"Sword Grandpa, let's rest and set off tomorrow," Li Xun's eyes lit up as he quickly responded to Sword Douluo's suggestion.
Seeing Li Xun's swift reaction, Sword Douluo nodded with a smile.
When it came to their appearance, girls always had endless topics to discuss. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, ignoring Li Xun and Sword Douluo, started a conversation about Li Xun's healing abilities.
Listening to them, Li Xun couldn't help but grimace.
Would he need to offer cosmetic treatments along with healing in the future? Li Xun exchanged a glance with Sword Douluo and stepped out of the room first.
Sword Douluo promptly followed.
One day later.
Star Dou Great Forest.
Li Xun and his companions chose to walk into the outskirts instead of flying.
As one of the three major gathering places for high-level Soul Beasts, Star Dou Great Forest was fraught with dangers. The inner circle was even inhabited by 100,000 Year Soul Beasts.
If they were to act recklessly relying on their cultivation, they might attract the attention of high-level Soul Beasts.
Although they had Sword Douluo, a Super Douluo, protecting them closely, they still had to consider the possibility of being outnumbered. If they accidentally provoked a 100,000 Year Soul Beast, even Sword Douluo would find it difficult to ensure the safety of all three of them.
Moreover, even in the outskirts of Star Dou Great Forest, Li Xun and his companions remained vigilant. They might encounter high-level Soul Beasts that had been driven out from the inner circle.
These high-level Soul Beasts might not stay long, but whenever they appeared, they would cause devastating damage to the ecology of the outskirts and the Soul Masters passing through.
"What kind of weather is this? It was just fine a moment ago," Ning Rongrong nearly slipped on a patch of mud. "Sword Grandpa, can we find a place to take shelter from the rain?"
The sky was dark, covered with heavy clouds, and a light drizzle fell, pattering on the rain gear of Li Xun and his companions.
"Rongrong, hold on a little longer. There's a cliff in the distance; we just need to reach it," Sword Douluo rose into the air and scanned the surrounding terrain.
"Sword Grandpa, this is the second time I've heard you say that," Ning Rongrong pouted, feeling as if life had lost all hope.
It was like seeing the mountain but never reaching it.
When she first entered the outskirts, she had already seen the distant mountains from outside Star Dou Great Forest. After walking for two hours, it still felt like they hadn't made any progress.
"Rongrong, just a little longer," seeing Ning Rongrong looking like a wronged child, Li Xun smiled and took her hand, slowly infusing Soul Power into her body to relax her muscles and promote blood circulation.
Feeling the energy transmitted from Li Xun's palm, Ning Rongrong's spirits lifted. She closed her eyes in enjoyment, feeling as if her body was enveloped in a warm current. Her fatigue instantly lessened.
Seeing Ning Rongrong's expression, Li Xun couldn't help but chuckle and took Zhu Zhuqing's hand with his other hand. He felt it necessary to treat both equally.
Perhaps because she no longer felt burdened, Zhu Zhuqing had become much more accustomed to Li Xun's intimate gestures.
Although she still blushed occasionally, compared to her previous habit of shyly lowering her head, she could now face such situations with her head held high.
"Brother Li Xun, what kind of Soul Beast are you planning to choose for your Fourth Spirit Ring?" Feeling the warm current in her body, Zhu Zhuqing's cheeks flushed as she looked at Li Xun with her beautiful eyes.
"Preferably a plant-type Soul Beast, like Crimson Flame Thorn, Ghost Sunflower, or Purple Glow Bamboo," noticing the gazes of the two girls, Li Xun couldn't help but feel playful and swung their arms gently.
With Wood Release Ninjutsu as his foundation, Li Xun didn't need to hunt Soul Beasts purely for skills like the native Soul Masters did in the early stages.
He only needed to progress step by step, using plant-type Soul Beasts that exceeded his limits to enhance the quality of his Martial Soul, boost his Soul Power, and improve his physical constitution, which would grant him considerable combat strength.
If it ever came to the point where he needed to consider skills, he should already be capable of absorbing a 100,000 Year Soul Ring.
"Childish," Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes at Li Xun and swung her arm in the opposite direction.
Zhu Zhuqing's lips curled slightly as she relaxed her arm, swaying along with Li Xun's force. "Brother Li Xun, aren't these Soul Beasts a bit too ordinary?"
If it were other Soul Masters, they would undoubtedly put in great effort to obtain a powerful skill when acquiring a Spirit Ring, all for the sake of higher combat strength.
"Hmm, they are a bit ordinary. Then let's focus on their age," Li Xun said, holding the hands of the two girls and swinging their arms back and forth as if striding through the stars. "My target this time is between 20,000 and 40,000 years."
Through continuously absorbing Spirit Rings beyond his level, combined with the Immortal Herb, Wood Release, and the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, his physical constitution had grown increasingly robust.
Moreover, his self-healing ability had reached an almost monstrous level. As long as he didn't explode from the overwhelming energy while absorbing a Spirit Ring, Li Xun was confident he could assimilate it.
As for the soul shock from a 10,000 Year Soul Beast, his enhanced mental strength from cultivating Spiritual Energy made him completely unafraid.
"Brother, isn't this a bit too risky?" Ning Rongrong was startled, her eyes wide as she looked at Li Xun.
She knew Li Xun was strong and understood his ability to absorb Spirit Rings beyond his limits. But the gap between them in absorbing Spirit Rings had grown increasingly large since they had both been consuming Whale Glue since childhood. Wasn't that a bit absurd?
"When have I ever done something I wasn't confident about?" Li Xun smiled confidently.
"Hmph! So full of yourself," Ning Rongrong stuck out her tongue at him.
Sword Douluo hovered in the low sky, watching the three of them chatting and laughing below, suddenly feeling a bit superfluous.
The group continued trekking through the rain for several kilometers.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the cliff ahead of them.
Li Xun and the others initially paid it no mind, but then another bolt of lightning streaked across the dark sky and landed.
After that, it was as if the sky had sprung a leak. The third, fourth... over a dozen bolts of lightning fell in rapid succession.
"Something's wrong!" Li Xun and Sword Douluo immediately became alert. Could there be a Soul Beast over 100,000 years undergoing a tribulation in the outer region?
When a Soul Beast reaches 100,000 years, it must undergo a tribulation at each subsequent stage to continue surviving and cultivating. The scene before them was exactly like the legendary Thunder Tribulation.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were also awestruck by this display of heavenly might, their hands tightly gripping Li Xun's, no longer swinging.
"The 100,000 Year Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest are relatively united. Why didn't they choose the safer core region and instead came to the outer area to undergo their tribulation?"
The lightning had ceased, and Li Xun gazed at the distant sky, lost in thought.
When a Soul Beast reaches 100,000 years, its intelligence is no different from that of a human. Although there is competition and animosity among them, they don't resort to unscrupulous methods to eliminate rivals like humans do.
Sometimes, they even set aside their differences and unite when faced with invasions by powerful humans. This is also a way for 100,000 Year Soul Beasts to avoid death.
Li Xun couldn't understand why this Soul Beast chose to undergo its tribulation at the outskirts.
Wasn't it afraid that human experts might discover it during this critical moment, take advantage of the situation, and kill it to harvest its Soul Bone?
"Xiao Xun, I didn't sense the presence of a 100,000 Year Soul Beast at the cliff."
(End of Chapter)