The First Thousand-Year Soul Ring

Time flew by; from night to dawn, it was merely the moon setting and the sun rising.

Early in the morning, Dugu Bo took Dugu Chen and Dugu Yan toward Sunset Forest. Although Dugu Chen had already viewed Sunset Forest from high above under Dugu Bo's guidance, only now did he truly experience how different its atmosphere was from that of Star Dou Great Forest.

Compared to Star Dou Great Forest, Sunset Forest differed in many ways besides its vastly smaller area. Star Dou Great Forest lay in the central region of the continent and was the largest Soul Beast forest in the heartland.

It was also within the tropical zone, and most of the vegetation in the forest consisted of tropical plants.

Sunset Forest, meanwhile, was located in the center of the Heaven Dou Empire. Though it did not count as a frigid region, its temperatures were far lower than those of Star Dou Great Forest. As a result, the plants here were mostly temperate species unique to the north.

Tropical plants gave off a denser, more humid impression. Temperate plants felt fresher, but they lacked the density of tropical vegetation. Thus, traveling through Sunset Forest was much easier than traveling through Star Dou Great Forest.

Of course, powerful Soul Beasts generally still preferred tropical rainforests like Star Dou Great Forest. Therefore, although Sunset Forest had no shortage of Soul Beasts, few had cultivation exceeding ten thousand years. Most had cultivation levels between one thousand and ten thousand years. Coupled with the Empire's Soul Masters hunting without restraint, the overall quality of the Soul Beasts had declined.

They had been searching for half a day already, yet the number and quality of the Soul Beasts they encountered were far inferior to those in Star Dou Great Forest.

Seeing that this was no solution, Dugu Chen made a suggestion to Dugu Bo.

"Teacher, take Senior Sister and me up into the sky to search! There aren't any powerful Ten Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in Sunset Forest. With your strength, Teacher, you should be able to protect Senior Sister and me, right?"

After hearing this, Dugu Bo felt that it made sense. He still had to visit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to exchange for Soul Bones, and there were no Soul Beasts in Sunset Forest that could threaten him anyway. They could search from the air without concern.

"I'll take you two into the air to search. If you spot a Soul Beast you like, remember to tell me."

After giving them a few reminders, Dugu Bo unleashed his cultivation and flew into the sky with Dugu Chen and Dugu Yan.

The view from high above truly was different. Before long, the three of them spotted several suitable Soul Beasts, but unfortunately, none were of the right age.

As Dugu Chen watched the scenery passing below, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Teacher, there's a Man Faced Demon Spider below."

Dugu Bo turned toward the place Dugu Chen pointed out.

As the three landed, a massive Spider Web flew straight at them. Dugu Bo casually released a blast of Soul Power.

Bang!

It instantly scattered the web apart. It was simply a display of overwhelming Soul Power, fully showing the bearing of an expert.

Immediately afterward came a series of rustling sounds, like someone changing clothes, yet also like leaves rubbing against one another.

A black shadow suddenly shot out from the canopy ahead. Neither Dugu Chen nor Dugu Yan moved, while Dugu Bo casually sent out a palm-shaped strike of Soul Power.

The enormous spider was already lying on the ground, barely clinging to life.

The spider before them had a main body roughly 1.3 meters in diameter and eight spear-like legs over two meters long. Its entire body was covered in glossy black armor, while the tips of its long legs were slender and glimmered with a sinister blackish-purple sheen, clearly revealing their sharpness and potent venom.

On the spider's lower abdomen were several white markings, standing in stark contrast to its black body. These white markings formed the shape of a vicious human face, with eight small eyes flashing faint purple light pressed close against its lower abdomen.

It was precisely the Man Faced Demon Spider Dugu Chen had spotted earlier. Judging by its age, it was around fifteen hundred years old, still within Dugu Yan's range of endurance.

"Senior Sister, this Man Faced Demon Spider suits you very well, and its age is appropriate too. Let's go with this one!"

Dugu Yan did not hesitate. This Man Faced Demon Spider truly suited her well. If she inherited its venom, she should obtain a good Soul Skill.

Dugu Yan finished off the Man Faced Demon Spider, then directly sat down beside it. Releasing her Martial Soul, she drew the Man Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring into her body and began absorbing the first Thousand-Year Soul Ring of her life.

As he watched Dugu Yan absorb the Soul Ring, Dugu Bo was still somewhat nervous. Fortunately, aside from looking pained at the beginning, Dugu Yan's expression gradually became calm, and Dugu Bo finally let out a sigh of relief.

Dugu Chen turned the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse over and over but found no Soul Bone. He did not find it regrettable, either. After all, it was only a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Unless it produced an External Soul Bone, it held little value to them.

After guarding Dugu Yan for an hour, Dugu Yan, who had been absorbing her second Soul Ring, slowly opened her eyes. In an instant, the emerald-green glow around her suddenly changed, turning into a darker shade of deep green.

Two Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath her feet. Besides the original yellow Soul Ring, there was now a bright purple Soul Ring as well, signifying that she had officially stepped into the Soul Grandmaster realm. And she was a Soul Grandmaster with a Thousand-Year Soul Ring—if the outside world learned of it, some people would likely go mad.

"Congratulations, Yan Yan." "Congratulations, Senior Sister." Dugu Bo and Dugu Chen said at the same time with smiles.

Dugu Yan first smiled and nodded toward her grandfather. Then she looked playfully at Dugu Chen beside her and said brightly, "Junior Brother, Senior Sister was the first to break through to Soul Grandmaster!"

Dugu Chen shook his head with a light laugh, unconcerned. Seeing this, Dugu Bo set off with the two of them once more.

Beside a stretch of marshland, Dugu Chen and the others stopped and observed the enormous creature before them.

It was a golden crocodile nearly thirteen meters long, its body covered in golden scales that shone dazzlingly beneath the sunlight. Its tail was covered in spikes; it was hard to imagine the damage one would suffer if struck by it. The long claws on its limbs glinted with a chilling light, and a casual swipe could disembowel an enemy.

"This is... a Golden Crocodile King. Chen'er, this Golden Crocodile King is around three thousand years old. It hasn't reached your limit yet. Do you want to keep looking?"

Hearing Dugu Bo's question, Dugu Chen did not hesitate for long.

"Teacher, this one will do. Soul Beasts of this quality are hard to come by. We can't let it go."

The Golden Crocodile King was a top-tier Soul Beast. Spirit Hall's Second Worship, who had reached Level 98, possessed it as his Martial Soul. Top-tier attack, defense, strength—everything required of the Power Attack System, this Soul Beast possessed it all. Not to mention that it also carried a thin trace of the Golden Bloodline.

Among Soul Beasts, any creature possessing the Golden Bloodline was extraordinary, standing at the peak of its own species. The bloodline passed down from the Golden Dragon King was just that tyrannical. Even a mere trace of it was incomparably precious.

Though this Golden Crocodile King was powerful, how could it compare with Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo? In no time at all, it was already on the verge of death.

Seeing this, Dugu Chen did not hesitate. His Dragon Claw extended, and he brutally disemboweled the crocodile. There was no helping it—the crocodile's back was too hard, while its belly was relatively soft.

Dugu Chen directly released his Martial Soul and used his Soul Power to draw the Soul Ring over himself from above, beginning to absorb his second Soul Ring.

Dugu Chen had expected the absorption process to encounter some difficulties, but to his surprise, he did not feel the slightest pain. Instead, he felt a warm energy constantly nourishing his body. Every aspect of his physical attributes rapidly improved.

Dugu Chen did not notice that, as he absorbed the Soul Ring, the colors representing Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Earth did not appear on the surface of his body. Instead, his entire body shone gold. Although Dugu Bo found it strange, he did not pay it much mind.

Although it caused no pain, it still took Dugu Chen a full three hours to absorb the massive energy within the soul ring.

As the absorption of the soul ring was completed, Dugu Chen opened his eyes. A golden gleam flashed through their depths, and in an instant, the light around his body returned to the dark red formed by the fusion of two attributes.

One yellow and one purple soul ring rose beneath his feet. Feeling the increased strength within his body, he once again felt that he had made the right choice in absorbing this soul ring.

This Golden Crocodile King had not produced a Soul Bone either. Dugu Chen was somewhat disappointed, but he did not dwell on it. He cut off a large chunk of Golden Crocodile King meat and stuffed it into Dugu Bo's Soul Tool. It was top-quality ingredient, and Dugu Chen only stopped once the Soul Tool could hold no more.

This journey had been a complete success. Dugu Bo set off for home with Dugu Chen and Dugu Yan. They needed to prepare for their upcoming stay at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye, while Dugu Bo also had to head to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to make a deal and give them time to gather Soul Bones.

The lingering glow of the setting sun fell across Dugu Chen's slightly heroic face. After his breakthrough, he had grown a little as well, and now looked about the size of an ordinary eight- or nine-year-old child.

His pair of clear, mismatched eyes appeared even more translucent beneath the sunset.

Dugu Chen had already returned to his own courtyard. Leaning back in a chair within the pavilion, he watched the sunset and considered what he had gained from this trip.

He had obtained the Immortal Herbs and a thousand-year second soul ring. His current goals had already been fulfilled. All that remained was to cultivate diligently, cure Dugu Bo, give Dugu Bo another boost in strength, and wait quietly for Notting College to begin enrollment three years later.

Dugu Chen had already inquired about the timeline. The previous Pope had died three years ago, which meant there were still three years until Tang San awakened his martial soul.

Three years from now, he would go to Notting College and meet that "pure and spotless" Young Master Tang San. And he certainly could not let that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that came right to his doorstep benefit someone else.

Whether he kept it confined for himself or Dugu Yan to absorb in the future, or simply took its bone directly, it would be a guaranteed profit either way.

The only one he needed to be wary of was Tang Hao. He could not let Tang Hao discover them. Tang Hao's attitude was unclear—who knew whether he would give up a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast unrelated to his son when the time came? Thus, Dugu Bo had to reach at least Level 95. Only then would he be able to handle Tang Hao calmly.

After dinner, Dugu Chen returned to his room once more and began cultivating for the entire night. Soul Masters could already completely replace sleep with cultivation, though of course, it was definitely not as comfortable as sleeping.

After taking off his outer robe, Dugu Chen sat cross-legged on the sofa and closed his eyes to cultivate. He could not become complacent over a little achievement. Cultivation was not something he could afford to relax in.