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The sky gradually darkened from bright again, then returned to brightness from darkness.
Another day passed.
"Hmm—"
With a low groan, Shi Quan's absorption of his Third spirit ring finally came to an end.
"Ding, congratulations to the host for breaking through to the Spirit Elder Realm, successfully triggering the Spirit Master Treasure Box, which has been opened for the host. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Illusion Mask."
The System's familiar voice rang out, and the third Spirit Master Treasure Box arrived right on time.
Listening to the System's voice, Shi Quan's eyes slowly opened.
"You brat, you're finally awake." Grandpa Dugu looked at the yellow, purple, and purple spirit rings undulating around Shi Quan's body, and his eyes couldn't help but light up. "Shi Quan, quickly tell me about your Third Soul Skill, a nine-thousand-year Third Soul Skill. Let me see how powerful it is."
Shi Quan had just recovered and didn't even know the specific Spirit Ability himself, so he quickly checked it. "Grandpa Dugu, you at least have to let me feel it first, right?"
"How is it?" Dugu Bo was even more anxious than Shi Quan.
Shi Quan raised his right hand, and the Blue Silver King lightly swept in front of him, scattering light blue dots not far away, then retracting. Then, the Third spirit ring beneath Shi Quan lit up, and a large rock not far away was instantly enveloped by the Blue Silver King, emitting creaking sounds. In just two or three breaths, the rock enveloped by the Blue Silver King shattered with a boom.
"The power of bind is so strong? And it also inherited the ability of Thorns. Among those of the same Rank, I'm afraid no one can break free." Dugu Bo walked closer, looked at the shattered rocks on the ground, nodded, and continued to ask, "Were you scattering Blue Silver King seeds with your action just now?"
"That's right, Grandpa Dugu." Shi Quan nodded and explained, "I named this Third Soul Skill Blue Silver Strangulation. When the Blue Silver King attacks, it can scatter its own seeds all around. The scattered seeds do not consume spirit power. As long as spirit power is injected into the scattered seeds, they will instantly grow to bind and strangle the enemy. It can be considered a control-type attack Spirit Ability."
Dugu Bo shook his head and said, "The power is indeed good, but it can't be considered an attack Spirit Ability yet."
"Grandpa Dugu, I didn't inject full spirit power just now." Shi Quan smiled, a glint flashing in his eyes. "If I release it with full power, it would be different."
As his voice fell, the Third spirit ring beneath Shi Quan suddenly flared brightly. A large amount of Blue Silver King instantly grew from the ground, then rapidly constricted, and the powerful force directly crushed everything within its range.
"This attack power… it's already close to a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ability, isn't it?" Dugu Bo swallowed. "And it's an area-of-effect Spirit Ability. Combined with its surprising effect, your Spirit Ability is a bit too strong."
Shi Quan, however, shook his head and said, "The effect is indeed good, but the consumption of spirit power is also astonishing. If it's a single strangulation, it's fine, but with this large-scale attack, given my current spirit power, I can't do it many times."
Dugu Bo nodded without surprise and said, "That's normal. The stronger the Spirit Ability, the greater the consumption. However, there are few people like you who can control the power of the Spirit Ability based on the input spirit power."
"Grandpa Dugu, my Third Soul Skill actually has another characteristic."
"Another characteristic?" Dugu Bo looked at Shi Quan in confusion. "What characteristic?"
"Devouring…" Shi Quan shook his head and said, "To say devouring is a bit too much; absorption is closer. The Blue Silver King vines released by the Third Soul Skill can absorb the spirit power of those they come into contact with, even some overflowing and scattered spirit power. This characteristic should be related to the mutation of the Thorn Queen."
"Hiss!" Upon hearing this, even Dugu Bo couldn't help but show a shocked expression.
The power of this Blue Silver Strangulation was already strong. Once trapped, there was already little hope of escape, but now the vines also came with a spirit power absorption effect. Wouldn't that make it even harder to resist?
"Your Spirit Ability is too strong. This is not a thousand-year Spirit Ability; it's definitely the effect of a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ability. These few abilities combined are a bit too abnormal, aren't they?"
"I also have to thank Grandpa Dugu for his help."
"You're also lucky, kid. If you hadn't asked me to help Yan Yan find a Spirit Bone, I wouldn't have discovered this Thorn Queen. In the end, it's your own destiny. By the way, what's your spirit power Rank? The energy from a nine-thousand-year spirit ring should at least help you break through to Rank thirty-two or above, right?"
"Uh… Grandpa Dugu, my spirit power Rank is only thirty-one now."
"How could that be?"
"Maybe the Martial Spirit has just finished evolving and needs more replenishment?" Shi Quan said, feeling a bit unsure himself.
Dugu Bo frowned and asked, "Shi Quan, are you sure there's nothing wrong with your body?"
"My body is definitely fine." Shi Quan patted his chest. "It's solid."
"Alright, let's go back first. It's better not to stay here for long."
The two set off on their return journey.
On the way back, taking advantage of the journey, Shi Quan also checked the rewards from this Spirit Master Treasure Box.
System Space.
Illusion Mask: After wearing the mask, it can hide and change one's aura and alter one's appearance.
Note: Cannot be seen through by anything below Divine Rank.
Looking at the description of the Illusion Mask, Shi Quan's expression was also somewhat moved. If he had this mask earlier, he wouldn't have needed to put so much effort into doing so many things. He could have just changed his identity and created a new one, directly thriving.
Although it was a bit late, it was still a treasure. At least with the Illusion Mask, it would be much more convenient for him to do anything in the future.
Two days later, the two returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well again.
Seeing that it was still early, just past noon, Dugu Bo briefly instructed Shi Quan, then left him on the mountaintop and flew towards Heaven Dou Academy. He still had to bring Dugu Yan here to expel poison.
Shi Quan, back at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, was not idle either.
These past few days, he had been busy acquiring a spirit ring for his Blue Silver King Martial Spirit. His other two Martial Spirits had also undergone changes, which he hadn't had time to examine closely yet.
An earthy yellow light bloomed from Shi Quan's hand, and a heavy aura instantly filled the air. A feeling of closeness came from the soles of his feet—that was the power of the Earth.
"The Earth Martial Spirit has also evolved."
The originally dark yellow Earth was now very crystalline, surrounded by a faint earthy yellow halo. The heavy aura was like a towering mountain, and also like the boundless Earth.
Now, the Earth Martial Spirit could not only resonate with the surrounding Earth elements but also communicate with the Earth, gaining the Earth's power. Although it wasn't much, as his strength increased, the power he gained would definitely increase accordingly.
"Now it's called the Thick Earth Martial Spirit." Shi Quan clenched his left hand, and the earthy yellow light disappeared.
"And Soul Martial Spirit."
A silver halo burst from Shi Quan's eyes, emitting a captivating light. A phantom figure appeared around Shi Quan, and then his figure also began to become illusory. The gravity of the Earth seemed to lose its effect on him, and his entire body slowly floated up.
"The changes in the Soul Martial Spirit seem to be not significant." Shi Quan murmured softly.
In his perception, besides Awakening the ability to fly, the biggest change in Soul Martial Spirit was that it greatly enhanced his perception of his surroundings.
Compared to the Blue Silver Grass or Earth Martial Spirit, the changes in the Soul Martial Spirit seemed less obvious.
Hearing Shi Quan's murmur, Xiao Meng also explained to Shi Quan in his mind.
"A Quan, the current Soul Martial Spirit can not only perfectly fuse with you, but when possessing you, your body can completely spiritualize, putting yourself in a void state, unaffected by physical external factors. While immune to physical attacks, it also has great resistance to energy attacks. These were all things the Soul Martial Spirit couldn't do before."
"Another reason is that the quality of both the Blue Silver Grass Martial Spirit and the Earth Martial Spirit was not high. Even with mutation, they barely approached Intermediate Martial Spirits. However, the Soul Martial Spirit itself is a top-tier Martial Spirit, so the Medicinal Pill's potency was more used to enhance the Soul Martial Spirit's abilities rather than improve its quality."
"So that's how it is." After listening to Xiao Meng's explanation, Shi Quan suddenly felt enlightened.
"A Meng, my spirit power has already broken through Rank thirty. Can the Soul Martial Spirit also evolve a Third spirit ring now?"
"Yes, A Quan. Do you want to evolve it now?"
"Not in a hurry. A Meng, can you roughly estimate the time for the Third spirit ring's evolution?"
"The Third spirit ring's evolution is not troublesome. It can be successfully evolved in at most two hours."
"Then let's wait for a bit." Shi Quan shook his head.
The phantom dissipated, and Shi Quan's figure returned to normal. Dugu Bo went back to bring Dugu Yan to detoxify, which would take at most half an hour round trip.
The Soul Martial Spirit would have to wait to evolve its spirit ring until Dugu Yan's poison was expelled.
In less than half an hour, Dugu Bo had already returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well with Dugu Yan.
"You are…" Dugu Yan looked at the tall, strong, handsome young man in front of her, clearly stunned for a moment. As if thinking of something, she then widened her eyes and exclaimed in disbelief, "…You're Shi Quan?"
"Sister Yanzi." Shi Quan smiled and nodded in response.
"How did you suddenly become like this?" Dugu Yan quickly stepped forward, curiously pinching Shi Quan's arm and face. "Did you take hormones? How did you suddenly grow so much in just half a month?"
As if she remembered something, Dugu Yan turned to look at Dugu Bo. "Grandpa, you said you'd give me a big surprise because of Shi Quan?"
"Hahaha, that's right." Dugu Bo nodded with a smile. "Your Grandpa I personally watched this kid grow rapidly."
"What exactly happened?" Dugu Yan stared curiously at Dugu Bo and Shi Quan with wide eyes.
Shi Quan smiled and said, "Sister Yanzi, I'll help you expel the poison first. After we're done, I'll explain it to you in detail."
"You said it." Dugu Yan quickly nodded. "Then let's start quickly."
Dugu Yan then sat down, and Shi Quan skillfully summoned his Martial Spirit.
"Shi Quan, how did your Martial Spirit change too?!" Dugu Yan exclaimed again.
"I'll explain everything to you after we finish expelling the poison…"