Following the directions Ning Fengzhi had given her, Ning Rongrong wound her way through twists and turns before arriving at a relatively tall hill.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was vast, and some areas were unsuitable for living.
For example, the areas near the spirit beast pens were usually guarded by sect Spirit Masters.
Dugu Yan's residence was close to this area, and Ning Rongrong had gone through quite some effort to find it.
"Ugh… I really should go out more. I got lost in my own home."
As soon as she approached, Ning Rongrong sensed fluctuations in spirit energy.
"Dugu Bo's spirit energy… and Ye Renxin's." The two were as conspicuous as lightbulbs, making no effort to hide their presence—it would've been stranger if she hadn't noticed them.
"Hmm? Dugu Bo is almost Level 95?"
Six years ago, when Dugu Bo joined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, he was still considered the "Shame of Title Douluos." Now, he had improved this quickly?
"And Ye Renxin is Level 85, a Soul Douluo. Two and a half years to rise two levels—that's not bad either."
Beyond these two, the current Hall Master and Vice-Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall, Ning Rongrong also detected traces of chaotic spirit energy from a battle.
But these traces didn't come from them.
"Dugu Yan, Shui Bing'er, Ye Lingling, and… Ning Tian?"
Why was Ning Tian here instead of forging in the Spirit Tool Hall?
Compared to Ning Tian's untimely appearance, Ning Rongrong was more concerned about Dugu Yan.
Sometimes, one's mental state could be discerned from their spirit energy fluctuations.
An ordinary Spirit Master might not notice, but after reaching the Xiantian Grandmaster realm, Ning Rongrong's perception was extraordinarily sharp.
Dugu Yan's mental state was unstable—there was a sense of forced endurance.
Self-blame, hesitation, confusion… and bloodlust?
Lost in thought, Ning Rongrong didn't immediately reveal herself. Instead, she quietly flew above the training grounds.
Dugu Yan was fighting one against three, her faint purple mist blocking the combined assault of Ye Lingling, Shui Bing'er, and Ning Tian. She seemed to be handling it with ease.
By observing the energy levels emitted during their battle, Ning Rongrong estimated their exact ranks.
For Soul Douluos and Title Douluos, the difference between each level was significant, making it easy to discern.
For weaker Spirit Masters, it was harder to pinpoint exact levels since the spirit energy difference between ranks was minimal.
Most Spirit Masters could only roughly estimate another's tier, not their exact level.
After assessing the spirit energy on the training grounds and considering their ages, Ning Rongrong murmured:
"Ning Tian—20 years old, Level 47."
"Ye Lingling—20 years old, Level 45."
"Shui Bing'er—18 years old, Level 49."
"As for Dugu Yan's condition…" She pondered for a moment.
"Dugu Yan—21 years old, Level 65 Soul Emperor."
Has she been suppressing her spirit power all this time?
Descending from the sky, Ning Rongrong landed near Dugu Bo and Ye Renxin.
She could intermittently hear their conversation.
Mostly, Dugu Bo was the one speaking, while Ye Renxin listened without interjecting.
From Dugu Bo's tone, it was clear he was deeply worried about Dugu Yan's condition.
Ning Rongrong withdrew her gaze, refocusing on the training grounds.
"Nine Heart Begonia—Soothing Breeze!"
Ye Lingling's Spirit soared into the air, her four Soul Rings (Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple) glowing simultaneously.
A powerful healing energy cascaded down like a waterfall, transforming into a faint mist that enveloped her and her two teammates.
Where it met Dugu Yan's poisonous mist, a sizzling sound erupted.
"Such potent healing power—it can neutralize the toxins in the mist. At this stage in the Douluo Continent, only the Nine Heart Begonia can achieve this."
Ning Rongrong watched the battle with interest.
Ye Lingling wasn't using Soul Ring Fusion, but rather the innate ability of the Nine Heart Begonia Spirit—a skill similar to fusion but with far less strain.
The Soul Rings activated the Nine Heart Begonia's inherent healing power, amplifying its potency and range.
Like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the Nine Heart Begonia's abilities were intrinsic to the Spirit itself and wouldn't change regardless of the Soul Rings.
The difference was that the Nine Heart Begonia had only one skill.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had seven fixed skills, though their order wasn't necessarily set.
When a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda wielder reached the seventh layer of Split Spirit Control—the Seven Treasures Wish Realm—the fusion of secret techniques and the Spirit itself would grant healing abilities.
In the original work, Ning Fengzhi had used this ability to pull the Heaven Dou Emperor back from the brink of death, forcibly extending his life by several days.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda possessed considerable healing power, but its range and potency were far inferior to the Nine Heart Begonia—though still stronger than most healing-type Spirit Masters.
Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, when combined with secret techniques, also had healing abilities—likely even stronger than Ning Fengzhi's.
But whether in range or healing capacity, it still paled in comparison to a Nine Heart Begonia of the same rank.
It was simply a matter of specialization.
The Nine Heart Begonia was a dedicated healer, while the Seven (or Nine) Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was primarily a support amplifier.
If a derived ability from secret techniques could surpass the Nine Heart Begonia's innate prowess, then the latter might as well be relegated to "ornamental fish status."
To put it bluntly:
Don't use your professional skills to challenge someone else's lifeblood.
"Come to think of it, my Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is also a bit of a jack-of-all-trades." Ning Rongrong muttered self-deprecatingly.
Just as Split Spirit Control had granted healing abilities, her cultivation techniques had endowed the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda with:
Sealing, suppression, extraction, storage… and even resonance fusion with Kurumi.
"Wow. Just wow."
She suddenly realized her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had an absurd number of abilities—like an auxiliary Spirit Master with the heart of an attacker.
"I think there was a variant of the Nine Heart Begonia in the Douluo series."
Was it a Level 97 or Level 99 Battle Spirit Master?
Maybe? She couldn't quite remember.
Dugu Yan wasn't going all out, nor was she using the Misfortune Poison Body.
But for Ye Lingling, at only Level 45, to neutralize Dugu Yan's poison mist was genuinely impressive.
After being tempered by the Misfortune Poison Body and condensing a Poison Core, Dugu Yan's toxins were no longer something as simple as "deadly" Realgar Wine could counteract.
While Ye Lingling held off the poison mist, Shui Bing'er flanked Dugu Yan from the side.
"Second Spirit Skill—Ice Armor!"
In an instant, Shui Bing'er's second Spirit Ring lit up, encasing her body in crystalline ice armor that shimmered with a blue luster.
"It's useless. No matter how well you coordinate, if you can't withstand my poison, it's all for nothing."
"That's not necessarily true!"
Shui Bing'er condensed a sword of ice in her hand.
Dugu Yan didn't counterattack, merely standing still as thick green mist swirled around her, yet she remained entirely unaffected.
"Ning Tian, hurry up! Didn't you say you brought a surprise?" Shui Bing'er suddenly called out behind her.
"Alright, alright, I got it."
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in Ning Tian's hands began to change.
The Spirit faded, turning translucent before vanishing entirely.
Then, a new "Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda" appeared—but this one was snow-white.