In mid-air, the starlight beams continued to fall.
The old butler had activated his first spirit ability: Falling Star, with all his might.
A few minutes later, Lin Rong, bathed in the starlight, had already regained a healthy complexion. At least on the surface, there were no visible signs of any major harm.
Next, he only needed to cultivate and recover using the Xisui Jing (Washing Marrow Scripture) for about ten to fifteen days to overcome the period of weakness caused by forcibly using the Dragon Soul's power.
Then, Lin Rong seemed to remember something and raised his right hand, looking at the jade beads on his wrist.
The string of jade beads on his wrist was a storage soul guide.
This item had twelve jade beads in total, named Qingbi Long Teng (Azure Dragon Vine), a treasured heirloom passed down through the Lin family for generations.
The twelve jade beads appeared as a smooth, jade-white color, and if examined carefully under the sunlight, faint azure-blue patterns could be seen on the surface of the beads.
Among them, the first, last, and seventh beads bore azure-blue patterns that resembled dragon scales. The other nine beads had azure-blue patterns that looked like vine leaves.
Each of the twelve jade beads could store items, and the storage space was divided into two categories.
The three dragon-scale beads each had a storage space of 36 cubic meters, for a total of 108 cubic meters.
The nine vine-leaf beads each had a storage space of 12 cubic meters, also totaling 108 cubic meters.
Thus, the combined storage space of all twelve beads was 216 cubic meters.
Currently, the head soul bone that fell from the Kongqing Bamboo is stored in the seventh jade bead.
Lin Rong's left hand gently touched the dragon-scale jade bead, as if he were touching the soul bone stored inside.
After everything that had just happened, Lin Rong was now cautious and didn't dare to take out the soul bone from Kongqing Bamboo easily.
Who could know whether the soul bone still contained residual spiritual power from the Kongqing Bamboo?
At this moment, Lin Rong was still in his weakened state, and during this period, he couldn't forcibly use the Dragon Soul's power. He couldn't risk another soul impact from the Kongqing Bamboo.
Only after passing through this period of weakness, when he was confident that the Dragon Soul's protection was strong enough, would he dare to take out the soul bone stored in the dragon-scale bead.
Before absorbing the soul bone, he would also need to have the old butler use the starlight power to purify any remaining spiritual energy on the soul bone thoroughly.
Finally, he would let the Nine-Curved Vine Dragon use pure life energy to completely refine it.
Only after ensuring there were no risks would Lin Rong dare to absorb the soul bone.
The only drawback was that the residual spiritual energy in the soul bone would be purified, meaning the absorption would not improve his soul power level.
But Lin Rong didn't mind.
The remaining spiritual power in the soul bone originated from the Kongqing Bamboo, which was only a thousand years old.
Therefore, the residual spiritual power would only raise Lin Rong's current soul power by one or two levels, which wasn't a big deal.
Compared to his own life, it was insignificant.
Old Butler: "Young Master, last time when you absorbed the spirit ring, you encountered an external soul bone, and this time, with the spirit ring, you encountered something like this again."
After a sigh, the old butler said seriously:
"For your safety, next time you absorb a soul ring, avoid absorbing soul rings from mutated spirit beasts that have never appeared before, in case something like this happens again."
Lin Rong, hearing this, shifted his gaze from the jade beads and replied weakly:
"Don't worry, Grandpa Yu."
"I value my life even more than you think."
"From now on, I won't absorb soul rings unless they're from spirit beasts I already know about."
"Moreover, although this time was dangerous, at least I didn't return empty-handed."
"The Kongqing Bamboo's root was extraordinary, and the second spirit ability I gained exceeded my expectations."
As he spoke, Lin Rong shared the second spirit ability he obtained from Kongqing Bamboo with the old butler.
"My second spirit ability is called Qingye Mark (青叶标记), a high-grade space-based soul skill."
"Anything I or the Nine-Curved Vine Dragon touch can be marked with the Qingye Mark."
Saying this, Lin Rong added the Qingye Mark to the old butler without releasing his martial soul.
"While the mark is in place, I can sense the marked target's position in real-time."
"Additionally, without releasing my martial soul, I can actively trigger the mark on the target and instantly teleport to their location."
After saying this, Lin Rong triggered the Qingye Mark on the old butler and instantly teleported behind him, lying on his back as he explained:
"The Qingye Mark can mark up to three targets at once. For each additional soul ring, one more target can be marked."
"Also, the maximum teleportation distance is one kilometer. With each additional soul ring, the maximum teleportation distance increases by one kilometer."
"And the Qingye Mark has no time limit. It will not dissipate over time unless I actively trigger it."
While explaining, Lin Rong triggered the Qingye Mark he left on the previous spot and returned there, sensing his internal condition. He continued:
"As for soul power consumption, every time I teleport, regardless of distance, it consumes exactly 10% of my soul power."
"Right now, with two soul rings, I can mark up to five targets at once, and the maximum teleportation distance is three kilometers."
"In the best case, I can teleport continuously five times, each time covering three kilometers, for a total of fifteen kilometers."
"However, this soul skill has a weakness. People whose soul power is ten levels higher than mine can detect and neutralize the mark on themselves using their soul power."
"But they can only detect the mark on themselves, not on others."
After finishing his explanation, Lin Rong noticed that the old butler's expression was calm, which surprised him.
"Grandpa Yu, why are you not amazed by such an extraordinary soul skill?"
The old butler paused for a few seconds, his gray hair blowing gently in the evening wind. His aged voice, mixed with the breeze, reached Lin Rong's ears:
"It's because I believe that, for a soul skill gained through life-threatening risk, no matter how powerful, it's not surprising."
The deep, sincere care in his tone brought Lin Rong's memories back to the past.
Since his transmigration, apart from the time spent in the womb, the old butler had always been by his side, taking care of him.
A human heart is not made of iron, and over the years of care, Lin Rong had truly accepted this loyal old butler.
In the past, his childish demeanor had been an act to hide his identity as a transmigrator.
But the old butler's meticulous care had given Lin Rong a childhood without regrets, making up for the regrets of his past life.
Thus, Lin Rong, without holding back, revealed his innocent side to the old butler.
The old butler was the only person in this strange world whom Lin Rong could truly trust.
Aside from the fact that he couldn't tell the old butler about his transmigration, Lin Rong wouldn't hide anything else.
Lin Rong recalled all the past moments, and silent tears fell from the corners of his eyes.
In his blurred vision, the old butler reached out his finger to wipe away his tears.
Having a caring elder by one's side felt truly wonderful!