When the group finally descended, they were already at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Even for Titled Douluos, the speed was astonishing. From Heaven Dou City to the forest's edge in barely over an hour—if the flying puppet had operated at full output, circling the entire continent in a single day would not have been an exaggeration.
After regrouping, Li Rong entered the forest at an unhurried pace under the protection of the five.
He walked at the center of the formation. Dugu Bo remained on his left, capable of responding to threats from any direction, while Gu Rong guarded his right, providing steady defense and vigilance. Golden Crocodile took the lead. As the second-in-command and a veteran among Titled Douluos, his strength and experience made him the natural choice to clear the path. At the rear were Gui Mei and Yue Guan, maintaining close proximity so they could activate their Spirit Fusion Skill at a moment's notice.
They advanced in formation for the entire morning.
Any Spirit Beast they encountered retreated at once, cowed by the oppressive aura released by Golden Crocodile. Not a single intelligent Spirit Beast dared approach. By midday, despite covering considerable ground, they had yet to encounter a true target.
At noon, the group halted.
The five gathered instinctively, preparing to light a fire and eat dry rations. Before anyone could act, Li Rong casually produced a table. With a flick of his hand, dish after dish appeared, steam rising as rich aromas spread through the forest.
"Why eat dry rations?" Li Rong said. "Come. Eat."
The five exchanged glances, momentarily speechless. None of them had expected such… thorough preparation. Still, no one declined. They sat down without ceremony.
Dugu Bo tore into a chicken leg and asked between bites, "Boss Li, if you're looking for Spirit Beasts as customers, they should be at least eighty thousand years old. Why not head straight into the inner circle? What's the point of wandering around the outer regions? Are there special Spirit Beasts here?"
"I don't know if there are," Li Rong replied leisurely. "I'm walking slowly because I've never experienced a Spirit Master's hunting journey. I'm just… experiencing it."
The five nearly choked.
For a moment, dissatisfaction surged—then vanished just as quickly when they remembered the reward: thirty thousand sacrificial coins per day. Suddenly, slow progress felt perfectly acceptable. Ideally, they could stretch this out for the full ten days.
"Even in the Star Dou Great Forest," Gu Rong added thoughtfully, "there can't be many hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts. And those below that level wouldn't have the ability to travel to Heaven Dou City for transactions, would they?"
"I'm not looking for hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts," Li Rong said calmly. "At least, not the beast-type ones. Right now, hostility between Spirit Masters and Spirit Beasts is too deep. Beast-type Spirit Beasts aren't suitable for entering human territory."
That answer stunned them.
"Not looking for hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts?" Dugu Bo frowned. "Then what exactly are you looking for? Are there Spirit Beasts that aren't beast-type?"
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, then spoke almost simultaneously. "Are you referring to hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts that transformed into human form and cultivate anew?"
"No," Li Rong replied. "I'm talking about Fierce Beasts."
"Fierce Beasts?"
An unfamiliar term instantly ignited their curiosity. Cups were raised, and questions followed in quick succession.
"What are Fierce Beasts?"
"Fierce Beasts are top-tier Spirit Beasts whose cultivation exceeds one hundred thousand years," Li Rong explained. "They possess intelligence and overwhelming strength."
Gu Rong, Gui Mei, and Yue Guan all became alert. "Isn't one hundred thousand years the upper limit for Spirit Beasts?"
"When a Spirit Beast reaches the peak of one hundred thousand years, it faces a Heavenly Tribulation," Li Rong said. "If it survives, its cultivation increases by another hundred thousand years before the next tribulation. If it fails, its spirit scatters."
"Some Spirit Beasts fear the tribulation and choose to transform into humans to cultivate. Others confront it directly. Most perish—but a small number succeed. Those that do are known as Fierce Beasts."
The five felt as though they had gained priceless knowledge for free.
As they ate and drank, the conversation grew livelier, their unfamiliarity melting away.
"Then who's the strongest Fierce Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest?" Dugu Bo asked. "Roughly how strong?"
"Ditian," Li Rong answered. "His true form is the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King. Nearly nine hundred thousand years of cultivation. He controls ultimate darkness and possesses a fragment of the Dragon God's divine power. His strength stands at the demigod level—one full strike approaches true god-level."
Pfft!
Five simultaneous sounds of wine being sprayed echoed through the clearing.
Their relaxed expressions vanished instantly. All five straightened, senses stretched taut, scanning their surroundings as if Ditian might descend at any moment.
Only after a long pause, with no disturbance, did they relax slightly.
"Nearly nine hundred thousand years… demigod strength?" Dugu Bo muttered. "Is that still a Spirit Beast? Wouldn't that make him the strongest being in the world?"
"There's someone even stronger in the sea," Li Rong added casually. "The Deep Sea Demon Whale King. His cultivation is close to nine hundred ninety thousand years. He commands the power of the ocean. His body is nearly invincible below god-level."
The five fell silent.
The gap between their own strength and the true peaks of this world suddenly felt painfully clear.
"I thought my current strength was already among the top three on the continent," Dugu Bo sighed, biting into his chicken leg again. "Second only to the Twin Peaks of Spirit Masters from a century ago."
"Your strength is formidable," Li Rong said. "Even Golden Crocodile at level ninety-eight can't defeat you. But if you include all the powerhouses on land and sea, you wouldn't even rank in the top five."
"Boss Li," Golden Crocodile protested dryly, "you don't need to drag me into this."
"When you break through to level ninety-five," Li Rong continued, "and exchange for a fourth-grade movement technique and a body-tempering manual, your speed and durability will rise sharply. At that point, you can reasonably call yourself the strongest in the world."
Dugu Bo snorted. "A good fourth-grade combat manual costs three to four hundred thousand. Add infusion fees and reservation costs, and you're looking at over two million. Without activity rankings, who can afford that?"
"If you don't infuse it and self-study instead, you'll save a lot," Gu Rong added sourly.
"Save my ass," Dugu Bo retorted. "I've been studying the infused Green Snake Principle and Green Snake Strength every day. Only my proficiency goes up—my mastery hasn't budged. To reach great accomplishment through deduction alone would take at least a hundred years."
"If infused methods are already this hard, how do you expect me to self-study two more? Decades just to reach minor accomplishment would be optimistic."
"With that learning speed," Golden Crocodile added, "it sounds like infusion is mandatory. Boss Li, does anyone in this world actually self-study cultivation methods quickly?"
"If you include other continents," Li Rong said, his tone loosening slightly, "then yes. I know one genius. At sixteen, he spent a single month self-studying a top-tier fifth-grade sword technique—and reached great accomplishment."
"Sixteen?! One month?!" Dugu Bo stared in disbelief, then sighed. "Our horizons were too narrow. Confined to this continent, we never saw the wider world. No wonder we couldn't even create a single cultivation method."
"Then keep moving forward," Li Rong said. "Break through to god-level, and you'll naturally gain the ability to step beyond this world."
Gui Mei and Yue Guan exchanged glances before asking carefully, "Boss Li… just how strong is Sacrificial Dao Lord?"
Li Rong glanced at them and spoke lightly. "He can create worlds comparable to the Douluo Continent with a wave of his hand. He can form Spirit Beasts and humans at will."
"The god-level you aspire to? In Dao Lord's eyes, it's no different from mortals. With a single written edict, Heaven and Earth would acknowledge it and elevate you directly to godhood."
The clearing fell silent.
Dugu Bo murmured, "That kind of realm… I wouldn't even dare dream of it."
"There's no need," Li Rong replied. "Dao Lord was once a mortal too. Step by step, he reached that height. If you remain steadfast in your Dao heart and continue improving, perhaps one day future generations will call you the Heaven Poison Dao Lord."
"He… cultivated from mortality as well?" Their eyes lit up instantly.
"If not," Li Rong said calmly, "do you think the offerings you collect would ever catch his attention?"
That final sentence struck deeply.
Many lingering doubts dissolved at once. Their reverence for Sacrificial Dao Lord—and for the path ahead—quietly deepened.
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