"Soul Masters should respect death, but they should not fear it."
Chen Ming shook his head, unable to offer any further explanation.
In truth, during these years of cultivation, Chen Ming had vaguely felt that he possessed some kind of special "cheat" or golden finger. However, this cheat seemed too abstract—so much so that he had yet to figure out exactly what it was. All he could tell was that it appeared to be a kind of trait tied to his soul. For that reason, over the years, he had paid close attention to anything with "spirituality."
This Jade Phosphor Seven-Petal Flower was something he had set his sights on from the very beginning. At that time, the flower wasn't even a soul beast—just a plant emitting faint soul power fluctuations. It was Chen Ming who had nourished its roots with his own blood and soul power during his off-hours from training, gradually transforming it into a soul beast over the course of several months. Its current age was around five hundred years.
Because he had infused it with soul power and blood, Chen Ming could feel that a sort of imprint—his own—had been left on the plant. Although he didn't fully understand what this imprint did, he at least knew it wouldn't have any negative effects.
Chen Ming believed he could absorb its soul ring.
Seeing that their persuasion was futile, Chen Shijie and Chen Tianyun fell silent. They clenched their fists tightly, their bodies trembling slightly, eyes full of pleading as they looked at Chen Ming, hoping he would reconsider.
Chen Ming didn't possess any weapon capable of destroying the Jade Phosphor Seven-Petal Flower. Even with his Martial Spirit activated, he couldn't inflict fatal damage on it.
And that was assuming his actions wouldn't provoke a chain reaction among the other Jade Phosphor Seven-Petal Flowers in the cave.
The flower's root system was extensive, and damaging the leaves alone wouldn't be enough to kill it completely. It wasn't something an ordinary Soul Master could deal with easily.
At that moment, Chen Ming closed his eyes and summoned his Martial Spirit. It was as if he had sensed something—his spiritual and soul power merged, transmitting a certain trait directly into the Jade Phosphor Seven-Petal Flower.
A surge of power came from the flower, resonating with Chen Ming's Martial Spirit and bloodline. In just a few breaths, the flower began to bloom rapidly, and its previously calm soul power ignited in an instant.
Sacrifice—a unique ability supposedly only possible for hundred-thousand-year soul beasts—was forcibly activated at this moment by some unknown mechanism, even Chen Ming himself didn't understand.
The flower began devouring its surrounding counterparts. The ones that had become soul beasts tried to resist instinctively, though barely. The others, which had yet to become soul beasts, could only obediently transfer all their accumulated energy into the main flower.
If this energy had been used to strengthen its foundation, the flower's age could have easily surpassed one thousand years. But instead, this power was burned away almost instantly.
As it bloomed, the flower's vitality and soul power surged. A brilliant, emerald-green beam of soul power emerged, visibly linking Chen Ming to the Jade Phosphor Seven-Petal Flower.
Chen Shijie and Chen Tianyun stood dumbfounded, unable to think.
At the flower's apex of bloom, a phantom-like, impossible eighth petal emerged.
Then, in an instant, the enormous plant withered as if its life had been drained, crumbling into ashes. All the soul power within the flower converged and surged into Chen Ming's body. Instinctively, he sat down cross-legged and began to meditate. A deep yellow soul ring appeared beside him.
"Sacrifice? Isn't that only…"
Chen Shijie's mouth fell open. He barely managed to speak, completely unable to process what he was witnessing.
Sacrifice was a legendary ability, supposedly only possible for hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. Even then, it only occurred when such a beast willingly gave everything it had to a chosen person.
In the world of Douluo, this was as rare as a divine myth—fewer occurrences than the manifestations of the Angel God. If not for the long-standing reverence of ancient laws on the continent, the concept of sacrifice might have already been erased from the books as baseless rumor.
But what did they just witness today?
A century-old plant-type soul beast had sacrificed itself to a preliminary Soul Master who hadn't even absorbed his first soul ring?
This wasn't just "unbelievable"—there were no words for how absurd it was.
It was a thousand times more outrageous than the Angel God descending to bestow a soul ring!
Yet at this moment, Chen Ming had no time to care what the others were thinking. The sacrifice of the Jade Phosphor Seven-Petal Flower had plunged him into a meditative state of unprecedented depth—something most Soul Masters could only dream of achieving.
If Chen Ming's soul had once been bound by a lock, the emergence of this soul ring had now shattered part of that shackle.
He suddenly understood something.
The relationship between Soul Masters and soul rings was one of the foundational laws of the Douluo world. Every advancement for a Soul Master was essentially a fusion of their soul ring with the world's laws, completing a metamorphosis.
Martial Spirits were manifestations of the world's essence—a form of the Dao of the Douluo realm. Soul rings were derivations of that Dao.
Both had their flaws. Only through fusion could they reach perfection and achieve true resonance with the world.
Using the soul ring as a medium, Chen Ming's consciousness entered a profound and mysterious state. He could feel that he had the ability to actively obtain something.
As his awareness deepened, images began to unfold before him—laws hidden within the Jade Phosphor Seven-Petal Flower, principles etched into the very core of the species.
What each Soul Master saw in such moments differed according to their Martial Spirit. No two individuals would see the same thing.
However, to be exact, only Chen Ming had ever been able to perceive these abstract concepts at all.
"Poison Arrow… Poison Beam… Venomous Bind… Toxic Shot… Deadly Enhancement… Poisonous Claws…"
"These… These aren't enough. These are just changes in soul power. They aren't fundamental…"
Most Soul Masters could only randomly receive one soul skill compatible with them after absorbing a soul ring. But now, Chen Ming had unlocked the entire range of possible abilities from the Jade Phosphor Seven-Petal Flower. He was browsing them, selectively deleting and modifying them to better suit his will.
Skills like Entanglement or Growth, which didn't align with his Martial Spirit, were glanced at briefly and dismissed. His focus turned to more essential matters.
Soul ring skills were like spell slots or ability slots. Soul Masters could use them, but the vast majority never understood how they used them—let alone approached their essence.
Basic skills like Fireball or Fireline, despite their simple principles, couldn't be altered by most people. In fact, many of these simple soul skills could be mastered through practice alone—wasting a soul ring slot on them was unnecessary.
Chen Ming explored deeper into the essence of the flower's soul ring. Finally, the overlapping images in his mind crystallized into a soul skill—a skill theoretically only available to Soul Masters who possessed the Jade Phosphor Seven-Petal Flower as their Martial Spirit.
"Poison Cloud Technique…"
(End of Chapter)