Chapter 351: Serving You as Master

Time passed second by second, and around the shadow seed on the decaying soil, an extremely thin black mist drifted slowly, as faint as a breath.

At the moment the countdown hit zero, the seed finally underwent a dramatic change!

Its originally obsidian‑hard shell cracked silently, and a faint ghostly light seeped through the fissure.

Immediately, a nearly transparent black sprout emitting a weak phosphorescence burst from the soil at a visible speed, winding upward—not like a plant's growth, but more like a living creature stretching its body.

The sprout quickly elongated and differentiated, producing several black leaves as thin as cicada wings, with irregular serrated edges.

The leaves swayed gently, and then at the plant's apex a tightly closed, black‑tulip‑like bud formed, slowly unfurling to reveal a core of swirling, coalescing profound darkness.

Cheng Shuili unconsciously held her breath, waiting patiently.

The darkness quickly stabilized, solidifying into an irregular crystal about the size of a thumbnail, entirely jet‑black, silently hovering at the plant's tip, linked to the receptacle by a few ultra‑fine black threads.

【Shadow essence has matured, ready for harvest!】

【Note: After harvesting, the shadow plant will wither rapidly, and the decaying soil will enter a 12‑hour cooling period before it can be seeded again.】

There's even a cooling time—so many restrictions.

But that works out, since her other seeds haven't been identified yet and can't be planted.

Cheng Shuili carefully removed the shadow essence, then took out the equipment evolution card and the Abyssal Stone.

Now… the materials are finally enough!

After selecting the card, the upgrade panel popped up.

【Detected target equipment: Abyssal Ring】

【Evolution requirements: First, special equipment evolution card (met)

Second, Abyssal Stone ×3 (met)

Third, shadow essence ×1 (met)】

【Do you wish to evolve the special equipment "Abyssal Ring"?】

Evolve!

The moment Cheng Shuili pressed "Yes," the card turned into specks of light and vanished, and the Abyssal Ring on her finger grew scorching hot!

Cheng Shuili, flustered, took the ring off, but didn't want to toss it onto the floor, so she endured the heat and gently placed it on the ground.

Give me a heads‑up!

Do you have to scorch her?

The evolution wasn't interrupted by that incident; the shadow essence and Abyssal Stones hovering nearby seemed drawn by an unseen force, turning into streams of light that were sucked into the ring.

The ring's temperature surged dramatically, turning the hot‑red hue of melting metal.

Cheng Shuili stepped back silently, grateful she had removed the ring early, lest her finger have been lost.

The light grew brighter, bathing the underground storage chamber in a bizarre glow, while the air filled with a strange scent of sulfur and decay.

The ring's form began to change; its once plain circular band sprouted intricate, uncanny patterns like tentacles, intertwining, and finally coalescing on the face into a slowly rotating dark vortex motif.

Finally, all the light receded and calmed.

Cheng Shuili lifted her hand, quickly tapped the Abyssal Ring to confirm it was no longer hot, then slipped it onto her finger.

She was about to examine the evolved ring's details when she suddenly heard a laugh.

"You're actually kind of cute."

It was a woman's voice.

Cheng Shuili didn't turn to look around; this was her territory, and she was alone.

After ruling out everything, she quickly pinpointed the source—the Abyssal Ring!

Cheng Shuili: "……"

So the so‑called upgrade in this cursed place is just adding an AI to the equipment?

The device works like that, and now the ring does too?

Sensing her mood, the voice teased, "What's up? Too surprised? Or do you think I'm also a 001‑type junk?"

It let her guess correctly.

But Cheng Shuili felt no shame; instead, she naturally asked, "What's different between you and it?"

The remark was somewhat provocative, but the voice only chuckled and gave no answer.

Cheng Shuili raised an eyebrow, decided not to say more, and began reading the Abyssal Ring's new description herself.

【Abyssal Ring (Unique)】

【Description: A wondrous piece of equipment after upgrade, it is no longer a mere tool but a symbiotic touch linked to your bloodline. The ring has awakened rudimentary sentience, can warn you in crises, and grants the wearer the "Abyssal Insight" ability with unlimited uses; wherever you look, you can perceive the hidden truth beneath all appearances—be it a monster's fatal weak point, an illusion's disguise, or a mysterious item's usage method, nothing escapes detection. It includes 8 cubic meters of dimensional storage space; the ring spirit is widely knowledgeable, truly all‑knowing.】

Wait, what is this?

Ring spirit?!

Cheng Shuili's gaze fixed on the words "ring spirit," and an alarm rang in her mind.

This isn't the preset 001‑type program logic that comes with a device upgrade, but a truly intelligent, capricious spirit.

Mishandle it, and it could become a liability that might turn on you rather than help.

"No need to worry."

The ring spirit's voice sounded again directly in her mind, with a hint of laziness and playfulness, "We're now a symbiotic whole; if you die, it's no good for me. Actually…"

She softly refuted the statement, earnestly saying, "'Symbiotic whole' is still inaccurate; more precisely, I serve you as master."

"Serve me as master?"

Cheng Shuili repeated the four words; she had never seen such a flippant subordinate.

"Serving you as master—so strange?"

The ring spirit's voice, with a faint smile, said, "The Abyss's rule is simple: the strong eat the weak, but it values contracts most. You met the evolution conditions and awakened me; that is the foundation of the contract. I exist attached to you, so naturally I serve you as master."

Cheng Shuili didn't readily believe this claim; the description said the ring spirit is widely knowledgeable—does that mean she has essentially gained an alternative encyclopedia?

She felt a slight stir in her mind, took out the two unidentified shadow seeds, and asked, "You know a lot, do you recognize what this is?"

"Is this question… a test for me?"

The fellow, Qing Qing, smiled again and said, as if it were obvious, "These things are everywhere in the abyss; they're a specialty of my hometown. However, here they seem to have been altered by something and cannot take root and sprout directly on the decaying soil. If you wish to grow them, you'll probably need to find an old gardener to awaken them."

Having said that, the information is already clear enough, but that's not all; although the bound spirit cannot speak, it appears it can still perceive things in the outside world.

"Go ask that human in your domain; I recall her name… Zhou Zhuxing? Her seeds, aren't they from an old gardener's hand?"