Ye Qiu turned around and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
"What do I need to do to absorb the thousand-year soul ring?" Shaking off his displeasure, Zhu Zhuqing now only wanted to become stronger.
"Aren't you going to ask if there are any risks?" He extinguished the fire and looked at her.
"These risks are nothing compared to survival!" she said coldly, even slowly supporting herself on the tree trunk and standing up with her right leg. "As long as I can become stronger, I'm willing to suffer any amount of hardship!"
"I see!" Ye Qiu was silent. This girl was indeed just like in the original story, diligent in her cultivation and resolute in her character! The one with the worst talent but the most hardworking.
Holding the Blue Silver Emperor in her arms, a six-pointed star appeared in her eyes. The Iron-Hoofed Horse, which she hadn't ridden in a long time, appeared in front of Ye Qiu.
"Here, help me hold it." He handed her the flowerpot containing the Blue Silver Emperor.
He then picked her up, and Zhu Zhuqing, caught off guard, exclaimed, "Ah~ What are you doing?"
"Nothing, you're having trouble walking like this. Here, you ride!" Ye Qiu placed her on the horse's back, answering her earlier question casually, "Absorbing the spirit ring, you don't need to prepare anything, just focus on healing your injuries!"
Ye Qiu led the way, holding the reins, while Zhu Zhuqing rode on the horse, holding the Blue Silver Emperor in her arms. They slowly made their way through the forest.
With Ye Qiu's Sharingan as a means of reconnaissance, many spirit beasts could avoid them in advance.
Watching Ye Qiu's back, Zhu Zhuqing hugged the Blue Silver Emperor tightly, lost in thought.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, 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, taking her wandering around, watching the sunrise and sunset together, searching for suitable spirit beasts for the two of them. At night, Ye Qiu would take her into the Divine Might Space to spend the night.
Now, Zhu Zhuqing's injuries had fully healed. Carrying a ten-year-old soul beast bamboo rat, she walked into a cave.
"Here! This is my lunch! I really don't know why you don't eat rabbit; it's clearly tastier than this," she muttered, tossing the bamboo rat in front of Ye Qiu before turning to sit beside him.
Because she hadn't fought in a long time, she suggested going hunting to regain her fighting spirit. Unexpectedly, she caught a whole litter of rabbits on her first try.
"Hehe. Oh well, I promised I wouldn't eat rabbit anymore," Ye Qiu chuckled, picking up the bamboo rat and starting to prepare it. "Speaking of which, I didn't expect you to be such a good hunter!"
"My older sister at home always targets me; I usually cook for myself." She was used to it, fiddling with her left leg to see if it was clean.
"I see~" Ye Qiu didn't say anything more, silently roasting the bamboo rat. Since the last accident, Ye Qiu understood that she didn't want much interaction with him, especially since he already had a rabbit!
Zhu Zhuqing frowned, her mood somewhat irritated by Ye Qiu's occasional distancing. This should have been her ideal situation, yet she couldn't feel happy.
"My body has fully recovered. When can we go soul hunting?"
"After this meal. There's a suitable one among the Shadow Spiders we encountered earlier. Have you thought it over? If not, we can change." Ye Qiu had already considered the choice of soul beast.
Since Tang San could use poison on that blade of grass, why couldn't an agility-type? The combination of armor penetration and poison would be very suitable for Zhu Zhuqing.
It's well known that agility-type soul masters generally have low attack power, acting like assassins, lurking around enemies, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
If they encounter someone with strong defense, they might not even be able to hurt their vital points, but with poison, even a minor scratch would be enough to cause serious damage!
"As you say, I believe you!"
Ye Qiu remained unmoved by Zhu Zhuqing's gaze, looking at the barbecue in his hand. "In that case, let's move out this afternoon!"
"Okay!"
…
Outside the Shadow Spider swarm's nest, a transparent vortex appeared out of thin air, and the two figures appeared on a tree branch. Ye Qiu had already scouted this spot and made spatial markings in advance.
The shadow spiders usually hunt alone, so they only need to wait here.
"I'll lure one that's about two thousand years old out later. You wait for me at the destination!" Ye Qiu instructed Zhu Zhuqing.
"I want to do it myself!" However, she wasn't very appreciative. Faced with Ye Qiu's puzzlement, she looked at the dark nest, "I don't want to sit back and reap the benefits. Besides, with your abilities, saving me shouldn't be a problem, right?"
He nodded helplessly,
"I really don't know whether to call you strong-willed or stubborn! Go if you want, I'll wait for you!" Ye Qiu was helpless against her strong-willed personality.
"Okay!" Zhu Zhuqing nodded.
Time slowly passed, and in Ye Qiu's sight, a shadow spider with legs about four meters long was about to emerge from the cave.
"It's coming, get ready!"
Hearing Ye Qiu's voice, she immediately became alert.
Hiss! The spider legs pierced the soil with a slight sound, and the huge body slowly walked out of the cave and headed outside.
Seeing this, Zhu Zhuqing immediately followed.
Ye Qiu, on the other hand, used his divine power to quietly leave the tree branch.
When the Shadow Spider had gone far enough, a beam of light flew from Zhu Zhuqing's sleeve, striking its eyes and causing sparks to fly!
"Heh~" The Shadow Spider let out a strange cry, as if it had spotted delicious food, and immediately crawled towards Zhu Zhuqing.
Bang! Some small trees were directly broken by it, and after getting close to Zhu Zhuqing, it stretched out its spider legs to pierce its prey.
First Soul Skill, Netherworld Thrust! Zhu Zhuqing's figure suddenly lunged forward quickly, and the spider leg attack missed!
Ye Qiu had told her that Netherworld Thrust could not only be used as an attack skill, but also as an evasive movement skill. Every time the Shadow Spider was about to get close to her, Zhu Zhuqing used her first soul skill, Netherworld Thrust, to accelerate and create some distance.
She gritted her teeth and ran with all her might; the meeting place with Ye Qiu was not far away!
"Hmm?" As she ran, it seemed that there was no movement behind her.
Turning around, her expression froze, her movements halted—the Shadow Spider was gone!? *
Drip!
* A sudden pain shot through her shoulder; a drop of venom had landed on it, corroding her clothes.
Her face paled, and she abruptly looked up to find the Shadow Spider hanging above her, its disgusting mouthparts drooling.
*Pfft!* A web coated in venom sprayed towards her. Zhu Zhuqing rolled to dodge, several spider legs lashing out in quick succession, dodging several times.
*Hiss!* A splash of corrosive venom landed on her leg, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. *Pfft!* A mouthful of venom sprayed towards her.
Zhu Zhuqing watched helplessly as the venom drew closer, gritting her teeth, 'I'm still too weak!'
*Kamui!* At the crucial moment, Ye Qiu arrived just in time, diverting all the venom with his Sharingan.
"Gahhh!" A sharp, piercing cry rang out. Having its plans ruined, the Shadow Spider wouldn't let it get away with it. It abandoned Zhu Zhuqing and charged towards Ye Qiu.
"Ye Qiu... watch out!" Seeing it about to crash into him, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but warn it. But what she saw next left her bewildered. "How could this be?!"
*Swoosh!* The Shadow Spider's legs plunged into the ground, stopping abruptly in front of Ye Qiu.
It remained completely still, even when Ye Qiu stood on its back, it didn't budge!
(End of Chapter)