Tang San spoke as he took two black iron spheres from the Soul Tool at his waist.
"These are hidden weapons I developed myself. They're called Mother and Child Chasing Soul Devouring Balls. Their power is immense. With your strength, they're enough to fend off any enemy. I'd like to exchange them for some of your herbs — what do you think?"
Looking at the two small iron balls, Dugu Bo was clearly skeptical.
"Just those tiny iron balls? What kind of power could they possibly have?"
"Let me show you, and you'll understand."
As soon as Tang San finished speaking, he suddenly threw the two iron balls.
The two spheres collided mid-air with a loud boom. Immediately afterward, a large cloud of purple mist spread out, instantly covering more than ten square meters of area.
Then Tang San explained their mechanism to Dugu Bo.
Only then did Dugu Bo realize that the purple mist was laced with deadly poison. When the two balls collided, hundreds of Bone-Melting Needles burst out with astonishing penetrating power — and terrifying toxicity.
Moreover, the higher the user's soul power, the stronger the weapon's effect.
The first thought that came to Dugu Bo's mind was that if he used such a hidden weapon against his old rival, Yue Guan, he would no longer have to fear him.
Thus, he agreed to Tang San's request.
"Little monster, this time you may take ten plants of the herbs you need — no more than that. As for the future, if you ever have further need, you may come again."
"Alright, I understand."
For Tang San, being able to take ten was already quite a good deal.
He planned to bring one plant back for each of the other six Shrek students.
(Author's Note): Without the dual resistance to fire and poison, and with his fourth ring not being a ten-thousand-year one, if Tang San doesn't give his teammates immortal herbs, the Shrek team would enter the Soul Master Tournament with only Dai Mubai as a Soul Ancestor — far too weak. They wouldn't even be able to defeat teams like Shen Feng, Tian Shui, Chi Huo, or Lei Ting, much less Yan. Besides, Yan entered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well only while Yue Guan and Dugu Bo were fighting, so his time was limited; he couldn't have taken many herbs — just a few of the best ones, which already counts as quite fortunate.**
Tang San was certain that the person who had previously trespassed into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to steal herbs had deep knowledge of botany — because they had taken only the finest immortal herbs.
Most of the remaining ones were still immature; only a few of the already-mature herbs were of average quality.
The roots of those stolen superior herbs — aside from the Flower King, the Lovesick Heartbroken Red — were still intact.
Perhaps in another ten years or so, those rare herbs would grow again.
After half a year of interaction, Tang San had established a good relationship with Dugu Bo. He planned to return once those immortal herbs matured once more.
Later, Dugu Bo gifted Tang San a Ruyi Hundred-Treasure Pouch for storing living herbs.
Under Dugu Bo's supervision, Tang San picked ten immortal herbs.
Afterward, Tang San persuaded Dugu Bo to serve as an advisor to Shrek Academy, and together they left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Back at Shrek Academy, Tang San distributed the herbs to the six Shrek monsters.
After consuming the immortal herbs, everyone showed varying degrees of improvement.
Dai Mubai broke through his bottleneck and reached level 40.
Ma Hongjun's soul power rose by four levels to level 35. The herb also purified some of the impurities in his Evil Fire, though it did not completely eliminate it.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing both advanced by four levels as well, each reaching level 35.
Xiao Wu's soul power increased by three levels to level 38.
Among them all, the greatest gain came from Oscar.
He had taken an Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid. Though not one of the top-tier immortal herbs, its gentle medicinal nature perfectly suited a food-type soul master.
His soul power rose by five levels, from 33 straight to 38.
While waiting for everyone to absorb their herbs, Tang San himself took an auxiliary herb that enhanced eyesight. His soul power did not increase — remaining at level 39.
At this point, only half a year remained before the start of the Soul Master Tournament.
Yu Xiaogang urged everyone to cultivate diligently and strengthen themselves for the coming event.
Time flew by — three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Dai Mubai obtained his fourth soul ring and advanced to level 42.
Tang San successfully broke through level 40, hunting down a six-thousand-year-old Human-Faced Demon Spider. During the absorption of its ring, his external soul bone, the Eight Spider Lances, also absorbed a large amount of energy. Thus his level only increased by one, reaching level 41.
Oscar and Xiao Wu were both at level 39, and were expected to break through level 40 before the tournament.
Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing, however, would not likely reach level 40 in three months — meaning they would compete as Soul Elders.
Meanwhile, in Spirit City—
Hu Liena had finally broken through to level 50.
Before her, Xie Yue had already reached level 50, but he hadn't hurried to hunt for a soul beast. Instead, he continued cultivating, waiting for his sister Hu Liena to break through as well so they could enter the Star Dou Forest together to hunt for their fifth rings.
Even without obtaining new soul rings, one could still continue cultivating — the additional power would simply manifest all at once after absorbing the next ring.
During this half-year, Yan's soul power had increased by another two levels, now reaching level 54, still far ahead of the rest of the team.
The other four members of the Spirit Hall team had also made solid progress.
Sun Chuantao had reached level 47, while Li Kai and Zhang Ping were both at level 46.
Even the team's lowest-ranked member, the support-type soul master Xu Yu, had advanced to level 45.
After receiving permission from Pope Bibi Dong, Instructor Lin Zhendong and his assistant Liu Can led the seven members of the Spirit Hall Academy team to the Star Dou Forest.
Elders Yue Guan and Gui Mei continued to protect them secretly from the shadows.
This trip's main purpose was to help Xie Yue and Hu Liena acquire their fifth soul rings — and also to provide valuable experience for the entire team.
Lin Zhendong planned to let the seven handle the soul beast hunts on their own; unless absolutely necessary, he would not intervene.
After traveling for several dozen days, the nine-person party finally arrived at the Star Dou Forest.
In the outer regions of the forest, it was rare to encounter soul beasts above the ten-thousand-year level. After a short rest, they began heading toward the forest's center.
Both Xie Yue and Hu Liena were thrilled — this would be their very first ten-thousand-year soul ring.
The closer they drew to the forest's heart, the stronger the aura of powerful beasts became.
Along the way, they encountered several soul beasts, but since none matched their target requirements, the experienced Lin Zhendong skillfully avoided direct confrontations.
As dusk fell, they set up camp in a relatively open clearing, preparing to rest for the night.
While everyone was busy preparing dinner, suddenly a strange fluctuation rippled through the air.
"A powerful soul beast is nearby."
Lin Zhendong was the first to sense the anomaly. He immediately gestured for everyone to stay silent, eyes narrowing in the direction of the energy waves.
"Yan, Xie Yue — go take a look. Be cautious. Don't alert it."
"Understood."
As the team's strongest fighters, Yan and Xie Yue were the ones Lin Zhendong trusted most.
The two moved quietly toward the source of the energy, their steps making almost no sound.
As they drew closer, a massive black silhouette gradually came into Yan's view.
The ferocious beast had already sensed human intruders approaching its territory and lay hidden in the shadows, waiting.
"It's a Phantom Tiger!"
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