Chapter 27: The Soul-Collecting Demon’s Gaze

Unlike the serene atmosphere of the Dugu family’s mealtime, there was a stark contrast in the atmosphere for Grandpa Dugu and his grandson, Jiang Jie.

Jiang Jie was feeling quite uncomfortable at the moment.

Despite the robust state of his physique, which had been honed to an extraordinary level by the effects of numerous treasures, the three-thousand-year soul ring still pushed him to his limit.

After all, he was only seven years old, with only one soul ring absorbed so far.

The combination of his age and the soul ring imposed limitations on his physical development. Even with the potent enhancement of the Ice and Fire Immortal Grass, there was always a ceiling to how much his constitution could improve.

That ceiling was the three-thousand-year soul ring.

At this moment, Jiang Jie felt as though his body was being crushed by ten Tiger-type tanks, with his bones cracking and popping incessantly.

Although his meridians had not burst under the immense energy, they had expanded to their limits, manifesting in his appearance as if he were a boiled shrimp.

Moreover, there were traces of blood trickling out of his pores, evaporating in the heat to form a mist of blood around him.

Despite his body having been cleansed once by the special reward package, there were still residues from the food he had consumed over the past eight months through external energy intake.

In this high-pressure environment, the few impurities within Jiang Jie’s body were being forcefully expelled.

Meanwhile, the latent power of the Ice and Fire Immortal Grass hidden within him continued to be stimulated, strengthening his body along with the energy from the soul ring.

This was the benefit of absorbing soul rings beyond one’s level, albeit accompanied by intense pain.

Jiang Jie felt like an over-inflated balloon on the verge of bursting at any moment, reaching a critical point.

In a daze, Jiang Jie followed his instincts, attempting to channel the excess power of the soul ring into his external bone spirits, much like Tang San in the original work.

As soon as he made this move, the pressure on his body significantly eased, replaced by a slight soreness in his eyes. Even with Grandpa Dugu and Dugu Yan’s perspective, they could see the red and blue glow beneath Jiang Jie’s eyelids even though he had his eyes closed.

With the assistance of the external bone spirits, absorbing the soul ring became much easier for Jiang Jie.

Time passed slowly during the absorption process.

The luxurious purple soul ring pulsed rhythmically, with each pulse sending a surge of energy into Jiang Jie’s body.

Some of this energy was absorbed by him, converting into his soul power, while the rest was absorbed by the Ice and Fire Dragon Pupils, strengthening his mental power.

By the time Jiang Jie finished absorbing the soul ring, the sun was setting, but when he opened his eyes again, a golden hue had appeared on the distant horizon.

The sun was about to rise.

The power of the three-thousand-year soul ring was simply too immense. Even if a Soul Ancestor were to absorb it, it could elevate them by at least two levels. 

It took Jiang Jie the entire night to completely absorb the three-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit’s soul ring.

The purple soul ring gradually disappeared into Jiang Jie’s body, indicating that the absorption was complete. His soul power level surged suddenly, breaking through the bottleneck of the twentieth level and finally settling at the twenty-third level.

“Most of the energy has been used to enhance the Ice and Fire Dragon Pupils and boost my mental power. Still, a three-level increase is quite impressive,” Jiang Jie said, lowering his head to look at his hands, clenching them tightly to feel the surging power within. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

In his perception, the age limit of the Ice and Fire Dragon Pupils had reached at least fifteen hundred years, surpassing the century to millennium threshold and gaining an additional five hundred years on top of the millennium.

But the most significant improvement was in his mental power.

His eyes, now red and blue, scanned the surroundings, and Jiang Jie had never felt the world so vividly. Every blade of grass and every leaf around him seemed to be displayed with utmost clarity.

He could even discern the texture of the leaves on the trees dozens of meters away.

The benefits of increased mental power were undoubtedly more than just visual enhancement. Jiang Jie also felt an improvement in his perception of the surroundings, akin to a sixth sense, allowing him to be more keenly aware of hidden dangers.

“Is the absorption complete?” Grandpa Dugu appeared beside Jiang Jie in an instant, his tone filled with concern. Although he was confident in Jiang Jie’s physique, absorbing a three-thousand-year soul ring at the second soul ring level was unheard of, leaving him somewhat anxious.

After all, he had never seen a thousand-year second soul ring like Bibi Dong’s.

Even Big Sausage Uncle hadn’t seen one. Otherwise, given his shamelessness, he might have raised the theoretical limit of the second soul ring from seven hundred years to a thousand.

And he wouldn’t have been so confident in claiming that his theory was the correct one.

Hearing the commotion outside, Dugu Yan also woke up from her cultivation, quickly tidying up her appearance and walking out of the tent, arriving beside Jiang Jie.

“Well done,” Jiang Jie said with a brilliant smile. Crimson lights converged into Flame Wave Blood Blades, and two soul rings, one yellow and one purple, rose from the ground, swirling around him.

The fluctuation of a twenty-third level Great Soul Master’s soul power emanated from him.

“Jiang Jie, you’re amazing! A three-thousand-year soul ring! I don’t even have one as a Soul Ancestor!” Dugu Yan’s eyes sparkled with admiration, but there was a hint of envy in her tone.

“So, Yan’er, you need to work hard too. You’ll soon become a Soul Sage, and then absorbing a five or six thousand-year soul ring won’t be a problem!” Jiang Jie smiled mischievously, winking at Dugu Yan.

Dugu Yan proudly straightened her chest and said with hands on hips, “Of course, this girl is also a soul master genius!”

Grandpa Dugu watched the siblings chat with a smile on his face. Since the death of his son and daughter-in-law, he couldn’t remember how long it had been since he last felt the warmth of family.

At this moment, he couldn’t help but be grateful that he had taken Jiang Jie as his disciple.

Indeed, he had not misjudged him…

“All right, my disciple, we can chat later when we return home. Let’s see what your second soul skill is and if you’ve inherited the teleportation soul skill you wanted,” Grandpa Dugu coughed and reminded.

Dugu Yan nodded eagerly. “Yes, Jiang Jie, please take a look.”

“Sure!” Jiang Jie nodded and closed his eyes, activating his second soul ring. However, he quickly opened them again, wearing a perplexed expression.

Grandpa Dugu and Dugu Yan exchanged a glance, a sense of unease rising in both their hearts, as they asked in unison, “What’s wrong? Did something unexpected happen?”

Jiang Jie opened his mouth to speak but hesitated.

“Didn’t you inherit the teleportation soul skill?” Grandpa Dugu furrowed his brow, puzzled.

“Yeah, the soul skill in the ring isn’t teleportation, but it seems to have undergone some mutation…” Jiang Jie’s expression was peculiar, bordering on a mixture of amusement and confusion.

“Oh, Jiang Jie, stop keeping us in suspense. Show it to us already!” Dugu Yan tugged at Jiang Jie’s sleeve, her tone slightly reproachful.

Enough with the mystery, come on!

“Alright, alright. My second soul skill is called the Soul-Collecting Demon’s Eye, a mental control soul skill!” Jiang Jie chuckled helplessly. Then, he activated his second soul ring, and his eyes instantly turned blood-red.

(End of Chapter)