Chapter 5: Wine Is the Soul of the Sword, the Second Soul Ring of Li Zhexian
Zhu Zhuqing had yet to regain her senses. She had returned to her human form, her beautiful eyes blankly fixed on Li Zexian.
The first soul ring was of a thousand-year grade!
No one would believe this if told.
What kind of prodigy was this young man?!
“All right,” Li Zexian said, waving his hand in front of Zhu Zhuqing.
“Come back to your senses.”
“I say, according to our agreement, you owe me a favor.”
“Hm? Sure,”
Zhu Zhuqing nodded. “I will certainly keep my promise, as long as you don’t ask for any strange requests.”
Li Zexian curled his lips. “You must be dreaming.”
Seeing the flush of embarrassment on Zhu Zhuqing’s delicate face, he smiled and continued, “I want you to help me obtain the second soul ring.”
Zhu Zhuqing was momentarily stunned, then a glimmer of excitement sparkled in her eyes as she nodded without hesitation.
“Alright.”
Her promptness caught Li Zexian off guard. After all, hunting soul beasts was quite dangerous.
Li Zexian pondered for a moment and said, “I’ll tell you upfront: my target is a thousand-year soul beast.”
“If you feel uneasy, I understand.”
Zhu Zhuqing’s face remained calm as she stepped forward.
“I’ve already made up my mind.”
She naturally knew the danger involved, but compared to that, she was more curious about how this young man could absorb soul rings beyond his level.
After a few steps, she noticed Li Zexian hadn’t followed.
She turned her head, frowning. “I’m a girl and I’ve already agreed; what are you hesitating about?”
Li Zexian pointed in the opposite direction. “You’re going the wrong way.”
Zhu Zhuqing: “...”
...
“My name is Li Zexian,” he said, tilting his head to drink some wine. “You help me this time, and I owe you a favor.”
Zhu Zhuqing recovered from the awkward moment and replied calmly, “I promised to help you with something.”
“And you’re far more powerful than I am; I’m afraid I won’t be of much help.”
Li Zexian smiled but said no more.
They walked on for a while longer.
Seeing Li Zexian never putting down his wine, Zhu Zhuqing finally couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to hold your sword steady after drinking so much?”
Li Zexian wiped the corner of his mouth, swaying slightly. “You don’t understand.”
“To me, wine is the soul of my sword.”
“The more I drink, the wilder I become; the drunker I get, the sharper I am.”
Zhu Zhuqing stopped walking, watching the young man’s reckless silhouette with a flicker of something unusual in her eyes.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the towering ancient trees grew even taller; the leaves deepened to an ink-black green.
This meant they were gradually entering the deeper outskirts of the Starry Forest.
The air was tinged faintly with a metallic, fishy stench.
It was a warning from the soul beasts against intruders.
Zhu Zhuqing scanned her surroundings warily.
“Li Zexian, what kind of soul beast are you targeting?”
Li Zexian’s brows furrowed slightly.
Even he was conflicted.
He had long planned a perfect path for acquiring his soul rings, but the first ring unexpectedly came from a thousand-year beast, sparking new ambition that overturned his previous plans.
“My target is the Sword-Tailed Scorpion.”
The Sword-Tailed Scorpion was a soul beast dwelling in dark, shadowy places.
Unlike ordinary scorpions, its tail resembled a sword—non-venomous but incredibly sharp.
According to the books, a single sweep of its tail could instantly kill soul beasts of equivalent age.
Its combat power was terrifyingly extreme.
Li Zexian intended to take the ultimate offensive route with the Azure Lotus Sword Martial Soul.
The Sword-Tailed Scorpion was the perfect choice.
“Sword-Tailed Scorpion?” Zhu Zhuqing’s delicate brows knitted slightly.
She had never heard of such a soul beast, but just by the name, she knew its fighting ability must be formidable.
“Then let’s quicken our pace to find it.”
“Once night falls, the Starry Forest becomes far too dangerous.”
Finally, half an hour later, a valley hidden behind dense jungle came into view for Li Zexian and Zhu Zhuqing.
A cold wind carrying a faint stench blew from the valley’s mouth, emitting a mournful, wailing sound.
Li Zexian cautioned, “Be careful; this valley is a suitable habitat for Sword-Tailed Scorpions.”
Zhu Zhuqing nodded solemnly.
They cautiously entered the valley.
Inside, the valley was about four or five meters wide, densely overgrown with wet shrubs and grass.
On both sides, the rocky walls were carved with deep, intersecting grooves, looking grim and alarming.
Li Zexian reached out to touch the grooves.
His hand felt a smooth surface, without any obstruction.
This showed how incredibly sharp the tool that carved these grooves had to be.
“Not bad, not bad!” Li Zexian praised repeatedly.
These grooves were undoubtedly left by the Sword-Tailed Scorpions, and their tails were even sharper than he had estimated.
“The Sword-Tailed Scorpion truly suits the sword martial soul perfectly.”
“If I absorb its soul ring, the power of the Azure Lotus Sword will surely rise to a new height,” he thought to himself.
Li Zexian glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, whose face had tensed, and smiled, “Zhu Zhuqing, if you want to back out now, you can still leave the valley.”
Zhu Zhuqing shot Li Zexian a glance.
“Hmph, don’t underestimate me.”
“When I, Zhu Zhuqing, promise something, I always follow through.”
Li Zexian was about to reply when the sound of rustling grew louder from deep within the valley.
His expression shifted slightly.
He quickly pulled Zhu Zhuqing behind a large boulder.
Zhu Zhuqing looked down at her small hand gripped by Li Zexian, a faint blush rising on her cool face.
She wanted to pull away but immediately heard Li Zexian’s voice.
“Look!”
Following his gaze, Zhu Zhuqing saw dozens of half-meter-long scorpions surging out from the depths of the valley like a tide.
These scorpions were dark teal in color, their high-raised tails resembling long swords, with a faint gleam at the tip.
They gathered in the open area of the valley, swinging their sword-like tails at the rock walls.
“Shing—!”
“Shing—!”
Under their tails, the solid rock walls shattered as if they were paper.
Dust and stone chips cascaded down.
“What... what do we do now?”
They were standing too close, nearly pressed against each other.
Zhu Zhuqing’s voice trembled slightly.
Li Zexian had not noticed her unease; his attention was fully on the Sword-Tailed Scorpions, feeling somewhat puzzled.
What were these scorpions doing?
Practicing together?
Wasn’t that a bit too disciplined?
Seeing Li Zexian silent, Zhu Zhuqing, overwhelmed by the intoxicating presence of the young man, could no longer hold back.
Her face flushed deeply as she tried to shift her body slightly.
“Li Zexian, you—”
Before she could finish, Li Zexian suddenly covered her small mouth.
“Shh...”
Zhu Zhuqing’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Li Zexian.
His expression was grave as he slowly shook his head.
Zhu Zhuqing understood.
They both fell silent, staring into the valley.
The Sword-Tailed Scorpions ceased their practice.
Lowering their heads, their raised tails dropped, and they retreated quickly to the sides, leaving a broad space.
At that moment, amidst the rising stench-filled wind, a fearsome beast slowly crawled out...