"Are you ready?" Su Cheng looked at Zhu Zhuqing for final confirmation.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced back at him, her eyes reflecting some unspoken emotion. But before she could dwell on it, she turned her gaze away and nodded to the Blue Silver King. "I'm ready."
As soon as she spoke, an expansive and majestic aura began to gather from the entire forest. At that moment, the ancient forest, a small world composed of countless plants, focused all its attention on Zhu Zhuqing.
A blue glow emitted from each tiny Blue Silver Grass, slowly converging into a vast ocean of blue light. In the center of this ocean, Zhu Zhuqing stood calmly, her mind and body at peace. The tension and unease from over a year of bloody battles and the exhaustion and anxiety from relentless cultivation dissipated quietly.
She closed her eyes slightly.
A straight nose, slender brows, and plump lips adorned her fair, jade-like face.
Beneath her smooth neck lay a chest fuller than most girls her age. Below that, her waist was slender and flexible, her hips rounded and perky, and her legs long and straight.
She stood there like a statue meticulously crafted by the heavens, so perfect that she seemed almost unreal.
Suddenly, her eyes opened, her black pupils bright like stars.
The perfect sculpture seemed to come to life.
Her long black hair lifted, dancing like black ribbons in the air.
She appeared exceptionally light-hearted, nearly devoid of her former coldness and hostility.
A breeze arose.
But it was no longer the bloody wind mixed with dense blood from the City of Slaughter.
The blue waves surged in, cleansing the layers of filth in the strong wind, dyeing everything with a blue glow.
The fierce and stubborn malice from the City of Slaughter was overpowered by the vastness of the ancient forest.
A drop of blood in a cup of tea might turn the tea red, but in a lake, what impact could it have?
Watching the figure in the forest, graceful like an elf, Su Cheng's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
He hadn't expected that Zhu Zhuqing would gain new insight at this moment.
Even her innate domain advanced, manifesting naturally.
Zhu Zhuqing unscrewed the bottle cap and let two drops of the potion fall into her mouth.
Soon, a faint blood aura began to emanate from her.
This had nothing to do with killing intent; it came from her restless Hell White Tiger bloodline.
The blood aura gathered in the air, forming a giant white tiger over ten meters long.
White fur, purple eyes, and black stripes intertwined, with a pair of massive wings unfolding from its back.
With her spirit power at level sixty, she fully activated the Nirvana Sutra. Beneath her feet, alongside her yellow, yellow, purple, black, black spirit rings, a new, illusory ring appeared.
As soon as the ring appeared, the surrounding blue light surged towards it.
The transparent, colorless ring began to take on various hues.
The yellow light existed for only a short time before deepening into purple, then gradually darkening.
Zhu Zhuqing herself was also enveloped in a blue aura.
Her delicate but stern face softened, and her black hair took on a faint dark blue sheen.
As the massive blue light continued to pour in, the new spirit ring at her feet climbed to the levels of twenty thousand, thirty thousand years.
Then forty thousand, fifty thousand, sixty thousand years.
As time passed slowly, Su Cheng's expression changed.
At this point, the age of the new spirit ring was already approaching ninety thousand years, far exceeding what he had estimated Zhu Zhuqing could bear.
What was Zhu Zhuqing doing?
Did she not know her own limits?
No, she understood all too well.
She was even clearer than Su Cheng about the limits of the spirit ring she could absorb.
Eighty-nine thousand years.
An eighty-nine thousand-year spirit ring was her current limit.
Continuing to absorb spirit power to increase the age, pushing further up, each additional thousand years was like walking on the edge of death.
But she still did it.
She knew her situation well.
In terms of talent, even with the god-level spirit of the Hell White Tiger, she was far inferior to that genius of the Spirit Hall, the favored child of heaven.
In terms of age, she was ten years younger. Ten years of cultivation time was a chasm for two geniuses, especially since the other had far superior talent.
In terms of determination, that person was also meticulous and decisive, never hesitating when it was time to act.
Moreover, in this world, mere schemes and plots couldn't achieve much.
Ultimately, it all came down to strength.
A year ago, the sword before the Pope's Palace in Spirit City shattered her illusions but not her will.
Her only confidence lay in her will.
The will that even Su Cheng admired.
"Life or death, it's just that simple."
Her sweat had long since dried. The serene peace from moments ago was like a fleeting dream, while the endless intense pain was eternal.
Fine beads of blood appeared on her body. Her face, once delicate like a carved stone, now resembled fragile porcelain, showing cracks.
Blood seeped from her clenched teeth, her gums feeling slightly loose.
Her bones creaked, her muscles and veins tearing apart.
The surrounding winds howled fiercely, producing eerie sounds.
The noise grew more intense, like the final requiem before death.
Blood quickly soaked her clothes. Her exposed neck and arms began to rupture, revealing the silvery glow of her bones beneath the skin and muscles.
"Should I stop her?"
Transparent energy flickered at Su Cheng's fingertips.
A gentle touch could interrupt the process of forming the spirit ring.
Moreover, using innate energy would not harm her foundation.
If he did this, Zhu Zhuqing would indeed only obtain a ninety-thousand-year sixth spirit ring but would be out of danger. This level of a spirit ring was already an extraordinary bonus.
He should do it.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't need to risk her life.
She was only sixteen, already outstanding among her peers, with a long future ahead.
Besides, what use was it even if she became stronger?
It wouldn't change the grand scheme.
In comparison, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue were the future powers to be reckoned with.
"…"
Su Cheng's fingers trembled slightly.
He rarely hesitated.
But at this moment, he was uncharacteristically uncertain.
This move wouldn't just break his promise not to interfere with Zhu Zhuqing's choices, but it would also break her spirit.
In the future, when she faced challenges again, would she hesitate because of this retreat?
Would she choose to take a step back instead of advancing fearlessly?
Even if this retreat wasn't from her own will, many things didn't work that way.
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing must have made a significant decision.
No one wasn't afraid of death, and neither was she.
But her desire to become stronger and surpass herself outweighed the fear of death.
If Su Cheng stopped her here, she might regret it.
But in hindsight, she would likely feel relief and gratitude.
She would become weaker because of it.
On the path of cultivation, such fearless determination wasn't forged in one instance.
It was accumulated through countless trials and enhanced by overcoming them. Conversely, it could be worn down or lost for various reasons.
The increase in power was precious.
But this ordeal was more than just breaking through with a spirit ring.
It was a test of her will.
"…"
Su Cheng glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, then at the nearby Blue Silver King, whose ancient face showed a hint of anxiety and even fear.
The girl at the center of the storm had a life force as fragile as a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.
Of course, her death might be a pity, but it wouldn't be a big deal.
After all, as a spirit beast that had truly lived for tens of thousands of years, it was accustomed to such events, barely feeling any emotional disturbance.
What it feared was Su Cheng.
At this moment, Su Cheng's aura was restrained, standing there like a statue, without a hint of sharpness.
But his eyes exuded an extremely terrifying will.
Especially the transparent, colorless energy at his fingertips, which made the Blue Silver King tremble in fear, not daring to make a sound.