the Stargazer's Lily, his mental force surging and purifying.
Then, he sat at the very edge of the spring. He simultaneously consumed the only two remaining Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well: the Inferno Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.
He then leaped into the spring water, landing perfectly on the central 'eye' where the two energies met, and began the formal, agonizing absorption.
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