Although there were still questions in Xiao Wu's words, she had come back alive after all. Who could possibly imagine any connection between her and the Titan Giant Ape? Everyone unconsciously chose to believe her.
Zhao Wuji nodded and said, "It's good that you're back. After you were taken, Little San worried himself so much his eyes turned red. He asked Oscar for a Mushroom Sausage and went chasing after you..." He then gave a brief account of everything that had happened. Oscar, ever timely, stepped forward and offered a Recovery Sausage.
Listening to Zhao Wuji's words, Xiao Wu's eyes reddened as well. Tears flowed endlessly, like a kite with its string cut. Gazing at Tang San wreathed in a mist of blood, she murmured to herself, "Brother, please be all right. This is all my fault — it's all because of me that you were worried. You have to pull through. As long as you wake up, I'll do anything."
Xiao Wu was truly filled with regret. In a moment of carelessness, she had forgotten to suppress her aura, which allowed Er Ming to sense her and come to find her. If she hadn't been carried away by Er Ming, none of what followed would have happened. Tang San would not now be absorbing a Soul Ring in this state.
But it was too late for words now. All she could do was pin her hopes on the strength of Tang San's will — that it was firm enough to weather this trial.
At this moment, within Tang San's consciousness, there was only a single thought: Xiao Wu, I will come to save you. It was for this alone that, no matter how excruciating the pain, he endured it with everything he had, refusing to let his spirit collapse first. In this critical moment between life and death, the foundation Tang San had built since childhood revealed its worth. His body was already far sturdier than that of an ordinary person his age, and the Mysterious Heaven Skill was a Daoist orthodox internal art of extraordinary resilience.
If the energy within the Human-Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring possessed consciousness, it would have discovered that its violent force seemed to tear his body apart with every surge — yet his body always managed, at the very last moment, to repel that savage energy with its ironclad endurance.
And with each act of resistance, the energy contained in the Human-Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring was being absorbed into Tang San's body, drop by drop. As one side waned and the other waxed, that violent energy grew steadily weaker.
The most critical problem Tang San now faced was how to fuse the absorbed Soul Ring energy with his own body and the Mysterious Heaven Skill — and, ultimately, with his Martial Soul, the Blue Silver Grass.
Although the Blue Silver Grass itself was weak and did not readily reject external forces, the energy of the Human-Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring was far too tyrannical. Even the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was reluctant to take it in. It was this very contest of wills that caused Tang San the greatest agony.
Fortunately, he had eaten one of Oscar's Recovery Sausages before beginning the absorption. Otherwise, his physical strength would have given out long before this.
Bones throughout Tang San's body began emitting a dense series of cracks and pops. The sound was not particularly loud, yet it carried an almost heart-stopping quality — as though his entire body might shatter at any moment.
The beads of blood seeping from his skin gradually took on a faint grayish tint. As the Soul Ring continued to be absorbed, the energy contained within the Human-Faced Demon Spider was forcibly cleansing his body — washing his sinews and refining his marrow. The agony involved in this process was beyond imagination.
At last, before Tang San's unyielding willpower, every wisp of energy inside him began to yield. The process of mutual absorption and transformation commenced.
The fine beads of blood ceased to flow. The deep furrows between Tang San's brows eased somewhat. A faint blue luminescence began to radiate quietly from within his body.
Zhao Wuji exclaimed in delight, "It's done! The most dangerous moment has passed. Now it's the Soul Power conversion process. This kid really does live up to his reputation as a miracle maker. He actually withstood a two-thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring. The Peerless Dragon and Serpent should count their blessings — if that Soul Ring had been absorbed by their granddaughter, she'd probably have been torn apart by now."
As the blue light intensified, individual blades of Blue Silver Grass began sprouting around Tang San's body and slowly growing. The Blue Silver Grass had not changed much in overall size — if anything, it was slightly thinner than before he had possessed two Soul Rings. Its original blue-black hue had shifted to a blue-purple, a color born of fusion, no longer appearing as mere stripes.
At roughly two fingers' width, the Blue Silver Grass now differed from before most strikingly in its luster. It gleamed as though coated in a layer of glaze.
Zhao Wuji instructed everyone to step back. He understood that this was the result of the newly elevated power being difficult for Tang San to fully control, causing Soul Power to overflow. Given Tang San's previous physical condition, it would have been strange if he could have kept this surge of energy perfectly contained.
"Ahhhh—" Just as everyone thought the worst was over, Tang San's brows — moments ago relaxing — suddenly clenched tight, and a scream tore from his mouth. His cross-legged body convulsed violently, his chest thrusting forward, his entire upper body arching backward in a manner that was terrifying to behold.
"Brother—!" Xiao Wu cried out sharply. Tears burst from her eyes, and her clenched fists dug so deeply that her nails pierced her palms without her even noticing.
Zhao Wuji was equally alarmed — had something gone wrong?
In the midst of everyone's shock, a sound like ripping fabric rang out. The clothes across Tang San's back instantly tore apart. Dai Mubai, standing behind him, clearly saw four fist-sized bulges swell up on either side of Tang San's spine.