Chapter 38: Aspiring to be strong

Ye Qiu turned around, wiping off the saliva from the corner of his mouth.

"What do I need to do to absorb the thousand-year soul ring?" Zhu Zhuqing, pushing aside her displeasure, now only wanted to become stronger.

"Don't you want to ask if there are any risks?" He extinguished the campfire, looking at her.

"These risks are insignificant compared to staying alive!" She said coldly, even slowly propping herself up against a tree trunk, standing on her right leg, "As long as I can become stronger, I don't mind enduring any hardships!"

"I see." Ye Qiu fell silent. This girl was indeed like the one in the original story—diligent in cultivation, with a resolute character. Despite having the worst talent, she was the most hardworking one.

Taking Blue Silver Emperor into his arms, a hexagram appeared in Ye Qiu's eyes. A horse with iron hooves, which hadn't been ridden for a long time, appeared before him.

"Neigh, help me hold it." He handed her the pot containing Blue Silver Emperor.

Then, he lifted her, and without any warning, Zhu Zhuqing exclaimed, "Ah, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, it seems you have trouble walking. I'll give you a ride!" Ye Qiu placed her on the horseback, casually responding to her earlier question, "To absorb a soul ring, you don't need to prepare anything. Just focus on healing your injuries!"

Ye Qiu led the horse, and Zhu Zhuqing, holding Blue Silver Emperor, rode on its back. They moved slowly through the forest.

With Ye Qiu's Eye of the Sharingan as a means of reconnaissance, many soul beasts could be avoided in advance.

Watching Ye Qiu's back, Zhu Zhuqing tightened her grip on Blue Silver Emperor, lost in thought.

Time flew by, and unconsciously, Ye Qiu and Zhu Zhuqing had been in the Star Dou Great Forest for almost half a month.

During the day, Ye Qiu led the horse, wandering around with her, watching the sunrise and sunset together, searching for suitable soul beasts for the two of them. At night, Ye Qiu would take her into the Divine Might Realm (kamui) to spend the night.

Now, Zhu Zhuqing's injuries had completely healed. She carried a ten-year soul beast, a bamboo rat, walking towards a cave.

"Neigh! This is the lunch I caught! I really don't understand why you don't eat rabbits. Rabbits are much tastier than this thing." Muttering to herself, she threw the little bamboo rat in front of Ye Qiu, then sat down next to him.

Because she hadn't moved much for a long time, she suggested going out to hunt to regain the feeling of battle. Unexpectedly, she directly caught a whole nest of rabbits.

"Hehe, nothing I can do. I promised someone not to eat rabbits anymore." Ye Qiu chuckled, picking up the bamboo rat to prepare it. "By the way, I didn't expect you to be a good hunter!"

"My sister often targets me at home, and I basically cook my own meals." She was used to it, using her hand to fiddle with her left leg to see if it was clean.

"I see." Ye Qiu didn't say much, silently roasting the bamboo rat. Since the last accident, Ye Qiu understood that she didn't want to have too much interaction with him, and besides, he already had a rabbit!

Zhu Zhuqing frowned, occasionally distancing herself from Ye Qiu. She felt a bit annoyed. Clearly, this should be the situation she hoped for the most, but she couldn't feel happy.

"My body has fully recovered. When can we go hunting for soul beasts?"

"After finishing this meal. In the group of Shadow Spider Beasts we encountered earlier, there should be one suitable for you. Have you considered it? If not, we can find another one." Regarding the choice of soul beasts, Ye Qiu also had his considerations.

Since Tang San could play with poison with just a grass, why can't the agility and attack type, do the same? A combination of armor penetration and toxins was very suitable for Zhu Zhuqing.

It was well-known that the attack power of control-type soul masters was generally not high, not like assassins, moving around the enemy, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

If encountering a strong defense, it might be difficult to even hurt the opponent's vitals. However, with the addition of toxins, as long as the skin was broken, it would be enough to deal with the opponent!

"Let's do as you say. I trust you!" Facing Zhu Zhuqing's gaze, Ye Qiu remained unmoved, looking at the barbecue in his hand. "In that case, we'll act in the afternoon!"

"Okay!"

..

Outside the nest of Shadow Spider Beasts, a transparent vortex appeared out of thin air, and the figures of the two appeared on a tree branch. Ye Qiu had already stepped on this spot before, making an advance spatial mark.

Those shadow spiders usually go out foraging alone; they only need to wait here.

"I'll lure out one that's around two thousand years old later. You wait for me at the destination!" Ye Qiu instructed Zhu Zhuqing.

"I want to do it myself!" However, she was not very appreciative. Facing Ye Qiu's confusion, she looked at the dark nest, "I don't want to benefit without contributing. Besides, with your abilities, rescuing me should be no problem, right?"

Helplessly, he nodded, "I don't know if I should praise your determination or stubbornness. If you want to go, then go. I'll wait for you!" Ye Qiu could do nothing about her strong-willed personality.

"Yeah!" Zhu Zhuqing nodded.

As time passed slowly, in Ye Qiu's vision, a shadow spider with legs about four meters long was about to come out of the cave.

"It's coming, be prepared!"

Hearing Ye Qiu's voice, she immediately got ready for action.

Hiss! The spider legs pierced into the soil, making a slight sound. The enormous body slowly emerged from the cave and moved towards the outside.

Seeing this, Zhu Zhuqing immediately followed.

Meanwhile, Ye Qiu quietly left the tree branch using the Divine Might Realm (kamui).

When the shadow spider had walked far enough, Zhu Zhuqing's sleeve emitted a beam of light, hitting its eyes and producing sparks.

"Hiss~" The shadow spider made a strange cry, as if it had seen delicious food, and immediately crawled towards Zhu Zhuqing.

Boom! Some small trees were directly broken by it. When it approached Zhu Zhuqing, it extended its spider legs to pierce its prey.

The first soul skill, Hell Rush Stab,Dark Assault! Zhu Zhuqing's figure suddenly rushed forward quickly, dodging the spider legs' attack!

Ye Qiu had told her that Hell Rush Stab could not only be used as an attack skill but also as an evasive maneuver. Every time the shadow spider was about to approach her, Zhu Zhuqing would use the first soul skill, Hell Rush Stab, to speed up and create distance.

She gritted her teeth, running at full speed. The meeting point agreed upon with Ye Qiu was not far away!

"Hmm?" Running, she seemed to have lost the sound behind her.

Turning back to look, her expression froze, her movements paused. The shadow spider was actually gone!?

Tick-tock! "Hmm~" Suddenly, pain radiated from her shoulder, and a drop of venom fell on her shoulder, corroding her clothes.

Her face turned pale, looking up abruptly, only to find the shadow spider hanging right above her head, its disgusting mouthparts dripping with saliva.

"Puff!" A spider web, carrying venom, directly sprayed towards her. Zhu Zhuqing rolled to avoid it, dodging the spider legs that struck out several times.

"Hiss~" Her leg was accidentally splashed with some corrosive venom. Losing balance for a moment, she fell to the ground. Puff! A large amount of venom sprayed towards her, covering her face.

Zhu Zhuqing watched helplessly as the venom approached her. Biting her teeth, 'I'm still too weak!'

"Divine Might Realm (kamui)!" At a critical moment, Ye Qiu arrived in time, redirecting all the venom with his Sharingan.

"Hiss~" A sharp and piercing strange cry broke the silence. Not letting it off, the shadow spider abandoned Zhu Zhuqing and charged towards Ye Qiu.

"Ye Qiu... Be careful!" Watching it about to collide, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but voice a warning. However, the scene in front of her was difficult to comprehend, "How is this possible?!"

Hiss! Only to see the spider legs of the shadow spider forcefully inserted into the ground, timely stopping the charge, and stopping right in front of Ye Qiu.

Completely motionless, even Ye Qiu standing on its back didn't affect it!

(End of this chapter)