Chapter 231: Did it really drop an item ?

...

Rustle rustle rustle—

The night wind blew, causing the leaves and branches to rustle and create a eerie atmosphere in the darkness.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the darkness. It was Lin Tong and his two companions, releasing their Spirit power and displaying their Spirit rings. The dazzling light dispelled some of their fear.

The three of them leaned back to back, remaining alert to their surroundings.

"Who's there playing tricks? Come out if you have the guts!" Lin Tong shouted bravely, but his voice trembled slightly with fear.

"Hehehe, long time no see, my friends."

An evil laughter echoed in the darkness, sending shivers down their spines.

As the sound approached, the three of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw a figure emerging from the darkness. The shining Spirit rings revealed the face of that person, causing disbelief to fill their eyes.

"It's you!"

Yu Qi wore a wicked smile on his pale face, his eyes flashing crimson light as he stared at them like a beast eyeing its prey.

His slender and pale fingers were dripping with fresh blood.

Seeing his blood-stained hands, Lin Tong's pupils contracted.

"Yes, it's me! Surprised, huh?" Yu Qi smirked at them.

Lin Tong's face showed astonishment and anger. "Yu Qi, what are you up to?"

"What happened to Xi Yan?"

"What happened?" Yu Qi extended his blood-stained hand towards them. "Do I need to explain it once again?"

"Why did you kill him? Just because of some minor dispute we had before?" Lin Tong asked angrily.

Yu Qi shook his head. "I'm not someone who holds grudges. I'm just here to take what belongs to me."

"What belongs to you?" Lin Tong was confused.

"That's right!" Yu Qi's mouth split into a grim and terrifying smile. "Your lives, your flesh and blood, and your Spirit power—all belong to me."

"You!" His words shocked the three of them.

Yu Qi circled around them, taking slow steps as if toying with helpless prey.

"From the beginning, I've treated you as my prey. I entered the Star Dou Forest with the intention of hunting you down step by step. It's just that some minor accidents were caused by one person." Yu Qi said, his face filled with resentment.

"Unfortunately, he's not here. It seems there are some disagreements among you, which has wasted my time."

The next moment, he smiled again. "But it doesn't matter. I'll kill you, and then I'll find him."

As Yu Qi's words fell, a scarlet Spirit power burst forth from his body, radiating five Spirit rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black. The black Spirit ring was particularly shocking to the three of them.

How could he, alone, hunt down a ten-thousand-year Spirit beast in the forest?

However, Lin Tong didn't ponder this. He glared at Yu Qi and said, "You have a ten-thousand-year Spirit ring, but you're still just a Spirit King. Killing the three of us is beyond your ability!"

Yu Qi chuckled. "Indeed, it's a bit difficult for me to deal with all of you alone."

"But how do you know I'm alone?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions on their faces changed.

In the next moment, a purple light flashed beneath their feet.

"Oh no! Run!" Lin Tong shouted in panic. But as soon as he tried to jump, a withered hand emerged from the pattern and grabbed his leg tightly, leaving him immobilized.

"Ah! Ghosts! There are ghosts!"

The auxiliary Spirit Master, caught by the ghostly hand, shouted in terror and struggled. However, the ghostly hand moved step by step up, revealing a fierce-looking head with raging blue flames in its deep eye sockets. The whole body crawled out of the pattern, resembling a terrifying ghost from hell.

"No, no, please don't..."

Witnessing the auxiliary Spirit Master being devoured by the two ghosts, Lin Tong's eyes filled with panic.

Tread, tread, tread~

A slow and steady footstep sounded. Lin Tong and the other person looked on in horror as a figure in a black robe emerged from the darkness, with a veil of mist covering his face, making it difficult to see his features.

He held a staff over a meter tall in his hand, made of white bone. The top of the staff resembled a skull, with green flames burning in its eye sockets, exuding a sinister and terrifying aura.

What shocked them the most was the number of Spirit rings shimmering on his body—six in total: one white, one yellow, two purple, and two black. He was an expert at the Spirit Emperor level, possessing two ten-thousand-year Spirit rings.

Seeing this, their hearts sank.

As a powerful Spirit Master with two ten-thousand-year Spirit rings, this person was not to be underestimated.

As two tragic screams echoed, the entire forest fell silent.

...

Moonlight sprinkled on the devastated bamboo forest, occasionally interrupted by the crisp chirping of insects, making the night even more silent.

In the center of the chaos, a giant cocoon formed by a high-speed wind flow hovered. Bamboo leaves danced and twirled around it, and dust particles were thrown into the air from time to time, accompanied by powerful Spirit power fluctuations.

Twenty meters away from the cocoon, two figures stood there, their gazes fixed on the cocoon, their faces displaying some concern.

A tremendous Spirit power shook the surroundings, emanating from the cocoon as it caused an invisible shockwave that swept the area. Sensing this terrifying energy fluctuation, both of them felt their hearts tremble, unable to believe that it was caused by the advancement to Spirit Ancestor.

"I wonder how long Zeng Yi's fusion will take this time." Niu Man sighed.

Xu You said, "This is a 20,000 year Spirit ring. The fusion is not so simple. Let's be cautious about our surroundings, hoping that no dangerous Spirit beasts find their way here."

As the sky began to brighten and darkness gradually receded, the cocoon finally showed signs of movement.

Crack!

Xu You and Niu Man heard a crisp sound and immediately stopped, similar to the sound of a silkworm breaking free from its cocoon.

The next moment, the cocoon exploded, and a rapid wind flow surged in all directions. With fierce momentum, energy blades swept through the surroundings. Niu Man had to release his Spirit power to form a huge shield, blocking the attacking wind blades.

Ah— With a long howl, the wind blades began to dissipate, and the vigorous aura that pervaded the space also subsided, returning the entire area to tranquility.

Niu Man dissipated his Spirit power and raised his gaze to see the person standing there. Shining with four Spirit rings, including a dazzling black one, the person's expression was filled with excitement. Niu Man walked over, congratulating Zeng Yi with a hearty laugh.

"Once we leave the Star Dou Forest, the name of the young Master will surely become renowned throughout the continent." Xu You exclaimed. After all, the fourth Spirit ring was of the 20,000 year level, which was truly astonishing.

"Haha, it's just that I've just advanced to Spirit Ancestor. In the entire world of Spirit Masters, I'm still just an insignificant character." Zeng Yi laughed joyfully. His happiness stemmed not from being praised by the two but from the excitement of his gained strength.

Feeling the surging power within his body, Zeng Yi felt extremely excited. With the fusion of the 20,000 year Spirit ring, his body had been tempered, resulting in increased physical strength. Even his Spirit power directly reached the height of level 42.

Is this the strength of a Spirit ring that has been around for twenty thousand years?

Zeng Yi tightly clenched his fists, feeling the power within him. He felt that he could break a huge boulder even without using Spirit power.

"Oh my god! Your Spirit rings." Xu You exclaimed as he saw the Spirit rings on Zeng Yi's body.

"My Spirit rings?" Zeng Yi was taken aback and looked at his own Spirit rings.

Yes, the fourth Spirit ring was indeed black.

But how did my second Spirit ring turn purple?

Zeng Yi was puzzled. His second Spirit ring was clearly supposed to be yellow, but now it had become purple. Wasn't that of the thousand-year level?

Did my Spirit ring configuration change to three purple and one black?

This strange occurrence made Zeng Yi think.

His second Spirit ring had been obtained from Sword Bamboo, with a lifespan close to a thousand years. The fusion with the same type of Spirit ring caused his second Spirit ring's lifespan to increase.

But it shouldn't be like this. There have been cases where someone absorbed the same type of Spirit ring, but I haven't heard of anyone being able to increase the lifespan of their Spirit ring.

Could it be...

Zeng Yi's hand flashed, and Ronin Sword appeared in his hand. Looking at his Martial Spirit, Zeng Yi's eyes flickered.

It must be due to my Martial Spirit.

However, this matter was ultimately a good thing, as it made his Spirit rings look more pleasing when displayed.

At dawn, Zeng Yi lifted his head, gazing at the rising sun in the distance.

"It's daylight now."

"We should leave the Star Dou Forest as well." Zeng Yi said to the two, then walked towards the sword bamboo he had slain.

Although sword bamboo was a plant, the main body of a 20,000 year sword bamboo was extremely tough and had a hardness no less than Star Iron. Using it to make a bamboo sword would result in an exceptional weapon, and Zeng Yi naturally wouldn't let it go to waste.

As he lifted the two-meter-tall sword bamboo from the ground, preparing to remove its rhizome, Zeng Yi discovered something unusual.

"What is this?"

Zeng Yi looked at a section of the bamboo body connected to the rhizome and could feel the strange energy emanating from it, accompanied by Spirit power fluctuations.

Spirit Bone!

Did it really drop an item ?

...

[[Notes: 20,000 year Spirit ring will be usally referred as 10,000 year Spirit ring in the future. Due to the distinction of ranks between the Spirit rings which are as of follows: 10 years (white), 100 years (yellow), 1000 years (purple), 10,000 years (black), 100,000 years (red), 1,000,000 years (gold).]]