Chapter 21: Absorbing Soul Rings, Breakthrough

With a loud crash, a cloud of dust obscured Jiang Jie’s vision.

After the Ice and Fire Double-Headed Jiao descended from the sky, Dugu Bo also quickly returned to Jiang Jie’s side, waving his hand to disperse the dust with his immense soul power, restoring clarity to their surroundings.

Before them lay a serpent about seven meters long, barely clinging to life.

The snake, roughly the thickness of an adult’s thigh, was covered in scales of red and blue, forming intricate patterns along its body. Its belly was milky white, dividing into two around one and a half meters from its body, where the scales also split into two distinct colors—one head was ice blue, the other fiery red.

Each head resembled that of a king cobra, each sporting a single eye beneath a curved horn.

However, peculiarly, both heads of the Ice and Fire Double-Headed Jiao had only one eye each, situated beneath their respective horns, rather than the typical pair of eyes.

Though abstract in description, the creature was far from unsightly; it exuded a sense of dominance.

However, its once formidable aura was now diminished, subdued by Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, who could effortlessly subdue it with a mere flick of his fist. Now, it writhed on the ground, akin to a dying snake.

Clearly, it’s time was short.

“Alright, my disciple, finish it off. Only when a soul beast is slain by the hands of a soul master can its soul ring be absorbed upon death,” Dugu Bo instructed, nodding towards the faltering Ice and Fire Double-Headed Jiao.

“I understand, Master,” Jiang Jie nodded. With a slight tremor in his arms, a blue and a red Fiery Wave Blood Blade appeared on his wrists.

The Ice and Fire Double-Headed Jiao seemed to sense its impending demise. Its eyes, filled with a greedy longing, glanced at the icy and fiery spring water, then turned to Jiang Jie with a gaze full of hatred.

And Jiang Jie understood. Perhaps what it had been pursuing all along was the Ice and Fire Dual Harmony Eyes before it.

Only the Ice and Fire Dual Harmony Eyes, representing the ultimate balance of Yin and Yang, could exert such a great attraction.

Unfortunately, this place belonged to Dugu Bo; it couldn’t enter. Now that it had, not only could it not enjoy its desires, but its life was also at risk.

It was easy to imagine the depth of the Ice and Fire Double-Headed Jiao’s resentment, all of which poured onto Jiang Jie.

But Jiang Jie had no time to ponder its thoughts. Clenching his fists, the two blades suddenly sprang forth, their tips gleaming with chilling cold.

With a gentle thrust, the blades pierced the eyes of the Ice and Fire Double-Headed Jiao, penetrating its skulls. With another slight twist, the blades destroyed its two brains.

The serpent’s writhing body stiffened abruptly before succumbing to death. A deep yellow soul ring, adorned with faint purple patterns, emerged from its corpse.

“This Ice and Fire Double-Headed Jiao is probably around nine hundred and forty to nine hundred and sixty years old, with a powerful bloodline and attributes that match the mutation of your Fiery Wave Blood Blades. It should provide you with a decent soul skill,” Dugu Bo remarked.

Jiang Jie nodded, then sat cross-legged before the soul ring, recalling the method Dugu Bo had taught him. Using his soul power, he guided the soul ring to descend upon him.

In an instant, immense pressure enveloped Jiang Jie, as if he were carrying two buckets of water on a shoulder pole, every bone in his body creaking and cracking.

A surge of energy erupted from the soul ring, pouring into Jiang Jie’s body.

Dugu Bo also became serious.

While he was confident that Jiang Jie could absorb the soul ring, absorbing a near-thousand-year-old soul ring as his first was something he had never experienced in his life. It was always wise to be cautious.

In case Jiang Jie couldn’t handle it, he needed to intervene immediately.

Interrupting the absorption process would cause severe backlash, but it was better than Jiang Jie being unable to absorb the soul ring and being directly overwhelmed by its energy.

Dugu Bo was being cautious.

The process of Jiang Jie absorbing the soul ring was surprisingly smooth.

Indeed, the Ice and Fire Double-Headed Jiao’s soul ring exerted considerable pressure, indicating its formidable bloodline. Yet, no matter how powerful it was, it couldn’t surpass the quality of the Fiery Wave Blood Blades—the weapons of a Demon Ancestor were not to be trifled with.

And the massive soul power within the ring didn’t pose much trouble to Jiang Jie.

While his meridians throbbed and swelled with discomfort, there was no feeling of being overwhelmed. This meant that the soul ring was within Jiang Jie’s capacity to endure. As long as he methodically refined the soul ring, he could successfully break through.

The fluctuation of soul power gradually subsided, and Jiang Jie’s furrowed brow eased.

The absorption of the soul ring was nearing its end.

Now, all that remained was to fully digest the soul power brought by the ring and completely integrate it with his martial soul.

Dugu Bo, who had maintained intense concentration, also relaxed. The most challenging part was over; the rest was just a matter of time.

This process wouldn’t be quick.

It was normal for soul ring absorption to take several hours. When Dugu Bo absorbed a soul ring, it took him three hours. Similarly, Jiang Jie’s absorption process wouldn’t be brief either.

Time passed slowly.

With the purple-patterned yellow soul ring gradually assimilating into Jiang Jie’s body, the fluctuation of his soul power continued to rise.

Four hours had passed since he began absorbing the soul ring.

Dugu Bo watched Jiang Jie with unblinking eyes, sensing his steadily increasing soul power.

Eleventh level, twelfth level…

Fifteenth level, sixteenth level!

Finally, it settled at the sixteenth level! At this point, Jiang Jie wasn’t even six and a half years old…

The Eight-Leaf Black Ice Grass and the Blaze Apricot, while enhancing Jiang Jie’s physique, did not boost his soul power. This was similar to Tang San; after consuming them, he too did not experience an increase in soul power.

What prompted Jiang Jie to reach this level was the healing medicine Dugu Bo fed him earlier—a concoction made from numerous precious herbs and an immortal herb—as well as the nine-hundred-year-old soul ring he absorbed.

Excluding the fixed one-level increase from absorbing the soul ring, the remaining five levels came from the medicinal elixir and the soul ring.

A surge in level!

Having absorbed the soul ring, Jiang Jie’s eyes, when he opened them, had turned red and blue! Left blue, right red!

“Hmph…” Jiang Jie grunted, raising his hands to cover his eyes, enduring the piercing pain emanating from them.

(End of Chapter)