The Qinglian Sword slashed down upon the Ten-Thousand-Year Calamity Bloom.
The blade met almost no resistance. No accident occurred.
The jade-green stalk broke cleanly in two.
Li Zhexian was just about to step forward—
When sudden change erupted!
The twelve fallen leaves scattered upon the ground instantly turned crimson as fresh blood.
A suffocating stench of blood, thick enough to seem solid, spread outward, dyeing the entire forest in a haze of scarlet mist.
Clang—!
Clang—!
The Calamity Bloom has only one chance in its life to use a Spirit Ability, and that is when it is on the verge of destruction.
This final brilliance before withering, containing the will to perish together, could never be taken lightly.
Li Zhexian's heart blared alarms, his brow twitching wildly.
The sudden eruption of killing intent was overwhelming—every hair on his body stood on end, his heart contracting sharply.
In a split second—
His Great Vertebra Sword Bone erupted to the skies.
Behind him, the Qinglian Sword manifested, embodying four Sword Intents—starlight, blazing frost, clear wind, and thunder.
A deep purple Spirit Ring coiled around the Qinglian Sword in his hand.
"Second Spirit Ability—Three Swords of Elegance!"
"Slash!" Li Zhexian's sleeves danced wildly as he glared angrily and shouted sharply.
Four arcs of Qinglian sword-qi, each imbued with a different Sword Intent, became rainbows cleaving the heavens.
They crashed head-on against the blood-colored edge sweeping down upon them.
Qian Renxue reacted just as swiftly.
A deep black Spirit Ring rose beneath her feet.
"Fifth Spirit Ability—Holy Sword!"
In her delicate hands, searing white flames of divinity erupted.
The instant the fire appeared, the surrounding air spiked in temperature, leaves curling and burning to ash.
The holy fire condensed into a gleaming blade.
Qian Renxue gripped the divine weapon, stepping forward shoulder to shoulder with Li Zhexian, facing that blood-red annihilation.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three most powerful and violent forces collided fiercely.
At the center of the collision, sharp auras of various attributes spread out with a powerful force.
In an instant—
Starlight flared, blazing fire and chilling frost intertwined in destruction, while clear winds carried arcs of lightning that flickered and died in the air.
Within a radius of dozens of meters, all vegetation was obliterated to dust.
Li Zhexian and Qian Renxue's faces paled.
The brilliance of a Ten-Thousand-Year Calamity Bloom's final strike was terrifying beyond measure.
Even combining their full strength, they felt themselves overwhelmed.
A wave of sheer, crushing force struck.
Li Zhexian's body shook violently.
He was hurled backward by the shockwave.
Qian Renxue too was forced back—
But in midair, six angelic wings unfurled from her back.
With a fierce beat of her wings,
she darted to Li Zhexian's side, pressing her palms against his back.
The two staggered together,
sliding back dozens of paces,
before finally, barely, regaining their footing.
"Li Zhexian, are you alright?" Qian Renxue's voice trembled with urgency.
Li Zhexian shook his head, dark eyes blazing with determination.
"I'm fine!"
The two hurriedly returned.
And saw—
Above the withering Calamity Bloom—
A black Spirit Ring slowly formed.
On its surface, crimson lines pulsed and writhed like living veins.
Its aura surged with a divinity that far outstripped ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings.
"This…"
A trace of awe flickered across Qian Renxue's flawless features.
Li Zhexian fixed his gaze on the soul ring, heat blazing in his eyes.
"A Rare Beast… one touched by divine aura. Its Spirit Ring will surely bear something extraordinary."
Qian Renxue nodded in awe, then her delicate brows furrowed, worry shadowing her face.
"This Spirit Ring's aura is overwhelming. I fear it holds a cultivation of twenty thousand years—far beyond the limit a Spirit Ancestor can absorb."
"Li Zhexian, you—"
But Li Zhexian was already seated cross-legged before the Spirit Ring.
"Qian Renxue, protect me."
"…Alright!"
She did not try to dissuade him. Her tone grew solemn instead.
Her senses spread wide, alert to every rustle and shadow.
Her golden flame-filled eyes never strayed from the youth in white as he prepared to absorb the ring.
"After enduring the Thunder Tempering of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, my body has transformed into the Trifold Spirit Meridian Constitution. My physical strength is as strong as that of an ordinary Spirit Emperor."
"Twenty thousand years…"
"Though perilous—"
"It is worth the risk!"
Li Zhexian's mind was set like iron.
To him, absorbing Spirit Rings beyond his rank was already routine.
From the ring, pure, domineering black Spirit Power surged into his body, endlessly pouring in.
Soon, a cocoon of dense energy enveloped him.
Agony!
Indescribable agony swept through his entire body!
Li Zhexian clenched his teeth, his muscles drawn taut as steel.
He felt his meridians and flesh groaning under the unbearable strain, as if they might be torn apart at any moment by the raging energy.
Especially the strands of blood-colored power interwoven into the soul spirit—they carried the ruthless sharpness of the Calamity Bloom' s fleetingmoment.
It was like countless blades slicing away his flesh and gouging his bones.
The spirit ring of a rare beast touched by divinity—its difficulty to absorb far surpassed that of an ordinary ring of the same age!
Qian Renxue's slender hands tightened into fists.
Cracks split across Li Zhexian's skin, blood seeping out in fine lines.
He looked like porcelain, riddled with fractures, on the verge of shattering.
"Li… Li Zhexian…"
It was the first time Qian Renxue had ever witnessed him absorbing a spirit ring.
Her heart wrenched painfully, an ache she could not suppress.
She knew—
He didn't need to rush like this.
Even with just three rings, his strength was more than enough to dominate the Spirit Master Tournament.
And yet, he pushed himself so desperately—
—all because of the crushing pressure brought by that woman.
That pressure was like a sword hanging above his head, forcing Li Zhexian to grow stronger.
Realizing she was the cause of this peril, and thinking of her own entanglement with that woman,
Qian Renxue bit down softly on her lip, sorrow flickering across her flawless face.
The The Clear Spring Wine Gourd rose into the air.
Its mouth tilted—
letting the liquid drip into Li Zhexian's half-open lips.
The wild Spirit Power tore at his body,
yet the Wine Martial Soul continued to mend his wounds.
In this fragile balance between destruction and renewal, Li Zhexian struggled onward, absorbing the soul ring's might.
Time passed silently.
From noon, to dusk, to nightfall.
Darkness swallowed the ravaged forest clearing.
Li Zhexian remained seated, unmoving. The Spirit Ring had dissolved, leaving only the last stubborn wisps of blood-red energy.
Qian Renxue guarded his side, unwavering.
Night was the time of Spirit Beasts .
And the scent of blood seeping from Li Zhexian's cracked skin drifted across the silent woods.
Rustle—
Rustle—
From the dense thickets and shadowed trees, the sound of leaves brushing together echoed from all directions.
Qian Renxue's pretty face tensed. Light Spirit Power flared across her body, the Holy Sword once more clenched in hand.
At that moment—
a sticky hand seized her wrist.
"Go."
Li Zhexian's voice, though exhausted, rang clear.
Qian Renxue's taut body relaxed at once.
She let him lead her.
Together, like two wisps of smoke, they vanished into the thickening night.
—
On the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, The night was thick as ink.
Moonlight pierced the canopy, scattering mottled silver across the forest floor.
"Don't move, let me scatter the Beast-Repelling powder."
Qian Renxue quickly pressed Li Zhexian back down when he tried to rise.
"Your external injuries are healed after absorbing the ring, but your spirit is drained. Rest one night before we move."
Li Zhexian chuckled.
Yet still helped her scatter the medicinal powder around their temporary camp.
When they were done,
they sat back against an ancient tree.
A campfire blazed between them.
Its warm orange glow banished the dark in a three-meter circle.
Moonlight trickled through the leaves. In the grass not far away, fireflies drifted lazily, dreamlike and ethereal.
The air was quiet and serene.
The tension of battle had ebbed.
For the first time, Qian Renxue found herself sitting with Li Zhexian at night like this. Her cheeks warmed faintly.
She picked up a branch, absently prodding the firewood, sparks crackling softly.
She felt she ought to say something…
Propping her elbow on her knee, chin resting on her pale hand, she turned her face toward Li Zhexian.
"You absorbed a twenty-thousand-year Spirit Ring beyond your rank. How much did your Spirit Power rise?"
A wave of Spirit Power rippled from Li Zhexian's body, making the fire sway.
"Rank 43."
Before Qian Renxue could ask further, Li Zhexian continued:
"But this Spirit Ability…"
"I'd rather it remain forever unused."