Chapter 27: Absorbing the Spirit Ring

In that instant, Bai Chenxiang felt as though her body no longer belonged to her.

Countless streams of cyan-purple energy, as fine as ox hair yet incomparably violent, were frantically slicing and piercing through every corner of her limbs and bones! The power of the wind was tearing at her fragile meridians!

Immediately following, an even more scorching and violent force surged through those torn wounds, pouring in ruthlessly! The power of lightning was searing her flesh and tempering her bones!

"Urgh—!"

Even with a mind as resilient as iron, Bai Chenxiang could not help but let out a muffled groan of agony. Her small face turned deathly pale in an instant, and beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down her forehead, instantly soaking her clothes. Every inch of her body was enduring the dual torture of tearing and burning. Her meridians were breaking inch by inch, only to be forcibly welded back together by the violent lightning, before being sliced open by the wind blades once more, only to be welded again—a repetitive, endless cycle.

This level of pain was enough to cause any adult to suffer a mental breakdown. Yet, Bai Chenxiang gritted her teeth, holding onto the final shred of clarity in her mind. She could not pass out! Once she lost consciousness, these violent energies, lacking guidance, would spiral completely out of control, rupturing her body and reducing her to a heap of flesh and blood.

"Hold on, I must hold on."

She repeated this to herself over and over in her mind. Her consciousness sank into the depths of her body. Instead of resisting the pain, she learned to understand it and guide it. Using her own comprehension of the wind, she smoothed out the chaotic wind blades, so they were no longer cutting indiscriminately, but rather, like a master sculptor, they followed her intended trajectory to broaden and reinforce her fragile meridians bit by bit. Using her insights into speed, she guided the surging lightning, so it was no longer mere destruction, but rather, like a blacksmith’s hammer, it struck repeatedly to refine the impurities out of her body!

Pain! Extreme, excruciating pain! But within this ultimate agony, a glimmer of enlightenment quietly dawned in her heart.

The essence of wind is not merely lightness. When compressed to its limit, it is more lethal than the sharpest blade in the world. The essence of lightning is not merely destruction. It is a form of eruption, an instantaneous acceleration from stillness to the extreme! Wind and lightning are, in essence, two sides of the same coin of speed!

She did not know how much time had passed—perhaps an hour, perhaps only a fleeting moment. When the last shred of violent energy within her was completely guided and integrated into her limbs and bones, the heart-wrenching pain finally receded like a tide. In its place came a sense of unprecedented clarity and power. Her meridians were several times tougher and wider than before, and her soul power surged through them without the slightest obstruction. Her flesh and bones seemed to have been reborn, becoming lighter yet sturdier.

The load of ninety pounds of Star-Sinking Iron she had worn for so long now felt as if it had no weight at all.

At the mouth of the cave, Bai He paced back and forth anxiously, his heart in his throat. Just then, he stopped abruptly and looked back. Inside the valley, Bai Chenxiang slowly opened her eyes. They remained clear, but deep within their depths, two slivers of fine, cyan-purple lightning flashed and vanished. Her aura had become more ethereal and elusive. Sitting there, she seemed as though she might ride the wind away at any moment, yet simultaneously appeared as one with the earth beneath her, unmoving as a mountain.

Bai Chenxiang stood up slowly, feeling the new, surging power within her. She looked at the Wind-Thunder Demon Wolf lying at the cave entrance, its fire of life nearly extinguished, and her expression became incomparably resolute.

The foundation was set. Now was the moment to sharpen this peerless blade.

Bai Chenxiang walked to the front of the Wind-Thunder Demon Wolf and crouched down. She reached out and placed her hand gently on the wolf king's forehead, which was stained with blood and dirt. This former king of the Thunderous Marsh seemed to sense something; its eyes, which had completely dimmed, struggled to open a sliver to take one last look at the human girl who had brought it endless humiliation and a magnificent, hearty battle. In that gaze, there was no longer hatred or fear. There remained only the recognition of one powerhouse for another, and a calm acceptance of the end of life.

"Your speed, your pride—I accept them," Bai Chenxiang’s voice was soft but carried the weight of a solemn promise. "They will continue to gallop under this sky in a different way, to witness the pinnacle of speed."

With that, she used the sharp claws on her Meteor Bracers to send the Storm Demon Wolf on its way. As the wolf king's life fire extinguished completely, a deep, eerie-glowing purple soul ring rose slowly from its body. This soul ring was a noble shade of purple, and the energy fluctuations it emitted were far more powerful than those of an ordinary thousand-year soul ring.

"This... this is at least twenty-eight hundred, perhaps nearly three thousand years of cultivation!" Bai He’s eyes were filled with shock and ecstasy. A first soul ring that was a top-grade specimen of nearly three thousand years! This was unheard of in the entire history of the Douluo Continent! Even those geniuses from top-tier sects, raised on countless rare treasures, would never dare to exceed a thousand years for their first soul ring!

"Xiangxiang, are you sure?" After the initial ecstasy, deep concern surfaced on Bai He's face. The higher the age of a soul ring, the greater the impact on the soul master's body and will during absorption. This was no longer a simple adventure; it was a true gamble!

"I am," Bai Chenxiang said only two words, but the confidence in her tone made all of Bai He's worries vanish. Had it been before she absorbed the Thunder-Saliva Grass, she would have had no chance of success. But now, her body, tempered by the forces of wind and thunder, was her greatest source of confidence.

Without further hesitation, she sat cross-legged, releasing a wisp of soul power to guide the purple soul ring, drawing it slowly down toward herself.

"Awoo—!!!"

A howl filled with pride and wildness exploded in her mind! Countless images flashed before her eyes at high speed. She saw it when it was first born, opening its eyes in a thunderstorm to see the lightning that tore the heavens asunder. She saw its first hunt, using its tender claws and teeth to chase down prey larger than itself. She saw it in the Thunderous Marsh, galloping freely like a streak of blue lightning, enjoying the pleasure brought by speed and power.

These memories were filled with violence, slaughter, and conquest. They transformed into the sharpest knives, attempting to shatter Bai Chenxiang's will and assimilate her, turning her into a beast that knew only how to kill.

However, Bai Chenxiang's consciousness was like a reef that had weathered the ages; no matter how the stormy waves lashed against it, she remained unmoved. She did not fight or suppress that will. Because she discovered that, at the core of that violence and slaughter, there hid something she was intimately familiar with and deeply yearned for.

—Freedom.

It was the ultimate pursuit of speed, the absolute breaking of shackles, and an infinite longing for the vast world. This coincided perfectly with the path she had pursued across two lifetimes!

"You want to conquer, but I want to transcend."

"You want to become a king of a region, but I want to see the scenery beyond this sky."

"Your path is too small."

Bai Chenxiang's consciousness transformed into an invisible wind. Instead of colliding with the roaring giant wolf, it gently enveloped it. She showed it her own memories. The resilience in every challenge to her limits during that dark and grueling weighted training. The joy of breaking free when she grasped the "Wind Instant Body." The determination to endure all pain in the pursuit of ultimate speed.

Two wills, two different understandings of freedom, began a silent confrontation and fusion within her sea of consciousness. The will of the Wind-Thunder Demon Wolf was overbearing and concrete, while Bai Chenxiang's will was ethereal and formless. Wind can disperse dark clouds, yet it cannot be struck by lightning.

Gradually, the roaring giant wolf ceased its howling. Its violent will began to be infected and assimilated by Bai Chenxiang's will. It seemed to see a wider, freer world. Finally, the phantom of the giant wolf let out a satisfied, relieved howl, slowly transforming into the purest soul and spiritual energy, completely merging into Bai Chenxiang's body and soul.

Outside, Bai He watched his granddaughter, who sat cross-legged, with bated breath. The purple soul ring, which had been fluctuating violently, gradually became steady and docile, then bit by bit, it merged into her body.

It was a success!