Chapter 253: The Beast Horde's Siege, Oscar's Doom
Sea Illusion Douluo clasped his hands and said, "Your Holiness, thank you for sharing all of this. We will return to Sea God Island immediately and report everything to the High Priest. We will also take the spirit bones of Sea Dragon Douluo and Sea Lance Douluo."
Qian Xunji suddenly made a grabbing motion, and the four spirit bones that had been floating in front of Sea Horse and Sea Illusion Douluo returned to his hand.
Sea Horse Douluo's expression darkened. "Your Holiness, what is the meaning of this?"
"These spirit bones indeed belonged to the late Titled Douluo of Sea God Island," Qian Xunji said calmly, "but with their deaths, they have become unclaimed treasures—prizes anyone in the Spirit Master world may contest for. Spirit bones of ten thousand years and above are known as the treasures of the blood river. Each one that appears is stained in blood. I fought a fierce battle with Bibi Dong to obtain these bones. For you to simply take them is unreasonable."
Both Sea Horse and Sea Illusion Douluo looked troubled. Qian Xunji's words made it clear—he wanted compensation. But from the perspective of Sea God Island spirit masters, this was nothing short of robbery. These bones rightfully belonged to their own.
"When you return to Sea God Island," Qian Xunji continued, "please relay this message to Priest Bo Saixi. I wish to make a deal. In exchange for these four spirit bones and the three Sea God trial slots she promised Spirit Hall, I want three divine-bestowed spirit rings."
"What? Three?" the two Douluo exclaimed, dumbfounded.
Three divine-bestowed spirit rings? That was no trivial matter. On Sea God Island, even among thousands of spirit masters, only those who passed the black-level trials could receive a single one from Sea God.
"Is that a lot?" Qian Xunji asked with a raised brow. In his mind, he had already offered a generous deal. Black-level trialists received divine-bestowed rings only upon hitting bottlenecks, and they were also granted other level-boosting rewards. What he was offering—three Sea God trial slots plus four spirit bones—was essentially giving away the bones for free.
"We will relay your words to Bo Saixi," Sea Horse and Sea Illusion Douluo said after exchanging glances. They decided to return to Sea God Island immediately and report not only Bibi Dong's actions but also Spirit Hall's avarice.
Once they left and the grand hall closed again, Qian Xunji stroked his chin thoughtfully. Divine-bestowed spirit rings, after all, were manifestations of divine power, capable of fusing perfectly with one's martial soul. If he let Qian Renxue absorb one, it would be equivalent to planting Sea God's divine energy inside her. If Sea God intended anything nefarious, wouldn't that be handing him an opportunity on a silver platter?
He sighed and decided instead to search the continent for another hidden hundred-thousand-year soul beast. If he succeeded in securing divine-bestowed rings, perhaps Qian Chuan could absorb one at the end of the Hell Road. That place, steeped in Shura God's energy, might serve to counteract Sea God's influence.
Meanwhile, in the Icebound Forest—
A young man in a gray cloak stepped quickly into the snowy landscape. He wore a wide-brimmed hat with a gray veil covering his face. Beneath it was a youthful, handsome visage with peach blossom eyes and a look of resolve. Clutched in his hand was a Zhuge Divine Crossbow.
It was none other than Oscar, who had come to the extreme north to seek out the Mirror Image Beast and transform from a food-type auxiliary master into a combat-capable spirit master.
As he looked upon the familiar forest, memories surfaced. "It's been so long, Big Brother Hoto. In my previous life, after defeating Spirit Hall, I was so focused on Rongrong and the God of Food's trials that I never checked how you were doing. This time, I won't repeat that mistake. I'll treat you like a brother and let you attend my wedding with Rongrong."
He had deliberately waited for this day, knowing that in his past life, it was on this day that he saved Hoto and gained his guidance in surviving the frozen wilds.
As Oscar walked deeper into the forest for several hours, something felt wrong. It was eerily quiet—no signs of people or animals, not even traces of human presence. In his past life, he had at least seen some remnants of human activity.
"Rustle rustle!"
A sudden noise in the underbrush startled him. He instinctively turned and fired his Zhuge Divine Crossbow. Sixteen bolts flew, followed by a burst of blood. The brush fell silent, and a golden-yellow spirit ring appeared—he had slain a hundred-year soul beast.
Without much expression, Oscar continued forward. In such a perilous place, defending against spirit beasts and braving the cold were just daily occurrences.
What he didn't realize was that the moment he killed that beast, several powerful soul beasts began to converge on his location. Their eyes gleamed with bloodlust.
Ever since Qian Xunji's capture of the Snow Empress in the extreme north, her loyal beast army had gone berserk, declaring the Icebound Forest a no-entry zone for humans. Anyone daring to hunt within would be slain on sight.
While some powerful humans had previously dared to challenge the ice, that changed a year ago when the Snow Empress returned and casually slaughtered an entire group. From then on, the extreme north became a place of death for any spirit master foolish enough to enter.
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