Douluo Continent: I can overdraft the future in advance

Luo Yun did not back down.

He gripped his short stick and took his first step. The moment his foot touched the ground, the icy thorns burst open, a cluster of ice spikes shooting forth from beneath his feet. Luo Yun dodged to the side, sweeping his stick horizontally and snapping several ice spikes in two. Shards of ice splashed onto his face, icy and biting.

The second step. More icy thorns surged in from all directions, as if they were alive, blocking all his paths of progress.

Luo Yun took a deep breath, activated his first soul skill, and exhaled a mouthful of icy mist. A pale yellow soul ring lit up, and the icy mist enveloped the thorns in front of him, covering their surfaces with a layer of frost and slowing their growth.

However, the effect wasn't as good as when dealing with the Icefield Wolves. The Ice Crystal Grass itself is of the ice attribute, making it far more resistant to ice mist than ordinary soul beasts. The thorns only slowed down for a moment before quickly resuming their growth.

"The effect will be limited." Luo Yun gritted his teeth, but he had no other choice.

He swung his short stick, smashing the thorns blocking his path one by one. Ice spikes tore at his sleeves and pierced his arms and calves, causing him to gasp in pain, but he didn't stop. The tiny veins in his arms unleashed their full power at that moment, each strike breaking several thorns. The ice spikes pierced his flesh, held in place by the muscles, neither pulling out nor penetrating deeply.

The Ice Crystal Grass raised its second leaf. This time, it didn't wait for Luo Yun to get close before launching its attack—dozens of ice spikes shot out from the leaf, as dense as arrows.

Luo Yun had no time to dodge and could only raise his short stick to block. Several ice spikes were deflected, but more pierced his shoulder and chest. He groaned and staggered, but did not fall.

The Ice Crystal Grass's attack stopped. Its three leaves lifted, and the blue light on them was considerably dimmer than before.

Luo Yun seized the opportunity, rushed to the Ice Crystal Grass, and slammed his short stick down hard.

"Click—"

A leaf snapped off, splattering icy blue sap onto the ice. The Ice Crystal Grass trembled, and the remaining two leaves lashed out, striking Luo Yun's arm. Ice spikes tore through his flesh, and blood dripped from his fingertips.

Luo Yun gritted his teeth and swung his stick back, smashing it into the second leaf. He used all his strength in that blow, and the leaf broke in half, hanging by only a few fibers, dangling from the crack in the rock.

The last leaf of the ice crystal grass curled up, ceasing its attack and shrinking into a ball to protect its roots. It was retreating.

Luo Yun didn't give it a chance. He threw away the short stick, grabbed the last leaf with both hands, and yanked it hard. The leaf broke off at the root, exposing the roots of the Ice Crystal Grass—those roots were deeply embedded in the cracks of the stone, into the ice marrow, each root gleaming with a faint blue light.

He crouched down and pulled the roots of the Ice Crystal Grass one by one from the crack in the rock. The roots were deeply embedded, and a "crack" sound could be heard when they broke. The moment the last root broke, the leaves of the Ice Crystal Grass completely lost their luster and drooped limply by the crack in the rock.

A deep yellow spirit ring rose from the broken end of the Ice Crystal Grass. The color was a bit darker than before—over nine hundred years, almost a thousand years.

Luo Yun slumped onto the ice, panting heavily. His arms, shoulders, and chest were covered in wounds, and his clothes were soaked with blood in several places, but they were all superficial and not fatal.

"It's done..." he murmured, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Absorb it quickly." Master Fang's voice came from behind, hoarse but clear. "I've almost recovered, you can go out for some fresh air now."

Luo Yun glanced back. Master Fang had sat up, leaning against the rock. His face was still pale, but his eyes were clear. He nodded, sat cross-legged, took a deep breath, and guided the deep yellow soul ring into his body.

The moment the energy surged in, he felt a completely different experience from when he first absorbed a spirit ring. The spirit power of the Ice Crystal Grass was icy cold, much colder than that of the Mist Forest Owl, as if it would freeze his meridians. But the miniature meridians in his arms came into play at this moment. Those fine channels drew the surging energy out of the main meridians and diverted it into his muscles, relieving most of the pressure.

Luo Yun closed his eyes, focusing on guiding his soul power to circulate within his body. He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps half an hour, perhaps longer. The soul power flowed more and more smoothly through his meridians, and the cold energy began to merge with his body, no longer repelling him.

Master Fang leaned against the rock, watching the changes in Luo Yun's spirit rings. The deep yellow spirit ring was slowly merging into Luo Yun's body, and everything seemed to be going smoothly—until he noticed a detail.

The color of the spirit ring is wrong.

The yellow color is normal. But deep within the yellow light, there are faint purple lines flowing. They are so fine that they are almost invisible unless you look closely. Those purple lines seem to be alive, slowly moving within the spirit ring, shimmering with each rotation of the spirit ring.

The purple of the millennium-old soul ring.

Before the Ice Crystal Grass died, its roots were still embedded in the Ice Marrow. In its final struggle, it was drawing energy from the Ice Marrow into its own body. That energy wasn't fully absorbed before it entered Luo Yun's body along with the Soul Ring.

Master Fang wanted to call a halt, but he knew he couldn't. Once the absorption of a spirit ring began, it couldn't be interrupted; otherwise, at best, it would damage the meridians, and at worst, it would kill the person on the spot. He could only watch.

The spirit rings grew increasingly darker. Yellow and purple intertwined, like two snakes coiling and swirling. Luo Yun frowned, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. His body began to tremble, as if he were under immense pressure.

Master Fang braced himself against the rock and stood up, staggering slightly but not falling. He walked to Luo Yun's side, squatted down, and stared at the spirit ring.

The purple patterns multiplied, transforming from wispy strands into fine lines that meandered within the spirit ring. The spirit ring itself remained yellow, but the purple patterns now covered nearly a third of it.

"Hang in there," Master Fang said softly. "If you hold on, you'll make a profit."

Luo Yun couldn't hear him. All his attention was focused on his body—the icy energy had suddenly become violent, as if something had exploded within his spirit ring. Not one, but two—one was the spirit power of the Ice Crystal Grass itself, and the other was the energy of the Ice Marrow. The two energies intertwined and surged wildly within his body.

pain.

It hurt ten times more than the first time I absorbed a soul ring. The energy of the Ice Marrow was colder, purer, and more violent than the soul power of the Ice Crystal Grass.

Luo Yun clenched his teeth so tightly that they cracked, the veins on his forehead bulged, and all the color drained from his face.

I don't know how much time has passed.

The spirit ring finally stabilized. The deep yellow light stopped flickering and steadily rotated around Luo Yun. The purple patterns didn't disappear; instead, they settled on the inside of the spirit ring, like a dark purple lining.

But Luo Yun did not wake up.

His eyes were closed, his breathing was steady, and his body was no longer trembling. He had already absorbed all the spirit rings, but he was still sitting there, motionless.

Master Fang frowned. He reached out and touched Luo Yun's forehead—it was cold, but not the kind of cold that comes from illness; rather, it was the unique coolness that comes from when one's ice-attribute soul power is abundant.

He looked down at the crack at the base of the Ice Crystal Grass. Not a single drop of Ice Marrow remained.

Master Fang was stunned for a moment, then he understood.

It's not Luo Yun absorbing the ice marrow. It's the spirit ring absorbing it.

Before the Ice Crystal Grass died, it planted its roots into the Ice Marrow, and the energy of that Ice Marrow was already bound to it. When Luo Yun absorbed the Soul Ring, the energy of the Ice Marrow also entered. The Soul Ring was absorbed, but the energy of the Ice Marrow was not yet fully digested—it was still moving inward, seeping into Luo Yun's bones, marrow, and flesh.

Master Fang squatted down in front of Luo Yun, staring at his face.

"You little rascal," he said in a low voice, "you've got some luck, you could say it's a blessing in disguise."