Lin Rong himself was troubled about how to deal with the three family-inherited soul bones.
The three ten-thousand-year-old soul bones passed down in his family were only a little over ten thousand years old. The highest-ranked one, the torso bone, was only around fifteen thousand years old, still nearly five thousand years away from reaching twenty thousand.
As a transmigrator, Lin Rong felt that not all six soul bones should be less than 50,000 years old. He thought of the three divine inheritors from the original story.
Tang San, for instance, had the worst soul bone, a spiritual wisdom head bone, which was at least 50,000 years old, and it was integrated with the Sea God's Heart, making it stronger than an average ten-thousand-year soul bone.
Qian Renxue possessed a set of nine-nine-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-nine-year-old Angel God Armor, which she obtained from the same soul beast, and it was no worse than a ten-thousand-year soul bone.
As for Bibi Dong, the exact details of her soul bones were unclear. However, she had three ten-thousand-year soul rings, including the ninth ring from the Death Spider Emperor, a ten-thousand-year soul beast, and two ten-thousand-year arm bones.
This meant that Bibi Dong at least had four ten-thousand-year soul bones.
The remaining two soul bones, whose ages were unknown, were likely also no less than fifty thousand years old. Bibi Dong had always adhered to the principle of "better to have more than less," never filling her second weapon's soul ring until she found the best option.
Comparing all this to the three soul bones passed down in his family, Lin Rong felt even more dissatisfied. The mere ten-thousand-year-old bones were of average quality, and he had no desire to absorb them.
Besides, these soul bones had been in the Lin family for so long, and even though Lin Rong didn't want them, it would be inappropriate to give them to someone else.
Though the old butler wasn't considered an outsider in Lin Rong's eyes, he wouldn't give them to him either.
Lin Rong wanted the butler to absorb something better.
The six soul bones, ranked by preciousness, are as follows:
Torso bone
Head bone
Right arm bone
Left arm bone
Left leg bone
Right leg bone
Shortly, the thousand-year-old Nine-Tier Ginseng King would become the old butler's ninth soul ring, and its soul bone should naturally be placed on the precious torso bone.
The head bone soul bone would go to the spiritual wisdom head bone as a prize for the champion of the upcoming Soul Master Elite Tournament six years later.
This meant that the only soul bone position left for the old butler from the family inheritance was the third most precious right arm bone.
The family's three ten-thousand-year soul bones couldn't be given to outsiders and couldn't be used by the inner circle either. They were effectively useless, taking up the valuable positions for no purpose other than gathering dust in the soul guide device.
At the Manor Restaurant
Lin Rong smiled as he watched the old butler, who had just exited his seclusion, running around busily.
Having the old butler by his side made him feel at ease!
After the old butler finished his work, he looked at Lin Rong and said, "Old servant hasn't had a chance to congratulate the young master. In just half a year, you've gone from being a twenty-seven-level Great Soul Master to a thirty-five-level Soul Venerable."
"The young master is truly the most talented person I've ever seen in my life!"
"It's nothing. I just took three of these." Lin Rong took out a jade bottle containing the Dragon Rhythm Immortal Herb Pills and showed them to the old butler.
"Nine-tier Dragon Herb and medicinal herbs from Yang Wudi's collection. The effects are decent, though for me, it only increases soul power without any side effects."
Lin Rong explained the specific effects of the Dragon Rhythm Immortal Herb Pills.
The old butler had already seen the strength of the medicinal herbs collection from the Puo family, so when he heard about the effects of the pills, he didn't express surprise. Instead, he thought the Puo family was even more worthy of being recruited by the young master.
With this, the rare herbs they had obtained from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye would now be able to reach their full potential.
But the old butler didn't ask Lin Rong what he planned to do about the Puo family. Some decisions, after all, were not for servants to question.
"Grandfather Yu, you've just finished seclusion. Rest for a few days, then we'll head to the Extreme North to obtain your ninth soul ring."
Lin Rong walked to the old butler's side and leaned against his shoulder. He rarely showed the innocent playfulness of an eight-year-old child as he said, "During your seclusion these past six months, I didn't have anyone to talk to in the entire manor."
"Other than eating and sleeping, the only thing I had to pass the time was cultivation."
"I was nearly suffocating from boredom!"
"So, in the next few days, I won't focus on cultivation, and you don't have to worry about the trivial matters around the manor."
"After all, you've already let go for half a year, so letting go for a few more days won't hurt."
The old butler looked at Lin Rong and smiled helplessly, replying, "Young master, since you've said it, how could I refuse?"
During the Relaxing Days
The old butler also started preparing for the trip to the Extreme North. He checked the necessary items they would need to take, such as maps, dry food, and cold-weather clothing.
Meanwhile, Lin Rong sat nearby, observing the crystal blood dragon ginseng planted in a flowerpot.
This was a key item for their upcoming plan.
The crystal blood dragon ginseng had absorbed soil from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye over the past six months, growing from just over five thousand years old to now over seven thousand years old.
The soil, infused with the energy of both the Extreme Cold and Fiery Yin-Yang Springs, had consumed less than thirty percent of its total, leaving enough to support the remaining three thousand years of growth for the crystal blood dragon ginseng.
The ten-thousand-year Nine-Tier Ginseng King and the crystal blood dragon ginseng, one was the king among ginsengs, the other was the queen. When one appeared near the other, they would naturally attract each other.
As long as Lin Rong had the crystal blood dragon ginseng, he could lure the Nine-Tier Ginseng King from the Extreme North, where it would occasionally appear.
As a spiritually attuned immortal-grade medicinal herb, the Nine-Tier Ginseng King had powerful cultivation but lacked corresponding strength. Therefore, it wasn't as formidable as a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, which could rival a Title Douluo.
The only thing to worry about was the Nine-Tier Ginseng King's excellent soil-escape technique.
However, Lin Rong wasn't too worried about this.
The old butler's martial soul, the Heavenly Star Disc, had strong control effects, and several of its soul skills were very effective against the Nine-Tier Ginseng King's soil-escape technique.
To be extra cautious, Lin Rong also used over forty thousand dragon beard needles within the area covered by his Heart Mirror, using spiritual power to intervene in reality and create a golden spherical cage.
So long as the Nine-Tier Ginseng King entered the Heart Mirror's coverage, it would be unable to escape.
On Bibi Dong's Soul Rings
Bibi Dong's first weapon, the Death Spider Emperor, had the following soul rings:
Yellow, Purple, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red.
This was unquestionable.
Her second weapon, the Soul-Eating Spider Emperor, when Tang San first faced her, had the soul rings of:
Black, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red, Red.
Five black and two red. One of the ten-thousand-year soul rings belonged to Xiao Wu's mother, while the other is unknown.
However, when Tang San faced her a second time, her soul rings changed to:
Black, Black, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red, Black, Black.
Six black and one red. Two black.
This discrepancy could either be a mistake by the author or a result of Bibi Dong failing to pass the Divine Examination, which would have lowered the year limit of her sixth soul ring by fifty thousand years