After finishing the hot pot, Lin Rong rested in the cave with the old butler for the night.
The next morning, they officially began their mission.
Lin Rong and the old butler first searched for a relatively spacious open area on the outskirts of the frozen forest.
The area had an open view, and the soul beasts nearby were not very powerful, making it an ideal place to plan.
To conserve soul power, Lin Rong did not summon the dragon soul of the Nine-Tailed Vine Dragon to help him resist the biting cold winds, but instead put on the cold-weather clothes that the old butler had prepared.
Previously, with the protection of the dragon soul, Lin Rong had not felt much of the cold. But now, with the biting winds slashing at his face like knives, he realized how harsh the environment truly was.
In contrast, the old butler seemed completely unaffected by the harsh cold.
With his soul power at level ninety and eight soul rings providing superior physical constitution, a bit of cold wind was nothing to him.
Seeing the young master struggling, the old butler placed his hand on Lin Rong's shoulder and used his soul power to form a barrier that blocked the cold winds.
"I don't understand why the King of the Ten-Thousand-Year Nine-Rank Ginseng would come to such a godforsaken place," Lin Rong grumbled, before wrapping the Azure Dragon Vine in his life energy.
As he took out the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, the layer of life energy enveloped the ginseng, preventing its aura from leaking out, thus avoiding detection by the Ten-Thousand-Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King.
Standing beside Lin Rong, the old butler also released his martial soul, the Heavenly Star Disk.
On the white jade star disk, eight stars flickered, resonating with the eight soul rings under the old butler's feet.
When the ninth star lit up, it signified that the old butler had fully reached the Title Douluo realm.
"Young master, we can begin."
Upon hearing this, Lin Rong gripped the old butler's hand, and at the same time, a cyan pattern resembling bamboo leaves appeared between his eyebrows.
Immediately, both Lin Rong and the old butler's bodies began to fade, and within moments, they completely disappeared from the open space in the forest.
This was the skill "Void Concealment" of the Azure Bamboo head soul bone.
When this skill was activated, Lin Rong would turn into nothingness at his original position.
In this void state, he was immune to all physical and energy attacks, and no skills or methods could detect his presence.
Once entering the void state, it could last up to twelve hours unless Lin Rong actively chose to exit.
However, the moment he attacked, he would immediately reappear.
When Lin Rong first obtained the Azure Bamboo head soul bone, its age was only nine hundred and eighty-one years, still within the range of a hundred-year soul bone.
At that time, the Void Concealment skill could only affect Lin Rong himself.
But as the soul bone aged and surpassed one thousand years, the Void Concealment skill was enhanced, allowing Lin Rong to take others with him into the void state.
Now that the soul bone had surpassed three thousand years in age, the Void Concealment skill could allow up to three people to enter the void state together.
This skill did not consume soul power but had a daily usage limit.
Currently, with the soul bone being over three thousand years old, Lin Rong could use Void Concealment up to three times per day.
Without a doubt, this was an extremely practical and powerful soul skill.
However, Void Concealment was not without weaknesses. After activating the skill, it took some time to fully transition into the void state.
Before fully entering the void, Lin Rong could not be completely immune to attacks, but could still reduce damage.
The closer he was to a full void state, the higher the damage reduction.
Before completely fading into the void, Lin Rong placed the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng on a rock.
Without its protective energy, the life force surrounding the ginseng quickly turned into light particles and dissipated into the air.
Without its cover, the aura of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng was now exposed.
Almost simultaneously, the aura of the ginseng reached the underground cavern of the Ten-Thousand-Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King.
A moment ago, the Ten-Thousand-Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King, who had been lying on the rock, suddenly trembled.
The aura emanating from the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng triggered a deep, primal reaction from its bloodline.
This ancient call from its bloodline made the Ginseng King lose its usual composure.
The next moment, the Ten-Thousand-Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King immediately activated its Earth Escape Technique, moving toward the ginseng's location at the fastest possible speed, disregarding everything else.
Time passed second by second.
Lin Rong and the old butler, still in the void state, were fully focused and vigilant, prepared for the Ten-Thousand-Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King to appear at any moment.
The Ginseng King, however, was underground, and its distance from the ginseng's location meant that it had quite a way to go.
Even with its incredible speed in Earth Escape, it still took a considerable amount of time to reach the location.
During its journey, the primal call from its bloodline had already passed its initial peak.
The Ginseng King, long trained in caution, managed to regain a semblance of rationality amidst the call.
As time passed, this rationality grew, causing the Ginseng King's speed to slow down.
However, this only reduced its speed slightly.
Even though the Ginseng King had regained some rationality, it was still unable to completely suppress the primal urge of its bloodline.
The closer it got to the ginseng, the slower its movement became.
Its cautious nature made the Ginseng King repeatedly check for any potential danger on its path.
But to its surprise, nothing seemed out of place, and the journey was surprisingly smooth.
Eventually, the Ten-Thousand-Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King arrived just one mile away from the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.
"It's here!" Lin Rong tightened his grip on the old butler's hand, his heart racing with excitement.
Due to being in the void state, Lin Rong's life perception, granted by the Nine-Tailed Vine Dragon, was greatly weakened.
It wasn't until the Ginseng King was about a mile away that Lin Rong vaguely sensed its presence.
"Mm." Lin Rong frowned as he sensed the unusually slow pace of the Ginseng King.
"Impressive, for a ginseng that has lived for a hundred thousand years, its caution is truly remarkable."
"The Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng is practically within reach, and yet it can still suppress its inner urge, carefully scanning for any danger around it."
"Good thing I have Void Concealment; otherwise, I'm not sure I could evade the Ginseng King's meticulous search."
Deep underground, the Ginseng King was taking every step cautiously, pausing frequently to check for threats.
What should have been a mere mile took several hours for the cautious Ginseng King to cover.
Meanwhile, Lin Rong, still in the void state next to the rock, couldn't help but mentally curse the Ten-Thousand-Year Nine-Rank Ginseng King numerous times.
"I've been waiting forever, and it's finally almost time to strike!"