Zhu Zhuqing successfully obtained her third spirit ring, and it even exceeded the standard age limit for a third spirit ring, which gave her a great sense of accomplishment.
"Netherworld Ghost Slash."
"Bang bang..."
Zhu Zhuqing tested her third Spirit Ability. She saw two ghost blades form in her hands, and she slashed them towards several trees in the distance, directly felling them. The power was immense; it was a Spirit Ability that combined strength and speed.
"Ah ah..."
Just then, Zhu Zhuqing felt a sharp pain in her left forearm, and a black claw shot out, covering her left hand like armor. At the front, there were five crescent-shaped sharp blades, similar to the Ghost Leopard's claws.
"Zhuqing, what's wrong?" Ye Liangchen, who was examining the Ghost Leopard's corpse, heard Zhu Zhuqing scream and immediately thought something was wrong with her.
"Chen Ge, what is this?" Zhu Zhuqing had never seen such a situation before. She was utterly bewildered and quickly waved her strange left hand at Ye Liangchen.
"Xiao Maomi! You've hit the jackpot, this is an external Spirit Bone."
Ye Liangchen looked at the sharp black long claw on Zhu Zhuqing's left hand and was delighted. It seemed that letting Xiao Maomi torment the Ghost Leopard earlier had generated strong resentment, and sure enough, there was a reward.
Moreover, this external Spirit Bone had integrated into Zhu Zhuqing's body along with the spirit ring, just like Tang San's Eight Spider Lances.
"Chen Ge, you mean this is an external Spirit Bone?" Zhu Zhuqing felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky and hit her directly.
"Zhuqing, let me tell you, an external Spirit Bone is different from ordinary Spirit Bones. It's a type of Spirit Bone that can grow. Don't look at this external Spirit Bone of yours only being 2,000 years old now; its age limit will increase with your strength. When you reach Titled Douluo, it might even upgrade into a 100,000-year external Spirit Bone."
"This... this is so amazing!"
After hearing Ye Liangchen describe the marvel of the external Spirit Bone, Zhu Zhuqing was shocked. Her small cherry mouth formed an "O" shape. Happiness had come too suddenly.
"Your current external Spirit Bone hasn't fully integrated yet. If others see it, they will kill for it and take the bone. You must quickly ensure the Spirit Bone perfectly integrates with your left hand."
"However, even if the external Spirit Bone perfectly integrates with you, don't easily expose it before your strength is great. Do you understand?"
"Now, use your mind to retract the Spirit Bone and practice frequently, letting it become a part of your left hand."
"Chen Ge, I understand."
Seeing Ye Liangchen's serious demeanor, Zhu Zhuqing also understood the importance of the external Spirit Bone.
"You try it slowly. I need to take these two Spirit Beast corpses back; they can at least fetch over a thousand gold coins."
The preciousness of Spirit Bones made countless Spirit Masters covet them. Ye Liangchen warned Xiao Maomi to be careful in the future.
Zhu Zhuqing never expected to obtain the legendary external Spirit Bone. She felt both nervous and excited. But she knew that all of this was brought to her by the young man in front of her. Thinking of this, Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful eyes stared at the busy Ye Liangchen, revealing infinite tenderness.
"Pfft..."
Ye Liangchen took out a sharp long knife, cleaned out the Mountain Pig's internal organs, then wrapped it directly in a tent, along with the Ghost Leopard.
"Xiao Maomi, come quickly and help! These are all gold coins!"
"Coming, Chen Ge."
The two of them, with many hands, packed the two three-meter-long Spirit Beasts into the tent, and Ye Liangchen directly stored them in his spirit tool.
"Chen Ge, how big is the space in your spirit tool? These two Spirit Beasts combined are six meters long!"
Zhu Zhuqing knew that this guy carried pots, bowls, and a whole bunch of things with him, and now he had loaded two three-meter-long Spirit Beasts, totaling nearly two thousand jin. His spirit tool must be the most precious.
"My spirit tool has 50 square meters of space. Packing this little bit of stuff is child's play."
Ye Liangchen waved his hand indifferently. He still had his game backpack; no matter how big the Spirit Beast, he could fit it.
"Chen Ge, your spirit tool is so big. My spirit tool is only about 10 square meters."
Zhu Zhuqing felt that although she was born into a prominent family, compared to the young man in front of her, she was nothing.
"Chen Ge, dusk is falling. Tonight, we can only continue to spend the night in this forest."
"There's a small stream over there. I'm going to wash off the blood and dirt on me. You guard me first, and then I'll guard you."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at herself, dirty all over, and directly rushed into the distant stream, taking off her clothes to wash away the dirt.
"Go! I will help you guard the surroundings."
Ye Liangchen felt that this girl was completely defenseless in front of him. He shook his head helplessly, jumped onto a large tree, and spread his spiritual sense, guarding the surroundings.
Before long, after Zhu Zhuqing finished washing, Ye Liangchen also ran to a distant pool and took a bath.
"Xiao Maomi! No peeking!"
"Chen Ge, if I see you, will you suffer a loss?"
"Exactly. Aunt Lan and the others told me that when I'm out, I need to guard against some female hooligans."
"You're the hooligan!"
The two of them bantered for a while, and the atmosphere was very lively.
After a refreshing bath, it was already dark. Ye Liangchen casually caught two wild rabbits. After cleaning them by the stream, the two returned to the small cave they were in earlier.
Back in the small cave, Ye Liangchen quickly built a fire and began to roast the wild rabbits.
"Sizzle..."
Before long, the rabbit meat began to sizzle with oil, emitting an enticing aroma.
"Chen Ge, can we eat yet?" Zhu Zhuqing looked at the golden-brown roasted rabbit meat and couldn't help but swallow, as she hadn't eaten for almost a day.
"Xiao Maomi! No need to rush, I'll add some more seasoning."
Ye Liangchen took out saltwater and chili powder, sprinkling them on the roasted meat, instantly elevating the taste by a notch.
"Alright, dig in."
"Chen Ge, this taste is too delicious."
"That's because you're too hungry, so you think it's delicious."
"No, it's really delicious."
After enjoying a delicious meal of roasted rabbit meat, Ye Liangchen thought of a way to help Zhu Zhuqing quickly and perfectly integrate her external Spirit Bone.
"Xiao Maomi, activate your external Spirit Bone."
"Okay, Chen Ge."
"Crack..."
Although she didn't know what Ye Liangchen was going to do, Zhu Zhuqing knew that this man would not harm her.
"I will press down on you with my spirit power. Then, you fully integrate the external Spirit Bone, striving to perfectly merge the Spirit Bone with you."
"Buzz buzz..."
Ye Liangchen released his Spirit, applied an auxiliary effect to himself, and then pressed down on Zhu Zhuqing with a powerful spirit power aura.
"Ha..."
Zhu Zhuqing felt a powerful spirit power pressing down on her, as if it were a thousand-jin burden.
"Zhuqing, how is it? Can you still hold on?"
"Chen Ge, I can do it."
"Then use my spirit power pressure to make the external Spirit Bone fully integrate into your left hand."
"Okay, Chen Ge."
An hour later, with Ye Liangchen's help, Zhu Zhuqing's external Spirit Bone had perfectly integrated into her left hand, allowing her to control it at will.
"Chen Ge, now this Spirit Bone is just like my hand, without any discomfort, very comfortable."
With a thought, Zhu Zhuqing's sharp black claw appeared on her left hand, and then with another thought, the black claw quickly retracted.
"Very good. Although it has perfectly integrated into your body, don't easily expose it outside," Ye Liangchen warned again.
"Chen Ge, I understand. This external Spirit Bone came from the Ghost Leopard, so I plan to name it Ghost Claw. When I activate the Spirit Bone, my strength increases by 50%, and when this Ghost Claw attacks enemies, it can ignore defense and has very strong penetrative power."
Zhu Zhuqing introduced the Ghost Claw's abilities, which surprised Ye Liangchen. He felt that the enhancement abilities of these external Spirit Bones for their hosts were almost all the same. His Wind and Thunder Wings also increased strength by 50%, and Tang San's Eight Spider Lances in the original plot were also similar.
"Very good, but you can't rely too much on the Spirit Bone. Becoming strong yourself is true strength."
"Chen Ge, I understand. Thank you for giving me such a great opportunity."
"You're welcome. We're friends, aren't we? Helping each other is what we should do."
"Chen Ge, let's rest! We still have to travel tomorrow."
After chatting for a while, Zhu Zhuqing directly pulled Ye Liangchen into the spread-out sleeping bag.
"Xiao Maomi! You're not right."
Ye Liangchen felt that this Xiao Maomi was becoming more and more proactive. How could he resist this!
Zhu Zhuqing blushed and whispered in Ye Liangchen's ear, "Chen Ge, I want to cultivate with you..."
"Don't think nonsense, go to sleep quickly. Tomorrow, we need to prepare to return to Tianshui Academy."
Ye Liangchen extended a finger and gently flicked Xiao Maomi's forehead, not letting her think about those messy things.
"Chen Ge, after I break off my royal engagement, I will follow you forever, never leaving you," Zhu Zhuqing said deeply, staring at Ye Liangchen.
"What are you thinking about again? We'll talk about future matters in the future."
Good heavens, they had only been together for less than a month, and this Xiao Maomi had already confessed to him. Ye Liangchen could only sigh that the women in this World were all love-struck.
"Chen Ge, I'm serious. You are the only one in my Life. No matter what happens in the future, I will follow you and always be your Xiao Maomi."
Xiao Maomi no longer hid her feelings, directly expressing them, and then she pounced into Ye Liangchen's arms, hugging him tightly.
"It doesn't have to be this serious, does it!"
"Xiao Maomi are usually gentle and quiet, but you're acting like a female hooligan now."
Looking at Xiao Maomi's affectionate expression, Ye Liangchen understood in his heart that this girl had completely fallen for him and was even starting to confess her feelings.
"Chen Ge, then what kind of Xiao Maomi do you like? I can change for you anytime."
Zhu Zhuqing lay quietly in Ye Liangchen's arms, her large eyes staring at his handsome face. Unfortunately, it was already dark, so she could only look at him in vain.
"Don't overthink it. Just live happily, and don't care about what others think."
Ye Liangchen rubbed Xiao Maomi's soft long hair, feeling wonderful. This feeling of petting a cat was really nice.
"Chen Ge, do you know why I didn't object when you called me Xiao Maomi after we met in the Star Dou Forest?"
"Why?"
"That's because Chen Ge, you're too handsome."
"Oh! Xiao Maomi, you're not right! So you were coveting my good looks."
"Chen Ge, you're right, I was coveting you. Ever since you saved me in the Star Dou Forest, I can never forget your figure. My aunt told me to live hard, to break free from the cage of fate, and hoped that I could find my own happiness. My purpose in escaping to the Heaven Dou Empire this time was to find you. Thankfully, God allowed us to meet in the Border Mountains. Chen Ge, don't you think this is fate!"
"Aren't you looking for Dai Mubai? He's your fiancé!"
"Why would I look for him? And then fight against my sister and Dai Weisi together? How could we possibly win? Our strengths are too far apart. We were originally meant to be grindstones for Dai Weisi to ascend as the royal heir. I'm not a fool; why would I go to die with him?"
Listening to Zhu Zhuqing's narration, Ye Liangchen felt a sense of being outmaneuvered. He had thought this Xiao Maomi came to find Dai Mubai, but he never expected her to be looking for him.
But it didn't matter. Anyway, Xiao Maomi couldn't escape, and besides, he still needed to get the Immortal Herb later. Without the Immortal Herb, those Shrek guys would only become mediocre. He also couldn't watch Xiao Maomi go to her death.