The skinny monkey was not as careless as Xu Feihu; he used eighty percent of his strength from the start.
The vine rapidly coiled towards Zi Linling.
A fierce glint flashed in Zi Linling’s eyes, and with a thought, she softly exclaimed, “Sword of Fire!”
A fiery sword quickly condensed and slashed towards the coiling vine.
However, due to the vast difference in strength, this fire sword did not achieve much.
Zi Linling’s brow furrowed. It seemed that without the purple spiritual energy, she couldn't break through the skinny monkey’s vine.
But the purple spiritual energy was something she had only managed to draw out by chance.
Now, in her moment of urgency, she couldn't summon it, which made Zi Linling very exasperated.
Seeing the vine about to wrap around her, Zi Linling suddenly had an idea.
She silently chanted the word “Enter” in her mind, and her entire being vanished from everyone’s sight.
“Huh!”
The skinny monkey had been guarding against Zi Linling’s purple spiritual energy, so he never expected her to suddenly disappear.
He carefully sensed for a long time but couldn't find Zi Linling.
“Strange! How did she just disappear?”
The fat man and Xu Feihu were also startled and instinctively tried to sense.
But Zi Linling had simply vanished into thin air.
What to do?
The skinny monkey looked at the fat man with some difficulty.
The fat man’s shifty eyes darted around. When he saw Xue Ying quietly slipping away, a spark lit up in his eyes.
He pointed at Xue Ying and nodded at the skinny monkey.
The skinny monkey understood. A vine formed from wood spiritual energy suddenly shot towards Xue Ying, binding her tightly.
“Ah!”
Xue Ying let out a cry, and her body was rapidly pulled towards the skinny monkey by the vine.
The skinny monkey casually tossed Xue Ying, who was bound by the vine, towards the fat man.
Then, he said coldly, “Woman, if you don’t come out, your maid will…”
His voice carried a blatant threat.
Zi Linling, inside the colorful space, frowned deeply.
In terms of spiritual energy intensity, she was no match for the skinny monkey. Furthermore, ever since she had chopped off that short dwarf’s arm, the skinny monkey had been very wary of her.
Therefore, dealing with the skinny monkey as she had dealt with Xu Feihu was extremely difficult. More crucially, she couldn’t use that purple spiritual energy at will.
What to do?
She couldn't hide in the colorful space forever. Not only was Xue Ying still in the skinny monkey’s hands, but she also urgently needed the Spirit Drawing Grass to break through to the tenth level of Body Tempering, which demanded a swift resolution.
Besides, that short dwarf hated her to the bone. If something happened to Xue Ying, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself.
Fine, she’d go out first.
Zi Linling had always been decisive. Since she had decided to come out, she didn't hesitate any longer.
With a thought, she reappeared in the reception hall.
“Let Xue Ying go!”
A dangerous glint flashed in Zi Linling’s eyes.
The skinny monkey looked at Zi Linling’s sudden appearance, a look of shock on his face.
He smirked sinisterly and said, “Woman, it seems you have many secrets! Once I capture you, I will uncover all the secrets on you!”
Zi Linling didn't speak. She was currently communicating with Elder Du.
“Elder Du, you mean that after my识府 (shí fǔ - spiritual consciousness manor) is formed, divine sense can be used as an offensive method?”
Elder Du nodded and said, “If it weren’t for this, what would be the difference between the Saint King realm and the Yuan Transformation realm?”
“Then how would it attack?”
“Just like spiritual energy, divine sense can also change into different forms. Spiritual energy has spirit skills, and divine sense naturally has soul skills!”
“Soul skills!”
“Yes, I will teach you the simplest soul skill now – Soul Needle.”
“Soul Needle?”
“Mm, release a wisp of divine sense outside your body, then control it to form a needle shape, and with lightning speed, attack the opponent’s glabella.”
“I’ll try!”
Zi Linling closed her eyes and, following Elder Du’s method, controlled her divine sense to change its form.
Seeing that Zi Linling not only didn’t retort but also closed her eyes, the skinny monkey began to mock.
“Woman, are you going to surrender?”
Zi Linling ignored him, concentrating on controlling that wisp of divine sense.
“Girl, the cultivation of soul skills is not something that can be achieved overnight. It’s okay if you can’t grasp it for a while, but later…”
“Elder Du, is it like this?”
Elder Du’s words were interrupted by Zi Linling.
He said with a hint of disdain, “Do you think…”
He had only spoken three words when he discovered that Zi Linling’s Soul Needle had already taken shape.
How could this be possible?
Even Elder Du, an old monster from a thousand years ago, was so astonished that his eyes widened.
Although the Soul Needle was the most basic of soul skills, it was not something that could be cultivated casually.
The most talented genius Elder Du had ever seen had spent three days and three nights, failing over a hundred times, before barely managing to form it.
But Zi Linling?
She succeeded on the first try, and it only took a few breaths of time.
What kind of heaven-defying talent was required to achieve this?
Elder Du couldn’t believe it and asked, “You… how did you do it?”
Zi Linling blinked and replied, “Just as you said, I just thought about it!”
Just thought about it?
And it was done?
If it was just a matter of thinking about it, was it still called a soul skill?
Elder Du didn’t know what to say.
“You… I… I’ve decided not to talk to you for three days!”
He said, and returned to the Nine Spirits Ring.
Zi Linling was speechless. How had she annoyed this old fellow?
Seeing that Zi Linling still wasn't paying attention to him, the skinny monkey’s face turned very ugly.
“Hmph! Woman, you dare to ignore me!”
As he spoke, the wood spiritual energy in his hand condensed into a whip, which he fiercely lashed towards Zi Linling.
Zi Linling’s eyes suddenly opened, a sharp look flashing through them.
“Seeking death!”
She coldly shouted and controlled the Soul Needle, which flew towards the skinny monkey’s glabella with lightning speed.
The skinny monkey thought Zi Linling was going to use that strange purple spiritual energy again, so he quickly withdrew his action and prepared to defend himself.
However, he didn’t see any purple spiritual energy but could feel danger approaching.
“Strange! If it’s not that purple spiritual energy, then what is making me feel danger?”
The sense of danger grew stronger, but the skinny monkey still couldn’t pinpoint its source.
His face changed, and he silently thought, “Wood Cage!”
Instantly, a cage made of wood spiritual energy appeared out of nowhere.
This Wood Cage did not attack Zi Linling but instead enclosed the skinny monkey himself.
This was the skinny monkey’s most powerful move, capable of both attack and defense, making it a versatile technique.
But after he enveloped himself with the Wood Cage, the sense of danger intensified.
No!
The skinny monkey no longer cared about what was wrong; he instinctively fell to the ground.