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The next day, in the faint morning light, the Heaven Dou Empire's convoy slowly drove away from Spirit City. The shadows of Spirit City's walls stretched long under the rising sun, and the sound of wheels grinding over gravel was exceptionally clear in the silent morning.
Just as the convoy turned a mountain pass, two figures quietly slipped away under the cover of the morning mist.
Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, watched that figure disappear.
Half a month later, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Kid, your spirit ring requirements are too stringent," Dugu Bo complained, kicking away a hundred-year Spirit Beast blocking his path. "Not to mention whether Spirit Bamboo can even grow to thirty thousand years, even if it could, it would have been snatched up by those Spirit Emperors and Spirit Saints long ago. How would it be your turn?" He stroked his beard, speaking earnestly, "This old man suggests you consider other Spirit Beasts, or choose Spirit Abilities with different effects."
Feng Xiao accompanied him with a smile, nodding, "What Senior said is true, but we haven't encountered anything suitable along the way, not even a decent high-year plant-type Spirit Beast."
"Hmph!" Dugu Bo snorted, "Plant-type Spirit Beasts are mostly less mobile, making them easier to hunt, and their spirit power is abundant, so they are naturally hot commodities." He squinted at Feng Xiao, "This old man must have owed you in a past life, accompanying you in this ghost of a place for half a month."
Feng Xiao shook his head with a bitter smile, raising his hand to wipe away the sweat from his forehead: "Senior, please bear with me. We've been wandering for days, and we haven't even seen a shadow of a thirty-thousand-year Spirit Beast."
However, Dugu Bo's words gave Feng Xiao a reminder. After all, stubbornly staying here was not the solution. Spirit Beasts could not grow according to his development direction, and a Spirit Master's ability ultimately had to be reflected in his cultivation. A spirit ring was more like transitional equipment before reaching the finish line in a game.
"If it were Senior, how would you choose?" Feng Xiao humbly asked.
Dugu Bo stopped, his emerald eyes flashing with brilliance: "The most important aspect of a spirit ring is its year count, especially above ten thousand years; every additional thousand years is a qualitative leap." He extended his withered finger, "The first five spirit rings can be carefully selected because there are many low-level Spirit Beasts, but after that, it depends on luck." He paused, then added, "Actually, you have the least to worry about. Self-created Spirit Abilities do not rely on specific spirit rings. As long as the year count is high enough, the basic attribute enhancement alone is enough to greatly increase your strength. As for spirit power amplification..." He shook his head, "The abilities of high-level Spirit Beasts are often complex and varied, and simple amplification-type skills are indeed rare."
Feng Xiao nodded in deep agreement. The two continued deeper into the forest, where the surrounding trees grew taller and denser, allowing only sparse sunlight to filter through.
Feng Xiao and Dugu Bo stepped into a gloomy dense forest. Ancient trees towered all around, and thick vines coiled like giant pythons between the tree trunks. A strange, fresh scent of plants permeated the air, and the humus soil underfoot was soft and damp, making a slight "creak" with every step.
"Wait!" Dugu Bo suddenly reached out to stop Feng Xiao, his emerald pupils abruptly constricting into thin lines. He squatted down, his fingertips gently pushing aside a fallen leaf, revealing a vine below that shimmered with an eerie emerald green light. "This is... It has already discovered us. To see the vine from such a distance, it must be at least thirty thousand years old."
Before he finished speaking, the ground suddenly rippled eerily. Feng Xiao instinctively leaped back, and from where he had been standing, dozens of sharp vines shot out with a "swish," each gleaming with a metallic chill.
"Kid, be careful!" Dugu Bo instantly completed his Spirit Possession, the Jade Phosphor Serpent phantom appearing behind him. The giant serpent opened its mouth, and a emerald green breath expanded, temporarily blocking the attacking vines. However, the golden patterns on the surface of those vines suddenly brightened, and they began to absorb the spirit power from the breath!
"Hmph! It can even devour energy attacks, but my poison isn't that easy to digest," Dugu Bo snorted coldly.
Feng Xiao, holding "Fuxi," unleashed several invisible sound blades that crisscrossed, shredding the attacking vines. But what was more terrifying was that those broken vines quickly took root after falling to the ground, growing new vines in an instant!
"Devour, regenerate, do all plants know these tricks?" Feng Xiao muttered internally.
"Kid, stand back and protect yourself," Dugu Bo said, completely unfazed. The surrounding vines had already formed an impenetrable encirclement around Dugu Bo, each one wriggling and emitting a chilling rustling sound.
Dugu Bo silently sensed everything around him. Soon, Dugu Bo suddenly noticed a detail—all the vine attacks deliberately avoided the thickest ancient tree not far ahead. "The main root system must be there!" A gleam flashed in his eyes, and powerful spirit power surged around him.
With a casual wave, his powerful spirit power shattered the vines surrounding him.
Dugu Bo seized the opportunity, his figure flashing. His eighth spirit ring instantly lit up: "If it weren't for this kid, I wouldn't even need this move. Eighth Spirit Ability: Time Solidification!" The Jade Phosphor Serpent behind him spewed out a emerald green stream of light, instantly approaching the ancient tree. However, just as he was about to succeed, the ground suddenly bulged, and a giant net made of vines covered him from above!
Dugu Bo paid no mind, neither dodging nor evading. The giant net made of vines was unable to move under the stream of light spewed by the Jade Phosphor Serpent, and the vines gradually turned green and began to melt like mud.
"A time-attribute control ability, even with the Jade Phosphor Serpent's poison. This eighth Spirit Ability is a bit of a cheat, and he hasn't even used the Medusa's skull yet," Feng Xiao thought to himself.
With a piercing shriek, the entire vine jungle convulsed violently. The golden patterns rapidly dimmed, and the vines withered and decayed at a visible rate.
"Kid, use your skill to attack that large tree's root system!" Dugu Bo said in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, Feng Xiao's wrist instantly tensed, and his five fingers precisely swept across the strings of his instrument. Simultaneously, his first, second, and third spirit rings lit up.
Zheng!
Invisible sound blades, like shooting stars chasing the moon, instantly cut through the tree's root system. The towering ancient tree instantly collapsed, stirring up a strong cloud of dust. An incredibly solidified black spirit ring slowly emerged, quietly suspended in the air, emitting powerful energy fluctuations.
Seeing the spirit ring, Dugu Bo and Feng Xiao approached the ancient tree and found a gigantic vine wrapped around its base, still shimmering with golden patterns.
"You're a lucky kid. The golden patterns on the vine indicate extraordinary bloodline power. Judging by its thickness and attack strength, it should be even older than thirty thousand years," Dugu Bo said, reaching out to pinch the giant vine.
"Does Senior recognize this Spirit Beast?" Feng Xiao asked softly.
Dugu Bo shook his head and said, "No, why would this old man bother studying plant Spirit Beasts? Chrysanthemum Pass, that eunuch, might recognize it. Kid, even if you recognize a high-level Spirit Beast, you might not encounter it. High-level Spirit Beasts you don't recognize, as long as their attributes aren't particularly conflicting, can all be absorbed."
Dugu Bo continued, "Plant Spirit Beasts have vast and gentle spirit power, which is greatly helpful for any Spirit Master to absorb, because spirit power and life force are indispensable for Spirit Masters. It's just that the Spirit Abilities produced will be more functional, but this isn't a big problem for you, kid."
Feng Xiao nodded, sitting cross-legged before the dark spirit ring, his spirit power circulating like a vortex. The pitch-black spirit ring floated above his head, emitting a majestic aura of life.
"Are you ready?" Dugu Bo stood to the side, his emerald pupils filled with solemnity. "A thirty-thousand-year plant-type Spirit Beast is no joke. If something goes wrong, this old man will save your life."
Feng Xiao took a deep breath and nodded. He slowly extended his right hand, and his spirit power coiled around the spirit ring like a thread. The moment of contact—
"Boom!"
A torrent of violent energy surged into his body through his arm. Feng Xiao's entire body shook violently. His meridians cracked inch by inch under the impact of this force, yet rapidly healed under the life force contained within the spirit ring. This pain of tearing and rebirth twisted his features.
"Hold on!" Dugu Bo's voice seemed to come from a great distance. "Use the Danzhu (Dan Zhu) inside you to guide it!"
Feng Xiao gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain to circulate Mysterious Heaven Skill. With the Dan Zhu inside his body as the core, a tiny vortex formed within him, consciously guiding this violent energy. However, the energy within the spirit ring suddenly changed, transforming into countless tiny vine-like forms that grew wildly within his body!
"Ah—!"
Feng Xiao let out a cry of pain, and strange emerald green patterns actually appeared on the surface of his skin. Those "vines" rampaged within his body, seemingly trying to completely occupy him from the inside out.
At this critical moment, the wildly circulating Dan Zhu within his body shone brightly. As soon as those rampant "vines" touched this light, they immediately became docile, beginning to move along a specific trajectory.
Feng Xiao's consciousness suddenly entered a wondrous state. He "saw" his meridians transform into transparent conduits, through which flowed no longer mere spirit power, but a vibrant, emerald-green liquid energy. Wherever this energy passed, his cells cheered, bursting with unprecedented vitality.
Outside, Dugu Bo watched in shock as Feng Xiao's body underwent astonishing changes—his wounds healed at a visible rate, his already fair skin became even more crystal clear, and even the tips of his hair shimmered with a faint glow.
Suddenly, Feng Xiao abruptly opened his eyes. His originally amber eyes had now turned emerald, with tiny golden patterns swirling within his pupils.
Dugu Bo instantly felt Feng Xiao's aura greatly increase. "He succeeded?"
"Fifth Spirit Ability: Rejuvenation."
Accompanied by Feng Xiao's soft cry, his fifth spirit ring suddenly lit up. In an instant, a soft glow emanated from his body, as if he were bathing in a spring of life. His fatigued muscles were refilled with strength, his depleted spirit power instantly replenished, and even his expended mental force recovered to its peak state. Even more miraculously, the small wounds left from absorbing the spirit ring healed at a visible rate.
Dugu Bo involuntarily took two steps back, observing Feng Xiao and muttering, "This is..."
Dugu Bo clearly felt that the only difference between Feng Xiao now and Feng Xiao before absorbing the spirit ring was that his spirit power had broken through and his aura had grown stronger.
"This kid, it's impossible to absorb a spirit ring beyond his year limit without any consequences. He should have needed time to recover before, unless..." Dugu Bo's pupils contracted, and a terrifying answer immediately appeared in his mind.
"Good heavens, you kid are really lucky. This old man brought you to hunt for spirit rings twice, once you encountered the Dan Zhu, and this time, you kid wouldn't have gained an instant recovery ability from that vine, would you?" Dugu Bo asked, looking at Feng Xiao.
The spirit power fluctuations gradually dissipated. Feng Xiao smiled slightly, feeling the surging power within him, and nodded towards Dugu Bo. His fifth Spirit Ability, like Feng Xiaotian's from Shenfeng Academy, could restore his state to its peak after activation, whether it was spirit power, physical strength, or mental force.
"This old man is a little jealous of you, kid," Dugu Bo clearly knew the terrifying effect of this ability in actual combat. Whether it was one-on-one or one-against-many, it could greatly influence the battle. As long as Feng Xiao wasn't instantly killed, there was a chance for survival and escape.
Feng Xiao chuckled, "Senior's luck isn't bad either. That control skill just now, I'm afraid it's an extremely rare time ability. Coupled with Senior's poison, even a Titled Douluo of the same rank wouldn't dare to be easily hit."
"That is... This is an ability this old man obtained from the king of snakes, Medusa," Dugu Bo showed a hint of pride. He paused, then asked curiously, "How many levels are you now after absorbing this spirit ring, kid?"
"The competition delayed my cultivation too much. I've been stuck at level fifty for so long, and I'm only... level fifty-five, I guess," Feng Xiao said with slight dissatisfaction.
Looking at Feng Xiao's ungrateful expression, Dugu Bo's old face couldn't help but twitch. If he remembered correctly, Feng Xiao was at most fourteen years old now. One must know that the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall were mostly over twenty, and they had only just entered the Spirit King realm.
Dugu Bo snorted coldly: "Alright, don't act coy after getting a good deal. If it weren't for participating in this Spirit Master tournament, would you have had such good fortune?" He stroked his chin, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.
Feng Xiao touched his nose, a sly smile playing on his lips, but he wisely did not respond.
"It's been half a month, it's time to go back," Dugu Bo looked up at the sky, his tone suddenly serious. "The Heaven Dou convoy is probably almost at the Imperial City. Any more delay..."
Before he finished speaking, Feng Xiao felt a sudden tightening around his waist, and a dizzying sensation of weightlessness instantly struck him. Dugu Bo's withered hand gripped his shoulder like an iron clamp, and emerald green spirit power instantly enveloped the two of them.
"Senior! You should have let me pre..."
"Less nonsense!"
In an instant, their figures transformed into a emerald green stream of light, swiftly shuttling through the forest. Towering ancient trees rapidly receded in their vision, and the howling wind swept past their ears.
Dugu Bo's figure was indistinct as he sped along, each leap covering hundreds of meters. A smug smile played on his lips, clearly enjoying the feeling of teasing his junior.
"Kid, hold on tight!" With a long shout, their figures shot into the sky, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.