I'm level 180 with nearly 300 hours on my first playthrough. I've farmed a lot. The Covetous Silver Serpent Ring has never once boosted my souls at all. I've tested this thoroughly on many occasions, many times. It does boost item discovery but, not souls. Is there something I'm missing?

Yeah, question: I'm currently trying to grind enough souls to buy Orensteins armor (I've already bought the chest plate), and upgrade my strength so that it becomes a medium or light roll usage. However, I only have a short amount of time per day, an hour, and I'd rather not spend a ton of time grinding. Any locations in general that yield massive amounts of souls, quickly? (I believe my current soul upgrade cost is 22-something thousand souls.)